11 32 1900 https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/2eb8403fcfe26f6b2658cbb6e49024e3.pdf 7eeb839684b391fb3e4910a1297cbee2 PDF Text Text 54513_p01_24x:January 08 6/1/2009 4:04 PM Page 1 Volume 71, Number 6 June 2009 2 More Tankers Christened SIU-Contracted Fleet Continues Adding New Tonnage As this edition of the LOG went to press, christening ceremonies were scheduled for the double-hulled tankers Overseas Nikiski (top photo) and Pelican State (directly below). The vessels reflect the steady addition of new tonnage into the Seafarerscontracted fleet. Aker Philadelphia Shipyard built the Overseas Nikiski, while General Dynamics NASSCO constructed the Pelican State. Page 3. Maritime Labor Testifies on Piracy D.C. Events Honor U.S. Mariners The SIU had a typically strong turnout May 22 for this year’s National Maritime Day events in Washington, D.C. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood (right) was the featured speaker at the morning ceremony and at the traditional luncheon. Among those in the group photo below are SIU President Michael Sacco (center), MSC Commander Rear Adm. Robert Reilly, SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez, Maersk Line, Limited President and CEO John Reinhart and students from the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. Page 5. Representatives from the SIU and other U.S. maritime unions have taken their united voice to Capitol Hill to call for protection of American-flag ships sailing in dangerous waters. Pictured at a May 20 hearing of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation are (right to left) SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez, AMO Legislative Affairs Director Paul Doell, MM&P Executive Assistant to the President Mike Rodriguez and MEBA Secretary-Treasurer Bill Van Loo. Page 3. Ceremony Recognizes Efforts of Mariners in ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ Medals were presented on May 13 to Seafarers and other rescuers involved in the “Miracle on the Hudson.” U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood handed out the awards during a ceremony in New York City. At right, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine (left) congratulates NY Waterway founder Arthur Imperatore (right) and SIU Capt. Vincent Lombardi. Page 4. Scholarship Winners Announced Pages 2, 7 Charter Member Likes Union’s Direction Page 6 �54513_p01_24x:January 08 6/1/2009 5:49 PM Page 2 President’s Repor t New Tonnage and Better Days Ahead It has taken a while, but we’re finally starting to read and hear about cautious projections for an eventual economic recovery in the U.S. For example, the White House last month reported on significant progress stemming from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, including job creation and the funding of more than 3,000 transportation construction projects in all 50 states. Some economists are also saying they see hints of a recovery, and Federal Reserve policymakers in late May said they notice “tentative evidence” of improvement. While those reports and forecasts aren’t cause for celebration, they beat the gloomand-doom accounts that have been in the news for so long. There’s still a long way to go, of course, and on balance, things may even get a little worse before they get better. In the SIU, we are well-positioned to ride Michael Sacco out this economic storm. One reason we’re in good shape is because we have jobs in so many sectors of the industry. Just like one of the basic rules of investing money is to diversify, we don’t put all of our eggs in one basket when it comes to employment for the membership. We have jobs aboard deep-sea commercial ships sailing internationally and in the domestic trades. We have jobs aboard privately owned military support vessels and on government-owned ships. We have jobs on the Great Lakes and in the inland sector, including aboard tugboats, dredges, self-unloaders and more. We have jobs aboard passenger ferries and on the only American-flag, deep-sea cruise ship. Obviously, our industry and our contracted operators still are feeling the effects of the rough economy just like everyone else. But we have reason for long-range optimism, and part of the foundation for that belief can be seen in all the new tonnage coming into our fleet. The new tanker programs in Philadelphia and San Diego (for OSG and U.S. Shipping, respectively) are moving right along. Crowley is bringing in new ATBs on schedule. APL is in the process of “flagging in” four ships. In the Government Services Division, new dry cargo-ammunition ships are being added to the fleet. These are just some of the examples reflecting our strength, our diversity and our long-term security. As always, however, the union takes nothing for granted and is constantly working to fulfill our top priority: protecting the jobs and job security of the membership. As I’ve noted in recent months, the SIU has survived tough times in the past and we will survive the current challenges, too. In fact, I believe we will come out of this recession in excellent shape, because we are examining new opportunities for our members. We just have to stay the course. Progress on Piracy, but Work Remains Piracy may be off the front pages of the nation’s newspapers, but it remains sharply in focus for the SIU and for our counterparts throughout American maritime labor. As reported elsewhere in this edition, we have been fully engaged in working to find timely, effective solutions. Inevitably, that work involves meetings and hearings – it’s simply how things get done in Washington. We are in regular contact with our contracted operators and also are communicating with the military and the administration. Some progress has been made. Understandably, for security reasons, not all the steps taken can be reported. But, the successful prevention of attacks against the SIU-crewed Maersk Virginia and USNS Lewis and Clark in late May showed how the beefed-up military presence in the danger zones is working. A number of other attacks also have been turned back since the highly publicized incidents involving the Maersk Alabama and Liberty Sun back in April. The pirates definitely aren’t out of business, though. They have boarded other ships and undoubtedly will continue trying to attack others. We’re on record as stating that the U.S. military should provide protection for American crews aboard U.S.-flag ships. This seems especially logical when considering that most if not all of our ships in that area carry government cargo. We also understand that other solutions have to be considered in conjunction with military support. Strictly in terms of American-flag ships, one of the more interesting facts to emerge from this situation is that there aren’t very many “low and slow” vessels sailing in the Gulf of Aden and Horn of Africa. For the most part, those are the truly vulnerable ships. Protecting them must be a top priority of this nation, and our union won’t rest until effective protection is in place. Volume 71, Number 6 Rank-and-File Committee Okays SIU’s Financial Records for 2008 Seven SIU members last month reviewed and approved the union’s financial records for 2008, following careful examination of those files in Camp Springs, Md. The Seafarers – who were elected by fellow rank-andfile members to serve on the yearly financial committee – found the records in good order. In accordance with the SIU Constitution, the committee’s report will be read in all ports at the union’s monthly membership meetings and presented for membership approval. The report formally was presented to the SIU secretary-treasurer, also in accordance with the constitution. Serving on the committee following their election at the May membership meeting in Piney Point, Md., were Seafarers Gerard Costello (chairman), Members and officials review some paperwork as the committee wraps up its duties. Tawrence Abrams, Thommie Hampton, DeCarlo Harris, Brandon Maeda, Martin Simmons and Rodger Taylor. In its report, the committee noted, “We find that the headquarters of the union is taking all steps possible to safeguard union funds and to see that the disbursements of the union are in accordance with the authority delegat- In accordance with the union’s constitution, the yearly financial committee examined the appropriate records last month at headquarters. Pictured above are committee members and union officials (seated, from left) Tawrence Abrams, DeCarlo Harris, Rodger Taylor, Thommie Hampton, (standing) Gerard Costello, Martin Simmons, Asst. VP Ambrose Cucinotta, Brandon Maeda and Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel. ed to them and that, at the same time, there is a striving effort to increase day-to-day efficiency of our operation.” The report also pointed out, “Representatives of the certified public accounting firm who periodically audit the union’s books and records explained their auditing procedures for the checking of the secretary-treasurer’s financial report of the union’s records. They further discussed with us the overall financial operation of the union. In addition, the secretary-treasurer worked with the committee and made himself and the records of his office available to the committee…. All of said records were, in fact, examined by the committee.” The committee worked at SIU headquarters during the first full week of May. Article X, Section 14-c of the SIU Constitution lists the duties of the annual financial committee along with rules and procedures for electing the committee. Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan Awards $132,000 in Scholarships Exemplary Seafarers, their spouses and dependents for more than 50 years have been the recipients of scholarships from the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP). Members of the SHBP scholarship selection committee took action to continue that tradition April 24 in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, when they chose eight individuals – two active Seafarers and six dependents – as scholarship recipients for the upcoming school year. Each of the two Seafarers will receive two-year scholarships for $6,000 while the six dependents will be awarded individual four-year scholarships for $20,000 in order to attend institutions of their choices. In total, the 2009 scholarship recipients will be awarded $132,000 from the SHBP. This year’s winners are: Recertified Steward Brandon Maeda; QMED Robert Oliveto; Jeffrey Monteiro, son of Deep Sea Engineer Francis Monteiro; Bethany Horner, daughter of inland Captain Arthur Horner; Matthew Taylor, son of inland Captain Rodger Taylor; Jillian Cairco, daughter of retired deep sea Chief Engineer Gary Jarvis; Giselle Bodden, daughter of inland AB-Tankerman Albert Bodden; and Alyssa Rothschild, daughter of inland Chief Mate Robert Rothschild. The scholarship recipients were selected by a group of distinguished professional educators: Dr. Trevor Carpenter, Charles County Community College (retired); Dr. Louis Fernandez, provost and vice president academic affairs, California State University, San Bernardino; Dr. Michael Glaser, St. Mary’s College (retired); Dr. Gayle Olson, University of New Orleans (retired); Dr. Keith Schlender, University of Toledo; Dr. Henry Toutain, dean of students, Gustavus Adolphus College; and Dr. Charles Lyons, American Association of Colleges and Universities (retired). See Page 7 for brief biographical backgrounds, scholastic accomplishments and educational goals of each of the above college-bound scholarship recipients. June 2009 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFLCIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2009 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD. All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG The 2009 SHBP Scholarship Selection Committee on April 24 in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, chose eight individuals as recipients of $132,000 in scholarships. After making their selections, committee members joined SIU Assistant Plans Administrator Kitty Eno (third from right in photo above) and SIU Deputy Assistant Plans Administrator Miriam Bove (third from left) for this photo. Committee members (from left) were: ; Dr. Henry Toutain, dean of students, Gustavus Adolphus College; Dr. Gayle Olson, University of New Orleans (retired); Dr. Keith Schlender, University of Toledo; Dr. Charles Lyons, American Association of Colleges and Universities (retired); Dr. Trevor Carpenter, Charles County Community College (retired); Dr. Michael Glaser, St. Mary’s College (retired); and Dr. Louis Fernandez, provost and vice president academic affairs, California State University, San Bernardino. June 2009 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:35 PM Page 3 2 More Tankers Christened APL Containership Reflags Under Stars and Stripes The nationwide economic slowdown has not prevented substantial progress in several new-build programs affecting Seafarers, as evidenced in part by christenings that were scheduled to take place in late May and early June. The double-hulled tanker Pelican State was slated for christening May 30 (after press time) at San Diego’s NASSCO shipyard. The vessel is a product carrier built for Seafarers-contracted U.S. Shipping Partners. Overall, the shipyard is under contract to build nine tankers for U.S. Shipping. Earlier this year, the first vessel in the series – the Golden State – completed sea trials and was delivered. Each tanker in the program will be 600 feet long and 49,000 DWT, with a cargo capacity of approximately 331,000 barrels. They will carry petroleum and chemical products between U.S. ports – commerce that is covered by the Jones Act, which stipulates that cargo moving from one domestic port to another be carried aboard ships that are crewed, built, flagged and owned American. Progress continues on the East Coast, too, where Aker Philadelphia Shipyard was scheduled to conduct a naming ceremony in early June for its latest double-hulled tanker: the Seafarers-contracted Overseas Nikiski. It will be operated by Overseas Shipholding Group, as are the previously built vessels in the 12-ship program (Overseas Houston, Overseas Long Beach, Overseas Los Angeles, Overseas Texas City and Overseas Boston). Meanwhile, Seafarers-contracted American President Lines planned to reflag the containership APL Pearl under the Stars and Stripes June 1 in Charleston, S.C. Overall, the company is bringing four ships into its U.S.-flag fleet, with Seafarers filling all of the unlicensed positions aboard two of the vessels (APL Pearl and APL Cyprine) and manning the steward-department slots aboard the two others (APL Agate and APL Japan). Members of the union’s Government Services Division also see ongoing advancement in the military’s T-AKE program, taking place at NASSCO. The shipyard has delivered seven of the dry cargoammunition ships to the U.S. Navy and is under contract to build five to seven additional ships in the Lewis and Clark class. Two of those vessels (the USNS Charles Drew and USNS Washington Chambers) are under construction. The Pelican State underwent sea trials May 13 in San Diego, Calif. SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez (right) tells members of a House subcommittee about safety training conducted at the Seafarers-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. AMO Director of Legislative Affairs Paul Doell is seated at Tellez’s right during the May 20 hearing. Unions Testify on Piracy American maritime labor has stated its unified position on piracy via a letter to President Obama and through joint testimony submitted at two recent Congressional hearings. Meanwhile, SIU headquarters officials recently participated in anti-piracy meetings with high-ranking U.S. military leaders and government officials. While not ruling out other possible solutions, the SIU, American Maritime Officers (AMO), Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA), and Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P) essentially told the president and Congress that the best short-term answer to preventing attacks on American-flag commercial vessels is to provide military protection. In the letter to President Obama, the four union presidents (Michael Sacco of the SIU, Tom Bethel of AMO, Don Keefe of MEBA and Tim Brown of MM&P) noted, “We believe that the most effective step that must be taken to prevent further aggressive action against U.S.flag commercial vessels and their crews is for our government to immediately provide U.S.-flag vessels with the force protection necessary to prevent any further acts of piracy against them. There should be no question but that it is the responsibility of the United States government to provide the protection necessary to ensure the safety of life and property aboard United States-flag vessels. When a vessel flies the United States flag it becomes an extension of the United States itself, regardless of where in the world the vessel is operating.” The unions later expanded on those points, first at a May 5 hearing conducted by the Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security, and then at a May 20 hearing conducted by the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. At the latter hearing, and in reference to finding practical but timely solutions to piracy, Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) stated, “We want this thing done right, but we want to get it done.” That sentiment is shared by maritime labor and, undoubtedly, by other segments of the industry, too. While some of the steps taken to fight piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa remain closely guarded, it appears progress has been made since the SIU-crewed Maersk Alabama and Liberty Sun were attacked in separate incidents in April. At least three U.S.-flag ship operating companies have hired armed guards for their vessels sailing in dangerous waters, and the international military presence there has been bolstered. Several attempted attacks by pirates have been turned back, including one against the Seafarers-crewed USNS Lewis and Clark (see story, page 4) and one against the SIU-crewed Maersk Virginia on May 22. Canadian and Italian naval helicopters turned back the attempted attack on the Maersk Virginia in the Gulf of Aden. Additionally, the U.S. Coast Guard in mid-May issued an anti-piracy directive calling for updated vessel security plans. The agency also reported that since the attacks against the Maersk Alabama and Liberty Sun, Continued on Page 13 Training, Drills Pay Off Aboard Liberty Sun The captain and crew of the Liberty Sun said there’s no doubt that preparation – including fire fighting training and shipboard anti-piracy drills – proved valuable when the vessel came under attack April 15 near the Gulf of Aden. “We had practiced what to do in case it happened, and everybody did their job,” said Recertified Bosun Mark Downey. “The guys did great. Everybody knew where to go.” “Everybody pulled their weight, apprentices included, and we had a lot of help from the U.S. Navy,” stated Captain Donald Grosse, the ship’s master. “Our preparations were up to the task.” The incident occurred one week after the highly publicized boarding of another SIUcrewed ship, the Maersk Alabama. In the Liberty Sun’s case, pirates fired bullets and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) but didn’t attempt to climb aboard. “We weren’t expecting RPG fire,” Downey noted. “It sounded like you were in a metal box getting hit by sledgehammers. We figured they might take some potshots at us, but after we’d heard about the threats of violence against the next American crew if they were captured, we June 2009 knew it was more than just the pirates wanting the ship. If they did get on board, they were planning on killing somebody.” While the ship wasn’t boarded, one of the RPGs caused a fire on the Liberty Maritime vessel. Unlicensed Apprentices Ken Stearns and Bill Waldmann used portable extinguishers to put out the fire. “My fire fighting training from Piney Point came in quite handy,” Stearns said in reference to time spent at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. “I think it’s a very good school. The instructors there are top-notch.” Concerning the attack, Stearns observed, “The crew did a good job. I was on the bridge wing at the time…. I think everybody was scared, but it didn’t interfere with what had to be done. It happened fast and everybody did what they were told.” He added that the experience won’t prevent him from continuing with the apprentice program. “Oh, absolutely – I’ll keep going,” Stearns said. “That’s the only reason I got off the ship (so he could return to the school for the next phase of training). I plan on eventually getting my master’s license.” Waldmann said he, too, will move ahead with the program. “Oh, yeah, definitely. I’m not going to let this scare me away,” said Waldmann. “The school is well worth it – well worth the time. It’s a necessity to get the background.” He added, “The training on the ship was helpful. We had practice runs and meetings over what to do. As far as the school goes, going through fire fighting definitely helped, as did learning how to handle the hoses. Luckily, we didn’t have to use any first aid or CPR, but if something had happened….” After the attack, the vessel received assistance from the USS Bainbridge – a Navy destroyer which, ironically, was transporting Maersk Alabama Capt. Richard Phillips at that time. The Navy personnel “were great,” Downey said. Waldmann described them as “real nice guys.” Grosse said the Navy’s presence “took a lot of pressure off of us.” The captain added that the attack and the subsequent interaction with the military reminded him of the dangers routine- ly faced by our troops. “They are the real heroes,” he said. “We just had a short experience, but the reality of this existence (coming under fire) all of a sudden became very clear to us. The armed forces have to put up with incoming rounds all the time. My hat goes off to them.” Downey offered special praise for Stearns and Waldmann. “All of the apprentices I’ve sailed with have been good, but I’ve never had ones that performed like these guys,” the bosun said. “They were great and I’d welcome them back any time. Under pressure, they both acted like this was nothing new.” He also commended the work of QMED James Glover, whom Downey credited with going “above and beyond.” Seafarers aboard the Liberty Sun during the attack included Bosun Downey, ABs Thomas Conry, Jimmie Joseph, Tyrone Benjamin, Osnan Arriola and Mohammed Haruna, QMED Glover, GSTU Wilmer Alvarez, GUDEs Hector Guity and Talal Saleh, Recertified Steward Fernando Guity, Chief Cook Carlos Rosales and Unlicensed Apprentices Stearns and Waldmann. Seafarers LOG 3 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:35 PM Page 4 New Shipping Boards in Place Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood describes the rescuers as “extraordinary men and women.” Transportation Secretary LaHood Honors Mariners from ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ Dozens of Seafarers were among those honored by U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood during a May 13 ceremony in New York cele- SIU President Mike Sacco credits NY Waterway mariners for their heroic efforts. brating the safe conclusion of the “Miracle on the Hudson.” SIU President Michael Sacco was a featured speaker at the ceremony, which took place at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. Along with Secretary LaHood, the other speakers included New York Governor David Paterson, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, Maritime Administrator James Caponiti, NY Waterway President Arthur Imperatore and Bill White, president of the museum. SIU mariners from NY Waterway and other personnel involved in the January rescue of passengers and crew from US Airways Flight 1549 received Merchant Marine Outstanding Achievement Medals, presented by LaHood. “I congratulate our NY Waterway crews for a fantastic effort. Brothers and sisters, your lifesaving work helped lift the spirits of an entire nation,” said Sacco. The SIU president also pointed out that “virtually every person who rescued the passengers and crew from US Airways Flight 1549 was a union member. And for the most part, they all received safety training through their union-affiliated schools.” LaHood said of the mariners and other rescue personnel, “These extraordinary men and women woke up on a cold January morning, expecting an ordinary day. Yet by the time they got to bed that night, they were true heroes. Thanks to their bravery and skill, they helped save more than a hundred lives.” All 155 passengers and crew from the downed plane were saved – the vast majority having been picked up by SIU-crewed NY Waterway ferries. According to the Department of Transportation, the Merchant Marine Continued on Page 13 Some of the SIU members and officials attending the ceremony are pictured at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, which hosted the event. Fourth Arm of Defense Stands Up to Aggression Three recent actions against Seafarers-crewed vessels show that merchant mariners are still on the front line of unrest at sea. When Chinese vessels harassed two surveillance ships in April, it brought the total of Seafarerscrewed ships being bothered by the Chinese to at least four in two months. The latest two were the USNS Victorious and USNS Loyal. Both ships are operated by Maersk Line, Limited. The ocean surveillance ships were conducting routine exercises some 200 miles off the coast of China when fishing boats approached dangerously close. According to the Defense Department, one Chinese vessel closed to within 30 feet of the Victorious. Pentagon spokesman Bryan Williams commented, “The Chinese vessels clearly 4 Seafarers LOG As part of an upgrade to the shipping and registration system, new electronic shipping boards now are in place at the union halls. The modern system is designed to benefit members by saving time and by making more information available to them more quickly than under the old system. Related new equipment at the halls includes not only the shipping boards (the one pictured in the background above is located in Piney Point, Md.) but also scanners, state-ofthe-art computers and faster network connections. Known as SMIS (Seafarers Management Information System), the new system will be further enhanced throughout the year. Business as Usual on U.S. Shipping Vessels The union in late April informed crews aboard U.S. Shipping Partners vessels that their jobs are protected even though the company has filed for a type of bankruptcy called chapter 11. “This move does not affect operation of U.S. Shipping’s SIU-crewed vessels,” Vice President Contracts George Tricker said in a communication to the ships. “It is business as usual aboard the ships…. While I do not mean to minimize the seriousness of a chapter 11 filing, this essentially is a strategic business move designed to help ensure the company’s longterm viability.” In a prepared statement, U.S. Shipping noted, “The voluntary pre-arranged filing allows the company to continue its operations in the normal course through the financial restructuring process, providing uninterrupted service to its customers…. The plan is supported by a substantial majority of the company’s secured lenders and noteholders.” demonstrated unsafe seamanship.” In the case of the Victorious, the crew manned fire hoses and turned them on the Chinese craft without hitting them. In both instances, the Victorious and Loyal crews radioed nearby Chinese military vessels to escort their fishing vessels from the scenes. Meanwhile, civilian mariners were again in the thick of pirate hostility on May 8 aboard the dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Lewis and Clark off the east coast of Somalia. While the CIVMAR-crewed vessel was transiting north to provide logistics support for U.S. Navy and coalition ships, two pirate skiffs pursued the Lewis and Clark for more than an hour, closing to a distance of approximately one nautical mile. Once shipboard lookouts spotted the two suspected pirate skiffs, the Lewis and Clark conducted evasive maneuvers and increased speed. The ship’s embarked security team also used a long-range acoustical device to issue verbal warnings to the approaching skiffs. The pirates then fired small arms weapons from approximately two nautical miles toward the Lewis and Clark, which fell one nautical mile short of the ship’s stern. The Lewis and Clark continued to increase speed and the skiffs ceased their pursuit of the U.S. ship. According to the Navy, “Despite recent successful pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia, merchant mariners have proven successful as first-line defenders against pirates. Along with Lewis and Clark, a number of merchant vessels have conducted evasive maneuvers and other proactive defensive measures, including embarked security teams, to protect their ships and their cargoes.” In lauding the overall efforts of American Seafarers, the Navy commented in a news release, “U.S. Merchant Mariners have a long and storied history of providing direct support to U.S. military operations ashore. From re-supplying Navy ships at sea to delivering combat cargo to deployed troops in war zones, merchant mariners have played an integral logistics support role in U.S. military operations.” June 2009 �54513_p01_24x:January 08 6/1/2009 4:25 PM Page 5 Retired Navy Vice Adm. Albert J. Herberger (above, left) and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (above, right) were two of the event’s guest speakers. The Smithsonian’s Flag Hall (photo at right) provided the setting for this year’s National Maritime Day ceremony which was jointly sponsored by the U.S. Maritime Administration, the Military Sealift Command and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Maritime Day Cites Mariners’ Contributions The service and sacrifice of members of the fourth arm of defense were honored during National Maritime Day, May 22, in the halls of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s Flag Hall in Washington, D.C. Flag Hall is home of the Star Spangled Banner, the flag to which, during the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key penned his poem that became America’s National Anthem. While the Smithsonian hosted the ceremony, it was sponsored by the U.S. Maritime Administration, and the memorial service and wreath-laying was hosted by the U.S. Military Sealift Command. The event was held in conjunction with the opening of the Smithsonian’s newest exhibit, “On the Water: Stories from Maritime America,” which is a dynamic depiction of American maritime history. Attendees to the event included an SIU delegation of SIU President Michael Sacco, Executive Vice President Augie Tellez, Vice President Contracts George Tricker and students from the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, who stood at attention in a mezzanine section above the ceremony like sentries guarding the memory of the sacrifices of their seafaring forefathers. Lauded at the event were the crew members of the Maersk Alabama who recently thwarted a pirate attack. “These brave Unlicensed Apprentice Antonio Jones (photo at right) places a wreath and then salutes in honor of all U.S. Merchant Mariners. SIU VP Contracts George Tricker (second from right in photo below) chats with students from the unionaffiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. A contingent of students from the center participated in the the day’s events. June 2009 Americans remind us of the service and patriotism of U.S. Merchant Mariners,” said featured speaker Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. “For 76 years, National Maritime Day has stood as a proud reminder to our nation that mariners have put their lives at risk to answer our nation’s call to duty. The Department of Transportation is proud to support these highly trained mariners.” Special guest speaker former Maritime Administrator Vice Admiral (Retired) Albert J. Herberger commented, “In times of war, the U.S. Merchant Marine has a wonderfully rich heritage of service to the nation. By carrying critical supplies and equipment, merchant mariners have provided the essential support to our armed forces and often to our allies. Today, they are supporting operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and delivering food aid to many parts of the world. Their devotion to duty is a tribute to the generations of men and women who have served our nation with courage and determination in every conflict in America’s history.” Also at the heart of the ceremony was the placing of a wreath to commemorate the sacrifices that generations of mariners have made in service to the nation. The wreath ceremony was led by Paul Hall Center student Antonio Jones and featured a single bugle playing the lonely call of Taps in remembrance of those who were lost at sea. Among the union members and officials attending the ceremony were (from left) SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez, AB Veronica Hernandez, SIU President Mike Sacco and AMO President Tom Bethel. The day’s events concluded at a large gathering at a luncheon jointly sponsored by local chapters of the Propeller Club and the Kings Point Club, where Secretary LaHood expressed the Transportation Department’s vision for the future of the U.S. shipping industry. “U.S. ships opened trade for our nation and DOT sees a growing future. We see a possible increase of projects and shipping in U.S. ports of 50 percent, a growth in industry grants by ten-fold, a strengthened commitment to the U.S. marine highway and making maritime one of the strongest modes of transportation.” National Maritime Day 2009 Proclamation By the President of The United States of America A Proclamation Americans have long looked to the sea as a source of security and prosperity. Bounded by two oceans and the Gulf of Mexico, and criss-crossed by a myriad of inland waterways, America’s destiny as a maritime nation was a story foretold. The Merchant Marine took up arms alongside the Continental Navy to help defeat the British Navy during the American Revolution. Since then, they have served bravely as the United States has faced threats ranging from war to piracy, and our seafaring fleet has proven instrumental in protecting our safety. In times of conflict and crisis, the Armed Forces rely on the Merchant Marine’s sealift capability to transport critical equipment and supplies. Time and again, mariners have demonstrated their willingness and ability to meet daunting challenges. Waterways have also enabled much of the commerce that has expanded America’s economy. Domestic and international commerce occurred along rivers and coasts even before our Nation’s birth. Great cities have sprouted near waterways, and maritime activity remains crucial to our economy today. The men and women of the U.S. Merchant Marine and the many other workers who have supported the maritime industry have made significant contributions to our leadership in the global marketplace, and to our security. On this National Maritime Day, we also mark the opening of a permanent exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution, “On the Water.” It demonstrates the importance of the maritime industry and chronicles our history as a maritime nation. The Congress, by a joint resolution approved May 20, 1933, has designated May 22 of each year as “National Maritime Day” and has authorized and requested the President to issue annually a proclamation calling for its appropriate observance. NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 22, 2009, as National Maritime Day. I call upon the people of the United States to mark this observance by honoring the service of merchant mariners and by displaying the flag of the United States at their homes and in their communities. I also request that all ships sailing under the American flag dress ship on that day. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third. BARACK OBAMA Seafarers LOG 5 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:35 PM Page 6 Charter Member Says SIU Remains on Right Course acquired by the Navy and converted to a As a teenager in Port Everglades, Fla., mine-layer. He helped organize one of the Jack Johns often watched the seemingly union’s first contracted companies: Peninsula giant merchant ships sail away, past the horiand Occidental Steamship, which sailed veszon. sels between Florida and Cuba. “I used to wonder where those big ships “We use to run overnight trips,” Johns went,” recalled Johns, a charter member of remembered. “Havana was a nice town then, the SIU. “All of a sudden, I got on one and with all the casinos. A rum and Coke then went with it.” Johns, 88, signed aboard with the union in was 25 cents.” After initially sailing as a civilian mariner December 1938 – about two months after the in World War II, Johns found himself in the SIU received its charter from the American Federation of Labor. He would spend the bet- Navy, where he sailed as bosun’s mate. He served aboard destroyers at D-Day and durter part of the ensuing half-century as a ing the launch of the Seafarer, first as a atomic bombs. rank-and-file member Immediately, after in the deck departthe war, Johns returned ment and then from to the SIU. He sailed the mid-1950s to the with various unionearly 1980s as a union contracted companies official. Along the including Waterman, way, he served at difA.H. Bull Line, ferent times during Calmar Steamship, World War II in both Victory Carriers and the U.S. Navy and Isthmian Lines (which U.S. Merchant Marine he also helped orga– he was at Normandy nize). Encouraged by on D-Day. He walked then-SIU President his share of picket lines, too, which he Retired Seafarer Jack Johns, pictured out- Paul Hall, he came described as “rough side the union hall in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., ashore in 1956 and says the SIU’s progress throughout its his- worked in different and tumble, but we tory is remarkable. positions under Hall really won out.” and Bull Shepard, one Where the SIU is of the founders of both concerned, it’s not the SIU and the school in Piney Point. much of a stretch to say Johns has seen it all, Johns was based in Baltimore when the including an up-close look at the founding of southern Maryland training facility project the union’s affiliated training center in Piney came to fruition in 1967. His proximity to Point, Md. He remains involved with the Piney Point and his work duties afforded him union today, regularly visiting the hall in Ft. a good look at the challenge of building a Lauderdale, Fla., in addition to serving as an officer with the local chapter of the American maritime school on what had been a Navy torpedo-testing facility. Merchant Marine Veterans (AMMV). “It’s unbelievable what the school has Asked what motivates him to stay active with the union, Johns replied, “I’m just trying become and what it has done for the SIU,” he stated. “It’s a miracle, really, and the to help everybody I can help in the SIU, same thing is true for the SIU when you look which I’ve tried to do all my life.” at how everything has improved over the years. Challenging Start “Today’s members probably don’t know This won’t surprise anyone even loosely familiar with the early 20th century merchant how lucky they have it – the pay, the features aboard ship,” he continued. “But it marine, but Johns confirms that in those looks like they’re doing real good and they days, making a living at sea meant low pay have a good future.” and less-than-ideal surroundings. Johns added that he wouldn’t change “We had nothing at the beginning, really,” much about his career if given the chance. the former bosun noted. “The living condi“I’d go through the same thing,” he said. “I tions were rough. Eventually, we started getwas just a young kid when I started…. It was ting paid overtime. That was a big deal.” what I wanted to do in life. I worked for the Johns first sailed as an ordinary seaman union and they took good care of me.” aboard the Estrada Palma, a car carrier later Notice TWIC, MMC Reminders April 15 was the deadline for mariners to have obtained a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). That date also marked the roll-out of the new merchant mariner qualification credential (MMC), a passport-style document which over the next five years will be phased in as a replacement for the current z-card/merchant mariner document (MMD). Following are some reminders concerning the TWIC and MMC. ■ If you currently hold a merchant mariner document/credential, you are required to obtain a TWIC. ■ If you do not currently hold a merchant mariner document/credential but plan to get one in the future, you will be required to obtain a valid TWIC in order to secure the mariner credential. ■ When applying for a TWIC, identify yourself as a merchant mariner. This should help to avoid delays in processing MMC applications (whether originals, upgrades, renewals or endorsements). ■ Mariners will need to ensure that the biographical information they supply to the TSA during the TWIC application process is the same information included on the Coast Guard merchant mariner credential application. This is important as the Coast Guard will be comparing data from TSA to determine if mariners hold a valid TWIC. ■ Mariners do not need to rush to get an MMC. The rationale for the fiveyear phase-in period is that, starting April 15 (earlier this year), when mariners renew or upgrade their z-card, or when mariners new to the industry apply for a credential, they will receive the MMC. The MMC program does not affect the legitimacy of currently valid z-cards/merchant mariner documents. It also eliminates the need for mariners to appear in person at a Coast Guard regional exam center (REC), provided they have applied for a TWIC. Mariners do still have the option to go to an REC. ■ To protect the personal information of mariners, in October 2008 the Coast Guard removed the mariner’s Social Security number from all the credentials issued after that date and replaced it with a “mariner reference number” generated by the agency’s merchant mariner licensing and documentation (MMLD) system. While the Social Security number is still collected on a credential application, it is not printed on the credential and it is not used internally by the Coast Guard when processing the application. When a mariner applies for an original credential for the first time, they will receive a mariner reference number and an application identification number. The mariner reference number is unique to the mariner and will not change during subsequent credential transactions. Mariners wishing to check the status of their application on-line via the Coast Guard’s Homeport portal (http://homeport.uscg.mil) will need to use their mariner reference number and the application ID number. ■ The phone number for the TSA’s TWIC Program Help Desk is 1-866-DHSTWIC (1-866-347-8942), while the e-mail address is Credentialing@dhs.gov. ■ The phone number for the Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center is 1-888IASKNMC (1-888-427-5662), while the web site address is http://www.uscg.mil/nmc/ ■ To begin the application process for a TWIC, visit the TSA’s website at: http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/twic/index.shtm Company Issues Statement About Hawaii Superferry In early April, the top official at Hawaii Superferry issued a statement after the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that a state law allowing the high-speed catamaran to operate was unconstitutional due to issues related to environmental impact studies. The statement by President and CEO Tom Fargo read in part, “We would like to extend our gratitude to the more than 250,000 customers who have voyaged and booked with us and to all who have supported our service. I am especially grateful to the businesses that have sailed with us and now have apparently lost an economical alternative…. “This is a difficult time for all of us. Our employees have been nothing but stellar in their dedication to our company and in their service to our customers and our community. I have been impressed with the commitment of our team in executing with great detail and energy all of our procedures to properly address environmental concerns and provide our passengers with the best customer service. “As I mentioned [earlier in April], we are hugely disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision that Act 2 is unconstitutional. After a year of operations, including a successful winter season, we looked forward to the upcoming spring break with great energy and enthusiasm. 6 Seafarers LOG “The problem before us today is there appears to be no short-term solution to this ruling. To conduct another EIS, even with the work done to date, and move it through legal review might take a year or so. Other options don’t provide the certainty necessary to sustain a business. “As a result, we are going to have to go out and find other employment for Alakai, for now. “Obviously, this is not even close to our preferred outcome. We have believed from the start and continue to believe that there is a clear and unmet need for an inter-island high speed ferry system for the state. My hope, our hope, is that the conditions will eventually be such that we can realize that vision in Hawaii.” In mid-May, the court denied the state’s motion to reconsider its earlier ruling. According to news reports, the ferry has returned to Mobile, Ala., where it was constructed. Meanwhile, the state is proceeding with the environmental impact study. Ironically, after the court’s initial ruling, Hawaii Superferry won an award from the local chapter of the American Marketing Association (for best marketing of a new product or service). The new merchant mariner qualification credential (above and inset) is a passport-style document. June 2009 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:35 PM Page 7 SHBP Awards $132,000 in Scholarships A panel of professional educators in April selected two active Seafarers and six dependents as recipients of scholarships provided by the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP). A total of $132,000 was given during this year’s scholarship program. Two Seafarers were awarded $6,000 scholarships for study at a four-year college or university. Each of the six dependents received $20,000 grants to pursue their educational aspirations. Following are brief biographical sketches of each scholarship recipient as well as recaps of their respective educational goals. Brandon Maeda Recertified Steward Brandon Maeda is the recipient of one of two scholarships designated for active Seafarers. A native of Honolulu, Maeda is a 1974 graduate of 71st High School in Fayetteville, N.C. He joined the union in 1982 and has since been sailing in the deep sea division as a member of the steward department. Nine years following his initial voyage aboard the SS Independence and on the advice of a friend, Maeda made his way to Piney Point for upgrade training. “I finally made it there (Piney Point) in 1991 and it became a turning point in my life, one of the best experiences I have ever had,” he said. “I’ve been back many times and became a recertified chief steward in 1996.” Brandon Maeda Maeda has been sailing for 23 years. “In a way, I grew up in the SIU…. I went from a young adult to middle age and have had a great life because of the union,” he continued. “I have never regretted my decision to become a Seafarer and will always cherish my time at sea and the wonderful people I have met along the way. “Now I would like to take on the challenge of becoming a registered nurse,” he continued. “Becoming a nurse would afford me the opportunity to give something back to the community and the Seafarers. Hopefully, I can still sail as a nurse or medical person aboard one of the (union-contracted) ships.” Maeda currently is enrolled in a nursing program at the College of Southern Maryland, La Plata Campus. He hopes to graduate at this year’s end with an associate’s degree. As of the time he submitted his package to the scholarship selection committee, Maeda already had finished his prerequisites and completed his first year in the school’s ADN program. He did so while achieving a 3.9 grade point average. “Because I am an older student, the pathway to success hasn’t always been easy,” he shared. “There were plenty of adjustments that had to be made.” Maeda has had to sail for one year at a time and then attend college the following year. “For example, in 2006, I attended spring, summer and fall classes and completed all my prerequisites with the help of my scholarship and money I had saved. I sailed for most of 2007 to replenish my savings and attended college again in 2008, sailing only during the summer months. “College is all about hard work and achievement and that’s something I have never been afraid of,” he concluded. Following his graduation from the College of Southern Maryland, Maeda hopes to attend Vila Julie College in Stevenson, Md., where he plans to earn his bachelor’s degree in nursing. Robert Oliveto QMED Robert Oliveto is the second active mariner selected to receive an SHBP scholarship. A 2002 graduate of Moultonborough Academy in Moultonborough, N.H., he joined the SIU in 2004 in Piney Point. Oliveto’s goal is to become a marine engineer. Following his graduation from the Paul Hall Center, the Loconia, N.H.-born mariner sailed as a wiper aboard the Alaska Tanker Company-operated Alaskan Frontier. “After working in the engine room for only four months, I was hooked,” he said. “There were so many things going on at the same time.” He specifically recalled an Robert Oliveto instance when engineers were performing maintenance on one of the vessel’s main diesel generators. “This was a very important task because the diesel generator produces power for the propulsion,” Oliveto said. “As I watched and helped out where instructed, I got to see all the moving parts.” Having caught a glimpse of this aspect of the generators and the details of the vessel’s main engine components, Oliveto became even more fixated with the idea of working in the engine room permanently. Returning to Piney Point in 2005, Oliveto completed the FOWT course. Next up was four work tours aboard the S/T Denali followed by a second stint on the Alaska Frontier where he still works. In an effort to realize his goal of becoming a marine engineer, Oliveto in December 2007 applied for admission to the Maine Maritime Academy. After submitting his application package, though, he discovered that he fell short of the institution’s academic requirements for acceptance. June 2009 “I was a little let down, but at the same time I wanted to know what requirements I needed,” he said. “The e-mail I received (from the academy) listed four classes: algebra II, trigonometry, college prep physics and English composition.” After going online and researching local community colleges that offered the courses he needed, Oliveto found an institution to his liking. On the downside though, he ended up having to take introductory algebra before he could enroll in intermediate algebra, which meant that he now had a total of five required classes. He enrolled in an intro as well as a college prep class and completed them both during the winter. He completed intermediate algebra during his summer vacation. Next, he would launch his assault on college physics and trigonometry. Although he found it challenging, he completed physics with flying colors and acquired a solid foundation for trigonometry, which he began in March. “I have mailed all transcripts for the three classes that I have taken so far to the academy,” Oliveto said. “I currently have a provisional acceptance letter to attend classes as a fulltime student this fall.” He concluded by saying that he has worked extremely hard to get into the marine engineering program. Oliveto also credited the union for the tremendous role it has played in his life so far. “I feel that that SIU has been there for me since day one at Piney Point,” he said. “It has helped me to develop the essential skills I’ll need as I pursue my goal: responsibility, teamwork and hard work.” Jeffrey Monteiro Jeffrey Monteiro was born in Hackensack, N.J. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, N.J., Jeffrey is the son of engine-department Seafarer Francis Monteiro (and mother, Dorothy). Monteiro’s dream is to someday make a difference in the lives of those who have not been fortunate enough to have experienced many of the privileges he himself in years past often took for granted. “My parents have always reminded me that I am privileged to have the life that I claim as my own,” said the 18-year-old, who Jeffrey Monteiro has applied for admission to Boston College, Seton Hall University and Stonehill College. “Their words, however, never really struck me....until the spring of my sophomore year when my mother planned a short spring vacation to India to visit my grandmother and extended family that I received the life-altering experience necessary for me to reach great heights,” he said. As Monteiro exited the Mumbai Airport, he noticed a woman dressed in tattered garments lying on a sidewalk. A few feet away sat the woman’s child who was naked, crying and continuously being bitten by horseflies. “Despite the child’s plea for help, the people exiting the airport—myself included—made no attempt to help him. He was simply ignored.” Jeffrey said that during the remainder of his stay in Mumbai, he noticed that in general, every beggar was ignored. “The thought (of their plight) began to eat away at my conscience the longer I remained there,” he said. “One day as my mother and I were walking to church,” he continued, “a physically deformed boy asked me for money. I felt compelled to give him money, but my mother shook her head and told me later that many of the children begging for money are usually forced to do so by someone who provides them with food and shelter.” These providers, Jeffrey’s mother told him, subsequently misuse the money they obtain from the children for drugs or alcohol. “The brutal reality of the situation began to sink in,” he said. “Even if I did give money to that child, it would not have has a lasting effect and in most cases it would do more damage than good.” When he returned home, he said the experiences he had stomached with the poor of Mumbai have scorched his mind. “My failure to help them now serves as a catalyst for me to aid others less fortunate whenever possible,” he said. “I have been become involved in multiple volunteer institutions such as BRIDGES and Habitat for Humanity. Also, I collect books, toys, school materials, clothing and arts and crafts for children in Zambia.” Jeffrey said he also has developed a keen interest in an organization known as Invisible Children which promotes awareness for the children who are caught up in the middle of a government conflict in Northern Uganda. “My desire to help those less privileged than me is something I plan on implementing in my future career,” Monteiro concluded. “After achieving success in the business world, I hope to one day have my own organization and return to Mumbai so I can give the impoverished the opportunity to reach heights which they think are unattainable.” Bethany Horner Bethany Horner is a 2009 graduate of Clarkston High School in Clarkston, Mich. The daughter of inland Captain Arthur Horner (mother Beth is a registered nurse), she graduated in the top 12 percent of her class which numbered more than 600 students. In addition to excelling in the academic arena while in high school, Horner made her mark in extracurricular activities. “I loved high school from the very beginning and I soon became a very involved member of my student body,” she said. “My most important achievement had to be my involvement in the Clarkston High School’s drama program. In total, Horner was involved in eight drama productions during her high school tenure and won numerous awards along the way. In her estimation, the most meaningful recognition corralled was the Clarkston Foundation’s Performing Arts Award, which she claimed first Bethany Horner as a freshman, then as sophomore and finally as a senior. More important than the awards, however, were the positions of leadership bestowed upon her while participating in the drama program. “The titles of drama club president, musical theater camp director, crew chief, lights chair and pyro technician were my greatest accomplishments,” she said, “because they demonstrated that not only adults believed I was a strong leader, but also my peers.” In addition to drama, Horner during her scholastic years also was intensely involved in what she labeled her favorite tradition. “Every summer, beginning when I was seven, I would attend a camp that meant the world to me,” she said. “Finally, when I was old enough (the end of her sophomore year in high school), I was able to volunteer as a counselor for the camps. “My hope was that I could provide children with the same wonderful experiences I had when I was a camper,” Horner continued. She initially signed up for only one week of service at a camp for girls, but when that was over, she decided to give a bit more. “I immediately signed up as a volunteer at the boy’s camp for a week and then Camp Ozanam—a camp entirely for underprivileged children—the week after,” she said. When the camps were over, she had accumulated three weeks of service and logged some 200 hours as a volunteer. “No number can be assigned to how much I learned during those three weeks and there is no way to describe how much the experience affected me,” she said. “But I will say that is was the most inspiring experience of my life and I am a better person because of it.” Horner’s ambition is to become a nurse. “I was accepted to Michigan State University in East Lansing which has been a dream of mine for a very long time,” she said. “I will be majoring in nursing and anticipate graduating in the spring of 2013. “Being a nurse means so much to me and I believe it is one of the most rewarding jobs in the world,” she concluded. “I want to help the sick get better and perhaps one day volunteer in a foreign country assisting people who suffer as a result of limited access to quality healthcare.” Matthew Taylor Matthew Taylor was born in Philadelphia but now makes his home in Mt. Ephraim, N.J. A 2007 graduate of Gloucester Catholic High School in Gloucester City, N.J., Matthew is the son of inland Captain Rodger Taylor (mother Patricia is a revenue agent). Taylor was an exceptional student in high school, amassing an overall 3.69 grade point average. He was a Dominican Scholar during his four years at Gloucester Catholic—a first in the school’s history—and as a junior was selected for membership in the Marion Chapter of the National Honor Society. A year later as a senior, he was elected as the society’s vice president. Matthew served on the school’s student council and also was involved in a host of communiMatthew Taylor ty service projects including Habitat for Humanity (school chapter president), Volunteers for America and JusticeworkX. Additionally, he represented his school at Model United Nations. Following his graduation from high school, Taylor enrolled in Washington, D.C.’s Catholic University where he remained for one semester. In January 2008, he transferred to LaSalle University in Philadelphia where he is majoring is public administration. Taylor recently completed his sophomore year at LaSalle. So far, he has posted an overall 3.45 grade point average. He is president of his fraternity (TKE), holds membership in the Young Democrats Club and the National Honor Society and is a member of the university’s student council. In the athletic arena, Taylor participates in rugby, cross country, track and swimming. “My goal is to continue working hard and studying during my years at LaSalle University,” he said. “I hope to earn both a bachelor and master’s degree in public administration.” Both Taylors gained national prominence in August 2008 when they, along with two ferry crew members aboard the Freedom Ferry, rescued a woman in distress in the Delaware River. The senior Taylor at the time was captain of the vessel while Matthew was a deckhand. As reported earlier in the Seafarers LOG, within minutes of seeing the distressed woman, the Taylors and SIU Deckhands Zack Tannoia and Kevin Fisher had teamed to safely extract the woman from the water, administer first aid and transport her to shore. Local fire and rescue personnel arrived a short time later and transported See Committee, Page 11 Seafarers LOG 7 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:35 PM Page 8 More Majority Sign-Up Myths Debunked Employee Free Choice Act Would Allow Workers to Choose Voting Method Naysayers opposing the right to majority sign-up at the workplace – an already accepted method which would be enhanced through enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) – claim the legislation would ruin the economy, among other myths. Recent studies and news items have exposed some of the untruths broadcast by foes of the EFCA. For instance, a University of Illinois study found no union coercion against employees in firms that used majority signup when determining whether to unionize. The report, released last month by University of Illinois Professor Robert Bruno, analyzed data from public sector workers in Illinois for six years and found that out of more than 21,000 people who joined unions through majority sign-up (a process sometimes referred to as “card check”), there was not a single proven case of union or employer intimidation. The report states, “In brief, from 2003 to 2009, 21,197 public sector workers employed in state, county, municipal and educational institutions voluntarily joined a union. Most importantly, contrary to business claims, in nearly 800 petition cases, there was not a single confirmed incidence of union coercion.” “Today’s report shows that corporations are throwing more lies to keep workers from forming unions,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “Workers form unions to bargain for a better life, not because of outside intimidation. Workers need the majority sign-up provision because it gives workers the choice of how to form a union, not corporations.” According to the findings, the lack of intimidation on either side also shows that when there is a clear path to forming a union, the workplace as a whole functions more smoothly. The report concludes, “As is true in so many other policy areas, on the subject of union representation the states are incubators for new ideas and practices. Illinois has demonstrated that a majority authorization petition can genuinely determine the will of the employees to be unionized and provides a functional, largely non-adversarial and event-less process for insuring a fair work environment for everyone.” According to Bruno, the Illinois state law is very similar to the proposed EFCA majority sign-up provision. The report, commissioned by the United Association for Labor Education, is the first part of a nationwide report which analyzes similar state laws. Majority sign-up is a process by which workers may choose union representation, provided more than half of the employees sign authorization or pledge cards – and provided the employer honors the selection. Under current law, the employer still can force a National Labor Relations Board-run election, even after a majority of workers signs cards indicating they want to be represented by a union. The AFL-CIO and other labor organizations indisputably have proven that in many cases, employers use the time leading up to an election to harass, intimidate and possibly even fire pro-union workers. The EFCA would rectify this situation by guaranteeing union representation when a majority of workers signs authorization cards. In other words, the bill would let the workers – not the employer – decide if and how they select union representation. Other components of the EFCA address issues such as employers stalling in negotiations for a first contract. In other news concerning the legislation, American Rights at Work, a think tank devoted to employment research, recently noted there is general consensus among economists that unionization is linked to reduced turnover. The organization also reported that businesses are working with unions to help reduce turnover via training and career development. Taking it a step further, American Rights at Work pointed out that whereas many small businesses may not be able to afford formalized employee training, many unions already have programs at their disposal – programs which arguably would benefit the employer. Also according to American Rights at Work, many businesses are turning to unions to help pool their workforces with others in health care programs because of better services and reduced costs in union-affiliated plans. Businesses, especially small ones, find it good for employee retention and quality, the organization reported. The EFCA has been introduced in the current session of Congress, and President Obama has stated he will sign it into law if given the chance. Ground Broken for National Workers Memorial M o n u m e n t S p o t l i g h t s ‘ I m p o r t a n c e o f Wo r k p l a c e S a f e t y ’ Labor leaders and workers from around the U.S. gathered at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md., to honor America’s fallen workers on Workers Memorial Day, April 28. During the ceremony, officials read the names of deceased workers and broke ground for the college’s planned worker memorial. The memorial – tentatively scheduled for completion by September – will commemorate the more than 5,000 workers who are killed on the job each year and the more than 50,000 who die from occupational illness and disease. During the ceremony, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis told the crowd of about 300 there is no doubt that knowledgeable workers have a safer workplace and there is no more knowledgeable group than union workers. “It is appropriate that we dedicate this memorial at the National Labor College,” she said. “Not only will this calm and quiet spot serve as a gathering place to pause and remember the men and women who have lost their lives while pursuing their livelihood, but it will serve as a reminder to future labor leaders about the importance of workplace safety.” The open-air memorial will be centered on the college’s campus and will feature paver bricks that individuals and groups can ensure are included in the memorial’s The memorial will include blank bricks replaced over time, one by one, with other bricks engraved with the names of fallen workers. 8 Seafarers LOG Officials participating in the groundbreaking included (left to right) AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka, CWA-AFA President Pat Friend, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, National Labor College President William Scheuerman, UMWA President Cecil Roberts, OPCMIA President Patrick Finley, UFCW President Joe Hanson and BAC President John Flynn. design by donating to the project and its upkeep. The bricks will carry the names of fallen workers as a tribute to their contributions and sacrifices. Thinking of the families and shipmates of fallen Seafarers, the SIU has contributed to erect a granite bench at the memorial. The SIU bench will honor the sacrifices of Seafarers who have served as part of the nation’s fourth arm of defense. When completed, the inscription on the bench will read, “Dedicated to members of the Seafarers International Union. In memory of the thousands of Seafarers who have given their lives on the job. Since our founding, SIU members have served our troops and our country in every conflict, always answering their call to duty. Seafarers also serve this nation by transporting vital commercial cargo to and from our shores. Their courage and sacrifices shall not be forgotten. 1938-Present.” Solis was joined by National Labor College President William E. Scheuerman, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka, United Mine Workers President Cecil Roberts and other union officials and members as well as college faculty, students and staff who were on hand for the groundbreaking. “Today, what working people are establishing on the campus of the National Labor College is a lasting tribute to those workers who lost their lives simply trying to make a living,” said Sweeney. “Through the efforts of this college, the union movement and all those who work to improve health and safety conditions on the job, we will continue to fight to ensure that workers are able to return home alive and well, every single day.” Solis also announced the sponsoring of an engraved brick in honor of Department of Labor Employees who gave their lives in service. According to an AFL-CIO annual report, on an average day, 15 workers lose their lives as a result of workplace injuries and disease, and another 10,959 are injured. Originally founded by the AFL-CIO in 1969 as the George Meany Center for Labor Studies, the center became the National Labor College in 1997, offering bachelor’s degrees in labor studies disciplines and union skills courses. The college is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, an independent, regional accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For more information about the memorial go to the following web site: www.nlc.edu/alumniCommunity/workers_memorial.html Maritime Labor Backs Bill Addressing Medical Evaluation Process, Fatigue The nation’s maritime unions, the SIU included, have expressed support for Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s (D-N.J.) bill S. 685, which calls for improvement in the medical review process for merchant mariner credentials by establishing a national registry of medical examiners. The legislation calls for a medical review system based on a network of physicians similar to that used successfully in other transportation modes. It also would task the Coast Guard in assessing the role that workload, manning levels and fatigue have on safety and accidents. Senator Lautenberg is the chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security (and an ardent supporter of the U.S. Merchant Marine). In a letter dated April 22 and addressed to the senator, the maritime unions said the provisions in the bill “are extremely important to American merchant mariners and will, in our opinion, greatly enhance the Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) health and wellbeing of American seafaring personnel and the safe operation of American vessels of all types.” The unions also commend the legislation as being a step forward in helping end delays in the medical review process and in determining the physical fitness of mariners. An amendment suggested by maritime labor would increase the range of medical examiners authorized to conduct mariner medical evaluations in order to accommodate mariners who don’t reside near doctors who would be included in a national registry of qualified medical examiners under S. 685. Another amendment would assure the right of appeal for mariners found unfit for duty in some or all capacities during the medical evaluation process. In addition to the SIU, representatives from the following unions signed the letter: American Maritime Officers; InlandBoatmens’ Union of the Pacific; International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots; Local 333, United Marine Division, ILA; Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association; Marine Firemen’s Union; and Sailors’ Union of the Pacific. June 2009 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:35 PM Page 9 Letter To The Editor Letters may be edited for conciseness and clarity. Submissions may be mailed to 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 or e-mailed to webmaster@seafarers.org Credit to Maersk Alabama Crew April 9, 2009 Having lived for 74 years, today was one of my proudest days to be an American and former mariner, when I read that an American-flagged ship with 20 unarmed American citizens took on the lawless pirates off the coast of Somalia. They did what hundreds of crews of foreignflag ships did not do. I have no knowledge of the Maersk Alabama or its crew, but past experience tells me that they are from all across our country, all having different backgrounds and all members of unions with the common goal of protecting the ship and its cargo. My heart and prayers are with these fine seafarers and their families, and I hope there are no casualties. I also hope that their action prompts action by international or American authorities, as Presidents Jefferson and Ford took with U.S. Marines against pirates in the 1800s and 1970s. Meanwhile, the American spirit and ingenuity live. Remembering Brother Adams Fellow mariners aboard the El Faro recently memorialized the late Recertified Bosun John T. Adams as they scattered his ashes at sea while the vessel sailed between Puerto Rico and Jacksonville, Fla. Brother Adams, 69, passed away March 14. He was a graduate of the old Andrew Furuseth Training School in New York, where he signed on with the union in 1959. He started his maritime career as a porter aboard passenger ships. A U.S. Army veteran, he retired in 1995 – 20 years after completing the bosun recertification course in Piney Point, Md. He last sailed aboard the Horizon Expedition. Franklin K. Riley Jr. Chico, California Honoring Capt. Pete Johnson Horizon Lines Recognizes ‘Heroes’ Seafarers-contracted Horizon Lines recently praised the work of two SIU members and an officer who went “above and beyond the call of duty” aboard the Horizon Trader. For their efforts, Recertified Bosun Tony Mercado, Electrician Tom Flynn and Chief Engineer Paul McCarthy were hailed as “Horizon Heroes.” The title is part of a new employee recognition program. Honorees receive gift cards as tokens of Horizon’s appreciation. According to an article by the company’s corporate communications office, the Horizon Trader was sailing to San Juan, P.R., when the ship’s 10 cm. radar scanner failed. Flynn and Mercado then “scaled the radar mast in 20-plus knot winds to unbolt and bring down the motor assembly for repairs,” the article notes. “The motor assembly, which weighs approximately 35 lbs., houses the gears that keep the horizontal antenna turning at a precise speed. The antenna detects and monitors objects on the water and nearby land, yielding precise range and bearings critical to a safe voyage.” The nearest replacement part was in Japan, so Flynn fabricated and reinstalled two new bushings in the unit. “With the full repair completed, Flynn and Mercado then hoisted the assembly back into position and re-bolted it atop the mast, allowing the Trader to continue on course without any delays,” the company pointed out, adding that the entire operation “was truly a cooperative effort among the crew.” April Data Shows Unemployment Growing Earlier this year, the union presented Pacific-Gulf Marine CEO Todd Johnson (right) with a shadow box containing elements designed in tribute to Todd’s father, the late Capt. Pete Johnson, who passed away late last year. The shadow box features a printed sentiment expressing the union’s respect and appreciation for Capt. Johnson (who founded Pacific-Gulf Marine), and components of his honorary SIU book. Presenting the item to Todd Johnson prior to the Maritime Trades Department meetings in Florida are SIU President Michael Sacco (center) and SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel. The recession continued its steady march in April. The U.S, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported unemployment rose by another 563,000 Americans in April, which translates to an unemployment rate of 8.9 percent. Overall, according to government data, 13.7 million Americans were out of work. The recession, which is now the longest in the post-World War II period, has eliminated more than five million jobs. The Labor Department also reports that the number of Americans collecting unemployment compensation has climbed to 6.35 million, the fourteenth straight record. Additionally, the recession continues to batter homeowners as government statistics show that nearly 804,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice within the first three months of 2009. 30 Seafarers Complete Maersk Safety Session Thirty SIU members last month finished a twoday safety “boot camp” hosted by the unionaffiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education for Maersk Line, Limited. The gatherings are part of the company’s ongoing efforts to sustain and improve workplace safety. They are attended by shipboard personnel and shore-based Maersk employees. Graduating from the May 5-6 safety boot camp (and among those pictured at right) were the following Seafarers: Mark Pearson, Alice Kwasnjuk, Daniel Wehr, Bryan Maddox, Terry Smith, Nathan Lamb, Moses Mickens, Michael Carello, Army Joe Leake, Nathan Elliot, Edward Villanda, Eufemiano Gomes, Maximo Lacayo, James Brockington, Stephen Katel, Robert Engelhart, Soreno Berame, Raymond Alexander, Jervona Vorise, Elwyn Ford, Daniel Heintz, Jimmie Robles, Luisito Antolin, Walter Matt, Ronald Scintilla, Donald Dabbs, Gary Dewitt, Hugh Wildermuth, Bryan Fountain and Hanapiah Ismail. June 2009 Seafarers LOG 9 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:36 PM Page 10 MEETING IN ALGONAC – The group photo at left shows Seafarers attending the March membership meeting at the hall in Algonac, Mich. That same day, SIU VP Great Lakes Tom Orzechowski (left in photo above) swears in Scott Wake (right), who received his full membership book. Snapshots from Around the SIU WELCOME ASHORE – Ft. Lauderdale Safety Director Kevin Marchand (left) congratulates QMED Emanuel Paul on his retirement. The Seafarer is shown in late April picking up his first pension check. “Emanuel has been a dedicated member for many years, and I know I speak for the entire Brotherhood of the Sea in saying we all wish him nothing but the best in retirement,” Marchand noted. PRAYERFUL SUPPORT IN HOUSTON – Before the April membership meeting at the Houston hall, Father Sinclair Oubre, an SIU member, leads fellow Seafarers in a specially written prayer of blessing for the spiritual and physical healing of mariners from the Maersk Alabama. The Houston meeting took place April 13 – one day after Capt. Richard Phillips had been freed by U.S. Navy SEALS, and five days after the Alabama had been attacked by pirates. MEMBERS GATHER IN NEW YORK – Playing a friendly game of dominoes at the New York hall (photo at left from the left) are Seafarers Efrain Moreira, Ernest Martinez, Reynaldo LaCayo, Mario Clotter and Mauricio Arriola. CRONAN CREDITS TRAINING – John Cronan (standing at microphone) sailed as third engineer during the recent, highly publicized pirate attack on the Maersk Alabama, but he definitely hasn’t forgotten his SIU roots. A graduate of Trainee Class 379 at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, Cronan attended the May membership meeting in Piney Point, Md., where SIU President Michael Sacco asked if the hawsepiper would like to address the audience. Cronan noted that in addition to completing the trainee program and upgrading courses, he also earned his high school diploma through the Paul Hall Center. He described the overall training as “priceless” and added, “This school set me right.” PRIDE AND PARTICIPATION AT PETTY’S ISLAND – Seafarer Robert Weinhardt Jr. submitted these photos of fellow members at Petty’s Island. Taken in late March, two of the photos show members voluntarily donating to the Maritime Defense League. The other (above, right) features Philadelphia Port Agent Joe Baselice (right) congratulating Seafarer Frank Lyons on his last day of work heading into a well-earned retirement. In a follow-up note to the LOG, Weinhardt wrote, “We have been walking around our terminal with a deep sense of pride and dignity as fellow SIU members since the Maersk Alabama incident.” He cited the “absolute professionalism, quality training and sense of brotherhood” that he says exists not only among the Alabama mariners but throughout the organization. Petty’s Island is located in the Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. 10 Seafarers LOG June 2009 �54513_p01_24x:January 08 6/1/2009 4:29 PM Page 11 Committee Awards SHBP Scholarships to Eight Individuals Continued from Page 7 the unidentified woman to Thomas Jefferson Hospital, located about five blocks away. Captain Taylor said that when he first maneuvered the ferry into rescue position, one of the deckhands threw a life ring into the water, but the woman didn’t respond. Matthew then jumped into the river to save her, just as she appeared to be going under the water. Jillian Cairco Jillian Cairco hails from Henderson, Texas. She is the daughter of retired deep sea Chief Engineer Gary Jarvis (and of mother Betsy). Born in North Carolina, Cairco attended A. Beka Academy in Pensacola, Fla. She graduated recently and posted an overall grade point average of 4.03. While in high school she was very active in civic and church organizations in her community. She served as vice president of the Rusk County (Texas) Library’s Teen Advisory Board and did volunteer work at the Henderson Civic Theatre, Henderson Inner-City Church Jillian Cairco Ministry and the Rusk County Library. Jillian also gave of her time to the Salvation Army in Henderson and worked full time at a Henderson tax service business. Cairco hopes to have a successful future in the film production and theatre arena. To this end, she has applied for admission to Savannah College of Art and Design, in Savannah, Ga. If accepted there, or at other institutions at which she is still contemplating applying, she will pursue a dual major: film and television and performing arts. “Ever since I can remember, I’ve been attracted to the fine arts,” she said. “As a small child in South Carolina, I spent the majority of my time performing in church plays, cantatas and creating artistic masterpieces on our home’s kitchen table.” Shortly after moving to Florida when she was eight, Jillian auditioned for “The Wizard of Oz” at a community children’s theater. Her audition was successful and “I was cast as the Wicked Witch of the West,” she said. “After opening night, it was official that I had fallen in love.” Her passion toward the stage flourished during and throughout the years that followed as she traveled the world and matured. “I assumed theater was going to be my future,” she shared. “That was before I wrote, edited, directed and filmed my first short film at the age of 15. To me, watching all of my hard work coalesce and seeing my story being told on screen was as rewarding as a standing ovation in theatre.” Taking her past into perspective—especially her fond memories about the arts with respect to creating and performing—Jillian said her plans for her future were virtually predetermined. “When it came time to apply for college, I knew I wanted to do something that I loved,” she said. “And there was no hesitation as to just what that was: film production and theatre.” At this point, Cairco says that she has no firm idea as to what her specific career path will be, based on her college majors. “But I do have one goal and that is to inspire,” she said. “I aim to be able to weave a story powerful enough that is inspires audiences towards progression. “To change the world would be an admirable but ridiculous aspiration,” she concluded, “but to influence just one person would be a dream come true.” Giselle Bodden Giselle Bodden is the daughter of inland AB-Tankerman Albert Bodden (mother Trixie is an ultrasound technician). Born in Dade County, Fla., she has two siblings. Giselle is a 2009 graduate of Lincoln Park Academy in Fort Pierce, Fla. She ranked 28th in her class of 201 students while amassing an overall 4.62 grade point average. Giselle is a member of the National Honor Society, the International Thespian Society and is an inductee to the National Honor Roll. Extremely active in extracurricular activities, Bodden was vice Giselle Bodden president of her 11th grade class, a member of Lincoln Park’s student government, the captain of her school’s dance troupe and a member of her school’s 2008 prom committee. Additionally, she held membership in the Save Darfur Club, Beta Club and Relay for Life. Bodden someday hopes to have a career in multimedia. To date, she has applied for admission to Florida State University, New York University and Savannah College of Art & Design. Giselle and her family moved from her place of birth to Port St. Lucie when she was 11 years of age. “The move caused me to become more in touch with my creative talents,” she shared. “I spent much time writing stories and poems to ease my boredom during the first few months of the move.” After enrolling at Lincoln Park Academy for her eighth grade year, she decided to remain there for her entire high school experience. “I aspire to attend the film school at Florida State University,” she said. “My ultimate goal is to own and operate a multimedia production company, but I essentially wish to become a documentary and mainstream film director. “Every man has his own perspective of the world and I believe it can be shared through media,” Bodden suggested. “I want to share my perspective in order to compel change in society by revealing truths. “I want to use my vision to impact the lives of others,” she concluded, “even if it is in a minor way. Alyssa Rothschild Alyssa Rothschild hails from New City, N.Y., and is the daughter of inland Chief Mate Robert Rothschild SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SIU PACIFIC DISTRICT SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS FUND, INC This is a summary of the annual report of the SIU Pacific District Supplemental Benefits Fund, Inc., EIN 94-1431246 for the year ended July 31, 2008. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Benefits under the Plan are provided by the SIU Pacific District Supplemental Benefits Fund, Inc., a Trust Fund. Basic Financial Statement The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan was $327,255 as of July 31, 2008, compared to $677,570 as of August 1, 2007. During the plan year the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $350,315. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets acquired during the year. During the plan year, the plan had total income of $7,639,604, including employer contributions of $7,543,674, gains of $1,912 from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $94,018. Plan expenses were $7,989,919. These expenses included $446,264 in administrative expenses, and $7,543,655 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report. ■ An accountant’s report; ■ Financial information and information on payments to service providers; June 2009 ■ Assets held for investment; and ■ Transactions in excess of 5% of plan assets. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of SIU Pacific District Supplemental Benefits Fund, Inc., at 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107, telephone number (415) 764-4990. The charge to cover copying costs will be $12.25 for the full annual report, or $0.25 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and the accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and the accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan at 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107, and at the U. S. Department of Labor in Washington, DC, or to obtain a copy from the U. S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to Public Disclosure Room, Room N1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N. W., Washington, D.C. 20210. (mother Sandra is teacher). She is a 2009 graduate of Clarkstown High School North in New City. Alyssa ranked 179 in her class which numbered 380 and finished her requirements with an overall 3.02 grade point average. She served as editor and reporter on her school’s newspaper and was a member of the Clarkstown High fencing team. Rothschild held membership in the Bella Alyssa Rothschild North and Help Our Planet Clubs, sang in her high school chorus and mentored ninth grade students during her junior and senior years. Additionally, she was a member of Clarkstown High’s Superintendent Advisory and served as class treasurer while a sophomore. Alyssa did volunteer work at the Sunrise Assisted Living facility. Rothschild’s goal is to become a registered dietician. In pursuit of that objective, she has applied for admission to the University of Connecticut, Simmons College and Northeastern University. As an adolescent, Alyssa suffered through extreme weight fluctuations due to an undiagnosed metabolic disorder. “I gained a shocking 40 pounds in two months and my self esteem was completely shot,” she shared. “My doctor who once accused me of eating nothing then accused me of eating everything…. He claimed that I was a closet eater.” Rothschild’s mother refused to accept the doctor’s evaluation and decided to seek a second opinion. She forwarded the results of one of Alyssa’s blood tests to one of her friends—an adolescent pediatrician—for analysis. This professional examined the results and came to the conclusion that Rothschild’s weight problem was the result a metabolic disorder. “It all finally made sense,” Alyssa said. “Everything that happened to me could be explained and, better yet, treated to make me my dream self again.” The recovery plan laid out by the pediatrician worked and life again looked positive for Alyssa—an outcome she admitted thinking would never happen again. “In the 11th grade, I went back to being me,” she said. “My weight stabilized and I was no longer bouncing around.” Rothschild’s grades took a radical spike and she began posting A’s and recording 100’s on tests. “I no longer thought I was stupid,” she said. “Instead, I realized that I am smart and intelligent.” Alyssa said that she’s now back to the person she once dreamed she would be. “In high school, I became everything,” she shared. “I was the smart girl, the stupid girl, the thin girl, the fat girl, the happy go-lucky girl and the sad girl. But in the end, I’m just the extraordinary girl who’s ready for the next challenge in her life. “I’m ready to move on and go to college – one that has a dietetics program,” she concluded, “because it is my dream to become a registered dietician.” SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SIU PACIFIC DISTRICT PENSION PLAN This is a summary of the annual report for SIU Pacific District Pension Plan, 94-6061923 for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2008. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement Benefits under the plan are provided by the Trust. Plan expenses were $9,810,009. These expenses included $1,022,768 in administrative expenses and $8,787,241 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 2,819 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $122,240,712 as of July 31, 2008, compared to $130,306,177 as of August 1, 2007. During the plan year the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $8,065,465. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets that is, the difference between the value of the Plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had total income of $1,744,544, including employer contributions of $32,420, losses of $885,495 from the sale of assets, earnings from investments of $2,588,830 and other income of $8,789. Minimum Funding Standards An actuary’s statement shows that enough money was contributed to the plan to keep it funded in accordance with the minimum funding standards of ERISA. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report. ■ An accountant’s report; ■ Financial information and information on payments to service providers; ■ Assets held for investment; ■ Transactions in excess of 5% of plan assets; and ■ Actuarial information regarding the funding of the plan. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of SIU Pacific District Pension Plan, who is the administrator, 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco CA 94107, (415) 764-4990. The charge to cover copying costs will be $17.25 for the full annual report, or $0.25 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan at 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107 and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, DC, or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: Public Disclosure Room, Room N1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20210. Seafarers LOG 11 �54513_p01_24x:January 08 6/1/2009 4:39 PM Page 12 The Independence II (photo at left) docks in Baltimore. The vessel (photo above) is part of a program that boosts U.S. national and economic security. With Seafarers Aboard the Independence II The SIU-crewed Independence II is a car carrier that has been part of the union-contracted fleet since May 2008. Operated by American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier (ARC), the ship was built in 1994. It is 653 feet long and can sail at up to 18 knots. OMU Gilberto Baltazar When the Independence II reflagged under the Stars and Stripes, General Norton Schwartz called it an important addition to the nation’s “arsenal of democracy.” (General Schwartz, now U.S. Air Force chief of staff, was the commander of the U.S. Transportation Command at that time.) That sentiment very much remains true today, as the ship is enrolled in the U.S. Maritime Security Program (MSP). The MSP has been a key element of America’s economic and defense security since its enactment in 1996. The U.S. Maritime Administration describes the MSP as “a fundamental element of the U. S. maritime transportation system, providing an active, privately owned, U.S.-flag and U.S.crewed liner fleet in international trade which is available to support Department of Defense sustainment in a contingency…. These vessels are modern, efficient and militarily useful commercial dry cargo vessels which can support national security requirements and maintain a competitive U.S.-flag presence in international commerce. The MSP helps retain a labor base of skilled American seafarers who are available to crew the U.S. government-owned strategic sealift as well as the U.S. commercial fleet, both in peace and war.” The photos on this page were taken in late April in Baltimore. Bosun Rafael Clemente (left in photo above), AB Mark Cordova and AB Ferdinand Lugo prepare cargo to be loaded aboard the vessel. A car carrier, (photo below) the Independence II was built in 1994. Recertified Steward Hazel Johnson (photo at left), SA Melany Rivas (above) and SA Shantay Joquin (photo at right) do a masterful job ensuring that members of the crew consume nutritious meals. 12 Seafarers LOG June 2009 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:36 PM Page 13 Professor Has Maritime Documentary in Works A college professor whose father and uncles were NMU members is putting together a television documentary about mariners of color, and the SIU is assisting in the effort. Dr. Denise B. Santiago, who teaches anthropology and is the director of multicultural affairs at Pace University in New York, started the project in 2004. At that time, though, she envisioned it as a book, possibly about merchant mariners in Puerto Rico. For various reasons the undertaking changed course, and Santiago reached out to the SIU. Last month, she and her colleague Al Santana, a veteran documentary filmmaker, visited the union’s headquarters building (located in Camp Springs, Md.) and its affiliated training facility (based in Piney Point, Md.). They conducted interviews with retired NMU officials Rene Lioeanjie and Charles Stewart, SIU SecretaryTreasurer David Heindel and rankand-file members who were with the NMU before that union merged into the SIU in June 2001. (Lioeanjie was the NMU’s fourth president while Stewart was vice president. Both became SIU vice presidents after the merger.) “My father’s travels and stories subconsciously nurtured my desire to learn about cultures – hence my career in anthropology,” Santiago noted. “I decided to initiate this documentary because it is an important part of history, particularly among people of color, which has not been documented.” She anticipates the finished product will be ready by the end of this year. The documentary likely will air on PBS and may also have an international distribution. Anyone interested in contributing stories or financial support to the documentary may contact the professor at dsantiago@pace.edu Rene Lioeanjie, the NMU’s fourth president (right in photo above), sets up for his turn on camera while Professor Denise Santiago (left in photo at far left) interviews retired union official Charles Stewart (right). Al Santana (center in same photo) mans the recording equipment. Among other topics, the documentary will examine the NMU’s history. SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel (left in photo at immediate left) explains some of the mechanics of the 2001 merger of the NMU into the SIU. U.S. House Votes to Thank Maritime Labor Addresses Piracy WWII Merchant Mariners Continued from Page 3 U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, last month announced that the full House of Representatives approved H.R. 23, the Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2009. The House approved the legislation on May 12. The bill next will be considered by the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. The legislation would establish a Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund and allow qualifying mariners to receive monthly payments of $1,000 out of that fund. Individuals eligible for payments would be those who, between Dec. 7, 1941 and Dec. 31, 1946, were documented members of the U.S. Merchant Marine (including the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service). Officials from the American Merchant Marine Veterans (AMMV) are urging the bill’s sup- porters to contact their senators and President Obama to ask for their backing. Filner noted, “I have been fighting for more than a decade to provide merchant mariners of World War II the thanks they deserve for their forgotten service – not just in words, but in deeds. This Congress is once again on the precipice of correcting a grave injustice heaped upon the gallant men of the merchant marine of World War II. These heroes were not granted veteran status until 40 years after the War. We are here today to rectify the improper denial of G.I. Bill benefits and to find a way to compensate them, more than 60 years later, for their heroic deeds.” U.S. Rep. William Delahunt (DMass.) stated, “Those who served in the merchant marine risked their lives to make sure our troops would have the food, fuel and ammunition to fight and win the war. This legislation gives them the long overdue recognition they deserve.” Crews Receive Recognition Continued from Page 4 Medal for Outstanding Achievement recognizes individuals who have made extraordinarily valuable contributions to the merchant marine. In all, 72 civilian mariners who participated in the rescue of the passengers and crew from Flight 1549 received medals. Seven representatives from companies and private vessels involved in the rescue effort joined LaHood and other officials on stage to receive medals in the official ceremony: SIU Capt. Vincent Lombardi, NY Waterway; Scott Keon, M/V Lt. Michael P. Murphy; Captain Ed Werber, Circle Line; Robert Giordano, New York Water Taxi; Greg Hanchrow, Staten Island June 2009 Ferry; Captain Kenneth Poesl, Ken’s Marine; and Glenn Miller, Miller’s Launch. Meanwhile, a week after the ceremony, NY Waterway mariners were back in the news thanks to another successful rescue. Seafarers aboard the Admiral Richard Bennis (which also was involved in the Miracle on the Hudson) saved four local men whose 19-foot fishing boat overturned May 19. According to news reports, two of the four men weren’t wearing life jackets, and one couldn’t swim. Capt. Kurt Hansen and Deckhand Tom Lennane pulled them from the water within minutes. Speaking later to local reporters, Hansen credited the regular safety training that NY Waterway crews receive for manoverboard scenarios. Coast Guard units, working with the U.S. Navy, “have made four interdictions, resulting in the apprehension of at least 30 suspected pirates.” In their testimony to the two subcommittees, the unions thanked legislators for their support while also emphasizing the need for prompt, effective action. Citing the successful outcomes of the Maersk Alabama and Liberty Sun sagas – both of which relied on military support – the unions noted, “This is important not only because no American ship, cargo or crew member was lost but because our country unequivocally demonstrated that we will protect our U.S.-flag fleet, which contributes to the economic, political and military security of the United States. Our country cannot allow pirates to force the U.S. flag off the high seas or to drive American citizens out of our industry. All too often the role that our organizations and the United States citizen merchant marine officers and crew we represent play in protecting the economic security of our nation and supporting the Department of Defense and our troops overseas is overlooked. Without a United States-flag merchant fleet and without the American [mariners] who sail aboard these vessels, our armed forces overseas would be dependent on others for the supplies, equipment and other cargo they need to do their job to protect America’s interests. Consequently, we are extremely disappointed that the Department of Defense has apparently decided not to accept primary responsibility for protecting United States-flag vessels and their U.S. citizen crews.” The unions continued, “We do not disagree that there is a limit to any government’s resources – even America’s. In fact, due to the vastness of the area to be covered – and the areas of threat are continually growing larger – our Navy and the coalition of other navies currently positioned in the Gulf of Aden region may simply not have the resources to provide all the protection necessary to prevent and stop every attack. “Nor do we disagree that private industry must and should assume some responsibility. But, it is in our opinion naive at best to believe that private industry does not need and deserve the U.S. government’s help. Simply having the Department of Defense respond to an attack, rather than working in concert with private industry to prevent attacks, is not enough to properly assure American mariners that their government stands ready, willing and able to protect them from attack by pirates.” They further noted that the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) of the International Chamber of Commerce recently reported that compared to the first quarter of 2008, piracy incidents have almost doubled in the first quarter of 2009, from 53 to 102. According to the IMB, this increase is due almost entirely to increased pirate attacks off the Gulf of Aden and the east coast of Somalia. The unions went on to say that they realize the root of the problem lies in the political and economic conditions within Somalia. Because of that instability, there is no quick, perfect solution to the attacks at sea. Further, they noted, the situation calls for “a coordinated international effort” rather than one solely driven by the United States. “But while the world works to confront the root causes of piracy, it is critical that the United States and the rest of the world act to address piracy itself – to develop an international approach that entails uniform response procedures when pirates are discovered in waters near a vessel; that includes a uniform approach to protecting vessels and crews; and which covers the prosecution for piracy and penalties for those convicted. We also believe that all flag nations, including those which do not have military forces to contribute to this effort, must therefore participate in this effort financially. They should pay their fair share to help offset the cost of protecting their flag vessels that the United States and other countries will incur.” Turning to the subject of possibly arming the civilian crews, the unions said, “We categorically reject the notion that this should be considered the best or even a primary solution to the problem of piracy or that it is ‘the answer’ to the threat posed by pirates. Rather, we believe that to the degree this option is considered – and we believe it must be considered – it should be considered as only one part of an overall, comprehensive response. Even then, it should entail no more than a few highly trained individuals who, as determined by the ship owner and master, have extensive training and expertise in the use of weapons and that only these few individuals have access to the arms. Conversely, we do not believe that an individual should have access to arms aboard the vessel simply and exclusively because he happens to hold a certain rating or license.” They also pointed out that existing law prevents mariners aboard commercial ships from carrying arms – a statement echoed in others’ testimonies. During a question-and-answer session at the May 20 hearing, SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez told the subcommittee that hundreds of Seafarers have completed Military Sealift Commandapproved small arms training at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. However, being trained in safe use and handling of firearms is “a different story” compared to knowing the rules of engagement, he noted. In that regard, piracy presents a unique and wide-ranging set of challenges. Seafarers LOG 13 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:36 PM Page 14 SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SIU PACIFIC DISTRICT SEAFARERS’ MEDICAL CENTER FUND This is a summary of the annual report of the SIU Pacific District Seafarers’ Medical Center Fund, EIN 94-2430964 for the year ended June 30, 2008. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Benefits under the plan are provided by the SIU Pacific District Seafarers Medical Center Fund, a trust fund. Basic Financial Statement The value of Plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the Plan, was $(24,014) as of June 30, 2008, compared to $(134,986) as of July 1, 2007. During the Plan year, the Plan experienced an increase in its net assets of $110,972. During the plan year, the plan had total income of $616,512 including employer contributions of $483,529, earnings from investments of $228 and other income of $132,755. Plan expenses were $505,540. These expenses included $411,528 in administrative expenses and $94,012 in benefits paid to or for participants and beneficiaries. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report. ■ An accountant’s report; ■ Financial information and information on payments to service providers; and ■ Assets held for investment. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of SIU Pacific District Seafarers’ Medical Center Fund, 730 Harrison St., Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107, (415) 392-3611. The charge to cover copying costs will be $2.75 for the full annual report, or $.25 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the Plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the Plan and the accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the Plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the Plan administrator, these two statements and the accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the Plan, at 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107, and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, DC or to obtain a copy from the U. S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to Public Disclosure Room, Room N1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210. ANNUAL FUNDING NOTICE MCS SUPPLEMENTARY PENSION PLAN Introduction This notice includes important funding information about your pension plan (“the Plan”). This notice also provides a summary of federal rules governing multiemployer plans in reorganization and insolvent plans and benefit payments guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal agency. This notice is for the plan year beginning January 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2008 (referred to hereafter as “Plan Year”). Funded Percentage The funded percentage of a plan is a measure of how well that plan is funded. This percentage is obtained by dividing the Plan’s assets by its liabilities on the valuation date for the plan year. In general, the higher the percentage, the better funded the plan. The Plan’s funded percentage for the Plan Year and 2 preceding plan years is set forth in the chart below, along with a statement of the value of the Plan’s assets and liabilities for the same period. Valuation Date Funded Percentage Value of Assets Value of Liabilities 2008 January 1, 2008 151.11% $7,954,211 $5,263,805 2007 January 1, 2007 142.17% $7,977,823 $5,611,333 2006 January 1, 2006 138.14% $8,087,142 $5,854,244 Transition Data Annual Funding Notices for plan years prior to 2008 contained a Funded Percentage based on the applicable law at that time. The funded percentage for plan years prior to 2008 was called the “funded current liability percentage”. The Plan is providing you with comparable information that reflects the funding status of the Plan under the law in effect prior to 2008. For 2007, the Plan’s “funded current liability percentage” was 134.9%, the Plan’s assets were $7,977,823, and Plan liabilities were $5,914,126. For 2006, the Plan’s “funded current liability percentage” was 136.4%, the Plan’s assets were $8,087,142, and Plan liabilities were $5,928,474. Fair Market Value of Assets Asset values in the chart above are actuarial values, not market values. Market values tend to show a clearer picture of a plan’s funded status as of a given point in time. However, because market values can fluctuate daily based on factors in the marketplace, such as changes in the stock market, pension law allows plans to use actuarial values for funding purposes. While actuarial values fluctuate less than market values, they are estimates. As of December 31, 2008, the fair market value of the Plan’s assets was $7,061,480. As of December 31, 2007, the fair market value of the Plan’s assets was $8,143,400. As of December 31, 2006, the fair market value of the Plan’s assets was $8,253,399. Participant Information The total number of participants in the plan as of the Plan’s valuation date was 949. Of this number, 289 were active participants, 553 were retired or separated from service and receiving benefits, and 107 were retired or separated from service and entitled to future benefits. Funding and Investment Policies The law requires that every pension plan have a procedure for establishing a funding policy to carry out the plan objectives. A funding policy relates to the level of contributions needed to pay for benefits promised under the plan currently and over the years. The funding policy of the Plan is to make contributions in accordance with the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement, but in no event less than the minimum amount annually as required by law. Once money is contributed to the Plan, the money is invested by plan officials called fiduciaries. Specific investments are made in accordance with the Plan’s investment policy. Generally speaking, an investment policy is a written statement that provides the fiduciaries who are responsible for plan investments with guidelines or general instructions concerning various types or categories of investment management decisions. The investment policy of the Plan is to provide a source of retirement income for its participants and beneficiaries while attaining an annual investment return of 6%. To preserve capital, some of the assets are invested in a general account with Connecticut General Life Insurance Company that pays a guaranteed rate of interest each year. Approximately 40% of the remainder of the Plan’s assets is invested in equity securities with the balance invested in fixed income securities. In accordance with the Plan’s investment policy, the Plan’s assets were allocated among the following categories of investments, as of the end of the Plan Year. These allocations are percentages of total assets: Asset Allocations Percentage 1. Interest-bearing cash 4.11 2. U.S. Government securities 23.60 3. Corporate debt instruments (other than employer securities): Preferred 13.11 All other 0 4. Corporate stocks (other than employer securities): Preferred 0 All other 29.50 5. Partnership/joint venture interests 0 6. Real estate (other than employer real property) 0 7. Loans (other than to participants) 0 8. Participant loans 0 9. Value of interest in common/collective trusts 0 10. Value of interest in pooled separate accounts 0 11. Value of interest in master trust investment accounts 0 12. Value of interest in 103-12 investment entities 0 13. Value of interest in registered investment companies (e.g., mutual funds) 0 14. Value of funds held in insurance co. general account (unallocated contracts) 31.61 14 Seafarers LOG 15. Employer-related investments: Employer Securities Employer real property 16. Buildings and other property used in plan operation 17. Other 0 0 0 -1.93 Critical or Endangered Status Under federal pension law a plan generally will be considered to be in “endangered” status if, at the beginning of the plan year, the funded percentage of the plan is less than 80 percent or in “critical” status if the percentage is less than 65 percent (other factors may also apply). If a pension plan enters endangered status, the trustees of the plan are required to adopt a funding improvement plan. Similarly, if a pension plan enters critical status, the trustees of the plan are required to adopt a rehabilitation plan. Rehabilitation and funding improvement plans establish steps and benchmarks for pension plans to improve their funding status over a specified period of time. The Plan was not in endangered or critical status in the Plan Year. Right to Request a Copy of the Annual Report A pension plan is required to file with the US Department of Labor an annual report (i.e., Form 5500) containing financial and other information about the plan. Copies of the annual report are available from the US Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Public Disclosure Room at 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N-1513, Washington, DC 20210, or by calling 202-693-8673. Or you may obtain a copy of the Plan’s annual report by making a written request to the plan administrator. Summary of Rules Governing Plans in Reorganization and Insolvent Plans Federal law has a number of special rules that apply to financially troubled multiemployer plans. Under so-called “plan reorganization rules,” a plan with adverse financial experience may need to increase required contributions and may, under certain circumstances, reduce benefits that are not eligible for the PBGC’s guarantee (generally, benefits that have been in effect for less than 60 months). If a plan is in reorganization status, it must provide notification that the plan is in reorganization status and that, if contributions are not increased, accrued benefits under the plan may be reduced or an excise tax may be imposed (or both). The law requires the plan to furnish this notification to each contributing employer and the labor organization. Despite the special plan reorganization rules, a plan in reorganization nevertheless could become insolvent. A plan is insolvent for a plan year if its available financial resources are not sufficient to pay benefits when due for the plan year. An insolvent plan must reduce benefit payments to the highest level that can be paid from the plan’s available financial resources. If such resources are not enough to pay benefits at a level specified by law (see Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC, below), the plan must apply to the PBGC for financial assistance. The PBGC, by law, will loan the plan the amount necessary to pay benefits at the guaranteed level. Reduced benefits may be restored if the plan’s financial condition improves. A plan that becomes insolvent must provide prompt notification of the insolvency to participants and beneficiaries, contributing employers, labor unions representing participants, and PBGC. In addition, participants and beneficiaries also must receive information regarding whether, and how, their benefits will be reduced or affected as a result of the insolvency, including loss of a lump sum option. This information will be provided for each year the plan is insolvent. Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC The maximum benefit that the PBGC guarantees is set by law. Only vested benefits are guaranteed. Specifically, the PBGC guarantees a monthly benefit payment equal to 100 percent of the first $11 of the Plan’s monthly benefit accrual rate, plus 75 percent of the next $33 of the accrual rate, times each year of credited service. The PBGC’s maximum guarantee, therefore, is $35.75 per month times a participant’s years of credited service. Example 1: If a participant with 10 years of credited service has an accrued monthly benefit of $500, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the PBGC guarantee would be determined by dividing the monthly benefit by the participant’s years of service ($500/10), which equals $50. The guaranteed amount for a $50 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $24.75 (.75 x $33), or $35.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit is $357.50 ($35.75 x 10). Example 2: If the participant in Example 1 has an accrued monthly benefit of $200, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the guarantee would be $20 (or $200/10). The guaranteed amount for a $20 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $6.75 (.75 x $9), or $17.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit would be $177.50 ($17.75 x 10). The PBGC guarantees pension benefits payable at normal retirement age and some early retirement benefits. In calculating a person’s monthly payment, the PBGC will disregard any benefit increases that were made under the plan within 60 months before the earlier of the plan’s termination or insolvency (or benefits that were in effect for less than 60 months at the time of termination or insolvency). Similarly, the PBGC does not guarantee pre-retirement death benefits to a spouse or beneficiary (e.g., a qualified pre-retirement survivor annuity) if the participant dies after the plan terminates, benefits above the normal retirement benefit, disability benefits not in pay status, or non-pension benefits, such as health insurance, life insurance, death benefits, vacation pay, or severance pay. Where to Get More Information For more information about this notice, you may contact the office of the Plan Administrator, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746-4275, 301-899-0675. For identification purposes, the official plan number is 001 and the plan sponsor’s employer identification number or “EIN” is 51-6097856. For more information about the PBGC and benefit guarantees, go to PBGC’s website, www.pbgc.gov, or call PBGC toll-free at 1-800-400-7242 (TTY/TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll free at 1-800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 1-800-4007242). June 2009 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:37 PM Page 15 Personal Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea Alicia Rios is looking for Albert Rios or any mariners who sailed with him during his career. Rios sailed from 1942 to 1969 and was born in Colorado or Michigan. Alicia may be reached at (801) 414-8468. June & July 2009 Membership Meetings Piney Point.......................................Monday: July 6, August 3 Algonac ............................................Friday: July 10, August 7 Baltimore.......................................Thursday: July 9, August 6 Guam.........................................Thursday: July 23, August 20 Honolulu ........................................Friday: July 17, August 14 Houston.......................................Monday: July 13, August 10 Jacksonville...................................Thursday: July 9, August 6 Joliet...........................................Thursday: July 16, August 13 Mobile.....................................Wednesday: July 15, August 12 New Orleans......................................Tuesday: July 14, August 11 New York.........................................Tuesday: July 7, August 4 Norfolk..........................................Thursday: July 9, August 6 Oakland .....................................Thursday: July 16, August 13 Philadelphia................................Wednesday: July 8, August 5 Port Everglades ..........................Thursday: July 16, August 13 San Juan ........................................Thursday: July 9, August 6 St. Louis .........................................Friday: July 17, August 14 Tacoma ...........................................Friday: July 24, August 21 Wilmington.......................................Monday: July 20, August 17 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. Attention Seafarers It Takes A 4-Letter Word To Be Heard CONTRIBUTE TO SPAD June 2009 April 16, 2009 - May 15, 2009 Port Total Registered Total Shipped Trip Registered On Beach Class A Class B Class C Class A Class B Class C Reliefs Class A Class B Class C Deck Department 2 3 0 1 2 7 4 12 1 5 6 5 38 27 22 15 4 3 5 1 5 4 44 13 14 16 20 6 1 5 0 3 4 7 26 11 2 0 26 18 226 162 Engine Department 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 7 0 7 4 0 1 1 1 4 4 0 15 14 1 16 11 1 1 0 0 3 2 0 2 0 2 8 10 4 7 9 0 10 4 0 1 3 1 0 1 0 2 4 1 14 11 0 0 0 0 8 11 14 100 98 Steward Department 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 1 2 6 2 0 2 3 1 4 2 0 17 4 2 12 2 0 1 0 0 2 2 0 4 4 0 27 6 4 7 7 0 20 4 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 2 0 0 1 0 12 3 13 126 46 Entry Department 4 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 5 8 0 5 0 0 0 2 0 3 8 7 9 9 0 5 1 0 0 3 0 4 2 0 4 7 4 16 12 1 10 6 3 9 1 0 1 71 0 7 2 0 1 6 5 10 0 0 1 10 4 5 Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico Seattle St. Louis Wilmington TOTAL 5 1 4 13 1 9 49 31 4 17 9 43 15 9 2 1 2 25 3 31 274 7 2 8 15 5 5 35 26 6 5 8 18 22 13 3 7 9 27 7 25 253 1 0 1 7 0 1 10 6 1 1 3 4 4 2 1 7 0 2 1 3 55 Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico Seattle St. Louis Wilmington TOTAL 0 0 5 9 1 6 11 16 1 5 4 24 11 10 1 2 4 13 3 11 137 5 0 5 7 2 4 16 14 1 3 10 9 15 7 1 4 9 24 2 13 151 Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico Seattle St. Louis Wilmington TOTAL 1 0 2 10 2 9 22 16 1 7 5 15 9 26 0 2 0 16 1 25 169 6 0 2 6 2 1 6 7 0 2 4 8 6 3 0 1 1 4 2 5 66 Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico Seattle St. Louis Wilmington 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 2 7 1 4 0 0 0 6 0 3 11 0 5 8 1 5 24 17 0 4 9 25 16 14 0 9 1 18 2 12 TOTAL 31 181 152 24 Totals All Departments 611 651 234 476 2 0 1 2 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 4 0 1 6 0 1 1 2 25 1 0 1 4 0 1 28 15 2 4 4 14 6 7 1 0 3 15 0 15 121 9 1 9 23 6 15 87 50 2 35 28 69 28 43 7 3 10 62 4 59 550 16 5 6 27 4 13 66 54 7 8 17 46 36 23 9 7 12 51 11 40 458 13 0 1 10 0 1 12 9 0 3 6 13 9 5 2 4 1 9 0 7 105 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 2 2 0 3 11 10 1 5 0 3 4 5 4 0 1 8 0 3 62 0 0 8 13 1 15 33 26 0 13 11 32 21 23 2 3 8 22 4 23 258 6 2 3 16 3 9 26 33 1 11 8 18 33 21 3 4 14 27 8 29 275 5 0 0 0 1 3 1 4 2 0 0 3 5 3 0 0 0 3 1 2 33 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 2 11 0 0 1 3 1 0 6 4 0 3 3 7 0 8 0 0 0 5 1 10 52 2 0 5 10 2 18 54 32 0 12 12 38 13 36 1 4 1 29 2 66 336 5 0 4 17 2 4 15 15 2 5 3 11 16 8 1 2 5 10 2 8 135 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 7 15 1 0 0 2 0 1 3 3 0 0 0 2 2 6 2 53 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 0 1 0 2 0 3 3 0 1 0 0 7 10 2 0 1 2 12 0 12 0 0 0 9 0 4 15 0 2 13 3 15 45 41 0 10 10 49 25 31 0 5 3 39 0 32 12 0 0 11 0 12 23 24 1 8 2 18 26 15 4 26 4 10 0 15 98 77 16 63 338 211 404 118 251 1207 1206 364 Seafarers LOG 15 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:37 PM Page 16 Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 GUAM P.O. Box 3328, Hagatna, Guam 96932 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 Inquir ing Seaf arer Editor’s note: This month’s Inquiring Seafarer question was posed to members at the Tacoma union hall. Question: What was your first ship and what do you remember about it? countries, meeting interesting people…. I do remember one little thing. The bosun was from Brooklyn. He told me the first live cow he ever saw in his life was in India. He never saw one in the U.S. Scott Opsahl, Recertified Steward The Independence, in 1980. Those were the good old days, definitely. I took care of (the late actor) Cary Grant as a room steward. After coming back from the liquor barn, he and his entourage were at the door, and it was locked. It was supposed to be open. I finally got the door open and there were welders in the room, welding his bed together. We’re all wedged in this room and the PR guy goes, “Where are the flowers?” We had him on board for two weeks, and whatever he wanted, he got. He had a lot of steak and lobster…. I had a lot of fun on board. I was 21 years old and I remember good times on the fantail, with ukuleles and guitars. At times it looked like we were having more fun than the passengers. Gary Loftin, Chief Cook I shipped out of Piney Point as a (newly graduated) trainee on the Monticello Victory, a T2 tanker that I caught in Baltimore. It was 1980 and I was the messman. From Baltimore, we went through the Panama Canal to Amarilla, Panama. Then, we would come back through the Panama Canal and discharge in Corpus Christi, Texas, or we would discharge at the Hess facility in the Virgin Islands. That was our run. I was on there for about 90 days. The steward, my boss – he was great. He used to do a little thing with the menus. He’d put up riddles, and if you got it, he’d give you a silver dollar. That was cool…. We’d pull in (to port) really close and stay for three or four days. It was a good start on a good career. I never looked back. Wayne Casey, Recertified Bosun I was an OS on the Sea-Land Boston, running out of Elizabeth, N.J., to Europe – Bremerhaven, Felixtowe, Glasgow. It was 1968 or 1969 – that’s going back a long time ago. It was my first seafaring experience, and I liked it. The rough weather, travelling to different Amanda Suncin, Recertified Steward It was the SS Monterey, a Marine Cooks & Stewards passenger ship, in 1976 out of San Francisco. (The MC&S merged into the SIU in 1978.) I was sailing as a waitress. It drastically changed my life – it was like Cinderella walking off to the ballroom. The older members reached out and helped the people who were new to the industry. It was a beautiful experience – like a big, united family. They worked with me, gave me that patience and the time I needed. The maitre d put me on the staff table until I felt comfortable giving the first-class passengers the service they were entitled to…. My father was a merchant mariner and I wanted to follow in his footsteps. He worked in the engine room, in the black gang…. I still see continued support today with all of our union officials, especially here in the hall in Tacoma. The support we get from them is awesome. Kevin McCagh, QMED-Electrician The Cape Nome, an old stick ship, in 1990. I had spent nine years drifting around the country. Finally, I put myself through college and got a bachelor’s degree, but I couldn’t get a job afterward. I shipped out of Baltimore and the port agent, Sal Aquia, really jumped through hoops for me and went out of his way later to help me, too. I swear I jumped up and down when I left the hall after I got a job…. My memory is of making a decent living for the first time in my life. My other jobs had been non-union. When I got into this union and found out I was getting paid overtime on the weekends…. I stayed on seven months. It was always from Germany to Holland, Saudi, Dubai. We were carrying armaments before the first Gulf War. I took a month off and went back for five more. Somebody would ask me to get a tool and I’d run, I was so excited. I must have been the happiest oiler in the SIU. Pic-From-The-Past MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 Trainees for the first time attended the monthly union meeting at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point , Md, during the summer of 1970. In those days, just as it is today, the monthly meetings afforded trainees a firsthand opportunity to see how the union functions and keeps its members informed. In the photo above, school President Robert Matthews explained the operations of the union to the trainees and informed them about their responsibilities as union members. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with other Seafarers LOG readers, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. High-resolution digital images may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org 16 Seafarers LOG June 2009 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:38 PM Page 17 Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. Welcome Ashore DEEP SEA OSWALDO BERMEO Brother Oswaldo Bermeo, 73, joined the union in 1968. He initially sailed on the Steel Age. Brother Bermeo was born in Ecuador and shipped in the engine department. He frequently visited the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md., to upgrade his skills. Brother Bermeo’s final ship was the Motivator. He resides in Miami. MICHAEL BOLGER Brother Michael Bolger, 65, became an SIU member in 1967. His first ship was the R.D. Conrad; his last the USNS Potomac. Brother Bolger attended classes on numerous occasions at the Seafarers-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. The deck department member was born in New York and now lives in Gold Beach, Ore. RICKIE BURGESS Brother Rickie Burgess, 55, started sailing with the Seafarers in 1970. His first voyage was aboard a Michigan Tankers Inc. vessel. Brother Burgess, who sailed in the deck department, was born in Tennessee. He often took advantage of educational opportunities available at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Burgess was last employed on the Cape Island. He makes his home in Tacoma, Wash. RODERICK COLEMAN Brother Roderick Coleman, 65, donned the SIU colors in 1990. He originally shipped aboard the USNS Harkness. Brother Coleman upgraded on three occasions at the union-affiliated school. He was a member of the deck department. Brother Coleman most recently sailed on the Seabulk Energy. He is a resident of his native state, Alabama. JAMES DAVIS Brother James Davis, 65, joined the SIU ranks in 1978. His first vessel was the Manhattan. In 1984 and 1987, Brother Davis enhanced his seafaring abilities at the Piney Point school. He was born in Ohio and sailed in June 2009 the engine department. Brother Davis’s final voyage was aboard the 2nd Lt. John Paul Bobo. He calls Las Vegas home. TAN JOON Brother Tan Joon, 59, signed on with the Seafarers in 1971. He was initially employed on the Trans Oregon. Brother Joon was a frequent upgrader at the Paul Hall Center. His last ship was the Quality. Brother Joon sailed in the deck department and now makes his home in Kissimmee, Fla. THOMAS LONG Brother Thomas Long, 65, became a union member in 1961. His earliest trip to sea was aboard the Mermaid. Brother Long worked in the engine department. His final voyage was on the Champion. Brother Long resides in Mobile, Ala. ROBERT SNOW Brother Robert Snow, 44, was born in Washington State. He began sailing with the SIU in 1987. Brother Snow originally shipped aboard the USNS Indomitable as a member of the steward department. He often visited the Piney Point school during his seafaring career. Brother Snow’s most recent voyage was on the Tacoma. He lives in Tacoma, Wash. CHARLES SPENCE Brother Charles Spence, 65, donned the SIU colors in 1973. He worked in both the Great Lakes and the deep sea divisions. Brother Spence’s first ship was the Kinsman Enterprise; his last the Overseas Motivator. He was born in California and attended classes in 1985 at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Spence, who was a member of the deck department, settled in La Quinta, Calif. INLAND JAMES O’MEARA JR. Brother James O’Meara Jr., 55, joined the union 1977 while in Piney Point, Md. He upgraded on numerous occasions at the maritime training center. Brother O’Meara initially sailed aboard the Charleston. The deck department member was born in Washington, D.C. Brother O’Meara’s final trip was on an OSG Ship Management vessel. He is a resident of Chester, Md. HAROLD THORNTON Brother Harold Thornton, 62, signed on with the SIU in 1990 while in New Orleans. He primarily worked in the deck department aboard the Delta Queen. Brother Thornton was born in Mississippi. He now calls Vidalia, La., home. BRADLEY THOMAS JR. Brother Bradley Thomas, 55, joined the union in 1972, initially sailing on a Steuart Transportation Company vessel. He enhanced his skills frequently at the Seafarersaffiliated school. Brother Thomas was born in Virginia and worked in the deck department. His most recent trip was with Express Marine Inc. Brother Thomas makes his home in Tangier, Va. GREAT LAKES WILLIAM STRAUB Brother William Straub, 62, joined the SIU ranks in 1968. His first trip was with ESCO Dredge & Fill Corporation. Brother Straub was born in Pennsylvania. He was last employed aboard a vessel operated by Erie Sand & Gravel. Brother Straub resides in Erie, Pa. NATIONAL MARITIME UNION LUIS FLOWERS Brother Luis Flowers, 68, became an NMU member in 1967, originally shipping from the port of Jacksonville, Fla. on the Flying Foam. Brother Flowers was born in Honduras. The deck department member most recently sailed aboard the Cape Decision. Brother Flowers lives in Jacksonville. FRANCIS MCDONALD Brother Francis McDonald, 64, was born in Boston. He began shipping with the union 1981. Brother McDonald worked in both the steward and engine departments. His final voyage was on the Islander. Brother McDonald is a resident of Falmouth, Mass. STEPHEN PETERSEN Brother Stephen Petersen, 58, donned the NMU colors in 1974 in the port of Houston. His first ship was the John Lykes; his last the Philadelphia Express. Brother Petersen shipped as a member of the deck department. He was born in Houston but calls Pasadena, Texas, home. AGUEDO SABINO Brother Aguedo Sabino, 66, joined the union in 1992 while in Boston. He was born in Cape Verde. Brother Sabino sailed aboard the Energy Enterprise as a member of the deck department for the duration of his seafaring career. He now makes his home in Portugal. Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG submit discharges and, on that basis, will receive pro-rata vacation pay. 1941 1973 The SS Robin Moor, an SIU ship, was the first U.S.-flag vessel to be sunk by the Germans. The crew was given 20 minutes by the German submarine commander to leave the vessel. After the crew launched the lifeboat and were about one mile from the ship, the German submarine torpedoed the ship, sinking it. The action led to the union’s demand for higher crew bonuses and insurance. By proclamation, President Nixon has opened the way for the first time to increased use of American-flag ships in the carriage of some of the nation’s oil imports by providing financial incentives to importers. Under terms of the proclamation, importers who use American-flag tankers to bring in motor gasoline or finished products or unfinished oil manufactured in the Virgin Islands, American Samoa or Guam get a special break on import fees. This Month In SIU History 1951 The SIU made history when it negotiated with its contracted operators a revolutionary, industry-wide vacation plan which guarantees all Seafarers the equivalent of two weeks’ paid vacation for each 12 months of service. Regardless of how many ships or companies a member works for, the operators will pay into a central fund a certain amount for each day worked. The mariner no longer has to go to the company office to collect his/her vacation pay – the person merely goes to the union hall to 1980 Paul Hall, the man who built our union with brawn and brains from a struggling organization of 500 seamen into the number one maritime union in the world, died on June 22, 1980 at the age of 65. Brother Paul Hall, whose legendary battles emblazon the SIU’s history with a deep tradition of victory, succumbed after an eightmonth fight against cancer. It’s one of the few battles he ever lost. Seafarers LOG 17 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:38 PM Page 18 Final Depar tures DEEP SEA EDDIE BOWERS Pensioner Eddie Bowers, 93, passed away Jan. 15. Brother Bowers was born in Mobile, Ala. He joined the union in 1952, initially sailing on the Alcoa Patriot. Brother Bowers worked in the steward department. He last worked aboard the Guayama. Brother Bowers retired in 1979 and continued to make his home in Alabama. THOMAS BROWN Pensioner Thomas Brown, 81, died Jan. 12. Brother Brown became a Seafarer in 1947. His first trip was with Sprogue Steamship Company. Brother Brown was born in Georgia and sailed in the engine department. Prior to his retirement in 1984, he shipped on the Pacer. Brother Brown settled in Savannah, Ga. ANTONIO HALL Pensioner Antonio Hall, 71, passed away Jan. 2. Brother Hall started sailing with the union in 1991 while in the port of New Orleans. The steward department member was born in Panama. Brother Hall’s first ship was the Cape Mendocino; his last was the Cape Hudson. He went on pension in 2008 and called New Orleans home. ANDERSON JORDAN Pensioner Anderson Jordan, 75, died Jan. 19. Brother Jordan first donned the SIU colors in 1960. His earliest trip to sea was aboard the Alcoa Partner. Brother Jordan, a member of the steward department, was born in Florida. His final voyage took place on the Sam Houston. Brother Jordan became a pensioner in 1998 and lived in Mobile, Ala. 18 Seafarers LOG ABELL MACK Pensioner Abell Mack, 69, passed away Jan. 28. Brother Mack joined the SIU ranks in 1972 while in the port of New York. He initially worked aboard the USNS Potomac as a member of the deck department. Brother Mack was born in South Carolina. Before retiring in 2004, he was employed on the Transcolumbia. Brother Mack made his home in Chesapeake, Va. WILLIAM MANSFIELD Brother William Mansfield, 84, died Jan. 16. He was born in California. Brother Mansfield signed on with the Seafarers in 1944 in the port of New York. The deck department member last shipped aboard the Independence. Brother Mansfield was a resident of Collinsville, Ill. OSCAR MARTINEZ Pensioner Oscar Martinez, 81, passed away Jan. 17. Brother Martinez began his seafaring career in 1974. His earliest trip was on the Beaugard. Brother Martinez was born in the Philippines. He was a member of the deck department. Brother Martinez’s last voyage was aboard the Cleveland. He went on pension in 1993 and continued residing in the Philippines. ROBERT PADON Pensioner Robert Padon, 67, died Dec. 10. Brother Padon first donned the SIU colors in 1991 while in the port of Jacksonville, Fla. He primarily sailed on vessels operated by Interocean American Shipping Corporation to include the Cape Fear and the El Morro. Brother Padon was born in New York and worked in the engine department. In 2007, he retired and settled in Jacksonville, Fla. DAVID SEIBEL Brother David Seibel, 68, passed away Dec. 19. He became a Seafarer in 2002 in the port of Seattle. Brother Seibel’s first voyage was on the USNS Able. The deck department member was born in Yakima, Wash. Brother Seibel’s final trip was aboard the Observation Island. He lived in Silverdale, Wash. MARION SIMONEAUX Pensioner Marion Simoneaux, 86, died Jan. 19. Brother Simoneaux joined the SIU ranks in 1951, initially shipping with Eagle Carriers Inc. Prior to his retirement in 1987, Brother Simoneaux, a member of the deck department, sailed aboard the Panama. He was a resident of Metairie, La. CHARLES SMITH Pensioner Charles Smith, 79, passed away Jan. 5. Brother Smith was born in Mississippi. He started his seafaring career in 1955. Brother Smith’s earliest trip was on the Steel Age as a member of the engine department. He last sailed aboard the Robert E. Lee. Brother Smith began collecting his pension in 1993 and continued to make his home in his native state. & Stewards (MC&S) while in the port of San Francisco before that union merged into the SIU. He was born in Hong Kong and shipped in the steward department. Brother Wah’s final trip to sea took place on the Maunalei. He became a pensioner in 1981 and called San Francisco home. SAMUEL WITT Brother Samuel Witt, 58, died Jan. 17. He began his SIU career in 1969 while in the port of New York. Brother Witt initially sailed aboard the Buckeye Atlantic as a member of the engine department. The New York-born mariner most recently shipped on the Horizon Producer. Brother Witt resided in San Juan, P.R. INLAND WOODROW BALL SR. Pensioner Woodrow Ball Sr., 90, passed away Dec. 31. Brother Ball first donned the SIU colors in 1964. He originally worked aboard a McAllister Towing of Virginia vessel. Brother Ball was born in North Carolina. He last sailed with Marine Towing & Transportation Company. Brother Ball retired in 1980 and settled in Chesapeake, Va. RAY TODD Pensioner Ray Todd, 73, died Dec. 22. Brother Todd signed on with the union in 1961 while in the port of New Orleans. His first ship was the Morning Light; his last was the Ultramax. Brother Todd was born in Mississippi. The deck department member went on pension in 2003. RAYMOND GARNER Pensioner Raymond Garner, 81, died Jan. 8. Brother Garner was born in Mississippi. He joined the union in 1962. Brother Garner mainly shipped on Dixie Carriers vessels in the deck department. He started receiving compensation for his retirement in 1990 and lived in Gulfport, Miss. KOK WAH Pensioner Kok Wah, 93, passed away Jan. 11. Brother Wah joined the Marine Cooks RODNEY JEZIOROWSKI Pensioner Rodney Jeziorowski, 67, passed away Jan. 16. Brother Jeziorowski signed on with the SIU in 1967. His earliest trip was aboard a Marine Fueling Inc. vessel. Brother Jeziorowski’s final voyage was with H&M Lake Transport Ltd. He was a resident of Toledo, Ohio, and went on pension in 2003. GREAT LAKES PERRY WILLIS Pensioner Perry Willis, 75, died Jan. 19. Brother Willis started sailing with the union in 1973 while in Detroit. His first vessel was the George D. Goble; his last was the Paul Thayer. Brother Willis was a member of the deck department. He resided in his native state of West Virginia. Brother Willis became a pensioner in 1999. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) have passed away. Name Age Alvarez, Roberto 66 Bargas, Paul 77 Batista, Gilberto 85 Beckford, Charles 78 Castro, Jose 84 Cousin, Manuel 78 Crawford, Warner 83 Cugno, Corrado 90 Dela Barcena, Ricardo 80 Economy, John 89 Elmuflihi, Naser 76 Ferreira, Jose 95 Gordan, Robert 77 Guenard, Arcadio 90 Hafemeister, David 86 Harkless, Flowis 79 James, Joseph 94 Jones, Samuel 89 Koslowski, Joseph 95 Lamb, Rodney 71 Lassare, Alvin 75 Leite, Alvoro 75 Martinez, Pedro 94 McCoy, Sullivan 71 McCree, Robert 83 McWilliams, Jesse 83 Medina, Juan 89 Melendez, Juan 84 Mente, Alois 81 Mooney, Alphones 85 Muentes, Francisco 90 Murray, George 84 Nelson, Frank 88 Nobles, Aubrey 77 Nunes, Alyrio 96 Pace, Leroy 83 Paddy, Robert 82 Pruden, Clarence 87 Rivera, Severo 71 Rodriguez, Julio 89 Salfford, Robert 77 Tatum, Harding 86 Torres, Jose 87 Trojan, Andrew 87 Valencia, Alfredo 91 DOD April 8 Feb. 24 April 22 April 1 April 23 Feb. 11 Feb. 13 Jan. 25 March 30 Feb. 3 Dec. 27 Jan. 28 April 16 Feb. 13 March 21 April 8 Feb. 26 April 26 Feb. 15 March 1 April 14 Jan. 25 Feb. 27 March 19 April 3 April 18 April 14 April 3 March 13 Feb. 10 March 1 Jan. 11 Feb. 22 April 17 April 18 March 30 Jan. 4 Jan. 4 April 4 Jan. 18 March 3 March 31 March 1 Jan. 1 April 4 June 2009 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:38 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings CHAMPION (Maersk Line, Limited), April 19 – Chairman James K. Walker, Secretary Stephanie L. Sizemore, Educational Director Dennis R. Baker, Engine Delegate Gregorio A. Blanco, Steward Delegate Stanley C. Smith. Chairman informed crew members that sanitary inspection would take place on April 22. Secretary thanked everyone for helping keep ship clean. She announced that there would be another Maersk Line, Limited safety boot camp at the Piney Point school and encouraged crew to attend. Educational director reminded fellow members to prepare in advance when renewing z-cards. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion was made to raise pension amounts and lower retirement age. It was reported that new dishwasher would be picked up in Norfolk, Va. Steward department was thanked for great food. Next ports: Charleston, S.C.; Houston; Mobile, Ala.; and Norfolk, Va. EL MORRO (Interocean Aboard the Padre Island SIU Norfolk, Va. Port Agent Georg Kenny recently submitted these photos from the dredge Padre Island. Kenny serviced the vessel in Wilmington, N.C. Operated by Great Lakes Dredge & Dock, the Padre Island is a trailing suction hopper dredge and is 281 feet long. Some of those aboard the union-contracted Padre Island during SIU Norfolk, Va., Port Agent Georg Kenny’s recent visit were AB/Dragtender Duane Evans (above); AB/Dragtender Brad Burnett, Chief Engineer Dave Bragdon and Captain Bill Cliette (from left to right in photo at immediate right) and Mate Carl Sanderson (photo at far right). American Shipping), April 29 – Chairman Robert T. Grubbs, Secretary Rafael A. Cardenas, Educational Director Joseph A. Letang, Deck Delegate Reuben M. Brown, Engine Delegate Rickey J. Pettaway, Steward Delegate John L. Foster. Bosun talked about the importance of reading the Seafarers LOG to stay informed on issues affecting the maritime industry. He urged mariners to contribute to SPAD (Seafarers Political Activity Donation). Educational director discussed the importance of enhancing seafaring abilities at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendation was made regarding medical benefits. Request was made for satellite TV in all crew rooms. Next ports: San Juan, Port Everglades, Fla. and Jacksonville, Fla. Delegate Robert L. Richardson, Engine Delegate Michael S. Kirby, Steward Delegate Nasser Ahmed. Chairman thanked crew members for working well together. Secretary asked mariners departing ship to leave cabins neat for arriving crew. Educational director recommended all seamen upgrade their skills at the Piney Point school. He also urged them to keep dues up-to-date and donate to SPAD. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Clarification requested concerning “trip tour off.” HORIZON EAGLE (Horizon HORIZON HUNTER (Horizon Lines), April 26 – Chairman Daniel W. Seagle, Secretary Rang V. Nguyen, Educational Director John E. Conn, Deck Delegate Stanley W. Parker, Engine Delegate Allen Ward, Steward Delegate Charles Atkins. Chairman reported smooth sailing. He asked those getting off vessel to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen. Educational director urged Seafarers to upgrade at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made for new TV remote. Vote of thanks was given to the steward department. Next port: Oakland, Calif. HORIZON HAWK (Horizon Lines), April 4 – Chairman Shawn M. Strand, Secretary Mark V. Cabasag, Educational Director Gary M. Dahl, Deck June 2009 The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships’ minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. Lines), April 6 – Chairman Loren E. Watson, Secretary Jennifer K. Jim, Educational Director Morris A. Jeff, Steward Delegate Mussa A. Mohamed. Chairman announced payoff upon arrival in Tacoma, Wash., on April 11. Educational director advised all mariners to attend classes at the SIU-affiliated training center and get TWIC cards ASAP. Treasurer stated $2,345.14 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestions were made pertaining to pension benefits. Crew discussed new policies and charges at airlines and what could be done about it. Motion was made to use ship fund money to purchase a computer for crew use only. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash. and Oakland, Calif. HORIZON KODIAK (Horizon Lines), April 5 – Chairman Garry D. Walker, Secretary Alan E. Hollinger, Educational Director Alfonso D. Bombita, Deck Delegate Brent Johnson, Engine Delegate Carl J. Castagna, Steward Delegate Else David. Chairman reported payoff would take place at sea April 5. He informed members that captain has requested everyone check out no more than two movies at a time. Crew members were reminded that ideas to improve safety could get you appointed “safety sailor of the month” which includes an extra day off. Secretary expressed his gratitude for help keeping ship clean. He asked mariners to let him know of any food requests and stated they would be filled if possible. Captain purchased halibut, crab and cob for the ship. Request was made for members to not use as much laundry detergent in new washer. New dryer has been installed; crew was asked to keep lint traps emptied at all times. Educational director suggested crew check out what the Piney Point school has to offer and keep dues current. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Thanks were given to Else David, Al Hollinger and Chef Mo Shibly for excellent meals. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash., Anchorage, Alaska and Kodiak, Alaska. HORIZON NAVIGATOR (Horizon Lines), April 9 – Chairman Eric J. Perez, Secretary Jonny Cruz, Educational Director Christopher M. Devonish, Deck Delegate Ricardo C. Quinones, Engine Delegate Eddie J. Pittman. Bosun praised crew for a smooth, safe voyage. Secretary urged everyone to make sure company physical and all necessary shipping documents were upto-date. Educational director encouraged mariners to take advantage of Paul Hall Center to upgrade not only for job security but to stay on top of the technology on the new ships coming out. Treasurer reported $316 in ship’s fund with $133 of that going for satellite radio subscription. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew members wished President Sacco the best with his new term in office. Recommendations were made regarding vacation and pension benefits. Seafarers expressed the need for another clothes dryer. Next ports: Jacksonville, Fla., San Juan, P.R. and Elizabeth, N.J. HORIZON TIGER (Horizon Lines), April 19 – Chairman Lawrence L. Kunc, Secretary Terry L. Allen, Educational Director Paul P. Pagano, Deck Delegate Redentor G. Borja, Engine Delegate Leo B. Bacall, Steward Delegate Abdulla M. Baabbad. Chairman announced payoff April 25 upon arrival in Tacoma, Wash. Secretary noted that the guards at the port of Guam will not let you in or out of the gate without your TWIC card. Educational director sug- gested mariners apply early for z-cards. Treasurer stated $690 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion was made to lower age requirements for pension benefits. Request was made for company to install a satellite system with crew making monthly payments. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash. and Oakland, Calif. OVERSEAS NEW ORLEANS (OSG Ship Management), April 9 – Chairman Samuel Duah, Secretary Louins Johnson, Educational Director Larry F. Phillips, Deck Delegate Christopher A. Green, Engine Delegate William P. Stone, Steward Delegate Breon A. Lucas. Chairman notified crew members of payoff and lay-up in Orange, Texas, on April 19. He thanked everyone for a great voyage, especially Louins Johnson for impressive menu and meals. Secretary expressed his gratitude for crew willingness to help keep pantry and lounges clean. Members were asked to clean rooms before departing vessel. Educational director urged mariners to upgrade whenever possible to improve skills and better their chances of moving up. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion was made concerning eligibility requirements for retirement. Crew member inquired about purchasing refrigerator for rooms and getting reimbursed from company. Next port: Orange, Texas. Seafarers LOG 19 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:38 PM Page 20 ANNUAL FUNDING NOTICE SEAFARERS PENSION PLAN Introduction This notice includes important funding information about your pension plan (“the Plan”). This notice also provides a summary of federal rules governing multiemployer plans in reorganization and insolvent plans and benefit payments guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal agency. This notice is for the plan year beginning January 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2008 (referred to hereafter as “Plan Year”). Funded Percentage The funded percentage of a plan is a measure of how well that plan is funded. This percentage is obtained by dividing the Plan’s assets by its liabilities on the valuation date for the plan year. In general, the higher the percentage, the better funded the plan. The Plan’s funded percentage for the Plan Year and 2 preceding plan years is set forth in the chart below, along with a statement of the value of the Plan’s assets and liabilities for the same period. 2008 Valuation Date Funded Percentage Value of Assets Value of Liabilities January 1, 2008 121.6% $700,482,858 $575,915,644 2007 2006 January 1, 2007 116.8% $676,260,582 $578,933,983 January 1, 2006 111.3% $633,159,327 $569,011,172 Fair Market Value of Assets As of December 31, 2008, the fair market value of the Plan’s assets are estimated to be $797,500,000, subject to audit. Participant Information The total number of participants in the plan as of the Plan’s valuation date was 16,917. Of this number, 8,839 were active participants, 4,188 were retired or separated from service and receiving benefits, and 3,890 were retired or separated from service and entitled to future benefits. Funding & Investment Policies The law requires that every pension plan have a procedure for establishing a funding policy to carry out the plan objectives. A funding policy relates to the level of contributions needed to pay for benefits promised under the plan currently and over the years. The funding policy of the Plan is to provide benefits from contributions by signatory employers under the terms of collective bargaining agreements between the Seafarers International Union, Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific Districts and the employers. The Plan may receive the portion of the employers’ contributions made to the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan which the Trustees determine is necessary to provide for pension benefits based on the recommendation of the Plan’s Actuary. Once money is contributed to the Plan, the money is invested by plan officials called fiduciaries. Specific investments are made in accordance with the Plan’s investment policy. Generally speaking, an investment policy is a written statement that provides the fiduciaries who are responsible for plan investments with guidelines or general instructions concerning various types or categories of investment management decisions. The investment policy of the Seafarers Pension Plan is primarily a balanced portfolio of equity, fixed income, and cash equivalent securities. Equities consist of common stocks, preferred stocks, and convertible securities. The total equity exposure for the total managed account should not exceed 55% for a prolonged period of time. The portfolios are diversified into 10 or 15 industry sectors and hold in excess of 50 individual issues. No issue exceeds 3.5% of the portfolio at cost. The fixed income portion of the portfolio consists of: ■ U.S. Government and Agency Securities ■ Commercial Paper ■ Corporate Bonds ■ Traditional Non-High Leverage ■ Mortgage and Asset backed Securities These securities must be rated Investment Grade at time of purchase. In accordance with the Plan’s investment policy, the Plan’s assets were allocated among the following categories of investments, as of the end of the Plan Year. These allocations are percentages of total assets: Asset Allocations Percentage 1. Interest-bearing cash 2. U.S. Government securities 3. Corporate debt instruments (other than employer securities): Preferred All other 4. Corporate stocks (other than employer securities): Preferred Common 5. Partnership/joint venture interests 6. Real estate (other than employer real property) 7. Loans (other than to participants) 8. Participant loans 9. Value of interest in common/collective trusts 10. Value of interest in pooled separate accounts 11. Value of interest in master trust investment accounts 12. Value of interest in 103-12 investment entities 13. Value of interest in registered investment companies (e.g., mutual funds) 14. Value of funds held in insurance co. general account (unallocated contracts) 15. Employer-related investments: Employer Securities Employer real property 16. Buildings and other property used in plan operation 17. Other 2 29 0 18 0 0 33 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 Critical or Endangered Status Under federal pension law a plan generally will be considered to be in “endangered” status if, at the beginning of the plan year, the funded percentage of the plan is less than 80 percent or in “critical” status if the percentage is less than 65 percent (other factors may also apply). If a pension plan enters endangered status, the trustees of the plan are required to adopt a funding improvement plan. Similarly, if a pension plan enters critical status, the trustees of the plan are required to adopt a rehabilitation plan. Rehabilitation and funding improvement plans establish steps and benchmarks for pension plans to improve their funding status over a specified period of time. The Plan was not in endangered or critical status in the Plan Year. Events with Material Effect on Assets or Liabilities Federal law requires trustees to provide in this notice a written explanation of events, taking effect in the current plan year, which are expected to have a material effect on plan liabilities or assets. For the plan year beginning on January 1, 2008 and ending on December 31, 2008, the following events are expected to have such an effect: During 2008 the Seafarers Pension Plan Trustees approved a merger with the Pension Plan of the National Maritime Union (“NMU”). The Seafarers Pension Plan was the successor Plan and assumed all assets and liabilities of the NMU Plan. At the time the Trustees approved the merger, the NMU assets exceeded the liabilities and it was deemed a prudent action by both parties. The severe economic downturn during the latter part of 2008 resulted in significant investment losses to the Plan and a decline in assets. Although the decline in assets has no effect on plan liabilities, the Plan’s funded level has declined and the actuarial funding requirements will increase significantly. The results of both of these events will be reflected in the next annual notice. Right to Request a Copy of the Annual Report A pension plan is required to file with the U.S. Department of Labor an annual report (i.e., Form 5500) containing financial and other information about the plan. Copies of the annual report are available from the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration’s Public Disclosure Room at 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Room N-1513, Washington, DC 20210, or by calling 202-693-8673. Or, you may obtain a copy of the Plan’s annual report by making a written request to the plan administrator. Summary of Rules Governing Plans in Reorganization and Insolvent Plans Federal law has a number of special rules that apply to financially troubled multiemployer plans. Under so-called “plan reorganization rules,” a plan with adverse financial experience may need to increase required contributions and may, under certain circumstances, reduce benefits that are not eligible for the PBGC’s guarantee (generally, benefits that have been in effect for less than 60 months). If a plan is in reorganization status, it must provide notification that the plan is in reorganization status and that, if contributions are not increased, accrued benefits under the plan may be reduced or an excise tax may be imposed (or both). The law requires the plan to furnish this notification to each contributing employer and the labor organization. Despite the special plan reorganization rules, a plan in reorganization nevertheless could become insolvent. A plan is insolvent for a plan year if its available financial resources are not sufficient to pay benefits when due for the plan year. An insolvent plan must reduce benefit payments to the highest level that can be paid from the plan’s available financial resources. If such resources are not enough to pay benefits at a level specified by law (see Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC, below), the plan must apply to the PBGC for financial assistance. The PBGC, by law, will loan the plan the amount necessary to pay benefits at the guaranteed level. Reduced benefits may be restored if the plan’s financial condition improves. A plan that becomes insolvent must provide prompt notification of the insolvency to participants and beneficiaries, contributing employers, labor unions representing participants, and PBGC. In addition, participants and beneficiaries also must receive information regarding whether, and how, their benefits will be reduced or affected as a result of the insolvency, including loss of a lump sum option. This information will be provided for each year the plan is insolvent. Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC The maximum benefit that the PBGC guarantees is set by law. Only vested benefits are guaranteed. Specifically, the PBGC guarantees a monthly benefit payment equal to 100 percent of the first $11 of the Plan’s monthly benefit accrual rate, plus 75 percent of the next $33 of the accrual rate, times each year of credited service. The PBGC’s maximum guarantee, therefore, is $35.75 per month times a participant’s years of credited service. Example 1: If a participant with 10 years of credited service has an accrued monthly benefit of $500, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the PBGC guarantee would be determined by dividing the monthly benefit by the participant’s years of service ($500/10), which equals $50. The guaranteed amount for a $50 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $24.75 (.75 x $33), or $35.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit is $357.50 ($35.75 x 10). Example 2: If the participant in Example 1 has an accrued monthly benefit of $200, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the guarantee would be $20 (or $200/10). The guaranteed amount for a $20 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $6.75 (.75 x $9), or $17.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit would be $177.50 ($17.75 x 10). The PBGC guarantees pension benefits payable at normal retirement age and some early retirement benefits. In calculating a person’s monthly payment, the PBGC will disregard any benefit increases that were made under the plan within 60 months before the earlier of the plan’s termination or insolvency (or benefits that were in effect for less than 60 months at the time of termination or insolvency). Similarly, the PBGC does not guarantee pre-retirement death benefits to a spouse or beneficiary (e.g., a qualified preretirement survivor annuity) if the participant dies after the plan terminates, benefits above the normal retirement benefit, disability benefits not in pay status, or non-pension benefits, such as health insurance, life insurance, death benefits, vacation pay, or severance pay. Where to Get More Information For more information about this notice, you may contact the Board of Trustees or: Margaret Bowen, Plan Administrator, at 301-899-0675, or by writing to: Plan Administrator, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, Maryland 20746. For identification purposes, the official plan number is 001 and the plan sponsor’s employer identification number or “EIN” is 13-6100329. For more information about the PBGC and benefit guarantees, go to PBGC’s website, www.pbgc.gov, or call PBGC toll-free at 1-800-400-7242 (TTY/TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll free at 1-800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 1-800-400-7242). Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman 20 Seafarers LOG Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circum- stances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. June 2009 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:38 PM Page 21 Seafarers Paul Hall Center Upgrading Course Schedule The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the next few months of 2009. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promoting the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Course Start Date Date of Completion Marine Electrician October 26 December 18 Marine Refrigeration Technician November 9 December 18 Machinist September 14 October 2 Pumpman June 22 July 3 Welding June 1 June 19 Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman June 22 August 17 October 12 July 17 September 11 November 6 ARPA June 8 July 20 June 12 July 24 Bosun Recertification October 13 November 2 GMDSS June 15 July 6 July 27 June 26 July 17 August 7 Government Vessels July 27 September 21 July 31 September 25 Lifeboat June 8 September 28 June 19 October 9 Radar July 6 November 2 July 17 November 13 Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman (STOS) August 24 October 19 September 4 October 30 Tanker Assistant July 27 September 21 August 7 October 2 Tank Pic Barge September 21 September 25 Advanced Firefighting Safety Specialty Courses August 17 August 28 Basic Firefighting/STCW July 20 September 14 November 9 July 24 September 18 November 13 Fast Rescue Boat June 29 August 17 July 3 August 21 Medical Care Provider August 31 September 4 Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes start every other Monday. The most recent class began June 1. Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed at the Paul Hall Center. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. The following opportunities are currently available: Adult Basic Education (ABE), English as a Second Language (ESL), a College Program and a Preparatory Course. When applying for preparatory courses, students should list the name of the course desired on upgrading application. An introduction to computers course, a self-study module, is also available. Online Distance Learning Courses Engine Upgrading Courses Advanced Refrigerated Container June 22 October 5 July 17 October 30 Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations (BAPO) July 20 September 14 November 9 August 14 October 9 December 4 FOWT June 22 August 17 October 12 July 17 September 11 November 6 Junior Engineer August 31 October 23 UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Five new online “distance learning” (DL) courses now are available to students who plan to enroll in classes at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. The online courses are not mandatory, but they are structured to benefit students who eventually attend other classes at the Paul Hall Center, which is located in Piney Point, Md. The new online courses are: Communications, First Aid Preparation, Bloodborne Pathogens, Basic Culinary Skills, and Basic Math Refresher. Also available in the DL program are Hazardous Material Control and Management, Hearing Conservation, Respiratory Protection, Heat Stress Management, Environmental Awareness, Shipboard Pest Management, and Shipboard Water Sanitation (for a total of 12 courses). Students MUST have access to the internet with an e-mail address in order to take the foregoing classes. Each must be taken online, not at the Paul Hall Center. E-mail addresses should be provided on applications (printed neatly) when applying. Applicants should include the letters DL when listing any online course on the form below. With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twenty-five (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested, 1995 STCW Certificate, valid SHBP Clinic Card and TWIC. Street Address _________________________________________________________ City __________________________ State _______________ Zip Code ___________ Telephone _________________________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Date of Birth ______________________ Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____ Department ___________ E-mail ____________________________ U.S. Citizen: Yes No Home Port _____________________________ COURSE BEGIN DATE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Yes Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ June 2009 NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 5/09 Seafarers LOG 21 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:38 PM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes RADAR – Seven upgraders completed their training in this course April 3. Graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Albert Bharrat, Jason Boyer, Randolph Knipfer, Winton Rich, Jon Silveria, Neil Sullivan and Guillermo ZapataNichols. (Note: Not all are pictured.) UNLICENSED APPRENTICE WATER SURVIVAL CLASS – Unlicensed apprentices from class 717 recently completed requirements for graduation from the water survival course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Andrew Beach, Samuel Blancard, Lorenzo Chaparro, Maldonado Cortes, Christepher Cross, John Eastman, John Edwards, Nathaniel Fitzpatrick, William Fountain, Mayra Gaines Otero, Kelvin Jennings Jr., Patricia Lamb, Allen Ludlow, Noorudin Muthala, Mauriceio Oubre, David Santiago Arroyo, DeShawn Smith, Marcus Toby, Dean Trott, Lisa Williams, and James Williamson. BASIC & ADVANCED FIRE FIGHTING (INLAND) – The following individuals (above, in alphabetical order) completed training in this 41-hour class April 17: Luis Burgos, Roderick Frazier, Robert Knowlton, Charles Mull Jr., and Jackie Pruitt. Their instructor, Steve Stockwell, is at far right. ADVANCED CONTAINER MAINTENANCE – Four Seafarers on April 24 completed their requirements in this course. Graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Roger Dillinger Jr., Joseph Letang, Marc Poniatowski and Charles Sneed. Calvin Beal, their instructor, is at left. JUNIOR ENGINEER – The following individuals (above, in alphabetical order) on May 1 finished their requirements and graduated from this course: Sandra Baker, Damien Bautista, Arkady Bichevsky, Donald Bishop, Francis Brown, Michael Clark, Mervin Cruzat, Marion Cruzat, Arman Deblois, Jose Deoferio, Oscar Garcia, Lawrence Guerrero, Nat Lamb, Peter Meglow, Travis Moody, Montree Nakwichet, Orlando Pabon, Christian Rosado, David Ruggirello, Ronald Sease, JoVannii Sprauve, and JoVanio Sprauve. Their instructor, Jay Henderson, is at far right. 22 Seafarers LOG June 2009 �54513_p01_24:January 08 5/29/2009 9:39 PM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes ARPA – Five upgraders enhanced their skills by completing this course April 17. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Jason Boyer, Randolph Knipfer, Jon Silvera, Neil Sullivan and Rodger Taylor. Their instructor, Stacey McNeely, is at left. GOVERNMENT VESSELS – Fourteen Seafarers on April 10 finished their requirements for the completion of this course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Abdo Ahmed, Joselito Beof, Luis Burgos, David Bustos, Donnell Criswell, Jioia DeLeon, Waldemar Gajc, Claude Letts, Aldrin Saez, Adrian Schubert, Tyrell Thabit, Cade Vaussine, Randy Wallace and Shedrick Walker. Stan Beck, their instructor, is at far right. STCW – The following upgraders (above, in alphabetical order) on April 3 completed this course: Gregory Baker, Antonio Baskins, Joselito Beof, David Bustos, Donnell Criswell, Donald Dabbs, Carlos Eclevia, Raymond Fernandez, Brian Freme, Claude Letts, Lyle McCorison, Cameron Mitchell, Andres Param, James Peterson, Aldrin Saez, Ronald Scintilla, Cade Vaussine and Randy Wallace. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is at far right. WELDING – Nine upgraders completed this 103-hour course April 24. Graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Aquino Aristeo, George Box, Tyesha Boyd, Angel Cintron, Abner Diaz-Torres, Kabir Garcia Santiago, Michael Maldonado, Caroline Thomas and James Tyson. Buzzy Andrews, their instructor, is third from right in the back row. Computer, College Classes BST/STCW (Hawaii) - Twelve individuals completed training requirements in the course April 25 at the Barbers Point, Hawaii-based Seafarers Training Center. Those graduating (above in no particular order) were Jonathan Diggs, Terry Weatherford, Sarah Kinney, Amy Nupp, Todd Wacker, Travis Havelka, Emily Music, Jillian Smith, Charles Wise, Robert Cook, Emmanuel Santos and Monica Frake. Four Seafarers, each of whom underwent upgrade training at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., recently completed computer courses. A fifth individual completed a pair of academic courses. Earning certificates for finishing computer courses (above, from the left) were: Sajid Foster, Jason Boyer, Charles Sneed and Tonya Gist. Lawrence Cormier (left in photo at left below and right in photo at below right) completed academic courses in History 101 and Math 101. Rich Prucha (second from left in photo above and left in photo at below right) served as instructor for the computer and Math 101 courses while Peggy Densford (left in photo below) provided instruction for the History 101 course. BST/STCW (Hawaii) – The above individuals, in no particular order, completed this course April 4 at the Seafarers Training Center at Barbers Point, Hawaii: Chris Alvarado, Brett Lyons, Robyn Norris, Jeffrey Griggs, Renato Rapayrapay, Michael Hart, Richard Guerin, Erin Burns, Elaine Richardson, Ebony Gregory, Denis Amador, Irvin Arroyo, Orlando Apodaca, Omar VegaBarrera, Bernard Runo, Frances Cahill, Krista Kluke, Angela Mokate and Mark Neglia. June 2009 Seafarers LOG 23 �54513_p01_24x:January 08 6/1/2009 4:53 PM Page 24 Volume 71, Number 6 June 2009 Funding Notices, Summary Annual Reports - Pages 11, 14, 20 Paul Hall Center Course Spotlight The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, based in Piney Point, Md., offers a wide variety of vocational and academic courses. Classes are available to upgraders and entry-level students. The following is a brief description of two courses offered at the school, which opened in 1967. Turn to page 21 for a list of upcoming course dates. Additional course descriptions were published in the January 2009 edition of the Seafarers LOG; they also are available on the web at www.seafarers.org/phc Small Arms Training Approved by the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC), the course is designed to provide basic familiarization, knowledge and skills needed to meet the U.S. Navy standards for Small Arms Training for Security Personnel Afloat. Topics include an indepth study of small arms safety, use of force and deadly force, the fundamentals of marksmanship, the use of a 9MM pistol, use of an M-14 rifle and the use of a 12-gauge shotgun. This is accomplished through classroom lecture and practical exercises. In addition, students must demonstrate the ability to qualify with a 9MM M9 pistol, a 12-gauge shotgun and an M-14 rifle. Students are required to qualify on each weapon in order to receive certification. Small Arms Training is a minimum three-day, twenty-one (21) hour course designed for candidates who are qualifying on small arms for the first time, or who failed on all three weapons initially or during the re-qualifying firing, or whose certificate of qualification or re-qualification is greater than one year old. Class size is established at not more than 16 students. Practical assessments will be conducted with a student/instructor ratio of not more than four to one (4:1). Small Arms Re-Qualification The Small Arms Re-Qualification class is a minimum one-day, sevenhour course designed for students: ■ Who are not qualifying on small arms for the first time, ■ Who have qualified on the 9MM M9 pistol, the M-14 rifle and the 12gauge shotgun and ■ Whose certificate of qualification or re-qualification is not greater than one year old. The course is designed to provide the student with the level of knowledge and skills necessary to meet the U.S. Navy standards for Small Arms training for Security Personnel Afloat. Students must demonstrate the ability to re-qualify with a 9MM M9 pistol, a 12-gauge shotgun and an M-14. Class size is established at not more than 16 students. Practical assessments will be conducted with a student/instructor ratio of not more than six to one (6:1). � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 June 2009 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES RANK-AND-FILE COMMITTEE OKAYS SIU’S FINANCIAL RECORDS FOR 2008 SEAFARERS HEALTH AND BENEFITS PLAN AWARDS $132, 000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS 2 MORE TANKERS CHRISTENED UNIONS TESTIFY ON PIRACY TRAINING, DRILLS PAY OFF ABOARD LIBERTY SUN TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY LAHOOD HONORS MARINERS FROM ‘MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON’ BUSINESS AS USUAL ON U.S. SHIPPING VESSELS FOURTH ARM OF DEFENSE STANDS UP TO AGGRESSION MARITIME DAY CITES MARINERS’ CONTRIBUTIONS CHARTER MEMBER SAYS SIU REMAINS ON RIGHT COURSE COMPANY ISSUES STATEMENT ABOUT HAWAII SUPERFERRY MORE MAJORITY SIGN-UP MYTHS DEBUNKED EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT WOULD ALLOW WORKERS TO CHOOSE VOTING METHOD GROUND BROKEN FOR NATIONAL WORKERS MEMORIAL MARIITME LABOR BACKS BILL ADDRESSING MEDICAL EVALUATION PROCESS, FATIGUE HORIZON LINES RECOGNIZES ‘HEROES’ APRIL DATA SHOWS UNEMPLOYMENT GROWING PROFESSOR HAS MARITIME DOCUMENTARY IN WORKS U.S. HOUSE VOTES TO THANK WWII MARINERS PAUL HALL CENTER COURSE SPOTLIGHT Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 06/01/2009 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. 71, No. 6 2009 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/54b31ff6056bf49404d0d4a12152eb6e.PDF b582055a2930bc2a7a54002435092b9a PDF Text Text 54210_p01_24X:54210 4/28/2009 2:00 AM Page 1 Volume 71, Number 5 May 2009 U.S. Mariners Fight Back Hailed as Heroes, Maersk Alabama Crew Returns Home Safely Second SIU Ship, Liberty Sun, Attacked Administration, Military, Industry Focus On Pirate Menace In a piracy saga that played out as the nation’s lead story for days, the captain and crew of the SIU-contracted Maersk Alabama reached safety and a happy ending, but not before enduring more than enough harrowing moments. Separately, the SIUcrewed Liberty Sun also came under attack by Somali pirates, with all hands reported safe. Pictured clockwise, beginning with top photo, the Alabama, which was boarded by pirates on April 8 in the Indian Ocean, docks in Mombasa, Kenya, carrying humanitarian aid cargo (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo); Maersk Line Limited President and CEO John Reinhart (right) helps welcome the crew back to the U.S.; crew members from the Alabama celebrate after learning their captain had been freed by U.S. Navy SEALS (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim); SIU President Michael Sacco (left) congratulates AB ATM Reza shortly after the crew arrived at Andrews Air Force Base; and Bosun William Rios hugs his wife and son seconds after stepping off the airplane. Pages 2, 3, 11, 12, 13. Union Welcomes New Tonnage Grateful Passenger Thanks NY Waterway Page 8 Page 4 �54210_p01_24X:54210 4/28/2009 2:15 AM Page 2 President’s Repor t Our Crews Must be Protected There’s a lot to cover this month, but let me start with the absolute most important item: Thank heaven our crews from the Maersk Alabama and the Liberty Sun are safe! The piracy incidents involving those two SIU-crewed ships may have taken place half a world away, but they certainly hit home. By now, I’m sure you know the details. The Maersk Alabama received far more media coverage, because the ship was boarded and because its captain, Richard Phillips, was held hostage aboard a lifeboat for five days. The Liberty Sun incident basically was finished by the time it hit the press, but it was plenty disturbing in its own right, with weapons fired at and damaging the vessel. Understandably, the Liberty Sun didn’t get Michael Sacco as much attention, but those crew members are, of course, every bit as important to the SIU family as any other members. There are plenty of organizations and individuals to thank for the happy endings, and you can read some of those sentiments elsewhere in this newspaper. I’ll get to some others in a minute. But what cannot be overlooked – and what will not be overlooked – is the immediate need to protect our crews from the all-too-real danger of piracy. As this edition of the LOG went to press, the SIU was taking part in high-level meetings with the military, the government and others from the maritime industry to tackle this issue. I’m optimistic that these meetings were an important step towards timely, effective solutions. Our crews must be protected. Period. For now, I am open-minded about how that protection unfolds. The obvious possibilities include arming the crews, or having the ship operating companies hire professional security personnel, or having the military supply armed guards. Maybe the answer is some combination of those things. Maybe not. But there’s got to be an answer besides hoping we can outrun the pirates or knock them down with hoses. Even though the media only recently woke up to the issue of piracy, it’s not new to this union. As recently as December, I took part in a meeting that included very highranking U.S. military officers focusing on piracy. Also, through the International Transport Workers’ Federation and the International Maritime Organization, we’ve been sounding the alarm for decades. The industry’s combined efforts have at least resulted in some progress, even though it hasn’t been enough. Naval ships like the U.S. vessels that sailed to aid the Maersk Alabama and Liberty Sun have increased their presence near the hotspots around Somalia. There is an electronic reporting system for every ship that enters the potentially hazardous areas, geared toward helping mobilize help when needed. Passage of a United Nations resolution late last year helped set up the legal means for prosecuting pirates. Again, it’s a start but it’s not enough. We all understand that if the perfect solutions were easy to implement, piracy wouldn’t exist. With that said, long-term, the best way to end this mess is by addressing the root causes – namely, the instability in Somalia itself. Concerning the short-term, this is our top priority. We will be writing about it with updates here and on our web site. We will be communicating with members at the monthly meetings and aboard the ships in port. We will be part of the solution, because our SIU crews must be protected. As for the story that completely dominated the news for several days beginning April 8, I’ve never been more proud of an SIU crew. And I’ve never felt more relieved than when I learned of their safety as well as that of the officers from MEBA and MM&P, including Captain Phillips. Captain Phillips has quite a story to share, and it’s definitely not a sea story. His presence would have been the only thing that could have added to the joy felt by everyone who welcomed home the crew when they landed at Andrews Air Force Base on April 16, some time after midnight. That was a long night when it came to looking at the clock, but the time spent with Seafarers and their families was priceless. Personally, I consider it among the most rewarding moments of my years with this union. I’ve said from time to time that we’re more like a family than a union. When the Maersk Alabama crew came home, we truly were all family. Finally, although I’ve expressed these sentiments in separate correspondence, I want to take this opportunity to once again thank President Obama for his concern and decisive action that led to the safe transit of the Maersk Alabama and her crew as well as the rescue of Captain Phillips. My gratitude also goes to Admiral Gary Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations, and to the Navy SEALS, FBI negotiators and others who helped deliver the mariners safely. I’m truly thankful to all who performed so bravely and valiantly in this operation. Shipowner Maersk Line, Limited and operator Waterman Steamship deserve recognition, too. From the moment the story broke, they went into “24/7” mode to keep in touch with the mariners’ families and with their unions. The companies set up a tollfree hotline for family members, offering various forms of assistance. They provided a heroes’ welcome for the crew and they made sure the families not only were able to attend, but were provided with comfortable accommodations – away from the media horde, to the extent possible. On that note, I have personally thanked Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz for making it possible for the crews to arrive at Andrews. The setting allowed for a proper homecoming, and it made all the difference. For the SIU’s part, we also stayed in touch with the families in addition to having nearly constant contact with the companies and the military, offering them whatever support we could give. We posted timely communications on our web site. Without taking undue advantage of the circumstances, we let it be known that union-affiliated schools such as the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education help prepare mariners for all types of shipboard emergencies. We went to great lengths to protect the privacy of our members and their families despite a tidal wave of press calls. This entire experience, both with the Maersk Alabama and the Liberty Sun, has been a roller-coaster of emotions. It started with terrible concern, followed by immense relief, followed by the sobering reminders that piracy is still front and center. We’ve got the pirates in the spotlight now. It’s time to take aim at real solutions. TWIC Tip: ‘Self Identify’ as Merchant Mariner April 15 wasn’t just the last day to file income tax paperwork. For the maritime industry, it also marked the deadline for U.S. mariners to obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) and the start of a five-year phase-in period for the new merchant mariner qualification credential, which slowly will replace current merchant mariner documents/z-cards. The new merchant mariner qualification credential also will replace 1995 STCW certificates and licenses, combining all documentation into one passport-style credential. The deadline for the TWIC and the advent of the new qualification credential led to somewhat of an information blitz, but one particular point that mariners would be well-advised to consider is whether, in the words of the Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center (NMC), they “self-identi- fied” as merchant mariners when enrolling for a TWIC. This would have been a verbal identification upon original application for a TWIC, or a follow-up identification via contact by the mariner to an enrollment center. As previously reported, for those who already received a TWIC and did not selfidentify as a mariner, or for those who don’t remember whether or not they self-identified, the NMC (issuer of the new merchant mariner qualification credential) is working with the Transportation Security Administration (issuer of the TWIC) to automatically change your occupation field. The NMC anticipates that this will cover the vast majority of current mariners. In a recent communication, however, the NMC further noted, “It is, unfortunately, inevitable that there will not be matching data for every mariner due to variances in the data contained in either system (such as using slightly different name spellings to apply for your TWIC and your mariner credential). Therefore, TSA is setting up a help desk number that you will be able to call in order to manually switch your occupation field. This should only impact a small percentage of mariners and only when applying for their next Coast Guard-issued credential. At that point, if the NMC does not have matching data from TSA regarding a valid TWIC you will be asked to call the TSA help desk.” That phone number is 1866-DHS-TWIC (347-8942). “If an individual isn’t sure whether or not they self-identified as a mariner, it’s worth it to call the toll-free number and verify, particularly before renewing or upgrading their document,” noted Priscilla Senatore, admissions director at the SIUaffiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. “If someone isn’t identified as a mariner, it can cause a significant delay in processing their paperwork through the National Maritime Center.” As for the new qualification credential, abbreviated as MMC, mariners do not need to rush to get one. The rationale for the fiveyear phase-in period is that, starting April 15 (last month), when mariners renew or upgrade their z-card, or when mariners new to the industry apply for a credential, they will receive the MMC. The MMC program does not affect the legitimacy of currently valid z-cards/merchant mariner documents. It also eliminates the need for mariners to appear in person at a Coast Guard regional exam center (REC), provided they have applied for a TWIC. Mariners do still have the option to go to an REC. Remember the SS Mayaguez Volume 71, Number 5 May 2009 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFLCIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2009 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD. All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG April 2009 may have been the first time in more than a century that pirates boarded an American-flag ship, but SIU members dealt with armed shipboard intruders much more recently – for three days beginning May 12, 1975 to be exact. That’s when Cambodian rebels kidnapped the Seafarers-crewed SS Mayaguez off that country’s coast. Nine rebels armed with automatic weapons, rocket launchers and grenades boarded the Mayaguez as the ship was en route from Hong Kong to Sattahip, Thailand. Within hours, several more Cambodian gunboats showed up and roughly 40 more Cambodians boarded the ship. President Gerald Ford ordered a military response to retake the vessel and its crew. The 39-person crew of the Mayaguez (includ- ing 28 SIU members) survived the ordeal without permanent injury, as U.S. military personnel completed their rescue some 65 hours after the mariners were taken captive. However, according to media reports from that era, 16 U.S. servicemen were killed and others were wounded because of heavy fire from the rebels, known as Khmer Rouge. The fatalities took place when Cambodians shot down a U.S. helicopter and also attacked Marines who were attempting a rescue. More than 100 Cambodians soldiers were killed. The reason for the seizure never became clear. Some thought the rebels misidentified the SeaLand containership as transporting weapons and ammunition, surveillance equipment or other materiel. The vessel in fact was carrying non-military cargo. May 2009 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 10:59 AM Page 3 AB ATM Reza (right), SIU hawsepiper/3rd Engineer John Cronan (with hand raised) and the rest of the mariners step off the airplane at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. Crew members of the Maersk Alabama are seen during a press briefing at the Mombasa port in Kenya on April 13. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo) Maersk Alabama Saga has Happy Ending Somali Piracy Acts Continue As Liberty Sun also Attacked Earlier this year, SIU members from NY Waterway were part of the nation’s lead news story as they rescued airplane passengers and crew in what quickly became known as the Miracle on the Hudson. Last month, 12 Seafarers aboard the Maersk Alabama played a central role in another episode that kept the world transfixed for days. In a story that proved seemingly impossible to miss, the union crew of the Maerskowned, Waterman-operated containership fought off armed Somali pirates who boarded the vessel April 8, hundreds of miles from Somalia’s northern coast. The pirates were sent away from the American-flag ship within about 12 hours, but Captain Richard Phillips of the Alabama was taken hostage aboard a lifeboat and remained there until Easter Sunday, when U.S. Navy snipers eliminated Phillips’ captors. By then, the Alabama – carrying humanitarian cargo – had arrived at its originally scheduled port of Mombasa, Kenya. (For safety reasons, the U.S. military wanted the ship to leave the area where the captain was being held.) As the story played out, the scourge of Somali piracy finally received the attention long called for by the international maritime community. Additionally, anyone who thought the first such attack in modern times on a U.S. ship was a fluke, quickly learned otherwise as the SIUcrewed Liberty Sun was fired upon near the Gulf of Aden. That attack took place April 15 and didn’t result in injuries, though it damaged the vessel. Once again, the U.S. Navy quickly came to the assistance of the U.S. mer- been transported to nearby Washington, D.C., by SIUchant ship. contracted Maersk Line, Limited for the reunion. Ironically, Phillips was aboard the Navy vessel disMembers also were obviously happy to see SIU patched to aid the Liberty Sun – an assignment that tem- President Michael Sacco and SIU Executive Vice porarily prevented him from reuniting with his own crew, President Augie Tellez, who eagerly welcomed them after which was still in Mombasa, preparing to fly home. the Seafarers had said their initial hellos to family. (Sacco (More details about the Liberty Sun incident will be and Tellez already knew many of the crew members.) SIU included in the next issue of the LOG.) members and officials visited at the base and again back The immediate aftermath of the Maersk Alabama con- at the local hotel arranged by Maersk. Hours later, the frontation saw the mariners – represented, respectively, three union presidents along with Tellez and SIU Vice by the SIU; the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial President Contracts George Tricker met with most of the Association; and the Masters, Mates & Pilots – hailed as mariners to more formally thank them and to discuss heroes all across the country. some options for combating Editorials praised their courage, piracy. and some writers not normally Even before reaching the “What kept us alive was the fond of unions compared them to training, the discipline and the United States, crew members the heroic American passengers and officers alike – once they of Flight 93 on September 11. knowledge we learned from the had been assured of Capt. Union-affiliated training schools SIU.” — Maersk Alabama Bosun William Rios Phillips’ safety – emphasized including the Paul Hall Center that the media erred in saying for Maritime Training and that they had regained control of Education were credited for their work in preparing the Maersk Alabama shortly after the pirates boarded the mariners for emergencies at sea. vessel. “We never lost control of the ship,” was perhaps Meanwhile, some Somalis used the media to convey their most common refrain, made politely but firmly. threats of more violence against American crews. Crew members also said that they were purposely holding back some details of how they overcame the Joyful Reunion attack, because their techniques may prove useful for However complex the issue of piracy, there was noth- other mariners. What is known is that they outran the ing ambiguous about the emotions that poured out when pirates for hours, were fired upon and were boarded, then the plane carrying the Maersk Alabama mariners touched outmaneuvered them below decks while intentionally down at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., around 1 a.m. on (and temporarily) disabling the ship. The Americans capApril 16. Seafarers walked down a portable staircase and tured and injured one of the pirates, which gave them into the waiting arms of relieved family members who’d vital leverage. Eventually, the frustrated pirates simply wanted to leave – quite a change in demeanor from when they initially climbed aboard and expressed glee at an anticipatContinued on Pages 12-13 The Maersk Alabama (photo at left) prepares to dock in Mombasa on April 11, 2009. Guarded by Navy personnel, the crew included a dozen SIU members. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo). In photo above, SIU President Michael Sacco (left) welcomes AB Clifford Lacon shortly after the crew arrived in the U.S. May 2009 Seafarers LOG 3 �54210_p01_24X:54210 4/28/2009 2:19 AM Page 4 Operated by Sealift Inc., the MV John A. Chapman, left, will preposition materiel for the U.S. Air Force. The most recent tanker constructed at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, photo above, formally will be christened the Overseas Nikiski. APL Adds Four U.S.-Flag Vessels Crowley, OSG Welcome New Tonnage; Sealift Inc. to Operate MV Chapman The SIU last month reported that American President Lines is bringing four ships into its U.S.-flag fleet, reflecting the company’s ongoing commitment to meet U.S. government needs. Seafarers will fill all of the unlicensed slots aboard the APL Pearl and APL Cyprine, and will fill the steward department positions aboard the APL Agate and APL Japan. The Pearl and the Cyprine were scheduled to reflag under the Stars and Stripes at press time. Built by Samsung Shipbuilding in 1997, each of those two containerships is approximately 900 feet long, with a beam of 131 feet. The ships can sail at 24 knots. In his April report to the membership, SIU Vice President Contracts George 4 Seafarers LOG Tricker noted that the Agate (also a containership built in 1997) was slated to reflag April 20 in Charleston, S.C., while the Japan (constructed in 1995) is scheduled to reflag May 18. The four APL ships will sail on a 56day “Suez Express” run, delivering cargo to the Middle East and the ports of New York, Charleston, S.C., Norfolk, Va. and Savannah, Ga. That wasn’t the only recent good news concerning new or newly contracted tonnage. Earlier this year, Sealift Inc. earned an operating contract from the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) covering the MV John A. Chapman, a prepositioning ship. Depending on if options are exercised, the contract could cover five years. In any case, the Seafarers-contract- ed Chapman is expected to carry materiel for the U.S. Air Force while mainly operating in or near Saipan. Back in the U.S., SIU-contracted Crowley on April 2 took delivery of its newest articulated tug barge (ATB) – the tug Commitment and barge 650-6, in Pascagoula, Miss. The 185,000-barrel ATB, the 10th in Crowley’s fleet, has been chartered by a major energy company to transport petroleum products on the U.S. West Coast beginning last month. “New vessel design, construction and deployment is essential to serving the needs of our customers,” said Tom Crowley, company chairman, president and CEO. “We are committed to designing, building and operating the most technologically advanced and environmentally sound vessels in the industry.” The Commitment/650-6 was jointly designed by Crowley’s marine technical services group and VT Halter Marine. The tug Commitment, left, and barge 6506, form Crowley’s newest ATB. As seen in this view from the Commitment’s wheelhouse, above, the company’s ATBs feature all the latest equipment. Seafarers-contracted APL is bringing four more ships into its U.S.-flag fleet, including the APL Agate, below, and the APL Pearl, above. The tank barge was built at Halter’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., and the tug Commitment at its shipyard, in Moss Point, Miss. The Seafarers-crewed Crowley ATB fleet is scheduled to grow to 17 by mid2013. Included in the total are four 155,000 barrel units already deployed; ten 185,000-barrel units, six of which are in operation; and three yet-to-be-built 330,000-barrel units – the largest in the company’s history and the fastest in their class. Additionally, Aker Philadelphia Shipyard on April 20 launched Hull 011, the seventh in a series of at least 12 product tankers to be completed by 2011. The vessel will be named the Overseas Nikiski and will be operated by SIU-contracted Overseas Shipholding Group. Like the others in its class, the tanker is 600 feet long and will sail in the Jones Act trades. It is scheduled for delivery in the current quarter of 2009. May 2009 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 10:59 AM Page 5 Top Economists Say ‘Yes’ To EFCA’s Majority Sign-Up Noted economists across the country have affirmed the nation needs the Employee Free Choice Act to restore balance in the labor market and to put the economy back on its feet, according to a recent statement by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The EPI is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. The statement is endorsed by acclaimed economists and explains that the financial sector isn’t the only sector in trouble. It points out that average wages for American workers have stagnated even as their productivity soars. The EPI notes that from 2000 to 2007, the income of the median working-age household fell by $2,000 – an unprecedented decline. In that time, virtually all of the nation’s economic growth went to a small number of wealthy Americans. An important reason for the shift from broadly shared prosperity to growing inequality is the erosion of workers’ ability to form unions and bargain collectively, according to the economists. Among other issues, the election process overseen by the National Labor Relations Board has become prolonged and hostile. “The problem is that the [union] election process overseen by the National Labor Relations Board has become drawn out and acrimonious, with management campaigning fiercely to deter unionization, sometimes to the extent of violating labor laws,” says the EPI. “Union sympa- thizers are routinely threatened or even fired, and they have little effective recourse under the law. Even when workers overcome this pressure and vote for a union, they are unable to obtain contracts one-third of the time due to management resistance.” The EPI and economists explain the remedy to the situation is the Employee Free Choice Act, also known as majority sign-up legislation (which has been introduced in both the House and Senate during the current session of Congress). They say the act would accomplish three things: It would give workers the choice of using majority sign-up – a simple, established procedure in which workers sign cards to indicate their support for a union – or staging an NLRB election; would triple damages for employers who fire union supporters or break other labor laws; and would created a process to ensure that newly unionized employees have a fair shot at obtaining a first contract by calling for arbitration after 120 days of unsuccessful bargaining. They say the Employee Free Choice Act will better reflect workers’ desires than the current “war over representation.” The bill will also lower the level of acrimony and distrust that often accompanies union elections in the current system. “As economists, we believe this is a critically important step in rebuilding our economy and strengthening our democracy by enhancing the voice of working people in the work- Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) speaks during a recent EFCA rally in Washington, D.C. Miller initially introduced the EFCA before the 109th Congress in April 2005. place,” said the statement’s endorsers. “A rising tide lifts all boats only when labor and management bargain on relatively equal terms. In recent decades, most bargaining power has resided with management. The current recession will further weaken the ability of workers to bargain individually. More than ever, workers will need to act together.” The list of economists looks like a “who’s who” of experts coming from a range of Ivy League and other noted colleges and universities and other well-known institutions. The AFL-CIO continues to push for enactment of the legislation, and the SIU has supported those efforts from the start. President Obama has pledged to sign the bill if given the chance. No Surprise: Unions are Good for Business The Economic Policy Institute recently said its new study “Still Open for Business” debunks the myth that the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) will hurt businesses and costs jobs. The EPI said the historical research and data in the study compared unionized and similar non-union firms, with results clearly showing that unionized companies are no more likely to fail than non-union firms. In fact, the study shows workers in unionized firms normally earn higher wages and enjoy better benefits than their unrepresented counterparts, but the union workforce also consistently is more productive. On balance, that productivity increases the respective bottom lines of union shops. “In the debate over legislation to expand employees’ right to choose union representation in the workplace, the organized business lobby has been drumming up fears that enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act would kill jobs by forcing more employers out of business. That claim is not borne out by historical data or existing credible research,” the EPI noted. More information on the study is available at www.epi.org. ‘Belated Thank You’ Bill Re-introduced In U.S. House, Senate A bill to assist the U.S. Merchant Mariners of World War II has been re-introduced in both houses of the 111th Congress. Called the “Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2009,” the bill (H.R. 23) on Jan. 6 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif). Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) on March 19 brought companion legislation (S. 663) before the U.S. Senate. The bill’s purpose is: “To amend title 38, United States Code, to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish the Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund to provide benefits to certain individuals who served in the United States Merchant Marine (including the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service) during World War II.” If adopted and signed into law, the act would establish the Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund in the U.S. Treasury. This fund would facilitate payments by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs of a $1,000 monthly benefit to each individual who – between Dec. 7, 1941 and Dec. 31, 1946 – was a documented member of the U.S. Merchant Marine (including the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service). Such individuals during World War II must have served as crew members aboard vessels that were operated in U.S. waters by the War Shipping Administration or the Office of Defense Transportation and under contract to, or the property of, the United States. As reported in previous editions of the Seafarers LOG, Filner formerly introduced very similar legislation dating back to the 108th Congress when he introduced H.R. 3729, which carried the same title. In remarks to fellow members of Congress in 2004 while reflecting on the contributions of mariners, Filner in part noted, “World War II Merchant Mariners suffered the second-highest casualty rate of any of the branches of services while they delivered troops, tanks, food, airplanes, fuel and other needed supplies to every theater of the war. Compared to the large number of men and women serving in World War II, the numbers of merchant mariners were small, but their chance of dying during service was extremely high. Enemy forces sank over 800 ships between 1941 and 1944 alone.” Taking his case further when offering H.R.23 before the present Congress, Filner said “The Merchants Mariners were dealt a grave injustice at the close of World War II when they were denied veteran status and benefits. This bill helps rectify that wrong, and shows the Merchant Mariners that their bravery is still appreciated. “Throughout World War II the Merchant Mariners played an essential role…. Merchant Mariners courageously transported goods, materials and personnel to various theaters of war.” He added, “I am truly grateful for the services that these individuals provided during World War II and I will fight to have this bill passed into law. Our entire nation needs to give them the thanks they deserve.” As of press time for the Seafarers LOG, 90 members of the House had signed on as co-sponsors of the legislation while 18 senators had pledged their support. Pro-Maritime Congressman Skelton Receives Honors U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Missouri), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, is the recipient of the International Propeller Club of the United States’ prestigious Salute to Congress Award for 2009. A passionate and outspoken friend of the U.S. Merchant Marine, Skelton was scheduled to receive the award April 28 (shortly after the LOG went to press) during the 25th annual Salute to Congress Dinner at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. The SIU was slated to be well-represented at the ceremony, as President Michael Sacco, Executive Vice President Augie Tellez, SecretaryTreasurer David Heindel and Vice President Contracts George Tricker planned to attend on behalf of the union. Overall, an estimated 400 guests were anticipated to be in the audience, including a number of U.S. senators and congressmen. In a news release announcing the 2009 award, the Propeller Club noted that Skelton was being honored for his consistent and strong support of the United States maritime industry and his recognition of the importance of it to our economy and national defense. May 2009 Skelton has represented Missouri’s Fourth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1976. Prior to his election to Congress, Skelton served as Lafayette County Prosecuting Attorney and as a Missouri State Senator from 1971 to 1976. The congressman’s district includes Missouri’s state capital, Jefferson City and much of the Ozark region of the state. The northernmost part of the Fourth District includes Ray County, located north of the Missouri River. The southernmost point of the district is Webster County, only 30 miles from the Arkansas border. A native of Lexington, Skelton is a graduate of Wentworth Military Academy and the University of Missouri at Columbia where he received A.B. and L.L.B. degrees. He was named as a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Law Review. A leader in the House on defense issues, Skelton’s district is home to Fort Leonard Wood, Whiteman Air Force Base, and the Missouri National Guard Training Center. The congressman was instrumental in bringing the Army Engineer School to Fort Leonard Wood and the B-2 Stealth bomber to Whiteman. From 1999 to 2006, Skelton served as ranking minority member of the Armed Services Committee and assumed the Chairmanship in 2007. As chairman, the congressman serves ex officio on all the Committee subcommittees. The first Salute to Congress Award was presented to Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill in 1984. Recent recipients have included Congressman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.), then Ranking Member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee; Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), former Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee; Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.), then Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Committee; Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee; and Congressman Don Young (R-Alaska), former Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Congressman Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) was the 2008 honoree. The International Propeller Club of the United States is a grassroots, non-profit organization, whose membership resides throughout the United States and the world. It is dedicated to the enhancement and wellbeing of all interests of the maritime community on a national and international basis. The Propeller Club aggressively promotes the maritime industry through many of its programs and partnering with other similar organizations. U.S. Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Missouri) Chairman, Armed Services Committee Seafarers LOG 5 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 10:59 AM Page 6 More than 200 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles sit pier-side in Charleston, S.C., where Army personnel loaded them onto the SIU-crewed USNS Pililaau. (U.S. Navy photo by Tom D’Agostino) SIU-Crewed Ship Establishes MRAP Milestone The “fourth arm of defense” made history in defense of our nation when the Seafarers-crewed MV Alliance New York recently took on board what was expected to be the 10,000th mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicle transported by sea to the U.S. Central Command. SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez represented the union at a ceremony March 23 in Charleston, S.C., commemorating the occasion. Liberty Maritime’s Alliance New York and many other Seafarers-crewed ships have transported a significant number of the MRAPS to our troops overseas since the program’s inception in 2007. Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command, Air Force Gen. Duncan McNabb, and commander of Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, Army Maj. Gen. James Hodge, also attended the event with other military and civic dignitaries. The 841st Transportation Battalion commanding officer, Army Lt. Col. Randy Haufe, in his remarks, acknowledged the team effort responsible for this milestone. He recognized his civilian and military workforce as dedicated and superior in accomplishing this and other vital operations. In other remarks, Hodge saluted the efforts of all those involved in the shipment of the MRAPs, which he described as “the best equipment our service men and women could have available as they serve in harm’s way.” McNabb recognized the professionalism and dedication involved on everyone’s part in the safe, secure and efficient shipment of 10,000 MRAPs. “These lifesaving vehicles are proving their value every day in protecting our warfighters and keeping them safe,” he stated. A soldier newly assigned to the 841st shared his personal experience of the importance of MRAPs. Army Capt. Lonnie Nipper recently returned from a 12-month tour in Iraq. While there, Nipper worked as part of a military transition team of approximately a dozen soldiers who were responsible for mentoring and advising Iraqi forces. He spoke of several instances of improvised explosive devices hitting his convoy of MRAPs. Although some MRAPs at times were The Seafarers-crewed Alliance New York sails to Kuwait with a load of MRAPs. delayed by flat tires, vehicle damage, and on one occasion being flipped over, his team suffered no casualties. “If it wasn’t for the people working diligently here getting these vehicles ready and shipped over to us, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish our mission,” Summary Annual Report For NMU Pension Trust of the NMU Pension and Welfare Plan Editor’s note: Data in this summary annual report reflects the outcome of plans mergers that were previously reported both in the LOG and at monthly membership meetings. This is a summary of the annual report for the NMU Pension Trust of the NMU Pension and Welfare Plan (Employer Identification No. 13-6592643, Plan No. 001) for the period January 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement Benefits under the plan are provided by a trust (benefits are provided in whole from trust funds). Plan expenses were $12,284,461. These expenses included $1,173,960 in administrative expenses and $11,110,501 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. There were no participants or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the period. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $0 as of June 30, 2008 compared to $275,648,407 as of January 1, 2008. During the plan year the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $275,648,407. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had total income of $(13,729,067), including losses of $(1,890,179) from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $(11,838,888). Minimum Funding Standards An actuary’s statement shows that enough money was contributed to the plan to keep it funded in accordance with the minimum funding standards of ERISA. 6 Seafarers LOG Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: ■ An accountant’s report; ■ Information regarding any common or collective trust, pooled separate accounts, master trusts or 10312 investment entities in which the plan participates; and ■ Actuarial information regarding the funding of the plan. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Maggie Bowen, who is Plan Administrator, at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746, (301) 899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $5.70 for the full report, or $0.15 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. These portions of the report are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan (5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746) and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, D.C. 20210. Nipper said to his audience. “So, thank you.” The ship carrying the 10,000th MRAP, the MV Alliance New York, is the same ship which delivered the first MRAP carried by surface to the USCENTCOM theater of operations in November 2007. U.S. Economy Takes Another Hit, Loses 663,000 Jobs in March The nation’s economic slump continued in March, with unemployment growing to 8.5 percent – the highest percentage since 1983, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). According to government data, during the month of March, unemployment rose by another 663,000 Americans. That figure reflects a net loss of 5.1 million jobs nationwide since the start of the recession in 2007. Overall, 13.2 million Americans are out of work. These numbers do not factor in the millions of Americans who have faced furloughs and pay cuts since the beginning of the recession. For those remaining employed, the BLS reports an increase in average hourly earnings of 0.3 percent for March. However that gain was outstripped by a 0.4 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The CPI measures the prices consumers pay for goods. The BLS reports the jump in the CPI compared to February’s data was due to the increasing price of petroleum and related products. Meanwhile, the number of temporary workers grew to 547,000, which is its highest total since 1962 and double compared to figures from a year ago. The hardest-hit industries for employment remain the manufacturing and construction trades, according to the BLS. May 2009 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 10:59 AM Page 7 Six Stewards Complete Recertification Mariners Note Career Opportunities Available through SIU, School Six Seafarers recently graduated from the steward recertification course offered at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. Successfully completing the course were Hernegildo Batiz, Jioia DeLeon, Lonnie Jones, Donald Mann, John Reid, Jr. and Basil Waldron. Each of the graduates received a certificate during the April 6 union membership meeting at the school in Piney Point, Md. In keeping with tradition, the stewards addressed their fellow members, SIU officials, school employees and guests at the meeting. Batiz, who sails from the Port of Houston, has been in the SIU for 35 years and encouraged trainees to keep upgrading throughout their careers. “If it wasn’t for upgrading and the school, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” he stated. He also stressed the importance of staying up to date with what’s going on in the industry, including activities on Capitol Hill that affect the U.S. Merchant Marine. To do this, Batiz stressed reading the SIU newspaper and contributing to the voluntary Seafarers Political Activity Donation (SPAD) fund. DeLeon hails from the Port of Tacoma, Wash., and has been sailing with the SIU since 1989. She stated that like so many of her brother and sister Seafarers, if it weren’t for her maritime career, she never would have seen so much of the world. Upon completing the top steward-department curriculum offered at the Paul Hall Center, she noted, “I have studied and worked and have dedicated my seafaring life for this occasion, but my efforts wouldn’t have been successful if not for the tools the SIU offers each of us, and if not for the top-notch education offered by the Paul Hall Center. This school is our heartbeat and we are the best trained mariners in the world!” The elder statesman of the group, Jones, from the Port of Algonac, Mich., joined the SIU in 1968 after serving in the Navy during Vietnam. “I have sailed on oceans, the Lakes and rivers and been to 44 different countries on many kinds of ships and boats,” he noted. “In fact, my whole family has sailed – my wife on the Great Lakes and my son and daughter on the oceans, and all of us have had great lives. Throughout their sailing careers, I’ve told them the same thing I’m passing on to today’s young mariners: Have a good attitude, give every job 100 percent and listen to your supervisor. There is a reason that person is your supervisor. They have experience and you Pictured last month at the school following graduation ceremonies are (left to right) SREC Donald Mann, SREC John Reid, SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez, SIU VP Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi, SREC Jioia DeLeon, SIU President Michael Sacco, SIU VP Contracts George Tricker, SREC Hernegildo Batiz, SREC Basil Waldron, SREC Lonnie Jones and SIU VP Government Services Kermett Mangram. might be able to learn from them. That’s free education!” Jacksonville, Fla.,-based Mann told those attending the meeting that his life “was pretty rough until I joined the SIU in 1982. I couldn’t take care of myself then but the union turned my life around. It’s like how family should be.” Concerning his experiences at the Piney Point, Md., school, Mann said, “The staff is well-trained, and what I learned about sanitation and the ServSafe program is invaluable knowledge that I’m going to stress on board to galley staff. I also learned a lot about the industry and think I’m ready to go on board and spread the word about what’s going on in the industry and our careers.” “I owe the SIU a debt of gratitude because it has shaped my life for 21 years since high school,” explained Reid. The Seafarer from Norfolk, Va., credits the union for experience he never thought he’d have. “The SIU has taught me things and taken me places I As reflected in the photo above and the three below, the stewards brushed up on their fire-fighting and CPR skills in addition to honing other lifesaving techniques. May 2009 thought I’d never know or see. It has also allowed me to provide for my family for two decades. The school really helps us become more competent in performing our daily duties and becoming more instrumental to the safe operations of our ships.” “I consider the steward department the hub of the ship,” said Waldron, who sails from the Port of New York. “A well-fed crew is a happy crew. Crucial to this is ensuring sanitary conditions are maintained. That’s where this recertification program is vital. It teaches and reinforces the safe methods of preparing and serving food. It also teaches proper cleaning and sanitizing – everything to help ward off food-borne illnesses. If you have a chance to recertify, take it; there’s no experience like it.” The three-week recertification class blends practical training with classroom instruction. Students also meet with representatives of various departments from throughout the SIU and the Seafarers Plans. SIU President Michael Sacco (center), joined by VP Contracts George Tricker (left), discusses current maritime events with the stewards at SIU headquarters. Seafarers LOG 7 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 10:59 AM Page 8 With Seafarers in New York Stevenson snapped this photo of the downed airplane and some of the rescue boats. Grateful Airplane Passenger Thanks NY Waterway For Unscheduled Ferry Ride Maersk Line, Limited continues to bring newer tonnage into its fleet. Pictured aboard one of the newly reflagged vessels – the Champion – are (standing, from left) ABs A. Karim, Maher Omar and Josan Contantine, and (seated, from left) Chief Cook Robert Arana, OMU Knolly Wiltshire and Recertified Steward Stephanie Sizemore. Recertified Steward Luis Caballero (left) and Chief Cook Carlos Nunez pause for the camera aboard the Alliance Norfolk. Pictured at the union hall in Brooklyn, N.Y., are Recertified Bosuns Conrad Burke (left) and Cecil Yearwood. By the time he arrived home, Eric Stevenson was very far-removed from the scene of his most memorable airplane trip. That didn’t stop the French citizen from writing to the head of SIU-contracted NY Waterway, Arthur Imperatore, to convey his thanks for being rescued during what quickly became known as the Miracle on the Hudson. Stevenson was a passenger aboard U.S. Airways Flight 1549, which crash-landed in the Hudson River on Jan. 15. All of the plane’s passengers and crew were rescued, the vast majority via SIU-crewed ferries operated by NY Waterway. “NY Waterway crews and boats heroically came French passenger Eric Stevenson to the rescue of many passengers like me,” thanked NY Waterway crews for Stevenson wrote, “in an amazing example of New saving him and other passengers during the Miracle on the Hudson. York’s ability to quickly respond to and professionally handle a major emergency.” He continued, “Your crew took me to the ferry terminal in Weehawken (N.J.) where I was provided with a blanket, shirt and pants to warm up from the frigid waters of the Hudson. I wish to express my enormous appreciation and gratitude for the services NY Waterway provided to my fellow passengers and me.” Paul Hall Center Course Spotlight The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, based in Piney Point, Md., offers a wide variety of vocational and academic courses. Classes are available to upgraders and entry-level students. The following is a brief description of an unlicensed apprentice program course offered at the school, which opened in 1967. Turn to page 21 for a list of upcoming course dates. Additional course descriptions were published in the January 2009 edition of the Seafarers LOG; they also are available on the web at www.seafarers.org/phc Physical Education The six-week course consists of daily training (one hour per day) and includes indoor and outdoor activities. Students participate in calisthenics (stretching, push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, etc.), cardiovascular training and strength training. Their assessment includes a 1.5-mile run and other exercises as well as knowing the gym rules. Body-weight monitoring is available. The gym at the Paul Hall Center is well-equipped with state-of-the-art cardio equipment, free weights and machine weights. Upgraders also may use the gym, which is open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. 8 Seafarers LOG May 2009 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 10:59 AM Page 9 In & Around the Port of Norfolk, Va. National Glory Calls on Port of Norfolk - The SIU-contrated National Glory (above, left) recently tied up in the Port of Norfolk, Va., following a voyage abroad. Union officials serviced the vessel and visited with members of the crew. Aboard the vessel at the time (clockwise from above) were Recertified Bosun Don Rezendes, STOS Ken Summerford, STOS Nelson Velez, OMUs Robert Young (left) and Curtis Richardson, Chief Steward Jeanette Bosworth and Chief Cook David Parker. Operated by Crowley Ship Management, the National Glory in 2007 underwent upgrades and a refurbishment prior to joining the union-contracted fleet. The 575-TEU containership is owned by National Shipping of America. Changing of the Guard -A flurry of activity involving retirees as well as rank-and-file members is the norm in the port of Norfolk, Va. Clockwise from above, VP Government Services Kermett Mangram (right) presents Pensioner Aaron Mann with his first retirement check as his spouse, Hydea, looks on. Safety Director Sam Spain (right) does the same for Retired Bosun Mike Borders while Port Agent Georg Kenny (left in both photos) hands over initial pension checks to ABG Dave Hudgins and AB Tankerman James Goodwin. Taking their respective oaths after receiving their books are (from left) AB Anthony Clements, QMEDs Hugh Haynes, Jome Zernn and SA Algie Mayfield. Kenny administers oaths to SA Shelita Wright, GUDE Young Fan Haloski and (photo at immediate right) AB Mauricio Elopre. May 2009 Seafarers LOG 9 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 11:00 AM Page 10 WITH NEW ORLEANS BOATMEN – SIU New Orleans Safety Director James Brown (right in photo above ) recently sent in this photo and the one below of boatmen employed by West Bank Riverboat. ‘FAMILY MEETING’ – A membership meeting at the Jacksonville, Fla., hall last year also was a family meeting of sorts for SIU members JK Mansfield Borden (left) and Janan Driggers (holding infant), both of whom sail as ABs. They are pictured with their newborn son, Charles, and SIU VP Gulf Coast Dean Corgey. Snapshots From Around the SIU RECALLING MARITIME HISTORY – Retired mariner Robert U. Burch of WEST COAST CIVMARS – Working in the Suisun Bay (Calif.) Reserve Fleet are SIU Government Services Division members (from left) Tommy Johansen, Kent Book and Travis Hosea. The fleet is managed by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration. Beatty, Ore., submitted this photo of him with a burner from the SS America, which was built in the late 1930s in Newport News, Va. Burch noted he spent most of his 30-year maritime career as a fireman and watertender, and he is proud of his maritime service. GOOD FEEDER – Steward department Seafarers aboard the Sealand Quality when this photo was snapped earlier this year at sea included Recertified Steward R. Gary Griswold, Chief Cook Greg Blaylock and SA Mohammad Khan. BOSUN AND ‘CREW’ – The family of Bosun LBJ B. Tanoa gave him a warm send-off HAPPY RETIREMENT – SIU Capt. Garnett Leary (center) came ashore late last year as the Cape Intrepid activated in Tacoma, Wash. Pictured from left to right are the Seafarer’s wife, Fa’amanu Saili Tanoa, niece Nafanua Saili, camera-shy son Lyndon Saili Tanoa and the bosun himself. after sailing for 20 years with Express Marine, Inc. This photo was taken in March, during a retirement lunch for Captain Leary and his family that took place in Camden, N.J. Pictured with him are his wife, Joan, and Express Marine owner Dick Walling. 10 Seafarers LOG May 2009 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 11:00 AM Page 11 STATEMENT OF THE SEAFARERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF MASTERS, MATES & PILOTS AND THE MARINE ENGINEERS’ BENEFICIAL ASSOCIATION ON THE MAERSK ALABAMA PIRACY INCIDENT This statement was issued April 15, 2009 The presidents of the three American maritime labor unions that represent the officers and crew working aboard the Maersk Alabama (SIU President Michael Sacco, MM&P President Tim Brown and MEBA President Don Keefe) have released the following statement after the successful return of Captain Richard Phillips: “On behalf of all the officers and members of our three labor unions, we wish to express our deepest appreciation to all those involved in bringing about the safe return of Captain Richard Phillips and in bringing this act of piracy against a United States-flag cargo vessel to an end. We are especially grateful to President Barack Obama and his Administration for their deliberate and effective handling of this entire situation and, of course, to the Department of the Navy and the naval personnel who, despite the unique and difficult circumstances, did their job to end the hostage situation with great skill. They truly represent the best of America. “We are also grateful to Maersk CEO John Reinhart along with Waterman Steamship Corporation/International Shipholding Corporation President Eric L. Johnson and their entire operations for the manner in which they communicated and worked with our Unions. They made every effort to ensure that we had the most up-to-date and accurate information available so that we in turn could provide comfort and assistance to the families of the officers and crew aboard the Maersk Alabama. “We are extremely proud of Captain Phillips and the entire American crew who were working aboard the Maersk Alabama for their response when these pirates – these international criminals - attempted to seize control of an American ship. Their performance under great pressure when facing the ultimate threat to their own personal safety exemplifies the valor and devotion to duty that American merchant mariners have demonstrated throughout our nation’s history. The seafarers of the Maersk Alabama, led by Captain Phillips, had no hesitation in putting themselves at risk in order to secure the integrity of their United States-flag vessel and its cargo. Once again our nation is able to see firsthand that the civilian American merchant marine officers and crew who sail aboard American vessels will act quickly and decisively to protect the United States flag, and by extension, the United States, whenever and wherever attacked. “All too often the role that our organizations and United States Merchant Mariners play in protecting the economic security of our nation and supporting the Department of Defense and our troops overseas is overlooked. Without a United States-flag merchant fleet and without the American-citizen mariners who sail aboard these vessels, our armed forces overseas would be dependent on others for the supplies, equipment and other cargo they need to do their job in support of America’s international interests. In the case at hand, this vessel and its crew were engaged in a mission of mercy, carrying food to some of the world’s neediest people. The Maersk Alabama was proudly flying the American flag to help demonstrate that we are a compassionate people and that American-flag ships and their crews will put themselves at risk to make sure that the less fortunate of the world who need our aid will in fact receive our aid, and that those whose interests run counter to our nation’s will be thwarted in their efforts. “The training provided to American merchant marine officers and crew at the institutions jointly operated by America’s labor unions and our contracted United States-flag shipping companies, including Maersk, are among the finest in the world. The quality of the training, the experience and expertise of the instructors, and the modern, state-of-the-art facilities and curricula ensure that American mariners will have the best possible information and training available so that when a situation such as this arises, they can respond efficiently and effectively. “Notwithstanding the end of the Maersk Alabama incident and the safe return of Captain Phillips and his crew, it is important for all Americans to understand that international piracy is a fact of life for American mariners and for seafarers around the world. The men and women we represent and who sail aboard United States-flag merchant vessels are prepared to put themselves at risk so that America’s economic, foreign policy and security interests are protected. We stand ready to work with President Obama and his Administration and with the international maritime community to stop the rise of piracy so that vessels operating on the world’s sealanes no longer face this threat. “We again wish to express our deep appreciation to all those involved in successfully ending this situation. We are pleased to welcome the officers and crew of the Maersk Alabama home, and we look forward to greeting Captain Richard Phillips when he too returns home within the next few days.” Unions of Maritime Trades and AFL-CIO Salute Heroic Efforts of Maersk Alabama Crew The Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO issued this statement last month: The Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO salutes the courageous efforts of the all-union crew aboard the Maersk Alabama for maintaining control of their vessel as well as the heroic efforts of the U.S. Navy in rescuing Captain Richard Phillips from his Somali captors. The eight licensed officers and engineers aboard the U.S.-flag vessel are members of either the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots or the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association, while the 12 unlicensed crew members are represented by the Seafarers International Union. MTD President Michael Sacco, speaking on behalf of the maritime unions involved, said, “We are extremely proud of the efforts shown by the crew of the Maersk Alabama. These welltrained American merchant mariners exemplify the very best in our industry. “We also cannot say enough about the sacrifice of Captain Phillips to ensure his crew’s and his ship’s safety. Without his selfless act, we may have seen a tragic outcome.” “The crew and Captain Phillips personify the hero- ism that working Americans bring to their jobs every day,” added John Sweeney, president of the 11 million-member AFL-CIO. “In saluting and honoring them, we honor the skills, commitment and bravery that make our country strong.” The MTD president thanked President Obama and his administration for staying on top of the developing situation and authorizing the use of decisive action. “American merchant mariners have served as the nation’s fourth arm of defense since the American Revolution,” noted President Sacco. “The crew of the Maersk Alabama fully understood the rally cry of ‘Don’t give up the ship!’ “The union members aboard the Maersk Alabama have shown the American merchant marine’s resolve to deliver the goods anywhere, any time no matter the conditions. We are very proud of them.” Concerning the latest attack on a U.S.-flag ship, the union-crewed Liberty Sun, President Sacco added all Americans are grateful the crew and the ship are safe and appreciate the U.S. Navy again responding to protect American interests. The Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO is composed of 23 international unions representing working men and women at sea, in port facilities, in shipyards and other maritime-related fields. Letter from SIU President To Maersk Alabama SIU President Michael Sacco sent individually addressed copies of the following letter to homes of the SIU members who were aboard the Maersk Alabama during the pirate attack. The letter was written one day after Capt. Phillips was rescued and before the crew had flown home. First and foremost, the entire SIU family is overjoyed to know that all of the mariners from the Maersk Alabama are now safe. On behalf of your union, welcome home! May 2009 Already, you have received many accolades from all across the nation and around the world, including comparisons to the American heroes aboard Flight 93 on September 11. Those tributes are welldeserved and completely appropriate. You risked your lives to stand up for yourselves, for your shipmates, for your vessel and for the American flag. You stood tall under harrowing circumstances which only may be fully understood by those who’ve experienced them. You showed the whole world what the U.S. Merchant Marine is all about. At this time, I’m also in the process of conveying my thanks and appreciation to the Navy, the F.B.I. and our brothers and sisters at the MM&P and MEBA. This saga was, to say the least, a team effort. AP Photo/Sayyid Azim Naturally, I include a special acknowledgement for Captain Phillips, whose strength and selflessness are truly remarkable. There is much more I’d like to say, but I’m sure you’ve got a lot of catching up to do with family and friends. For now, please know that I couldn’t be more pleased to see that you’re safe, and I couldn’t be more inspired by your patriotic spirit. You have written a remarkable chapter in the history of a union whose background features many examples of bravery and sacrifice. Your story takes a back seat to none of them. Fraternally Michael Sacco President Seafarers LOG 11 �54210_p01_24X:54210 4/28/2009 3:06 AM Page 12 All’s Well, Maersk Alabama Crew Continued from Page 3 ed large ransom since they’d seemingly captured a U.S.-flag ship. Unfortunately, they managed to grab Phillips, though the SEALS aboard the Navy destroyer USS Bainbridge made them pay for that mistake. ‘We had no Choice’ The story made big headlines not just because it involved a U.S. vessel but because of how the Maersk Alabama mariners fought back. Piracy has become a multi-million dollar industry in Somalia, with highjacked crews typically offering little or no resistance and companies paying ransoms. The idea of giving in to the pirates never occurred to the seamen on the Alabama. “We had no choice but to fight back,” Bosun William Rios told the Seafarers LOG. “That’s how we’re born. What kept us alive was the training, the discipline and the knowledge we learned from the SIU.” Rios credited the captain and crew and thanked the Navy personnel who boarded the Alabama as well as those from the Bainbridge. Like his shipmates, he also said he had no idea that as the story unfolded it literally was a round-the-clock lead item. “We thought it was just another day at sea, because piracy has been going on for so long,” Rios noted. “It wasn’t until we got to Mombasa that we said, ‘Wow, this is a big story.’” He concluded, “I feel great now, but there’s a lot of work we’ve got to do to prevent future incidents.” Electrician John White stated, “You couldn’t find a braver crew than this one. If we hadn’t stuck together, we’d probably be dead.” White added that shipboard safety drills led by Phillips paid off during the incident. “I’d sail with him any time.” 12 Seafarers LOG AB Hector Sanchez said he appreciated the affect ing, especially after the harrowing time aboard ship. “We just tried to save people’s lives,” Sanchez stat For a while we didn’t have any water or food, but late water. It was difficult, but we’re here, you know? We AB ATM Reza, who helped disarm and disable on said, “I feel great. I’m so happy to be with my family Of course, it was tough for the families, to say the After Capt. Phillips had been rescued, but before th home, Sherry Rios, the bosun’s wife, said, “It has bee ordeal but I’m glad it has a great ending. I still didn’t was okay until I spoke to [William] on Saturday…. T Maersk were great, making my family feel like we ha us, someone I could talk to. I saw for myself it’s more a union.” During that same period, Nelida Navarro, wife of A “Of course I was very worried about him and all the c my church has been praying. I tried to stay calm, but time. Everybody’s keeping a watch on the TV. He has now, so that makes it easier on everybody.” Longtime SIU member AB Abdul Gharama, who aboard the Maersk Carolina, is related to Chief Cook and happened to be staying at his home while his own undergoing work. “I was feeling like everybody else, worried about t of course for Husain,” he said. “I was jumping from s and received a couple of calls from the company, with when the ship was released, we were worried about th As a seaman, I understand. The lifeboat is very small thinking about him.” May 2009 �54210_p01_24X:54210 4/28/2009 3:07 AM Page 13 ew Returns Home Safely affectionate homecomhip. z stated. “It was hot. ut later on we got some ? We made it.” ble one of the pirates, amily.” y the least. fore the crew returned s been a horrifying idn’t believe everything …. The union and we had someone helping more like a family than e of AB Sanchez, said, the crew. Everyone at but it’s been a difficult e has called a few times who recently sailed Cook Husain Salah – s own residence was bout the whole crew and rom station to station , with updates. Even out the captain himself. mall inside. I was The SIU crew of the Maersk Alabama consisted of Bosun Rios, ABs Sanchez, Reza, Andrew Brzezinski, Clifford Lacon and Mohamed Abdelwahab; Electrician White; QMED Jimmy Sabga; GUDE Miguel Ruiz; Chief Steward Richard Hicks; Chief Cook Salah; and SA Mario Clotter. Nine of the 12 SIU members on the Maersk Alabama have been to the Paul Hall Center, and one of the others took shipboard safety training (chemical, biological and radiological defense) from a Paul Hall Center instructor aboard ship. Throughout the recent ordeal, SIU officials kept in touch with the families and stayed in constant contact with company and military officials. In a letter to the crew, President Sacco wrote, “The entire SIU family is overjoyed to know that all of the mariners from the Maersk Alabama are now safe…. You risked your lives to stand up for yourselves, for your shipmates, for your vessel and for the American flag…. You showed the whole world what the U.S. Merchant Marine is all about.” He continued, “At this time, I’m also in the process of conveying my thanks and appreciation to the Navy, the F.B.I. and our brothers and sisters at the MM&P and MEBA. This saga was, to say the least, a team effort. Naturally, I include a special acknowledgement for Captain Phillips, whose strength and selflessness are truly remarkable.” The SIU president concluded, “You have written a remarkable chapter in the history of a union whose background features many examples of bravery and sacrifice. Your story takes a back seat to none of them.” Last month’s pricacy incident involving thye SIU-crewed Maersk Alabama made international headlines. The photos on these pages capture some of the events taking place during that episode. Clockwise from the lower left of page 12, the Maersk Alabama arrives in Mombasa, Kenya, carrying humanitarian aid cargo. The security team that boarded the Maersk Alabama included this individual, shown aboard the ship in Mombasa. AB Mohamed Abdelwahab is seen on the ship at the port of Mombasa. (AP Photos/Karel Prinsloo). The guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge tows the lifeboat from the Maersk Alabama to the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (in background), to be processed for evidence after the successful rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips. Phillips was held captive by Somali pirates in the lifeboat in the Indian Ocean for five days after a failed hijacking attempt off the Somali coast. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Megan E. Sindelar). Maersk Alabama Captain Phillips (right, in photo inset) stands with Lt. Cmdr. David Fowler, executive officer of the USS Bainbridge, after being rescued by U.S Navy forces (Official U.S. Navy photo). Mariners react to reporters during a press briefing in port in Mombasa. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo). AB Mohamed Abdelwahab (second from right in photo below) and his family happily reunite at Andrews Air Force Base. Pictured from left to right are his wife, Sarah, daughter Rewan, Brother Abdelwahab and son, Muhab. SIU President Michael Sacco (left in photo at left) greets Bosun William Rios and family after the Seafarer had time to embrace and talk with his wife and son. SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez (right in photo above) also welcomed Rios home and shared a laugh with him and his wife, Sherry. In photo at above right, SIU VP Contracts George Tricker (right) meets with Rios. May 2009 Seafarers LOG 13 �54210_p01_24X:54210 4/28/2009 3:21 AM Page 14 Report Points Out Benefits of Union Membership After decades of disappointing wage growth for many American workers, a new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) shows that unionization significantly boosts the wages of service-sector workers. The report, “Unions and Upward Mobility for Service-Sector Employees,” finds that unionization raises the wages of the average service-sector worker by 10.1 percent, which translates to about $2 per hour. On average, unionization increases the likelihood that the average service-sector worker will have employer-provided health insurance by 19 percentage points. Unionized service-sector workers were also 25 percentage points more likely to have a pension than their non-union peers. “The vast majority of jobs in this country are now in the service sector,” said John Schmitt, a senior economist at CEPR and the author of the study. “The data show that workers in service jobs benefit as much from unionization as workers in manufacturing do.” The impact of unions on service-sector employees in low-wage occupations was even more substantial. For workers in the 15 lowest-paying occupations, unioniza- Notice: COBRA Continuation Coverage The Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan would like to remind Seafarers of their right to elect to purchase continuation of health coverage if they lose coverage due to certain qualifying events. This continuation of coverage is known as COBRA. Generally, if a person is an employee, he or she will be eligible to purchase COBRA coverage for a certain period of time if that person lost coverage because he or she did not have enough days of covered employment (unless the job was lost due to gross misconduct). If someone is the family member of a covered employee, he or she may also elect COBRA for a certain period of time if that person loses coverage due to a divorce; the death of the employee; or in the case of a child of an employee, that child reaches an age at which the Plan no longer considers him or her to be a “dependent child.” For more information about continuation coverage rights under COBRA, please refer to the Plan’s “Guide to Your Benefits,” which members should have received in the mail or at a union hall. The guide is also available in PDF format on the SIU web site, www.seafarers.org, under “Member Benefits and Resources.” The Plan would also like to inform members of a recent federal law which provides a government subsidy towards the cost of the monthly COBRA premium in certain circumstances. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) created a federal subsidy to help pay the cost of continuation health coverage for individuals who lose coverage due to an involuntary termination of employment. This subsidy is available to certain individuals who lose health coverage during the period beginning September 1, 2008 through December 31, 2009. Individuals who qualify are only required to pay 35 percent of the COBRA premium, and may receive the subsidy for a period up to nine months. The subsidy will end sooner if an individual receives other health coverage either through a new job, through a government program such as Medicare or Medicaid, or if that person’s COBRA period ends. The subsidy is not available to individuals who lose coverage due to age, divorce, death of the employee, illness or injury, or because of a reduction in hours. In order to qualify for the subsidy, a person must certify that he or she lost coverage because of an involuntary termination of employment. This means that the individual would only qualify for the subsidy if he or she lost their job because the employer goes out of business; or because the employer lays up a vessel or sells a vessel and reduces the number of employees; or in some cases if the individual is fired (as long as the employee did not engage in gross misconduct) and the member loses health coverage because he or she is unable to find another job. In certain very limited circumstances, quitting a job may also be considered to be an involuntary termination. If an employee qualifies, his or her family members are also eligible for the subsidy in most circumstances. Individuals must apply to the Plan to receive the subsidy. If the Plan denies a request for the subsidy, the individual has the right to appeal to the U.S. Department of Labor. For more information about the COBRA subsidy and who may qualify, visit the web site of the U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration at www.dol.gov/cobra, or call them at 1-866-444-3272. If the Plan is notified that an individual no longer is eligible for health coverage, it will send that person an election package that explains COBRA rights, including information about the COBRA subsidy. If an individual has not received this package but thinks he or she may qualify for the subsidy and wishes to apply, contact the Plan at: 1-800-CLAIMS4. tion raised wages by 15.5 percent. The likelihood of having health insurance increased by about 26 percentage points and the likelihood of having an employersponsored pension increased by about 23 percentage points. “Unions give the biggest boost to workers in low-paying occupations because these are the workers that have the least bargaining power in the labor market,” Schmitt said. “Unionization can turn what would otherwise be low-paying jobs with no benefits into middle-class jobs.” Over the period covered in the report, 13.3 percent of service-sector workers were either members of a union or covered by a union contract at their workplace. The report analyzed data on workers from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) for the years 2004 through 2007. Founded by economists in 1999, the CEPR is self-described as having been established “to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people’s lives.” Unlicensed Apprentice Earns Diploma Nicholas Byers (center), an unlicensed apprentice at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, recently earned his high school diploma through the program available at the union-affiliated school. He received the diploma at the April membership meeting in Piney Point, Md., where he was congratulated by SIU President Michael Sacco (right) and SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez. Around the clock, around the neighborhood, SIU Union Plus benefits help you save every day. Union members like you are saving thousands a year with valuable Union Plus® savings programs and benefits. You can wake up in the morning and use a Union Plus discount at the vet, then go online and save on flowers and movie tickets. Before the day is done, you can save on major purchases like computers and vacations. There are even programs to help with important things like out-of-pocket medical expenses and legal consultations. The Union Plus Credit Card is a big part of these savings. It’s the only unionendorsed credit card and offers competitive APRs, no annual fee and a safety net in case of layoffs or extreme hardship. You’re not tied to just one store or even one type of product. Union Plus helps you save on all kinds of things you use every day, from clothes to tires; and on big things, like helping your kids get to college. Find out more about all your benefits at www.UnionPlus.org. To apply for the Union Plus Credit Card go to www.UnionPlusCard.com. Memorial Day Closure Please be advised that-unless an emergency arises-SIU Headquarters and all SIU hiring halls will be closed Monday, May 25 for the observance of Memorial Day. Normal business hours will resume at all affected locations the following workday after the holiday. 14 Seafarers LOG Credit Card: 1-800-757-9882 Education Services: 1-877-881-1022 Legal Services: 1-888-993-8886 SIU-CLKV-A 040 May 2009 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 11:02 AM Page 15 Personal Tyrone “Pat” Patrick would like to hear from anyone else who was on the Christopher Lykes during a trip to Vietnam in 1967 and from anyone else who sailed on the American Chieftain to Vietnam in 1968. He may be reached at (850) 9367015 or tdpat69@hotmail.com June & July 2009 Membership Meetings Piney Point..........................................Monday: June 8, July 6 Algonac ..............................................Friday: June 12, July 10 Baltimore.........................................Thursday: June 11, July 9 Guam.............................................Thursday: June 25, July 23 Honolulu ........................................... Friday: June 19, July 17 Houston...........................................Monday: June 15, July 13 Jacksonville.....................................Thursday: June 11, July 9 Joliet..............................................Thursday: June 18, July 16 Mobile........................................Wednesday: June 17, July 15 Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea Please note that, due to temporary conditions stemming from a transition to a new database, the shipping report on this page covers fewer days than normal. The usual 30-day reports will resume in the next edition. March 16, 2009 — April 20, 2009 Total Registered Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington New Orleans..........................................Tuesday: June 16, July 14 Totals New York............................................Tuesday: June 9, July 7 Port Norfolk............................................Thursday: June 11, July 9 Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Oakland .........................................Thursday: June 18, July 16 Philadelphia..................................Wednesday: June 10, July 8 Port Everglades .............................Thursday: June 18, July 16 San Juan ..........................................Thursday: June 11, July 9 St. Louis .............................................Friday: June 19, July 17 Tacoma...............................................Friday: June 26, July 24 Wilmington...........................................Monday: June 22, July 20 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. Attention Seafarers It Takes A 4-Letter Word To Be Heard Totals Totals DECK DEPARTMENT 5 1 3 15 0 10 25 29 10 4 9 25 16 9 5 8 2 3 13 9 2 0 0 3 0 1 2 4 0 1 3 6 6 1 0 8 0 0 5 1 16 0 6 5 0 7 29 17 5 6 5 27 4 17 5 0 4 0 17 12 6 0 4 11 0 12 17 17 7 3 2 12 9 8 0 4 1 1 13 9 7 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 3 4 0 1 5 0 0 0 1 9 1 7 20 1 12 93 46 1 24 28 76 28 47 4 3 13 2 69 53 9 5 4 24 7 15 63 53 5 9 15 48 34 17 11 6 15 9 45 36 12 0 0 8 1 1 7 8 0 3 7 11 9 3 2 2 1 0 11 9 232 201 43 182 136 28 537 430 95 9 0 2 8 0 9 13 11 3 6 7 11 6 11 3 1 2 3 16 8 3 0 4 11 0 10 10 16 2 5 2 7 5 9 5 2 5 3 12 10 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 3 0 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 129 112 14 ENGINE DEPARTMENT May 2009 8 0 4 6 0 4 10 12 3 8 4 8 3 7 3 0 0 0 12 6 3 0 3 5 0 3 5 8 1 2 0 6 6 4 0 0 3 1 10 5 4 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 17 0 11 31 32 0 9 14 26 17 22 5 2 4 4 22 20 2 2 6 16 2 5 30 32 1 9 3 20 26 15 6 5 14 9 22 25 4 0 0 1 0 2 3 6 2 0 0 5 3 2 0 0 0 1 3 3 98 65 10 240 250 35 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 4 0 1 5 0 11 16 13 1 5 12 19 8 15 0 2 2 1 9 21 1 0 2 6 0 2 7 3 2 2 2 3 11 4 1 2 3 1 4 2 0 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 145 58 12 Port CONTRIBUTE TO SPAD Registered On Beach Class A Class B Class C 18 0 9 12 0 4 32 18 4 11 10 29 10 25 2 2 4 0 25 17 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Total Shipped Class A Class B Class C 3 0 0 4 0 6 11 4 1 2 6 13 8 9 1 2 4 0 6 15 1 0 0 1 0 2 2 5 1 0 0 4 9 8 0 0 0 1 5 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 4 10 2 19 47 30 0 10 12 44 13 34 2 4 1 1 29 40 2 1 2 12 2 6 13 9 2 5 2 10 15 7 2 3 4 1 10 9 2 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 1 1 1 0 1 1 5 95 41 5 304 117 20 ENTRY DEPARTMENT Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington 0 0 0 0 0 3 10 1 1 0 0 10 0 4 0 0 0 0 4 2 7 0 3 9 0 5 15 18 2 8 6 25 9 10 2 9 1 1 12 14 7 0 2 3 0 6 6 7 1 2 12 4 8 3 5 43 0 0 4 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 2 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 2 3 0 0 3 0 3 7 7 2 5 1 8 7 6 1 10 1 1 6 11 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 2 4 1 1 45 0 0 0 2 3 0 1 0 0 5 17 2 0 1 0 14 1 10 0 0 1 0 8 5 7 2 5 16 3 16 41 30 0 15 12 49 17 28 1 3 4 0 35 26 13 0 0 12 0 14 21 19 2 7 3 18 22 15 3 17 3 0 8 11 Totals 35 156 108 16 79 62 68 310 188 541 527 177 391 321 105 1149 1107 338 Totals All Departments Seafarers LOG 15 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 11:03 AM Page 16 Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 GUAM P.O. Box 3328, Hagatna, Guam 96932 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 Inquir ing Seaf arer Editor’s note: This month’s Inquiring Seafarer question was posed to rankand-file members at the Port of Fort Lauderdale union hall. Question: What are your thoughts about the Maersk Alabama situation, and did you follow it as the news was unfolding? Randolph Scott, Chief Pumpman We know the pirates are out there and we have to be vigilant. I like the fact that the crew is safe and they took care of business. I heard about it before anyone saw it on the news – I was in Honduras when it happened. Eventually it happened to us (an SIU-crewed vessel). I like the fact that the captain took action, we took action, the government took action. And I feel good everybody is safe. Arnaldo Fernandez, AB I was following it all the time. It’s kind of dangerous over there. The government’s got to do something about it. We’ve got to stop those pirates. I was worried about our brothers on the ship. After I found out they were safe and sound, they still had the captain and I was worried about him, too. Those pirates are crazy – that’s why we’ve got to stop them. I’m very, very, very happy that everyone is back home and the captain will be back home soon, also. Very happy. Rudy Lopez, Chief Steward I had just left that area – I was on the Maersk Arkansas, the sister ship. It got me concerned. It’s dangerous. We should be able to protect ourselves on that ship or at least have someone on board who can use a gun without being afraid they’d have to go to court. I’m very happy everybody got out of there safely. I was glued to the TV, trying to find out what was going on every minute. I know the electrician and the steward – I sail with both those guys. I was very concerned. I’m just happy everybody came home okay. Donald Hutchens, Bosun I feel that the companies are going to have to start implementing on-board security in that area. I saw it on the internet and read about it for the next few days. The day the captain was abducted, somebody told me. It gives me a little apprehension but you also think about … the preparation for taking action always being part of your shipboard routine. You rehearse and you go through what you know. You feel a great deal of empathy for the guys. As one guy said at the end, the captain’s weekly drills probably saved them, because presence of mind is a key in that situation. From my years of sailing on government ships, I’m 100 percent vigilant, even at home. The drills do it. It’s not that you’d forget otherwise, but it has to be done routinely…. That’s a hell of a situation to be in – it’s just not good. Now that the pirates have made malicious statements, (the industry’s response) is going to require more than just talking about it. Pic-From-The-Past MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 George McCartney (standing right), the late SIU VP West Coast, addressed delegates during the May 1977 Port Agents Conference at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Agents and guests from each of the union’s ports attended the two-day symposium. At the time of the forum, McCartney was serving as port agent in Seattle, Wash. He moved into the same post in the Port of San Francisco in 1978 and remained there until 1981 when he assumed duties as VP, West Coast. McCartney began sailing with the SIU in 1948, joining at the age of 17. He retired in 1998 and passed away March 19, 2004. Pictured in the background, center, is the late SIU Executive VP Joe Sacco. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with other Seafarers LOG readers, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. High-resolution digital images may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org 16 Seafarers LOG May 2009 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 11:03 AM Page 17 Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. Welcome Ashore DEEP SEA ABRAHAM ALFARO Brother Abraham Alfaro, 62, became an SIU member in 1967. The Puerto Rico native shipped in the engine department. Brother Alfaro first went to sea aboard an Alcoa Steamship Company vessel. He often took advantage of educational opportunities available at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Alfaro most recently sailed on the Elizabeth. He lives in Bricktown, N.J. MANN AROON Brother Mann Aroon, 67, joined the union in 1977. He initially sailed aboard the Adventure. Brother Aroon attended classes on numerous occasions at the Seafarers-affiliated school in Maryland. He was born in Singapore. Brother Aroon shipped in the engine department. His final ship was the Flickertail State. Brother Aroon resides in Williamsburg, Va. RODOLFO ASOPARDO Brother Rodolfo Asopardo, 69, started sailing with the Seafarers in 1967 while in the port of San Francisco. His first voyage was on the Coastal California. Brother Asopardo, who sailed in the deck department, was born in the Philippines. In 2000, he visited the Piney Point school to enhance his seafaring abilities. Brother Asopardo was last employed aboard the Horizon Hawk. He calls San Francisco home. EDUARDO MALABAD Brother Eduardo Malabad, 65, was born in the Philippines. He began sailing with the union in 1980. Brother Malabad originally sailed on the Manhattan as a member of the deck department. He upgraded his skills on two occasions at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Malabad most recently worked aboard the Meteor. He is a resident of West Covina, Calif. JULIO MATOS Brother Julio Matos, 62, signed on with the SIU in 1966 while in the port of New York. He initially sailed on the Wacosta. Brother Matos was born in Fajardo, P.R. He sailed in both the deck and steward departments. Brother Matos attended classes often at the union-affiliated school. He was last employed aboard the El Morro. Brother Matos settled in Carolina, P.R. May 2009 KAREL SUMILAT Brother Karel Sumilat, 62, joined the SIU ranks in 1990 while in the port of San Francisco. His first vessel was the Independence; his last was the Commitment. Brother Sumilat upgraded frequently at the Piney Point school. The deck department member was born in Indonesia. Brother Sumilat resides in Elmhurst, N.Y. MICHAEL SUTTON Brother Michael Sutton, 56, became a Seafarer in 1981 in the port of Norfolk, Va. His earliest trip was with Allied Transportation Company. Brother Sutton visited the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. on numerous occasions. His most recent voyage was on the Delta Mariner, where he sailed as a member of the deck department. Brother Sutton continues to live in his native state of Florida. HERWOOD WALTERS Brother Herwood Walters, 65, donned the SIU colors in 1966. He originally shipped aboard the Raphael Semmes. In 1977 and 1982, Brother Walters upgraded his skills at the Paul Hall Center. The deck department member was born in Jamaica. Brother Walters’ final trip was on a Crowley Towing & Transportation vessel. He lives in Palm Bay, Fla. INLAND ARNOLD ELAM Brother Arnold Elam, 62, started shipping with the union in 1970. He primarily sailed with Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company during his seafaring career. Brother Elam is a resident of Newport News, Va. WILLIAM FREITAS Brother William Freitas, 59, joined the SIU in 1980 while in the port of New Orleans. His earliest trip was aboard a Delta Queen Steamboat Company vessel. On two occasions, Brother Freitas took advantage of the educational opportunities available at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. He was born in California and sailed in the deck department. Brother Freitas last sailed on the Delta Queen. He makes his home in Davenport, Iowa. JAMES GODWIN Brother James Godwin, 67, began his seafaring career in 1981. He mainly shipped aboard vessels operated by Allied Transportation Company. In 1997, Brother Godwin attended classes at the Piney Point school. He calls Portsmouth, Va., home. KENNETH GRIGGS Brother Kenneth Griggs, 50, was born in Virginia. He signed on with the SIU in 1979 while in Piney Point, Md. Brother Griggs originally sailed with Inland Tugs as a member of the deck department. He was a frequent upgrader at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Griggs most recently shipped with Crowley Towing & Transportation of Jacksonville. He settled in Clyde, N.C. WAYNE LAMOND Brother Wayne Lamond, 62, first donned the SIU colors in 1996 while in the port of Philadelphia. The deck department member primarily shipped with Crowley Liner Services. Brother Lamond was born in Harrisburg, Pa., and makes his home in Norwood, Pa. BERNARD MOOD, JR. Brother Bernard Mood, Jr., 61, became a union member in 1979 while in the port of Jacksonville, Fla. He initially sailed aboard the Sugar Island. Brother Mood was born in Georgia. He enhanced his seafaring abilities at the Piney Point school in 2002. Brother Mood’s final trip was aboard a Great Lakes Dredge & Docks survey boat. He is a resident of Meadville, Pa. WILLIAM MORRIS Brother William Morris, 64, started his SIU career in 1960 in the port of New York. His earliest trip was aboard the Sampan Knot. Brother Morris worked in the deck department. He upgraded at the Seafarers-affiliated school on three occasions. Brother Morris was last employed on a Crowley Towing & Transportation of Jacksonville vessel. He lives in Galveston, Texas. JACK PARKINS Brother Jack Parkins, 63, was born in Ohio. He joined the union in 2000 while in Piney Point, Md. Brother Parkins shipped in both the steward and deck depart- Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG 1941 The SIU negotiated a bonus increase from $50 to $60 per month on the African and Far Eastern war zones with Waterman Steamship, Robin Line and Bernstein Shipping Company. In addition, the agreements called for additional pay if a ship touched the ports of Suez and any other port in the Red Sea or the Persian Gulf. The bonus agreements were reopened when the president declared the Red Sea open to American shipping and after the Germans had declared they would consider the Red Sea a war zone. ments, mostly aboard Allied Towing vessels. In 2002, he took classes at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Parkins calls McGuffey, Ohio, home. ROGER ROTHSCHILD Brother Roger Rothschild, 55, signed on with the SIU in 1979 while in the port of Philadelphia. He worked with Crowley Towing & Transportation of Jacksonville for the duration of his career. Brother Rothschild was born in New York and sailed in the deck department. He visited the maritime training center on numerous occasions to upgrade his skills. Brother Rothschild resides in New York. DAVID VERSCHOOR Brother David Verschoor, 62, joined the SIU ranks in 1987 in the port of Wilmington, Calif. He is a native of Waseca, Minn. Brother Verschoor mainly shipped aboard vessels operated by Crowley Towing & Transportation of Wilmington. He was a member of the steward department. Brother Verschoor makes his home in Waterville, Minn. provides that 100 percent of cargoes financed by a lending agency of the U.S. government must be shipped in American bottoms. The SIU urged MarAd to reject an Italian request asking that P.R. 17 be waived and that Italian-flagged vessels be permitted to carry $50 million worth of cargoes for which credit has been extended by the export-import bank. Union officials rejected the practice as issuing so-called “general waivers” which effectively result in the circumvention of cargo preference laws. This Month In SIU History 1946 At the instigation of the SIU, representatives of all AFL maritime unions on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts met in New York on May 20. A resolution was adopted calling on the AFL Executive Council to establish a Maritime Trades Department within the American Federation of Labor. The purpose of the move was to ensure unions allied in the marine industry would have the same kind of representation within the AFL as do the Building Trades Department and the Metal Trades Department. 1964 The SIU has informed the Maritime Administrator of its insistence on strict adherence to the terms of Public Resolution 17, which 1993 Although U.S. armed forces have completed their formal withdrawal from Somalia, U.S.-flag merchant vessels – including four contracted with the SIU – still are providing support to U.S. and United Nations troops in the East African nation. Three Ready Reserve Force vessels – the Gopher State, Cape Henry and Rover – as well as the fast sealift vessel USNS Bellatrix continue to provide food, ammunition and other materiel to U.S. soldiers stationed in Somalia as command of all foreign forces in the war-torn nation shifts to the Untied Nations. The five-month U.S. military intervention in Somalia officially came under United Nations control on May 4. With the changing of the flags, 3,625 U.S. servicemen were left behind in logistics and support roles. The SIU-crewed vessels will remain in support of these American troops until further notice. Seafarers LOG 17 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 11:04 AM Page 18 Final Depar tures DEEP SEA ROBERT AUMILLER Pensioner Robert Aumiller, 85, passed away Dec. 27. Brother Aumiller joined the SIU in 1943 while in the port of New York. He originally worked with Waterman Steamship Company as a member of the steward department. Brother Aumiller was born in Allen, Ind. Prior to his retirement in 1982, he sailed aboard the Point Susan. Brother Aumiller settled in Sea Level, N.C. PAT COLONNA Pensioner Pat Colonna, 85, died Nov. 24. Brother Colonna became a Seafarer in 1951 in the port of New York. The New Jersey native shipped in the engine department. Brother Colonna’s first ship was the Steel Worker; his last was the Nuevo San Juan. He went on pension in 1989 and called South Windsor, Conn., home. ALFRED FABRE Pensioner Alfred Fabre, 68, passed away Dec. 9. Brother Fabre started sailing with the union in 1964. He was born in Louisiana. Brother Fabre’s earliest trip was on the Steel Direct. He sailed in the deck department. Brother Fabre most recently worked aboard the Robert E. Lee. He retired in 2001 and lived in Ely, Nev. JAMES HARRIS Pensioner James Harris, 72, died Dec. 15. Brother Harris signed on with the SIU in 1966. He initially shipped on the City of Alma in the deck department. Brother Harris’s final voyage was aboard the Tyco’s Long Lines. He became a pensioner in 2002. Brother Harris was a resident of Wilmington, N.C. 18 Seafarers LOG JON HUMASON Pensioner Jon Humason, 56, passed away Dec. 19. Brother Humason, a member of the deck department, began sailing with the Seafarers in 1971. His first trip was on the Yukon. Brother Humason was born in Virginia. He was last employed aboard the USNS Capella. Brother Humason started collecting his retirement compensation in 1999. He continued to reside in his native commonwealth. LUIS ITURRINO Pensioner Luis Iturrino, 81, died Feb. 18. Brother Iturrino joined the SIU ranks in 1954 while in the port of New York. His first voyage was on the Kainalu. Brother Iturrino was a member of the steward department. He was born in San Juan, P.R. Before retiring in 1992, he sailed aboard the Horizon Consumer. Brother Iturrino made his home in Carolina, P.R. HALSTEAD JACKSON Pensioner Halstead Jackson, 76, passed away Nov. 23. Brother Jackson began his SIU sailing career in 1965. He originally shipped on the Topa Topa. Brother Jackson worked in the deck department. His last voyage was aboard the Performance. Brother Jackson was born in Savannah, Ga., but called Nederland, Texas, home. He started receiving his pension in 1994. HORACE JONES Pensioner Horace Jones, 73, died Dec. 4. Brother Jones first donned the SIU colors in 1968. His earliest trip to sea was on the Over Rose. Brother Jones was born in Wisconsin and sailed in the engine department. His final voyage took place aboard the Elizabeth. Brother Jones retired in 2002 and settled in Sunrise, Fla. ERNEST LECKRONE Pensioner Ernest Leckrone, 100, passed away Nov. 24. Brother Leckrone was born in Michigan. He joined the union in 1955. Brother Leckrone worked with Michigan Interstate Railway on the Ann Arbor for the duration of his career. He went on pension in 1976 and lived in Lancaster, Pa. ROBERT MAHONE Pensioner Robert Mahone, 86, died Nov. 22. Brother Mahone became a Seafarer in 1943 while in the port of Norfolk, Va. His earliest trip was aboard the Rob Good. Brother Mahone was a Virginia native. He most recently sailed on the Sam Houston as a member of the deck department. Brother Mahone started collecting his retirement compensation in 1986. He was a resident of Newport News, Va. JAMES MCGUIRE Pensioner James McGuire, 78, passed away Oct. 1. Brother McGuire began his SIU career in 1979 in the port of Norfolk, Va. He initially shipped aboard the TransColumbia. Brother McGuire worked in the deck department. He last sailed on the Motivator. Brother McGuire retired in 1995 and resided in Norfolk, Va. WALTER NAPPER Brother Walter Napper, 54, died Dec. 16. He signed on with the Seafarers in 1989. Brother Napper’s first ship was the Independence; his last was the Green Cove. The deck department member was born in New York. Brother Napper made his home in Oakland, Calif. GASPER NOTO Pensioner Gasper Noto, 91, passed away Oct. 7. Brother Noto started sailing with the SIU in 1951. He originally worked aboard the Morning Light. Brother Noto was a member of the steward department. His final ship was the Del Norte. In 1982, Brother Noto became a pensioner and settled in Covington, La. LNG Virgo. Brother Urti made his home in Hammond, La. BONIFACIO PALMA Pensioner Bonifacio Palma, 86, died Dec. 12. Brother Palma was born in the Philippines. He joined the union in 1966. Brother Palma’s first voyage was on the Caton Victory. Prior to his retirement in 1993, he was employed aboard the Oversea Alice. Brother Palma shipped in the steward department. He continued to live in the Philippines. INLAND YUSEF SALAHI Pensioner Yusef Salahi, 79, passed away Sept. 5. Brother Salahi first donned the SIU colors in 1970 while in the port of San Francisco. His earliest trip was on the Noon Day. Brother Salahi sailed in the steward department. His most recent ship was the USNS Watson. Brother Salahi was born in Yemen but called Lackawanna, N.Y., home. He went on pension in 2000. GREAT LAKES JOHN THOMMEN Pensioner John Thommen, 84, died Nov. 20. Brother Thommen began sailing with the union in 1946 from the port of Baltimore. He initially worked aboard the Alcoa Partner as a deck department member. Brother Thommen was born in Maryland. His last trip to sea was on a Bay Tankers Inc. vessel. Brother Thommen was a resident of Las Vegas, Nev. He started receiving his pension in 1987. ANGEL URTI Pensioner Angel Urti, 87, passed away Nov. 19. Brother Urti became a Seafarer in 1951 while in the port of New York. He first shipped with Eagle Carriers Inc. Brother Urti was a member of the deck department. Before retiring in 1984, he worked aboard the MICHAEL MCGUIRE Brother Michael McGuire, 54, died Feb. 24. He joined the union in 1994, initially working on American Marine Corporation vessels. Brother McGuire most recently sailed with Crowley Towing & Transportation of Wilmington. He lived in his native state, California. DEAN BROWNING Pensioner Dean Browning, 68, passed away Dec. 10. Brother Browning was born in Michigan. He started his SIU career in 1967. Brother Browning shipped aboard American Steamship Company vessels for the duration of his career. He sailed in the deck department. Brother Browning retired in 2004 and settled in Algonac. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU), have passed away. Name Age DOD Alexander, Cloue 77 Feb. 21 Benson, Hugard 84 March 5 Clue, Norman 90 March 7 Donnatien, George 91 March 10 Felipa, Prudencio 80 March 9 Guarnelo, Philipe 70 March 12 Guidry, Victor 80 March 25 Hermann, John 74 Feb. 25 Irizarry, Dionisio 82 March 10 Jackson, Emanuel 81 March 16 Jones, Willie 86 March 1 Jordan, Theophilus 88 Jan. 23 Laspakis, Steve 94 Jan. 31 Loechner, James 88 March 7 Lugo, Jose 96 March 19 Martinez, Encarnacion 91 Jan. 1 Merced, Raul 75 March 13 Neco, Salustiano 88 March 10 Ryberg, David 79 Feb. 2 Soucy, Roger 83 Feb. 10 Ventresca, Donato 82 March 2 Yarber, Perry 59 Feb. 27 Zachmann, Steven 64 March 12 Zebron, Mitchell 84 Feb. 24 May 2009 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 11:04 AM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings HORIZON RELIANCE (Horizon Lines), Feb. 7 – Chairman Kissinfor N. Taylor, Secretary Joseph A. Laureta, Educational Director Michael S. Kirby, Deck Delegate Rene V. Rafer, Steward Delegate Dante F. Cruz. Chairman announced payoff on Feb. 12 in Long Beach, Calif. and read president’s report from Seafarers LOG. Captain reminded crew to keep ship clean, especially crew dining room. Educational director urged Seafarers to visit the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., and reminded them to apply for TWIC cards ASAP. Treasurer stated $665.19 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew members requested clarification regarding contract item. Next ports: Long Beach, Calif. and Honolulu, Hawaii. HORIZON HAWK (Horizon Lines), March 30 – Chairman David J. Garoutte, Secretary Mary Cabasag, Educational Director Gary M. Dahl, Deck Delegate Robert L. Richardson, Engine Delegate Michael S. Kirby, Steward Delegate Nasser Ahmed. Chairman thanked everyone for a safe voyage and went over ship’s itinerary. Secretary reported great crew and reminded them to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen for reliefs. Educational director encouraged eligible mariners to upgrade at Piney Point. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made for the company to provide Chinese visas for members. Members praised the steward department for excellent meals. The steward department thanked electrician for installing new oven. GALENA BAY (OSG Ship HORIZON TIGER (Horizon Lines), March 15 – Chairman Lawrence L. Kunc, Secretary Terry L. Allen, Educational Director Vladimir Babenko, Steward Delegate Abdulla M. Baabbad. Bosun announced payoff upon arrival in Tacoma, Wash., on March 21. Updated TWIC information has been posted for crew members to read. Secretary asked departing mariners to leave cabins neat for arriving crew. Importance of physical fitness and good nutrition was discussed. Educational director urged all mariners to upgrade their skills at the Paul Hall Center. He also reiterated the need to keep all necessary shipping documents current and noted TWIC deadline coming soon. No beefs or disputed OT reported. It was reported that a grill had been installed and the ice machine was fixed. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash., Oakland, Calif. and Honolulu, Hawaii. Management), March 15 – Chairman Albert L. Caulder, Secretary Fausto D. Aranda, Educational Director Jason Flesner, Steward Delegate Frederick L. Saffo. Chairman talked about contract negotiations and asked for more information if possible. Secretary thanked God for fellow seamen and sent his prayerful support to those training at the Piney Point school. Educational director encouraged members to check out what the union-affiliated school has to offer and apply for TWIC card early. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward department was thanked for good meals and keeping ship clean. Next port: Tampa, Fla. HORIZON ANCHORAGE (Horizon Lines), March 22 – Chairman Dan P. Fleehearty, Secretary Shawn L. Clark, Deck Delegate Sandy R. Killian, Steward Delegate Khaled Taffi. Chairman reported payoff to take place March 24 at sea. He discussed the need for crew members to keep documents up-to-date. Secretary recommended that seamen have TWIC cards with them at all ports when leaving ship. Educational director asked members to keep outside doors closed in cold weather. Mariners were encouraged to enhance their skills at the Paul Hall Center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew expressed gratitude for fine meals prepared by the steward department. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash., Anchorage, Alaska and Kodiak, Alaska. LIBERTY GLORY (Liberty Maritime), March 22 – Chairman Ramon Castro, Secretary Abraham Mills, Educational Director Robert N. Jones, Deck Delegate Adams Mohammed, Engine Delegate Antonio Martinez, Steward Delegate Julio Guity. Chairman stated payoff to take place in Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 27. He thanked crew for smooth voyage and advised all mariners to get TWIC card ASAP. Secretary expressed gratitude to fellow crew members for their cooperation in maintaining ship cleanliness during voyage. Educational director recom- The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships’ minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. CIVMARS Deliver In this March 24 image taken in the Persian Gulf, an SA-330 Puma helicopter flies from the Military Sealift Command dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE 1) to deliver mail to the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain (CG 57). The Lewis and Clark is crewed in the unlicensed positions by members of the SIU Government Services Division. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Barker) mended Seafarers upgrade at the Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made for a new ice machine and new dryers in crew laundry room. Next port: Corpus Christi. SEABULK ARTIC (Seabulk Tankers), March 15 – Chairman Juan Castillo, Secretary Alan W. Bartley, Educational Director Salome Castro, Deck Delegate Carlos Castillo, Engine Delegate Cesar Bugtai II, Steward Delegate Keesah D. Smith. Chairman went over ship itinerary. Secretary praised seamen for their help keeping ship clean. He asked everyone to please read instructions on laundry soap and follow them. Educational director urged mariners to keep all necessary seafaring documents current and discussed the importance of enhancing seafaring abilities at the unionaffiliated school in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestions were made pertaining to medical and death benefits. Crew would like a new washer and dryer in laundry room for when riders are on board. Vote of thanks given to the steward department for a job well done. Next ports: San Francisco, Valdez, Alaska and Kenai, Alaska. USNS RICHARD G. MATTHIESEN (Ocean Ships Inc.), March 29 – Chairman Dana Naze, Secretary Alponso Dizon, Educational Director Ramon J. Corretjer, Deck Delegate Robert Morrison, Engine Delegate Donald W. Lumpkins, Steward Delegate Ceazar R. Mercado. Chairman announced payoff in Manchester, Wash., on April 3; SIU patrolman will be present. Secretary stated that 90-day stores will be in when ship arrives in Manchester. Educational director advised mariners to take advantage of Piney Point school to enhance their skills. Treasurer reported satellite TV to be installed after Manchester. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward delegate noted that apprentice is doing an excellent job. Bosun read and discussed communications received from union, covering topics including TWIC, dental-care providers, Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan scholarship program and Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan. Vote of thanks given to steward department for great meals. Next ports: Manchester, Anchorage, Alaska, Kodiac, Alaska and Cherry Point, Wash. USNS SISLER (Ocean Ships Inc.), March 7 – Chairman Kenneth L. Steiner, Secretary Judi L. Chester, Educational Director James W. Demouy III, Deck Delegate Timothy J. Littles, Engine Delegate James W. Demouy, Steward Delegate Teresito O. Reyes. Chairman noted all departments worked well together during voyage. Educational director informed crew members that Piney Point upgrading schedule and union forms are on the computer, listed under “union.” Treasurer stated $1,350 in ship’s fund (safety fund also included in that amount). No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion was made to change name of vacation check to earned wages or deferred payment. Steward department was thanked for great barbecues. Crew noted that despite a very full work schedule, they were able to enjoy the beauty of Diego Garcia during off time. Maersk Iowa Docks in New York Aboard the USNS Watkins in Norfolk, Va. The SIU-contracted Maersk Iowa recently paid a visit to the port of New York. After a payoff, members of the crew agreed to pose for the photo above before returning to their duties. The union-crewed USNS Watkins recently was serviced in the port of Norfolk, Va. Union officials visited and discussed various issues with members of the crew while the vessel was in port. If the demeanor of SA Wayne Schindler, above, offers any indication of how things were going aboard the Watkins, it’s safe to assume that all was “shipshape.” May 2009 Seafarers LOG 19 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 11:04 AM Page 20 Letters To The Editor Remembering A Proud Seafarer Let me thank you and your staff for faithfully mailing me the Seafarers LOG. It keeps me informed about the past, the present and the future, and also about our friends who retired or crossed the bar. Thank you also for the story in the November 2008 LOG, “This Month in SIU History,” about James Oliver. My husband always was, and remains, my hero. Enclosed is an original photo of James near the Del Mar, sister ship of the Del Sud and the Del Norte. My husband was a proud 61-year SIU member who sailed the world over, and was one of G&H Towing Company’s best and most knowledgeable tug captains. He was from the “greatest generation” – a generation that is fast fading now, including me. Please say a big hello to SIU President Letters may be edited for conciseness and clarity. Submissions may be mailed to 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 or e-mailed to webmaster@seafarers.org Michael Sacco and my friends in Houston, including SIU Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey and Assistant Vice President Jim McGee. Georgette Oliver Timpson, Texas Editor’s note: Here is the brief about Brother Oliver, which originally was published in 1972: At approximately 10 a.m., the Steel Designer’s fire alarm sounded. The ship was transporting a load of sodium hydrochlorite to Panama that was now being threatened by fire. The chemical creates highly toxic and flammable sulphur dioxide when burned. After the ship’s CO2 had been exhausted, the only option was to secure the ship’s vents to control the blaze. This could only be done by a crew member making a hazardous climb up the king posts through heavy smoke and breath-defying fumes. That’s when Wiper James Oliver volunteered without hesitation. High above the ship’s waterline and hardly visible through the smoke, the SIU member worked quickly to secure the vents, one after another, and reduced the fire’s air supply. After spending several anxious minutes aloft, Oliver completed the task and returned to the deck to help his shipmates extinguished the now oxygenstarved blaze. Retiree Recommends Snug Harbor The late Seafarer James Oliver is pictured near the Del Mar. Here’s a question to all the retired guys: Do you want a good place to live – lots better than any ship you were on? A Former deck-department Seafarer Horace Wiltshire submitted the photos above and below of some of the grounds at Snug Harbor. He enthusiastically recommends the facility to fellow retirees. place with nice private rooms, your own patio, a view of lots of pine trees and the waters of Nelson Bay? Here at Snug Harbor there’s no night lunch, but with all the great food at three meals per day included in rent, who needs it? We have a lot of retirees from the SIU, NMU, MM&P, MEBA and the other maritime unions. Come sit and bull(bleep) or check out all the other things here to keep you on the go, or just sit in your nice room, watch TV or look out the patio door. There is also a great woodworking/hobby shop, a library, a greenhouse, and a lounge by the fireplace. They even have a “happy hour” for all of us on Fridays! I’m one of many lifelong mariners who chose to retire at Snug Harbor, which is located in Sea Level, North Carolina. To qualify for benefits, you must have a certain minimum amount of sea time. They’ve got independent living apartments, assisted living, and skilled nursing for those who need it. Call ’em up at (252) 225-4411, or go to their web site: www.snugharborhome.com. Come on and enjoy your good days, here with other seamen you can relate to. Horace Wiltshire Retired SIU deck department Sea Level, North Carolina Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. The annual financial committee will be elected during the May 4 headquarters membership meeting to review the 2008 records. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts 20 Seafarers LOG between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. May 2009 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 11:04 AM Page 21 Seafarers Paul Hall Center Upgrading Course Schedule The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the next few months of 2009. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promoting the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Course Start Date Date of Completion Marine Refrigeration Technician May 4 June 12 Machinist June 1 June 19 Pumpman June 22 July 3 Welding June 1 June 19 Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman June 22 August 17 July 17 September 11 ARPA June 8 July 20 October 13 June 12 July 24 November 2 June 15 July 6 July 27 June 26 July 17 August 7 Government Vessels June 1 July 27 June 5 July 31 Lifeboat June 8 June 19 Radar May 25 July 6 June 5 July 17 Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman (STOS) August 24 September 4 Tanker Asistant May 18 July 27 May 29 August 7 Tank Pic Barge September 21 September 25 Tank Ship Familiarization/Assistant Cargo DL May 18 May 29 Tank PIC Barge DL May 11 May 15 Bosun Recertification GMDSS Advanced Firefighting Safety Specialty Courses August 17 August 28 Basic Firefighting/STCW May 11 May 25 July 20 May 15 May 29 July 24 Fast Rescue Boat June 29 August 17 July 3 August 21 Medical Care Provider August 31 September 4 MSC Small Arms (Company designees) May 18 May 22 Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes start every other Monday. The most recent class began May 4. Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed at the Paul Hall Center. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. The following opportunities are currently available: Adult Basic Education (ABE), English as a Second Language (ESL), a College Program and a Preparatory Course. When applying for preparatory courses, students should list the name of the course desired on upgrading application. An introduction to computers course, a self-study module, is also available. Online Distance Learning Courses Engine Upgrading Courses Advanced Refrigerated Container June 22 October 5 July 17 October 30 Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations (BAPO) May 25 July 20 June 19 August 14 FOWT June 22 July 1 Junior Engineer August 31 October 23 Marine Electrician May 11 July 3 UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Five new online “distance learning” (DL) courses now are available to students who plan to enroll in classes at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. The online courses are not mandatory, but they are structured to benefit students who eventually attend other classes at the Paul Hall Center, which is located in Piney Point, Md. The new online courses are: Communications, First Aid Preparation, Bloodborne Pathogens, Basic Culinary Skills, and Basic Math Refresher. Also available in the DL program are Hazardous Material Control and Management, Hearing Conservation, Respiratory Protection, Heat Stress Management, Environmental Awareness, Shipboard Pest Management, and Shipboard Water Sanitation (for a total of 12 courses). Students MUST have access to the internet with an e-mail address in order to take the foregoing classes. Each must be taken online, not at the Paul Hall Center. E-mail addresses should be provided on applications (printed neatly) when applying. Applicants should include the letters DL when listing any online course on the form below. With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twenty-five (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested, 1995 STCW Certificate, valid SHBP Clinic Card and TWIC. Street Address _________________________________________________________ City __________________________ State _______________ Zip Code ___________ Telephone _________________________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Date of Birth ______________________ Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____ Department ___________ E-mail ____________________________ U.S. Citizen: Yes No Home Port _____________________________ COURSE BEGIN DATE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Yes Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ May 2009 NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 5/09 Seafarers LOG 21 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 11:04 AM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class – Two groups of unlicensed apprentices recently completed requirements for graduation in Class 716 for this course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Immad Alhag, Ali Alhamyari, Anthony Aviles, Jacob Diefenbach, Kevin Gebhard, Carlo Gentile, Devin Gordon, Chad Gregory, Justin Hammons, Christopher Hickey, Andrew Hufana, James Johner, Sharon Joyner, Kevin Kelly, Michael Kelly, Patrick Lindauer, John McElhaney, Forrest Melvin, Ali Mohamed, Jonmark Newman, Jessie Peed, Julio Perez, Justin Pierce, Guiomar Rancel-Mercado, Patricia Ricks, Santiago Rodriguez, Nathan Shuford, Elijah Steward-Eastman, Zachary Stout and Adrian Wilson. Medical Care Provider (Express Marine) – Eight individuals from Express Marine on March 20 completed their training in this course. Graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: David Callis, Russell Cowell, Albert Keech, Edward Parks, Brian Pruitt, Jerod Register, Arthu Schwendeman and Jason Thomas. Their instructor, Mark Cates, is at far right. Able Seaman – The following upgraders (above, in alphabetical order) graduated from this course March 27: Jeffrey Amestoy, Antonio Baskins, Joselito Beof, Jack Forde, Robert Hardesty, Austen Hess, Enchantress Johnson, Tony Martin, John Monaco, Frank Smith, Caroline Thomas, Cade Vaussine, Lamar Walton and Sean Wilson. Bernabe Pelingon, their instructor, is at right. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Medical Care Provider – Ten upgraders on March 27 graduated from this course. Completing their requirements and earning certificates (above, in alphabetical order) were: Jason Boyer, James Cedeno, Ernest Frank III, Bobby Jones, Stephen McGruder, George Murphy Jr., Gregory Smith, Charles Sneed, John Stewart and Peggy Wilson. Mike Roberts, their instructor, is at far right. Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. Tank Ship Familiarization (Phase III) – Twenty-six Phase III apprentices on March 20 completed this 63-hour course. Graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Walid Ahmed, Jason Albertson, Wayne Bell, Thomas Braillard, Nicolas Byers, Donnel Cherry, Sean Clodfelter, Alexandra DeJesus, Tyler Egan, Romer Garrido, Abdulkarim Ghaleb, Mohamed Ghaleb, Lorenzo Hal Jr., Steven Hamilton, Brandon Hess, Lusian Lepadatu, Xavier Normil, Maurice Reine, Michael Ringwood, Chenequa Rodriguez, Brittany Ruffin, Corey Stanley, Justin Spodoni, Ternillia Thomas, Leticia Vazgues and Mykael Willis. 22 Seafarers LOG May 2009 �54210_p01_24:54210 4/27/2009 11:05 AM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes FOWT – Nineteen upgraders on March 27 finished their requirements for graduation from this course. Completing the course (above, in alphabetical order) were: George Box, Tyesha Boyd, Tristan Brand, David Bustos, Ashley Carmichael, Angel Cintron Colon, Donnell Criswell, Louise Digman, Kabir Garcia, Abraham Goldberg, Spencer Hiruko, Jahmal Jones, Theodore Lampke, Claude Lettis, Michael Maldonado, Zachary Miano, Steven Myrick, Terry Taylor and Randy Wallace. Tim Achorn, their instructor, is at far right. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Welding – Ten upgraders on March 20 completed training in this 103-hour course. Graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Haeven Bautista, Jerome Culbreth, Oscar Garcia, Larry Locke, Roy Logan, Mark Merenda, Patrick Milton, Frederick Nyarko, Robert Orloff and Algernon Ramseur. Their instructor, Buzzy Andrews, is third from left. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Basic & Advanced Firefighting – Seventeen upgraders on March 20 completed this 41-hour course. Completing the training (above, in alphabetical order) were: Jason Boyer, James Brown, James Cedeno, Abner Diaz-Torres, Ernest Frank III, Michael Garcia, Shending Hu, Bobby Jones, Eric Kjeilberg, Stephen McGruder, John Reid, John Shank, Christopher Sheppard, Gregory Smith, Charles Sneed, James Tyson and Peggy Wilson. Vessel Security Officer (Crowley) - The following individuals (above, in alphabetical order) on March 24 completed this course: Conrado Abinuman, Joel Anderson, Dominic Bailey, Randall Brinza, John Carraway, Douglas Crawford, Jeremiah Dougherty, Jay Heichelheim, Scott Mitchell, Daniel Smith, Roger Stanusm, Kyle Swavely, Mark Tilley, and Philip Wright. Their instructor, Mitch Oakley is third from right. Also pictured (from left) are Crowley representatives Mike Golonka, Ira Douglas, Charlie Nalen and (far right) John Ara . BST/STCW (Hawaii) – The following individuals (photo at right, in no particular order) on March 21 completed training in this course at the Seafarers Training Center at Barbers Point, Hawaii: James Bissell, Tracy Blake, Dennis Couture, Amanda Garrison, Bozidar Globarevic, Andrew Hu, Irvan Kapush, Lucky Khov, Katelyn Kramsky, Jayson Larrabee, Jay Lawless, Sharie Lawless, Nadia Mack, Daniel Rodriquez, Dana Schumann, Michael Soash, Helen Stewart, Alder Sueki and Eric Lederle. BST/STCW (Hawaii) – Eighteen individuals on Feb. 28 completed traiing in this course at the Seafarers Training Center at Barbers Point, Hawaii. Those graduating (photo below, in no particular order) were: Hector Rodriguez, Claraan Schroder, Micah Gallegos, Ricardo Lucero, Kristen Lynn Voegele, Bebekah Angres, Summer Fosdick, Lisa Calderoni, Krystaial Cebe, Kami Myers, Edward Vollmer II, Mamil Almonte, Carlos Olvera, Gabrielle Rawson, Jullian Reed, Angel Otero, Quevin Singh and Miguel Barreto Reyes Basic & Advanced Firefighting (Hawaii) – The following upgraders (above, in no particular order) on March 6 completed training in this 41-hour course at Barbers Point: Jaysen Cummings, Robert Schultz, Christy Fernando, Ryan Adric, Herman Tisalona, Herbert Waa, Keola Milbourne, Sam Pedro, Joseph Barnes and David Blue. Their instructor, Joe Curtis, is standing at left, second row. May 2009 Seafarers LOG 23 �54210_p01_24X:54210 4/28/2009 3:31 AM Page 24 Volume 71, Number 5 May 2009 COBRA News - Page 14 Snapshots from the MV Resolve SIU-Crewed Ship Delivers Materiel for U.S. Troops The photos on this page were taken during a recent voyage aboard the MV Resolve and submitted by SA John Seibel. The Resolve is an Interocean American Shipping Corp. Ro/Ro that delivers military equipment for the U.S. Department of Defense, mainly to ports in the Middle East. Formerly named the Tanabata, the vessel is part of the U.S. Maritime Security Program (MSP). Enacted in 1996 and extended earlier this decade, the MSP helps keep militarily useful, Americancrewed ships under the U.S. flag. From left, OS Danny, OS Arnolfo Bada and QMED Lamont enjoy lunch. Galley gang members (left to right) SA Charlie Collier, CC Robert Maschmeier and Chief Steward Robert Evans appreciatively were known aboard ship as the Three Musketeers. Pictured from left to right are AB Jimmy Copeland, OS Arnolfo Bada and OS Mark Ward while the Resolve is somewhere in the Mediterranean. Chief Mate John Salvadore (left) and Bosun William Rios inspect lifeboats. Chief Cook Angel Bernardez whips up lunch for the crew. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 May 2009 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES TWIC TIP: ‘SELF IDENTIFY’ AS MERCHANT MARINER MAERSK ALABAMA SAGA HAS HAPPY ENDING APL ADDS FOUR U.S.-FLAG VESSELS TOP ECONOMISTS SAY ‘YES’ TO EFCA’S MAJORITY SIGN-UP ‘BELATED THANK YOU’ BILL RE-INTRODUCED IN U.S. HOUSE, SENATE NO SURPRISE: UNIONS ARE GOOD FOR BUSINESS PRO-MARITIME CONGRESSMAN SKELTON RECEIVES HONORS SIU-CREWED SHIP ESTABLISHES MRAP MILESTONE U.S. ECONOMY TAKES ANOTHER HIT, LOSES 663,000 JOBS IN MARCH GRATEFUL AIRPLANE PASSENGER THANKS NY WATERWAY FOR UNSCHEDULED FERRY RIDE UNIONS OF MARITIME TRADES AND AFL-CIO SALUTE HEROIC EFFORTS OF MAERSK ALABAMA CREW LETTER TO FROM SIU PRESIDENT TO MAERSK ALABAMA ALLS WELL MAERSK ALABAMA CREW RETURNS HOME SAFELY REPORT POINTS OUT BENEFITS OF UNION MEMBERSHIP NOTICE: COBRA CONTINUATION COVERAGE SIU-CREWED SHIPS DELIVERS MATERIEL FOR U.S. TROOPS Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 05/01/2009 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. 71, No. 5 2009 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/95d579ec69f48af41d12d223b65c1b7f.pdf 604e03565314a44c538264fe300f15f6 PDF Text Text Volume 71, Number 4 MTD Maps Strategies To Boost Workers’ Rights, American-Flag Fleet During the winter meeting of its executive board, the Maritime Trades Department, AFLCIO, closely looked at pressing issues affecting America’s working families. The board adopted a number of statements designed to establish or reinforce its strategies for the weeks and months ahead. Several prominent guest speakers addressed the board Feb. 26-27 in Miami. Among those participating were (clockwise, starting with photo at top left) (left to right) U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, General Duncan McNabb, commander, U.S. Transportation Command, and SIU President Michael Sacco; ITF Maritime Coordinator Stephen Cotton and SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel; and other board members and guests. Pages 3, 9-14. April 2009 President Obama, Vice President Biden Reiterate Support For Working Families Reliable SIU Crew Helps Ensure Success of Operation Deep Freeze Seafarers will go to the ends of the Earth to deliver their cargo, as recently evidenced by the crew of the USNS Gianella (above) in Operation Deep Freeze. The annual resupply mission to McMurdo Station in Antarctica went well, according to a report from the crew. Page 7. TWIC Deadline Arrives Page 2 AFL-CIO leaders recently heard strong words of support from President Barack Obama and VP Joe Biden (above, left, with SIU President Michael Sacco early last month). The encouraging messages were delivered during a meeting of the federation’s executive council, on which President Sacco serves. A video address from President Obama kicked off the proceedings. During his remarks, the president reaffirmed his support for labor and voiced his agreement with the union movement’s goals, including health care reform, industrial revitalization and passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). Page 5. Mariner Credentialing News Page 4 Safety Milestones, Awards for Seafarers Page 6 �President’s Repor t Springing Forward As we move into spring and the second quarter of 2009, there’s no shortage of interesting news for the maritime industry or for the American labor movement. One thing that hasn’t changed with the seasons is discussion about the economy, which remains the number one topic all across the country. Everyone knows times are tough. And while it may seem impossible to fully understand the different stimulus packages and recovery programs, it’s not hard to grasp the reality of massive layoffs and rising unemployment. As I said last month, SIU-contracted companies aren’t immune from this recession and neither is the union. But, we are taking the Michael Sacco steps necessary to help ensure we ride out the storm. We are working cooperatively with our contracted operators, which is the norm anyway. We are working cooperatively with the other maritime unions to help make sure we’re all on the same page. Again, that has also been the norm for a number of years. In the bigger picture, we are remaining very active in the AFL-CIO as the labor federation acts to help improve the economy for America’s working families. Part of those efforts are directed through the AFLCIO’s Maritime Trades Department, which plays a vital role promoting not only shipboard jobs but others related to the industry, such as shipyard and longshore work. Check out this month’s LOG coverage of the most recent MTD meeting and you will quickly get an idea of why our affiliations and the department’s work are so important to Seafarers. New Era in Credentialing As Seafarers undoubtedly know by now, the TWIC deadline for mariners is finally here: April 15, 2009. Both the union as a whole and our individual members continue to make the best of it. We will go on with offering feedback and suggestions to the agencies and contractors involved in running the program. Meanwhile, if for some reason you’ve put off your enrollment, there’s simply no time left to wait. The TWIC is part of what we have to deal with in order to do our jobs. While the TWIC program has experienced a well-documented number of difficulties, the new merchant mariner qualification credential (MMC) seems to offer reason for cautious optimism. The MMC is the new document that will be phased in to replace our old z-cards or merchant mariner documents. The final rule for the MMC was issued last month, and while our industry (including the Coast Guard) is still sorting through and explaining what it all means, it appears that maritime labor’s comments and concerns during the rulemaking process were taken seriously. I am knocking on wood as I say this, but if the MMC program is well-implemented, it has the potential to be a significant improvement for mariners (see article, page 4). When and if the TWIC program starts running smoothly – and I know that’s a big “if” – it could mean in the long run a lighter burden than what our members currently face in terms of credentialing. One step at a time, though. Get your TWIC if you haven’t already done so, and be ready to make the switch to the new MMC when you’re ready to renew or upgrade your z-card. Majority Sign-Up Legislation Now that the Employee Free Choice Act has been reintroduced in both houses of Congress, anti-union factions have ramped up their misleading attacks on this basic legislation. For those who may have missed this point, contrary to what our opposition says, the bill would not eliminate secret-ballot elections in organizing campaigns. Instead, the legislation would leave it up to the workers to decide whether to vote by secret ballot or use the already legal majority sign-up process, which involves pledge cards. I don’t believe for one second that the businesses and other organizations opposing majority sign-up legislation are concerned about workers’ rights. What they want is to continue dominating a system that currently gives all the power to the company. It’s time to level the playing field, and the Employee Free Choice Act will be a great step in that direction. Volume 71, Number 4 April 2009 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFLCIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2009 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD. All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG Two Chinese trawlers stop directly in front of the USNS Impeccable, forcing the ship to conduct an emergency “all stop” in order to avoid collision. The incident took place March 8 in international waters in the South China Sea. (U.S. Navy photo) Chinese Vessels Shadow, Harass Unarmed U.S. Surveillance Ship A confrontation involving Chinese ships aggressively sailing around the SIU-contracted USNS Impeccable in March provided a stark reminder of how U.S. Merchant Mariners at times are on the front lines of global unrest and political maneuvering when working as part of America’s fourth arm of defense. The Impeccable is an oceanographic surveillance ship operated by Maersk Line, Limited for the U.S. Military Sealift Command. The ship was 70 miles south of Hainan Island conducting routine operations in international waters when five Chinese vessels shadowed and aggressively approached the Impeccable in the South China Sea. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the incident began as the ships surrounded the Impeccable and two craft closed to within 50 feet. The Chinese ships included a Chinese navy intelligence collection ship, a Bureau of Maritime Fisheries patrol vessel, a State Oceanographic Administration patrol vessel and two small Chinese-flagged trawlers. “We view these as unprofessional maneuvers by the Chinese vessels and violations under international law to operate with due regard for the rights and safety of other lawful users of the ocean,” said Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman. Crew members aboard the Impeccable used fire hoses to spray one of the vessels as a protective measure. The Chinese crew members then reportedly disrobed to their underwear and continued closing to within 25 feet. The Chinese vessels dropped pieces of wood in the water directly in the Impeccable’s path, and two of the ships stopped directly in the U.S. vessel’s path, forcing it to stop. Whitman said the Chinese used poles in an attempt to snag the Impeccable’s towed acoustic array sonars. The Impeccable’s master used bridge-to-bridge radio circuits to inform the Chinese ships in a friendly manner that it was leaving the area and requested a safe path to navigate. “These are dangerously close maneuvers that these vessels engaged in,” Whitman said. The incident was the culmination of earlier harassment. On March 4, a Chinese patrol vessel shined a high-intensity spotlight on the USNS Victorious, operating in the Yellow Sea some 125 miles from China’s coast. A day later, Chinese maritime aircraft “buzzed” the ship 12 times. Additionally, a Chinese frigate crossed the bow of the Impeccable at a range of about 100 yards on March 5. Maritime aircraft also buzzed the ship after that incident. Another Chinese ship challenged the Impeccable over bridge-to-bridge radio on March 7, calling its operations illegal and directing the American ship to leave the area or “suffer the consequences,” officials said. The Impeccable is one of six surveillance ships that gather underwater acoustical data, Whitman said. U.S. ships routinely operate in the area. “We expect Chinese ships to act responsibly and refrain from provocative activities that could lead to miscalculation or a collision at sea, endangering vessels and the lives of U.S. and Chinese mariners,” a Defense Department official said. American embassy officials lodged a protest against these actions with the Foreign Ministry in China, and Defense Department officials have protested with the Chinese embassy in the U.S. Time’s Up: Mariners Need TWIC by April 15 All mariners are reminded that the 15th of this month (April 15, 2009) is the deadline for securing a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC), issued by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). While informal SIU surveys show that most members were very responsive in getting their cards before the deadline, anyone without a TWIC as of April 15 should know that they won’t be allowed unescorted access on ships or in ports, in accordance with the federal law mandating the credential. TWIC applications must be submitted at TSA enrollment centers. Pre-enrollment is recommended and may be done via the agency’s TWIC web site: www.tsa.gov/twic. The overall process can take 45 or more days, so Seafarers who haven’t secured their cards should get started right away. Meanwhile, the TSA in February reported some follow-up information related to last year’s power outage that took place at the main facility used for processing the cards. According to an agency communication, “The power outage that disrupted TWIC activations on Oct. 21, 2008 only affected our ability to reset PINs on cards activated prior to that date – if a person forgot his or her PIN and subsequently locked their cards by attempting the PIN unsuccessfully 10 times. If your card was activated prior to October 2008 and you remember your PIN, you are fully able to use your card with a reader or entry-system that may require you to enter your PIN. “If your card was activated prior to Oct. 21, 2008 and you have forgotten your PIN (and necessitate a PIN), you may request a replacement card, free of charge,” the communication continued. “However, we recommend you visit an enrollment center to attempt your PIN before you do so. If your card is locked, you can request a replacement by contacting the TWIC Help Desk at 1-866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-347-8942) or at TWIC.Helpdesk@gcrm.com.” The TSA asks cardholders who request a replacement to keep the original card until the replacement arrives, then exchange the old one for the replacement. This must be done at an enrollment center. If the old card isn’t returned, according the agency, applicants will be charged a $60 “lost card” fee. Individuals who activated their TWIC after October 2008 and who have forgotten their PIN may visit the nearest TWIC enrollment center and reset their PIN. April 2009 �MTD and SIU President Michael Sacco (photo left) notes that workers have support from President Obama and VP Biden. In the photo above, members of the executive board listen to remarks by AFLCIO President John Sweeney. MTD Charts Course for Strengthening Workers’ Rights, American-Flag Fleet Promoting the U.S. maritime industry and pushing for enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act were two of the main topics discussed during the Maritime Trades Department’s (MTD) recent executive board meeting in Miami. Guest speakers from government, the military, business and labor addressed the board Feb. 26-27. Their supportive comments helped the board map out a promaritime, pro-worker strategy for the months ahead. SIU President Michael Sacco also serves as president of the MTD, which is a constitutionally mandated department of the AFL-CIO. The MTD comprises 24 international unions (including the SIU) and 19 port maritime councils in the United States and Canada representing more than five million working men and women. During his opening remarks, Sacco acknowledged that for America’s working families, times are challenging but not hopeless. He said workers have the support of President Obama and Vice President Biden, and recalled a recent meeting at the White House during which the president signed pro-labor executive orders. He also repeated a public comment made by President Obama concerning unions and the economy: “We need to level the playing field for workers and the unions that represent their interests. I do not view the labor movement as part of the problem. To me, it’s part of the solution.” With that kind of backing, Sacco stated, workers have reason for optimism. In order of appearance, the following guest speakers addressed the board Feb. 26: AFL-CIO President John Sweeney; Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen; General Dynamics NASSCO President Fred Harris; Overseas Shipholding Group Senior Vice President Capt. Robert Johnston; and International Transport Workers’ Federation Maritime Coordinator Stephen Cotton. The next day, the following individuals spoke to the board: National Transportation Safety Board member Deborah Hersman; U.S. Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.); U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.); General Duncan McNabb, commander, U.S. Transportation Command; and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (DHawaii). NY Waterway President and CEO Arthur Imperatore and Seafarer Vincent Lombardi (a captain at NY Waterway) also informally addressed the board after receiving a commemorative ship’s wheel honoring the company’s role in the Miracle on the Hudson rescue. The board approved 16 statements which detail much of the MTD’s focus. (Many of those statements are summarized on page 14 of this edition of the LOG.) See pages 9-14 for full coverage of the MTD meeting Members Approve 3-Year Pact at Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Seafarers overwhelmingly have ratified a new three-year contract at Great Lakes Dredge & Dock (GLDD), according to SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker. Negotiations took place in mid-February and were followed by ratification aboard GLDD vessels later in the month. The new agreement, which covers more than 100 members, calls for annual wage increases while maintaining “Core Plus” health benefits. The contract also boosts pay for overtime and vacation; secures a yearly stipend for eligible mariners for the U.S. Coast Guard fees associated with renewing and upgrading documents; and increases the clothing and shoe allowances as well as maintenance and cure. Representing the SIU during negotiations were Tricker, Patrolman Brian Guiry and Seafarers Randy Beacham, Phil Kleinebreil, Duane Evans and Patrick Dollard. “We came out of it pretty good, I thought, and that seems to be the sentiments of everybody,” said Beacham. “George did a fantastic job and everyone is happy with what we got. When you look at what we were up against, the way the economy is going, I think everybody was tickled with the contract.” Bosun Mickey Earhart described the agreement as “a real blessing. Everybody’s happy about it. George did a good job, as always. Everyone involved with the negotiations did a good job, both on the union side and for the company.” Tricker commended the bargaining committee’s work. He also noted that prior to the negotiations, “We received lots of input from the membership, which helped. All in all, negotiations resulted in an agreement that met our stated objectives of maintaining benefits, wage increases and job security.” Seafarers operate GLDD vessels primarily on the East and West coasts. April 2009 Clockwise from above, Seafarer Robert Ellingson aboard the hopper dredge Terrapin Island and Seafarer Davic Paradelas are two of the more than 100 SIU members covered by the three-year agreement.Tacoma Port Agent Joe Vincenzo (left) and Seafarer Darrel Hulin discuss key points of the new contract. Those taking part in negotiations in Piney Point, Md., in mid-February were (seated, from left) GLDD Project Site Manager Bill Murchison, SIU VP Contracts George Tricker, GLDD VP Bill Pagendarm, GLDD Dredge Manager David Allen, (standing, from left) Patrolman Brian Guiry and Seafarers Randy Beacham, Patrick Dollard, Duane Evans and Phil Kleinebreil. Seafarers LOG 3 �MSC Accepts Delivery of Ammo Ship USNS Brashear from NASSCO Additional tonnage on March 4 navigated its way into the SIU fold when the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command accepted delivery of the USNS Carl Brashear in California. Built by San Diego-based General Dynamics NASSCO and designated T-AKE 7, the Brashear will be crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division. The vessel is the seventh in the Lewis and Clark class of underway replenishment ships. Like her six sister ships which are already in the Navy fleet, she will be called upon to deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to the Navy’s underway carrier and expeditionary strike groups. Collectively, these missions will allow underway Navy vessels to stay at sea for extended periods. The ship honors Master Chief Petty Officer Carl Brashear, who joined the U.S. Navy in 1948 and was a Navy pioneer, becoming one of the first AfricanAmericans to graduate from the Navy Diving School and the first to qualify and serve as a master diver on active duty. After being severely injured in a diving accident, Brashear’s leg was amputated. Almost two years later, after strenuous rehabilitation and rigorous testing, he became the first person to be certified or recertified to dive as an amputee. Including the Carl Brashear, NASSCO now has delivered the first seven ships of the T-AKE class and has construction contracts for five additional ships. The Navy has also awarded contracts to NASSCO for the long-lead material for two more ships for a total class of 14 T-AKE vessels. “As we pass the halfway mark for this highly successful, U.S. Navy auxiliary program, the performance of the NASSCO team and the ships have been outstand- ing,” said Frederick J. Harris, president of General Dynamics NASSCO. “As a result of numerous production and process improvements, we are delivering each hull more efficiently and with fewer man-hours than the previous one. And from all reports, the deployed ships have proven their ability to ably serve the fleet in their primary mission and in a variety of other roles.” Construction of the USNS Carl Brashear began in May 2007. NASSCO has incorporated international marine technologies and commercial ship-design features into the T-AKE class ships, including an integrated electric-drive propulsion system, to minimize operating costs during their projected 40-year service life. With a cargo capacity of more than 10,000 tons, the primary mission of T-AKE ships is to deliver food, ammunition, fuel and other provisions from shore stations to combat ships at sea. In a related development which will translate into still more new tonnage for the union-contracted fleet, Aker Philadelphia Shipyard on Feb. 23 cut steel on Hull 014, the tenth product tanker in the series of 12 to be built for SIU-contracted Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG). Production of this latest vessel commenced a few days after the Feb. 19 delivery of Hull 010, Overseas Boston. When completed, the new tanker will be sold to American Shipping Company, and in turn, will be bareboat chartered to OSG America. Like its sister ships, the still unnamed MT-46 Veteran class product tanker will be diesel-powered, boast a length of slightly more than 600 feet and have a beam of approximately 105 feet. It will be able to transport more than 332,000 barrels of petroleum products and feature a “cruising speed” of 14.6 knots. The 46,000 dwt vessel will carry refined petroleum products. The USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE 7) launches into San Diego harbor during her Sept. 18, 2008 christening ceremony at General Dynamics NASSCO in San Diego. (U.S. Navy Photo) Transition to New Mariner Credential Begins Mid-April Beginning April 15, U.S. seamen who renew or upgrade their Coast Guardissued z-card/merchant mariner document (MMD) will receive the new merchant mariner qualification credential (MMC) as a replacement. The MMC is a passportstyle document that has been in the works for some time. It consolidates the Coast Guard credentials issued to merchant mariners into a single document. The MMC program does not affect the legitimacy of currently valid zcards/MMDs. As previously reported, the MMC will be phased in over the next five years. The program itself has been structured in conjunction with the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) so that, eventually, U.S. mariners will carry two documents: a TWIC and an MMC. It also has been set up to “reduce the burden on mariners by limiting the number of times they need to appear in person to provide fingerprints and proof of identity,” according to the Coast Guard. Indeed, the program eliminates the need for mariners to appear in person at a Coast Guard regional exam center (REC) provided they have applied for a TWIC (though they still have the option to go to an REC). The individual cost of the MMC is $45. The following text is taken directly from the final rule: “Under the current rule, applicants pay a $45 issuance fee for each credential that they apply for. Under this rulemaking the applicants will only apply for a single credential (the MMC) and as a result will only be required to pay one $45 issuance fee regardless of the number of endorsements that they carry. This change is not a reduction in any fee that a mariner must pay, but a reduction in the number of fees that the mariner must pay. Any Union Closes Boston Hall Permanently 4 Seafarers LOG mariner that would, under the current rules, solicit multiple mariner qualifying documents (such as both an MMD and a license), will benefit from this change in the fee structure.” (Besides the issuance fee, there will be an additional evaluation fee and an examination fee if applicable. Those fees vary.) (The cost of a TWIC is $132.50.) Since mid-March, when the MMC final rule was published in the Federal Register, the Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center has issued several online communications providing details about the new credential, including sample images. Those bulletins along with the final rule itself are available on the SIU web site (in the “Heard at Headquarters” section) and also should be accessible at the union halls. Members are asked to periodically check the web site and/or contact their port agents for timely news about the MMC. Upcoming editions of the Seafarers LOG will include detailed updates on the program. In one of its announcements from last month, the Coast Guard noted, “Under the previous regulations, the Coast Guard issued up to four credentials to a mariner: a merchant mariner’s document (MMD), a merchant mariner’s license (License), a certificate of registry (COR), and an International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) endorsement. Each credential served a separate purpose, thus creating the possibility that a mariner might need all four. The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 added a requirement for all mariners to obtain a transportation security card, implemented by the Department of Homeland Security as the TWIC. Without a regulatory change, a mariner could have been required to obtain up to five credentials, and to appear in person for duplicative applications. “The Coast Guard is streamlining its mariner regulations and consolidating the four separate Coast Guard-issued credentialing documents into one merchant mariner credential (MMC). In addition to reducing the number of credentials a mariner will need to hold, this rule also eliminates redundant burdens and government processes.” Additionally, the agency offered the following points about the “relationship” between the MMC and the TWIC. Mariners are required to hold a TWIC as of April 15. ■ The Coast Guard will use TWIC data received directly from TSA to determine the status of your TWIC. No mariner credentials will be issued without confirmation from TSA that an applicant has been approved to hold a TWIC. ■ If you are applying for a merchant mariner credential you must have at least applied for your TWIC before the Coast Guard will accept your application. Your credential will not be issued until your TWIC is approved. There may be a minimal delay between the time you apply for your TWIC and the time that data is received by the Coast Guard. Therefore, you should apply for your TWIC in advance of your application for your merchant credential. ■ If you are applying for your TWIC and mariner credential simultaneously, provide a copy of your TWIC application receipt with your credential application. ■ A TWIC is not required in order to apply for or receive a document of continuity. ■ You will need to ensure that the biographical data that you supply to TSA is The SIU’s Boston hall permanently closed as of April 1 due to a lack of shipping activities, including a long decline in the fishing industry. However, the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan will continue to operate the Boston-area clinic for membership use. Boston registration cards are valid at the SIU hall in the same as what you provide the Coast Guard on your merchant mariner credential application. If the Coast Guard cannot reconcile the data provided by TSA, you may be asked to work with TSA to update your information. ■ You will need to be identified as a Merchant Mariner in the TWIC system. This triggers TSA to provide your TWIC data to the Coast Guard. ■ When you enroll/Pre-enroll for a TWIC with TSA you need to select Merchant Mariner as your occupation. ■ For those that have already received their TWIC and did not “Self Identify” as a Merchant Mariner, or do not remember whether or not you self-identified, the NMC is working with TSA to automatically change your occupation field. The NMC anticipates that this will cover the vast majority of current mariners. It is, unfortunately, inevitable that there will not be matching data for every mariner due to variances in the data contained in either system (such as using slightly different name spellings to apply for your TWIC and your mariner credential). Therefore, TSA is setting up a help desk number that you will be able to call in order to manually switch your occupation field. This should only impact a small percentage of mariners and only when applying for their next Coast Guard issued credential. At that point, if the NMC does not have matching data from TSA regarding a valid TWIC you will be asked to call the TSA help desk. ■ If you carry a valid TWIC while serving on a valid Merchant Mariner Credential you will not be impacted while sailing regardless of whether you hold any of the four previously issued credentials, the MMC or any combination thereof. Brooklyn, N.Y., which is located at 635 4th Avenue. Membership records from Boston will be transferred to the Brooklyn hall. A complete list of SIU halls appears on page 16 of this month’s LOG and also is available on the union’s web site, www.seafarers.org. April 2009 �AFL-CIO Executive Council Welcomes Pledges of Support from Obama, Biden A full slate of items highlighted the agenda March 3-5 during the AFL-CIO Executive Council’s annual winter meeting, which took place in Miami. Convening in the union hall of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 349, council members – including SIU President Michael Sacco – during the three-day conference addressed a wide variety of issues relating to reviving the nation’s economy for working families, including growing good jobs, reforming health care, strengthening Social Security and revising the nation’s trade practices. According to union leaders, the economic recovery package is a good start to turning around America and putting workers back on the job. During their executive council meetings, they emphasized that rebuilding the nation’s major economic engine—manufacturing—will require strong compliance with the Buy American provisions in the package. A video address from President Obama kicked off the proceedings. During his remarks, the president reaffirmed his support for labor and voiced his agreement with several of the union movement’s goals, including health care reform, industrial revitalization and passage of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). President Obama told the executive council that his administration has already started to change America on behalf of working people. “With your help, we passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan—the most sweeping economic recovery in out history,” he said. “I’ve always said that the gauge of our economic progress is clear: are we creating good jobs? Are we creating the kinds of jobs on which you can raise a family, own a home, afford college, save for retirement?” he continued. “That’s why this plan is so important. It will create or save three-and-a-half million jobs over the next two years—and it will do so by putting Americans to work doing the work that America needs done.” The president then reiterated his support of labor by stating, “I want to repeat something that those of you who joined us for the Task Force announcement heard me say: I do not view the labor movement as part of the problem. To me, and to my administration, labor unions are a big part of the solution. We need to level the playing field for workers and the unions that represent their interests – because we cannot have a strong middle class without a strong labor movement.” Making her first public appearance since being confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis attended the meetings. During her remarks to the council, she vowed to fully enforce the laws that protect workers. The labor secretary, who was one of the first supporters in Congress for the EFCA, also said she would work to pass and then enforce the legislation if it becomes law. Vice President Joe Biden also made an appearance at the meetings. The vice president told executive council members that returning our economy to health means restoring the basic right to join a union and bargain collectively. And the way to do that, he said, is by passing the EFCA. He quoted President Obama by saying, “I don’t buy the argument that providing SIU President Michael Sacco (right) and International Union of Operating Engineers President Vince Giblin serve on the federation’s executive council along with other labor leaders. U.S. Unemployment Rate Tops 8 Percent Nationwide employment and the economy continued on their slippery slope during the first two months of 2009, according to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Employment fell sharply during those months – by 651,000 – raising the unemployment rate from 7.6 percent to 8.1 percent. Those figures reflect a net loss of 2.6 million April 2009 Pictured during a break are (from left) AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka, SIU President Michael Sacco, U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and United Steelworkers of America President Leo Gerard. workers with collective bargaining rights somehow weakens the economy or worsens the business environment. “If you’ve got workers who have decent pay and benefits, they also are customers for your business,” Biden said. “So let me add to that and say that I have a simple, basic belief, one that we’re going to work hard to put into action: If a union is what you want, a union you’re entitled to have.” The vice president also quoted AFL-CIO President John Sweeney’s recent remarks in his column which addressed basic truths that should guide the AFL-CIO during the upcoming year. “We can’t fix the economy by hurting workers. Rescuing the economy will require investments in jobs, infrastructure, health care,” Biden said. “When you’re in a deep hole, you need a long ladder. Rebuilding our broken economy gives us the opportunity to get it right and reward workers. Progressive, pro-family, pro-worker candidates won. So isn’t it time that we have progressive, pro-worker, pro-family priorities that win, too?” The vice president, who heads the White House Task Force on the Middle Class, told the council the Obama administration is dedicated to rebuilding the nation’s middle class. “You can’t have a strong middle class without a strong labor movement,” he said. “We will judge the success or failure of our administration at the end of our four years, based on whether or not the standard of living of the middle class has increased or not. That’s the bottom-line measure. And guess what? Neither one of us believes it can get better without you getting stronger. “For too long,” Biden said, “we’ve failed to have a White House that puts families front and center in our economic policies. That’s why the Obama economic recovery program focuses on jobs and the administration is pushing for real health care reform.” The vice president concluded by saying that the ObamaBiden team would never have won without the support of working families. The council adopted a number of action statements during the business portions of the meetings. Included was a statement calling for passage of the EFCA to help boost the economy by restoring workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain for better wages and benefits. The full text of that statement read as follows: “For more than a dozen years, we have worked and struggled to create the environment and the political climate in which we could pass serious labor law reform to restore workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain collectively. “We realized that we could not arrest the decline in living standards, nor save the middle class, nor lift working families from poverty until those freedoms were restored. And now our collective efforts to build support for the Employee Free Choice Act have brought us closer than we have been in a generation to ensuring the freedom of workers to form unions and bargain collectively for a better life. “The next few weeks are critical, as we fight to realize our long-held goal and the dreams of a better life for millions of working families. We share with our new president, the congressional majority and America’s workers the essential goal of building an economy that works for all. “We know this is our time to win back these fundamental freedoms. We cannot wait, defer or equivocate. We must act with the urgency created by an historical opportunity for change. “We also know that those who have always opposed workers’ rights, freedoms and advancement—the radical right wing and corrupt, corporate bullies—will fight us with everything they have and every advantage they can employ. They have spent vast sums and will spend even more—up to $300 million. “But our determination, will and urgency to act will overcome their wealth. We will: Raise the necessary funds for the Employee Free Choice Act media fund, so we can effectively counter the misinformation campaign of the corporations. AFL-CIO affiliates already have raised significant resources. We will endeavor to voluntarily contribute $2.50 per member to counter the corporate onslaught. Commit to ramp up a nationwide grassroots campaign. In each priority state we commit to release staff to work together to meet our ambitious member mobilization goals, coordinate with allies and reach senators in their home states. Build off our very successful Million Member Mobilization to move our members. We commit to engage and activate 1 percent of our membership each month in priority states to make calls and write letters to members of Congress to ensure their support for the Employee Free Choice Act. Executive Council members will reach out to our members and leaders in priority states through calls, letters and visits to achieve our goals. Continue our outreach to our employers to garner their support for the Employee Free Choice Act.” The council also adopted statements on many other issues including financial regulation, senior housing, bank bailouts, job growth, trade with China, health care reform, retirement security and more. All of those statements are available in their entirety on the AFL-CIO’s web site at www.aflcio.org/aboutus/thisistheaflcio/ecouncil/. The AFL-CIO Executive Council meets at least twice a year to consider important union-movement business and policies. The council regularly issues statements on legislative measures affecting the interests of working families, ongoing struggles for justice for workers and more. jobs nationwide in the past four months. Overall, according to government data, 12.5 million Americans were out of work. The scale of many recent layoffs further reflects their severity. The BLS also recently reported that in January, employers took 2,227 mass layoff actions which resulted in the separation of 237,902 workers. Each of those layoffs involved at least 50 workers. These numbers do not reflect the millions of Americans who have faced furloughs and pay cuts since the beginning of the recession. For those remaining employed, the BLS reports an increase in average hourly earnings of .3 percent. However, that gain has been offset by a .3 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in January. The CPI measures the prices consumers pay for goods. Home prices are also taking a hit. The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index shows that the price of homes fell 18.2 percent during the final quarter of 2008, the biggest decline in the index’s 21-year history. (That index measures the change in value of the U.S. residential housing market.) One concern associated with the loss of value on homes is that most Americans have accumulated little or no wealth, or have lost money due to the lack or loss of equity in their homes. Seafarers LOG 5 �Ferry Crews Receive Public Service Awards America Recognizes NY Waterway Mariners for Rescue on Hudson River America recently hailed some of the heroes of the Miracle on the Hudson, as a ceremony took place at a NY Waterway Terminal in New York on Feb. 18. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen were among those who honored more than 100 “Good Samaritan” mariners, many of whom are SIU members employed by NY Waterway. The mariners received U.S. Coast Guard Distinguished Public Service Awards for their key roles in the overall DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano commends those involved in the rescue. rescue of 155 passengers and crew from U.S. Airways Flight 1549, which crashlanded in the Hudson River on Jan. 15. During the ceremony, Secretary Napolitano said the rescue brought forth a strong sense of community. “The rescue reflects so many of the things we want to build on,” she stated. Captain of the Port of New York Robert O’Brien praised the Samaritans’ training. “It’s their years of getting ready to do what they did to make sure everything happened precisely the way it did,” he noted. He also reflected on the mariner’s rescue efforts during 9/11. “It was not a coincidence that these boat operators were there and knew what to do,” O’Brien said. The Coast Guard awarded the SIU group and NY Waterway its highest civilian honors for rescuing 143 of the survivors. During the presentation, NY Waterway President and Chief Executive Officer Arthur Imperatore said, “It was our people who did the job. They are highly trained and very committed.” Local Representative Michael McMahon (D-Staten Island) added extra emphasis to the importance of the rescuers by saying, “They not only saved lives but reminded us of the goodness in humanity.” Concerning the training and professionalism of the responders, Napolitano said, “The rescue also reminds us of the importance of training and exercising SIU VP Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi (far left in photo above) is pictured with NY Waterway crew members (left to right), Deckhand Pepe Carumba, Deckhand Honorio Rabanes, Captain Brittany Catanzaro, Deckhand Nestor Martinez, Deckhand Jose Torres, Captain John Winiarski, Deckhand Gregorio Pages, Deckhand Wilfredo Rivera and Captain Vincent Lombardi. In photo at right, VP Labor Relations for NY Waterway Burton Trebour (left), joins Captain Vincent Lombardi and Soresi before the fact. First responders at all levels must know what to do when it comes time to execute a mission – because seconds count. The successful rescue of Flight 1549 is a case in point.” As previously reported, Seafarers involved in the rescue included the following: Captains Vincent Lombardi, Manny Liba, Brittany Catanzaro, John Winiarski and Mohamed Gouda and Deckhands Honorio Rabanes, Wilfredo Rivera, Luis Salerno, Danny Convery, Natale Binetti, Giulio Farnese, Osman Berete, Cosmo Mezzina, Frank Illuzi, Jose Torres, Pepe Carumba and Gregorio Pages. CIVMAR-Manned USNS Bridge Wins Environmental Award A vessel crewed by SIU CIVMARS recently earned recognition for its environmental efficiency. In late February, the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) reported that the USNS Bridge (manned in the unlicensed positions by members of the SIU Government Services Division) is a winner of the fiscal year 2008 Chief of Naval Operations Environmental Quality Small Ship Award. The Bridge is one of MSC’s four fast combat support ships that replenish Navy vessels at sea with fuel, ammunition, food and other cargo. According to the agency, the 754-foot ship, which currently operates out of San Diego and has a total crew of 170, including a small contingent of active-duty Navy sailors along with civil service mariners, was cited for “the crew’s work in preventing pollution, ensuring readiness in responding to environmental issues, conserving resources and complying with environmental regulations.” In announcing the award, MSC noted, “While the ship voluntarily met standards stricter than required by the Navy, each mariner received special training in environmental management, used environmentally friendly chemicals and conducted monthly spill drills. In two years, Bridge, under the command of civil service master Capt. Jeffrey Siepert, transferred 182.7 million gallons of fuel without a significant mishap.” Other accomplishments by mariners aboard the Bridge have included optimizing boiler operations to reduce fuel consumption by 1,000 gallons per day, and managing the ship’s successful programs for solid waste disposal and recycling. According to MSC, “The chief of naval operations environmental awards recognize ships, installations, and individuals or teams for their environmental stewardship. As a result of this selection, Bridge will compete in the secretary of the Navy environmental awards.” John P. Quinn, acting director of the CNO Environmental Readiness Division, extended his congratulations and noted that the winners’ and nominees’ “sustained commitment to environmental excellence is an integral party of Navy operations and is essential to overall Navy mission accomplishment.” The award is slated to be presented at a ceremony in June in Washington, D.C. The USNS Bridge, pictured late last year in the Pacific Ocean with a Sea Hawk helicopter, performs an ammo off-load with the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Chelsea Kennedy) Maersk Ships Achieve Safety Milestones in Late 2008 The prepositioning ship SSG Edward A. Carter Jr. has operated for six years without a lost time accident. 6 Seafarers LOG Earlier this year, SIU-contracted Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) reported that the prepositioning ship LTC John U.D. Page had “marked an extraordinary safety milestone” in the final days of 2008. Specifically, the company noted, “The ship’s crew celebrated seven years of operations without suffering a lost time accident (LTA). An LTA is defined as an accident that results in a crew member sustaining an injury requiring him or her to miss at least one shift of work. The number of LTAs occurring aboard a ship are a maritime industry standard for measuring safety performance.” The Page is named for LTC John U.D. Page, a U.S. Army officer who earned the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir during the Korean War in 1950. In announcing the achievement, Maersk further reported, “Extended time periods operating LTA-free are a key safety goal among the ships in the MLL fleet. Page’s sister ship, SSG Edward A. Carter Jr., the other MLL-operated ammunition preposi- tioning ship in the U.S. Military Sealift Command’s prepositioning program, has been operating for six years without an LTA.” In fact, the Carter and Page are among seven MLL owned or operated ships (all with SIU crews) that have been operating for at least six years without an LTA. That group also includes the USNS Effective at seven years and the USNS Impeccable, CPL Louis J. Hauge, Maersk Rhode Island and Maersk Tennessee each at six years. In a news release, the company noted, “Preventing LTAs through constant care, awareness, and safety education is a key component of MLL’s company-wide safety program, ‘Drive to Zero.’ The program’s name is derived from its stated goal of ensuring shipboard safety by striving to eliminate all accidents.” One component of the program is a series of safety “boot camps” conducted at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, for Maersk crews and shore-side personnel. April 2009 �Research on behalf of the National Science Foundation is conducted at McMurdo Station (above). The USNS Gianella (right) delivers critical supplies to the station. Steward Recalls Antarctic Journey USNS Gianella Delivers Vital Supplies to McMurdo Station Editor’s note: Chief Steward Karl Meyer, assisted by fellow crew members, submitted this article and the accompanying photos. Once again, the USNS Lawrence H. Gianella, operated by Ocean Ships Inc. for the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC), participated in Operation Deep Freeze 2009. This is an annual resupply mission to the National Science Foundation’s facility at McMurdo Station Antarctica. The SIU-crewed Gianella delivered more than 9 million gallons of fuel needed for the coming year to operate the base’s aircraft, vehicles and power plant. Departing the West Coast in early October, stops included Pearl Harbor; Ulsan, Korea; Guam; Singapore; Diego Garcia; Souda Bay, Crete, Greece. The vessel arrived in the Ross Sea from Fremantle, Australia, on Jan. 22 and was assisted by the Swedish icebreaker Oden through the shelf ice and ice channel into McMurdo. Prior to Fremantle, the ship also had on board a 12-person U.S. Navy “embarked security team” (EST), They provided 24-hour armed security for the vessel during its transit through the pirate-infested waters of the Gulf of Aden and also during its two transits of the Suez Canal. The vessel returned to Diego Garcia and the EST disembarked just after Christmas for their next assignment. The steward department showed their can-do spirit and attitude, feeding the expanded crew of 38 including the EST plus an SIU apprentice and two cadets. They also had the privilege of preparing a meal for U.S. TRANSCOM Commander Gen. Duncan McNabb and his staff, who were hosted by the ship’s master, Capt. William Taylor, for a tour and dinner while pier side in McMurdo. The members of the engine department used some down time to perform scheduled maintenance on the main engine and while monitoring the offload also had the opportunity to transfer some much-needed fuel to the icebreaker Oden as it was tied up alongside. Crew members also took advantage of the subfreezing weather to empty and clean out the ship’s freezer. All departments pitched in for this endeavor. On a lighter note, AB Jeff Pearce literally took the plunge when he braved the frigid waters and joined the annual “Polar Plunge” hosted by the New Zealand-operated Scott Base (located nearby). Also, there was ample time to buy some souvenirs, hike up to Observation Hill, and visit the Discovery Hut, also known as Scott’s Hut, which was built in 1901 and is as preserved today as it was then. After departing the ice on the 26th of January, the Gianella stopped in Gladstone, Australia, for bunkers and provisions before heading back to the Gulf Coast to complete its five-month journey to the Antarctic. SIU members sailing aboard the Gianella during the voyage to McMurdo Station included the following: ABs Jay Aki, Clifford Cronan, Jason Devine, Bernard Essiful, Mark Mahoney and Pearce; QMEDs Austin Parker and James Summer; Pumpman Darrell McDonald; DEUs Rodolfo Caldo and Vicente Ordonez; GSUs Budiman Chandra and Luis Valerio; Chief Steward Meyer; Chief Cook Mario Fernandez and UA Jesus Sifuentes. The deck department (photo above, left) included ABs Cliff Cronan, Jason Devine, Bernard Essiful and Jeff Pearce. Chief Steward Karl Meyer (left in photo above right) and AB Jeff Pearce check on stores. The Swedish icebreaker Oden (photo at immediate left) leads the way to McMurdo Station. As evidenced by the photo above, the Gianella sails through some rough weather after leaving the base. Clockwise, from photo at immediate left, members of the engine gang team up for a task while Pumpman Darrell McDonald makes the best of his icy surroundings. Connected to a safety line, AB Jeff Pearce does his part to foster international relations by taking the “Polar Plunge,” hosted by the New Zealand-operated Scott Base, which is located near McMurdo Station. In photo above, Members of a U.S. Navy security team, pictured with a few crew members, help ensure safe transit. April 2009 Seafarers LOG 7 �Union-Affiliated School Tests Electrician Apprentice Program Electrician Apprentice Carmelo Collazo (standing) gets hands-on instruction by USNS Wright Electrician QEE Gary Torres. Seafarers who want to become marine electricians have an opportunity to “fast track” their careers through a program being tested by the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, based in Piney Point, Md. The school has begun testing an electrician apprentice program to move qualified mariners into electrician careers faster while maintaining a quality training regimen after the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) identified a shortage of marine electricians in the industry. Paul Hall Center Director of Training J.C. Wiegman noted, “The electrician program allows someone from our junior engineer program to accelerate by going aboard ship and – upon successful completion of a package of electrician skills while working with electricians – he or she is evaluated. After 90 days and completion of the skills, the student returns to the school for the electrician program. Finally, upon completion of the marine electrician program, the candidate will be able to sail in an electrician capacity.” He added, “Another phase of training is being considered to gain electrician specialties in one of three areas: container electrician, crane maintenance electrician or electronics maintainer.” Paul Hall Center Technical Instructor Jay Henderson explained the selection process to have an opportunity for the program is vigorous. “It’s performance-based and a student must have outstanding course grades and superior performance in the hands-on portion of the course work for consideration,” he said. Carmelo Collazo is the first electrician student so far to go through the new program. He is from Norfolk and spent two Recertified Steward Charles Curley (above) gets a breath of fresh air through a galley portal of the Green Ridge. The Seafarers-crewed vessel (photo at right) recently delivered commercial and military cargoes in the Middle East. Paul Hall Center Course Spotlight AB Aboard Green Ridge Recalls Poignant Moment Editor’s note: The following article and accompanying photos were submitted in late February by Second Mate Miri Skoriak. The SIU-contracted PCTC Green Ridge has just completed a 68-day round trip from the U.S. East Coast to various ports in the Middle East, delivering commercial and military vehicles. The return passage took us around Cape of Good Hope and featured the great summer weather the Southern Hemisphere had to offer. Sunday dinners were served outdoors, bringing all crew members together for a relaxed evening on steel beach. One of our crew members is AB Sheldon “Shel” Privin, who started sailing years ago after serving four years’ active duty in the U.S. Air Force. His first ship was the General Haan, a converted C-4 cargo ship. Since his first days on ships, AB Privin has seen many changes in the industry, but the most welcome and significant ones are the upgrades in living conditions (single rooms) and the improvement of the attitude of shipboard personnel relating to friendliness, courtesy and respect. AB Privin is full of great sea stories but the following is the one he considers the best: years in construction before he answered the sea’s call. While serving recently on board the USNS Wright, Collazo said, “This has been the greatest experience of my life. The apprentice program gave me the opportunity to go right to work with experienced electricians in actual working conditions. I feel like as soon as I shipped out I made a real difference because you don’t just follow behind electricians to watch what they do – you’re expected to roll your sleeves up and work on the ship. I’ve met some great people who would bend over backwards to help and teach if you’re willing to listen and give the job your all.” Collazo gained experience on three separate ships before completing the program’s requirements. He’s now back at the school, well-prepared to complete the marine electrician course. “Aboard the General Haan, we sailed from New York to Bremerhaven to pick up Hungarians who had escaped and received political asylum in Austria in the failed revolt against Communist oppression. The United States and other nations had agreed to a resettlement program. “On the return trip, we sailed into a major winter storm requiring the ship to divert south to the Canary Islands. It was a 14-day hellish crossing for the Hungarians, who had never even seen an ocean. The ship rolled heavily; people were sick and fearful. Finally reaching New York harbor, the passengers arose early at 0400 on a clear, cold winter morning to see the Statue of Liberty. In silence and awe they viewed Miss Liberty with tears streaming down their faces. Remembering that my parents, having emigrated from Europe many years before and having sailed into New York had seen the same sight was a poignant moment, and a reminder how lucky I am to be an American.” AB Privin would like to make a note of the mariners, union officials and company marine office personnel who personally extended themselves and gave him a fair shake. “My thanks and deep appreciation to you all,” he says. On behalf of the crew of the Green Ridge, I’d like to thank AB Privin for the inspiration and his good fellowship and wish him many more years on the oceans. The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, based in Piney Point, Md., offers a wide variety of vocational and academic courses. Classes are available to upgraders and entry-level students. The following is a brief description of an upgrading course offered at the school, which opened in 1967. Turn to page 21 for a list of upcoming course dates. Additional course descriptions were published in the January 2009 edition of the Seafarers LOG; they also are available on the web at www.seafarers.org/phc Conveyorman The course of instruction leading to certification as a conveyorman includes a detailed look at the types of self-unloaders and their development; conveyor belt construction and types; belt adjustments; belt splicing procedures and practical application; reduction gear units; related electrical AC and DC systems; practical troubleshooting; electrical test equipment; power failure testing; hydraulic theory; practical hydraulic troubleshooting; pipefitting and threading; gate construction, maintenance and operation; and oxy-acetylene cutting and electric arc welding practical training. Crew members (photo above) take advantage of good weather by enjoying an outdoor meal. In photo at right, AB Sheldon Privin takes the wheel. 8 Seafarers LOG April 2009 �AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department 2009 Executive Board Meeting U.S. Air Force Gen. Duncan McNabb, commander, U.S. Transportation Command (standing at left), tells MTD board members and guests about the agency’s operations. Commander Cites Crucial Labor ‘Partnership’ Sees Relationship Between Transportation Command, Maritime as Valuable to Nation The commander of the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) told the Maritime Trades Department executive board that the effective working relationship shared by TRANSCOM and American maritime labor remains extremely valuable to the nation. U.S. Air Force Gen. Duncan McNabb cited the longstanding, positive relationship between the MTD and TRANSCOM. He said that today, as both entities work to ensure the continued viability of the U.S. Merchant Marine, the relationship “couldn’t be better, and I couldn’t depend on it more as the TRANSCOM commander. When I first took over, I said, of all the things I need to protect, it is that U.S.-flag fleet.” TRANSCOM is the division of the military which oversees the global movement of goods and materiel to our troops. Its components include the U.S. Military Sealift Command as well as the Air Mobility Command, and the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command. On its web site, the agency reports that its “total wartime capability consists of a diverse force: 51,853 active duty; 88,089 reserve and Guard, and 16,606 civilian personnel. Similarly, USTRANSCOM relies on its commercial partners to meet 88 percent of continental U.S. land transport, 50 percent of global air movement, and 64 percent of global sealift.” McNabb gave a detailed presentation in which he described TRANSCOM’s numerous operations. He also repeatedly praised the performance and reliability of the nation’s mariners, and thanked MTD and SIU President Michael Sacco for his support. Gen. Duncan McNabb, U.S. TRANSCOM commander, thanks U.S. mariners for their reliability and dedication. April 2009 The general also offered high praise for the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, which he has visited. Speaking about the Piney Point, Md.-based facility and its people, he said the “professionalism is amazing. This is a world-class education to get the folks up to a certain level, and then you continue that train- the supply chain.” Looking at the big picture where TRANSCOM and the nation are concerned, McNabb said, “The stakes couldn’t be higher.” He recalled being in the Pentagon on 9/11, not far from where the airplane hit. “If they could have killed 30,000 that day or 300,000 or 3 million, they “The ability to immediately surge is based on having trained merchant mariners ready, and you have done that. What a difference that has made….” - - - U.S. Air Force Gen. Duncan McNabb, commander, U.S. Transportation Command ing, and I know (it) not only takes care of individuals but also their families.” Addressing Sacco, he said it was an honor to attend the MTD meetings “and not only say thanks to you, but to our great merchant mariners.” McNabb discussed some of the agency’s sealift assets, which include prepositioning ships, Ready Reserve Force vessels and other features available through the voluntary intermodal sealift agreement, abbreviated as VISA. Describing the overall maritime capabilities, he stated, “I can’t tell you how much we as a nation depend on that. You all do superbly, and I just want to say thanks (for) what you do every day.” Illustrating the historic importance of, and sacrifices made by, the merchant marine, the general recalled the Battle of Atlantic, when German Uboats initially had a field day against unarmed American-flag merchant ships. His point: “If you can stop the supplies, you basically can stop the operation. As we think about Iraq and Afghanistan, we have to bring everything to bear to make sure that doesn’t happen…. “We will make sure that we get the forces in. What you all do is the absolute key to all of this. In many cases it is the commercial side in which we can get stuff through in ways that we couldn’t do militarily. You do it day in and day out, and it is awesome. You do it despite attacks on would have done it, and they would still do that, if they could,” he said. “We’ve got to stop them…. It is a battle about the future of mankind.” He also said he definitely counts civilian mariners among those who answered the call following the attacks. Today, he continued, U.S. capability to deploy and sustain troops is unsurpassed. “I would say that it is one of the crown jewels that we have in the nation’s defense.” The same holds true for humanitarian missions including disaster relief, he added. The commercial sector “makes up a large amount of our capability,” McNabb explained. “We depend on it, and it also saves us a lot of money because then we don’t have to own it…. Because we have such great industry partners, we learn from you. We take the best from industry.” He concluded by noting that TRANSCOM’s emphasis is on serving the war fighter, who only cares that the materiel arrives on time and as needed. “The ability to immediately surge is based on having trained merchant mariners ready, and you have done that. What a difference that has made, because when the time is to go, you can’t say, ‘Yeah, I’m going to have that for us in about six months.’ When the president says, ‘I need to go now,’ we’ve got to be ready to go, and the (maritime supply) bridge is the first thing.” Seafarers LOG 9 �AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department 2009 Executive Board Meeting ‘A Time of Great Opportunity’ Congressmen Pledge Continuing Support For Maritime, other Pro-Worker Issues The three congressional representatives who spoke at the MTD meeting covered numerous topics, but each one emphasized opportunities for progress under the new administration. U.S. Reps. Neil Abercrombie (DHawaii), James Clyburn (D-S.C.) and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said they will continue supporting America’s working families, including the nation’s mariners. They also said that the elections last November of a pro-labor administration and Congress signal a beginning rather than an ending. Abercrombie, chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces, went so far as to say it isn’t too soon to look ahead to the next election year. He and other speakers said the reality of today’s Senate is that it takes 60 votes, not 51, to ensure passage of legislation. With that in mind, and pointing to the Employee Free Choice Act, Abercrombie told the board, “I want everybody in here dedicating themselves to 2010 and the elections so that we have an overwhelming majority of pro-labor members of the House and Senate so we can pass this legislation. “This is a time of great opportunity. What we need to do is what labor has always done. What we need to do is what labor does best: cool eye, cool head, organize. Zero in on these next elections so we can get 60-plus votes in there and we don’t have to worry about that in the Senate. Zero in on those states – those elections in those states.” Abercrombie said he believes the government can and should do more to support the U.S. Merchant Marine. Overall, he wants the U.S. to increase its emphasis on creating and sustaining good jobs in all sectors. For example, he asked, “How can you export anything if you don’t have a manufacturing base? How can you export anything if you don’t have an industrial base that you’re going to support? They call it subsidies; I call it investment. I want to see people working.” A sound domestic energy policy is another way out of tough economic times, he stated. “We’re sending $700 billion a year out of the country, to nations around the world, to get our energy – our natural gas and our oil – instead of developing ourselves,” Abercrombie said. “We’ve got to have a comprehensive program that labor has to back, and vote for members of Congress who are going to (support) energy independence in this country.” Clyburn, the House Majority Whip, also focused some of his remarks on energy. “We’ve got to create jobs,” Clyburn stated. “I like one of your mottos: your favorite four-letter word is J-O-B-S. For those of us who are supporters of the labor movement, we’ve got to look at ways to make our economy work by creating new, lasting jobs. And I believe the biggest job creator going forward is to have a comprehensive energy plan. “That energy plan cannot be limited to wind and solar and bio-diesel,” he continued. “I get a lot of flack for this, but I’m a big proponent of nuclear energy. That’s where the jobs are, that’s where the security is, that’s where the safety for our environment is. Working together, we will have a sustainable job creation energy program for the future.” Turning his attention to health care, Clyburn noted, “We want to make sure that nobody falls through the cracks. If you have a plan that says that 2 million people may still fall through the cracks, we have to have a safety net for that. The most expensive health care that you can get is in the emergency room and too many people are going to the emergency rooms for their health care. Let’s broaden, let’s expand, let’s fund these community health centers. The (economic) recovery package makes a big down payment on making sure that happens.” Thompson is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. He noted the numerous difficulties associated with implementing the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program and said, “We’re going to make sure that the readers actually read. We will make sure that whatever problems have come up in the process of getting your TWIC card, we will correct it. We have committed ourselves to doing case work and we’ve been making people open their offices. We’ve heard about your members getting there and the offices are closed, your members sitting there six to eight hours unable to U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) vows to continue backing the Jones Act. 10 Seafarers LOG U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) believes the nation should boost its emphasis on creating and maintaining good jobs. get the card and then being told to come back the next day. We’re correcting all of that. I encourage you to let us know at the committee because we’re here to help.” Speaking about port security in general, Thompson said the most valuable component is people. “Port security continues to be a priority but we need your help,” he stated. “Don’t let anybody tell you that technology is really the answer. You know it’s the eyes and ears of your memberships that work in the ports that’s better security than any technology, because your members know what’s going on. We take the position that port security is a combination of technology and eyes and ears at the ports. “In addition to that, the Jones Act – we’re going to protect it but we’re going to take it one step further,” he added. “We’re going to make sure when times of national emergency happen we won’t let the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA waive the Jones Act so foreign-flag vessels can come in.” He concluded, “My office doors are always open, and every opportunity I get to raise the flag of labor, I do. I want to make sure that management understands that labor is the key to whatever success they have on their side and that partnership should exist.” MTD President Michael Sacco (right) welcomes U.S. Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.). April 2009 �AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department 2009 Executive Board Meeting MTD and SIU President Michael Sacco (right in photo at left) looks on with pride as Captain Vincent Lombardi recalls parts of the “Miracle on the Hudson.” In photo above, guests and delegates listen attentively to the proceedings. MTD At a Glance The Maritime Trades Department is a constitutionally mandated department of the AFL-CIO. It consists of 24 international unions (including the SIU) and 19 port maritime councils in the United States and Canada representing more than five million working men and women. The MTD executive board met Feb. 26-27 in Miami, where Don Keefe MEBA President board members and guests examined key issues facing not only the maritime industry but all working families. The articles on pages 9-14 are based on remarks and policy statements given at the meeting. The photos accompanying this text show some of the board members and guests, including rank-and-file SIU members. David Durkee BCTGM Sec.-Treasurer Warren Fairley Boilermakers International VP Bernard Hostein Steelworkers Asst. to President Lynn Tucker Machinists General VP Richard Hughes ILA President John Ryan GMP President Dan Kane Mine Workers Sec.-Treasurer Bill Lucy AFSCME Sec.-Treasurer Michel Desjardins SIU of Canada Executive VP Roman Gralewicz SIU of Canada President Robert Scardelletti TCU President Gunnar Lundberg SUP President Rank-and-file Seafarers took in the meeting and posed for this photo with SIU officials. Members in the photo include Irma Palma, Gazapata Nicholls, Fernando Domenicale, Gerard Rogers, David Marquez, Lester Barclay, Benjamin Wilson, Cesar Collantes, Wilson Peniston, Vasil Cholakovski, Cecil Scipio, Nicholas Vieira, Errol Mullings, Basic McMillan, Dan Brown and Bob Egri. SIU officials in the photo are President Mike Sacco, Executive VP Augie Tellez, Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel, VP Contracts George Tricker and Asst. VP Ambrose Cucinotta. April 2009 Anthony Poplawski MFOW President Seafarers LOG 11 �AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department 2009 Executive Board Meeting Tough Times, but New Tonnage Still Coming Despite rough economic times, there’s still positive news about the U.S.-flag fleet’s future, including new tankers being built in Pennsylvania and California. That message was part of separate but similarly heartening addresses given to the MTD on Feb. 26 by Fred Harris, president of General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard, and Capt. Robert Johnston, senior vice president of SIUcontracted Overseas Shipholding Group. Both speakers stressed that cooperation from all segments of the maritime industry remains vital to the Americanflag fleet’s success. Johnston said that positive labor relations and a focus on long-term goals are “cornerstones that OSG has had for many, many years…. Working together, we can build mountains and we can solve any problem put before us. Labor can’t do it alone; management can’t do it alone. We have to work together.” He said that OSG’s strategic business unit is a testament to such cooperation. The company operates vessels in Alaska and on all three U.S. coasts with “good, quality crews – highly competent individuals.” Johnston noted that assistance from maritime labor in tackling a tax question was critical in allowing the company to commit to its current tanker build program. “As a result of hard work by both the union and management together, we solved the tax issue,” he said. “As a result of that, guess what? We made a commitment to Aker in Philadelphia and we put an order in for 10 product carriers” (which has since grown to 12). The vessels are being built by union members, he added, and are state-of-theart ships. “They are great ships manned by great union crews, and for that I want to thank the union leaders that are manning those ships,” Johnston said. “You guys are doing a fantastic job.” Focusing on the Jones Act, Johnston General Dynamics NASSCO President Fred Harris believes support for the Title XI shipbuilding loan guarantee program could lead to a major economic boost across the country. reported that because of strong support for that law from Congress and the administration, OSG “is going to be committed to continue its construction program, continue building its U.S.-flag fleet. We’re going to continue to build tankers and continue to build ATBs, and we may even start going into the tug business. We’re going to continue to increase and expand our U.S.-flag fleet, which means more jobs for the sailors.” Another important component of OSG’s success is training, he said. The mariners sailing aboard OSG ships “are some of the highest trained individuals I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. These seafarers are good. When you talk to them, you recognize how well-qualified and well-trained they are. And that’s only because the unions recognized it. They have fantastic training Capt. Robert Johnston, senior VP at Overseas Shipholding Group, says the world-class training received by American mariners is a big plus for his company’s operations. facilities – some of the most modern facilities in the world, which are turning out some of the most well-trained seafarers in the world.” Of course, Johnston recognizes the difficult economic times, but he said OSG is forging ahead. “We are still looking at new projects,” he stated. “The company is very much committed to the U.S. flag…. We’re going to continue to grow and expand.” Harris, like Johnston a former mariner, heads the shipyard in San Diego. He said NASSCO currently employs 4,600 people and has “a strong backlog of ships to be built and crewed by skilled union craftsmen and skilled seafarers, and I am very happy about that.” NASSCO is in the midst of building and delivering 14 dry cargo/ammunition ships to the Navy, he said. Those are the Lewis-and-Clark class of vessels, abbreviated as T-AKE. The yard also performs repair work and commercial construction, including tankers now being built for SIU-contracted U.S. Shipping Partners. Harris said credit for the yard’s excellent progress in recent years goes to “the people who every day build these ships, and they build them well. They understand that if we’re going to be a shipbuilding nation, we have to be productive…. We have the most skilled craftsmen in the world. What we need to do is continue to give them the tools to be as efficient as anybody else in the world.” To that end, NASSCO officials have thoroughly examined the systems and practices of other yards, including foreign shipyards. The San Diego facility also has heavily invested in training its workforce. Turning his attention to the aging domestic fleet, Harris noted that it’s difficult for shipowners to find money for new construction. In part, that’s why he believes the industry must aggressively get behind the Title XI shipbuilding loan guarantee program, which “provides the U.S. government full credit guarantee for shipowners constructing ships in American yards.” He gave an example of how a $60 million yearly investment through the Title XI program for 10 years quite feasibly could lead to billions of dollars being poured back into the economy. For starters, the $60 million yearly figure would equate to approximately “97,000 man years worth of work over 10 years. That’s unbelievable, and it all gets paid back with interest. It’s one of the few programs that self generates the funding to pay for itself.” In conclusion, he said NASSCO remains “committed to the modernization of the U.S. Merchant Marine fleet, and I mean committed.” NY Waterway Recognized for Rescue on Hudson With the “Miracle on the Hudson” still relatively fresh in the audience’s mind, the MTD meeting on Feb. 27 featured a particularly uplifting moment as NY Waterway’s founder and one of its ferry captains were honored by the executive board. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) member Deborah Hersman also joined in commending the SIU-contracted company, whose personnel helped save the passengers and flight crew from the downed U.S. Airways jet that crashed into the Hudson River in January (see related coverage, page 6). MTD and SIU President Michael Sacco presented a ship’s wheel (dedicated to all of the captains and deckhands at the company) to NY Waterway founder Arthur Imperatore and to Captain Vincent Lombardi. The inscription reads, “With admiration and thanks for your outstanding actions which were an enormous part of the Miracle on the Hudson. Your lifesaving efforts helped lift the spirits of the entire nation.” The rescue of all 155 personnel from the downed aircraft (including 143 saved by SIU-crewed ferries) is “a great tribute to the union members who saved those people,” Sacco stated. “Virtually every person who rescued the passengers and crew from U.S. Airways Flight 1549 was a union member – and most 12 Seafarers LOG of them belong to MTD unions.” Lombardi was the captain of the first vessel that arrived at the rescue scene. Recalling that moment, he said he urged everyone on board the Thomas Jefferson to maintain their composure, because they didn’t know what they were about to see. He also thanked the MTD and SIU for their support and for the recognition on behalf of all the crews. Imperatore emphasized the commitment of NY Waterway employees, including their focus on safety training – some of which takes place at the SIUaffiliated Paul Hall Center, located in Piney Point, Md. He also saluted the productive working relationship his company shares with the union, citing “the professionalism that we absorbed and we understood from our association.” “I’m proud of our people,” added Imperatore, 83, who founded the company in 1986. “They are highly trained and very, very committed to the work we do.” Hersman discussed various key aspects of shipboard safety and shared some of the NTSB’s most significant findings. She noted that the agency investigates accidents in all modes of transportation, determines probable cause and makes recommendations. She pointed to fatigue as “one of the most insidious” of all transportation issues and said that “long-duty days are associated with fatigue and degraded performance.” Concerning the NY Waterway rescue, she concluded, “When we see accidents and we go to accident scenes, they bring out the best and the worst of equipment, of training, of procedures. But I think that we can all say, on the river that day, we saw the best of humanity. Those who were on that water that day showed us what many of us already know – especially those who are involved in the transportation industry. We are our brothers’ keepers and we have to take care of each other, and those crews did that that day. My hat’s off to you all.” The MTD honored NY Waterway personnel including company founder Arthur Imperatore (left) and Capt. Vincent Lombardi (second from left). MTD President Michael Sacco (right) and Deborah Hersman of the NTSB credited the ferry crews for their fast action. April 2009 �AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department 2009 Executive Board Meeting ITF Maritime Coordinator Steve Cotton notes there is international support for the Employee Free Choice Act AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says the labor federation is “100 percent behind” the MTD’s pro-maritime agenda. EFCA Remains Priority for Organized Labor ITF Official Pledges Support for Legislation, Reports on ‘Flag-of-Convenience’ Campaign Three labor officials who addressed the MTD executive board said the Obama administration indeed has brought hope for working families, but many tough fights lie ahead – including a big one to enact the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which the president has vowed to sign if given the chance. One of those speakers, International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) Maritime Coordinator Stephen Cotton, said he believes the new administration and Congress seem more likely to improve working conditions not only in America but abroad. Cotton also pledged “100 percent support” from the ITF to the U.S. labor movement, especially when it comes to the EFCA, which also is known as the majority sign-up bill. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen devoted much of their respective comments to the EFCA, which was reintroduced in the House and Senate in early March. The legislation aims to restore fairness to organizing campaigns by truly giving workers the freedom to choose union representation, without the looming fear of management intimidation. Contrary to lies spread by the bill’s opponents, the EFCA would not eliminate the option for a secret-ballot election. It simply would let workers choose whether to utilize secret ballots or instead opt for the already legal cardcheck system (through which a union is recognized as the employees’ collective bargaining representative once a majority of workers has signed pledge cards). This has been organized labor’s top legislative priority in recent years and it remains so in 2009. Sweeney thanked the MTD for its “continued presence in the struggle to restore the rights of all workers to join unions by passing the Employee Free Choice Act. This is a moment when the question is, unions yes, or no? And that affects all of us…. It has turned into a nasty fight, with the Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into their campaign to defeat it.” April 2009 He continued, “The EFCA means so much to the future of our movement. The giant corporations and the financial institutions and their overpaid CEOs need to be brought under control, and the only way we can do that is to get bigger and stronger. Labor overall picked up approximately 400,000 new members last year, but that’s barely enough to hold us even as a percentage of the workforce. Let’s keep on working together and sticking together. If we do that, we will be winning together.” The labor federation president also said the AFL-CIO is “100 percent behind” the MTD’s pro-maritime agenda – “especially more American shipbuilding, funding for short-sea shipping, and continued protection of the cabotage laws, all of which create and keep good jobs.” He noted that with the new administration, “We’ve been included in most of the decision-making and, I’m happy to say, the president has been very open and available to hearing our views.” Cohen asked the audience, “Why are we the only democracy in the world that doesn’t have majority sign-up? The important point here is, Europe, South America, Asia, parts of Africa, Latin America like never before – they already have what we’re fighting for…. Why should this be the only country in the world where to have union recognition and bargaining, you have to fight the boss to get it?” He cited the cooperation between labor and management in the maritime trades as a great example of how a unionized work force can benefit all concerned. In fact, he noted that through letters supporting the EFCA, “Thousands of employers have signed on to say to Congress, ‘We work with unions. We know what partnership means. We know what happens when there’s a seat at the table.’” He concluded by saying the trampling of workers’ rights has contributed to today’s economic hard times and reiterated President Obama’s belief that significant recovery isn’t possible unless working families “are rising up in terms of CWA President Larry Cohen asserts that the “trampling of workers’ rights” helped lead to the current economic woes. their buying power. And the single best way to raise buying power is to give workers in this country bargaining power.” Immediately following Cohen’s remarks, he received a donation from five MTD affiliates – the SIU, AMO, ILA, MM&P and MEBA – for use in the EFCA campaign he is helping to lead. Cotton spoke on behalf of the ITF, a global federation of nearly 700 transport trade unions (including the SIU and many other MTD affiliates) which collectively represent 4.5 million workers in 148 countries. (SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel is first vice chair of the ITF Seafarers’ Section.) He said the international maritime industry is dealing with threats posed by piracy and a severe global economic downturn. He also reported that the ITF has fared well in its long-running campaign against so-called flag-of-convenience (FOC) shipping, also known as runaway-flag shipping. Stressing that none of these issues can be resolved without the active participation of the American and Canadian governments, Cotton said that those nations have an important role to play in “leading us out of these difficult times.” “We need you,” he told the MTD board. What American and Canadian labor unions have achieved in recent years gives all maritime workers “great hope.” Cotton said the ITF continues to have success in negotiating new contracts and securing back pay with FOC fleets. Last year alone, the organization obtained $20 million in unpaid wages and overtime. He praised the efforts of the North American labor unions, noting that they have substantially increased the number of ITF inspectors. Less encouraging is the news about piracy, Cotton pointed out. Incidents are on the rise, and 10 vessels reportedly were being detained “at this very moment,” he said. “Imagine if 10 airplanes were being held hostage. How would the world community react?” He said that labor unions worldwide have stepped up to try to help solve the problem. For example, European, American, Russian and Indian unions have been urging employers to define high-risk regions and to get more government support. Seafarers LOG 13 �AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department 2009 Executive Board Meeting Statements Adopted by MTD Executive Board implementing the stimulus package…. The American economy depends on the American worker. The vaunted American middle class existed because of good jobs with decent benefits that included health care and retirement provisions – all the things unions have fought for through the years…. We must push to save America’s manufacturing base, then expand it into the new jobs that will be created for the energy and environmental needs of this century. We must fight to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. We must overturn laws and regulations aimed at shipping jobs overseas, while leading the charge to improve working conditions around the world…. And unlike the banking bailouts of last year which were supposed to ease the credit crunch of workers and homeowners but instead supplied cover for bonus payments to executives while profits tanked, we must make sure the government’s stimulus dollars are used to help those who need them the most – the working men and women of America. Printed on this page are excerpts from some of the statements approved Feb. 26-27 by members of the Maritime Trades Department executive board. Altogether, the board adopted 16 statements aimed at mapping out strategies and reinforcing positions on issues of importance to the MTD, its affiliates and the rank-and-file members of those unions. ■ Support The Troops The men and women who wear the uniform of the United States do whatever is necessary to protect freedom and fight tyranny wherever that call to arms occurs. We know these people are brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, uncles and aunts. We also know many of them are union members…. The men and women who load and crew the U.S.-flag vessels that supply these soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines continue to answer the call to duty as well. They realize their on-time delivery of materiel could mean the difference between life and death. That is why the MTD along with our affiliates and Port Maritime Councils again affirm our unqualified support for the brave members of America’s armed forces. May they perform their jobs well and come home safely to those who love and miss them. ■ Commercial Shipbuilding Industry The economic importance of a vibrant shipbuilding industry cannot be overstated. As a bipartisan coalition of 57 Senators and Representatives noted earlier this year, the industry, directly and indirectly, employs an estimated 400,000 people nationwide. Facilities include six major shipbuilding yards, several smaller ship construction and repair yards, and more than 4,000 major manufacturers of ship components and systems. The MTD, its affiliates and its Port Maritime Councils call upon Congress and the new administration to fund the Title XI shipbuilding loan guarantee program. This is a sure way to stimulate the economy with good jobs and need vessels for the U.S.-flag fleet. ■ America’s Marine Highway System Promoted by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Maritime Administration, “America’s Marine Highway” seeks to ease congestion on America’s highway and rail systems by making better use of the nation’s waterborne resources. Recent economic studies show the wisdom of this approach. By relieving congestion in other modes of transportation, ocean-borne commerce can improve U.S. productivity rates, ease pollution and create new jobs, including many in the maritime sector. Also known as “short sea shipping,” the approach has won widespread support in the maritime industry, including from many affiliates of the MTD. The Department has long believed that “short sea shipping” has the potential for advancing many important national goals, as long as the integrity of U.S. cabotage laws like the Jones Act is respected. ■ Salute To First Responders Last month, the world witnessed what happens when well-trained workers go from handling their daily tasks to immediate first responders. The lives of all 155 people aboard a crippled U.S. Airways jet forced to ditch in New York’s Hudson River were saved. Did we happen to mention that all those who reacted so quickly without question were union members?! Yes, we have to mention that because you wouldn’t find that fact in any of the major media outlets. From the pilots and flight attendants aboard the jet to the air traffic controllers clearing the skies, from the mariners racing to the scene to the police officers and fire fighters who jumped aboard those vessels as they left port, all involved in the safety of the passengers were union members who had received safety training in case the totally unexpected were to happen. ■ Support For The New Administration Over the past year, President Obama was very clear about the need to preserve 14 Seafarers LOG Maritime Trades Department VP Ernest D. Whelan reads one of the statements during the most recent MTD meeting. America’s maritime industry and the important role that it plays in the defense and economic development of the nation. He has promised to support such vitally important programs as cargo preference, the Jones Act and the Maritime Security Program. Moreover, important members of Congress are urging him to include monies in his stimulus package that would promote port modernization, humanitarian food aid, naval and commercial shipbuilding and America’s Marine Highway…. Above all else, we applaud President Obama’s commitment to sign the Employee Free Choice Act into law. ■ Maritime Security Program The need for rapid response of equipment for the U.S. military remains constant. That is why successful efforts like the Maritime Security Program (MSP) need to be in place and fully funded. The MTD and its affiliated unions have been at the forefront in support for the MSP since its inception immediately after the first Persian Gulf War in the early 1990s. America’s military planners discovered they could not count on foreign-flag crews aboard foreign-flag ships to deliver needed materiel to troops positioned around the globe the way U.S.-flag vessels with well trained and patriotic U.S.-civilian crews did.... The MSP proved to be an unqualified success. Praise has come from both Capitol Hill and the Pentagon…. Now, the MSP runs through 2016 and covers up to 60 ships. However, several times during the life of the MSP efforts have been made to cut its funding. Although the legislation creating, then extending, the MSP is 10 years in length, the program must have its funding authorized each year. The MTD, its affiliates and its Port Maritime Councils call upon the Congress and the new Barack Obama administration to make sure a program as thriving as the MSP remains in place with full funding. American troops know they can count on their Brothers and Sisters aboard U.S.-flag vessels to deliver their goods whenever and wherever duty calls. ■ Fixing The U.S. Health Care System Americans need reforms that will control rising and irrational costs; provide comprehensive, high-quality health care to all; give every family the opportunity and responsibility for preventive care; preserve the right to choose one’s own doctor; require the government to play a strong role in restoring balance to the current system; ensure more fairness and efficiency; lower employer costs and, in return, ask them to pay their fair share, along with government and individuals; and build on what is best about American health care while drawing from what works in other countries. Failure to act will only exacerbate the problem. In 2006, 47 million Americans had no health insurance. Nearly 8.7 million of those were children. Moreover, millions more are underinsured. Union members particularly have been hurt by these developments. Unions have negotiated a national standard of comprehensive health care benefits. As the cost of health care continues to spin out of control, businesses that offer the benefit are hobbled in a global marketplace and are at a competitive disadvantage here at home. ■ Pass The Employee Free Choice Act The hokum being stirred by the massive multi-million dollar campaign funded by Big Business and the Chambers of Commerce that federal labor law will be tossed on its head should the Employee Free Choice Act pass is pure garbage. The act is an effort swing the pendulum toward balancing the power structure currently controlled by business…. As for the argument that America cannot afford allowing workers a chance to improve themselves in these harsh economic times, one only needs to study history. The Wagner Act passed during the Great Depression. Unions began massive organizing campaigns that led to the creation of Social Security, health benefits, overtime regulations, workplace safety, secured pensions – the basic foundations for the great middle class. ■ Stimulate The Economy In the union movement, one four-letter word is all we need to plainly state how to stimulate the economy: JOBS! Americans want to go back to work and Americans need jobs. That is our central focus as it should be for the nation’s elected officials who are ■ Port Dredging Almost all goods that enter or exit the United States do so through a harbor. Waterborne commerce is the umbilical cord to the nation’s international trade. Yet, many of the channels needed by commercial vessels to transit America’s ports are covered with sediment and other debris…. What this means is vessels laden with American-made goods cannot carry all they are capable of holding because they would be too heavy to keep from running aground, nor can ships with imports for the U.S.-market enter due to the same concerns…. The International Union of Operating Engineers calls upon its fellow affiliates within the Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO to urge Congress to pass legislation that would compel Harbor Maintenance Tax appropriations to more closely mirror the tax’s annual revenues. Similar language has been passed in previous Congresses concerning the proper use of Highway Trust Fund and Aviation Trust Fund revenues for their designated forms of transportation…. Thousands of good-paying American jobs would be created by expending Harbor Maintenance Taxes for their intended purpose: dredging America’s harbors and waterways. ■ Cargo Preference In letters sent to the presidents of the maritime unions of the MTD last year, President Obama put it best when he wrote: “A strong U.S.-flag commercial fleet needs our nation’s cargo preference laws. Whether it is carrying needed goods to those overseas in distress or moving government-generated cargo, American mariners aboard American ships make sure the job is done. People around the world look to the U.S. flag as a symbol of hope and determination. Ships flying Old Glory with American crews are important icons of our resolve.” The new Commander-in-Chief has it exactly right. Preserving the viability of the nation’s cargo preference laws is critically important. In addition to creating good-paying jobs for middle-class workers and taxes at all levels of government, a strong U.S.flag Merchant Marine promotes many defense interests – most notably, strategic sealift. The SIUNA-affiliated AMO had a strong turnout. Some of the union’s members and officials are pictured with MTD President Michael Sacco (fourth from right). April 2009 �Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea February 16, 2009 — March 15, 2009 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Seafarers ‘Motor’ in Rolling Thunder For U.S. Merchant Marine Veterans Some SIU headquarters officials and employees are trying to determine whether there is enough interest for the union to participate in this year’s Memorial Day weekend “Rolling Thunder” event in Washington, D.C. “We would like to raise awareness concerning those who served our country on merchant vessels during times of war, supplying our troops,” one official noted. “Many of those mariners gave their lives in defense of our country.” Rank-and-file Seafarers, SIU retirees, union employees and family members who may be interested in riding at the May 24 event as part of an SIU contingent are asked to email their contact information to the following address as soon as possible: rollingthunder2009@gmail.com The Washington-based Rolling Thunder event is a yearly demonstration, largely by motorcycle riders, for POW/MIAs and veterans’ issues. According to a communication from Rolling Thunder, Inc., participants will assemble in the north Pentagon parking lot beginning at 8 a.m. They will leave at noon for the ride through D.C. to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial “to pay our respect to our brothers and sisters who gave their lives for freedom we enjoy every day and for the full accounting of all POW-MIAs and veterans’ rights. This is a demonstration – not a parade.” More information is available on the web at www.rollingthunder1.com (that’s a number “1” rather than a letter L in the address). According to the web site, Rolling Thunder, Inc. is a nonprofit organization “with over 88 chartered chapters throughout the United States and members abroad. While many members of Rolling Thunder are veterans, and many ride motorcycles, neither qualification is a prerequisite.” April & May 2009 Membership Meetings Piney Point..........................................Monday: May 4, June 8 Algonac ...............................................Friday: May 8, June 12 Baltimore.........................................Thursday: May 7, June 11 Guam.............................................Thursday: May 21, June 25 Honolulu ...........................................Friday: May 15, June 19 Houston...........................................Monday: May 11, June 15 Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals Totals Jacksonville.....................................Thursday: May 7, June 11 Joliet..............................................Thursday: May 14, June 18 Mobile........................................Wednesday: May 13, June 17 New Orleans..........................................Tuesday: May 12, June 16 New York............................................Tuesday: May 5, June 9 Norfolk............................................Thursday: May 7, June 11 Oakland .........................................Thursday: May 14, June 18 Philadelphia...................................Wednesday: May 6, June 10 Port Everglades .............................Thursday: May 14, June 18 San Juan ..........................................Thursday: May 7, June 11 St. Louis .............................................Friday: May 15, June 19 Tacoma...............................................Friday: May 22, June 26 Wilmington...........................................Monday: May 18, June 22 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. April 2009 DECK DEPARTMENT 10 0 0 2 0 1 5 2 2 0 2 4 4 2 3 0 1 0 2 2 3 1 2 13 1 6 29 18 1 5 8 23 11 21 4 0 4 0 21 19 2 4 2 8 5 2 23 10 2 4 4 6 17 8 6 4 4 1 14 18 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 7 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 2 11 0 2 17 7 0 1 4 10 4 3 2 6 2 0 9 8 12 1 6 18 2 16 66 57 1 21 27 92 25 44 7 1 13 3 62 54 18 4 6 26 12 13 43 46 11 11 10 35 29 14 7 3 17 12 50 32 25 1 2 6 2 1 13 6 10 2 6 13 5 2 3 1 1 0 8 7 289 216 42 191 136 25 89 541 409 111 0 0 4 9 0 6 13 16 0 7 5 12 11 10 5 0 2 0 15 12 0 3 0 5 3 7 9 15 1 5 0 14 15 6 1 1 5 5 12 10 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 127 117 12 ENGINE DEPARTMENT Totals Totals All Departments 1 0 1 4 1 7 13 13 0 3 4 7 5 3 1 1 2 0 9 6 0 1 3 3 2 4 7 6 0 6 1 8 10 4 0 0 1 1 10 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 9 2 1 1 1 3 3 4 0 0 1 0 7 3 1 0 8 17 2 12 26 37 0 17 11 30 19 17 6 2 4 0 22 20 7 4 3 9 5 7 27 30 2 8 3 23 29 10 2 2 10 6 20 21 7 0 0 0 0 2 2 6 3 0 0 5 2 3 0 0 1 1 2 5 81 71 3 38 251 228 39 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 0 0 3 8 2 7 26 20 0 5 5 29 6 19 3 2 3 0 13 19 2 1 2 6 3 3 7 11 2 3 2 9 10 3 0 2 0 1 4 5 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 170 76 1 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C 7 3 5 10 5 3 36 24 5 5 4 16 15 6 5 5 8 5 26 23 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs 8 1 6 7 2 7 54 27 1 9 15 45 21 28 3 0 5 2 21 27 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 1 0 1 4 1 6 21 0 0 6 4 18 9 15 1 4 2 2 12 12 0 0 0 2 0 5 4 12 1 1 2 5 10 3 0 2 1 2 1 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 12 4 0 2 1 4 3 5 1 0 2 0 7 5 2 0 3 12 5 14 39 27 0 9 13 44 14 31 4 3 4 0 29 37 8 2 3 15 6 5 11 9 2 4 2 13 13 10 1 2 1 2 11 7 7 0 0 2 0 2 0 2 3 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 4 128 55 6 51 290 127 25 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 2 0 0 0 5 0 4 0 0 0 0 3 1 6 1 3 3 1 6 21 21 4 6 1 16 15 17 0 16 2 0 14 10 7 0 0 5 0 7 8 8 0 2 0 9 12 8 1 24 1 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 5 1 2 0 3 4 1 3 9 8 0 1 3 7 12 8 0 14 0 1 9 8 2 0 0 0 1 1 3 7 0 1 1 1 6 2 2 17 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 14 3 0 1 1 19 0 7 0 0 1 0 8 5 20 4 7 9 2 14 36 43 6 13 6 39 36 22 0 6 5 1 14 20 19 1 0 15 0 15 12 20 5 6 3 19 22 14 1 19 3 0 5 11 21 163 97 17 93 48 0 55 323 193 607 572 162 417 355 82 178 1137 1087 368 Seafarers LOG 15 �Inquir ing Seaf arer Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 GUAM P.O. Box 3328, Hagatna, Guam 96932 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 Editor’s note: This month’s Inquiring Seafarer questions were posed to members at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Caroline Thomas, OS Home port: New York Question: What does being a merchant mariner mean to you? “It totally changed my life. I’ve been blessed to meet and make friends of different cultures and colors from around the world. I’ve been given a chance to see the world, and make a good income, all without ever having to drive to work. I’m so proud to be a part of something that means so much to our nation and the world. For me, being a merchant mariner is priceless. I don’t think I could have had these opportunities elsewhere.” HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 Francis S. Brown, OMU Home port: New Orleans HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 Question: Why are the Jones Act and U.S. Merchant Marine important? JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 “It’s about quality. American mariners have to be qualified to do certain jobs and nowhere will you find better-qualified mariners. It’s also about keeping jobs in America. During this recession, none of us can afford to have our jobs outsourced to nations that don’t offer the industry the quality and service we do. This is a great industry. I’ve had the chance to travel on the lakes, inland waterways and on salt waters and see a lot of things and meet a lot of people.” Abraham Goldberg, GVA Home port: Pascagoula, Miss. Question: Why are the Jones Act and U.S. Merchant Marine important? “They’re both vital to the U.S. economy. The U.S. economy and international transportation wouldn’t be as strong. I think without the Jones Act, U.S. competition would fall to the point where companies would turn to foreign labor. Many foreign mariners are willing to accept lower standards of life and lower shipboard living standards. This would turn back the clock in how mariner’s quality of life has improved over the years.” Mark Simpson, Chief Cook Home port: Norfolk, Va. Question: How important is the merchant marine to you? “I was in the Navy for 23 years so I saw firsthand the importance of deliveries by merchant mariners. I missed the sea when I left the Navy and started in the SIU on LMSRs. We carried a lot of tanks, humvees, MRAPs and other equipment and it made me remember how important these deliveries were. When we picked up some of the equipment to take it home, I saw the damage to it such as bullet and mortar holes, remembered how many lives this equipment saved and remembered in the Navy saying thank God for the people who delivered it.” Pic-From-The-Past MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 Engine Utility James Balmy (left) and Stewart Gary Walter in 1971 tested their wits during a friendly game of pinochle in the recreation area aboard the Seafarers-crewed SL181. The newest vessel in Sea-Land’s fleet at the time, the vessel at the time this photo was taken was docked in New York Harbor. Ultra-modern in all respects, SL181was 720 feet long, 95 feet wide and boasted a dead-weight tonnage of 25,515 long tons. Her draft was 34 feet and she had a service speed of more than 23 knots. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with other Seafarers LOG readers, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. High-resolution digital images may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org 16 Seafarers LOG April 2009 �Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. Welcome Ashore DEEP SEA ALBERT AUSTIN Brother Albert Austin, 65, became an SIU member in 1986 while in the port of Norfolk, Va. His first ship was the USNS Stalwart; his last the Cape Johnson. Brother Austin attended classes on numerous occasions at the Seafarers-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. The deck department member continues to live in his native state of North Carolina. VIRGILIO DONGHIT Brother Virgilio Donghit, 66, joined the union in 1994 in the port of New Orleans. He initially sailed on the USNS Antares. Brother Donghit was born in the Philippines and shipped in the steward department. He frequently visited the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md., to upgrade his skills. Brother Donghit’s final ship was the ITB Mobile. He resides in Jacksonville, Fla. RICHARD GIBBONS Brother Richard Gibbons, 65, started sailing with the Seafarers in 1964 while in the port of New York. His first voyage was aboard the City of Alma. Brother Gibbons, who sailed in the deck department, was born in New York. In 1964 and 1979, he enhanced his seafaring abilities at the Piney Point school. Brother Gibbons was last employed on the Golden Endeavor. He makes his home in Brooklyn, N.Y. FREDERICK GROSBEIER Brother Frederick Grosbeier, 66, donned the SIU colors in 1968. He originally shipped aboard the McKee Sons. Brother Grosbeier frequently took advantage of educational opportunities available at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. The deck department member was born in Wisconsin. Brother Grosbeier most recently worked on the PFC. James Anderson Jr. He is a resident of Paris, Tenn. HENRY HAYES Brother Henry Hayes, 65, joined the SIU ranks in 1990. His first vessel was the USNS Pollux. Brother Hayes upgraded on three occasions at the union-affiliated school. He was a member of the steward depart- April 2009 ment. Brother Hayes’ final voyage was aboard the USNS Loyal. He calls Jackson, Miss., home. SANFORD KLAVANO Brother Sanford Klavano, 64, was born in Portland, Ore. He began sailing with the SIU in 1969 from the port of Seattle. Brother Klavano initially worked on the Columbia Beaver as a member of the deck department. He attended classes in 2000 at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Klavano last shipped aboard the Maersk Tennessee. He resides in Auburn, Wash. RUDOLPH LOPEZ Brother Rudolph Lopez, 60, became a Seafarer in 1970. His first ship was the Peary; his last the Motivator. Brother Lopez visited the Piney Point school often during his SIU career. He was born in Texas and sailed in the engine department. Brother Lopez continues to live in his native state. JOSE RABULAN Brother Jose Rabulan, 65, started his SIU career in 1996 while in the port of Norfolk, Va. His earliest trip to sea was on the USNS Kane. Brother Rabulan worked in the deck department and frequently enhanced his skills at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. His most recent voyage was aboard the USNS Gilliand. Brother Rabulan was born in Sorsogon, Fla., and settled in Virginia Beach, Va. PAUL SHIH Brother Paul Shih, 65, signed on with the SIU in 1989. He was originally employed on the Independence. Brother Shih was born in China. He upgraded his skills in 2000 and 2001 at the Seafarers-affiliated school. Brother Shih’s last ship was the Patriot. He sailed in both the deck and engine departments and now makes his home in Honolulu. RICHARD SMALLWOOD Brother Richard Smallwood, 65, joined the union in 1970 while in the port of New York. He first shipped aboard the Kyska. Brother Smallwood was born in New Jersey. The engine department member attended classes on two occasions at the Paul Hall Center to upgrade his seafaring abilities. Brother Smallwood’s final voyage was on the USNS Wilkes. He is a resident of Neptune, N.J. LONNIE JOHNSON Brother Lonnie Johnson, 62, began shipping with the SIU in 1981. He was mainly employed with Alabama Pilots Inc. as a member of the deck department. Brother Johnson calls Coden, Ala., home. CLAUDIO UDAN Brother Claudio Udan, 65, was born in the Philippines. He donned the SIU colors in 1989, initially sailing aboard the Independence. Brother Udan worked in the deck department and most recently sailed aboard the Horizon Trader. In 1989 and 2001, he visited the Piney Point school to upgrade. Brother Udan continues to reside in the Philippines. INLAND GREAT LAKES ALBERT HAMIEL Brother Albert Hamiel, 58, joined the Seafarers in 1969. His first ship was the Reiss Brothers; his last the Sam Laud. Brother Hamiel was born in Michigan and worked in the deck department. He often took advantage of educational opportunities available at the union-affiliated school. Brother Hamiel makes his home in Manistique, Mich. department. Brother Henderson was born in Phenix City, Ala. His final trip to sea was on the Cape Avinof. GREGORY HOPKINS Brother Gregory Hopkins, 55, became an NMU member in 1977 while in the port of Houston. His earliest voyage was aboard the Gulf Crest. Brother Hopkins was born in Oakland, Calif. He most recently shipped on the Corpus Christi in the steward department. JAMES WILBY Brother James Wilby, 64, was born in Long Branch, N.J. He joined the union in 1966, initially sailing aboard the Oceanic as a member of the steward department. Brother Wilby’s last ship was the Integrity. ANTHONY ENNA Brother Anthony Enna, 55, became a union member in 1981. He sailed primarily with Crescent Towing of New Orleans for the duration of his career. Brother Enna is a New Orleans native. He sailed in the deck department. Brother Enna now lives in Metairie, La. NATIONAL MARITIME UNION CLEVE HENDERSON Brother Cleve Henderson, 55, started sailing with the NMU in 1978 from the port of Norfolk, Va. He originally sailed aboard the African Sun as a member of the steward Editor’s note: The following items are reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1939 After a strike of less than one week’s duration, the SIU reached agreement with the Peninsula and Occidental Steamship Company. The agreement provided for a complete closed shop and all hiring to be done through the union hall. In addition to wage increases the agreement established the payment of overtime for all work performed on Saturday afternoons, Sundays and holidays, both at sea and in port, including the standing of regular watches. lifeboat training at the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship in Piney Point, Md. In the future, examinations for lifeboat certification will be given to seamen who attend the school after their lifeboat training without a wait to allow them to build up 90 days of sea time. Under the arrangement with the Coast Guard, seafarers who pass the examination at the end of their lifeboat training will be automatically given their lifeboat tickets after they have sailed for the required 90 days to gain certification. This Month In SIU History 1963 The SIU-manned Floridian became the first American merchant ship fired on by Cuban MIG jet airplanes when she was attacked by two of the Russian-built aircraft about 50 miles north of Cuba. The jets first circled the ship for 20 minutes before opening up with machine guns. The attack came in the same waters between Florida and Cuba where Cuban MIGs attacked the American shrimp boat Ala with rockets and machine guns on Feb. 20. Seafarer Jack Nelson, an AB, took pictures of the attack from the deck. He handed the pictures over to U.S. intelligence sources in Miami when the ship docked. 1967 The U.S. Coast Guard granted approval of the 1994 Seafarers aboard the Sugar Islander helped support humanitarian efforts led by the World Food Program of Rome, Italy, when the Pacific Gulf Marine vessel delivered 20,000 metric tons of corn to the destitute country of Angola, on Africa’s west coast. “It was a very long and hard trip, but we got the job done. The entire trip took a total of 70 days, and 34 of those days were spent offloading,” AB Arthur Machado said. The crew began loading the yellow corn on March 7 in the vessel’s home port of New Orleans. On March 8, the crew finished loading and set sail for the African nation. The Sugar Islander arrived in the Angolan port of Lobito on March 29 and remained docked until April 21 when the last of the cargo was offloaded. Seafarers LOG 17 �Final Depar tures DEEP SEA WILLIAM ANDERSON Pensioner William Anderson, 85, passed away Dec. 7. Brother Anderson was born in Platte City, Mo. He joined the Marine Cooks & Stewards (MC&S) while in the port of San Francisco. Brother Anderson worked in the steward department. He retired in 1968 and made Kent, Wash., his home. KENNETH BLAIR Pensioner Kenneth Blair, 81, died Dec. 20. Brother Blair became a Seafarer in 1947 while in the port of New York. He was born in Tennessee. Brother Blair initially sailed in the deck department of a Calmar Steamship Corporation vessel. Prior to his retirement in 1992, he shipped aboard the Mariner. Brother Blair settled in McMinnville, Tenn. LEROY EDMONDSON Pensioner Leroy Edmondson, 76, passed away Dec. 30. Brother Edmondson started sailing with the union in 1969 from the port of San Francisco. The engine department member was born in Texas. Brother Edmondson’s first ship was the Belgium Victory; his last was the Sealift Antarctic. He went on pension in 1995 and called Manteca, Calif., home. ENRIQUE GARRIDO Brother Enrique Garrido, 54, died Jan. 30. He first donned the SIU colors in 1991. Brother Garrido’s earliest trip to sea was on the 18 Seafarers LOG USNS H.H. Hess. His final voyage took place aboard the Intrepid. Brother Garrido, a member of the steward department, was born in the Philippines. He lived in San Diego. TRAWN GOOCH Brother Trawn Gooch, 57, passed away Feb. 9. He joined the SIU ranks in 1969. Brother Gooch primarily sailed on vessels operated by Interocean American Shipping Corporation to include the Ft. Hoskins and the El Morro. He was born in Baltimore and worked in both the engine and deck departments during his seafaring career. Brother Gooch was a resident of Jacksonville, Fla. RAYMOND HODGES Pensioner Raymond Hodges, 88, died Dec. 28. Brother Hodges began sailing with the union in 1944 while in the port of Baltimore. He initially worked on a Waterman Steamship Corporation vessel as a member of the deck department. Brother Hodges was born in Surry, N.C. Before retiring in 1979, he was employed aboard Sea-Land’s SS Mayaguez. Brother Hodges made his home in State Road, N.C. CLAUDE HOLLINGS Pensioner Claude Hollings, 88, passed away Dec. 27. Brother Hollings was born in Alabama. He signed on with the SIU in 1941 while in the port of Mobile, Ala. Brother Hollings’ first ship was the Iberville. The steward department member last shipped on the Overseas Valdez. Brother Hollings became a pensioner in 1982 and continued to reside in his native state. SAMUEL JAMES Pensioner Samuel James, 88, died Oct. 4. Brother James, a member of the steward department, began sailing with the MC&S in 1956 in the port of San Francisco. His first voyage was aboard the Santa Magdelena. Brother James was born in Pledger, Texas. His final trip to sea was on the Santa Maria. Brother James started collecting his retirement compensation in 1985. He settled in Wharton, Texas. BILLY LOCKHART Pensioner Billy Lockhart, 69, passed away Feb. 2. Brother Lockhart became a Seafarer in 1981. He originally shipped aboard a Bay Tankers Inc. vessel as a member of the deck department. Brother Lockhart was born in Prattsville, Ark. His most recent ship was the Sam Houston. Brother Lockhart went on pension in 2004 and called Little Rock, Ark., home. WALLACE MASON Pensioner Wallace Mason, 85, died Feb. 1. Brother Mason started his seafaring profession in 1952. His earliest trip was on the Chiwawa. Brother Mason sailed in the deck department. His last voyage was aboard the SLMP 853 Tacoma. Brother Mason was born in Hanson, Mass., but made his home in Adamsville, Tenn. He began receiving his pension in 1982. ROBERT SPENCER Pensioner Robert Spencer, 83, passed away Jan. 11. Brother Spencer first donned the SIU colors in 1948 while in the port of Mobile, Ala. He was initially employed on the Hastings as a member of the steward department. Prior to his retirement in 1994, Brother Spencer worked aboard the Overseas Philadelphia. He continued to live in his native state of Alabama. RUDOLF SPINGAT Pensioner Rudolf Spingat, 79, died Nov. 29. Brother Spingat joined the MC&S in 1966 while in the port of San Francisco. His first voyage was on the Santa Magdelena. Brother Spingat’s final trip to sea was aboard the Chief Gadao. The Germanborn mariner shipped in the steward department. Brother Spingat retired in 1998. He was a resident of Spain. INLAND WILLIAM BURRISS Pensioner William Burriss, 69, passed away Feb. 21. Brother Burriss was born in Cumberland, N.C. He signed on with the union in 1963. Brother Burriss primarily sailed on vessels operated by Cape Fear Towing Company. He became a pensioner in 1994 and settled in Wilmington, N.C. JENETA KUPPE Pensioner Jenetta Kuppe, 77, died Jan. 12. Sister Kuppe began shipping with the SIU in 1987 while in St. Louis. She worked aboard Orgulf Transportation Company vessels for the duration of her career. Sister Kuppe sailed in the steward department. She started collecting retirement stipends in 1997. Sister Kuppe was born in Union City, Tenn., but called Hickman, Ky., home. JIMMY MCNUTT Pensioner Jimmy McNutt, 73, passed away Jan. 10. Brother McNutt joined the union ranks in 1980. The deck department member was mainly employed on vessels operated by Crowley Towing & Transportation of Wilmington. Brother McNutt was born in Alabama. He went on pension in 2004 and called Gulfport, Miss., home. WILLIAM MILLER Pensioner William Miller, 81, died Feb. 4. Brother Miller started sailing with the SIU in 1957 from the port of Baltimore. He was born in Maryland and worked in the deck department. Brother Miller mostly shipped with McAllister Towing of Baltimore. He retired in 1984 and lived in Edgemere, Md. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU), have passed away. Name Baptiste, Audley Centeno, Roberto Cisneros, Jorge Cruel, Julius Dufresne, Alfred Gaspard, Lawrence Henley, Samuel La Forgia, Nicholas La Rocque, Alvan Lewis, William Logston, Von Lopez, Pablo Lopez, Phillip Marrero, George Morgan, Joe O’Connell, Arthur Padilla, Wilfredo Polk, Washington Pope, William Reese, John Richardson, Fred Rolling, Leo Taylor, Thurston Thurman, Willmon Youngblood, Duane Age 94 83 81 95 80 84 92 82 82 87 83 85 93 77 71 75 81 85 91 73 83 79 89 85 61 DOD Jan. 6 Jan. 25 Feb. 5 Jan. 21 Jan. 23 Jan. 18 Jan. 8 Feb. 13 Jan. 8 Feb. 13 Dec. 26 Dec. 31 Jan. 13 Feb. 7 Jan. 18 Feb. 5 Jan. 23 Feb. 11 Nov. 13 Feb. 9 Feb. 8 Jan. 17 Jan. 27 Jan. 15 Feb. 8 April 2009 �Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings ALASKAN FRONTIER (Alaska Tanker Company), Jan. 4 – Chairman Christopher J. Kicey, Secretary Jeffery L. Smith, Educational Director Odilio G. Evora. Chairman praised crew for their hard work and positive attitude in the cold and icy conditions while in Valdez, Alaska. He informed Seafarers that 60-day stores would be purchased in Long Beach, Calif. Secretary talked about the coming flu season and the impact it could have on them. He went over ways to reduce exposure and curb the spread of the virus. Crew members were thanked for their positive response to the elimination of paper cups. Educational director advised mariners to take advantage of Piney Point school to enhance their skills. He also reminded them to stay abreast of deadline for document renewals. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew decided on new lounge furniture arrangement and discussed getting satellite internet. CHARLESTON (USCS Transport), Jan. 30 – Chairman Nathaniel Leary, Secretary Abraham M. Martinez, Educational Director David Spaulding, Deck Delegate Eddie L. Major, Steward Delegate George A. Burgos. Chairman urged Seafarers to visit the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., and reminded them to apply for TWIC cards ASAP. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion was made to increase pension, medical and dental benefits. Seafarers requested the union look into getting cable boxes for each crew member’s room and they could pay a monthly fee. FLORIDA (Maersk Line, Limited), Jan. 20 – Chairman Brian P. Corbett, Secretary Christina Nuttier, Educational Director Jeffery D. Levie, Deck Delegate Jon P. Dillon. Chairman thanked crew for their help, cooperation and understanding during the transition to the new ship. Secretary read and discussed letter from Maersk Line, Limited concerning vessel orientation. Educational director encouraged mariners to upgrade skills often at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. It was noted that some equipment has been stored for transfer onto the new vessel. Next ports: Charleston, S.C., and Houston. LIBERTY STAR (Liberty Maritime), Jan. 26 – Chairman Scott A. Heginbotham, Secretary Pablo C. Alvarez, Deck Delegate Floyd Patterson, Steward Delegate Consulalia M. Oatis. Bosun announced payoff in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Feb. 1. He asked the mariners to leave rooms clean for next crew members joining vessel. Secretary discussed the importance of enhancing seafaring abilities at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. He requested crew fill in their completion of rotation form. Educational director advised members to keep up with the latest union news. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendation was made to increase pension benefits. Crew noted the trip went smoothly. MAERSK OHIO (Maersk Line, Limited), Jan. 30 – Chairman Thomas P. Flanagan, Secretary Edvaldo C. Viana, Educational Director Mohamed Y. Abdullah, Deck Delegate Donald Wallerson, Engine Delegate Mike Andrucovici, Steward Delegate Jerry E. Stuart. Chairman stated payoff would take place in Port Elizabeth, N.J., on Feb. 2. He thanked Seafarers for a smooth, safe trip. Members were asked to The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships’ minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. Golden State Ties up in Wilmington The Seafarers-crewed Golden State in February tied up in the Port of Wilmington, Calif. Port Agent Jeff Turkus, while servicing the vessel, had an opportunity to meet and chat with members of the crew. The photo above captures some of that interaction. Pictured in the back row (from left to right) are: AB Sergey Sitnikov, Pumpman Oscar Garcia, Bosun Burkley Cooper, ACU Cesar Santos and Apprentice Timoth Hess. In the front row are AB Dennis Bracamonte, Oiler Arlyn Fernandez, Recertified Steward Reynaldo Magpale, Port Agent Turkus and Apprentice Monserrate Blass. leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen for relief. Educational director urged all mariners to upgrade their skills at the Paul Hall Center. He also reiterated the need to keep all necessary shipping documents current and noted TWIC deadline coming soon. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Requests were made for new blankets, quilts, pillows and an extra dryer. Vote of thanks given to the steward department for a job well done. Next port: Newark, N.J. MAERSK VIRGINIA (Maersk Line, ITB Jacksonville at Sea Limited), Jan. 25 – Chairman Mohamed S. Ahmed, Secretary Hugh E. Wildermuth, Educational Director Donald M. Christian, Steward Delegate Natividad A. Zapata. Chairman announced payoff on Jan. 28 in Newark, N.J. He thanked crew for doing their jobs well and safely; no lost time injuries in over 2,000 days. Departing mariners were asked to leave cabins neat for arriving crew and put keys on the desk. Educational director suggested crew check out what the Piney Point school has to offer. Treasurer reported $2,300 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion was made to reduce age required to retire. Next ports: Newark, N.J., and Norfolk, Va. PHILADELPHIA EXPRESS (Marine Personnel & Provisioning), Jan.12 – Chairman Jesse Natividad, Secretary Exxl C. Ronquillo, Educational Director Christopher Eason, Deck Delegate Joseph B. Thielman, Steward Delegate Malcolm Holmes. Bosun noted payoff would take place at sea on Jan. 20 and expressed his gratitude to the steward department for excellent meals. Secretary thanked everyone for their help keeping ship clean, especially stripping and waxing rooms. He urged all Seafarers to contribute to SPAD (Seafarers Political Activity Donation) fund. Educational director advised members to take advantage of educational opportunities available at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew discussed contract provisions pertaining to hazardous cargo, and method by which they should be informed when vessel is transporting such cargo. The union-contracted ITB Jacksonville recently completed a humanitarian voyage to East Africa. During a segment of the return trip, Chief Steward Peter Crum snapped the photo which appears above. Pictured are the vessel’s officers and crew as they celebrate following an on-board cook-out. April 2009 MAERSK CAROLINA (Maersk Line, Limited), Feb. 15 – Chairman Brian K. Fountain, Secretary Gerard L. Hyman, Educational Director Alan A. Rogers II, Deck Delegate Abdul Q. Gharama, Engine Delegate Alcido Lopes. Chairman expressed appreciation for everyone being safety conscious and looking out for shipmates. Secretary reported stores would be purchased in Virginia. He thanked crew members for pitching in and keeping house clean. No disputed OT reported; beef reported in the engine department which will be taken care of in Newark, N.J., at payoff. Next ports: Newark, N.J., and Charleston, S.C. MAERSK MICHIGAN (Maersk Line, Limited), Feb. 1 – Chairman David N. Martz, Secretary Robert J. Bostick, Educational Director Sheldon S. Greenberg, Deck Delegate Cornelio M. Bartolome, Steward Delegate Charles R. Rumble. Chairman reported new dryers were being installed. He asked everyone to keep noise down and be careful closing doors so they don’t slam. Educational director encouraged mariners to be mindful of their responsibilities and contractual duties. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion was made to raise pension benefit amounts and lower sea time requirements. Next port: Greece. OVERSEAS NEW ORLEANS (OSG Ship Management), Feb. 8 – Chairman Samuel Duah, Secretary Hernegildo Batiz, Educational Director Larry F. Phillips, Engine Delegate James A. McRevy Jr., Steward Delegate Breon A. Lucas. Chairman recommended mariners review contracts and the Seafarers LOG to stay informed on matters that affect them and the maritime industry. Secretary discussed the need for crew members to keep all paperwork up-to-date. Educational director advised crew to attend classes at the union-affiliated school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion was made concerning medical benefits. Members requested satellite TV in everybody’s room and new mattresses. Seafarers LOG 19 �New Law Contains Tax Breaks For Working Families Editor’s note: This article was prepared by the accounting firm Buchbinder Tunick & Company LLP. $46,700 for individual taxpayers, and $70,950 for married couples filing joint returns. On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 into law. While many people associate this tax act with bailouts and business stimulus packages, there are numerous deductions and tax credits that affect individual taxpayers as well. This summary will list some of the more common provisions of the act that may affect working families, including mariners. American Opportunity Education Credit Making Work Pay Credit More than 95 percent of working families in the United States will be eligible to receive this refundable tax credit, which can be up to $400 for individuals and up to $800 for working families. The credit is for tax years 2009 and 2010. This benefit can either be claimed on a tax return, or an employer may reduce the amount of Federal Income Tax Withholding that is deducted from each paycheck an individual receives. This tax credit begins to phase out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income in excess of $75,000 ($150,000 for married couples that file joint returns). Increased Refundable Child Tax Credit For 2009 and 2010, the refundable portion of the child tax credit will be calculated as 15 percent of earned income over $3,000. Previously, the credit was calculated as 15 percent of earned income over $8,500. The total child tax credit remains unchanged at up to $1,000 per qualifying child. Increased Transit Benefits Starting in March 2009, the amount of transit benefits an employee may receive from his or her employer that is free from payroll, federal, and state and local income taxes, has been increased to $230 per month, and will be indexed annually beginning in 2010. This increase brings the amount of tax-free transit benefits up to the amount already allowable for parking benefits issued by an employer. AMT Relief For taxpayers that are subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), the act will provide some relief from the AMT by extending nonrefundable personal credits, and increasing the AMT exemption amount to This credit replaces the old HOPE education credit, increases the number of taxpayers eligible to claim the credit, and increases the maximum amount of the credit. Taxpayers may claim this credit for themselves and their dependents for all four years (up from the first two years) they are enrolled in college. The credit is calculated at 100 percent of the first $2,000 paid during the year for tuition and related expenses (including books), and 25 percent of the next $2,000 paid for these qualifying expenses, for a total maximum credit of $2,500. This credit can be claimed per student. Additionally, 40 percent of the amount of this credit is deemed to be refundable. This tax credit begins to phase out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income in excess of $80,000 ($160,000 for married couples that file joint returns). Above-the-line Deduction for Vehicle Sales Taxes For new vehicles purchased after February 17, 2009 and before January 1, 2010, a taxpayer may deduct any state and local sales or excise taxes paid that are attributed to the first $49,500 of a new car, light truck, recreational vehicle, or motorcycle. This deduction begins to phase out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income in excess of $125,000 ($250,000 for married couples that file joint returns). Tax Break on Unemployment Benefits For 2009, the first $2,400 of unemployment benefits received will not be subject to federal income tax. Additionally, through December 31, 2009, the act continues the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program which provides up to 33 weeks of extended unemployment benefits to workers exhausting their regular benefits, and increases the amount of weekly benefits by $25. Residential Energy Efficiency Improvements Expanded 529 Plan Qualifying Education Credit Expenses For 2009 and 2010, the new act has tripled the tax Distributions from 529 education plans may now be expended on computers and computer technology in addition to tuition, room and board, mandatory fees, and books. Refundable First-time Home Buyer Credit Taxpayers who are first-time home buyers (taxpayers who had no present ownership interest in a principal residence for the three-year period ending on the closing date of the new home purchase), may claim this credit, valued at the lesser of 10 percent of the purchase price of the home or $8,000, if their new home is purchased after December 31, 2008 and before December 1, 2009. Unlike the previously existing $7,500 first-time home buyer’s credit, the new $8,000 credit does not have to be repaid unless the taxpayer sells the home within three years. This tax credit begins to phase out for taxpayers with adjusted gross income in excess of $75,000 ($150,000 for married couples that file joint returns). Please note that an individual can make a special election to claim this credit on his or her 2008 tax return. If a person has already filed his or her 2008 tax return, an amended return may be filed rather than waiting to receive the credit by filing the 2009 tax return. credit for residential energy efficiency. Taxpayers may now claim a tax credit equal to 30 percent of the amount expended for qualified energy efficient improvements made to existing homes, up to a lifetime maximum of $1,500. Qualified energy efficient improvements include electric heat pumps, central air conditioners, water heaters, wood stoves, natural gas, propane, and oil furnaces and hot water heaters, exterior windows, doors, skylights, and insulation. It is important to note that the efficiency standards used to qualify for the credit have been increased to a higher standard. Please check with the IRS web site (www.irs.gov) for more details. Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicle Credit Taxpayers who purchase a qualified plug-in electric vehicle after February 17, 2009 and before 2012 may claim a credit ranging from $2,500 up to over $7,000 for the first 200,000 units the manufacturer sells. Once the manufacturer records its 200,000th sale, the credit is reduced in subsequent quarters. This credit is allowed against the alternative minimum tax. Additionally, there is a separate credit valued at 10 percent, up to $4,000, for the cost of converting a motor vehicle to a plug-in electric drive motor vehicle. Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. The annual financial committee will be elected during the May 4 headquarters membership meeting to review the 2008 records. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts 20 Seafarers LOG between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. April 2009 �Seafarers Paul Hall Center Upgrading Course Schedule The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the next few months of 2009. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promoting the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Course Start Date Date of Completion Basic Firefighting/STCW May 11 May 25 July 20 May 15 May 29 July 24 MSC Small Arms (Company designees) April 20 May 18 April 24 May 22 Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman April 27 June 22 May 22 July 17 Automated Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) April 13 April 17 Fast Rescue Boat June 29 July 3 Government Vessels June 1 July 27 June 5 July 31 Lifeboatman June 8 June 19 Radar Renewal April 20 April 20 Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman May 4 May 15 Tank Ship Familiarization/Assistant Cargo DL May 18 May 29 Tank PIC Barge DL May 11 May 15 Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes start every other Monday. The most recent class began March 23. Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed at the Paul Hall Center. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. The following opportunities are currently available: Adult Basic Education (ABE), English as a Second Language (ESL), a College Program and a Preparatory Course. When applying for preparatory courses, students should list the name of the course desired on upgrading application. An introduction to computers course, a self-study module, is also available. Online Distance Learning Courses Engine Upgrading Courses Five new online “distance learning” (DL) courses now are available to students who plan to enroll in classes at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. The online courses are not mandatory, but they are structured to benefit students who eventually attend other classes at the Paul Hall Center, which is located in Piney Point, Md. The new online courses are: Communications, First Aid Preparation, Bloodborne Pathogens, Basic Culinary Skills, and Basic Math Refresher. Also available in the DL program are Hazardous Material Control and Management, Hearing Conservation, Respiratory Protection, Heat Stress Management, Environmental Awareness, Shipboard Pest Management, and Shipboard Water Sanitation (for a total of 12 courses). Students MUST have access to the internet with an e-mail address in order to take the foregoing classes. Each must be taken online, not at the Paul Hall Center. E-mail addresses should be provided on applications (printed neatly) when applying. Applicants should include the letters DL when listing any online course on the form below. Advanced Refrigerated Container June 22 July 17 Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations (BAPO) May 25 June 19 FOWT April 27 June 22 May 22 July 17 Marine Electrician May 11 July 3 Marine Refrigeration Technician May 4 June 12 Machinist June 1 June 19 Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Pumpman June 22 July 3 Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later Welding May 4 June 1 May 22 June 19 Important Notice discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so arrangements can be made to have other students take Safety Specialty Courses their places Basic Firefighting/STCW May 4 May 9 UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twenty-five (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested, 1995 STCW Certificate, valid SHBP Clinic Card and TWIC. Street Address _________________________________________________________ City __________________________ State _______________ Zip Code ___________ Telephone _________________________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Date of Birth ______________________ Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____ Department ___________ E-mail ____________________________ U.S. Citizen: Yes No Home Port _____________________________ COURSE BEGIN DATE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Yes Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ April 2009 NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 4/09 Seafarers LOG 21 �Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class – Unlicensed apprentices from Class 714 recently graduated from the water survival course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Nofoalii Aiaga, Brandon Braam, Joseph Brewer, John Cooper, Carlos Davila, Julian Davila, Devarian Durant, Alejandro Esparza, Kelly Forbis, Lamont Green, Kevin Jenkins, Adam McLaughlin, Anthony Pena, Gary Richards, Jose Rivas Escudero, Ricky Rivers Martinez, Curtis Royal, Cedric Short and Shatina Wright. Their instructor, Stan Beck, is at far right. Marine Electrician – Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class – Unlicensed apprentices from Class 715 recently completed training in the water survival course. Graduating from the course (above, in alphabetical order) were: Brandy Baker-Days, Paul Cooper, Will Dalton, Todd Favaza, Amber Fisher, Jon Garland, Thomas Garland, Charles Harris Jr., Joshua Harris, Antoine Hoggard, James Honaker, Thomas Huminski, Johnny Hunter, Russell Macomber, Sean Mannix, Juan Negron-Miro, Valentine Okei, Luis Ramos-Rose and Jonathan Wilson. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Five upgraders on Feb. 27 completed training in this 280-hour course. Pictured with the members of his class (above, left) is Instructor Jay Henderson. Class members (from left to right) were: Carmelo Collazo, Michael Lais, Charles Sneed, Jerome Culbreth and Christopher Earhart. OSG Cooks (Tugboat) – Five individuals, all employees of SIU-contracted Overseas Shipholding Group, on Feb. 13 graduated from this steward department course. Those graduating (above, from left to right) were Richard Dean, Noah Metzger, Bob Simpson, John Mackey and Richard Edward. John Dobson, their instructor, is at far right. Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. Advanced Container Maintenance – One upgrader on Jan 30 completed training requirements for this course. Graduating from the course (above, right) was Samuel Addo. His instructor, Calvin Beal, is at left. 22 Seafarers LOG FOWT – Eighteen mariners on Feb. 27 completed their requirements for graduation from this course. Those graduating (above, in no particular order) were: Chris Shiralieu, Patrick Milton, Joangel Sierra, George Santiago, Tonya Gist, Mark Merenda, Joshua Johnson, Larry Locke, Spencer Hiruko, Algernon Ramseur, DeMorris Duggins, Marlon Green, Kareem Walters, James Fells, Robert Orloff, Fred Nyarro, Jose Orengo and Ashley Carmichael. Tim Achorn, their instructor, is at far left). April 2009 �Paul Hall Center Classes Tank Ship Familiarization (Phase III) — Two classes of Phase III apprentices on Jan. 23 completed their training requirements in this 63-hour class. Graduating from the course (above, in alphabetical order) were: Bryan Alflen, James Baldwin, Sarah Billingsley, Rashid Body, Ernest Bullock Jr., Larry Byrd, Charlotte Chastain, Erik, Clausen, Prentice Conley, Jack Corn, Scott Daly, Andrew Delutis, Van Dixon, Jarrell Dorsey, Christopher Funderbuck Jr., James Grant, Ian Harding, Byran Howell, Aretta Jones, Byran Howell, Aretta Jones, Ryan Klinewski, Joshua Luna, Celso Maldonado-Rivera, Marqualis Matthews, Devin McCoy, Douglas McLaughlin, Nekesha Miller, Mitchell Newingham, Jeremy Paschke, Thomas Reed II, Maurice Reine, Jonathan Rivera-Rodriguez, Andre Robinson Sr., Chenequa Rodriguez, Yatniel Sanchez-Padilla, Michael Spirit, Jesse Sunga, Richard Vega, Charles Wescott, Devin Wood and Lee Wright. Marine Refrigeration Technician – Four upgraders completed this course on March 20. Graduating (above, beginning second from left) were Jessie Vlibus, Jomar Rodriguez, Mark Ponzatuwsky and Roger Dillinger Jr. Their instructor, Calvin Beal, is at far left. Tank Ship Familiarization DL - The following upgraders (above, in no particular order) on Feb. 20 completed their training in this 63-hour course: Steven Hoskins, Alfred Martin, Oleg Derun, Jethro Powers, Ahmed Ali, Parris Mancuso, Alex Busby, Michael Presser, Donivan McCants, Mauricio Elopre, Bobby Darku, Anita Santos, Charles Horton, John Williamson and Haeven Bautista. Jim Shaffer, their instructor, is at far right. Crowd Management (Hawaii) – The following eight individuals (above, in no particular order) graduated from this course at the Seafarers Training Center at Barbers Point, Hawaii: Mamadou Diallo, John Minutillo, Vincent Atillo, Efren Pahinag, Kelly Stier, Timothy Griffin, Andrew Christensen and Ahmed Omer. Able Seaman – Ten mariners on Feb. 13 completed their training requirements for this course. In photo above, Instructor Bernabe Pelingon (left) joins class graduates (in no particular order) Richardo Grushkin, Winston Franks, Deniel Thompson, Roy Logan, Robert Brackbill, Steven Sidler, Enchantress Johnson, Robert Day, Johnathan McNeil and Matthew Martinson. Marine Electrician – Eight upgraders on Dec. 19 completed their training requirements for this 280-hour course. Graduating and receiving certificates (photo at right, in alphabetical order) were: Ray Avie Jr., Rigoberto Beata, Martin Hamilton, Benny Orosco, Hashiem Pittman, David Spaulding, Daryl Thomas and Philander Walton. Their instructor, Jay Henderson, is at far right. April 2009 Seafarers LOG 23 �Volume 71, Number 4 April 2009 T-AKE Ship Brashear Delivered - Page 4 The 2008 Toys for Tots campaign in the Port of Tacoma was a hugh success. Clockwise from left, bikes and a variety other toys are staged for collection in the hiring hall. GUDE Alfredo Genio, AB Morgan Piper and Patrolman Kris Hopkins make their donations for the effort while Sgt. Mansoo Masga, Staff Sgt. Patrick Salmon and Lance Cpl. Ben Abraham pose in front of a vehicle which has been loaded to capacity with toys donated to the Toys for Tots campaign by Tacoma-area Seafarers. At Port of Tacoma Toys for Tots Huge Success A number of children in the Tacoma Wash., area had a more enjoyable Christmas thanks to the generosity of Seafarers. SIU members in and around the port of Tacoma, while participating in the U.S. Marine Corps’- sponsored Toys for Tots campaign donated six new bicycles and more than 100 toys to some 30 families (50 children) during the 2008 Christmas holiday season. The effort represented the single largest donation in the Tacoma area for the second consecutive year, according to Tacoma Port Agent Joe Vincenzo. The items were donated from Oct. 1 through Dec. 14 in the hiring hall. Union members collected the items following the hall’s annual holiday luncheon. With the assistance of Staff Sgt. Patrick Salmon and fellow Marines from the U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting Command, 12th Marine Corps District in Tacoma, members following the luncheon collected and loaded the toys into two large vehicles for distribution. “The year 2008 was tough for families in the Tacoma area as well as throughout the nation,” Vincenzo said. “With unemployment soaring, many men and women were unable to provide even the basic necessities such as putting food on the table for their children, let alone Christmas gifts. “Many have been victimized because of huge layoffs,” he continued. “Unlike them however, we still have good union paying jobs and because of that we are in position to help. “I am personally honored and privileged to have been a part of this worthy goodwill effort,” he concluded, “and I am extremely proud of how our membership responded to those needing assistance in our community.” The 2008 Toys for Tots campaign in the Port of Tacoma was an overwhelming success. Besides rank-and-file members, others responsible (above, left to right) included Tacoma Port Agent Joe Vincenzo, Safety Director Ryan Palmer, Tacoma Adminintrative Assistant Brenda Flesner, Staff Sgt. Patrick Salmon, Lance Cpl. Ben Abraham, Patrolman Kris Hopkins and Sallie Shawl, director, Paint Tacoma-Pierce Beautiful. In photo below, GUDE Alfredo Genio (foreground, center), other Seafarers and guests partake in the hiring hall’s annual Christmas luncheon. At the conclusion of the luncheon, members loaded items donated for the Toys for Tots campaign into vehicles for distribution. Tacoma Port Agent Joe Vincenzo (right in photo above, wearing white shirt) thanks Tacoma-area Seafarers for their genorosity during the port’s 2008 Toys for Tots campaign. In photo below, Vincenzo (left) chats with Recertified Bosun Tony Gurney, Staff Sergeant Salmon and Lance Corporal Abraham during the hiring hall’s Christmas luncheon. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 April 2009 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES CHINESE VESSELS SHADOW, HARASS UNARMED U.S. SURVEILLANCE SHIP MTD CHARTS COURSE FOR STRENGTHENING WORKERS’ RIGHTS, AMERICAN-FLAG FLEET MEMBERS APPROVE 3-YEAR PACT AT GREAT LAKES DREDGE & DOCK MSC ACCEPTS DELIVERY OF AMMO SHIP USNS BRASHEAR FROM NASSCO TRANSITION TO NEW MARINER CREDENTIAL BEGINS MID-APRIL AFL-CIO EXECUTIVE COUNCIL WELCOMES PLEDGES OF SUPPORT FROM OBAMA, BIDEN U.S. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE TOPS 8 PERCENT FERRY CREWS RECEIVE PUBLIC SERVICE AWARDS CIVMAR-MANNED USNS BRIDGE WINS ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD MAERSK SHIPS ACHIEVE SAFETY MILESTONES IN LATE 2008 STEWARD RECALLS ANTARCTIC JOURNEY UNION-AFFILIATED SCHOOL TESTS ELECTRICIAN APPRENTICE PROGRAM AB ABOARD GREEN RIDGE RECALLS POIGNANT MOMENT PAUL HALL CENTER COURSE SPOTLIGHT COMMANDER CITES CRUCIAL LABOR ‘PARTNERSHIP’ ‘A TIME OF GREAT OPPORTUNITY’ CONGRESSMAN PLEDGE CONTINUING SUPPORT FOR MARITIME, OTHER PRO-WORKER ISSUES TOUGH TIMES BUT NEW TONNAGE STILL COMING NY WATERWAY RECOGNIZED FOR RESCUE ON HUDSON EFCA REMAINS PRIORITY FOR ORGANIZED LABOR STATEMENTS ADOPTED BY MTD EXECUTIVE BOARD SEAFARERS ‘MOTOR’ IN ROLLING THUNDER FOR U.S. MERCHANT MARINE VETERANS TOYS FOR TOTS HUGE SUCCESS Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 04/01/2009 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. 71, No. 4 2009 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/0da1b36178e654ffbaf6ad5d63ab39bb.pdf 4e22d912d17262104249cf1a51a1f289 PDF Text Text 53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:47 AM Page 1 Volume 71, Number 3 March 2009 Thousands Rally in Washington, D.C., for Employee Free Choice Act Let the Workers Decide! Seafarers joined thousands of fellow union members (some of whom are pictured in the photo above) Feb. 4 in Washington, D.C., for a demonstration supporting the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). The bill, also known as majority sign-up, aims to help protect the rights of workers when they are deciding whether to join or form a union. Many of the rally participants carried boxes containing some of the 1.5 million pro-EFCA cards individually signed last year in a nationwide campaign for the bill. Unlicensed Apprentice Amber Fisher (holding “Michigan” box in photo at left) helped deliver the pro-worker message. Pages 12-13. Maersk Continues Fleet Upgrade Tanker Overseas Boston Joins SIU-Crewed Fleet Maersk Line, Limited is moving along with a series of flag-ins bringing newer tonnage under the American flag while replacing older vessels. In these three photos, the Stars and Stripes proudly are raised aboard the Sea-Land Eagle Jan. 19 in Port Elizabeth, N.J. Crew members and officers are pictured in photo above. In a message from the Coast Guard to the company concerning the Eagle’s flag-in operations, New York Sector Commander Brian Gilda (chief, inspection division) noted, “Your crew accomplished a great deal over the past three days and my marine inspectors were extremely impressed by the professionalism of your crew….” Other new ships are scheduled to replace older ones in the upcoming months. Seafarers are sailing aboard the new tanker Overseas Boston (above), which recently was delivered by Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. The vessel is the sixth in a series of double-hulled “Veteran Class” product carriers. Page 2. President Signs Executive Orders Page 3 New ‘Distance Learning’ Courses Page 6 TWIC Reminder Page 14 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:12 AM Page 2 President’s Repor t General McNabb Visits USNS Gianella Support at the Top At the end of January, I had the honor of attending a White House event during which President Obama showed both his commitment to working-class Americans and his appreciation for the labor movement. As reported elsewhere in this newspaper, the president signed executive orders aimed at helping ensure fair treatment of union members. He announced the formation of a task force specifically created to find effective ways to improve the quality of life for the men and women who make up the backbone of our economy. He also said something that I hope Michael Sacco every union member heard. The president’s exact words were as follows: “We need to level the playing field for workers and the unions that represent their interests. I do not view the labor movement as part of the problem. To me, it’s part of the solution. You cannot have a strong middle class without a strong labor movement.” Brothers and sisters, there is no doubt that President Obama not only understands the benefits of union representation, he also values our work. He knows the truth about unions. He knows that even though we’re certainly not perfect, we give workers a real voice in the workplace. And despite some corporate opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act which at times seems out of control, he knows unions offer lots of benefits to employers, too. It’s always a great feeling to have an ally in the White House, and right now we have not one but two advocates at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue – Vice President Joe Biden is a friend of labor as well as the SIU, too, and has been one for many years. Such support obviously is never taken for granted, but it’s especially important in light of the economy. Our nation’s financial mess is the “problem” President Obama referred to in the prounion quote I mentioned a moment ago. No one is immune from it. It’s hard to name an industry that isn’t affected by it. Where the SIU is concerned, we’ve been through our share of tough times and we’ve always survived. This recession will be no different. We’ve seen rough stretches before during our 70plus years – some cutting across all sectors of the economy, others specifically involving maritime. We know how to ride out the storm. And while it won’t be easy, it helps to know that President Obama and Vice President Biden see unions as “part of the solution.” It is also reassuring to know that they both absolutely, indisputably understand the importance of the U.S. Merchant Marine when it comes to national and economic security. As we move forward and tackle these challenging times, we can do so feeling secure in the knowledge that the new administration is on our side. Thank You On a personal note, I thank the SIU membership for the confidence you showed by re-electing me as president of this organization. I have never been more proud of our union or more excited about our future. Our ability to succeed is a team effort – one that requires production and dedication from everybody. But it all starts with the outstanding work done aboard ship by rank-and-file Seafarers. As some of you know, this is a serious point I often try to make when meeting with members at the monthly meetings, in the union halls and on the vessels. Without your professionalism and reliability, there’s no way we could continue gaining new jobs or securing good contracts. Your consistently outstanding performance makes it possible for our team of officials to effectively promote not only the SIU but the U.S.-flag fleet in general. I look forward to the work that lies ahead and to the accomplishments that will follow. Volume 71, Number 3 SIU and AMO members recently welcomed a special guest aboard the USNS Gianella: U.S. Air Force Gen. Duncan McNabb, commander, U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM). General McNabb toured the vessel (which is operated by Ocean Ships, Inc.) in Antarctica, where the Gianella was involved in the annual resupply mission at McMurdo Station. He is pictured eating dinner aboard ship (top photo), looking at the rudder housing (directly above, standing second from right) and at the helm (right). Aker Philadelphia Shipyard Delivers Tanker Overseas Boston The Seafarers-contracted fleet recently added new tonnage as the double-hulled tanker Overseas Boston entered service. Built by union members at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, the Overseas Boston is the sixth in a series of at least 12 Jones Act product carriers being constructed for operation by Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG). Like its sister ships, the newest diesel-powered tanker has a length of slightly more than 600 feet and a beam of approximately 105 feet. It can transport more than 332,000 barrels of petroleum products and features a “cruising speed” of 14.6 knots. SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez and Vice President Contracts George Tricker attended a naming ceremony Jan. 22 at the shipyard for the Overseas Boston. The vessel began sailing later that month. The first three ships in the “Veteran Class” – the Overseas Houston, Overseas Long Beach and Overseas Los Angeles – were delivered in 2007. The next two – Overseas New York and Overseas Texas City – joined the fleet in 2008. In a message delivered at the naming ceremony for the Overseas Boston, OSG President and CEO Morten Arntzen noted that the new ship “represents OSG’s strong commitment to the Jones Act and to the renewal of the U.S.-flag fleet. It reflects our promise to maintain and operate a modern, high-quality, double-hull tanker fleet, which will be built and operated to the highest safety and quality standards.” The Jones Act is a law which stipulates that movements of waterborne cargoes between U.S. ports are conducted by vessels crewed, built, flagged and owned American. The law’s numerous proponents often point out that the Jones Act has bolstered U.S. national security while also generating substantial economic benefits. For instance, defense experts have noted that the Jones Act helps maintain a manpower pool of loyal, well-trained, reliable American civilian mariners capable of helping meet the nation’s strategic sealift needs. The vessels themselves can play a defense role, too – most of the ocean-going vessels in the Jones Act fleet are militarily useful. Another of the law’s benefits is evident at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard and other American yards. Specifically, Jones Act construction provides 76 percent of all commercial U.S. shipbuilding opportunities, thereby preserving a viable domestic shipbuilding base. According to the Maritime Cabotage Task Force – a broadbased coalition dedicated to promoting cabotage laws – the Jones Act helps account for 123,000 jobs directly related to maritime activity and another 200,000 jobs related to domestic waterborne commerce. The act has an annual economic impact of approximately $63 billion. In addition to the new-build program at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, double-hulled tankers for the Jones Act trade are being constructed at NASSCO in San Diego. March 2009 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFLCIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2009 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD. All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG The Overseas Boston (photo at left) is the newest in a series of double-hulled tankers being built in Philadelphia. Launched late last year, the Overseas Texas City (above) is part of the “Veteran Class” of product carriers constructed at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard March 2009 �53233x:January 08 2/20/2009 4:53 PM Page 3 Administration Shows Support for Working Families President Signs Executive Orders; VP Chairs Middle Class Task Force As a presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama pledged to stand up for America’s working families if he were elected. Within days of moving into the White House, President Obama started living up to that promise. On Jan. 30, Obama signed three pro-labor executive orders and also announced the creation of a White House “Task Force on Middle Class Working Families” to be chaired by Vice President Joe Biden. SIU President Michael Sacco and other members of the AFL-CIO executive council attended a White House ceremony for the signings and task-force announcement. One day earlier, Obama signed into law the laborbacked Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which aims to ensure equal pay for equal work. It is named after an Alabama woman who, after working nearly 20 years at a Goodyear tire plant, discovered she had been paid significantly less than men doing the same job. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said the week’s actions “show that the Obama White House is the working families’ White House. It couldn’t come at a better time…. The Task Force on Middle Class Working Families and the executive orders are the first step in a long road to restore balance between workers and corporations.” The executive orders reverse previous ones governing how federal contractors interact with unionized workers. The first new order requires federal service contractors to offer jobs to current workers when contracts change. The second reverses on old order requiring federal contractors to post notice that workers can limit financial support of unions serving as their exclusive bargaining representatives. The third prevents federal contractors from being reimbursed for expenses meant to influence workers deciding whether to form a union and engage in collective bargaining. (One week later, the men and women in the nation’s building and construction trades won a major victory when Obama signed another executive order overturning a ban on project labor agreements on federal and federally funded construction. Project labor agreements generally set wages and establish work rules and methods of settling grievances on large multi-contractor construction projects.) “We need to level the playing field for workers and the unions that represent their interests,” Obama said. “I do not view the labor movement as part of the problem. To me, it’s part of the solution. You cannot have a strong middle class without a strong labor movement.” Meanwhile, according to a White House news release, the task force “is a major initiative targeted at raising the living standards of middle-class, working families in America. It is comprised of top-level administration policy makers, and in addition to regular meetings, it will conduct outreach sessions with representatives of labor, ■ Improving work and family balance ■ Restoring labor standards, including workplace safety ■ Helping to protect middle-class and working-family incomes ■ Protecting retirement security Members of the White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families will include the secretaries of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Commerce, as well as the directors of the National Economic Council, the Office of Management and Budget, the Domestic Policy Council, and the chair of the Council of Economic Advisors. The Middle Class Task Force’s first official meeting was slated to take place Feb. 27 in Philadelphia. In an op-ed first published the same day the task force was announced, Biden wrote in part, “Over the course of America’s last economic expansion, the middle class participated in very few of the benefits. But now in the midst of this historic economic downturn, the middle class sure is participating in all of the pain. Something is seriously wrong when the economic engine of this nation — the great middle class — is President Obama (right) and Vice President Biden, pic- treated this way.” tured last year at the Democratic Convention, already He said that the new administration’s first task was have taken steps to help level the playing field for workgetting the economy back on track but added, “We ing families. (Photo by Kaveh Sardari/Page One) have an important long-term task as well. Once this economy starts growing again, we need to make sure business, and the advocacy communities.” Biden said, “America’s middle class is hurting. the benefits of that growth reach the people responsiTrillions of dollars in home equity and retirement sav- ble for it. We can’t stand by and watch as that narrow ings and college savings are gone. And every day, more sliver of the top of the income scale wins a bigger piece of the pie — while everyone else gets a smaller and smaller slice. “One of the things that makes this task force distinctive is it brings together — in ---President Obama one place — those agencies that have the most impact on the wellbeing of the middle and more Americans are losing their jobs. President class in our country. We’ll be looking at everything Obama and I are determined to change this. Quite sim- from access to college and training with the ply, a strong middle class equals a strong America. We Department of Education, to business development can’t have one without the other. This Task Force will be with the Department of Commerce, to child care an important vehicle to assess new and existing policies reform with Health and Human Services, to labor law across the board and determine if they are helping or with the Department of Labor. With this task force, hurting the middle class. It is our charge to get the mid- we’ll have a single, high-visibility group with one dle class – the backbone of this country – up and running goal: to raise the living standards of middle-class families.” again.” He concluded, “Over the upcoming months, we will According to the White House, the vice president and members of the task force will work with a wide array focus on answering those concerns that matter most to of federal agencies that have responsibility for key families. What can we do to make retirement more issues facing middle class and working families. They secure? How can we make child and elder care more will expedite administrative reforms, propose executive affordable? How do we improve workplace safety? orders, and develop legislative and policy proposals that How are we going to get the cost of college within reach? What can we do to help weary parents juggle can be of special importance to working families. Obama has set the following goals for the task force: work and family? And, above all else, what are the jobs ■ Expanding education and lifelong training oppor- of the future? Here, we’ll be looking at green jobs, better-paying jobs, better-quality jobs.” tunities “I do not view the labor movement as part of the problem. To me, it’s part of the solution.” Union Membership Increases Union membership in the United States increased by 428,000 to 16.1 million in 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The percentage of the workforce that has a union also increased from 12.1 percent to 12.4 percent last year, marking a second year of growth. “Today’s numbers confirm what many working people already know – that if given the chance, American workers are choosing to join unions in larger numbers,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on Jan. 28, the day the BLS published the figures. “Workers in unions are much more likely to have health care benefits and a pension than those without a union; in today’s economy, that’s the difference between sinking and swimming.” The advantages of having a union on the job were clear in 2008, the federation pointed out. Last year, median weekly pay for union members was $886 compared to $691 for those who were not represented by unions. March 2009 The growth in membership comes at a time when workers say they want and need unions. Seventy-eight percent of the public supports legislation that will make it easier for workers to bargain with their employers and 60 million workers would join a union today if they had the opportunity, according to research by Peter D. Hart Research Associates. Much of the growth in union membership came through gains in unionized industries, especially in the public sector. Analysts estimate that only a small percentage of the growth came through workers forming new unions through the company-dominated National Labor Relations Board process. Only 70,000 workers were able to form a union through the NLRB process in 2007, for example. Today, most workers who form new unions do so after their employer has agreed to recognize their union through a majority sign-up process. “In today’s economy, America’s working men and women need a fair shot at forming a union, now more than ever. The Employee Free Choice Act will give workers the freedom to bargain with their employers for better benefits, wages, and job security, and it will allow them – not their company – to decide how to form their union,” Sweeney concluded. (See related coverage on pages 12-13.) Private sector union membership grew from 7.5 percent to 7.6 percent in 2008. The main increase came from public sector union membership, where workers are less likely to face strong employer opposition to unions. Union membership in the public sector grew from 35.9 percent in 2007 to 36.8 percent in 2008. Union membership among women grew again in 2008, continuing a trend. The percentage of women workers belonging to unions increased to 11.4 percent and women now comprise 44.5 percent of union membership, representing four consecutive years of increase in the overall share of union members. Union membership among men increased for the first time since 1999, resulting in a .4 percentage point increase in union density to 13.4 percent. Employment of white, black and Hispanic workers all declined significantly, but union membership and the percentage of union membership increased among these groups. Employment among Asian and other workers increased, but union membership among Asian workers dropped slightly. A factor that may have led to the growth in union membership, despite the economic downturn, is the increased job security afforded by a union contract. Similarly, research shows that unionized companies are not more adversely impacted than non-union companies in economic downturns. Another factor that may account for the increase in union membership is the push at the state level to give workers the freedom to bargain collectively. In states like New Jersey, New Mexico, Colorado, Illinois, New York, Michigan, Kansas and West Virginia, workers campaigned for the freedom to form unions through state legislatures and governments. Seafarers LOG 3 �53233x:January 08 2/20/2009 4:10 PM Page 4 SIU-crewed NY Waterway ferries arrive at the Hudson River crash site, where they pulled to safety the vast majority of the jet’s passengers and crew. The rest were picked up by fire department boats. (Photo by Ron Jeffers) Pilot ‘Sully’ Thanks NY Waterway Crews Seafarers Quickly Rescued Passengers from Downed Flight 1549 When Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger appeared on the famous television program 60 Minutes on Feb. 8, he expressed profound thanks to the SIU NY Waterway mariners and others who quickly arrived to rescue the passengers and flight crew from US Airways Flight 1549. Seven Seafarers-crewed NY Waterway boats rescued 143 of the 155 personnel from the downed aircraft, which had crash-landed in the Hudson River on Jan. 15. The other 12 people were picked up by local fire department boats. According to news reports, the incident, which quickly became known as the Miracle on the Hudson, is believed be the only known airliner crash into water in which all those aboard survived. During the 60 Minutes interview, conducted by Katie Couric, Sullenberger said the fast arrival of NY Waterway ferries (the first of which reached the crash site in less than two minutes) and first responders was “amazing. It was crucial. It was lifesaving, literally.” When Couric asked the pilot what he would like to say to the mariners and other rescuers, he replied, “Thank you seems totally inadequate. I have a debt of gratitude I fear I may never be able to repay.” SIU President Michael Sacco sent letters to each of the NY Waterway Seafarers who helped rescue the airplane passengers and crew. He wrote in part, “Like millions of others, when I initially heard about the crash-landing, I turned on the television and saw the riveting images. As the first NY Waterway ferries arrived, I felt proud and reassured – because I know the kind of well-trained, patriotic, reliable SIU members who sail aboard those boats.” He added, “On behalf of the whole union, I toast your heroic, life-saving actions. You helped provide a happy ending to what could have been a catastrophe. As you’ve done throughout the history of the company, you delivered – in the absolute finest tradition of the Brotherhood of the Sea.” The founder of NY Waterway, Arthur E. Imperatore, noted, “We are enormously proud of the men and women of NY Waterway, the ferry crews who rushed to the rescue. Our captains and deckhands did not wait for orders. They responded quickly and surely. The extensive training and dedication to duty nurtured in our company kicked in, and our people got the job done as they did on 9/11 and on so many other occasions when people were in trouble on the water. It is an honor to work with these dedicated people.” As reported in the February LOG, a number of the SIU captains and deckhands cited regular safety training as a key factor in their collective abilities to mobilize for the US Airways rescue after birds knocked out power to both engines on the Airbus A320. That training includes shipboard drills along with various safety classes conducted at the SIUaffiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, based in Piney Point, Md. Many of the NY Waterway mariners have trained at the Paul Hall Center. SIU President Meets with AMMV Chapter SIU President Michael Sacco (center) made a surprise visit at the American Merchant Marine Veterans Samuel Parker Chapter’s Christmas party in St. Louis. He shared some industry news with the gathering and also touched on the new administration and the economy. “All the members really enjoyed Mike’s remarks,” noted Ivar Link, who is part of the Samuel Parker group. Pictured with the SIU president are Robert Westrich (left) and Walter Kodelja. More information about the AMMV is available at http://www.usmm.org/chapters.html 4 Seafarers LOG A total of 14 NY Waterway ferries responded to the crash, on the Hudson River at 42nd Street, and seven of those ferries removed almost all of the passengers within minutes. Passengers were taken to NY Waterway ferry terminals at West 39th Street in Manhattan and Port Imperial in Weehawken, N.J., where office staff had established triage centers and provided their own coats and other items to people who had been exposed to the 35-degree waters of the Hudson River. Experts have said that if the ferry crews hadn’t responded as quickly as they did, many people would have died or suffered severe effects of hypothermia. While this latest rescue inarguably was unique, it’s nothing new for NY Waterway crews to help those in distress. SIU-contracted NY Waterway ferries have performed more than 100 rescues since the company’s founding in 1986. Before the Miracle on the Hudson, they were perhaps best known for evacuating an estimated 160,000 people from Manhattan following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. SIU Wins USNS Comfort Arbitration Separately, ‘Buddy System’ Restriction Grievances Settled After a lengthy dispute and litigation, the union’s Government Services Division recently received good news as a Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service arbitrator ruled in the SIU’s favor in a case centering on habitability aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort in 2007. The arbitrator agreed with the union’s contention that unlicensed CIVMARS who sailed aboard the Comfort during a 2007 mission should receive a per-day quarters allowance of $40 per day because of assignments to open berthing and other conditions. Some mariners who had been assigned to open berthing quarters aboard the Comfort received a $30 quarters allowance payment, an amount below the $40 quarters allowance noted in Civilian Marine Personnel Instruction (CMPI) 593. The award will be provided to approximately 11 CIVMARS assigned to open berthing during the voyage. Arbitrator Robert G. Williams ruled that the union and the agency should adhere to the $40-per-day amount because “[o]pen berthing is a substandard condition.… As long as the current cash allowances remain in the Agreement and regulations, bargaining unit employees are entitled to those benefits.” Additionally, the union continues to fight for quarters allowance for other CIVMARS as well. The SIU is currently participating in a hearing for CIVMARS serving aboard the USNS Grapple. The union seeks the $40 quarters allowance for CIVMARS on that vessel as a result of substandard and inadequate berthing. Similarly, the union will be arbitrating habitability issues for the USNS Salvor. The arbitration is expected to take place later this year. Finally, the SIU has filed for arbitration for the inadequate and overcrowded quarters on the USNS Mercy for her voyage in the South Pacific in 2008. The union is seeking $40 for the unlicensed CIVMARS aboard the Mercy. It is expected that the arbitration will occur sometime in 2009. In a separate matter, the SIU recently informed CIVMARS that the union and MSC have settled the “buddy system” restriction grievances. The union had filed grievances claiming that the buddy system was a restriction that entitled CIVMARS to additional compensation. MSC rejected the grievances, and the union requested an arbitration hearing. The hearing was scheduled for December, but prior to the hearing, the union and MSC entered into a settlement. During the months leading up to the would-be arbitration, union representatives spoke with CIVMARS who sail on vessels that are subject to the buddy system (which involves going ashore). Officials learned more about the application of the system and also discovered that there is some flexibility in the way it is implemented. In a recent written communication to CIVMARS, the union said a settlement “that clarifies implementation of the buddy system and provides for financial compensation under certain circumstances in the future is a positive outcome to this issue. The union will continue to monitor the implementation of the buddy system. CIVMARS with questions or concerns should contact their union representatives or email civmarsupport@seafarers.org.” The settlement of the buddy system grievances provides that CIVMARS aboard the following vessels in certain ports on the dates noted below will be receiving a $50 per-day payment: USNS SUPPLY – Rota, Spain – July 2224, 2007 USNS SUPPLY – Jebel Ali – August 89, 2007 USNS SUPPLY – Jebel Ali – Sept. 9-11, 2007 USNS BRIDGE – Subic Bay – July 2731, 2007 USNS LEWIS & CLARK – Jebel Ali – Sept. 16-18, 2007 USNS PECOS – Subic Bay – Sept. 29Oct. 2, 2007 USNS CONCORD – Subic Bay – Sept. 25-28, 2007 USNS WALTER DIEHL – Subic Bay – Sept. 19-21, 2007 Also included in the MOU is language pertaining to future restrictions. The complete MOU is posted on the SIU web site (in PDF format) at: http://www.seafarers.org/members/civmar/MSCBuddySystemMOU1208.pdf March 2009 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:12 AM Page 5 AFL-CIO President: No Fix for Economy Without Reigning in Health Care Costs The head of the nation’s largest labor federation recently told an audience that although the country’s economic woes are complex, any viable solution must include affordable health care. “The bottom line is that health care costs have been picking the pockets of working families for a long time,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney on Jan. 30. He addressed the 21st Annual Conference on Social Insurance, Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth in Washington, D.C. Sweeney said the union movement is ratcheting up its commitment to creating a national system of affordable health care and that such a system is urgent during these economic hard times. “We have no time left for dithering. We’re in a perilous economic ditch, and we will not dig our way out and fix our economy until we fix our health care system,” he said. Any health care reform must not only provide dependable delivery of service, Sweeney said, but contain costs as well. “In health care reform, the single toughest issue is cost control – without cost savings, the debates over financing and the relative roles of public and private insurance programs are useless,” he said. Workers understand that the nation’s health care crisis contributed in large part to the current economic collapse, Sweeney said. “We in labor know the sad history all too well – we’ve been trying to bargain good wages for our members for all those years, and having to forego pay increases to maintain our benefits and keep premiums and co-payments under control. “After basic expenses, families have been left with less and less money to spend and save, and that has undermined the corner of our economy we call consumer spending,” he continued. All stakeholders in the health care system – government, employers, insurers, workers, the medical community and pharmaceutical companies – will have to accept their responsibilities when it comes to controlling costs and guaranteeing quality care, Sweeney added. “We must do it not only for the sake of the young, the old, the poor, the working poor, and the middle class who are depending on us, but in order to turn our economy around and make it work for everyone,” he concluded. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney Senate Confirms Gov. Napolitano As DHS Secretary Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano has been confirmed by the Senate as President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Homeland Security. Napolitano, 51, was re-elected to a second four-year term as Arizona governor in 2006. She earlier had served as her state’s attorney general, winning election to that job in 1998, and as its U.S. attorney. During the confirmation process, President Obama noted that Napolitano “offers the experience and executive skills needed as the next secretary of homeland security.” In particular, her experience as governor of a state on the southern border gives her the credentials to lead a large department by demanding competence and accountability; to work with state and local authorities; and to both prevent terrorist attacks and respond to manmade and natural disasters, Obama said. “She underJanet Napolitano stands as well as DHS Secretary anyone the danger of an unsecure border,” the president commented. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joseph I. Lieberman (Ind-Conn.) applauded President Obama’s choice. “She has been an able governor, demonstrating strong leadership and management skills, and she knows firsthand both the border security vulnerabilities and the economic opportunities presented by our long border with Mexico,” he stated. “I respectfully look forward to hearing the governor’s perspective on the anti-terrorism responsibilities of the department.” The committee’s ranking Republican, Susan Collins (R-Maine), echoed Lieberman’s sentiment. “As a governor of a border state, Janet Napolitano understands the importance of developing policies that will not impede legitimate travel and trade but will keep our enemies out.” Napolitano said the entire national security team will work to ensure the “domestic response to all hazards is fast, sound and levelheaded.” “I think the Napolitano selection is a step in the right direction,” said House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, (D-Miss). Napolitano was sworn into office Jan. 21. March 2009 Official Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Chris Caskey Passengers from the Empress of the North offload onto both the Coast Guard cutter Liberty and civilian vessels after the cruise ship ran aground near Juneau, Alaska. The mishap occurred May 14, 2007. NTSB Issues Report on Empress Grounding Majestic America Line Passenger Boat Went Aground off Alaska Coast The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued its full report concerning the grounding of the Majestic America Line riverboat Empress of the North, which ran aground off the coast of Alaska in May 2007. The NTSB’s final report said illness was no excuse for turning watch over to an inexperienced, newly licensed third mate on his first voyage. The agency places the most blame for the incident on the vessel’s master, who assigned the new mate to the bridge watch during the night of the accident. However, the report also describes the company’s actions in less-than-flattering terms. Among the list of findings beginning on page 70 are the following entries: “Majestic America Line did not effectively monitor the master’s compliance with its policies and procedures.” “The company’s failure to properly maintain the vessel’s liferafts caused some of the remote-release units for the rafts to malfunction.” “The malfunctioning liferaft release units and evacuation slides on the Empress of the North could have endangered the lives of those on board if other vessels had not been in the vicinity to help evacuate the damaged ship.” Contained in a section featuring recommendations are the following comments by Robert L. Sumwalt, a member of the NTSB board: “Majestic America Line did not have in place several components associated with a healthy safety culture. For example, the company did not employ adequate controls to ensure that the Empress of the North was seaworthy when it sailed. This lack of oversight enabled the Empress of the North to be out of compliance with its annual verification for almost an entire year. As a result, the vessel’s document of compliance was invalid, along with its safety management certificate and thus, its Safety Management System (SMS). The company also failed to ensure that the vessel received internal and external audits and did not adequately perform risk assessments, which are all requirements of SMS.” NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker noted, “The flawed decision making in this accident created the potential for a catastrophic disaster. Those in leadership positions need to make sure they consider every option possible when making critical decisions that could put lives at risk.” No passengers or crew members were injured in the accident, according to the report. Company officials estimated the cost of repairs to the vessel and returning it to service at $4.8 million. The boat returned to service in July 2007. The report includes various safety recommendations and “lessons learned” from this mishap. Consistent with the agency’s initial report, the final version shows the ship hit a submerged portion of a charted rock. A new third mate was assigned a four-hour watch from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. because another navigator fell ill. The ship grounded 25 miles southwest of Juneau when it was on its second day of a sevenday cruise, forcing the evacuation of 206 passengers. Seafarers LOG 5 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:12 AM Page 6 5 More ‘Distance Learning’ Courses Become Available Five new online “distance learning” (DL) courses now are available to students who plan to enroll in classes at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. The online courses are not mandatory, but they are structured to benefit students who eventually attend other classes at the Paul Hall Center, which is located in Piney Point, Md. The new online courses are: Communications, First Aid Preparation, Bloodborne Pathogens, Basic Culinary Skills, and Basic Math Refresher. Also available in the DL program are Hazardous Material Control and Management, Hearing Conservation, Respiratory Protection, Heat Stress Management, Environmental Awareness, Shipboard Pest Management, and Shipboard Water Sanitation (for a total of 12 courses). Students must have access to the internet and an email address in order to take the aforementioned classes. As previously reported, the training is designed to be self-paced but normally may be completed within one or two sittings. Reasonable deadlines have been established for course completion. The courses are free to mariners covered by SIU contracts. To register, mariners should complete the regular upgrading application found on page 21 of this issue of the LOG and mail it to the school’s admissions office. (A PDF version of the application is available at www.seafarers.org, in the Paul Hall Center section.) Applicants will receive user account information from the center via email, so it’s critical to write one’s email address on the form in the space provided. Additionally, applicants should include the word “online” when listing the course(s) in which they plan to enroll. “The internet-based courses have been customized to address yearly refresher training of vessel safety management systems and to help prepare students for other coursework taken when they are actually at the school,” noted Dale Rausch, an instructor at the Paul Hall Center. He added, “It has been approximately one year since the school launched its initial set of DL courses, and they’ve generally been well-received by the students. We plan to keep expanding these offerings and anticipate that there will be at least 30 or so DL classes available by the end of the year.” When asked to give an example of how the web-based classes help prepare students for training in Piney Point, Rausch cited the new DL Basic Culinary Skills course. The class features tools including a bakeshop “picture dictionary,” a measuring units graphic organizer, and a list of personal hygiene guidelines that may be printed from the web site for the student to review at his or her convenience. All of the content is especially relevant as a precursor (though not a prerequisite) for the school’s Galley Operations class. The DL program’s roots are traced to a recommendation of the center’s Deep Sea and Inland Advisory Board – a group consisting of representatives from virtually every component of the U.S. maritime industry. The program is built to benefit both the employees working under SIU agreements and the union’s contracted operating companies. Seafarers such as AB Lawrence Cormier (above) have taken advantage of the Paul Hall Center’s “distance learning” online courses. Addictions Rehabilitation Center Refurbishment Complete Workers build a back porch on the center. 6 Seafarers LOG Apprentice Earns Diploma While enrolled in the unlicensed apprentice program at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md., Michael L. Spirit (third from left) recently earned his high school diploma. He did so via a long-running, state-approved program at the union-affiliated school. On hand to congratulate Spirit during the March membership meeting in Piney Point were (from left) SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez, President Michael Sacco and Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel. Paul Hall Center Course Spotlight The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, based in Piney Point, Md., offers a wide variety of vocational and academic courses. Classes are available to upgraders and entry-level students. The following is a brief description of a safety course offered at the school, which opened in 1967. Turn to page 21 for a list of upcoming course dates. Additional course descriptions were published in the January 2009 edition of the Seafarers LOG; they also are available on the web at www.seafarers.org/phc First Aid & CPR (21-Hour) The 21-hour First Aid & CPR class is available both as a stand-alone course and as a component of some other safety classes. Students in this class learn the principles and techniques of safety and basic first aid, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) according to the accepted standards of the American Red Cross. Successful students are awarded a certificate from the American Red Cross. Like most other Paul Hall Center classes, this one blends classroom instruction with practical training. Students completing the course satisfy the Basic Safety-Elementary First Aid training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table AVI/1-3 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(3). They also satisfy (if the certificate is presented within one year of the date of training) the First Aid & CPR training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(h)(1)(ii) and 10.205(h)(2)(iii) for original issuance of a license. The Seafarers Addictions Rehabilitation Center (ARC) in Valley Lee, Md., near the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, recently underwent renovation. The center’s facilities are designed to help promote comfortable, home-like reha- The building features home-style comforts such as this living room. bilitation. They include classrooms and equipment for exercise and recreation. The center was transformed from a 100-year-old farmhouse into what has long been considered a state-of-the-art rehabilitation facility. It opened in 1976. Individuals enrolled at the ARC use this classroom to learn about different aspects of addictions. The facility includes this state-of-theart kitchen. March 2009 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:12 AM Page 7 New Study Says Lakes Shipping Saves Customers $3.6 Billion Shipping on the Great Lakes saves its customers more than $3.6 billion a year when compared to the next least costly mode of transportation. That is the conclusion of a report prepared for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Lake Carriers’ Association announced in late January. The report tracked the movement of 11 commodities on the Great Lakes, shipments of which totaled 173 million tons in 2006. These cargos – many of them carried aboard SIU-crewed ships – represent 10 percent of all U.S. domestic waterborne commerce. What makes these savings even more important, according to the report, is the geographic location of the Great Lakes. They are in the core of North America’s industrial and manufacturing heartland. The prosperity of several key sectors of the U.S. economy depends on Great Lakes shipping. Among these sectors are iron mining and steel production, power generation and agricultural exports. Their viability is directly tied to the availability of reliable, low-cost waterborne transportation. The Corps study also finds Great Lakes shipping a major source of jobs. There are 44,000 jobs directly related to maritime transportation in that region. Another 54,000 jobs in the mining industry and 138,000 jobs in the steel industry are dependent on Great Lakes shipping. Those industries, the study stresses, then sustain hundreds of thousands of additional jobs in manufacturing industries. Great Lakes shipping also outperforms the landbased modes of transportation in fuel efficiency and environmental impact. A Great Lakes freighter travels 607 miles on one gallon of fuel on a per-ton-ofcargo basis. A truck travels only 59 miles; a train, just 202 miles. In terms of emissions, Great Lakes vessels are vastly superior to the land-based modes, producing 90 percent fewer emissions than trucks, and 70 percent fewer emissions than trains. The Corps study also addresses the critical needs of maintaining the Great Lakes navigation system. Topping the priority list is restoring existing locks and building a new Poe-sized lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The Corps has estimated that a 30day unscheduled closure of the Soo Locks would cost industry $160 million. Without the Poe Lock, America’ steel industry would be cut off from its major source of iron ore. Clearing the dredging backlog is also a major priority. The backlog of sediment that must be removed to restore ports and waterways to their proper depth has reached an unprecedented level: 17 million cubic yards. When harbors and channels shoal in, ships have to “light load,” which increases transportation costs because more trips are required. The Corps estimates it will need more than $200 million to clear the backlog of sediment. “This Corps study confirms that Great Lakes shipping is a lynchpin of the U.S. economy,” said James H.I. Weakley, president of Lake Carriers’ Association. “Great Lakes shipping is also the greenest form of transportation. We have, however, as a nation, neglected Great Lakes shipping. The dredging crisis is unconscionable. Imagine what the savings would be if ships could carry full loads. The second Poe-sized lock was first authorized more than 20 years ago, yet remains unbuilt. The hopedfor recovery of our economy will not be as robust if we do not invest in Great Lakes shipping.” The Lake Carriers’ Association represents 16 American corporations that operate 63 U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes. Lakes Crews Ratify Contracts Agreements Maintain Medical Benefits, Boost Mariner Wages Despite tough economic times, the union during the past several months secured three new contracts in the Great Lakes region which maintain medical benefits while boosting wages. SIU members overwhelmingly ratified the respective agreements at Arnold Transit Company, Keystone Great Lakes, and Hanson Material Service Corp. At Hanson, Seafarers approved the new contract Jan. 9-10 in Joliet, Ill. Approximately 20 members are covered by the pact, which runs through December 2011. The agreement calls for wage increases each year while maintaining current health and pension benefits. Seafarers gained an additional holiday as well as increases for reimbursements for mileage, lodging and meals. Also increased were utility pay and maintenance and cure. Serving on the Hanson negotiating committee for the union were Leadman Wallace Killion, Vice President Great Lakes Tom Orzechowski, Algonac Port Agent Todd Brdak and Joliet Port Agent Chad Partridge. The Arnold Transit contract runs through July 2011. This agreement maintains top health and pension benefits while calling for a wage increase. Wages for the final two years of the pact will be addressed later this year. Captain Keith Duffton, Orzechowski, Brdak and Algonac Safety Director Monte Burgett represented the union during negotiations. The contract, which covers 10 members, was ratified aboard vessels in Mackinaw City, Mich. The Keystone Great Lakes Contract, ratified last November, lasts through August 2013 and covers 10 members. It maintains health benefits and Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan contributions in addition to calling for annual wage increases. Seafarers ratified the contract aboard ship. Orzechowski and Brdak negotiated for the union. School Garners County Award For Food Safety Standards From left to right, Dr. William B. Icenhower, St. Mary’s County (Md.) health officer, and Jack Russell (right), president of the board of county commissioners, present the Paul Hall Center’s Gold Star to Executive Chef John Hetmanski. Maersk Mariners Navigate Safety Boot Camp March 2009 For the second straight year, the SIUaffiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education has earned a county-sponsored award for “superior compliance with food safety standards.” Known as “Gold Stars,” the awards are presented by the St. Mary’s County (Md.) Health Department. The Paul Hall Center – located in Piney Point, Md. – has received the recognition for both years since the program began. Paul Hall Center Executive Chef John Hetmanski on Jan. 29 accepted the latest Gold Star on behalf of the school. The award was for the 2008 calendar year. Presentations took place in a county government building, where officials pointed out that only about 10 percent of eligible establishments receive Gold Stars. Honorees have demonstrated excep- tional attention to public health safety and sanitation, explained Daryl Calvano, the county’s environmental health director. “Preventing food-borne illnesses can only be accomplished through strict adherence to safe food handling practices,” said Calvano. “Health department inspectors play a critical role in our community’s safety and, through their site visits, observe the practices that lead to the Gold Star Awards.” Recipients get a certificate and a window sticker proclaiming them as Gold Star establishments. The requirements to earn a Gold Star include no critical violations and no “temperature violations” cited during inspection. Any infringement noted by an inspector must be rectified within 30 days (and confirmed via a follow-up inspection). There must be no con- firmed unsafe food-handling complaints, and at least one food service worker at the establishment must have completed an approved food service sanitation and safety class within the previous two years. “This is a great honor and it certainly speaks to the fine work of our students, both unlicensed apprentices and upgraders alike,” stated Hetmanski. “Sanitation is constantly emphasized at the school, and the students carry those practices to the vessels as they ship out.” Food service is an integral part of the daily routine at the Paul Hall Center. Meals are provided for students and staff members who, combined, normally number well into the hundreds. Additionally, several of the school’s curriculums cover steward-department functions, from basic to advanced. Another group of Seafarers recently completed a two-day safety “boot camp” hosted by the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education for Maersk Line, Limited. The sessions, which are attended by rank-and-file members as well as shore-based company employees, are part of Maersk’s continuing efforts to boost workplace safety. Among those graduating from the Feb. 3-4 boot camp in Piney Point, Md., (pictured above) were SIU members Zein Achmad, Larry Ambrous, Sharon Baham, William Burnham, Martha Bye, Luis Caballero, Pedro Campos, William Fielding, Charles Frisella, Leander Garrett, Ferdinand Gongora, Lloyd Hall, Richard Huffman, Paul Isherwood, Raphael James, Phillip Jock, Nellie Jones, Ricardo Legorreta, Domingo Leon, Robert Lindsay, Ross Lyle, Paul McDonnell, Carol Milstead, David Moe, Tim Peters, Jayne Peterson, Edna Torres, Frank Vogler, Glenn Williams and Josephus Willis. Seafarers LOG 7 �53233x:January 08 2/20/2009 4:16 PM Page 8 Union, School Take Closer Look At Document Renewal Process SEAFARERS APPEALS BOARD NMC Tour, Meeting Lead to Constructive Dialogue Officials from the union and its affiliated school last month toured the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center (NMC) as part of an ongoing effort to help ensure that Seafarers’ applications for document renewals and upgrades are processed as quickly as possible. SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker and Paul Hall Center Admissions Director Priscilla Senatore visited the NMC on Jan. 29. They met with Capt. David Stalfort, NMC commanding officer, and with other key personnel based at the facility in Martinsburg, W.Va. “We observed firsthand the process of evaluating and issuing mariner documents,” Tricker noted. “We also expressed discontent concerning the backlogs that exist, and explained how those backlogs affect mariners. “Our concerns were taken seriously and at the same time, the communication definitely was a two-way street,” he continued. “I would say all parties are working cooperatively and are intent on taking every reasonable step to reduce the turnaround time for processing documents.” One particularly strong area of concern is the time it takes the agency to process mariners’ medical evaluations. The average time for that procedure has increased in conjunction with two developments: adoption of new medical guidelines by the Coast Guard, and the gradual transfer of some old regional examination center functions (licensing and documentation) to the Martinsburg location. For the most part, SIU members haven’t been caught up in the backlog. Not everyone has been as fortunate, however, and in a Jan. 22 NMC report detailing how long it takes to process applications, the agency identified “awaiting information” as a major bottleneck. “Currently, 21 percent of the total processing time is associated with the time it takes for mariners to submit information that was missing in their application,” the report indicated. “During the processing of an application, the RECs and the NMC staff often identify the need for additional information which was not included with the application…. The most common types of information missing from an application include insufficient sea service, missing medical information on the physical exam report and missing training certificates.” The full “Quarterly Credential Evaluation Report” is a fivepage document available (in PDF format) at the following web address: http://www.uscg.mil/NMC/mld/MLD_Program_Performance _January_2009%20.pdf According to the report, from July 2008 through midJanuary, the average overall credential application processing time was 83 days. Fifty percent of the credentials issued during that period were processed in 52 or fewer days, but others took much longer. The report further offers suggestions to mariners about how to reduce processing time and also lists steps the Coast Guard is taking to achieve the same goal. The suggestions for mariners include the following items, taken directly from the report: ■ Ensure they have sufficient sea service for the credential for which they are applying. Applications with insufficient sea service represent the largest source of processing delays. ■ Consult with their medical providers and refer to the new guidance contained in the Medical and Physical Evaluation Action Number 444 Transportation Worker Identification Credential Card Effective April 15, 2009 SIU VP Contracts George Tricker (center) and Paul Hall Center Admissions Director Priscilla Senatore (right) recently met with NMC officials including U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Chuck Klingler (left), chief, Professional Qualifications Evaluation Branch. Guidelines for Merchant Mariner Credentials (NVIC 04-08, with particular attention to enclosures 3a and 3b) to ensure information submitted with their physical is complete and accurate. This is particularly important for mariners who have specific medical conditions, or are taking certain medications. Mariners are encouraged to copy relevant pages from NVIC 0408 and take them to their doctor for assistance in obtaining the needed medical information. This will avoid delays with the medical evaluation. This NVIC can be found on the NMC web site at the following link: http://www.uscg.mil/nmc/Whats_new_to_NMC/Medical_N VIC_Info_Bulletin_091508.pdf ■ Ensure their application package is complete prior to initial submission by carefully reviewing the application requirements, which are available on the NMC web site at the following link: http://www.uscg.mil/nmc/Whats_new_to_NMC/MLD-FMNMC1-08_App_Acceptance_Checklist.pdf ■ Ask Questions – Contact their local REC or the NMC’s Call Center at 1-888-I ASK NMC (1-888-427-5662), or by email IASKNMC@uscg.mil, with specific questions regarding credentialing requirements. Additionally, the agency recommends that mariners apply for document renewals six months ahead of the respective MMD expiration dates. Mariners do not need to surrender their original documents when applying. “We are sensitive to the agency’s growing pains and we also recognize the benefits of centralized evaluations,” Tricker concluded. “We also realize it’s important that we hold up our end by helping ensure that members submit all the required components with their applications. Based on what I saw at the NMC, I’m pleased to report that the majority of SIU applications are being processed relatively quickly.” The Seafarers Appeals Board acting under and pursuant to the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Union and the various Contracted Employers, hereby takes the following action. WHEREAS, by prior action the Board recognized the need for appropriate Shipping Rule adjustments from time to time to accommodate changes in the shipping industry; and WHEREAS, with the change in security measures since September 11, 2001 the Department of Homeland Security has implemented a new Transportation Workers Identification Card (TWIC); and WHEREAS, the Seafarers Appeals Board wishes to make provisions to the Shipping Rules to comply with the new federally mandated identification document. NOW THEREFORE, the Seafarers Appeals Board wishes to add the following provision to the Shipping Rules: Amend Rule 2. Shipping Procedure, C. (2.) (a) by adding TWIC to the list of required documentation effective April 15, 2009, unless an individual signatory company decides based upon all the facts, circumstances and reasonable objective criteria to make an accommodation. “(2.) (a) Jobs referred to the Union hiring hall shall be announced and offered to registered seamen at the times and according to the procedures set forth in Rule 4 hereof. At the time each job is so offered, registered seamen desiring such job shall submit their shipping registration cards, U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner’s documents, Transportation Workers Identification Credential card, valid Seafarers Health and Benefit Plan clinic card, Training Record Book and any other documents required by law, regulations or the Shipping Rules herein, to the hiring hall dispatcher. Registration cards of seamen at the Seafarers International Union Addictions Rehabilitation Center, who have been registered in accordance with Rule 2.B.(3.), as amended, and are certified as ready for employment, shall be considered along with the registration cards of seamen who are present in the hiring hall at the time the job is called. The job so offered shall be awarded to the seamen in the appropriate Department and Group possessing the highest priority, as determined pursuant to Rule 2.C.(3.) hereof.” This SAB action shall remain in full force and effect until modification by future SAB action. Home and Abroad, Unemployment Figures are Daunting The number of Americans claiming unemployment insurance in mid-January was 4.78 million, according to the U.S. Department of Labor – the highest on record dating back to the late 1960s. Worse, that total doesn’t include approximately 1.7 million people receiving benefits under an extended unemployment program approved by Congress in 2008. Meanwhile, employers across the country cut 598,000 jobs in January, bringing the national unemployment figure to 7.9 percent. That’s the highest percentage since 1974, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. President Barack Obama recently said 3.6 million Americans have lost their jobs since the beginning of the recession. Elsewhere, the Economic Policy Institute (a nonprofit, nonpartisan thinktank based in Washington, D.C.) has 8 Seafarers LOG released an analysis by economists Lawrence Mishel and Heidi Shierholz that sketches a picture of how much worse the economy may become—both for the nation as a whole and for groups of Americans that are already suffering depression-level unemployment—unless the new administration and Congress act quickly with a recovery package that is big enough and well-targeted enough to counteract these trends. Their analysis notes that without timely and adequate government intervention: ■ Overall unemployment, after peaking at about 10.2 percent in mid-2010, could still be as high as 7.6 percent four years from now. ■ Underemployment could reach 17.9 percent overall in 2010 (18.8 percent for women), affecting over 27 million workers. ■ More than one out of every three working Americans would experience unemployment or underemployment at some point during the year 2010. ■ Nearly one in five African Americans in the labor force would be unemployed (18.2 percent). More than half of all black teens would be jobless. ■ Hispanic unemployment would reach 13.1 percent overall, including more than one-third among teens. ■ Unemployment would reach a record high of 5.1 percent among the college-educated. ■ All families would experience wage declines because of weakened labor market conditions and reduced hours and wages. On average, middle-income families would earn about $4,700 less per year in 2010 than in 2007 (a loss of 7.7 percent). Lowincome families would lose an average of 9.8 percent, or nearly $1,600, per year. Worldwide, the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) recently released annual Global Employment Trends report offers a grim forecast for 2009. The agency says the global economic crisis is expected to lead to a dramatic increase in the number of people joining the ranks of the unemployed, the working poor and those in vulnerable employment. Based on new developments in the labor market and depending on the timeliness and effectiveness of recovery efforts, the report says global unemployment in 2009 could increase over 2007 by a range of 18 million to 30 million workers, and more than 50 million if the situation continues to deteriorate. The ILO report also said that in this last scenario, some 200 million workers, mostly in developing economies, could be pushed into extreme poverty. March 2009 �53233x:January 08 2/20/2009 4:19 PM Page 9 The Mariners Chapel at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (photo at left) memorializes seamen who made the ultimate sacrifice during World Wars I and II. The name of John Pereira (upper left in photo above) appears in the Roll of Honor Book located at the chapel. Chapel Memorializes Bosun’s Father, a WWII Mariner For Recertified Bosun Rafael “Monte” Pereira, seeing photos of his father’s name in the “Roll of Honor Book” located at the Mariners Chapel in Kings Point, N.Y., fulfilled a longtime ambition. Pereira’s father, John, sailed as first engineer aboard the Velma Lykes. John lost his life when the general cargo ship was sunk by a German torpedo on June 5, 1942 in the Yucatan Channel. Monte Pereira was about two months shy of his third birthday when the Velma Lykes went down, claiming the lives of 15 of its 32 men. “The mariners who shipped out after 1942 had a reasonable chance of surviving, but [the enemies] were really knocking them off at the beginning, off the Atlantic Coast and in the Gulf,” noted Pereira, referring to the high casualty rate suffered by the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II. “The people who went out there deserve some acknowledgement.” Recognition exists at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy’s chapel, which opened in 1961. The facility features a book (housed in a display case in front of the altar) listing the names, ranks or ratings, ships and dates of sinking of more than 7,000 mariners who made the ultimate sacrifice in World Wars I and II. (The SIU also has a memorial located at its affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. The names of all 1,235 SIU members who died in World War II are listed on it. John Pereira was a member of MEBA.) Monte Pereira heard about the memorial at Kings Point years ago, but never had the opportunity to visit the chapel. After others had failed to deliver on promises to photograph the book (showing John’s name) and the chapel, a Kings Point cadet whom Pereira met in Houston came through last year. The bosun appreciated it, and said that upon seeing the photos, he felt “proud and grateful that they do keep memorials like that.” The altar is inscribed with the following words: “This chapel is built to the glory of God and to commemorate the sacrifices of the officers and men of the United States Merchant Marine who gave their lives at sea, in enemy action, in World Wars I and II, and whose names are recorded in its Roll of Honor.” Pereira, who joined the union in 1962 in Houston, also knows firsthand about the U.S. Merchant Marine’s role as the nation’s fourth arm of defense. He sailed during Vietnam, and believes the general public “is not aware enough” of what mariners and the U.S.-flag fleet mean to national and economic security. Memorials like those in Piney Point and Kings Point at least help remind visitors about the U.S. Merchant Marine’s proud history. In the case of the Velma Lykes, the risks taken by mariners are painfully evident in written accounts. Travelling unescorted, the vessel was struck on its starboard side by one torpedo launched from the U-158. The Velma Lykes sank in one minute – too quickly for crew members to launch the lifeboats. Horizon Seafarers Earn Recognition As part of a safety program conducted by SIU-contracted Horizon Lines, two Seafarers recently received recognition from the company. Earning accolades for their respective shipboard efforts were AB Paul Wills from the Horizon Pacific and OMU Lawrence Carranza from the Horizon Consumer. The program itself is called “Safety Sailor of the Month,” though recognition is awarded only when earned. Its intent is to recognize individuals who exceed the norm and “make a sustained, concerted effort to contribute to their own and their shipmates’ safety over the course of a calendar month,” according to company guidelines. Examples of actions that may warrant nomination for Safety Sailor of the Month AB Paul Wills (right) receives a Horizon Lines watch as part of his recognition for safety efforts aboard the Horizon Pacific. Chief Mate Ron Radicali (left) said Wills “was selected for his outstanding contributions to the safe operation of the ship and exemplary approach to proactive injury prevention.” March 2009 include active near-miss reporting; making suggestions for boosting shipboard safety; active and constructive participation in drills, exercises and safety meetings; and consistent adherence to Horizon’s policies and procedures. No more than one person from each vessel may be recognized per month. Selections are made by the captain, chief mate and chief engineer. Honorees have their photo posted on a safety plaque near the crew’s lounge. They also receive “incentive awards” purchased with vessel funds (such as vessel shirts, company wristwatches, etc.). “The union certainly joins Horizon Lines in saluting Seafarers for their consistently safe work,” noted SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker. “The recognition is well-deserved, and the company deserves credit, too, for going out of its way to provide it.” The 17 survivors were picked up the next day by a convoy. Four days later, their new ship was sunk, though the men from the Velma Lykes survived. On June 30, American aircraft dropped depth charges on the U-158 west of the Bermudas. All 54 men aboard the German U-boat were killed. Recertified Bosun Monte Pereira (photo above), a Seafarer since 1962 who currently works on the Houston shore gang, says the U.S. Merchant Marine is a national asset at all times, not just during crises. Mariners Included in ‘Card for the Troops’ When U.S. Army Veteran Michael Trochan organized a project called “The National Christmas Card for the Troops,” he made certain to include the U.S. Merchant Marine on the list of recipients. Trochan and two brothers in May 2008 set up a tent (right) near the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. They displayed banners including the U.S. Merchant Marine flag and collected signatures and positive messages from citizens who dropped in. The sentiments were written on large rolls of paper which in turn were mailed to offices of the armed forces and the merchant marine. Trochan (standing at the end of the table in both photos) says he and his brothers plan to put together a 2009 version of the “Card for the Troops” when they visit D.C. this summer. OMU Lawrence Carranza is the “Safety Sailor of the Month” for January aboard the Horizon Consumer. Seafarers LOG 9 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:13 AM Page 10 Crowley Tug Mars & Barge 416 at Sea Aboard the SL Intrepid The Seafarers-crewed ocean-going Crowley tug Mars is underway for the port of Apra Guam from Los Angeles. In tow is the 400-foot-long by 100-foot-wide barge 416 which is loaded with three large Hitachi gantry (container) cranes. This voyage marked the second delivery of these types of cranes that Jacksonville, Fla.-based and SIU-contracted Crowley in recent months has made for Bickerton Iron Works, Inc. The first shipment included three cranes which were delivered to the SSA terminal in Manzanillo, Mexico. As evidenced by these photos, continuous activity is the norm aboard the SIU-crewed Sealand Intrepid. Clockwise from above, Steward Baker Donald Dwyer busies himself in the galley while Bosun Abdulla Alwaseem operates a piece of equipment on deck. AB Reuben Fife makes entries in the vessel’s gangway watch log while ABDs Salvador Lagare and Ahmed Baabbad store containers of supplies. Chief Cook Enrique Garrido is busy preparing ingredients for a meal entree. At Sea And Ashore With The SIU New York Port Agent Selzer Celebrates 70th Birthday New York Port Agent Bob Selzer (front center in white shirt) on Dec. 11 celebrated his 70th birthday. To commemorate the event, Selzer’s co-workers from the union hall took him out to dinner and posed for the photo above. Hugging Seltzer is VP Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi. To Soresi’s right are Government Services Representative Kate Hunt and Philadelphia Port Agent Joe Baselice. Also in attendance (from left to right) were Wally Zablocki, maintenance man; Michele Nardo, secretary (standing); Marie Sacco, secretary (seated); Mark Von Siegel, patrolman; Terry Montgomery, dispatcher (back) and ITF Inspector Enrico Esopa. Seabulk Energy Crew Hones Hoops Shooting Skills Crew members aboard the union-contracted Seabulk Energy recently completed the construction of what they coin the “first of its kind portable shooting station.” Situated in the vessel’s bow area, the station boasts a 20-foot ball handling and shooting area, an automatic retrieving net and a small “Spaulding Dreams of Gold” 11-inch rim. In photo at far left, AB Romula Racoma puts the station through its paces while exhibiting his patented “Philippine Release.” AB Eddie Romas (left in both photos above) and Racoma (right in both photos above) pose with shipmates Bosun Terry Lloyd (center in left photo above) and AB Chad Cunningham (center in right photo) following a session at the station. 10 Seafarers LOG March 2009 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:13 AM Page 11 SIU-Crewed Ship Delivers for ‘Cobra Gold’ The SIU-crewed prepositioning ship USNS Stephen W. Pless delivered hundreds of pieces of U.S. Marine Corps equipment and containerized supplies to Thai ports in late January as preparations ramped up for Exercise Cobra Gold 2009, the major multi-national exercise scheduled for Feb. 4 – 17 in Thailand. Cobra Gold is an annual joint and coalition multinational exercise hosted by the Kingdom of Thailand. Armed forces from Singapore, Japan, Indonesia and the United States are scheduled to participate this year. Training was to consist of computer-simulated command post exercises, field training exercises and humanitarian and civic assistance projects. According to the U.S. Military Sealift Command, the Pless, which is operated by Seafarers-contracted Waterman Steamship, offloaded cargo in support of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force. The materiel included assault vehicles, Humvees, trucks and other military autos, which were driven down the ship’s massive stern ramp to the port of Laem Chabang. In a news release detailing the offload, MSC described the operation as “a complex evolution” which “required close coordination between the ship’s 28-person civilian crew, who work for a private company under contract to MSC, and Marines embarked on the ship. Because the Marines did not need to offload all of their equipment, Pless’ cargo was selectively discharged using the ship’s on board ramps and cranes.” Prepositioning ships including the Pless strategically place U.S. Marine Corps equipment and supplies at sea, making them ready for rapid delivery to Marines ashore. The Pless normally operates in the Western Pacific Ocean as part of MPS Squadron Three. Two other MPS squadrons operate in the Indian Ocean and Eastern Atlantic Ocean/Mediterranean Sea. Upon completion of its offload, the Pless sailed about four miles offshore Jan. 31, where it served as a platform for seven sailors from Navy Cargo Handling Battalion One to train in deploying and operating lighterage, a type of floating barge used to ferry cargo from ship to shore. These barges are used to offload cargo at sea when port facilities are underdeveloped or unavailable. The Pless was expected to remain off Thailand’s coast until Cobra Gold’s completion (as this issue of the LOG went to press), at which time the Marines’ cargo would be reloaded for at-sea prepositioning in late February. SIU CIVMARS Provide Relief, Replenishment The Seafarers-crewed USNS MAJ Stephen W. Pless offloads a U.S. Marine Corps amphibious assault vehicle and other cargo at the port of Laem Chabang, Thailand, on Jan. 27. The materiel was scheduled for use in an annual military exercise known as Cobra Gold. Directing the vehicle to a staging area is a U.S. Marine from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force’s Combat Logistics Regiment Three. (U.S. Navy photo by Ed Baxter, Sealift Logistics Command Far East Public Affairs) With Seafarers Aboard SBX-1 These three photos show vessels that are manned in the unlicensed departments by members of the SIU Government Services Division. HELPING PROVIDE RELIEF – The fleet ocean tug USNS Catawba (left) provides fuel and fresh water to the M/V Faina following the Faina’s release by Somali pirates Feb. 5. The Belize-flagged vessel had been held for more than four months. Its cargo included Ukrainian tanks and related equipment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael R. McCormick) Union officials and Seafarers met Feb. 4 aboard the SBX-1 in Honolulu as part of a routine servicing. In addition to discussing topics specific to the SBX-1, members and officials covered the latest general news affecting the SIU and the industry as a whole. Pictured aboard the vessel (from left) are Port Agent Neil Dietz, Safety Director Frank Iverson, Electrician Irwin Rousseau, Asst. VP Bryan Powell, Bosun Wes Slattery and Electrician Randy Clark. The SBX-1 is a unique combination of an advanced X-Band radar mounted aboard an oceangoing, semi-submersible platform. It provides the Ballistic Missile Defense System with a missile tracking and discrimination capability that can be positioned to cover any part of the globe to support both missile defense operations and testing. The platform is twin-hulled and self-propelled. UNDERWAY REPLENISHMENT – The USNS Lewis and Clark, the first in a new series of dry cargo/ammunition ships being constructed in San Diego for the Navy, conducts a replenishment at sea Jan. 21 in the Persian Gulf with the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall (foreground). The Carter Hall is deployed as part of the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group supporting maritime security operations in the 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Flordeliz Valerio) ‘VERTREP’ IN THE PACIFIC – In this Feb. 7 photo, a CIVMAR aboard the ammunition ship USNS Kiska attaches a cargo pendant to the cargo hook of an MH60S Sea Hawk helicopter during a vertical replenishment with the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis in the Pacific Ocean. The carrier is on a sixmonth deployment. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Walter M. Wayman) March 2009 Seafarers LOG 11 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:14 AM Page 12 Part of the delegation from the Maryland State and D.C. AFL-CIO prepares to march. Thousands Rally for Employee Free Choice Act Signatures Delivered on Capitol Hill; Speakers Cite Advantages of Majority Sign-Up S eafarers were among the thousands of union members and other supporters who rallied Feb. 4 on Capitol Hill to demonstrate backing for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) – legislation that would help protect the rights of workers when deciding whether to join or form a union. Many of the union members carried boxes containing some of the 1.5 million pro-EFCA cards individually signed last year in a nationwide campaign for the bill. The boxes were separated and marked by the states and territories from which they came; many were delivered to Congress as a show of broad public support. Also known as majority sign-up legislation, the EFCA aims to level the playing field in organizing campaigns. The bill calls for strict, enforceable penalties against employers who violate workers’ rights when employees attempt to form a union. It also is designed to facilitate “first contract” negotiations. Contrary to lies spread by its opponents, the EFCA would not eliminate secret-ballot elections. Instead, it would allow workers – rather than employers – to decide whether they want to utilize authorization cards or secret ballots. The procedure involving authorization or pledge cards already is legal, but in numerous documented cases, employers ignore their workers’ wishes and force an election. In the time leading up to the vote, employers often harass and intimidate and even fire pro-union workers. Among those taking part in last month’s rally were U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), U.S. Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-Indiana) and AFL-CIO officials President John Sweeny, Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker and Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka. Harkin told the crowd, “The right to organize is a basic human right, and we’re not going to let anyone take it away. Everyone benefits from unions. When people are organized, everyone starts doing better.” Miller stated, “Time and again, you’ve seen your hard work, your creativity, your ingenuity, your productivity taken from you and given to shareholders, to the elites, to CEOs. Decisions about the workplace belong to the worker…. That’s the promise of America. It’s foolish to think we will rebuild this country without As part of the event, attendees delivered to Congress some of the 1.5 million cards signed in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. 12 Seafarers LOG the participation of the American worker.” Trumka, interviewed by Fox News, said, “The Employee Free Choice Act is necessary to fix a system that puts workers at the mercy of corporations. You talk about intimidation – that’s the current system. The employer spends billions of dollars hiring outside consultants to determine how people are going to vote, so they can threaten them, they can intimidate them…. Let me tell you what intimidation is: When a worker says they want a union, and their employer fires them. Twenty-five thousand people get intimidated today. That’s today’s system – the employer’s in control. The Employee Free Choice Act will put the worker back in control.” Other speakers at the rally included workers who had been fired for trying to join a union – and at least one whose employer, Kaiser Permanente, allows its employees to form unions without management interference. Sara Steffens recounted how she was laid off from her job at the Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek, Calif. She had been an award-winning reporter, but she helped her co-workers form a union and subsequently lost her job. “A lot of the people who organize unions are people who love what they do and are really committed to it,” she said. “It’s important that workers feel like they can step up and be part of decisions in the workplace.” Steffens said she was surprised at the level of intimidation and the misleading campaign waged by her employer, whom she never expected to be so hostile to workers’ attempts to form a union. “I stood by my conviction that they wouldn’t retaliate,” Steffens said. “I thought, ‘That’s against the law.’ I thought it couldn’t happen to me, because I had been a good employee.” Amber Fisher, a member of unlicensed apprentice Class 715 at the SIUaffiliated Paul Hall Center, participated in the rally and said the speeches were compelling. “The rally was worthwhile,” she declared. “I don’t see why companies wouldn’t want their employees to be unionized. Workers are happier with unions, which increases productivity and morale in the workplace. Having a union means less turnover, too.” In addition to the SIU, other unions taking part in the demonstration included the Transport Workers, AFSCME, AFT, United American Nurses, California Nurses Association, Office and Professional Workers, Sheet Metal Workers, Steelworkers, Painters and Allied Trades, Communications Workers, Air Line Pilots, Fire Fighters, and Machinists. The Employee Free Choice Act earned bipartisan majority support in both the House and Senate during the last session of Congress, but it was blocked by a filibuster in the Senate. Its prospects are better in the new Congress and with President Obama in the White House. U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) March 2009 Thousand U.S. Re U.S. R �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:15 AM Page 13 Union members demonstrate support for majority sign-up legislation. sands gather on Capitol Hill for the rally. AFL-CIO officials (from left) President John Sweeney, Executive VP Arlene Holt Baker and Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka continue helping lead the charge to enact vital legislation that protects workers’ rights to join a union. S. Rep. Peter Visclosky (D-Indiana) .S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) March 2009 Students from the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education did their part to help reflect the widespread backing for the EFCA Seafarers LOG 13 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:15 AM Page 14 TWIC Deadline for Mariners: April 15 Apply NOW – Here’s How Because of federal law, U.S. mariners are required to possess a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) no later than April 15, 2009. After that date, you cannot ship without a TWIC. The enrollment process is fairly straightforward, but turnaround time on delivering the credential has been a mixed bag. With that in mind, and in light of the rapidly approaching deadline, there is no time to waste. Seafarers should apply ASAP. Step-by-step instructions appear below. They also have been published in past editions of the Seafarers LOG and are available on the web both at www.seafarers.org and at the Transportation Security Administration’s TWIC web site, www.tsa.gov/twic. Members may check with their port agents for the latest TWIC news and location of the nearest enrollment center. The Transportation Security Administration TWIC web site includes a link where individuals may check the status of their card and/or schedule a time to pick it up. STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS ■ Pre-Enroll This can save time at the enrollment center itself. To pre-enroll, individuals must first register for an ID starting at https://twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/TWICWebApp/ Applicants will need to supply basic information including their name, date of birth and country of birth. ■ Gather Documentation As part of the TWIC application process, individual applicants must supply documentation verifying their identity. A list of acceptable documents was printed on page 4 of the January edition of the Seafarers LOG and is available on the TSA’s TWIC web site. A valid merchant mariner document/z-card is acceptable, as is an unexpired passport. ■ Enroll Applicants may enroll at any of the agency’s enrollment centers, at which time they must pay the TWIC fee of $132.50 (or the reduced fee of $105.25, if applying for a TWIC that expires in conjunction with a merchant mariner document). Applicants will provide fingerprints and be photographed as well as provide personal information. ■ Pick up TWIC Applicants must return to the same enrollment center to pick up their credential. They will be notified by email or phone (as specified during enrollment) when the card is ready. The individual TWIC will be activated, and the card-holder will select a corresponding PIN number. Other key points to consider: ■ Program enforcement began in October 2008 at certain ports and has been phased in at additional ports since that time. The last ports scheduled to start enforcement (on April 14) are Guam; Houston, Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas; Los Angeles/Long Beach; and San Juan, P.R. For mariners, only a valid z-card/merchant mariner document (MMD) is considered as meeting the TWIC program requirements until April 15. (That is not the case for some other workers.) ■ Where program enforcement already has begun, a number of ports have made it clear that no escorts will be provided to individuals who work aboard a vessel or at the terminal but do not have a TWIC. Again, mariners will need a valid z-card/MMD if they don’t have a TWIC prior to April 15. Company badges, state ID cards or driver’s licenses won’t be accepted, in accordance with the law. ■ By law, all U.S. Coast Guard-credentialed mariners with active MMDs, licenses, and/or certificates of registry, with or without an STCW endorsement, must hold a valid TWIC as of April 15 in order to maintain their mariner credentials. Failure to obtain and continue to hold a valid TWIC may result in the suspension or revocation of mariners’ credentials. After April 15, 2009, the Coast Guard will not issue a merchant mariner credential to an applicant who does not hold a valid TWIC. FOR MORE INFORMATION On the web: www.tsa.gov/twic By phone: TWIC Program Help Desk, 1-866-DHS-TWIC (347-8942) By email: credentialing@dhs.gov 14 Seafarers LOG March 2009 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:22 AM Page 15 Seafarers Ride May 24 for Merchant Marine Veterans? Some SIU headquarters officials and employees are trying to determine whether there is enough interest for the union to participate in this year’s Memorial Day weekend “Rolling Thunder” event in Washington, D.C. “We would like to raise awareness concerning those who served our country on merchant vessels during times of war, supplying our troops,” one official noted. “Many of those mariners gave their lives in defense of our country.” Rank-and-file Seafarers, SIU retirees, union employees and family members who may be interested in riding at the May 24 event as part of an SIU contingent are asked to email their contact information to the following address as soon as possible: rollingthunder2009@gmail.com The Washington-based Rolling Thunder event is a yearly demonstration, largely by motorcycle riders, for POW/MIAs and veterans’ issues. According to a communication from Rolling Thunder, Inc., participants will assemble in the north Pentagon parking lot beginning at 8 a.m. They will leave at noon for the ride through D.C. to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial “to pay our respect to our brothers and sisters who gave their lives for freedom we enjoy every day and for the full accounting of all POWMIAs and veterans’ rights. This is a demonstration – not a parade.” More information is available on the web at www.rollingthunder1.com (that’s a number “1” rather than a letter L in the address). According to the web site, Rolling Thunder, Inc. is a non-profit organization “with over 88 chartered chapters throughout the United States and members abroad. While many members of Rolling Thunder are veterans, and many ride motorcycles, neither qualification is a prerequisite.” Correction An item appeared in the Welcome Ashore column of the December 2008 edition of the Seafarers LOG regarding the retirement of Brother John Schoenstein, a member of the deck department who sailed in the Deep Sea Division. The piece erroneously identified the Manhattan as the first ship on which Brother Schoenstein sailed. His first vessel was in fact the Minot Victory. Brother Schoenstein did sail on the Manhattan, but at a later point in his career. We apologize to Brother Schoenstein and regret any inconveniences our oversight may have caused him and/or members of his family. April & May 2009 Membership Meetings Piney Point.........................................Monday: April 6, May 4 Algonac ...............................................Friday: April 10, May 8 Baltimore..........................................Thursday: April 9, May 7 Boston .................................................Friday: April 10, May 8 Guam.............................................Thursday: April 23, May 21 Honolulu ...........................................Friday: April 17, May 15 Houston............................................Monday: April 13, May 11 Jacksonville.......................................Thursday: April 9, May 7 Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea January 16, 2009 — February 17, 2009 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals Totals Tacoma...............................................Friday: April 24, May 22 Wilmington...........................................Monday: April 20, May 18 Totals Mobile........................................Wednesday: April 15, May 13 New Orleans.........................................Tuesday: April 14, May 12 New York............................................Tuesday: April 7, May 5 Norfolk.............................................Thursday: April 9, May 7 Oakland .........................................Thursday: April 16, May 14 Philadelphia...................................Wednesday: April 8, May 6 Port Everglades .............................Thursday: April 16, May 14 San Juan ............................................Thursday: April 9, May 7 St. Louis .............................................Friday: April 17, May 15 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. March 2009 DECK DEPARTMENT 5 0 2 6 2 0 5 7 4 1 3 7 8 2 0 1 0 0 7 2 0 1 3 8 2 6 29 33 1 13 14 30 7 17 6 0 7 3 29 26 0 2 4 10 2 2 23 11 1 5 3 19 10 12 2 3 4 2 26 8 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 4 1 0 3 1 0 2 2 0 0 2 4 0 4 22 10 0 0 8 15 2 8 4 1 3 0 15 10 8 1 3 26 1 15 66 54 1 24 27 80 20 43 9 1 14 4 68 48 14 8 4 28 12 12 43 41 9 13 14 37 36 17 10 4 16 9 44 38 22 1 2 5 4 0 13 7 8 2 5 13 8 4 0 2 1 0 10 7 291 222 62 235 149 21 108 513 409 114 3 0 3 7 3 6 16 19 0 8 8 17 8 11 1 2 2 0 6 11 3 2 4 3 1 2 19 19 0 3 2 11 10 8 0 1 6 1 15 14 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 131 125 17 ENGINE DEPARTMENT Totals All Departments 2 0 1 5 1 8 9 23 0 8 5 9 9 5 3 2 3 0 9 8 0 0 3 5 2 2 9 10 1 1 3 8 7 5 1 0 3 0 6 8 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 9 6 1 1 1 1 5 3 2 1 0 0 8 5 2 0 7 12 3 14 32 32 0 14 13 30 12 18 2 3 6 1 16 20 7 4 8 11 6 5 28 24 2 12 6 24 26 11 2 2 6 3 22 19 7 0 0 2 0 0 2 5 2 0 0 7 2 5 0 0 1 1 2 4 110 74 7 46 237 228 40 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 2 0 1 9 2 4 22 11 0 5 8 20 9 23 4 2 0 1 17 18 3 1 1 7 1 6 8 6 1 1 2 10 9 8 0 1 1 2 7 5 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 158 80 14 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Joliet..............................................Thursday: April 16, May 14 **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C 6 4 5 11 8 9 22 26 3 6 3 17 18 17 7 4 6 4 30 16 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs 3 1 2 13 1 9 33 30 1 13 16 47 9 26 6 1 8 1 43 28 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 0 3 5 0 7 11 14 0 3 6 17 7 19 2 1 1 3 12 17 1 0 1 7 2 2 6 4 0 1 1 5 9 0 0 0 2 2 2 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 5 0 1 6 8 0 4 2 7 5 7 0 3 0 0 5 5 3 0 1 10 5 20 40 24 0 12 12 39 16 29 3 7 4 2 29 38 6 1 2 13 4 7 9 16 2 3 2 12 15 11 1 2 2 3 10 7 7 0 0 1 1 2 0 2 1 0 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 128 48 7 60 294 128 22 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 1 0 1 0 0 3 7 2 0 0 0 3 1 3 0 0 1 0 5 4 5 1 2 8 3 8 13 16 1 4 6 18 20 17 1 9 2 2 21 12 7 0 0 8 0 3 6 7 2 3 3 7 8 6 2 28 2 1 6 6 0 0 2 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 1 5 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 3 1 1 10 13 1 5 4 19 5 9 2 6 0 0 6 9 2 0 0 2 0 1 2 4 0 1 0 1 5 4 0 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 4 12 3 0 1 2 8 0 9 0 0 1 0 10 5 17 3 7 11 2 14 30 37 3 12 10 43 38 18 0 4 6 2 34 22 17 1 2 14 5 12 10 23 5 6 7 17 21 13 2 12 2 1 6 12 31 169 105 20 95 49 0 57 313 188 611 596 198 493 366 84 214 1101 1078 364 Seafarers LOG 15 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:22 AM Page 16 Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 3328, Hagatna, Guam 96932 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 Inquir ing Seaf arer Question: What was one of your most memorable experiences as a Seafarer?(Asked of members at the Baltimore union hall) Ben Mathews, QMED Pumpman, started sailing in 1991 “I was on a cable ship and we were connecting to a splice off of Brazil. We were out to sea for about 45 days and we were all anxious to go to shore. When we had our chance, the pilot was two hours late getting to the ship so we could get to port. As we began to pull in, the pilot began climbing up the pilot ladder and he fell. The pilot boat picked him up and he looked at us and gave us the ‘bird.’ The pilot company then refused to send another pilot out. The captain was able to negotiate with them, they sent another pilot, we went ashore and had one of the best nights we ever had.” Johnie Chavis, ABG, started sailing in 1985 “We took the USNS Wright out for a sea trial and were transporting a Navy Seal team for a joint terrorism exercise of different countries’ militaries. It was wild seeing them repelling onto the deck from helicopters and watching them shoot paint bullets during their war games.” Adam Begleiter, QMED, started sailing in 2003 “I was on [a tanker]. We took her out the first time and engines just shut down. The ship started rolling 30 to 40 degrees and people were sliding everyplace. I was in bed at the time, holding on for dear life. Then, I got thrown out and bounced against the wall. The engineers were worried about whether they did something wrong. At the end, we found the shipyard must have left rags in the port and starboard pumps.” John Frey, AB, started sailing in 2006 “I was on the Wright during the exercises, too. The Seals were the good guys and their job was to take the hijacked ship back. You couldn’t see or hear the helicopters approach the ship, but about every 10 seconds there would be a new team delivered – they were that good. We had to put glow sticks on our cabin doors so they wouldn’t ‘attack’ our cabins during the exercise. We also had to wear them to let the Seals know not to shoot us. There was one night I felt like jamming a chair against the cabin door just to make sure they wouldn’t bust in. The next morning, I walked out of the cabin into the passageway and saw all of these long-haired guys with tattoos sleeping on the deck. They looked like a real wild bunch. Then I found out these guys were undercover Seals. I was glad they are on our side because it looked like the ‘Hell’s Angels’ had invaded.” Dennis Uchic, Cook, started sailing in 1977 “I was on the Wright during the exercises, also. But one experience was when a guy started choking on a bay leaf and was turning blue. I gave him the Heimlich and he came around. Just going to sea and upgrading at the SIU’s (affiliated) school are always memorable.” Pic-From-The-Past JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG The SIU-crewed steamship Del Sud is unloaded in the Port of New Orleans in 1948. Operated by the Mississippi Steamship Co., the vessel at the time was one of three revolutionary passenger-cargo ships which helped re-establish U.S. trade to South America after the Second World War. The Del Sud’s sister ships were the Del Notre and the Del Mar. Each of the vessels was built at the Ingalls Shipyard, Pascagoula, Miss., and fitted with D.R. geared turbines which gave them 17-knot service speeds. A new innovation for the time was complete air-conditioning throughout the accommodation areas for passengers, officers and crew. Being nearly identical, the sister ships were all 10,074 tons, 495 feet in length and 70 feet in breadth. Their total cost in 1946 was over $7,000,000 each. After entering service between November 1946 and June 1947, the “Del” trio quickly established an enviable record for dependable sailings and were soon offering 44-day round-trip cruises to such ports of call as Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Paranagua and Buenos Aires. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with other Seafarers LOG readers, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. High-resolution digital images may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org March 2009 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:22 AM Page 17 Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. Welcome Ashore DEEP SEA JOSE ANDICOECHEA Brother Jose Andicoechea, 65, joined the union in 1971. He initially sailed on an A&S Transportation vessel. Brother Andicoechea was born in Spain. He sailed in the deck department. His final ship was the Dina Marie. Brother Andicoechea resides in North Arlington, N.J. DAVID FLORES Brother David Flores, 52, became an SIU member in 1992 while in the port of New Orleans. The Honduras native shipped in the deck department. Brother Flores first went to sea aboard the Stonewall Jackson. In 2001, he visited the Piney Point school to enhance his seafaring abilities. Brother Flores most recently sailed on the Florida. He lives in Orlando, Fla. sailed in the engine department. Brother Paquin last worked aboard the Horizon Trader. He calls Warner Springs, Calif., home. GILBERT RODRIGUEZ Brother Gilbert Rodriguez, 55, was born in Texas. He began sailing with the union in 1972 while in the port of Piney Point, Md. Brother Rodriguez initially shipped on the Del Sol as a member of the engine department. He enhanced his skills often at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point. Brother Rodriguez’s most recent voyage was aboard the Houston. He continues to reside in his native state. PETER STERNBERG DAVID HUDGINS Brother David Hudgins, 64, started sailing with the Seafarers in 1976. His first voyage was aboard a Chesapeake & Ohio Railway vessel. Brother Hudgins was born in Richmond, Va. He often took advantage of educational opportunities available at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Hudgins was last employed on the USNS Sisler. He makes his home in Mathews, Va. NORMAN ISRAEL Brother Norman Israel, 67, donned the SIU colors in 1988. He originally shipped aboard the USNS Lynch. Brother Israel attended classes on numerous occasions at the Seafarers-affiliated school in Maryland. The engine department member was born in Rio Hondo, Texas. Brother Israel’s final trip was on the North Star. He is a resident of Shelton, Wash. HENRY PAQUIN Brother Henry Paquin, 65, joined the SIU ranks in 1988 while in the port of Wilmington, Calif. His first vessel was the Brooks Range. Brother Paquin upgraded frequently at the Piney Point school. He was born in Attlebro, Mass., and March 2009 Brother Peter Sternberg, 66, became a Seafarer in 1990. His first ship was the Independence; his last, the Lighting. Brother Sternberg attended classes on numerous occasions at the Paul Hall Center. The engine department member was born in Germany. Brother Sternberg settled in Sun City, Calif. ROY WILLIAMS Brother Roy Williams, 58, started his career with the SIU in 1971. He originally sailed on the Western Planet as a member of the deck department. Brother Williams was a frequent upgrader at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. He was born in Alabama. Brother Williams’ final trip to sea was aboard the Horizon Challenger. He makes his home in Mobile, Ala. DEAN YANNUZZI Brother Dean Yannuzzi, 59, joined the union in 1969. His first voyage was on the Transerie. Brother Yannuzzi upgraded on three occasions at the Piney Point school. He was born in Texas and shipped in the deck department. Brother Yannuzzi’s most recent trip to sea was aboard the Resolve. He lives in San Antonio, Texas. INLAND SEYMOUR YARAS Brother Seymour Yaras, 65, signed on with the SIU in 1980. He initially sailed on the Santa Maria. Brother Yaras was born in Detroit and worked in the deck department. In 1984, he visited the Paul Hall Center. Brother Yaras was last employed aboard the Senator. He calls Wilmington, N.C., home. JOE EZERNACK Brother Joe Ezernack, 56, was born in Converse, Va. He joined the SIU in 1970. Brother Ezernack’s first ship was the Seabulk Tanker. He worked in the deck department. Prior to retiring, Brother Ezernack shipped on a Higman Barge Lines vessel. He resides in Jasper, Texas. GARNETT LEARY MARVIN ZIMBRO Brother Marvin Zimbro, 55, began his career with the Seafarers in 1969. His earliest trip was on the James. Brother Zimbro’s final ship was the Horizon Challenger. The deck department member attended classes often at the SIU-affiliated school. Brother Zimbro is a resident of Ponchatoula, La. Brother Garnett Leary, 64, first donned the SIU colors in 1970, originally sailing from the port of Philadelphia. Brother Leary’s earliest trip to sea was aboard a Gulf Atlantic Transportation Corporation vessel. His final voyage took place aboard the Horizon Hawk. Brother Davis, a member of the deck department, was born in Florida. He lives in San Francisco. Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1941 Over 2,500 members of the Atlantic and Gulf District participated in the election of officers of the SIU’s Atlantic and Gulf District. This was the first election conducted since the two districts were amalgamated into one district. The election covered the Atlantic District Representative, the Gulf District Representative, and Port Agents and Patrolmen in all ports from Boston to Texas City and including San Juan, Puerto Rico. WILLIAM STOWE JR Brother William Stowe Jr., 62, became a Seafarer in 1966. He shipped primarily with Virginia Pilot Corporation during his career. Brother Stowe makes his home in Raleigh, N.C. NELSON WALLACE Brother Nelson Wallace, 69, started sailing with the union in 1968. His first ship was operated by Southern Carriers Corporation. Brother Wallace most recently worked on the Charles H. Harper. He settled in Belhaven, N.C. their crews” for union representation. 1963 Testimony began this week to discuss a plan to set up a special machinery to deal with maritime labor disputes. The AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department, on behalf of the SIU, its affiliates and other maritime unions, will make a full presentation of the opposition side of the bill before the Congressional committee. If enacted, the proposal would rob maritime unions of competitive bargaining and the right to strike for better wages and working conditions. This Month In SIU History 1959 SIU President Paul Hall protested the U.S. State Department’s investigation into findings by the National Labor Relations Board and the courts that runaway ships should be subject to U.S. labor law. It was believed that the Department would attempt to overturn the NLRB rulings that U.S. unions can organize American-owned runaways. Hall said the runaway shipowners were trying to use the State Department as a shield to protect them from the “legitimate demands of 1974 The SIU of Canada went on strike against the Canadian Lake Carriers Association after the refusal of shipowners to discuss better wages and working conditions. According to SIU of Canada President Roman Gralewicz, the biggest issue is management’s stubbornness concerning the union’s aim to scrap the traditional 30-day work month and “bring some simple dignity” to the job. Seafarers LOG 17 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:23 AM Page 18 Final Depar tures DEEP SEA ABNER ABRAMS Pensioner Abner Abrams, 86, passed away Dec. 26. Brother Abrams became a Seafarer in 1942. He was born in Alabama. Brother Abrams initially shipped in the engine department of the John Line. Prior to his retirement in 1979, he worked aboard a Delta Lines ship. Brother Abrams settled in his native state. A. G. ALEXANDER Pensioner A. G. Alexander, 84, died Dec. 11. Brother Alexander joined the SIU in 1947. His first ship was the Catahoula; his last, the Champion. Brother Alexander was born in El Dorado, Ark., and sailed in the deck department. He went on pension in 1986 and called Georgetown, Texas, home. DON BUSBY Pensioner Don Busby, 77, passed away Dec. 21. Brother Busby started shipping with the union in 1967. He was born in Dry Prong, La. Brother Busby originally worked on the Centerville. The engine department member last sailed aboard the LNG Capricorn. Brother Busby retired in 1997 and continued to reside in Louisiana. CARLOS CHEVARRIA Pensioner Carlos Chevarria, 93, died Sept. 21. Brother Chevarria was born in Portugal. He shipped as a member of the engine department. Brother Chevarria was a resident of Tavares, Fla. ERVIN DAVIS Brother Ervin Davis, 56, passed away Oct. 29. He first donned the SIU colors in 1979. Brother Davis’ earliest trip to sea was on the USNS Dutton. His final voyage took place aboard the Horizon Hawk. Brother Davis, a member of the deck department, was born in Florida. He lived in San Francisco. 18 Seafarers LOG MANUEL DEBARROS ARTHUR SEQUEIRA Pensioner Manuel Debarros, 85, died Dec. 27. Brother Debarros signed on with the union in 1942. He initially sailed on a Waterman Steamship Corporation vessel. Brother Debarros was born in New Bedford, Mass., and worked in the deck department. He was last employed aboard the Ezra Sensib. Brother Debarros became a pensioner in 1979 and continued to make his home in Massachusetts. Pensioner Arthur Sequeira, 78, died Dec. 8. Brother Sequeira joined the SIU ranks in 1963. His earliest trip to sea was aboard the Cantigny. Brother Sequeira was born in Singapore and sailed in the deck department. Before retiring in 1995, he shipped on the LNG Aquarius. Brother Sequeira was a resident of Brooklyn, N.Y. CALVIN STEVENS CHARLES FLETCHER Pensioner Charles Fletcher, 85, passed away Nov. 13. Brother Fletcher joined the MC&S (Marine Cooks & Stewards) in 1979 while in the port of San Francisco. He mainly shipped with American Ship Management on vessels such as the President Taylor and President Wilson. Brother Fletcher was a member of the steward department. He was born in Atkins, Ark., but called Portland, Ore., home. Brother Fletcher started collecting his retirement compensation in 1987. Pensioner Calvin Stevens, 83, passed away Dec. 12. Brother Stevens became an SIU member in 1965. He originally worked aboard the Alamar as a member of the deck department. Brother Stevens’ final voyage was on the 1st. Lt. Baldomero Lopez. He continued to make his home in his native state of Maryland. Brother Stevens began receiving his pension in 1991. PRICE WILLOUGHBY Pensioner Eric Joseph, 85, died Jan. 3. Brother Joseph started sailing with the SIU in 1951 from the port of New York. He initially sailed with Waterman Steamship Corporation. Brother Joseph was born in India and shipped in the steward department. His final trip to sea was on the San Juan. Brother Joseph resided in New York and went on pension in 1986. Pensioner Price Willoughby, 90, died Jan. 12. Brother Willoughby signed on with the Seafarers in 1951 while in the port of New York. He was born in Maryland and worked in the engine department. Brother Willoughby initially sailed with Bloomfield Steamship. His final ship was the Santa Cruz. Brother Willoughby went on pension in 1981 and called Gettysburg, Pa., home. HOWARD LINDSEY ROBBIE WILLS Pensioner Howard Lindsey, 81, passed away Jan. 7. Brother Lindsey first donned the union colors in 1966. His first voyage was aboard a Bulk Transportation Inc. vessel. Brother Lindsey was a member of the deck department. He last worked on the Archon. Brother Lindsey retired in 1988 and continued to live in his native state of Alabama. Brother Robbie Wills, 44, passed away Nov. 19. Brother Wills, a member of the engine department, began shipping with the SIU in 2008. He was employed with Sealift Inc. aboard the Cleveland for the duration of his career. Brother Wills was born in North Dakota. He resided in Olongapo City in the Philippines. ERIC JOSEPH INLAND HERBERT HEBERT Pensioner Herbert Hebert, 67, died Nov. 17. Brother Hebert first donned the SIU colors in 1979. He worked primarily on the Crescent New Orleans. Brother Hebert was born in Louisiana. He was a member of the deck department. Brother Hebert started collecting his retirement compensation in 2003. He settled in New Orleans. JACK MCNAIR Pensioner Jack McNair, 89, passed away Dec. 20. Brother McNair began his employment with the union in 1961 while in the port of Philadelphia. He initially sailed with P.F. Martin Company. Brother McNair last shipped aboard a Taylor Marine Towing Company vessel. He was born in Red Springs, N.C., but lived in Maple Shade, N.J. Brother McNair went on pension in 1981. FLOYD SIMMONS Pensioner Floyd Simmons, 80, died Dec. 7. Brother Simmons was born in Virginia. He joined the SIU in 1948, originally sailing from the port of Norfolk, Va. Brother Simmons’ first ship was the Southern States. He worked in the engine department. Prior to his retirement in 1988, Brother Simmons shipped on a Moran Towing of Virginia boat. He made his home in Portsmouth, Va. JOSEPH WEBBER Pensioner Joseph Webber, 69, passed away Nov. 29. Brother Webber started shipping with the union in 1974. He was born in Arcadia, Texas. Brother Webber primarily worked in the engine department aboard G&H Towing vessels. He called Danciger, Texas, home. Brother Webber became a pensioner in 2001. GREAT LAKES CLINTON ROSS Pensioner Clinton Ross, 67, died Dec. 12. Brother Ross joined the SIU ranks in 1975. He mostly sailed on vessels operated by Great Lakes Towing Company. Brother Ross was born in Wisconsin. He was a deck department member. Brother Ross retired in 2003 and continued to reside in his native state. Editor’s note: The following brothersand sisters, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU), have passed away: Name Alston, William Alvarez, Jose Ayala, Francisco Barron, Robert Bryant, Alvie Caldwell, Leroy Cancel, Elias Elipe, Rafael Esturio, Julio Ferrer, Francisco Gallo, Rodolfo Gistand, Archie Gordon, Marcus Hamilton, Jerry Han, Carl Hernandez, Jose Hilbig, John Jemmott, Clive Jenkins, Ward Kelly, John Killilea, Noreen Lightsey, James Lowry, Frank Manzo, Luis McSwegan, Theodore Michelsen, Frederick Molina, Manuel Nieves, Felix Pawelchek, Michael Poventud, Francisco Pregal, Luis Presti, Frank Redding, Newburn Rodriguez, Domingo Roman, Rafael Rost, Debetta Sadler, Pat Smith, Alfred Smith, Harry Smith, Wilburn Solano, Juan Speights, R.L. Stevens, Carlos Swain, Melford Jr. Tuata, Joe Van Lear, Bernard Williams, Charles Age 83 90 90 82 91 80 88 86 84 90 69 78 87 83 87 76 69 90 81 63 79 75 84 88 75 86 93 86 93 90 82 90 93 84 95 95 79 84 91 84 87 88 86 82 64 83 88 DOD Dec. 8 Dec. 4 Dec. 11 Nov. 19 Nov. 29 Nov. 17 Dec. 7 Dec. 12 Jan. 2 Nov. 27 Nov. 28 Jan. 1 Dec. 7 Dec. 2 Dec. 20 Nov. 29 Dec. 21 Dec. 8 Dec. 3 Nov. 30 Dec. 2 Jan. 21 Nov. 30 Oct. 20 Jan. 3 Dec. 16 Dec. 21 Dec. 12 Dec. 28 Dec. 31 Jan. 6 Oct. 25 Dec. 10 Dec. 10 Dec. 9 Jan. 31 Jan. 2 Jan. 12 Nov. 23 Nov. 5 Dec. 14 Nov. 26 Nov. 13 Dec. 10 Dec. 5 Dec. 9 Dec. 12 March 2009 �53233x:January 08 2/20/2009 4:45 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings AMERICAN MARINER (American Steamship Company), Dec. 27 – Chairman Albert J. Brzezinski, Secretary Daniel J. Kane, Educational Director Mark A. Macrury. Chairman explained absentee ballot procedure and discussed some differences between the two candidates who ran for president of the U.S. He also urged Seafarers to visit the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Secretary reported that everything was running smoothly. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Communication regarding union elections was read; all members were reminded to vote at a union hall by December 31 if not voting absentee. Crew talked about vacation benefits and what was required when applying. CHEMICAL PIONEER (USCS Transport), Dec. 28 – Chairman Timothy D. Koebel, Secretary Grant Balik, Educational Director Kelly L. Mayo, Engine Delegate Antonio F. Simon, Steward Delegate Jorge L. Ellis. Chairman made wage scale available to crew and familiarized crew with family leave regulations. He stated he would discuss ground transportation in Houston with captain. Educational director reminded mariners that they will be required to have TWIC cards in April 2009. Treasurer reported $1,180 in the ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward department was thanked for fine holiday cuisine. Next ports: Bayonne, N.J., Jacksonville, Fla., and Houston. EL FARO (International American Shipping), Dec. 8 – Chairman Eric A. Berry, Secretary Kenneth Whitfield, Educational Director Joseph H. Brown, Deck Delegate Zinnonnon Jackson, Engine Delegate Marcus A. Pittman. Chairman went over ship’s policy on trash and thanked crew for their hard work prepping vessel for shipyard. He asked them to clean rooms and report any needed repairs. Secretary stated payoff would take place in Mobile, Ala., on December 22. Educational director discussed the importance of upgrading at the Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew expressed gratitude to steward department for a job well done. Suggestions were made regarding medical and dental benefits. Next port: Mobile, Ala. HORIZON EAGLE (Horizon Lines), Dec. 11 – Chairman Glenn R. Christianson, Secretary Rang V. Nguyen, Educational Director John E. Conn, Deck Delegate Abdulhamid F. Musaed, Engine Delegate Jesse Canales Jr., Steward Delegate Charles Atkins. Chairman reported smooth sailing and stated ship was in excellent sanitary condition. Secretary encouraged March 2009 all Seafarers to contribute to SPAD (Seafarers Political Activity Donation) fund. Members were asked to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen for reliefs. Beefs reported in the deck department; No disputed OT reported. Request was made for a dart board in the crew lounge. Next port: Oakland, Calif. HORIZON NAVIGATOR (Horizon Lines), Dec. 11 – Chairman Joseph A. Gierbolini, Secretary Johnny Cruz, Educational Director Christopher M. Devonish, Engine Delegate Eddie J. Pittman, Steward Delegate Carlos Sanchez. Chairman explained why air conditioner was down and informed crew that company agreed to pay for steel-toed shoes. Educational director advised mariners to take advantage of Piney Point school to enhance your skills. Treasurer stated ship fund was used for satellite TV and radio. No beefs; disputed OT reported in engine department. Recommendation was made to raise pension amount. Crew members expressed need for a new commercial dryer in laundry room. Request was also made for fans in crew rooms. Vote of thanks was given to all departments for working well together and keeping ship clean. Next ports: Jacksonville, Fla., San Juan, P.R., and Elizabeth, N.J. HORIZON PACIFIC (Horizon Lines), Dec. 29 – Chairman Gregory A. Agren, Secretary Robert P. Mosley, Educational Director John A. Osburn Jr., Deck Delegate Martin H. Zeidenberg, Engine Delegate Allen E. Ward, Steward Delegate Benjamin M. Feria. Bosun discussed year-end payoff and urged members to donate to SPAD. He suggested all members check in with their port agents and also keep documents current. Departing mariners were asked to leave rooms neat for arriving crew. Secretary advised Seafarers to upgrade skills often at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. He also reminded everyone to get their TWIC card as soon as possible. Treasurer noted $219.33 in cookout fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Vote of thanks was given to President Sacco and his staff for a job well done. Crew members and Captain John Jablonski expressed gratitude to the steward department for outstanding cookouts and holiday meals. Crew was asked to keep noise down while watch-standers are resting. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash., Oakland, Calif., and Hawaii. HOUSTON (USS Transport Lines), Dec. 14 – Chairman John R. Lamprecht, Secretary Robert E. Wilcox, Educational Director Ronald Gordon, Deck The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships’ minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. Meal Preparation Time Aboard the MV Resolve Meal time is always an exciting point in the day aboard the SIU-contracted MV Resolve. Regardless of the meal being served, members of the crew never have to worry about having something wonderful to tickle their taste buds while they relax from their normal duties and catch up on the latest shipboard chatter. Demonstrating their respective skills in the culinary arts in these photos are galley gang members Steward Baker Robert Owens (above, left), Steward Assistant Charles Collies Jr., (above, right) and Chief Cook Robert Maschmeier. Members of the galley gang take great pride in preparing three squares for their hardworking shipmates. Delegate Nanwanko Sunday, Engine Delegate Daniel Daligcon, Steward Delegate Alex Cordero. Bosun reported ship was running well and expressed his satisfaction with the work being preformed by crew. He stressed the importance of safety first and reported non-skid material was applied to deck port side. Secretary thanked crew for helping keep pantry and mess hall clean. He reminded everyone to clean lint filters in dryer to prevent fires and make the dryer work more efficiently. Steward noted that food costs are up due to higher fuel and delivery costs and that food budget needs to be updated. Educational director reiterated the need to keep all necessary shipping documents current and noted TWIC deadline coming soon. Beefs and disputed OT reported in deck department. Port Agent Kenneth Moore has visited ship to try and resolve beefs. Crew expressed their appreciation for good food and hard work by steward department. Suggestion was made to reimburse members for added baggage fees when joining vessel. Next ports: Corpus Christi, Texas, and Houston. LIBERTY GLORY (Liberty Maritime), Dec. 21 – Chairman Victor M. Beata, Secretary Grant H. Armstead, Educational Director Charles Sneed, Deck Delegate Lou L. Teferi, Steward Delegate Julio Guity. Chairman announced payoff on December 24 in Corpus Christi, Texas. He went over ship’s itinerary and thanked crew for a safe voyage. Secretary reported stores to be received December 23. Educational director discussed the need for crew members to keep documents up-to-date. Treasurer stated $900 in ship fund, which is to be used to purchase TVs and DVD players for crew cabins. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made for a new heavy-duty dryer. Next port: Corpus Christi, Texas. LIBERTY SPIRIT (Liberty Maritime), Dec. 21 – Chairman Rudy A. Santos, Secretary Clyde D. Thompson, Educational Director Charles G. Sadler, Deck Delegate Lionel Rivas, Engine Delegate Charles G. Sadler. Chairman discussed the procedure for separating trash and asked mariners to keep wash room clean. Secretary urged crew members to keep all paperwork current. Educational director reported the need for new dryers in wash rooms. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion was made concerning investment plans and Seafarers 401(k) Plan. Some crew members noted need for new mattresses. MAERSK MISSOURI (Maersk Line, Limited), Dec. 7 – Chairman Oliver M. Balico, Secretary Billy Gigante, Educational Director Jeffrey D. Levie, Deck Delegate Paul Castillo, Engine Delegate Emilio C. Ordaniel, Steward Delegate Brian T. McEleney. Chairman reported smooth trip and announced payoff December 8 in Elizabeth, N.J. Secretary reminded crew to leave cabins clean for reliefs. Educational director advised all mariners to enhance their seafaring abilities at the Paul Hall Center. Treasurer stated $2,000 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Thanks given to steward department for excellent Thanksgiving feast. Next ports: Elizabeth, N.J., Norfolk, Va., Charleston, S.C., and Malaga, Spain. Seafarers LOG 19 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:23 AM Page 20 Letters To The Editor Letters may be edited for conciseness and clarity. Submissions may be mailed to 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 or emailed to webmaster@seafarers.org. free of intimidation by the companies. Many companies and business groups have pledged millions of dollars to fight against passage of the EFCA. This will be an uphill battle, and I urge SIU members to contact their representatives and ask them to support the bill. Members also may sign an online petition at www.freechoiceact.org/page/s/petition in support of the legislation. This bill offers the best chance in decades to increase union membership, and I hope all members will help push for its passage. Michael Duggan D-1478 Harrison, Tennessee Support ‘Belated Thank You’ Bill Glenys I. Castro (in cap and gown, both photos) is all smiles on graduation day at LSU. She is pictured with her mother (photo at left), Glenys M. Castro, and with her father, engine-department Seafarer Salome Castro (far left), and her brothers. Seafarer Appreciates Scholarship Program I want to thank my SIU brothers and sisters and the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan for supporting the annual SHBP Scholarship program. My daughter, Glenys I. Castro, graduated from Louisiana State University on Dec. 19, 2008 with a Bachelor of Science degree in biological sciences/chemistry (with a minor in Spanish). She graduated with a GPA of 3.8 and made the honor roll all four years. She has been accepted to the University of Ohio Medical School; she intends to become a cardiologist after she graduates from there. If it weren’t for the Seafarers scholarship, she would not have been able to attend LSU. I appreciate everyone’s efforts to keep this scholarship active, which in turn helps many members provide a means of education for their families. Salome Castro C-2142 Gibsonton, Florida Editor’s note: The deadline to apply for the 2009 SHBP Scholarship is April 15. Additional information was published in the last several issues of the LOG and also is available on line at www.seafarers.org Backing Legislation For Majority Sign-Up With the recent national elections, the SIU and other unions have an unprecedented opportunity to support sweeping changes regarding union recruiting efforts. In many cases, current labor laws have been loosely enforced (at best) during membership drives. This practice has allowed companies to harass, intimidate and even fire workers who voice support for union representation. A proposed law to help rectify this situation, cosponsored by President Obama when he was a senator, is called the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). This bill will allow for a more simple method for workers to express support for union representation, The fight is on. The Just Compensation Committee is in its fourth year of trying to get our remaining World War II U.S. Merchant Marine veterans their just dues. Now is the time to show our support. Now is the time to step up to the breach. I urge all union members to contact their senators and congressmen and to ask for their support of The Belated Thank You To The Merchant Mariners Of World War II Act Of 2009. This legislation calls for a monthly benefit to be paid to WWII mariners or their widows in lieu of benefits not received after World War II. When the House passed the bill in 2007, Congressman Bob Filner (D-Calif.) stated, “These veterans kept their promises to serve our country and it is not too late to keep our promises to those that have fought for our country.” Ian T. Allison Santa Rosa, California Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return 20 Seafarers LOG receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVI- TY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. March 2009 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:23 AM Page 21 Seafarers Paul Hall Center Upgrading Course Schedule The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the next few months of 2009. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promoting the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman April 27 June 22 May 22 July 17 Automated Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) April 13 April 17 Fast Rescue Boat June 29 July 3 Government Vessels April 6 June 1 July 27 April 10 June 5 July 31 Course Start Date Date of Completion Pumpman June 22 July 3 Welding April 6 May 4 June 1 April 24 May 22 June 19 Safety Specialty Courses Advanced Firefighting March 9 March 20 Basic Firefighting/STCW Basic & Advanced Firefighting March 30 May 4 May 11 May 25 July 20 March 9 April 3 May 9 May 15 May 29 July 24 March 20 Medical Care Provider March 23 March 27 MSC Small Arms (Company designees) March 16 April 20 May 18 March 20 April 24 May 22 Steward Upgrading Courses Lifeboatman March 9 June 8 March 20 June 19 Radar March 30 April 10 Radar Renewal April 20 April 20 Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman May 4 May 15 Tank Ship Familiarization/Assistant Cargo DL May 18 May 29 Tank PIC Barge DL May 11 May 15 General education and college courses are available as needed at the Paul Hall Center. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. The following opportunities are currently available: Adult Basic Education (ABE), English as a Second Language (ESL), a College Program and a Preparatory Course. When applying for preparatory courses, students should list the name of the course desired on upgrading application. An introduction to computers course, a self-study module, is also available. March 30 June 22 April 24 July 17 Online Distance Learning Courses Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations (BAPO) March 30 May 25 April 24 June 19 FOWT April 27 June 22 May 22 July 17 Junior Engineer March 9 May 1 Marine Electrician May 11 July 3 Marine Refrigeration Technician February 9 May 4 March 20 June 12 Machinist June 1 June 19 Engine Upgrading Courses Advanced Refrigerated Container UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes start every other Monday. The most recent class began February 23. Academic Department Courses Five new online “distance learning” (DL) courses now are available to students who plan to enroll in classes at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. The online courses are not mandatory, but they are structured to benefit students who eventually attend other classes at the Paul Hall Center, which is located in Piney Point, Md. The new online courses are: Communications, First Aid Preparation, Bloodborne Pathogens, Basic Culinary Skills, and Basic Math Refresher. Also available in the DL program are Hazardous Material Control and Management, Hearing Conservation, Respiratory Protection, Heat Stress Management, Environmental Awareness, Shipboard Pest Management, and Shipboard Water Sanitation (for a total of 12 courses). Students MUST have access to the internet with an e-mail address in order to take the foregoing classes. Each must be taken online, not at the Paul Hall Center. E-mail addresses should be provided on applications (printed neatly) when applying. Applicants should include the letters DL when listing any online course on the form below. With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twenty-five (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested, 1995 STCW Certificate, valid SHBP Clinic Card and TWIC. Street Address _________________________________________________________ City __________________________ State _______________ Zip Code ___________ Telephone _________________________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Date of Birth ______________________ Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____ Department ___________ E-mail ____________________________ U.S. Citizen: Yes No Home Port _____________________________ COURSE BEGIN DATE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Yes Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ March 2009 NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 3/09 Seafarers LOG 21 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:23 AM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class – Unlicensed apprentices from Class 712 recently completed requirements for graduation from the water survival course. Those completing the course (above, in alphabetical order) were: Tousif Ahmed, Monserrate Blas, Matthew Bryant, Timothy Bryant, Casmir Cain, Eric Cunanan, Johnathan Diaz, Sarrof Dognia, Tyler Egan, Ray Fugit, Timothy Hess, Jordache Hunter, Louis Hutchins, Patrick Leming, Rafael Leon, Marcus Logan, Tremain McCoy, William Philpot, Rosalind Sparrow, Jerald Salas, Jesus Sifuentes, Kenneth Stearns, William Waldemann and Clayton Walker. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Advanced Container Maintenance – individuals on Nov. 11 completed training in this course. Graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were Jess Cooper, Erik Nappier and Scott Spilman. Their instructor, Calvin Beal, is at far right. (Note: Not all are pictured.) 22 Seafarers LOG Unlicensed apprentices from Class 713 recently graduated from the water survival course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Bryan Alvarez, Roberto Borras Valencia, Latiffe Brooks, Derrick Clark, Kenneth Ennenga, Daniel Etchevers Vargas, Jeremy Farlow, Kelvin Fussell Jr., Michael Hernandez, Keith Jordan Jr., Patrick Kirkland, Jordan Lawhon, Adam Lloyd, Shane Meely, Matthew Mike, Aaron Riggs, Peter Roth and Justin Spadoni. Able Seaman – Sixteen upgraders on Dec. 5 completed this course. Those grad- The following individuals (above, in alphabetical order) on Dec. 5 graduated from this course: Ursel Barber, George Bieselin, Gregorio Blanco, Jess Cooper, James Demouy, Ron Embody, Robert Flesey, Gregory Johns and Dasril Panko. Their instructor, Calvin Beal, is standing second from left. Marine Refrigeration Technician – The following Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class – uating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Fermin Baltazar, Dennis Barbosa, Satchel Caffy, Sean Fitzgerald, Thomas Halliburton Jr., Shantaz Harper, Ryan Kinser, Glenn Lopez, David Pacheco, James Petite, William Redinger, Scott Rosseel, Amer Saleh, Leroy Sierra Ramos, Andrew Thompson III and Daron Tinney. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is at far right. Junior Engineer – The following mariners (above, in alphabetical order) on Oct. 24 graduated from this course: Ray Avie Jr., Steven Benavides Jr., James Cedeno, Eugene Davis Jr., Nicholas Dippel, Arlyn Fernandez, Oscar Garcia, Nicholas Gattuso, Adam Hansen, Latisha May-Christopher, Joshua McDaniel, Tomas Merel, Sandra Niegebauer, Pedro Santos, David Spaulding, Steven Torres, Mark Wertz and Edward Zimich. Jay Henderson, their instructor, is at far right. March 2009 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:24 AM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes Government Vessels – Ten upgraders completed this course Dec. 19. Those graduating (left, in alphabetical order) were: Fermin Baltazar, Araceli Brunson, Glenn Lopez, Rashaad Mangram, Sedell Mitchell, Karen Suzuki, Kareem Walters, Luchi Watson, Mary Whatley and Michele Woodley. Their instructor, Stan Beck, is at far right. Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. Welding – The following individuals (above, in alphabetical order) graduated from this course Dec. 19: Milton Carmichael, Michael Gaciala, John McKay, Peter Meglow, Arnel Rusurreccion, Mario Suazo, Donato Surrell and Ruben Toledo Jr. Their instructor, Buzzy Andrews, is fourth from left. Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman – The following Phase III apprentices (above, in alphabetical order) on Dec. 5 completed this course: Martin Baker, Reginald Berkes, Phillip Clemon, Jason Davis, Christopher Gonseth, Heather Hammons, Joshua Hansen, Kevin McCrea, Jarred Moylan, Tierria Noble, Robert Rothwell, Adam Sanders, Joshua Sanders, Ignacio Santos Aponte, Kenneth Summerford, Nelson Velez and Stephen Wood. Their instructor, Tom Truitt, is at left front, kneeling. Celestial Navigation – Seven individuals on Dec. 19 completed this 126hour course. The graduates (above, in alphabetical order) were Eugene Arcand, Patrick David, Jeffrey Jones, Mark Kane, David Nimmer, Michael Sherman and Gregory Smith. Stacey Harris, their instructor, is at far left. BST/STCW (Hawaii) – The following individuals (above, in no particular order) on Dec. 20 graduated from this course at the Seafarers Training Center at Barbers Point, Hawaii: Anthony Morris, Dayron Hawkins, Sara Washington, Rachael Ramos, Corey Nash, Michael Johnson, Nicholas Gatewood, Michael McClain, Raphael Holt, Darwin Rondon, Omar Tricoche, Kevin Reeves, Chrisler Blaise, Andrew Rathnow, Antwone Fentress, Casey Hermanson, Edwin Claudio, Austin Bjerke and Amy Lee BST/STCW (Hawaii) – The following individuals (photo at right, in no particular order) on Dec. 13 completed their training requirements in this course at the Seafarers Training Center at Barbers Point, Hawaii: Krista Kriewald, Jeremy Scott, Tamara Perrin, Brandi Abele, Jason McReynolds, Pedro Morales, Rhonda Ubl, Daniel Rippberger, James Carter, Leonardo Baker, Anthony Collins, Martine Braddy, Todd Tripp, Solomon Davis, Adam Dillon, Elyse Edwards and Pamela Chareun March 2009 Seafarers LOG 23 �53233_a:January 08 2/20/2009 4:24 AM Page 24 Volume 71, Number 3 March 2009 TWIC News And Reminders - Page 14 SIU VP Gulf Coast Dean Corgey addresses those in attendance during the inauguration event at the union hall in Houston. More than 300 Democrats and union members converged on the union hall to witness the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Gerald Birnberg, chairman of the Harris County Democratic Party addresses the audience. Port of Houston ‘Big Screens’ Historic Inauguration People all across the country—in a variety of personal and public settings—on Jan. 20 experienced with excitement and great expectation the historic inauguration of President Barack Obama, the nation’s 44th president and first African-American commander-in-chief. The atmosphere at the SIU’s union hall in Houston, Texas, on that date was no exception as a multi-racial group of more than 300 Democrats and union members gathered at the Pierce Street location to witness the momentous event. According to a report by The Houston Chronicle, the hall—decked out with the American Flag, folding tables covered in blue vinyl and two large TV screens—was designated as the “official” Democratic Party watch site in Houston. Former President Bill Clinton once campaigned in the hall during his 1992 run for the White House. While waiting for the inauguration events to commence in Washington, those in attendance listened attentively to several speakers—among them SIU VP Gulf Coast Dean Corgey—who collectively celebrated the coalition of Houston labor unions and the Democratic Party. In addition to Corgey, official members of the dais during the event included Gerald Birnberg, chairman, Harris County Democratic Party; County Attorney Vince Ryan; County Judge Jim Sharp and District Courts Judge Steven E. Kirkland. At 10:27 a.m.—some 38 minutes before President Obama took his oath of office— Birnberg asked those in attendance to stand and repeat the following pledge: “I do solemnly swear or affirm that I will faithfully execute the duties of the office of citizen of the United States and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States by participating actively, voting and doing what I can to keep the dream alive.” Bosun Francis Adams (left) and AB Earl Jones arrive at the hall to witness the inauguration. Recertified Steward Lou Johnson (seated in photo at left) grants an interview to a Houston reporter who covered the inauguration event at the union hal in Houston. In photo above, union members serve food to fellow mariners and guests who attended the event. More Happenings From the Port of Houston . . . The union hall in Houston, Texas, and the surrounding area are hubs of non-stop maritime activity. Clockwise from the right, Patrolman Michael Russo presents SA Ron Jones with his full book while Safety Director Jimmy White does the same for SA Rose Ward. Crew members from a union-contracted Seabulk Tug gather during an off-duty moment in Port Aurthur, Texas while AB Kenneth Bayle and Father Sinclair Oubre chat during the recent holiday event. Members serve food to guests who turned out for the annual holiday meal at the hall. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 March 2009 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES AKER PHILADELPHIA SHIPYARD DELIVERS TANKER OVERSEAS BOSTON ADMINISTRATION SHOWS SUPPORT FOR WORKING FAMILIES PRESIDENT SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDERS; VP CHAIRS MIDDLE CLASS TASK FORCE UNION MEMBERSHIP INCREASES PILOT ‘SULLY’ THANKS NY WATERWAY CREWS SEAFARERS QUICKLY RESCUED PASSENGERS FROM DOWNED FLIGHT 1549 SIU WINS USNS COMFORT ARBITRATION AFL-CIO PRESIDENT: NO FIX FOR ECONOMY WITHOUT REIGNING IN HEALTH CARE COSTS SENTATE CONFIRMS GOV. NAPOLITANO AS DHS SECRETARY NTSB ISSUES REPORT ON EMPRESS GROUNDING 5 MORE ‘DISTANCE LEARNING’ COURSES BECOME AVAILABLE PAUL HALL CENTER COURSE SPOTLIGHT NEW STUDY SAYS LAKES SHIPPING SAVES CUSTOMERS $3.6 BILLION SCHOOL GARNERS COUNTY AWARD FOR FOOD SAFETY STANDARDS UNION, SCHOOL TAKE CLOSER LOOK AT DOCUMENT RENEWAL PROCESS NMC TOUR, MEETING LEAD TO CONSTRUCTIVE DIALOGUE SEAFARERS APPEALS BOARD ACTION NUMBER 444 TRANSPORTATION WORKER IDENTIFICATION CREDENTIAL CARD EFFECTIVE APRIL 15, 2009 HOME AND ABROAD, UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES ARE DAUNTING CHAPEL MEMORIALIZES BOSUN’S FATHER, A WWII MARINER HORIZON SEAFARERS EARN RECOGNITION SIU-CREWED SHIP DELIVERS FOR ‘COBRA GOLD’ THOUSANDS RALLY FOR EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT PORT OF HOUSTON ‘BIG SCREENS’ HISTORIC INAUGURATION Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 03/01/2009 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. 71, No. 3 2009 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/375d28fa99de079b1c2a1e5740c04f7a.pdf 9bd1d6d425818e93f0cb106bf77b6eb0 PDF Text Text 52665_p01_24x:January 08 1/27/2009 2:08 AM Page 1 Volume 71, Number 2 February 2009 Heroes on the Hudson SIU NY Waterway Crews Rescue 143 from Downed Airplane When a US Airways jet crash-landed in the Hudson River, SIU-crewed NY Waterway ferries were first on the scene. Seven of the Seafarers-crewed boats rescued 143 of the 155 people from the downed aircraft, including the pilot. The remaining dozen individuals from the plane also were saved in the Jan. 15 incident that quickly became known as the “miracle on the Hudson.” The top photo shows the ferry Thomas Jefferson, which reached the plane less than two minutes after impact. In the inset, additional NY Waterway boats arrive. Pages 2, 5. AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews AP Photo/Steven Day Tanker Golden State Delivered Union, School Participate In Historic Inaugural Activities The double-hulled tanker Golden State (pictured during sea trials in December, on the West Coast) has joined the Seafarers-contracted fleet following its delivery last month in San Diego. Page 3. Holidays with Seafarers As 2008 gave way to the New Year, SIU members got into the holiday spirit at sea and ashore. Pictured at right are GVA Vilma Martin (left) and SA Elizabeth Ibanez at the holiday feast which took place at the union hall in Norfolk, Va. Additional photos from that event and others and from holiday meals aboard ship appear on pages 9-11. The SIU and its affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education shared in the history-making inauguration of President Obama by participating in the parade Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C. Unlicensed Apprentices (above, from left) Carlos Davila, Brandy Baker and Brandon Braam were part of organized labor’s contingent, as was Baltimore Port Agent Elizabeth Brown. Page 2. SIU Election Results Tax Tips for Mariners SHBP Scholarship Reminder Page 16 Pages 12-13 Page 3 �52665_p01_24x:January 08 1/27/2009 2:12 AM Page 2 President’s Repor t Ferry Crews to the Rescue, Again The words “crash-landing” and “happy ending” don’t often fit together in the same story. But, as millions of people around the world know, that was the case Jan. 15 as SIU-crewed NY Waterway ferries rescued 143 people from a downed airplane in the Hudson River. The other 12 individuals from the plane also were saved, which made for a most improbable celebratory mood not only in New York and New Jersey but truly all across the nation. I speak for Seafarers and SIU officials everywhere when I say to the NY Michael Sacco Waterway crews, you have done your union and your profession proud. As you’ve done so many times before, you answered the call – quickly, efficiently, selflessly. I read all the quotes and I know you’re uncomfortable being called heroes. Sorry, brothers and sisters, but that’s the correct description. You earned the recognition. You deserve the praise. Of course, this is hardly the first time our ferry crews with NY Waterway have come through in the clutch. Many people remember their brave work on September 11, 2001, when they handled a horribly difficult job with tremendous resolve, evacuating stranded workers from Manhattan. Perhaps less familiar, but also noteworthy, was the time when crew members transported 200,000 commuters from New York City back in August 2003 following the largest power outage in our nation’s history. They also “turned to” after the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, providing vital transportation when other modes had been disrupted. Over the years, there are literally more than 100 other examples of NY Waterway Seafarers transporting or rescuing others in emergencies. The details vary but some things don’t change. Namely, the characteristics displayed by the SIU captains and deckhands. Courage. Commitment. Skill. Perseverance. Patriotism. More than mere words, those are their defining traits. Once again, I commend all of our members involved in last month’s rescue operations. Hats off to the company personnel, too. But before this story fades too far into history, another point should be made. You wouldn’t know it from watching TV or reading news accounts, but virtually everyone involved in the rescue belonged to a union. I’m not just talking about the ferry crews, but also the airplane pilot, flight attendants, air traffic controllers, police officers, fire fighters and mariners from other boats. All played a role in pulling off the “miracle on the Hudson.” It’s no coincidence that the respective unions, including the SIU and our affiliated Paul Hall Center, help ensure that members receive regular, comprehensive safety and job training. Obviously, that doesn’t mean union members are the only people who could have handled this rescue. However, while portions of corporate America demonize us in the fight over majority signup legislation (the Employee Free Choice Act), I hope the public in general takes note of what so-called “big labor” really is all about. It was evident from the moment the US Airways jet hit the water. America needs more people and more organizations like that, not less. And unions – promoting safety and security, providing workers with a real voice on the job, fostering productive relationships with management – help deliver them. We’re the only ones who will tell that story. Failing to do so would dishonor everyone who brought us the miracle on the Hudson. Volume 71, Number 2 SIU Joins in Obama Inauguration Seafarers were in the ranks of the nearly 300-person ensemble from America’s labor unions who on Jan. 20 participated in the official inaugural parade for Barack Obama, the nation’s 44th president and first African American commander-in-chief. In what was arguably one of the most significant events in America’s still young history, Baltimore Port Agent Elizabeth Brown and three trainees – Brandon Braam, Brandy Baker and Carlos Davila – from the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., braved bonechilling temperatures to display the union colors as Obama took the oath as President of the United States. Brown, Braam, Baker and Davila joined a large contingent of union members from the AFLCIO, Change to Win and the National Education Foundation who marched and led the way for the inaugural parade’s lone proworker float. The float’s theme was “Honoring America’s Workers.” The delegation of marchers carried a banner containing the slogan “America’s Workers: United for Change” along with flags representing the issues most important to working families: an Economy that Works for All, Great Public Schools, Good Jobs Green Jobs, and Health Care for All. “It was overwhelming to have been a part of such a historic event,” said Brown. “Everything was absolutely breathtaking. “I was especially impressed with how well organized the entire event was,” Brown continued. “Even though thousands and thousands of people were Baltimore Port Agent Elizabeth Brown (far right) and Trainees (left to right) Carlos Davila, Brandon Braam and Brandy Baker represented the SIU during the Jan. 20 inauguration of the nation’s 44th President, Barack Obama. involved in the parade, the entire affair went off without a glitch. Organizers, including the AFLCIO, and those in charge of security did a masterful job of putting everything together. “Although the weather was very cold, and we stayed outside in the elements for a long time, it all went away when we marched past President Obama’s reviewing stand,” Brown concluded. “We came so close to the president that we could actually look into his eyes…. It was absolutely wonderful and I loved being a part of it.” Braam echoed Brown’ sentiment, noting, “It was a long day, but well worth my while. I got to within about 50 or so feet of President Obama and I can’t tell you how exciting that was. ” Besides being that close to our nation’s commander-in-chief, the other thing that marked the event to Braam was the crowds. “I was truly amazed at the sea of people who were there,” he said. “They were standing shoulder to shoulder by the tens of thousands. It was like nothing I had ever seen.” In addition to Seafarers and other union members who participated in the parade, thousands of America’s other working men and women, members of the armed forces, law enforcement officials and a vast assortment of bands and marching units participated in the historic inauguration. An estimated 2 million spectators turned out for the event. Caponiti Assumes Post of Acting Maritime Administrator Solis, LaHood Named to Cabinet President Barack Obama recently designated nominees to head three U.S. departments of particular interest to Seafarers – Labor, Transportation and Defense. For the Department of Labor, President Obama chose U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) as his designate. Solis, who has a nearly 100 percent positive rating from the AFL-CIO, has promised to focus on issues confronting American workers during a time of economic instability and globalization, most notably worker retraining and safety. She was a tireless advocate for an increase in the minimum wage and strongly supports the Employee Free Choice Act. “We’re confident that she will return to the Labor Department one of its core missions—to defend workers’ basic rights in our nation’s workplaces,” said AFLCIO President John Sweeney. “She’s proven to be a passionate leader and advocate for all working families.” In two other picks of importance to maritime workers, Obama tapped retiring U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood (DIll.) to be Transportation Secretary and asked Bob Gates to continue on as head of the Pentagon. Both appointments fulfill Obama’s promise to work across the aisle to have a diverse cabinet. Gates is a registered Independent while LaHood is known as a moderate conservative with a long history of bipartisanship. During Gates’ tenure, maritime unions and shipping companies have continued their close working relationship with the Department of Defense to ensure the timely and reliable movement of goods to overseas crises areas. The Department of Transportation is expected to play an important role in the next administration, as the newly elected president and congressional leaders meet to devise an economic stimulus plan to deal with the growing recession and financial crisis. Infrastructure development is being touted as a means of stimulating the U.S. economy and minimizing the loss of U.S. jobs. With the start of the new administration on Jan. 20, Sean Connaughton’s tenure as head of the U.S. Maritime Administration (part of the Transportation Department) ended. At that time, James E. Caponiti, the agency’s assistant administrator, became acting maritime administrator. Caponiti is a member of the federal government’s Senior Executive Service. He was named assistant administrator in May 2008. Previously, he served as the agency’s associate administrator for national security. Transportation Department Secretary-designee Ray LaHood publicly accepts his nomination by President Obama. Rep. Hilda Solis has a strong record of supporting workers’ rights. February 2009 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFLCIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2009 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD. All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG James Caponiti is the acting head of the U.S. Maritime Administration. February 2009 �52665_p01_24:January 08 1/26/2009 7:19 AM Page 3 Committee Announces SIU Election Results Michael Sacco is Reelected Union President A committee of rank-and-file SIU members recently released its official report on the voting for national officers of the Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU. Voting took place Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2008. The union’s tallying committee consisted of 20 Seafarers (two members elected from each of the SIU’s 10 constitutional halls). The group certified the reelection of Michael Sacco as president of the SIU; election of Augie Tellez as the union’s executive vice president; reelection of David Heindel as secretarytreasurer; and election of George Tricker as vice president of contracts and contract enforcement, among other results. The tallying committee’s report will be submitted for approval by the membership at union meetings in March. Additionally, the committee reported that the proposed constitutional amendment was approved by a landslide. The amendment concerns the per diem for members who serve on union finance, credentials, tallying and constitutional committees. According to the report, each of the four contested races for office was decided by a large margin. The committee disclosed the election of the following officers, who will serve four-year terms: ■ Michael Sacco, president; ■ Augie Tellez, executive vice president; ■ David Heindel, secretary-treasurer ■ George Tricker, contracts and contract enforcement vice president; ■ Joseph Soresi, Atlantic Coast vice president; ■ Dean Corgey, Gulf Coast vice president; ■ Nick Marrone, West Coast vice president; ■ Tom Orzechowski, Southern Region, Great Lakes and inland waters vice president; ■ Kermett Mangram, Government Services and fishing industries vice president; ■ Archie Ware, assistant vice president in charge of contracts and contract enforcement; ■ Nick Celona, assistant vice president in charge of the Atlantic Coast; ■ Ambrose Cucinotta, assistant vice president in charge of the Gulf Coast; ■ Bryan Powell, assistant vice president in charge of the West Coast; ■ Jim McGee, assistant vice president in charge of the Southern Region, Great Lakes and inland waters; ■ Chester Wheeler, assistant vice president in charge of Government Services and fishing industries; ■ Pat Vandegrift, Piney Point port agent; ■ Robert Selzer, New York port agent; ■ Joe Baselice, Philadelphia port agent; ■ Georg Kenny, Baltimore port agent; ■ Thornton Elliot, Mobile port agent; ■ Chris Westbrook, New Orleans port agent; ■ Kenneth Moore, Houston port agent; ■ Tracey Mayhew, Oakland port agent; ■ Becky Sleeper, St. Louis port agent; ■ Todd Brdak, Algonac port agent. The committee met during the week of Jan. 5 at the union’s headquarters in Camp Springs, Md. “Everyone pitched in and worked hard,” noted John Cain, committee chairman. “The entire committee has been outstanding. All the ports they came from should be proud, because they’re all top-notch.” Co-Chair Louella Sproul added, “Everybody worked as a team and did an Committee members, employees from the secretary-treasurer’s office and officials (Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel, right, and Asst. VP Ambrose Cucinotta, left) are pictured last month at headquarters. Tanker Golden State Delivered The union last month welcomed new tonnage into its contracted fleet as the double-hulled tanker Golden State was delivered to U.S. Shipping Partners. A ceremony took place Jan. 10 at the NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, where SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez and SIU Vice President West Coast Nick Marrone represented the union. Construction of the 600-foot vessel began in August 2007. The 49,000 DWT ship has a cargo The Golden State sails during sea trials late last year. SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez (right) is greeted by NASSCO President Fred Harris. February 2009 excellent job. This is truly the best group I’ve ever seen.” Serving on the committee were Glenn Williams and Brandon Maeda from Piney Point, Michael Keogh and James Darden from Algonac, Nelson Poe and Gerard Costello from Baltimore, Rafael Pereira and Cain from Houston, Michael Congress and Marshall Turner Jr. from Mobile, Joseph Birke and Jack McElveen from New Orleans, Terry Mouton and Raymond Henderson from New York, Roger Reinke and Sproul from Oakland, Michael Kirby and John Haller from Philadelphia, and David Stavron and Michael Sanders Jr. from St. Louis. “The members of the union tallying committee wish to congratulate the elected officers and jobholders,” the group said in its report. “We extend our best wishes for the next four years. We hope that you will carry on the tradition of our union and advance the strength of the maritime industry.” capacity of approximately 331,000 barrels and is expected to carry petroleum and chemical products between U.S. ports. It is named in honor of the State of California. Fred Harris, president of NASSCO and a former union mariner, noted that the tanker was completed six months ahead of schedule, under budget, “while simultaneously meeting or exceeding all quality requirements. The completeness and superb material condition of this first-of-class ship reflects an outstanding start to the product carrier program at NASSCO.” The yard is under contract to build a total of nine product carriers, including the Golden State. In fact, on Jan. 9, NASSCO began construction of the fourth ship in the series, which will be named Empire State in honor of the State of New York. That vessel is slated for delivery to U.S. Shipping Partners in the first quarter of 2010. On the opposite coast, Aker Philadelphia Shipyard was scheduled to deliver another SIUcontracted tanker at press time. Details will be published in the next issue of the LOG and also should be available at www.seafarers.org. SIU VP West Coast Nick Marrone helps represent the union at the ceremony. U.S. Employment Data Grim A quick snapshot of the job market and the economy at the end of 2008 showed 2.6 million Americans were unemployed, according to the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The department reported the unemployment rate jumped to 7.2 percent in December, a 16-year high. In December alone, employers cut a total of 524,000 jobs as businesses reduced manpower and closed their doors. A number of proposals to help American workers are being discussed. Early in the presidential campaign, then-Sen. Barack Obama proposed stimulus packages for various industries (in addition to noting his commitment to support the U.S. maritime industry). Moreover, the AFL-CIO is also calling for economic stimulus packages aimed at boosting American jobs. Federation President John Sweeney said, “Congress should pass a stimulus that will help working people along with any effort to boost Wall Street.” The AFL-CIO and its Maritime Trades Department (MTD), to which the SIU is affiliated, stood with President Obama calling for a stimulus to improve the nation’s transportation infrastructure and also has called for action to help ensure the continued viability of the U.S. shipping industry and the American mariners it employs. One step Congress has taken to stress the importance of maritime was when a bipartisan coalition of 17 senators and more than 40 members of the House of Representatives sent letters to their colleagues in December calling for the U.S. government to pursue policies that support American shipbuilding. (See story on page 20.) Additionally, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and maritime supporter Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) publicly called on Congress to support short sea shipping, or America’s “marine highway” as part of any transportation funding or stimulus. He agreed with the bipartisan coalition on the importance of backing the shipbuilding industry in part through Title XI funding to provide low-cost loans during this time of shrinking credit availability. According to the MTD, support of these programs has the “potential of generating new jobs for unionized workers, as long as the integrity of U.S. cabotage laws like the Jones Act is respected.” Seafarers LOG 3 �52665_p01_24x:January 08 1/27/2009 2:14 AM Page 4 Pacific Collector Helps Intercept Missile During Drill SIU members aboard the M/V Pacific Collector recently helped the nation boost and refine its capabilities to protect itself from a ballistic missile attack. Operated by Interocean American Shipping for the U.S. Maritime Administration, the Pacific Collector is a telemetry ship that carries special equipment to help track progress of tests such as the one it completed in early December. On that occasion, crew members manned the vessel as U.S. Department of Defense Missile Defense Agency (MDA) personnel tracked the missile and collected data through the use of telemetry dishes. The missile being tracked—a long range ballastic—was fired from Fort Greeley, Kodiak, Alaska. It was successfully intercepted by a ground-based interceptor missile launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Chief Mate Stephen Barry, an SIU hawsepiper, stated, “Once again the SIU rose to the challenge and acted like the professionals that they are. The crew did a great job getting the ship cleaned up and under way. She’s a good feeder as well.” Barry, a graduate of trainee class 407, also noted he wasn’t the only officer aboard the Pacific Collector who came up through the SIU. Captain Ray Baldado (trainee class 254), 2nd Assistant Engineer Paul Maitoza (class 476) and 2nd Mate Robbie Whytock all sailed as Seafarers prior to earning their respective licenses. According to the Missile Defense Agency, the event marked the 37th time the DOD joint defense program has successfully intercepted ballistic missiles during tests. In a news release, the agency reported that the exercise results “will help to further refine the performance of numerous Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) elements able to provide a defense against the type of long-range ballistic missile that could be used to attack the nation with a weapon of mass destruction.” The Pacific Collector is 393 feet in length and has a beam of 54 feet. The Pacific Collector helps track missiles during an interceptor test. Chief Cook J.J. Mauricio fires up ribs on the grill. Members of the deck department (left to right): CM Stephen Barry, AB Qasem Saeed, 2/M Robbie Whytock, OS Santos Olivera, Capt. Ray Baldado, AB Donald McCants, AB Mark Halberg, AB John Mossbarger and Bosun Jerry Gonzaga (kneeling) Members of the engine department (left to right): OMU Daniel McFarland, QMED Davon Brown, Wiper Essam “Sam” Hussein, OMU Brandon Tanton, Electrician Brett Clark Marine Cooks & Stewards Organizer ‘Val’ Villalta Passed Away at 84 Val Villalta helped organize the Marine Cooks & Stewards, a union that eventually merged into the SIU. 4 Seafarers LOG AB Donald McCants and OS Santos Olivera pull lines. Venicio “Val” Villalta, a key organizer of the Marine Cooks & Stewards (MC&S) in the early 1950s who later oversaw that union’s training school, died Dec. 15 at his home in Calistoga, Calif. He was 84. The MC&S, founded on the West Coast, became affiliated with the Seafarers International Union of North America in 1953. In 1978, MC&S members voted to merge into the SIU’s Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District – marking the first time East Coast and West Coast shipboard jurisdiction had been united. “I met Val when we were sailing on the President Cleveland, organizing,” recalled Peter Bianchi, an SIU retiree The interceptor missile is fired from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. Members of the steward department (left to right): Chief Cook Juanito “J.J.” Mauricio, Cook/Baker Albert Hermoso, SA Willie Frink, SA Florante “Dante” Labtingao, SA Amin Aaleh, SA Mathew Hays, Recertified Steward Allan Bright, SA Patricia Johansen and SA Thomas Curley (kneeling) who also served as a vice president of American Hawaii Cruises later in his career. “He was instrumental in pulling that ship (among others) to the MC&S. Val was a special person and was very well-liked and very dedicated. I knew him quite well – he was the best man at my wedding.” Villalta was a native of International Falls, Minn. He moved to San Francisco with his family in 1930. He served in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. After the war, following a brief shore-side stint, he began his career as a mariner – initially with Matson, then with American President Lines (APL). According to a family member, Villalta sailed on every APL passenger ship, including 14 around-the-world voyages. He met his wife-to-be in 1961 while both were sailing on the President Hoover – he as chief steward, she as a passenger. In 1967, Villalta accepted a job as the administrator for the MC&S training center in Santa Rosa, Calif., where he reported to MC&S President Ed Turner (who later became executive vice president of the SIU). He left that post in 1977 but a year later established a maritime labor Job Corps training program on Treasure Island in San Francisco, where he remained as director until retiring in 1989. One remembrance described Villalta as energetic and “very generous with his (culinary) talents by volunteering for numerous fund-raising events. Throughout the years, Val and his students were very visible as they catered political and union functions around the San Francisco Bay area.” Survivors include his wife of 46 years, Jay; three daughters, a son, three grandchildren, and two sisters. A memorial service took place Dec. 29 in Calistoga. February 2009 �52665_p01_24:January 08 1/26/2009 7:19 AM Page 5 The SIU-crewed Thomas Jefferson (center) rescues people from the downed airplane in the Hudson River as additional boats arrive. AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews NY Waterway Crews Rescue Passengers from Downed Plane SIU Members Vital to ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ Mariners sailing aboard SIU-contracted NY Waterway ferries have performed more than 100 rescues since the company’s founding in 1986. In terms of uniqueness and elation, they may never top the one they executed last month on the Hudson River. The SIU-crewed ferry Thomas Jefferson on Jan. 15 was the first boat on the scene after a US Airways Airbus A320 crash-landed on the river. In the moments that followed, the Thomas Jefferson and six other Seafarerscrewed NY Waterway boats pulled 143 of the 155 people from the downed aircraft to safety, including the pilot. The other 12 individuals from the plane were secured by other rescuers. A total of 14 NY Waterway vessels mobilized for the operation, which happened in frigid afternoon waters. The dramatic story quickly became known as the “miracle on the Hudson,” and it generated worldwide news coverage. Several SIU members were interviewed by prominent television stations and newspapers. They consistently downplayed any notion that their efforts were heroic, but New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (DN.J.), NY Waterway officials, and passengers from both the airplane and the boats showered the mariners with praise, as did others. “Millions of Americans across the country are saluting the bravery and courage they [demonstrated],” said Lautenberg. (See SIU President Michael Sacco’s column on page 2 for related commentary.) Seafarers (and NY Waterway boats) involved in the rescue included the following: From the Thomas Jefferson, Capt. Vincent Lombardi and Deckhands Hector Rabanes and Wilfredo Rivera. They rescued 56 people from the plane. From the Yogi Berra, Captain Vince Lucante and Captain Michael Starr. They rescued 24 including an infant and another child. From the Athena, Captain Carl Lucas and Deckhands Luis Salerno and Danny Convery. They rescued 19 including the pilot. From the Moira Smith, Captain Manny Liba and Deckhands Natale Binetti and Gulio Farnese. They rescued 14. From the Thomas Kean, Captain Britanny Catanzaro and Deckhands Osman Berete and Cosmo Mezzina. They rescued 26. From the Admiral Richard Bennis, Captain John Winarski and Deckhand Frank Illuzi. They rescued three. From the George Washington, Captain Mohamed Gouda and Deckhands Jose Torres, Pepe Carumba and Gregorio Pages. They rescued one. Seafarers aboard NY Waterway vessels transport tens of thousands of passengers each day, most of them commuters. The crews perhaps had been best known for their indisputably heroic roles in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when they evacuated upwards of 160,000 people from Manhattan. A few of the NY Waterway boats operated into the predawn hours of the next day, providing help for emergency crews. Several SIU members ‘The Training Prevailed’ The SIU ferry captain whose boat was the first to arrive after US Airways Flight 1549 crash-landed in the Hudson River said regular safety training and drills played a big part in the ensuing rescue. Seafarer Vincent Lombardi, one of many NY Waterway boatmen who have completed safety classes as the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education (located in Piney Point, Md.), pointed out that crews routinely practice for emergencies aboard the ferries. “We do man-overboard drills, fire drills and abandon-ship drills,” Lombardi stated. “Since 9/11, we also do security drills, plus others. Each captain runs his crew through all of those drills once a month.” The Seafarers’ collective prompt, efficient, composed response reflected preparation, noted Lombardi and others who were interviewed afterward. Altogether, 14 SIU-crewed NY Waterway ferries were engaged in the operation. Seven pulled aboard personnel from the aircraft. “The training prevailed,” Lombardi said. “All the training showed because my guys remained calm.” February 2009 rescued people who had fallen from piers into the water, most likely because of terrible visibility. Currently, the company operates approximately 25 ferries. The 120 or so Seafarers employed by NY Waterway are covered by a three-year contract which was ratified in the spring of 2008. Many of them have completed safety training at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, which is located in Piney Point, Md. Participants and witnesses from last month’s rescue described a surreal happiness. Not only were all personnel saved from the plane, only one serious injury was reported. A female passenger from the jet reportedly suffered broken legs. The incident is under investigation, but early indications were that a flock of birds struck the airplane (Flight 1549), thereby disabling the engines. The pilot quickly decided to set the plane (originally headed from New York’s LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte, N.C.) down in the Hudson. His plan worked, but experts noted that because of the cold water, passengers wouldn’t have survived for long without virtually immediate assistance. Cue the Thomas Jefferson and Seafarer Lombardi, who at first thought the partially submerged plane was an odd-looking boat. After a second look and a message received on marine radio, he realized what had happened. “We hit the throttles, got the man-overboard equipment ready and let the (ferry) passengers know what was happening,” Lombardi told the Seafarers LOG. “We got there in about 90 seconds. The equipment was deployed and ready.” A six-year SIU member who in 2003 completed safety training at the Paul Hall Center, Lombardi said he battled the current while giving first priority to the airplane passengers who were partially submerged. Asked how he remained calm, Lombardi cited the regular safety drills completed by NY Waterway personnel along with “faith. It was a challenge with that current, but I knew people’s lives depended on what we did. More than anything else, I can’t credit my crew enough. They were unreal the way they handled it.” (See sidebar, this page.) Many additional ferries and rescue vessels reached the plane within the next 10 minutes. The head of the public safety department for the city of Weehawken, N.J., told reporters that emergency medical service workers, fire fighters and police officers boarded NY Waterway boats in Weehawken immediately following the airplane’s emergency landing. NY Waterway has a terminal at West 39th Street in Manhattan, a few blocks from where the plane crashed near West 48th Street. Lucante told an Associated Press reporter that after he and Starr had assisted airplane passengers to the Yogi Berra, they went one figurative step further. “We wound up giving them our coats and our hats,” Lucante said. “We were down to our T-shirts by the time we got back.” Catanzaro, recently featured in the New York Times because she is the first female captain at NY Waterway, typified the modesty of the mariners when she told the Jersey Journal, “I don’t consider myself a hero. It’s my job. We train for it.” New York Times Backs Employee Free Choice Act The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) picked up more support late last year when the New York Times published an editorial in favor of the bill. The EFCA would give workers the freedom to make their own choice about whether to have a union in their workplace without interference from management. In the Dec. 26 editorial, the Times left no doubt about where they stand on the bill. “Corporate America is determined to derail the bill, which would make it easier than it has been for workers to form unions by requiring that employers recognize a union if a majority of employees at a workplace sign cards indicating they wish to organize,” the newspaper noted. “The measure is vital legislation and should not be postponed. Even modest increases in the share of the unionized labor force push wages upward, because non-union workplaces must keep up with unionized ones that collectively bargain for increases. By giving employees a bigger say in compensation issues, unions also help to establish corporate norms, the absence of which has contributed to unjustifiable disparities between executive pay and rank-and-file pay.” The editorial continued, “The argument against unions — that they unduly burden employers with unreasonable demands — is one that corporate America makes in good times and bad, so the recession by itself is not an excuse to avoid pushing the bill next year (meaning 2009). The real issue is whether enhanced unionizing would worsen the recession, and there is no evidence that it would. “There is a strong argument that the slack labor market of a recession actually makes unions all the more important. Without a united front, workers will have even less bargaining power in the recession than they had during the growth years of this decade, when they largely failed to get raises even as productivity and profits soared. If pay continues to lag, it will only prolong the downturn by inhibiting spending.” Millions of Americans, including SIU members, support the EFCA via polls, letter-writing, and other campaigns. In fact, more than a million Americans called for the act’s passage in a postcard campaign conducted by the AFL-CIO and other affiliated unions such as the SIU. The act has such wide support that President Barack Obama was a co-sponsor of it and new Labor Secretary Hilda Solis was a supporter when she was a member of Congress. EFCA passage was on its way in Congress in 2007 but ran into a legislative filibuster in the Senate. Since that time, the future passage of the act has been vehemently debated publicly. Even though recent Gallup and Harris Research Associates Inc. polls and studies showed that as many as 87 percent of Americans support the EFCA, megacorporate interests have invested millions staging campaigns against it. In fact, these special interests support publications and web sites targeting and spreading misinformation about the act to scare lawmakers and workers, despite the desires of the same citizens whose taxes are bailing out many of their businesses. Comprehensive information about the bill is available on the web at http://www.freechoiceact.org/ Seafarers LOG 5 �52665_p01_24:January 08 1/26/2009 7:19 AM Page 6 U.S. Mariners Need to Obtain Mandated TWIC by April 15 Seafarers who haven’t applied for the government-mandated Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) had better hurry. The deadline for U.S. mariners to obtain their TWIC in order to have unescorted access to ships and other secure facilities in port is April 15, 2009. Step-by-step instructions have been published in past editions of the Seafarers LOG and are available on the web both at www.seafarers.org and at the Transportation Security Administration’s TWIC web site, www.tsa.gov/twic. Seafarers also are asked to occasionally TWIC Enrollment Centers The following is a list of addresses for Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) enrollment centers as of early January, as published by the Transportation Security Administration at the following web address: http://www.tsa.gov/twic. Hours of operation vary – check the web site or call 1866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-347-8942) for information on specific locations. Alabama Tennessee Valley Training Center Suite 105 115 Woodall Road Decatur, AL 35601 250 North Water Street Mobile, AL 36602-4000 Alaska 619 E Ship Creek Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 Florida 955 Talleyrand Ave. Jacksonville, FL 32206 Building 12 1900 Bendixsen Street Samoa, CA 95564 Habana Plaza (Rear) 3125 Riviera Dr Key West, FL 33040 Suite 500 301 E. Ocean Blvd. Long Beach, CA 90802 975 N America Way Miami, FL 33132 Suite B 1001 New Dock St. San Pedro, CA 90731 Oakland Maritime Support Services (OMSS) 11 Burma Rd. Oakland, CA 94607 Suite 104 1830 Embarcadero Ave. Oakland, CA 94606 2000 Marina Vista Dr. Martinez, CA 94553 1251 N. Rice Ave. Oxnard, CA 93030 Suite 300 13201 San Pablo Ave. Richmond, CA 94806 1401 Halyard Drive West Sacramento, CA 95691 Suite 202 3200 Hospital Drive Juneau, AK 99801 Suite 103 1025 W Laurel St. San Diego, CA 92101 KPD Shelikof Facility 405 Marine Way Kodiak, AK 99615 Suite 202 500 Sansome Street San Francisco, CA 94111 50097 Kenai Spur Nikiski, AK 99635 17 Fyffe St. Stockton, CA 95203 223 Harbor Way Petersburg, AK 99833 White Pass & Yukon Railroad 231 Second Ave. Skagway, AK 99840-0435 Suites 119, 120 5323 W. Hwy 98 Panama City, FL 32401 Suites 117/118 707 Mullet Rd. Port Canaveral, FL 32920 Port Everglades Badging Office 1030 Taylor Rd. Dania Beach, FL 33004 Manatee County Port Authority 13604 Reeder Road Palmetto, FL 34221 2604 E. 7th Ave. Tampa, FL 33605 Georgia Suite 402 777 Gloucester St. Brunswick, GA 31520 5214 Augusta Rd. Garden City, GA 31408 Illinois Dixon Building Suite 206 8741 South Greenwood Chicago, IL 60619 Three Rivers Safety Council Suite TWIC 1615 W. Jefferson St. Joliet, IL 60435 2914 W. Willow Knolls Dr. Peoria, IL 61614 Suite 153 1635 1st St. Granite City, IL 62040 Indiana 4849 University Drive Evansville, IN 47712 Suite 110 200 Russell St. Hammond, IN 46320 Suite 37C 3602 Northgate Court New Albany, IN 47150 Kansas Commerce Plaza 1 - 7th Floor 7300 West 110th Street Overland Park, KS 66210 Kentucky 322 Harrison Ave. Paducah, KY 42001 Louisiana Safety Council Building 7645 South Highway 1 Addis, LA 70710 Safety Council for Louisiana Capital Area 8180 Siegen Ln. Baton Rouge, LA 70810 Terminal Island 1001 New Dock St. San Pedro, CA 90731 Hawaii Hilo Hawaiian Hotel 71 Banyan Dr. Hilo, HI 96720 Courtyard by Marriott - Baton Rouge Siegen Lane 10307 North Mall Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70809 Connecticut Unit 2A 300 Long Beach Blvd. Stratford, CT 06615 Suite 204 1347 Kapiolani Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96814 175 North Main St. Branford, CT 06405 Suite 106 291 Hookahi St. Wailuku, HI 96793 75 Crystal Ave. New London, CT 06320 Wrangell Harbor Office Shakes Street Wrangell, AK 99929 Delaware 102 Quigley Boulevard New Castle, DE 19720 Seafarers LOG Suite 303 2051 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Riviera Beach, FL 33404 The TWIC program was spurred by the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) of 2002. The front of the credential is pictured above. Guam Jose D. Leon Guerrero Commercial Port 1026 Cabras Highway, Boardroom Piti, GU 96915 501 E Bremner St. Valdez, AK 99686 Arkansas 2005 E 17th Street Little Rock, AR 72202 been phased in at additional ports since that time. The last ports scheduled to start enforcement (on April 14) are Guam; Houston, Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas; Los Angeles/Long Beach; and San Juan, P.R. For mariners, a valid z-card/merchant mariner document (MMD) is considered as meeting the TWIC program requirements until April 15. (That is not the case for some other workers.) As of early January, according to a report circulated by the U.S. Maritime Administration, nearly 580,000 TWIC cards have been activated. California 2050 Park Road Benicia, CA 94510 Native Village of Eyak 110 Nicholoff Way Cordova, AK 99574 Harrigan Centennial Hall 330 Harbor Drive Sitka, AK 99835 6 visit the SIU web site and/or check with their port agents for the latest TWIC news. The Transportation Security Administration TWIC web site includes a link where individuals may check the status of their card and/or schedule a time to pick it up. The toll-free phone number for the TSA’s TWIC help desk is 1-866-DHSTWIC (1-866-347-8942). The agency may be contacted by email at credentialing@dhs.gov. Program enforcement began in October 2008 at certain ports and has 1 Hausel Rd. Port of Wilmington Wilmington, DE 19801 Suite 111 2970 Kele St. Lihue, HI 96766 Kona Coast The Charter Desk at Honokohau Marina 74-381 Kealakehe Parkway Kailua Kona, HI 96740 Suite 550 1340 W. Tunnel Blvd. Houma, LA 70360 408 Jeanne St. Lafayette, LA 70506 3204 A Gerstner Memorial Dr. Lake Charles, LA 70601 800 Youngs Rd Morgan City, LA 70380 Suite 104 170 East James Drive St. Rose, LA 70087 Continued on next page February 2009 �52665_p01_24:January 08 1/26/2009 7:19 AM Continued from Page 6 Port Fourchon Harbor Police 108 A.O. Rappelet Rd. Port Fourchon, LA 70357 LaPlace Shopping Center 1933 West Airline Hwy. LaPlace, LA 70068 Maine 163 Hildreth Street North Bangor, ME 04401 Suite 12 236 Oxford Street Portland, ME 04101 Maryland Suite 220 2200 Broening Hwy Baltimore, MD 21224 Suite 2106 3225 Old Washington Rd. Waldorf, MD 20602 Suite 204C 212 W. Main St. Salisbury, MD 21801 Massachusetts Boston Autoport 100 Terminal Street Charlestown, MA 02129 Unit 5 300 Tremont St. Carver, MA 02330 Best Western Providence - Seekonk Inn 45 Mink Street Seekonk, MA 02771 Michigan Suite 101 115 N. First Ave. Alpena, MI 49707 863 North Pine Road Essexville, MI 48732 Suite 1 200 W. Erie Street Rogers City, MI 49779 Best Western 21700 West Rd. Woodhaven, MI 48183 Suite 1 906 Ludington St. Escanaba, MI 49829 430 S. Water Street Marine City, MI 48039 Old City Hall Bldg 220 Suite 120 W Washington St. Marquette, MI 49855 Suite 122 800 East Ellis Road Norton Shores, MI 49441 AmericInn of Silver City 120 Lincoln Ave. Ontonagon, MI 49953 511 Ashmun St. Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783 396 N. State Street St. Ignace, MI 49781 Suite 105 1020 Hastings Street Traverse City, MI 49686 Minnesota 1310 Port Terminal Road Duluth-Superior, MN 55802 Holiday Inn 1500 Hwy 71 International Falls, MN 56649 February 2009 Page 7 Room B006 34 13th Ave., NE Minneapolis, MN 55413 Suite D, Office B 401 Broadway Ave. Lorain, OH 44052 Suite 100 1717 Turning Basin Houston, TX 77029 Suite 104 2161 University Ave. St. Paul, MN 55114 Suite 102 444 W. Perkins Ave. Sandusky, OH 44870 621 W Main Street La Porte, TX 77571 Mississippi Delta Plaza Mall, Suite B19 800 Highway 1 South Greenville, MS 38703 One Maritime Plaza 720 Water St. Toledo, OH 43604 Suite D 1223 30th Ave. Gulfport, MS 39501 Ergon Refining 227 Industrial Drive Vicksburg, MS 39183 New Hampshire Suite 2 30 Mirona Road Extension Portsmouth, NH 03801 New Jersey Suite P-6 2500 S. Broadway Camden, NJ 08104 580 Division St. Elizabeth, NJ 07201 North Jersey Suite G 89 Luening St. South Hackensack, NJ 07606 400 Grove Rd. West Deptford, NJ 08086 Suite 665 33 Wood Avenue South Iselin, NJ 08830 New York 102 Smith Blvd. Albany, NY 12202 Suite 5 2680 Grand Island Blvd. Grand Island, NY 14072 2752 Middle Country Rd. Lake Grove, NY 11755 Oklahoma 5350 Cimarron Rd. Catoosa, OK 74015 Oregon Suite 112 400 Virginia Ave. North Bend, OR 97459 Suite 100 7025 N. Lombard St. Portland, OR 97203 Pennsylvania 50 West Powhattan Ave. Chester, PA 19029 Suite 120B 601 Upland Ave. Brookhaven, PA 19015 Woodbourne Professional Building 1723 Woodbourne Rd. Levittown, PA 19057 Philadelphia Regional Port 3460 North Delaware Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19134 Suite 400 102 Broadway St. Carnegie, PA 15106 Puerto Rico Primer Piso, Salon de Conferencias Ave. Santiago de los Caballeros, final Edifico Turismo, Playa Ponce, PR 00716 Navy Frontier Pier (Muelle Frontier) Suite 1 408 Avenue Fernandez Juncos San Juan, PR 00901 411 West Main Street Port LaVaca, TX 77979 Suite 123 3800 Highway 365 Port Arthur, TX 77642 Mall of the Mainland Suite 1272 10000 Emmett F. Lowery Expy Texas City, TX 77591 1750 FM 1432 Victoria, TX 77905 Virginia Suite 300, Room 359 11815 Fountain Way Newport News, VA 23606 Suite F 814 Greenbrier Circle Chesapeake, VA 23320 Virgin Islands Renaissance Park Estate Anguilla Kingshill, VI 00851 Suite 217 8000 Niksy Center Charlotte Amalie, VI 00802 Washington Ste. D 8327 Summit Park Rd. Anacortes, WA 98221 127 E. Intercity Ave. Bldg G, Ste C Everett, WA 98208 Suite 201 501 S. First Ave. Kelso, WA 98626 Suite A 2815 St. Andrews Loop Pasco, WA 99301 178 West Hoffman Ave Lindenhurst, NY 11757 South Carolina Residence Inn 5035 International Blvd. North Charleston, SC 29418 Suite C150 4634 East Marginal Way South Seattle, WA 98134 Whitehall Ferry Terminal Room 210 4 South St. New York, NY 10004 Tennessee Suite 101 3720 Amnicola Hwy Chattanooga, TN 37407 Fife Business Park Suite 17 5009 Pacific Hwy East Tacoma, WA 98424 One East 2nd St. Oswego, NY 13126 Tennessee Valley Training Center 324 W. Mallory Avenue Memphis, TN 38109 700 Hummel Ave Southold, NY 11971 33rd Place Building Suite 107 3305 Main Street Vancouver, WA 98663 60 Old Hickory Blvd Old Hickory, TN 37138 Suite 310 803 West Avenue Rochester, NY 14611 Texas Ford Convention Center Tyler Room 5115 Interstate 10 S Beaumont, TX 77705 North Carolina 311 Atlantic Beach Causeway Atlantic Beach, NC 28512 Suite 107 5704 Oleander Drive Wilmington, NC 28403 Ohio 4830 State Rd. Ashtabula, OH 44004 Suites 754, 755 8044 Montgomery Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45236 Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport, Main Terminal, Room 179 1501 N Marginal Road Cleveland, OH 44114 1000 Foust Road Brownsville, TX 78521 Room 203 7433 Leopard St. Corpus Christi, TX 78409 West Virginia Tri-State Fire Academy 4200 Ohio River Rd. Huntington, WV 25702 Wisconsin 425 South Military Avenue Green Bay, WI 54303 TWIC Enrollment Center c/o Chase Commerce Center Suite 620 Building 28 Floor 1 3073 S. Chase Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53207 Brazos Mall, Suite 1039 100 Hwy 332 West Lake Jackson, TX 77566 Suite 103 6000 Broadway Galveston, TX 77551 Gulf Gate (Chase Bank Building) Suite 314, 2900 Woodridge Drive Houston, TX 77087 Seafarers LOG 7 �52665_p01_24x:January 08 1/27/2009 2:16 AM Page 8 Upgrader Walton Makes History Trainee Grad Navigates Engine-Department Career Path When Philandar “Fee” Walton enrolled in the marine electrician course at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, she was simply trying to help advance her career as an engine-department Seafarer. Turns out she made history along the way. A frequent upgrader, Walton completed the eightweek class in December. She is believed to be the first female to successfully graduate from the unlicensed apprentice program and then also complete engine-department upgrading courses up to and including marine electrician. (The latter class has been offered at the Piney Point, Md.-based school since the amended STCW convention took effect in 2002. Its forerunner was marine electrical maintenance, a then-mandatory course for advancing in QMED classification.) Instructor Jay Henderson had let her know prior to the class about the “historic” opportunity, but Walton initially thought he was joking. “I guess there was a little more pressure. I had to make sure I passed,” Walton said with a laugh. She did anything but just squeak by, according to Henderson. Walton completed the rigorous course with a very high average grade and tied for the top final test score. “She’s an excellent student,” Henderson said. “She asks intelligent questions and is enthusiastic and accurate. As time goes by, she’s becoming more analytical in her thought process. She never says ‘I can’t.’ She’s a positive example for other females who are thinking about joining the engine department. Actually, she’s a positive example for the guys, too, in terms of work ethic.” Walton graduated from unlicensed apprentice Class No. 660, in May 2005. She sailed on the MV Liberty during Phase II of her apprenticeship and then shipped out on the USNS Paul Buck after graduation. Although it generally seems fewer females sail in the engine room compared to the deck or steward departments, Walton says she is pleased with her selection. “I always want to know how things work, and I like taking stuff apart,” she notes. Walton, who sails from the port of Norfolk, Va., says she wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the engine department to other female Seafarers. But, her strongest advice is to upgrade as often as possible at the Paul Hall Center, regardless of one’s shipboard department. She speaks from experience. In addition to marine electrician, Walton (who eventually wants to upgrade to third engineer) also has completed classes including junior engineer, machinist, pumpman, fast rescue boats, and medical care provider. “I like coming to the school,” says Walton, who most recently sailed aboard the Tyco Decisive. “The atmosphere is great and all of the instructors are very thorough. If you don’t understand something, they’ll help you. I think it’s a great benefit for all mariners to upgrade. It opens up more opportunities and makes us more marketable.” Seafarer Fee Walton says upgrading at the Paul Hall Center is a smart career move. Apprentice Chastain Enjoys ‘Journey Towards New Career’ Program Gets Thumbs-Up from Self-Described Middle-Aged Mom Seeking Challenges Editor’s note: This article was written by Unlicensed Apprentice Charlotte Chastain as she wrapped up her Phase II training. Thanks to Capt. John M. Coleman of the Maersk Missouri for forwarding the text and the accompanying photo. From the moment I touched down in Newark, N.J., on Aug. 25, 2008, I began an incredible firsttime journey as a Seafarers International Union (SIU) Unlicensed Apprentice on the Maersk Missouri, a Gclass container vessel. By way of introduction, my name is Charlotte S. Chastain, and I am completing the last few days of Phase II of the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education’s unlicensed apprentice program. The school is located in Piney Point, Md. I am a middle-aged woman and have raised two college-educated children. At this stage of my life, I am seeking a career change after working as a legal administrative assistant for more than 25 years to an occupation that will be more fulfilling, challenging, and stimulating. When an acquaintance told me about the Paul Hall Center’s training program to become a U.S. Merchant Mariner, I called Piney Point’s admissions office and asked for information and requirements to be accepted into their school. Everything clicked and within a few months’ time, I was on a journey towards a new career and new way of life. Phase I of the program consists of an intense three-month course divided into two-week classes, including Lifeboat, Fire Fighting, CPR/First Aid, and working in the galley. I adjusted to Piney Point’s dorm life and rigorous daily schedule. After completing Phase I, apprentices are assigned to a ship via the manpower office. Phase II consists of a minimum of 90 days on board a vessel and emphasizes on-the-job training. Unlicensed apprentices are assigned a minimum of 30 days in each department – deck, engine and steward. In order to return to the school and begin Phase III, I am required to complete and submit an extensive “sea project” where I answer questions and draw diagrams of the vessel relating to all three departments. Also, an evaluation is completed by the ship’s master and each department head. For Phase III, the unlicensed apprentice returns to Piney Point for a seven-week training period. At this time, the apprentice decides the department in which to work. After graduation, the Paul Hall Center 8 Seafarers LOG assigns each mariner a four-month trip on a ship in their chosen department. As a novice in this industry, when I first arrived to the Maersk Missouri, I was in awe at the massive size of the containership. I stood at the gangplank looking up and felt very excited about embarking on this new chapter in my life. The first day was spent unpacking, filling out paperwork and familiarizing myself with my new “home.” Unlicensed Apprentice Charlotte Chastain, pictured aboard the Maersk Missouri, displays her painting of a small cove near the port of Salalah, Oman. I was assigned to the engine department for my first 30 days. On the second day, I reported to duty at 7:45 a.m. and met everyone in the department. Next, I took a tour of the engine room. I was surprised at its enormous size and numerous decks and ladders. How in the world was I ever going to learn my way around? I knew I was going to have to prove my worth and value in each department. I jumped in “full speed ahead.” For the first few days, I helped the QMED with the daily “soundings.” As I became more familiar with my rounds, I could record the soundings on my own. I was introduced to the jobs of an entry-level worker, and was trained to wire brush, paint, and clean various areas of the engine room. It took me a while to get accustomed to the heat. Needless to say, September was hotter than anyone could imagine, especially given that the Missouri was making its Middle East run. The second month was spent in the deck department. I trained under very talented and knowledgeable “deckies.” The chief mate, bosun, and ABs were patient teaching me ship/sailing terminology and deck procedures. I began each day at 6 a.m. and saw magnificent sunrises. There was always a painting or cleaning project. Before long, I was recognized as a neat and fast painter. I learned to help dock and undock on the bow, participated in safety and fire drills, pirate watches, and practiced steering the Missouri on the bridge. My final month was occupied in the steward department beginning at 5:30 a.m. each day. Having spent my life cleaning, cooking, and doing for others, I felt at ease in the galley. The three-man steward department took care of the Missouri’s entire house. I learned many of the steward’s, chief cook’s and SA’s duties and was taught many tips of the trade. I enjoy cooking and received many fabulous recipes from the chief cook. Health, safety, cleanliness and sanitation were stressed daily. People often ask me why I want to become a merchant mariner and work at sea. I respond that presently I have no ties or obligations at home, and have always had a sense of adventure for travel and a deep appreciation for the water and the outdoors. Also, I am an artist and painting is my passion. I will have inspiring subjects for my paintings. In port, I was able to go exploring. I never dreamed that I would be sailing to ports in the Mediterranean Sea, Suez Canal, Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean. From what I have been told by my fellow shipmates, it is going to be hard for any future ship I sail to top the Maersk Missouri! As I reflect on my time as an unlicensed apprentice, I am grateful for all that I have learned, experienced, and seen. I am also very fortunate to have worked with some wonderful people. My first taste of what it is to be a U.S. Merchant Mariner exceeds my expectations. I want to thank Maersk, the school and the crew of the Missouri for helping me achieve my goal. February 2009 �52665_p01_24x:January 08 1/27/2009 2:19 AM Page 9 Holidays With Seafarers Cape Intrepid Stewards Make 2008 Holidays ‘A Sweet Memory’ Members of the steward department aboard the SIU-contracted Cape Intrepid--during a holiday call in the Port of Wilmington--went the extra mile for their shipmates when they produced the mouth-watering desserts and entrees shown in the photos at right. Those responsible for these delectable eats (above, from the left) were Steward Assistant Nicanor, Chief Cook Joseph Welle and Steward Donald Dwyer. Thanksgiving Becomes A Barbecue Event at the Port of Ft. Lauderdale Nearly 100 members and guests turned out for the Nov. 25 Thanksgiving barbecue at the Port of Ft. Lauderdale. In photo above, Chief Cook Heath Bryan puts the final touches on one of the event’s main dishes. The photos at right show a host of members and guests enjoying Bryan’s creations. Port of Jacksonville Enjoys Large Turnout at Annual Thanksgiving/Christmas Outing A large crowd of Seafarers, family members and representatives from union-contracted companies enoyed the food and company available Nov. 21 during the annual Thanksgiving/Christmas event at the Port of Jacksonville. In photo at left, guests help themselves to items on the serving line. Enjoying their meal in the photo at the immediate right are Fatima Mims-Ware and her guest, Karen Shuford, Sharyl Shuford, Lester Williams, Crowley Liner Services’ Edwin Colon, Jackie Williams, and Ed Burdorf, also of Crowley. In the photo at far right, AB Tavel Love spends a quiet moment with his son. February 2009 Seafarers LOG 9 �52665_p01_24x:January 08 1/27/2009 2:22 AM Page 10 Holidays With Seafarers Christmas Gala at Port of Norfolk Attracts Large Turnout A great time was had by all who attended the annual Christmas luncheon at the Port of Norfolk. Held Dec. 18, the annual outing was attended by union officials, members, their dependents, retirees and their families. As evidenced by the photos appearing in this layout, the event gave new and added meaning to the concept of Brotherhood of the Sea. Christmas Event At Port of Baltimore Union officials, active Seafarers, their dependents and pensioners on Dec. 19 gathered at the union hall in the Port of Baltimore for the first-ever Christmas event at the port’s Essex Street location. Some of those in attendance, above from left to right, were: Pensioner Michael Kaminski, Baltimore Port Agent Elizabeth Brown, Pensioner Alva McCullum, the wife of GUDE John Cooper, Chief Electircian Charles Wharton, an unidentified guest, Port of Baltimore Secretary Lisa Clark, AB Michael Wroten, Oiler Kenneth Bricker, Bosun Nelson Poe, AB Kim Brown, GUDE John Cooper and AB Jorge Lanas. Posing below left, from the left were Oiler Vordan Furgeson, Mrs. Cooper and Lanas, right. Joining them is ITF Inspector Arthur Petitpas, third frm left. In photo below at right, Pensioner Kaminski, AB Walter Harris, QMED Therman Ames and Pensioner Antonios Trikoglou chum it at the event’s conclusion. 10 Seafarers LOG Libery Eagle Crew Enjoys Thanksgiving at Sea Although they were at sea, the crew of the Liberty Eagle still enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving feast. Chief Steward Tyler Laffitte (who provided these photos) said that despite being on the high seas on Nov. 27, his shipmates still deserved the best and the galley gang made it happen. Taking advantage of the chief steward’s efforts, which resulted in some of the food items pictured at top left, (clockwise from below, left to right) were: Apprentice Mykael Willis, QMED Antonio Dolojan-Tingugan, AB Franklin Futch, GUDE Gilberto Padilla, ABM Domingo Martinez-Reyes and AB Jose A. Bermudez; AB Franklin Futch, AB Jose Bermudez and GUDE Fortan Nunez-Martinez; 2nd Mate Christian Jude-Julien and 2nd Assistant Engineer Edgardo Tirado; GUDE Gilberto Padilla, Matrinez-Reyes, Bermudez, Nunez-Martinez, Bosun Juan Rivas and ABM Luis Ruiz-Ramos. February 2009 �52665_p01_24:January 08 1/26/2009 7:20 AM Page 11 Holidays With Seafarers Maersk Tennessee Crew Enjoys Christmas Meal At Sea Chief Steward Tony Spain (above) prepares to carve the turkey that was used for the Christmas meal aboard the Maersk Tennessee while the vessel was at sea. In adition to turkey, the meal consisted of several other entrees including roast prime rib of beef and smoked baked Virginia Ham. Chief Cook Lamont Faulks (left in photo at imediate left), SA Paula Hopson (right in same photo) and SA Darrell Gray (photo at right) helped Spain prepare the holiday feast. Crew members partake of the offerings in the photo below and at far right. Barbecue in December Port of Houston Hosts Thanksgiving Event More than 100 Seafarers, retirees and members of their families on November 25 converged on the union hall in the Port of Houston for its annual Thanksgiving event. In the photo above, members join for a moment of prayer prior to the meal. Below, those who attended make their way through the serving line. Members of the Mokihana steward department pulled off the unthinkable recently when they braved the winter elements to have a barbecue at sea in December. The feat was really no problem because the vessel was only one day out of Hawaii when the barbecue took place. Manning the grills on the deck of the Mokihana during the news-making event (above, from the left) were: Assistant Cook Majed Alsunbahi, Chief Cook Kahlid Mohamed and Recertified Steward Michael Baker. February 2009 Seafarers LOG 11 �52665_p01_24:January 08 1/26/2009 7:20 AM Page 12 What’s New for 2008? Following are some of the changes that will take effect in 2008, along with changes that remain in effect from 2006 from the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the 2005 Energy Tax Incentive Act, the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, and other tax law changes. Please check www.irs.gov before filing your return. Mailing Your Return - The IRS has changed many of its filing centers. Carefully check the mailing address before sending in your return. Standard Mileage Rates - The 2008 rate for business use of your vehicle is 50.5 cents a mile for the period January 1 through June 30 and 58.5 cents a mile for July 1 through December 31. The 2008 rate for use of your vehicle to get medical care or to move is 19 cents a mile for the period January 1 through June 30 and 27 cents a mile for July 1 through December 31. The 2008 rate for charitable services is 14 cents a mile. Exemption - The amount you can deduct for each exemption has increased from $3,400 in 2007 to $3,500 in 2008. You lose part of the benefit of your exemptions if your adjusted gross income is above a certain amount. The amount at which the phase-out begins depends on your filing status. For 2008, the phase-out begins at: ■ $239,950 for married people filing jointly and qualified widow(er) with dependent children, ■ $199,950 for a head of household, ■ $159,950 for single taxpayers; and ■ $119,975 for married persons filing separately. Direct Deposit of Refunds - If you choose direct deposit of your refund, you may be able to split the refund into two or three accounts. Recovery Rebate Credit and Economic Stimulus Payment - A refundable recovery rebate credit may be available for those of you who did not receive an economic stimulus check in 2008 or if your economic stimulus payment was less than $600. Any eligible recovery rebate credit is reduced by the actual economic stimulus payment received. Should the recovery credit result in a smaller amount, no repayment will be required. Please look at the line 70 instructions and applicable chart on pages 62 and 63 of the instructions to Form 1040. Any Economic Stimulus payment received is not taxable. Additionally, if it was deposited into a tax free account, there will be no penalty to withdraw the amount if done by the due date of your tax return, including extensions. Kiddie Tax - The limit on the so-called “kiddie tax” increased to $900 in 2008. Children will pay no income tax on the first $900 of unearned income, such as capital gains or interest from a savings account, and will be taxed at their own rate (most likely 10%) on the next $900 (0% for longterm capital gains). Unearned income over $1,800 is taxed at the parents’ rate. For tax year 2008, the kiddie tax will apply not only to children under the age of 18 at the close of the tax year but to any children who continue to qualify to be claimed as a dependent and who are not contributing more than 50% of their own support under the age of 19. The age increases to 24 if the child is a full time student. Qualified Dividend and Capital Gains Tax Rate - The 5% tax rate of qualified dividends and net capital gains is reduced to 0% for 2008. The 15% rate has remained unchanged. Charitable Contributions - Beginning August 17, 2006, any donations of clothing and household items won’t be deductible unless the donated items are in good used or better condition. This means that the IRS may deny a deduction for any item that has minimal monetary value. However, this rule does not apply to a contribution of any single item for which a deduction of more than $500 is claimed and for which you include a qualified appraisal and Form 8283 with your tax return. Beginning in 2007, and all years thereafter, you may no longer deduct contributions made in cash or by check unless you can produce a bank record or a receipt, letter, or other written communication from the charitable organization. This should include the organization’s name and address, the date and location of the gift, and a description of property. This requirement applies to all “cash” contributions, regardless of the amount of the donation. Earned Income Credit (EIC) - The EIC is a credit for certain people who work. The credit may give you a refund even if you do not owe any tax. You may be able to take the EIC if: ■ A child lived with you and you earned less than $38,646 ($41,646 if married filing jointly), or ■ A child did not live with you and you earned less than $12,880 ($15,880 if married filing jointly). The maximum investment income you can have and still get the credit has increased to $2,950. Uniform Definition of a Qualifying Child - In 2005, to simplify the tax law, the definition of a ‘qualified child’ changed for taxpayers who claim a child as a dependent, elect Head of Household status, or take the Earned Income Credit, Child Tax Credit, Child or Dependent Care Credit. To meet this new definition, the person needs to be your child, sibling (or descendent of either), adopted or foster child. The child must be under either (1) age 19; (2) under age 24 if a student, or (3) any age if permanently and totally disabled. Also, the child must be either a citizen, resident or national of the United States and must have the same principal place of abode as the taxpayer for more than one-half of the year. The child must not provide more than one-half of his/her own support for the year. Refundable Child Tax Credit - For 2008, if the allowable child tax credit is greater than the total tax liability, the taxpayer is eligible for a refundable credit equal to the lesser of 15% of earned income in excess of $8,500 or the remainder 12 Seafarers LOG of the eligible nonrefundable credit. Educator Expenses - The deduction for eligible educator expenses, $250, has been extended as an eligible deduction for 2008 and 2009. Tuition and Fees Deductions - Taxpayers who choose to claim the tuition and fees deduction must fill out and attach new Form 8917. The resulting deduction is reported on Form 1040 Line 34 or Form 1040A Line 19. Note that many who qualify for the tuition and fees deduction may reap greater tax savings by instead claiming the Hope credit or the lifetime learning credit for a particular student. First Time Homebuyer Credit - This credit is available if you bought a main home from an unrelated party after April 8, 2008 and before July 1, 2009 and did not own a main home in the prior 3 years. If the purchase is completed during the eligible period in 2009, you may elect to treat it as having been made on December 31, 2008 or later file an amended 2008 return. The credit is the lesser of 10% of the purchase price of the home or $7,500. The credit is phased out for taxpayers with modified AGI of $75,000 or $150,000 for joint filers. Although termed a credit, it must be repaid with your tax return filing evenly over 15 years or when the home is sold if earlier. The repayments begin 2 years after receiving the credit. If the residence is located in D.C., a home must not be owned within the prior 1 year and the maximum credit is $5,000. The credit is phased-out with modified AGI between $70,000 and $90,000 or $110,000 and $130,000 for joint filers. Six-Month Automatic Extensions -Individuals will be able to file Form 4868 to get an automatic six-month extension of time to file. Also, almost all states have indicated they are following the IRS’s lead. Donations of Automobiles - There is a limit on the charitable contribution of used motor vehicles (with a claimed value in excess of $500) to the gross sales price received by the charity for the subsequent sale of the donated vehicle, rather than the fair market value. A charitable organization must provide the donor with Form 1098-C. Combat Pay - Some military personnel receiving combat pay get larger tax credits because of two law changes. The new law counts excludable combat pay as income when figuring the Child Tax Credit and gives the taxpayer the option of counting or ignoring combat pay when figuring the Earned Income Tax Credit. Counting combat pay as income when calculating these credits does not change the exclusion of combat pay from taxable income. Exclusion of Income for Volunteer Firefighters and EMTs - Beginning in 2008, volunteers can exclude the following from gross income: Rebates or reductions of property or income taxes provided by a state or local government Payments received from a state or local government for services performed up to a maximum of $30 a month for each month served Sales Tax Deduction - Taxpayers who itemize deductions will have a choice of claiming a state and local tax deduction for either sales or income taxes on their 2008 return. The IRS will provide optional tables for use in determining the deduction amount, relieving taxpayers of the need to save receipts throughout the year. Sales taxes paid on motor vehicles and boats may be added to the table amount, but only up to the amount paid at the general sales tax rate. Taxpayers will check a box on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions, to indicate whether their deduction is for sales or income taxes. Mortgage Insurance Premiums May Be Deductible Many homeowners are paying mortgage insurance premiums which are now deductible as part of the mortgage interest deduction. This deduction begins at the start of 2007 and expires at the end of 2010. Mortgage insurance provided by the Veterans Administration, the Federal Housing Administration, the Rural Housing Administration, and private mortgage insurance companies all qualify for the deduction. Debt Forgiveness - Taxpayers can exclude up to $2 million of debt forgiven on their principal residence. The limit is $1 million for a married person filing a separate return. This provision applies to debt forgiven in 2007, 2008 or 2009. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure qualifies for this relief. Use Form 982 to claim the exclusion. The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) is a parallel tax calculation method. Unlike the regular tax computation, the AMT disregards certain deductions, adds in certain income, and has a higher exemption amount. For 2008, the AMT exemption amount increased slightly: $46,500 for single filers, $69,950 for married people filing jointly and for qualifying widows or widowers, and $34,975 for married people filing separately. Starting in 2007, and applicable in 2008, taxpayers may receive a refundable credit for any used prior year minimum tax credit that has been carried forward from year 2003 or earlier. Additionally, new laws allow taxpayers to use most refundable personal credits to offset AMT liability. These include the dependent care, HOPE and Lifetime Learning education credits and the District of Columbia first-time homebuyer’s credit. Taxpayers should use carryover worksheets they have or AMT tax forms from earlier years in order to prepare their 2008 returns. TAX TIPS FO HOW TO PREPARE A TAX RETURN Step 1. Get all records together. ■ Income Records. These include any Forms W-2, W-2G and 1099. ■ Itemized deductions and tax credits. ■ Medical and dental payment records. ■ Real estate and personal property tax receipts. ■ Interest payment records for items such as a home mortgage or home equity loan. ■ Records of payments for child care so an individual could work. Step 2. Get any forms, schedules or publications necessary to assist in filing the return. IRS Publication 17 titled “Your Federal Income Tax for Individuals” is the most comprehensive guide the agency has issued this year. Most IRS offices and many local banks, post offices and libraries have publications designed to provide individuals with information on correctly filing tax returns. Also, you may access the IRS web site at www.irs.gov for forms, instructions and publications. Step 3. Fill in the return. Step 4. Check the return to make sure it is correct. Step 5. Sign and date the return. Form 1040 is not considered a valid return unless signed. A spouse must also sign if it is a joint return. Step 6. Attach all required forms and schedules. Attach Copy B of Forms W-2, W-2G and 1099R to the front of the Form 1040. Attach all other schedules and forms behind Form 1040 in order of the attachment sequence number. If tax is owed, attach the payment to the front of Form 1040 along with Form 1040-V (original only). Write name, address, phone number, Social Security number and form number on your check or money order. Payment also can be made by credit card. You may use American Express, Discover, Visa or Master cards. To pay by credit card, call the toll-free number 1-800272-9829 or 1-888-729-1040 or visit web sites www.officialpayments.com or www.pay1040.com. There is a fee charged based on the amount you are paying. Rounding Off to Whole Dollars: Cents may be rounded off to the nearest whole dollar on the tax return and schedules. To do so, raise amounts from 50 to 99 cents to the next dollar. For example, $1.39 becomes $1 and $1.50 becomes $2. Fast Refund: Taxpayers are able to request direct deposit of their tax refunds by filling out lines 73b, 73c and 73d on their Form 1040. Line 73b is for the bank’s routing number. Line 73c indicates the type of account, and line 73d is the taxpayer’s account number at the bank. When tax returns are filed electronically, a refund will be received in about 3 weeks, or in 2 weeks if it is deposited directly into a savings or checking account. For a charge, many professional tax return preparers offer electronic filing in addition to their return preparation services. If an individual prepared his or her own return, a preparer or transmitter in their area can file the return electronically. For a list of who can file a tax return electronically in any given area, visit the IRS web site at: www.irs.gov. WHAT ARE CONSIDERED DEDUCTIONS AND CREDITS Personal Exemption Amount: The deduction for each exemption—for the individual, his or her spouse and dependents has increased to $3,500 per person. In 2008, the exemption deduction for high income taxpayers may be reduced or eliminated if their adjusted gross income exceeds certain threshold amounts. A child cannot claim an exemption on his or her return or qualify for a higher education credit if the child’s parents claim a dependency exemption for their child. Standard Deduction Has Increa standard deduction, or dollar amount reduces the amount that is taxed, has for most people (see box on this page of this increase, it may be to an indiv benefit to take the standard deduction even if that person has itemized dedu the past. Personal Interest Deductions: F personal interest cannot be deducted. interest includes interest on car loans cards, personal loans and tax deficien Interest on Secured Loans Dedu Interest paid on mortgages or investm 100 percent deductible. Union Dues Deduction: Union d including working dues, are deductib they exceed 2 percent of adjusted gro If they do, only the portion over the 2 deductible. SPAD contributions have been deductible. Club Dues Deduction: No deduc permitted for club dues; however, du professional or public service organiz deductible for business reasons. Deductions Subject to 2 Percen Adjusted Gross Income: These incl ment advisory fees, trustee’s adminis fees, legal expenses that are paid to p taxable income, unreimbursed emplo expenses, safe deposit box rental and ration fees. Deducting Work-Related Expen Expenses associated with a seaman’s be considered tax deductible. Howev expense can be deducted for which a has been reimbursed by the employer the union hall to register or travel to designated medical facility to take th physical and drug tests are examples es which are work-related but not rei by the company. Members of the gal may deduct the costs of knives and o ment they personally own but use wh ship performing their work duties. Th of work-related clothing and other ge as it is truly for work and not paid fo employer, are likely to be considered deductible. Deducting Work-Related Car E Use of a personally owned automobi related travel can result in deductible Two methods can be used to comput bile expenses—either listing a standa rate or determining actual cost. On th return due April 15 of this year, the I accepting a standard mileage rate. T 50.5 cents a mile from January 1 to J 58.5 cents a mile from July 1 to Dece Parking fees and tolls can be added w the standard mileage rate. If using ac expenses, information must be availa operating-related costs for the vehicl ing interest, insurance, taxes, license nance, repairs, depreciation, gas, oil, parking. In either the standard mileage rate actual cost method of determining ca accurate records should be kept. The ommends keeping a log book or diar expenses related to travel. Only work expenses not reimbursed by an emplo claimed. Deducting Work-Related Meals Traveling: Workers in transportation allowed a special rate on the meal all $52 per day in the continental U.S. a day outside the continental U.S. Othe IRS standard meal allowance is gene In some locations it is $58, and in Ha Alaska it is computed differently. Tra expenses, including meals, can only b ed if directly related to one’s work an have not been reimbursed from any o source. STANDARD DEDUCTION This is the standard deduction chart for most people. If a taxpayer is 65 or olde blind, there are additional standard deductions ($1,050 for a married person or “sp or $1,350 for an unmarried person). Note that the personal exemption deduction is $3,500. Filing Status Standard De Single.......................................................................................................................$ 5 Married filing joint return or qualifying widow(er) with dependent children.......$1 Married filing separate return...................................................................................$ Head of household..................................................................................................$ For 2008, taxpayers who claim the standard deduction and who are also home o may add the lesser of state and local property taxes paid or $500 ($1,000 in the cas joint filers) to the above amounts. February 2009 �52665_p01_24:January 08 1/26/2009 7:20 AM Page 13 FOR MARINERS ncreased: The mount that d, has increased s page). Because n individual’s duction this year d deductions in ons: For 2008, ucted. Personal loans, credit eficiencies. Deductible: nvestments is nion dues, ductible only if ed gross income. r the 2 percent is s have never deduction is er, dues paid to rganizations are . ercent of e include investdministrative id to produce employee al and tax prepaExpenses: man’s work may However, no hich a seaman ployer. Travel to vel to the union’s ake the required mples of expensnot reimbursed he galley crew and other equipuse when on a ies. The purchase her gear, as long aid for by the idered taxCar Expenses: omobile in workuctible expenses. ompute automostandard mileage On the tax , the IRS is ate. The rate is 1 to June 30 and o December 31. dded when using ing actual available on all vehicle, includcenses, maintes, oil, tolls and ge rate or the ing car expenses, t. The IRS recr diary listing all y work-related employer can be Meals When rtation are eal allowance of U.S. and $58 per . Otherwise the s generally $45. in Hawaii and ly. Travel only be deductork and if they any other r older or or “spouse” ion is d Deduction .....$ 5,450 ....$10,900 ......$5,450 ....$ 8,000 ome owners he case of There has been a tax court case (Johnson v. Comm. 115 TC210[2000]) where a merchant seaman was denied a full deduction for the full M & IE rates. The court ruled that in situations where meals are provided at no cost, the incidental expense rate allowable as an itemized deduction is limited to $3 a day (in the continental U.S.) and rates ranging from $1 to $53 in other areas. In lieu of these rates, to the extent you have receipts, a higher deduction amount may be allowed. Limit on Itemized Deductions: In 2008, itemized deductions may be limited for individuals earning more than $159,950 of federal adjusted gross income (or $79,975 if married and filing separately). Earned Income Credit: A refundable earned income credit (EIC) is available to certain individuals who have earned income and meet certain adjusted gross income thresholds. For tax year 2008, an individual does not have to have a qualifying child to be eligible for this credit if certain conditions are met. Different credit percentages and phase-out percentages are provided based on the taxpayer’s income level and the number of qualifying children eligible, if any. The maximum credit allowed is as follows: Taxpayers with income less than $12,880 and no qualifying children—$438 maximum credit; taxpayers with income less than $33,995 and with 1 qualifying child— $2,917 maximum credit; taxpayers with income less than $38,646 and with 2 or more qualifying children—$4,824 maximum credit. If the earned income credit reduces the income tax liability below zero, a refund will be granted by the IRS. Taxpayers should use form 1040, schedule EIC, to see if they are eligible for the credit. Dependent’s Social Security Number: Each dependent must have a Social Security number (SSN). Individuals may get a SSN for their dependent by filing Form SS-5 with their local Social Security Administration office or calling the Administration at 1-800-772-1213. It usually takes about two weeks to receive a SSN. Child Tax Credit: In 2008, taxpayers who have a qualifying child who is a U.S. citizen and for whom the taxpayer may claim a dependency exemption and who is less than 17 years old are entitled to the child tax credit. The amount of the credit is $1,000 per child. The credit begins to phase out when modified Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) reaches $110,000 for joint filers, $75,000 for single taxpayers or $55,000 for married taxpayers filing separately. The maximum earned income amount used to figure the additional child tax credit has decreased to $8,500. Credit for Higher Education Tuition: Individuals may be able to take the “HOPE” credit for tuition and related expenses paid for oneself, spouse or dependents to enroll at or attend an eligible educational institution (i.e., college or graduate school or vocational training). The HOPE credit provides a maximum allowable credit of $1,850 per student for each of the first two years of postsecondary education. For qualified expenses paid after Jan. 1, 2008, taxpayers can take the “Lifetime Learning Credit,” that is a credit of 20 percent of qualified tuition expenses paid by the taxpayer, up to $10,000 for any year (after that date) the HOPE credit is not claimed. This credit is not limited to the first two years of postsecondary education. Also, no credits are available for expenses of a student in any year that tax-free distributions from an education IRA are used to pay the student’s expenses. These credits are subject to income limitations. The phase-out of the credits begins for single taxpayers when modified AGI reaches $48,000, and completely phases out when modified AGI reaches $58,000. For joint filers, the phase-out range is $96,000 to $116,000. The HOPE and Lifetime Learning Credit are not available to taxpayers married filing separately. In 2008, the Lifetime Learning Credit will be $2,000. Student Loan Interest: Taxpayers may be able to deduct up to $2,500 of interest paid for qualified education expenses for oneself, spouse or dependents. The deduction is allowed in figuring adjusted gross income. Individual Retirement Accounts: ■ Education IRAs (Coverdell Education Savings Account) – Taxpayers can contribute up to $2,000 each year to an Education IRA for a person under age 18. The contribution is not deductible. Earnings on the contribution will be distributed tax-free provided that they are used to pay the beneficiary’s postsecondary educa- February 2009 tion expenses. However, expenses used to claim the HOPE credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit will not qualify for tax-free treatment. ■ Traditional IRAs - The contribution limit to a traditional IRA in 2008 is $5,000. If a taxpayer reaches age 50 before 2008, the most that can be contributed will be $6,000. Modified Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) phase-out range increased to $53,000-$63,000 for single, head of household, and $85,000-$105,000 for married couples filing jointly or qualifying widow(er). Also, solely for the purpose of figuring the $100,000 modified AGI limit on eligibility to make qualified rollover distributions from a Traditional IRA to Roth IRA, minimum required distributions from IRAs and other qualified plans received in tax year beginning with 2006 are excluded from modified AGI. ■ Roth IRAs - The maximum total yearly contribution that can be made by an individual to a Roth IRA is $5,000. If a taxpayer reaches age 50 before 2008, the most that can be contributed will be $6,000. Roth IRAs are subject to income limits. The maximum yearly contribution is phased out for single taxpayers with an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) between $101,000 and $116,000, for joint filers with an AGI between $159,000 and $169,000, and for married filing separately with an AGI between $0 and $10,000. Although the contributions are not deductible, the distributions may be tax-free depending on when and why they are made. ■ Penalty-Free IRA Distributions – The additional 10 percent tax penalty on an early distribution from an IRA may not apply if you pay higher education expenses for yourself, spouse or your children or grandchildren. The tax penalty also may not apply if you pay expenses related to the purchase of a home by a first-time homebuyer. Only $10,000 during the individual’s lifetime may be withdrawn without a penalty for this purpose. Also, the tax penalty does not apply to distributions for an individual’s disability, medical care, or to a beneficiary after death of the individual. OTHER TAX INFORMATION Private Delivery Services: Tax returns and extensions can be mailed through private delivery services such as Airborne Express, DHL Worldwide Express, Federal Express and United Parcel Service. Forms of Payments: One can pay the Internal Revenue Service through credit cards, debit cards, charge cards, bank check or money order. WHICH RECORDS TO KEEP Keep records of income (such as receipts), deductions (for example, canceled checks) and credits shown on the tax return, as well as any worksheets used to figure them, until the statute of limitations runs out for that return, usually 3 years from the date the return was due or filed, or 2 years from the date the tax was paid, whichever is later. However, it is recommended that all records be kept for about 6 years. Some records should be kept even longer. For example, keep property records (your home, stocks) as long as they are needed to figure the basis of property. Change of Address: If an individual has changed his or her address from the one listed on that person’s last tax return, IRS Form 8822 should be filled out and filed with the agency. Death of a Taxpayer: If a taxpayer died before filing a required return for 2008, the taxpayer’s personal representative (and spouse, in the case of a joint return) must file and sign the return for that person. A personal representative can be an executor, administrator or anyone who is in charge of the taxpayer’s property. WHICH INCOME TO REPORT In addition to wages, salaries, tips, unemployment compensation, capital gains, dividend payments and other income listed on the federal tax return, the following kinds of income must be reported: ■ Jones Act settlements for lost wages. ■ Amounts received in place of wages from accident and health plans (including sick pay and disability pensions) if employer paid for the policy. ■ Life insurance proceeds from a policy cashed in if the proceeds are more than the premium paid. ■ Canceled debts. ■ State income tax refunds. ■ Rents. ■ Repayments. ■ Royalties. ■ ■ Unemployment benefits Profits from corporations, partnerships, estates and trusts. ■ Endowments. ■ Original Issue Discount. ■ Distributions from self-employed plans. ■ Bartering income (fair-market value of goods or services received in return for services). ■ Tier 2 and supplemental annuities under the Railroad Retirement Act. ■ Lump-sum distributions. ■ Gains from the sale or exchange (including barter) of real estate, securities, coins, gold, silver, gems or other property (capital gains). ■ Accumulation distributions from trusts. ■ Prizes and awards (contests, raffles, lottery and gambling winnings). ■ Earned income from sources outside the United States. ■ Director’s fees. ■ Fees received as an executor or administrator of an estate. ■ Embezzled or other illegal income. WHICH INCOME NEED NOT BE REPORTED The following kinds of income do not need to be reported on the federal tax return: ■ Benefits from government welfare programs. ■ Jones Act settlements for injuries, pain, suffering, and medical costs. ■ Maintenance and Cure. ■ Workers’ compensation benefits, insurance, damages, etc. for injury or sickness. ■ Disability retirement payments (and other benefits) paid by the Veterans’ Administration. ■ Child support. ■ Gifts, money or other property inherited or willed. ■ Dividends on veterans’ life insurance. ■ Life insurance proceeds received because of a person’s death. ■ Amounts received from insurance because of loss of the use of a home due to fire or other casualty to the extent the amounts OVERSEAS AT TAX TIME Should Seafarers find themselves overseas and seeking IRS forms or assistance, U.S. embassies and consulates are equipped to provide some taxpayer-related services. At a minimum, IRS forms are available at all U.S. embassies and consulates located in: Berlin, Germany; Caracas, Venezuela; London, England; Mexico City, Mexico; Nassau, Bahamas; Ottawa, Canada; Paris, France; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Rome, Italy; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Sydney, Australia; Tokyo, Japan were more than the cost of normal expenses while living in the home. ■ Certain amounts received as a scholarship. FILING AN EXTENSION Taxpayers can get an automatic 6-month extension if, no later than April 15, 2009, Form 4868 will be filed with the IRS. It is important to remember that a 6-month extension to file does not extend the time to pay the taxes. Form 4868, when sent in, must be accompanied by all tax monies due to the U.S. government. WHERE IS MY REFUND? In 2004, the IRS launched a new program that allows taxpayers to trace their refunds online. If taxpayers have not received a refund check within 28 days from the original IRS mailing date, information can be accessed through the web site at www.irs.gov. To get the refund status, taxpayers will need to provide the information from their tax returns. You should know your Social Security Number (or IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number), Filing Status (Single, Married Filing Joint Return, Married Filing Separate Return, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widow(er)) and the Refund amount. It is important to enter the refund amount exactly as it is shown on your return. WHY SEAFARERS MUST PAY STATE INCOME TAX Federal law prohibits employers from withholding state and local taxes from the wages of mariners working aboard U.S.-flag ships. Specifically, the law [46 USCA 11108(11) ] provides that “no part of the wages due or accruing to a master, officer or any other seaman who is a member of the crew on a vessel engaged in the foreign, coastwise, intercoastal, interstate or non-contiguous trade shall be withheld pursuant to the provisions of the tax laws of any state, territory, possession or commonwealth, or a subdivision of any of them, but nothing in this section shall prohibit any such withholding of the wages of any seaman who is employed in the coastwise trade between ports in the same state if such withholding is pursuant to a voluntary agreement between such seaman and his employer.” The law, however, does not exempt seamen from paying state and local taxes. Mariners, just like any other citizens of any given state, must meet their obligations to the government of the area in which they live. Each state has a set of criteria to determine whether an individual is a resident of that state. A seaman should check with a state tax office if he or she is unsure about residency status. For example, in California during the early 1970s, a case before the California State Board of Equalization stated that a merchant seaman—despite the fact that he was on a ship for 210 days of the year—was a resident of the state for tax purposes. The board took into consideration the fact that the seaman owned a home in California and maintained a bank account in a California-based bank. Additionally, each state has established conditions under which non-residents of that state must pay a portion of state tax if such an individual earned income from a source based in that state. Many states allow a credit in the amount an individual must pay the state if that person has already paid taxes in another state. In 2000, President Clinton signed into law the bipartisan Transportation Worker Tax Fairness Act, a measure aimed at providing “equitable treatment with respect to state and local income taxes for certain individuals who perform duties on vessels.” The law, which took effect Nov. 9, 2000, stipulates that pilots and other mariners “who perform regularly assigned duties while engaged as a master, officer or crewman on a vessel operating on the navigable waters of more than one State” shall be subject to state income tax only in his or her residential state. If any questions arise regarding residency and state tax issues, mariners should telephone the taxpayer assistance office in the state in which they reside. WHERE TO GET INFORMATION General Information: 1-800-829-1040 may be called for general information. IRS staff answers questions 24 hours a day. Publications: Call 1-800-829-3676 to order current and prior year forms, instructions and publications. Walk-In Help: IRS representatives are available in many IRS offices around the country to help with tax questions that cannot be answered easily by telephone. To find the location of an IRS office, look in the phone book under “United States Government, Internal Revenue Service.” Telephone Help: The IRS is prepared to answer questions by phone. Through the agency’s taxpayer information service, publications covering all aspects of tax-filing can be ordered. The federal Tele-Tax system has recorded tax information covering about 150 topics. 1800-829-4477 is the IRS’s automated Tele-Tax system. When calling from a touch tone phone, the number “9” will repeat the topic and the number “2” will cancel the topic. To listen to a directory of topics after the introductory message finishes, dial 123. You can also check the status of your refund. This telephone service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Personal Computer: Access the IRS’s internet web site at www.irs.gov to: download forms, instructions and publications; see answers to frequently asked tax questions; search publications on-line by topic or keyword; figure your withholding allowances using their W-4 calculator, check the status of your refund, send the IRS comments or requests for help via e-mail; and sign up to receive local and national tax news by e-mail. Send IRS Written Questions: Written questions regarding the tax returns can be sent directly to an IRS District Director (listed on the tax form). Include a Social Security number with the letter. Seafarers LOG 13 �52665_p01_24:January 08 1/26/2009 7:20 AM Page 14 Notice/Reminder New NMC Medical Guidelines Finalized In Charleston, S.C., the USNS Seay loads MRAPs for action in Iraq. A roll-on/roll-off discharge facility is attached to the stern ramp of the USNS Pililaau during a military run-through off the coast of Red Beach in Camp Pendleton, Calif. Fittingly named, the USNS Supply (above, right) performs underway replenishment for the USS George Washington in the Persian Gulf. The photo at right, taken in the South China Sea, shows a weapons off-load between the USS Ronald Reagan (left) and USNS Flint as seen from an SH60 helicopter. The Flint is crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division. Union Mariners Support Our Troops SIU members have a long history of ably manning U.S.-flag military support ships. That tradition is alive and well today, as Seafarers sail aboard many different types of vessels which in turn support the troops. Those ships include tankers, roll-on/roll-off vessels, ammunition ships and many others. Pictured on this page are just a few of the Seafarers-crewed ships sailing as part of the nation’s fourth arm of defense. The prepositioning vessel USNS 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez off-loads Marine cargo for military exercise “Cobra Gold” in the Gulf of Thailand. Notice/Reminder SHBP Medical Department Elaborates on MSC Physical Examination Guidelines Editor’s note: The following notice is a slightly modified version of a document prepared by Dr. Kenneth Miller, Medical Director of the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan’s Medical Department, for use by clinic employees. The information is relevant to Seafarers, too, including members of the SIU Government Services Division. As many Seafarers know, the Military Sealift Command (MSC) of the U.S. Navy has issued revised medical history and physical examination forms and guidance documents for the performance of physical examinations for fitness for duty requirements for individuals in the U.S. maritime industry. MSC has jurisdiction over two separate branches of the maritime fleet: mariners who are civil service employees of MSC (CIVMARS) and mariners who are employed by MSCcontracted shipping companies (CONMARS). SHBP-contracted clinics perform physical examinations only for those mariners who are employed as CONMARS (contracted mariners) on behalf of the SIU’s MSC-contracted companies. MSC utilizes only one set of government forms and issues the same set of guidelines for both classes of mariners. For the most part, from the clinic’s perspective, the difference between the two groups is not significant with respect to the performance of the required medical examinations. Recent changes in the forms and medical guidance require the use of Department of Defense (DOD) forms and U.S. Navy active duty criteria for the determination of fitness for duty at 14 Seafarers LOG sea aboard military-support vessels. These changes are reflected in the new forms which are currently being implemented. Since the SHBP-contracted clinics provide services only to CONMARS, the Plan has adapted these forms for the evaluation of CONMARS. With respect to the clinical guidance for medical examiners performing MSC physical examinations, the agency has relied upon two separate sources: COMSCINST 6000.1D (Chapter 5: Physical Standards) NAVMED P-117 (Section I Article 15-1 to 15-5 & Section III Article 15-30 to 15-61)—US Navy Manual of the Medical Department The SHBP has distributed both of these documents to the SHBP contracted clinics. When examiners are determining whether or not mariners are fit for duty for MSC positions, both documents should be utilized. As stated in COMSCINST 6000.1D, Section 5.6(b) “Physical Standards,” medical conditions listed in NAVMED P-117 “are generally considered disqualifying except as specified in the next paragraph, c.” Examiners should familiarize themselves with COMSCINST 6000.1D section 5.6 (c) “Amplifying Guidance on Specific Conditions.” If a specific medical condition is not covered in this section, examiners should seek guidance in the NAVMED P-117 document. Please be advised that NAVMED P-117 was designed to be implemented for all U.S. Navy active duty personnel and other mariners (CIVMARS and CONMARS) who may be deployed to active combat zones. As such, it may hold CONMARS to a more strict interpretation of the clinical assessment than may be warranted for mariners who are employed in non-MSC commercial shipping positions. As always, all fitness for duty determinations must be made on an individual basis considering all the clinical parameters and employment circumstances of the mariner. The SHBP Medical Department is always available to assist examiners in those situations where a particular condition is not covered or the interpretation of the guidance provided in the documents is unclear. Last year, SIU headquarters distributed to all ports new medical guidelines and hearing and vision standards that the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center (NMC) began using to evaluate applications for original and renewal merchant mariner documents and licenses. Those guidelines were made final in 2008. The new guidelines are considerably more rigid than the old, officially to help ensure safety and productivity. They include conditions and categories such as hearing and vision loss; body mass index; alcohol and drug dependency/abuse; and a long list of other medical conditions that will require a waiver. Many of the medical conditions on the list are new with the new guidelines. To download the lists of conditions covered in the guidelines, go to the NMC’s web site: www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/nvic/2000s.asp#2008 For a waiver form go to: www.uscg.mil/nmc/downloads.asp Mariners with questions are encouraged to contact the NMC’s Medical Evaluation Branch via e-mail at: marinermedical@uscg.mil or call 1-888-IASKNMC (1-888-427-5662). Following are some tips from the Coast Guard when getting a medical evaluation: ■ Start early – The Coast Guard recommends starting the process six months prior to the expiration of the seafarer’s merchant mariner documentation. Some of the reasons are that mariners may need follow-up examinations, time to get reports and appointments, etc. ■ Be sure to get copies of any recent evaluation reports and medical records concerning current and active conditions. ■ Always tell the truth during the process. Non-disclosure of conditions or falsifying statements is not only a federal offense but will result in not receiving credentials when caught. ■ If issued a waiver that has conditions or additional requirements, follow up on the recommendations fully and right away. ■ If the MMD/z-card is denied, appeal immediately. There is a 60-day deadline to appeal after the denial. A denial letter will be sent by the NMC with instructions for subsequent steps. Additional specific considerations for the evaluation of mariners for MSC positions include the following: Although medications are not covered in either document, MSC has stated that there are only two medications which are absolutely incompatible with MSC service: insulin and coumadin. The use of other medications, such as some psychotropic medications, narcotic pain medications and some cardiac medications must be evaluated in light of the specific underlying conditions for which they are prescribed. In many instances, the presence of these conditions, regardless of medication usage, would preclude clearances for MSC positions. Mariners who are considered “not qualified for MSC duty” should be evaluated for clearance for commercial positions. Mariners who are cleared for commercial positions but not qualified for MSC positions should be issued blue clinic cards with the designation “NO MSC” typed (or written) on the FRONT of the clinic card. As usual, individuals who have chronic medical conditions that are deemed to be unqualified for MSC positions should be issued clinic cards that expire in accordance with the general policy of six-month clinic cards for seafarers who require additional medical monitoring for the medical condition(s) under consideration. If a mariner is determined to be unqualified for MSC service and the “NO MSC” restriction is placed upon the clinic card, a copy of the clinic card must be faxed to the SHBP Medical Department. Mariners who are deemed to be unqualified for MSC positions should be informed that if they wish to apply for a waiver from MSC for a specific medical condition, they may do so by contacting the MSC directly or the SHBP Medical Department for additional guidance. Questions regarding either the medical guidelines or the administrative procedures for implementation of the physical examinations should be directed to the SHBP Medical Department, P.O. Box 210, MD 20674, (301) 994-0010, extension 5264. February 2009 �52665_p01_24x:January 08 1/27/2009 2:54 AM Page 15 Personal Michael Gramer Please contact Nick Van-Beek by phone at (415) 3874536 or via email at snwag2000@yahoo.com Correction An article in the December edition of the LOG listed New York as the home port of Recertified Bosun Joe Casalino. Brother Casalino started his SIU career in New York but has shipped from the San Francisco/Oakland hall for the last 15 years. March & April 2009 Membership Meetings Piney Point......................................Monday: March 2, April 6 Algonac .............................................Friday: March 6, April 10 Baltimore........................................Thursday: March 5, April 9 Boston ...............................................Friday: March 6, April 10 Guam...........................................Thursday: March 19, April 23 Honolulu .........................................Friday: March 13, April 17 Houston............................................Monday: March 9, April 13 Jacksonville....................................Thursday: March 5, April 9 Joliet...........................................Thursday: March 12, April 16 Mobile......................................Wednesday: March 11, April 15 New Orleans.......................................Tuesday: March 10, April 14 New York..........................................Tuesday: March 3, April 7 Norfolk...........................................Thursday: March 5, April 9 Oakland ......................................Thursday: March 12, April 16 Philadelphia.................................Wednesday: March 4, April 8 Port Everglades ..........................Thursday: March 12, April 16 San Juan .........................................Thursday: March 5, April 9 St. Louis ..........................................Friday: March 13, April 17 Tacoma............................................Friday: March 20, April 24 Wilmington........................................Monday: March 16, April 20 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. Attention Seafarers Another New Ship! SPAD Works For You! Holiday Closure Please be advised that—unless an emergency arises—SIU Headquarters and all SIU hiring halls will be closed Monday, Feb. 16 for the observance of Presidents’ Day. Normal business hours will resume at all affected locations the following workdays. Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea December 16, 2008 — January 15, 2009 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals Totals Totals Totals All Departments February 2009 DECK DEPARTMENT 16 2 0 3 1 0 7 4 4 1 1 5 5 0 0 12 1 0 3 4 1 0 8 7 1 8 34 27 1 8 9 30 16 13 4 0 4 0 29 17 0 2 4 8 5 7 17 12 2 5 5 16 11 7 3 1 5 0 16 13 0 0 0 2 1 1 2 4 0 0 0 2 3 2 0 11 1 0 2 2 0 0 4 6 0 3 19 9 0 1 6 17 9 6 1 1 0 0 15 10 6 1 6 23 4 15 67 62 1 24 25 72 21 44 10 1 14 6 60 60 9 8 5 25 7 9 52 29 8 14 15 53 28 14 7 3 17 9 42 37 18 3 1 7 4 0 9 4 4 2 3 10 6 4 0 4 2 0 8 7 287 202 69 217 139 33 107 522 391 96 1 0 7 4 1 12 18 24 0 9 8 14 7 9 3 3 7 0 15 15 5 0 6 3 4 4 15 10 2 7 4 13 16 9 2 0 3 1 9 12 4 0 0 1 0 1 1 3 1 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 2 157 125 20 ENGINE DEPARTMENT 0 1 4 5 0 7 11 15 0 5 6 13 2 6 1 0 2 0 9 12 1 1 5 6 1 4 7 11 0 0 3 3 12 6 1 0 3 0 8 8 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 9 7 0 0 1 5 6 3 0 0 4 0 7 8 1 0 7 12 1 20 30 40 1 17 10 28 14 15 5 3 7 1 20 20 6 3 9 11 7 6 23 20 3 13 7 24 27 10 3 1 5 2 20 15 4 0 0 3 1 0 1 5 1 1 1 5 2 5 0 0 1 1 3 4 99 80 6 55 252 215 38 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 1 0 4 4 3 12 18 12 0 6 5 22 9 14 0 4 2 2 13 31 3 1 1 9 5 3 4 13 0 2 3 6 12 4 2 1 1 3 4 2 4 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 162 79 11 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C 7 2 5 16 5 4 16 18 7 8 10 20 15 8 4 1 9 6 26 15 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs 6 0 6 13 2 10 35 41 1 12 13 36 11 26 5 0 6 2 33 29 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 0 0 3 2 10 17 7 0 2 3 15 8 7 1 0 0 1 12 20 0 2 2 0 0 3 5 10 0 2 3 9 7 1 2 0 0 2 5 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 5 0 5 11 2 0 1 0 11 2 5 0 0 1 1 5 8 2 0 3 8 3 24 31 32 0 11 11 39 16 34 2 7 6 4 28 40 4 1 2 14 5 5 9 16 1 3 1 7 17 4 1 2 3 4 6 6 4 0 0 0 3 2 0 3 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 110 57 4 59 301 111 17 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 1 0 1 0 0 5 5 0 0 1 2 5 0 6 0 0 1 0 4 3 14 2 7 4 0 6 17 22 2 9 7 28 19 11 1 2 2 0 12 9 12 1 1 8 4 6 3 14 3 3 1 8 14 9 0 28 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 2 2 2 11 18 6 0 4 2 9 4 11 0 0 1 0 9 4 0 0 1 4 0 0 3 3 0 1 1 5 3 3 0 25 0 0 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 0 4 9 4 0 1 3 15 1 9 0 0 1 0 9 5 15 2 5 9 0 11 30 40 3 12 10 52 34 17 1 3 7 0 24 23 13 1 2 17 5 12 5 27 3 7 5 13 31 17 0 11 0 0 2 16 34 174 119 16 85 56 0 66 298 187 640 580 219 442 361 99 221 1141 1015 338 Seafarers LOG 15 �52665_p01_24x:January 08 1/27/2009 2:29 AM Page 16 Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 3328, Hagatna, Guam 96932 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 Deadline Nears to Apply For 2009 SHBP Scholarships Seafarers and dependents who are interested in furthering their education don’t have much time left to apply for the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan 2009 Scholarship Program. The application deadline is April 15. Designed to ease the financial challenges associated with college and vocational studies, this year’s SHBP Scholarship Program will offer eight awards. Three of these offerings specifically are designated for Seafarers and five have been targeted for spouses and dependents. One of the Seafarers scholarships totals $20,000 and is intended to help defray the costs associated with attending a four-year, college-level course of study. The remaining two are for $6,000 each and are designed as two-year awards for study at a postsecondary vocational school or community college. The five scholarships for spouses and dependents are for $20,000 apiece. The first step in the application process is to send for the 2009 SHBP Scholarship Program booklet. The package contains eligibility information, procedures for applying for the scholarships and an application form. To obtain a copy of this handout, interested individuals need only complete the form which appears above and return it to the address provided. The packages also are available at SIU halls. Please send me the 2009 SHBP Scholarship Program booklet which contains eligibility information, procedures for applying and a copy of the application form. Name ................................................................................................................................ Street Address ................................................................................................................. City, State, Zip Code ...................................................................................................... Telephone Number ..........( This application is for: ).................................................................................... Self Dependent Mail this completed form to: Scholarship Program Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Once the scholarship booklet has been received, applicants should check the eligibility criteria to determine if they are eligible to participate. They should also begin collecting and assembling the remainder of the paperwork needed to submit with the full application. All required materials must be received by the SHBP Scholarship Program Office by April 15. Items that need to be incorporated in the final application package include transcripts and certificates of graduation. Letters of recommendation – 2/09 solicited from individuals who know the applicant’s character, personality and career goals – also should be included as part of the application package. A high-quality photograph and a certified copy of the applicant’s birth certificate are also required and should accompany the package. Seafarers and dependents who previously applied for the scholarship program and were not selected are encouraged to apply again this year, provided they still meet the eligibility requirements. For Seafarers 401(k) Participants Morgan Stanley-Citi Venture Means Business as Usual – Maybe Better The recently announced joint venture between Morgan Stanley and Citigroup Inc.’s Smith Barney should be seamless for participants in the Seafarers 401(k) Plan. A communication sent last month from Smith Barney to Seafarers Plans and SIU officials summed it up as follows: The new venture “means we remain at the same desk in the same office with the same support staff, just new stationary and a new business card. It in no way affects your plan, accounts, investments or our relationship.” The message continued, “This new partnership will greatly enhance our ability to provide you with unmatched advice and the superior client service that has long characterized both the Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney organizations. Indeed, as our valued client, you will be able to access the extensive global networks of both firms to get the best market intelligence and investment opportunities.” According to news reports, the new entity is expected to employ more than 20,000 brokers in 1,000 branches. The combined firm will be called Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. The Seafarers 401(k) Plan launched in January 2008. Pic-From-The-Past NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG The Waterman owned and SIU-crewed Chickasaw in January 1953 was berthed at Bethlehem Steel Co. Inc.’s 56th Street Yard in Brooklyn, N.Y., following a mishap in New York Harbor. The vessel was entering the harbor in a dense fog when she collided with the U.S. Lines’ American Leader. The incident, which left a gaping hole in the Chickasaw’s bow, occurred between the Narrows and Governors Island. No injuries were sustained by crews of either vessel. The Chickasaw later proceeded to Bush Terminal where she was repaired. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with other Seafarers LOG readers, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. High-resolution digital images may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org February 2009 �52665_p01_24:January 08 1/26/2009 7:21 AM Page 17 Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. Welcome Ashore DEEP SEA KEVIN BERTEL Brother Kevin Bertel, 55, started sailing with the Seafarers in 1973 as a member of the engine department. His first voyage was on the Bethex. Brother Bertel often took advantage of educational opportunities available at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. He was last employed aboard the SLMP-853 Tacoma. Brother Bertel was born in Omaha, Neb., and now makes his home in Tacoma, Wash. MICHAEL BORDERS Brother Michael Borders, 53, joined the union in 1971 while training in Piney Point, Md. He initially sailed on the James. Brother Borders was born in Virginia and shipped in the steward department. He upgraded frequently at the union-affiliated school. Brother Borders’ final ship was the Performance. He resides in Portsmouth, Va. GARY COATS Brother Gary Coats, 70, became an SIU member in 1981. The Iowa native shipped in the deck department. Brother Coats first went to sea aboard the Independence. In 2000, he visited the Piney Point school to enhance his seafaring abilities. Brother Coats most recently sailed on the Eric G. Gibson. He lives in Mauritius. LEOCADIO COLON Brother Leocadio Colon, 77, donned the SIU colors in 1996 while in the port of New York. He originally shipped aboard the USNS Denebola. Brother Colon attended classes on numerous occasions at the Seafarers-affiliated school in Maryland. The deck department member was born in Honduras. Brother Colon’s final trip was on the Overseas New Orleans. He is a resident of Paterson, N.J. February 2009 ANSELMO LOPEZ Brother Anselmo Lopez, 67, joined the SIU in 1991 while in the port of New York. He originally shipped in the steward department aboard the Independence. Brother Lopez enhanced his skills often at the unionaffiliated school in Piney Point, Md. His final voyage was on the Maersk Georgia. Brother Lopez was born in Honduras but makes his home in Brooklyn, N.Y. ROBERT MULVANEY Brother Robert Mulvaney, 65, started sailing with the union in 1991. His earliest trip to sea was aboard the USNS Lynch. Brother Mulvaney, a member of the engine department, was born in New Jersey. In 1996 and 2000, he took advantage of educational opportunities available at the Piney Point school. Brother Mulvaney’s last ship was the USNS Denebola. He settled in his native state. FELIPEPITO ORLANDO Brother Felipepito Orlando, 63, joined the Seafarers in 1987. He was initially employed on the USNS Persistent. Brother Orlando was a member of the steward department. He was born in the Philippines. Brother Orlando upgraded at the Piney Point school on numerous occasions. His most recent voyage was aboard the Virginian. Brother Orlando lives in Chesapeake, Va. THOMAS PALBITSKA Brother Thomas Palbitska, 66, was born in Bremerton, Wash. He became an SIU member in 1993. Brother Palbitska first worked on the Cape Victory; his final trip to sea was aboard Seabulk Pride. He attended classes at the Paul Hall Center in 2001. Brother Palbitska sailed in the deck department. He resides in Las Vegas. INLAND DANIEL COX Brother Daniel Cox, 62, was born in California. He started sailing with the union in 1980. Brother Cox primarily shipped with Crowley Towing & Transportation of Wilmington. He makes his home in Cypress, Calif. WILLIAM DIZE Brother William Dize, 60, joined the SIU ranks in 1986. He mainly sailed aboard vessels operated by the Association of Maryland Pilots. Brother Dize was born in Virginia but settled in Ewell, Md. Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG 1953 During an incident investigation, the U.S. Coast Guard hailed the SIU crew of the Angelina as exhibiting “superb seamanship” for preventing a disaster in the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. The incident occurred at midnight when a ship proceeding through the canal ahead of the Angelina collided with the oil barge F.L. Hayes, causing an explosion that flew burning gasoline that enveloped the Angelina from stem to stern. Awakened out of sleep by alarms, the Angelina crew quickly responded and saved the ship from flames shooting higher than the masts and burning so hot they were blistering paint. 1962 Two SIU-contracted ships, the Rose Knot and the Coastal Sentry, were part of the global network BRUCE GODFREY Brother Bruce Godfrey, 57, became a union member in 1976. His earliest trip to sea was on an Allied Towing vessel. Brother Godfrey was born in North Carolina. He enhanced his skills frequently at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Brother Godfrey last sailed with OSG Ship Management. He resides in Jacksonville, Fla. RUSSELL JEWETT Brother Russell Jewett, 65, began shipping with the Seafarers in 1973. He initially worked with Michigan Interstate Railway. Brother Jewett was born in Cheboygan, Mich. In 1981, he attended classes at the Piney tracking stations which maintained communications with Mercury astronaut John Glenn as he made three orbits around the world. While details were limited by security, it is reported one of the ships was stationed off the coast of Africa and the other was in the Indian Ocean. This Month In SIU History 1975 Manned by a crack SIU crew, the newly built supertanker TT Williamsburgh embarked on her maiden voyage on Jan. 2 from New York Harbor to the Persian Gulf and Europe. The 225,000 dwt Williamsburgh was built by SIU-affiliated UIW shipbuilders at the Seatrain Point school. Brother Jewett most recently sailed aboard the Sugar Island. He lives in Hart, Mich. GREAT LAKES SCOTT CORISTINE Brother Scott Coristine, 55, began sailing with the Seafarers in 1972 from Detroit, Mich. His first ship was the U.S. Gypsum; his most recent was the St. Clair. Brother Coristine was born in Michigan. He worked in both the engine and deck departments during his seafaring career. Brother Coristine upgraded on three occasions at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. He calls Lascassas, Tenn., home. Shipbuilding Yard in the former Brooklyn, N.Y., Navy Yard. The six-story supertanker was sold to the General Electric Co. Credit Corp. and its agent the Wilmington Trust Co. for a 25-year bareboat charter to Kingsway Tankers Inc., which timechartered the vessel for 25 years to American Petrofina Inc., a subsidiary of Belgium Petrofina S.A. 1991 As the progression of the Persian Gulf War unfolds, press reports state that some foreign seamen have refused to sail on ships assigned to carry American cargo to the area of conflict, including seamen from nations supposedly allied to the U.S. During congressional testimony, SIU President Michael Sacco pointed out the continued unreliability of foreign mariners on flag-of-convenience ships when it comes to ensuring U.S. troops receive materiel in regions of crisis. Seafarers LOG 17 �52665_p01_24:January 08 1/26/2009 7:21 AM Page 18 Final Depar tures DEEP SEA JOSEPH EBBOLE Pensioner Joseph Ebbole, 84, passed away Oct. 1. Brother Ebbole became a Seafarer in 1954. He was born in Illinois. Brother Ebbole initially shipped in the deck department of an Emerson Steamship Company vessel. Prior to his retirement in 1989, he worked aboard the Liberator. Brother Ebbole lived in Las Vegas. IRVIN GORGAS Pensioner Irvin Gorgas, 83, died Nov. 5. Brother Gorgas was born in Chicago. He started shipping with the union in 1944 from the port of New York. Brother Gorgas first sailed aboard the Kyska. The steward department member last shipped on the Overseas Arctic. Brother Gorgas retired in 1980 and called Covington, La., home. HUBERT JACKSON Pensioner Hubert Jackson, 78, passed away Nov. 28. Brother Jackson joined the SIU in 1956 while in the port of Houston. His first ship was operated by Terminal Steamship Company. Brother Jackson was born in Sampson, N.C., and shipped in the deck department. His final voyage was aboard the Explorer. He went on pension in 1991 and resided in Newton Grove, N.C. DEWEY JORDAN Pensioner Dewey Jordan, 81, died July 14. Brother Jordan signed on with the union in 1946. His earliest trip to sea was on the Alcoa Pilgrim. Brother Jordan was born in North Carolina and sailed in the deck department. His last ship was the Cape Orlando. Brother Jordan became a pensioner in 1989 and settled in Wilmer, Ala. 18 Seafarers LOG JOHN LYONS Pensioner John Lyons, 87, passed away July 20. Brother Lyons first donned the SIU colors in 1973. His first voyage was aboard the Falcon Lady. Brother Lyons, a member of the engine department, was born in Massachusetts. His final trip to sea was on the Brooks Range. Brother Lyons began receiving his pension in 1988 and made Perris, Calif., home. ARTHUR MACHADO Pensioner Arthur Machado, 67, died Nov. 22. Brother Machado became a union member in 1968. He initially worked in the deck department of an Atlantic Carriers Inc. vessel. Brother Machado was born in New Orleans. He most recently shipped aboard the USNS Altair. Brother Machado retired in 2003. He was a resident of Belle Chase, La. He joined the union in 1967 and initially worked on the Alcoa Trader. Brother Richman shipped as a member of the engine department. He was last employed aboard the Integrity. Brother Richman resided in Jacksonville, Fla., and retired in 1996. JUAN RODRIGUEZ Pensioner Juan Rodriguez, 78, died June 24. Brother Rodriguez first donned the SIU colors in 1951 while in the port of Houston. His first voyage was on a Delta Steamship Lines vessel. Brother Rodriguez was born in Mexico and sailed in the engine department. His final trip to sea was aboard the Atlantic. Brother Rodriguez became a pensioner in 1991 and settled in Galveston, Texas. JAMES MIJARES VIRGILIO ROMERO Pensioner James Mijares, 91, passed away July 14. Brother Mijares joined the SIU ranks in 1961. His first trip to sea was on a Colonial Steamship Company vessel. Brother Mijares sailed in the steward department. He was born in the Philippines. Before retiring in 1982, Brother Mijares shipped on the Galveston. He lived in Spring Valley, Calif. Pensioner Virgilio Romero, 81, passed away Oct. 7. Brother Romero, a member of the engine department, began shipping with the Seafarers in 1977. He originally worked on a vessel operated by CSX Lines. Brother Romero was born in the Philippines. Prior to his retirement in 1996, he sailed aboard the USNS Silas Bent. Brother Romero was a resident of San Francisco. JUAN OQUENDO Pensioner Juan Oquendo, 87, died July 4. Brother Oquendo signed on with the Seafarers in 1943 while in the port of New York. He was born in Puerto Rico and worked in the steward department. Brother Oquendo’s final voyage was aboard the San Juan. He went on pension in 1986 and called Uniondale, N.Y., home. EVERETT RICHMAN Pensioner Everett Richman, 78, passed away Nov. 17. Brother Richman was born in Norfolk, Va. VICTOR TAMULIS JOHN SMITH Pensioner Victor Tamulis, 81, passed away Nov. 18. Brother Tamulis joined the SIU ranks in 1955. He first shipped with Atlantic Carriers as a member of the deck department. Brother Tamulis was born in Greenfield, Mass. His last ship was the Commitment. Brother Tamulis went on pension in 1994. He lived in Houston. Brother John Smith, 49, passed away June 14. He signed on with the SIU in 1977 while in Piney Point, Md. Brother Smith first sailed on the Consumers Powers. He was born in Philadelphia and shipped in the engine department. Brother Smith most recently worked aboard a Crowley Liner Service vessel. He continued to live in Pennsylvania. INLAND TARLTON LANGELE Pensioner Tarlton Langele, 68, died July 18. Brother Langele was born in Alabama. He originally sailed on a Hudson Waterways vessel. Brother Langele’s most recent trip to sea was aboard the Crescent Mobile. The deck department member began receiving his pension in 2004. Brother Langele continued to live in his native state. JOHN NELSON Brother John Nelson, 52, passed away June 3. He started shipping with the union in 1979. Brother Nelson was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. He initially worked in the deck department on the Seabulk Tanker. Brother Nelson’s final ship was the Resolve. He called Fort Myers, Fla., home. RICHARD SCHEMM Pensioner Richard Schemm, 83, died Nov. 25. Brother Schemm joined the Seafarers in 1953 while in the port of New York. He was born in Philadelphia. Brother Schemm originally worked in the deck department of an AH Bull Steamship Company vessel. His final trip to sea was with Energy Ammonia Transportation. Brother Schemm continued to reside in Pennsylvania. He became a pensioner in 1990. GEORGE SADLER Pensioner George Sadler, 86, died July 4. Brother Sadler first donned the SIU colors in 1960. He was initially employed with Pennsylvania Railroad in the port of Norfolk, Va. Brother Sadler was born in Virginia. His last trip to sea was aboard a Penn Central Transportation Company vessel. Brother Sadler started collecting his retirement compensation in 1982. He settled in Gwynn, Va. GREAT LAKES LAWRENCE CURNOW SR. Pensioner Lawrence Curnow, Sr., 67, died Nov. 15. Brother Curnow began his employment with the SIU in 1966. He initially sailed on a Great Lakes Associates vessel. Brother Curnow last shipped aboard the John Boland. He sailed in the deck department and was a resident of his native state of Minnesota. ROBERT LACKEY Pensioner Robert Lackey, 94, passed away July 20. Brother Lackey was born in Canada. He joined the union in 1961. Brother Lackey originally worked with Merritt Chapman & Scott. Before his retirement in 1976, he sailed on a Dunbar & Sullivan vessel. Brother Lackey made his home in Monticello, Fla. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU), have passed away. Name Age Adams, William 86 Amata, John 89 Antoine, Louis 86 Burke, Joseph 94 Carter, Robert 88 Cruz, Anicasio 84 Curtis, Melvin 88 Dwyer, Herbert 83 Ferro, John 95 Francisco, Jose 92 Green, Van 80 Gutow, William 83 Johnson, Jay 80 King, Benson 87 Pena, Robert 83 Reyes, Eladio 85 Salvage, James 68 Sherman, Edward 79 Smallcombe, James 84 Southern, Alan 82 Walka, Edward 81 DOD Nov. 8 Nov. 14 Nov. 24 Nov. 11 Nov. 12 Nov. 26 Dec. 2 Nov. 30 Nov. 18 Nov. 21 Nov. 1 Nov. 20 Nov. 19 Nov. 15 Nov. 29 Nov. 25 Nov. 18 Nov. 20 Nov. 20 Nov. 20 Nov. 2 February 2009 �52665_p01_24:January 08 1/26/2009 7:21 AM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings ALLIANCE NORFOLK (Maersk Line, Limited), Nov. 16 – Chairman Raphael L. James, Secretary Luis A. Caballero, Educational Director Herman Castro. Bosun and crew thanked steward department for good food and service. Secretary expressed gratitude to fellow crew members for helping keep house clean with a special thanks given to SA Rolando Batiz. He announced that clean linen would be distributed prior to arrival in port; please leave for new crew. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Seafarers requested a new washing machine. Suggestion was made to raise pension benefits. CHARGER (Maersk Line, Limited), Nov. 16 – Chairman Robert Pagan Jr., Secretary Alphonso Dixon, Educational Director Andrew J. Linares, Deck Delegate Raymond P. Vicari, Engine Delegate Orlando Guzman, Steward Delegate Valerie Russo. Chairman reported smooth sailing. He asked departing mariners to leave keys in rooms and make sure rooms were neat for arriving crew. He also reminded everyone to get their TWIC card as soon as possible. Educational director urged Seafarers to visit the Paul Hal Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., to upgrade skills. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendation was made regarding requirements for vacation benefits. COMMITMENT (Maersk Line, Limited), Nov. 30 – Chairman James K. Walker, Secretary Stephanie L. Sizemore, Educational Director Dennis Baker, Deck Delegate Reuben M. Brown, Engine Delegate Mark Davis, Steward Delegate Breon A. Lucas. Chairman announced payoff Dec. 5 in Charleston, S.C. It was also reported that room inspection would take place Dec. 3. Educational director encouraged all mariners to stay safe, “We are experiencing rough weather, don’t take any chances, use one hand for rails.” No beefs; disputed OT reported in deck department. It was reiterated that ship was on its last voyage; crew will be moved to new vessel in January 2009. Bosun thanked steward department for keeping the “bellies happy.” Next ports: Charleston, S.C., Houston, and Norfolk, Va. EL MORRO (Interocean American Shipping), Nov. 29 – Chairman Robert T. Grubbs, Secretary Rafeal A. Cardenas, Educational Director Joseph A. Letang. Chairman reminded crew to keep documents current. He also suggested applying early for TWIC cards to avoid the rush as April 2009 is approaching quickly. Educational director talked about the importance of upgrading at the Piney Point school. Meal Time on the Alliance St. Louis The hard-working crew aboard the SIU-contracted Alliance St. Louis deserves only the best when meal time rolls around on the vessel. Ensuring that none of their shipmates leaves the galley dissatisfied during lunch are Chief Cook Vincent Chaver (right), who drops raw food items into the deep fryer; Steward Assistant Christopher Baum (below) on the grill and and Steward Baker Franklyn Cordero who prepares watermelon for the salad bar. Members of the Alliance St. Louis crew regularly voice their appreciation for the efforts of the galley gang. February 2009 The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships’ minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion was made to decrease time required to qualify for pension benefits and increase wages. GREEN COVE (Central Gulf Lines), Nov. 16 – Chairman Francisco D. Bonilla, Secretary John L. Gibbons Jr., Deck Delegate John Walsh, Engine Delegate Christina Earhart, Steward Delegate Shantay Joquin. Bosun announced payoff in Tacoma, Wash., on Nov. 20 and went over ship’s itinerary. Secretary requested that all crew members see SA prior to signing off to get clean linen. No beefs; disputed OT reported in deck and engine departments. Crew members stated rooms were too cold, and related request was made for portable heaters. Next ports: Vancouver, Canada and Tacoma, Wash. HORIZON ANCHORAGE (Horizon Lines), Nov. 2 – Chairman Dan P. Fleehearty, Secretary Amanda F. Suncin, Educational Director Michael P. Brown. Chairman stated payoff would take place Nov. 4 at sea, with arrival in Tacoma, Wash., later that evening. Secretary asked mariners to help keep crew lounge and laundry clean. Educational director urged Seafarers to upgrade skills often at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. He also reminded everyone to keep all paperwork current. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Heating Aboard SIU Vessel in Jacksonville AB Robert Davis prepares to move cargo aboard the SIU-crewed Westward Venture in the port of Jacksonville, Fla. To accomplish this daunting task, Davis is operating a piece of equipment known as a “hi low.” problems were reported in crew mess hall, which will be discussed with boarding patrolman. Bosun thanked crew members for working well together and keeping inside of house clean. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash., Anchorage, Alaska, and Kodiak, Alaska. HORIZON TRADER (Horizon Lines), Nov. 30 – Chairman Antonio M. Mercado, Secretary Joseph Emidy, Educational Director Thomas M. Flynn, Engine Delegate Victor L. Sapp. Chairman announced payoff in Jacksonville, Fla., on Dec. 5. Patrolman was requested to come aboard. Chairman expressed his gratitude to steward department for great food during voyage. Educational director advised all mariners to enhance their seafaring abilities at the Paul Hall Center and check out Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School, “it is second to none.” Treasurer reported $985 in crew fund and $1,000 in satellite fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestions were made pertaining to pension benefits and clarification was requested regarding time-off rotations. Next port: Jacksonville, Fla. HOUSTON (USS Transport Lines), Nov. 16 – Chairman John R. Lamprecht, Secretary Robert E. Wilcox, Educational Director Ronald Gordon, Engine Delegate Daniel Daligcon, Steward Delegate Andrew Andrini. Chairman reported that patrolman is expected to visit ship in Galveston, Texas. Secretary thanked crew for helping keep pantry and mess hall clean. He reminded everyone to clean lint filters in dryer to prevent fires and make the dryer work more efficiently. Steward noted that food costs are up due to higher fuel and delivery costs and that food budget needs to be updated. Educational director encouraged members to check out what the union-affiliated school has to offer and keep nec- essary seafaring documents current. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made to have crew washing machine fixed. Crew members expressed their appreciation to the steward department. Next ports: Houston and Beaumont, Texas. MAERSK CALIFORNIA (Maersk Line, Limited), Nov. 24 – Chairman Abdul A. Hassan, Secretary John D. Bukowsky, Deck Delegate Glen A. Rogers Jr., Engine Delegate Luis Valencia, Steward Delegate Richard M. Worobey. Chairman reported a smooth and safe voyage. Secretary thanked Seafarers for help keeping ship clean. Treasurer noted $601.00 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. President’s report from the October 2008 Seafarers LOG was read and discussed. Crew members requested company purchase a “region free” DVD player for the crew lounge as the one they have now only plays DVD’s from the Middle East region. Vote of thanks was given to the steward department. Next port: Shuwaikh, Kuwait. MAERSK CONSTELLATION (Maersk Line, Limited), Nov. 16 – Chairman Raynaldo Ramirez, Secretary Steven Dickson, Educational Director Hugh Morrison, Deck Delegate Eddie L. Cathcart, Steward Delegate Jessie Jones. Chairman advised members to check contracts before taking jobs at the union hall to avoid confusion and misunderstandings when you get to the vessel. He sends his congratulations to President-elect Obama. Secretary urged all mariners to get TWIC card ASAP if they wish to work after April 2009. Educational director encouraged crew to take advantage of the Paul Hall Center to increase your opportunities for advancement. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward department was thanked for excellent meals and service. Next port: New Orleans. Seafarers LOG 19 �52665_p01_24:January 08 1/26/2009 7:21 AM Page 20 Maritime Briefs SS Transglobe, Union Crews Inducted into ‘Hall of Fame’ A World War II-era cargo vessel, the SS Transglobe, and its crew were scheduled to be inducted into the National Maritime Hall of Fame in a Jan. 31 ceremony at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y. The Transglobe was crewed by NMU, MM&P and MEBA members throughout its service. The vessel originally was designed as a cargo ship for Lykes Brothers Steamship Company. The U.S. Maritime Commission modified its design as a C-4 ship and took it over in 1941. In 1944, the Transglobe successfully completed seven convoy runs through the U-boat packs of the North Atlantic, transporting 13,524 GIs to England. It was later used to make shuttle runs across the English Channel, including during the D-Day invasion. In all, the Transglobe transported a record 201,294 troops, wounded, casualties and other passengers, a number unsurpassed by any merchant ship during WWII. In 1946, the Transglobe was laid up until the Vietnam War. In 1960, the Transglobe was taken out of layup and converted into a roll-on, roll-off vessel. Under government service in 1966, the ship began shuttle service between Naha, DaNang and Saigon. During the ship’s Vietnam service from 1966 to 1972, it became highly acclaimed for delivering troops and materiel under nearly constant fire. At one point during the war, the vessel was cited as being on the Viet Cong’s “most wanted list” for it successful missions. Established in 1982, the National Maritime Hall of Fame is intended to highlight U.S. maritime heritage. U.S. Navy Submarine Order Good News for Union Yards The U.S. Navy has awarded a $14 billion contract for eight nuclear submarines to General Dynamics Corp. The vessels will be built in connection with Northrop Grumman. Work will be done at two union-contracted shipyards that include General Dynamics’ Electric Boat in Groton, Conn., and Northrop Grumman’s Newport News Virginia Shipyard. The AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department, to which the SIU is affiliated, has long contended that an upgrade of the nation’s nuclear submarine fleet is overdue. In addition to creating jobs in a critical sector of the American econo- my, it will enhance U.S. security interests, the MTD has indicated. The orders come at a critical time for the shipyard workers. Late last year, the two ship makers warned Congress that they could be forced to make job cuts if the Navy did not place more orders. MarAd Study Evaluates U.S. Maritime Policy The Maritime Administration has issued a new study that evaluates the projected adequacy of current U.S. maritime policy in meeting the commercial, economic, security and environmental needs of the nation over the next three decades. The report was researched and prepared by IHS Global Insight, Inc., of Lexington, Mass. The 72-page report finds that current U.S. maritime policy only supports America’s domestic maritime trades and is not supportive of U.S. participation in the international trades. However, the study also advises that possible reforms in national policy may lend more support to the U.S. maritime industry. Among other points, the report calls for strong support of the Jones Act and U.S. shipbuilding as well as maritime labor and safety laws. It also calls for greater investment in port development. Further, it backs the marine highway initiative. The full report and its findings are available online at Maritime Administration web site, www.marad.dot.gov Congressional Coalition Calls for Expanded American Shipbuilding The United States government needs to pursue policies that will promote a strong domestic shipbuilding base. That was the conclusion of a bipartisan coalition of 18 senators and more than 40 members of the House of Representatives, who sent letters out to their colleagues late last year. “Expanding American shipbuilding has the dual benefit of strengthening a critical branch of our national defense while bolstering our strained economy,” wrote the senators. “At a time when American manufacturing jobs are moving overseas, we have an opportunity to create highly-skilled jobs for the American manufacturing workforce here at home.” According to these legislators, a priority should be given to reversing the decline of the U.S. Navy, whose fleet has shrunk by roughly 50 percent over the past two decades to the smallest number since before World War II. Without immediate action, the 284 vessels now in the fleet will continue to dwindle. The legislators said that the United States could maintain a 313-vessel Navy if it adopted an annual build rate of 12 vessels. Action also should be taken to ensure the viability of the commercial sector as well, the lawmakers said. The senators and House members highlighted both the economic and homeland security benefits that would accompany such a policy. An estimated 400,000 people in 47 states are employed by the shipbuilding industry, which consists of six major shipbuilding yards, several smaller ship construction and repair yards, and more than 4,000 major manufacturers of ship components and systems. Signing the Senate letter were Senators Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Mel Martinez (RFla.), Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.), Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), David Vitter (R-La.), Daniel Akaka (DHawaii) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). A similar House letter was signed by Representatives Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), Rob Wittman (R-Va.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), Steve Kagen (DWis.), Robert Brady (D-Pa.), Neil Abercrombie (DHawaii), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), Susan Davis (D-Calif.), Rodney Alexander (R-La.), Henry Brown (R-S.C.), Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), James McGovern (D-Mass.), Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), John Carter (R-Texas), Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), Randy Forbes (RVa.), Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md)., Corrine Brown (D-Fla.), Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), Betty Sutton (D-Ohio), Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.), Mike Michaud (D-Maine), Steve Scalise (R-La.), Travis Childers (D-Miss.), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Bob Latta (R-Ohio), Joe Wilson (RS.C.), Trent Franks (R-Ariz.), Bob Filner (D-Calif.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Steven Rothman (D-N.J.), Gene Green (D-Texas), Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Jo Bonner (RAla.), Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Pete Visclosky (D-Ind.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.) and Timothy Bishop (D-N.Y). Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return 20 Seafarers LOG receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVI- TY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. February 2009 �52665_p01_24:January 08 1/26/2009 7:21 AM Page 21 Seafarers Paul Hall Center Upgrading Course Schedule The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the next few months of 2009. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promoting the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Course Start Date Date of Completion Marine Refrigeration Technician May 4 June 12 Machinist June 1 June 19 Pumpman June 22 July 3 Welding March 2 April 6 May 4 June 1 March 20 April 24 May 22 June 19 Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion March 2 April 27 June 22 March 27 May 22 July 17 Automated Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) April 13 April 17 Fast Rescue Boat June 29 July 3 Government Vessels February 23 April 6 June 1 July 27 February 27 April 10 June 5 July 31 Radar March 9 June 8 March 30 March 20 June 19 April 10 Radar Renewal April 20 April 20 Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman May 4 May 15 Tank Ship Familiarization/Assistant Cargo DL February 9 May 18 February 20 May 29 Tank PIC Barge DL May 11 May 15 Able Seaman Lifeboatman Engine Upgrading Courses Advanced Firefighting March 9 March 20 Basic Firefighting/STCW Basic & Advanced Firefighting February 17 March 30 May 11 May 25 July 20 March 9 February 20 April 3 May 15 May 29 July 24 March 20 Medical Care Provider March 23 March 27 MSC Small Arms (Company designees) February 23 February 26 Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes start every other Monday. The most recent class began January 26. Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. Adult Basic Education (ABE) Advanced Refrigerated Container March 30 June 22 April 24 July 17 Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations (BAPO) March 30 May 25 April 24 June 19 March 2 April 27 June 22 March 27 May 22 July 17 Junior Engineer March 9 May 1 Marine Electrician May 11 July 3 Marine Refrigeration Technician February 9 March 20 FOWT Safety Specialty Courses UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ English as a Second Language (ESL) College Program Preparatory Course (when applying, students should list the name of the prep course desired on upgrading application) Online Distance Learning Courses Students MUST have access to the internet with an e-mail address in order to take the following classes: DL Environmental Awareness, DL Hazmat Control & Mgmt, DL Hearing Conservation, DL Heat Stress Mgmt., DL Shipboard Pest Mgmt., DL Respiratory Protection and DL Shipboard Water Sanitation. The foregoing classes are taken online, not at the Paul Hall Center. Please be sure to provide an email address (printed neatly) on the application when applying. With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twenty-five (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested, 1995 STCW Certificate, valid SHBP Clinic Card and TWIC. Street Address _________________________________________________________ City __________________________ State _______________ Zip Code ___________ Telephone _________________________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Date of Birth ______________________ Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____ Department ___________ E-mail ____________________________ U.S. Citizen: Yes No Home Port _____________________________ COURSE BEGIN DATE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Yes Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ February 2009 NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 2/09 Seafarers LOG 21 �52665_p01_24x:January 08 1/27/2009 2:31 AM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class – Unlicensed apprentices from Class 710 recently graduated from the water survival course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Walid Ahmed, Jason Albertson, James Baldwin, Donnel Cherry, Scott Daly, Ginger Fitzpatrick, Abdulkarim Ghaleb, Mohamed Ghaleb, Steven Hamilton, Brandon Hess, Bryant Hunter, Ryan Kiefer, Bruce Raquet, Michael Ringwood and Derek Thompson. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations – The following individuals (above, in alpha- betical order) on Dec. 5 completed the basic auxiliary plant operations course: Benjamin Arroyo, Jason Babbitt, Daniel Balch, Jeremy Birchfield, Jonathyn Bland, Michael Brannon, Tony Brinkley, Christopher Croombs, Jason Crusing, Ezekiel Deas, Jonathan Diaz, Casimiro Garza Jr., Shawn Haber, Nathan Jenkins, Stephen Jenkins, Shawn Lewis, Kwame Owusu, Lazaro Rivera-Rodriguez, Steven Shaffer, Karen Suzuki, Aleksey Vigovskiy, Luchi Watson and Rickey Yancey. Their instructor, Tim Achorn, is at far right. Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. Computer Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class – Twenty unlicensed apprentices from Class 711 recently graduated from the water survival course. Completing the course (above, in alphabetical order) were: Tallentyre Barmann, Jose Burgos, Timothy Cunningham, Maurice David, Jose Gonzalez DelValle, Anthony Green, Deok Hamlett, Jamar Harley, Kevin Hunt, Eddie Jackson, Gerren Jenkins, Josue Marin, Charles Murphy, Jesus Pacheco, Nicholas Pratt, Keven Reyes Velez, Angel Rodriguez-Pineiro, Edwin Velez, Osburn Wyche Jr. and Jerald Young. Six individuals recently completed computer training courses while upgrading their skills at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Those completing various classes (photo above, from the left) were Milton Carmichael, Saeed Alahmadi, Donato Surell, Arnel Resurrecion, Regina Ewing (right in photo at left below) and Sergio Cedeno (right in photo at right below). Their instructor, Rich Prucha, is in the center in photo above, and at the left and right respectively in the photos below. Tankship Familiarization – Two classes of Phase III trainees completed this 63-hour course Oct. 31. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Benjamin Arroyo, Jason Babbitt, Martin Baker, Daniel Balch, Reginald Berkes, Jeremy Birchfield, Johnathyn Bland, Robert Blunt, Michael Brannon, Tony Brinkley, Phillip Clemon, Christopher Coombs, Michael Correa, Jason Crusing, Jason Davis, Ezekiel Deas, Jonathan Diaz, Stanford Drankes, Christopher Gonseth, William Gosse, Shawn Haber, Heather Hammons, Joshua Hansen, Shaun Lewis, Robin Majette, Bryan Mash, Kevin McCrea, John Menley, Joshua Milton, Twanna Moody, Jarred Moylan, Tierria Noble, Lazaro Rivera-Rodriguez, Robert Rothwell, Adam Sanders, Joshua Sanders, Irnacio Santos Aponte, Steve Shaffer, Kenneth Summerford, Lezlie Vehikite, Nelson Velez, Aleksey Vigovskiy, Stephen Wood, and Rickey Yancey. 22 Seafarers LOG February 2009 �52665_p01_24:January 08 1/26/2009 7:22 AM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes Tankship Familiarization DL – The following individuals (above, in alphabetical order) on Nov. 21 completed this course: Thellis Barnes, Enrique Bodden, Jose Bonita, George Borromeo, Milton Carmichael, Juanito Ceralde, Daniel Chisom-Coffey, Mark Ciciulla, Cory Covington, Goeffrey Denesse, Dori Grier, Peter Hamm, Russell Luther, David McGrew, Jimmy Orr, Selcuk Ozdencanli, Arnel Resurrection, Jeffry Stuart, Donato Surell, Mark Wertz and Emmanuel Wilson. Their instructor, Jim Shaffer, is at far right. Welding – The following individuals (above, in alphabetical order) on Nov. 21 completed this 103-hour course: Steven Benavides Jr., Eugene Davis Jr., Criseldo Espinosa, Arlyn Fernandez, Nicholas Gattuso, Phil Hurlbutt, Harry McKever, Neiman Pettis, Steben Torres and Edward Zimich. Buzzy Andrews, their instructor, is fifth from the left. ARPA – Six upgraders (above, in alphabetical order) on Nov. 21 completed this 32-hour course: Joshua Ano, Rudy Harjanto, Andrew Longneck, Chris Ruggiero, Michael Sherman and Gregory Smith. Their instructor, Stacy McNeely, is at left Advanced Firefighting (Hawaii) – Six individuals completed this course Nov. 21 at the Seafarers Training Center at Barbers Point, Hawaii. Graduating (above, in no particular order) were Chinando Pacis, Matt Nelson, Jeffrey Page, George Longshore, Gregorio Cudal and Victorino Labrilla Jr. BST/STCW (Hawaii) – Twenty individuals on Nov. 22 graduated from this course at the SIU-affiliated training facility in Hawaii. Completing the course (above, in no particular order) were: Andrew Churchill, Trevor Dudley, Patrick Karousis, Plamen Kolev, Seton Williams, Lucio Calina, Marjorie Coleman, Elifredo Cabrera Cancel, Monica Loredo, Veldy Veve, Santa Lucero, Nancy Tran, Leslie Amerson, Clara Dickinson-McQuary, Meserete Kristos, Rosimar Pinto, Matthew Southard, Sheri Ketcher, Ashley Colvin and Abigail Stewart. Crowd Management (Hawaii) – The following individuals (above, in no particular order) graduated from this course in Hawaii on Dec. 7: Larry Ganon, Richard Ong, Jose Castrodes, Ahmed Omer, Jape Geonzon, Ramiro Lopez, Edward Glabis, Danilo Valencia, Edward Fermaint, Robin Lukaszewski, Eric Barachina, Lucia Colon, Dustin Brantley, Nilo Gler, Terence Chan, Dannal Williams and Maurice Brodie. BST/STCW (Hawaii) – Eighteen individuals on Nov. 15 completed their training in this course at the Seafarers Training Center at Barbers Point, Hawaii. Those graduating (photo at left, in no particular order) were: Adan Cortez, Kevin Griffin, Tony Vera, Christopher Branscomb, David Gentry, Jonathan Manion, Andrina Hargrave, Chistopher Beutler, Jonathan Berkland, Timothy Hinson, Alexis Bey, Fabiola Mendez, Samantha Schnepp, Chad Aude, Robert Auld, Diane Hampton, Jessee Jargrave and Fantasis Harrington. BST/STCW (Hawaii) - The following individuals (photo at right, in no particular order) on Dec. 6 graduated from this course in Barbers Point, Hawaii: Brandon Zolman, Michael Mussarelli, Abby O’Brian, Mary Edwards, Matthew Tyler, Alai Woldeamalk, Karen Alander, Mary Gunter, Edward Fermaint, Austin Burgess, Jennifer Patino, Tyler Binette, Skyler Yuda, Kyle Brathwaite, Kacee Koupal, Reed Shannon, Michael Vannoy, Phyllis Glasgow, Noah Andrews and Hazel Jenkins. February 2009 Seafarers LOG 23 �52665_p01_24:January 08 1/26/2009 7:22 AM Page 24 Volume 71, Number 2 February 2009 TWIC News And Reminders - Pages 6-7 Officials from SIU-contracted Crowley discuss shipboard safety, including the importance of recognizing and preventing crew fatigue, during a meeting with union officials, Paul Hall Center representatives and others. A key part of the overall training was an introduction to a state-of-the-art computer system being implemented at the union halls Safety Directors Sharpen Skills SIU Group Offers Key Insights in Crowley Meeting SIU safety directors from 11 ports last month took part in their 10th annual meeting at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, based in Piney Point, Md. The directors also participated in an in-depth safety meeting with SIU headquarters officials and representatives of Crowley (a gathering which took place at the union’s head office in Camp Springs, Md.). The safety directors’ mid-January agenda featured thorough training on a state-of-the-art computer system scheduled for implementation at SIU halls. It also included updates on key current events in the U.S. maritime industry; reviews of critical regulations governing mariner, vessel and port safety; ship inspection procedures; techniques for uncovering hidden hazards; handson refreshers in fire fighting and confined-space safety, and more. The Crowley meeting was a follow-up to a previous conference. Attendees also included representatives from the Paul Hall Center, the American Maritime Officers, and American Service Technology, Inc. Much of the agenda focused on recognizing and preventing mariner fatigue. The Paul Hall Center’s online “distance learning” courses also were discussed. Completing the week of safety updates and refreshers (Jan. 12-15) were the following safety directors: Monte Burgett (from the SIU’s Algonac, Mich., hall), Mark Von Siegel (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Kevin Marchand (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), James Brown (New Orleans), Frank Iverson (Honolulu), Jimmy White (Houston), Ashley Nelson (Jacksonville, Fla.), Sam Spain (Norfolk, Va.), Kathy Chester (Oakland, Calif.), Ryan Palmer (Tacoma, Wash.) and Abdul Al Omari (Wilmington, Calif.). With guidance from instructor Steve Stockwell, Kathy Chester practices the use of a portable fire extinguisher. Safety directors participate in hands-on training (photo above and at immediate left) at the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School, which is part of the Paul Hall Center. Data Management Manager Kristy Clements (photo above) explains one aspect of the new computer system to two of the safety directors. SIU headquarters officials and safety team members (photo at right) are pictured in the conference room at the union’s facilities in Camp Springs, Md. Seated (from left) are Kathy Chester, Jimmy White, Sam Spain, Mark Von Siegel and Ryan Palmer. Standing (also from left) are President Mike Sacco, Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel, Kevin Marchand, VP Contracts George Tricker, Ashley Nelson, James Brown (rear), Abdul Al Omari, Executive VP Augie Tellez, Monte Burgett and Frank Iverson. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 February 2009 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES SIU JOINS IN OBAMA INAUGURATION SOLIS, LAHOOD NAMED TO CABINET COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES SIU ELECTION RESULTS TANKER GOLDEN STATE DELIVERED U.S. EMPLOYMENT DATA GRIM PACIFIC COLLECTOR HELPS INTERCEPT MISSILE DURING DRILL MARINE COOKS & STEWARDS ORGANIZER ‘VAL’ VILLALTA PASSED AWAY AT 84 NY WATERWAY CREWS RESCUE PASSENGERS FROM DOWNED PLANE NEW YORK TIMES BACKS EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT UPGRADER WALTON MAKES HISTORY NEW NMC MEDICAL GUIDELINES FINALIZED UNION MARINERS SUPPORT OUR TROOPS SHBP MEDICAL DEPARTMENT ELABORATES ON MSC PHYSICAL EXAMINATION GUIDELINES MORGAN STANLEY-CITI VENTURE MEANS BUSINESS AS USUAL- MAYBE BETTER SAFETY DIRECTORS SHARPEN SKILLS SIU GROUP OFFERS KEY INSIGHTS IN CROWLEY MEETING Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 02/01/2009 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. 71, No. 2 2009 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/404df4a87c08537c72ef9d1fc6266473.pdf f028d11bd7716cf70b1c1a79e68fb08a PDF Text Text 52246_P01_24:January 08 12/19/2008 5:25 PM Page 1 Volume 71, Number 1 January 2009 School Releases Course Dates, Guide The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education has issued course dates for the first several months of 2009. Those dates are part of an eight-page feature which also includes descriptions of numerous Paul Hall Center classes, including online “distance learning” courses. Pictured directly below and at right are upgraders and unlicensed apprentices participating in various deck, engine, steward and general safety courses at the Piney Point, Md.-based school. Pages 9-16. Oakland Hall’s Annual Pre-Thanksgiving Feast Kicks off Holiday Season The 2008 version of the yearly pre-Thanksgiving gathering at the SIU hall in Oakland, Calif., did not disappoint, as hundreds of Seafarers, their families and dignitaries shared the holiday spirit Nov. 25. Among the guests were U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (at podium in photo at left), U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) (far left in same photo) and fellow California Democrat Congressional Reps. Jerry McNerney, Jackie Speier and George Miller (second from left in photo directly above, being welcomed by SIU VP West Coast Nick Marrone, seated at left, and Asst. VP Nick Celona, at podium). Representatives from the 23rd Marine Regiment (middle photo, with SIU Bosun George Pino) presented the colors. Page 7. Updates on New Tonnage Page 3 TWIC News, Reminders Page 4 SIU Year in Review Page 24 �52246_P01_24:January 08 12/19/2008 5:25 PM Page 2 President’s Repor t Building Upon Progress of 2008 Looking back on the past year always feels a little bit like reading a report card or a test score. Our union’s body of work for the previous 12 months is in the books, and even though many of our projects are ongoing, there is an element of finality any time we say goodbye to another year. Fortunately, I’m happy to report – and I believe most members will agree – that 2008 truly was an outstanding year for the SIU. Many of the details of our accomplishments are reported elsewhere in this edition of the LOG. But for me, no matter the month or year or decade, our most important gauge is always Michael Sacco the same. Our measuring stick starts with jobs and the job security of this membership. Without good jobs, nothing else matters. In 2008, the “jobs” category was a winner for the SIU. We gained new tankers, RO/ROs, containerships and ammunition ships. We welcomed new ATBs and stand-alone tugboats. We secured new work aboard the passenger ferry operating in Hawaii. We retained jobs on the eight LMSRs that had been up for bid. For us, it didn’t matter whether we were pursuing replacement tonnage or outright new additions or trying to hold on to what we already had under contract. We went after it as if the future depended on it – because it does. We were successful because of the dedication and capabilities of our officials and rank-and-file members alike. When we compete for new opportunities, our greatest selling point is the historic reliability of the SIU member. Your work aboard ship – your professionalism – is what puts us over the top. It’s also what gives me great optimism for 2009 and the years that follow. One key ingredient in this equation is the top-notch training received by SIU members at our affiliated Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. Whether you’re new to the industry or an “old salt,” I’m sure you realize how incredibly important it is nowadays to have the proper training and qualifications for shipboard work. Without the courses available in Piney Point, and the outstanding instructors who work there, we’d be facing an uphill fight to say the least. On another significant subject, I want to mention what a great job everyone did in “getting out the vote” to support Barack Obama, Joseph Biden and other pro-maritime, prolabor candidates on Election Day. You’ve read all about it by now, but the historic nature of this particular election cannot be overstated. It was a great win for America’s working families and, I believe, for the whole country. Not to be overlooked in any summary of 2008 is the steady work of SIU members who continue supporting our troops, particularly in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. You have my utmost respect and gratitude, as do the brave men and women of our armed forces. I enjoy looking back, and it’s sometimes fun to page through old issues of the LOG to examine our union’s history. But I’m much more interested in looking ahead, and that’s what your union is doing as we ring in the New Year. We’re on a course for ongoing success, and with your continued support, we will overcome whatever challenges come our way. I look forward to tackling those challenges throughout the year, and I wish all Seafarers, retirees and their families the very best in 2009 and beyond. Poll: Americans Overwhelmingly Back Unions and Employee Free Choice Act If elected leaders want to help their constituents through these difficult economic times, they might be well-advised to read the results of a recent Gallup poll that shows 59 percent of Americans support unions and 77 percent support strong union laws such as the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). The legislation would give employees the freedom to make their own choice about whether to have a union in their workplace without interference from management. The EFCA also creates real penalties for employers who illegally interfere with organizing efforts and sets up a system to ensure that workers get a first contract once they’ve chosen union representation. Does America want the EFCA, also known as majority sign-up legislation? Sixty-three percent of survey respondents feel unions should have more influence or the same amount that currently exists at the workplace. Additionally, the survey reveals that 60 million workers say they would join a union today EFCA Questions & Answers The following questions and answers about the Employee Free Choice Act come from the AFL-CIO, to which the SIU is affiliated. Q: Why do we need new federal legislation, the Employee Free Choice Act? A: America’s working people are struggling to make ends meet, and the middle class is disappearing. The best opportunity working men and women have to get ahead is by uniting with co-workers to bargain with their employers for better wages and benefits. But the current labor law system is broken. Corporations routinely intimidate, harass, coerce and even fire people who try to organize unions—and today’s labor law is powerless to stop them. Every day, employers deny working people the freedom to make their own choice about whether to have a union: ■ Employees are fired in one-quarter of private-sector union organizing campaigns; ■ 78 percent of private employers require supervisors to deliver anti-union messages to the workers whose jobs and pay they control; ■ And even after workers successfully form a union, one-third of the time they are not able to get a contract. Q: What does the Employee Free Choice Act do? A: It does three things to level the playing field for employees and employers: ■ Strengthens penalties for companies that illegally coerce or intimidate employees in an effort to prevent them from forming a union; ■ Brings in a neutral third party to settle a contract when a company and a newly certified union cannot agree on a contract after three months; ■ Establishes majority sign-up, meaning that if a majority of the employees sign union authorization cards, validated by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a company must recognize the union. Q: What’s wrong with the current law? A: The National Labor Relations Act states: Volume 71, Number 1 January 2009 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFLCIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2009 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD. All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG if they could, and that an average of at least 55 percent of Americans have supported unions since 1936. The poll results were released in early December. Throughout 2008, Seafarers helped the AFL-CIO achieve its goal of collecting one million signatures on specially prepared cards sent to the next administration in support of the EFCA. The SIU and its affiliated unions distributed theses cards to ports, properties and locations where members live and work. The EFCA passed in the House in 2007 but got stalled in the Senate. President-Elect Barack Obama, Vice President-Elect Biden and numerous members of Congress have pledged to support the bill and see it through so it becomes law. Union members are encouraged to educate coworkers and family members about the advantages of the EFCA and ask them to sign up to support it. More details are on the web site www.freechoiceact.org/aflcio “Employees shall have to the right to self organization to form, join, or assist labor organizations.…” It was designed to protect employee choice on whether to form unions, but it has been turned upside down. The current system is not like any democratic election held anywhere else in our society. Employers have turned the NLRB election process into management-controlled balloting—the employer has all the power, controls the information workers can receive and routinely poisons the process. On top of that, the law’s penalties are so insignificant that many companies treat them as just another cost of doing business. By the time employees vote in an NLRB election, if they can get to that point, a free and fair choice isn’t an option. Even in the voting location, workers do not have a free choice after being browbeaten by supervisors to oppose the union or being told they may lose their jobs and livelihoods if they vote for the union. Q: What is majority sign-up, and how does it work? A: When a majority of employees votes to form a union by signing authorization cards and those authorization cards are validated by the federal government, the employer will be legally required to recognize and bargain with the workers’ union. Majority sign-up is not a new approach. For years, some responsible employers have taken a position of allowing employees to choose, by majority decision, whether to have a union. Those companies have found that majority sign-up is an effective way to allow workers the freedom to make their own decision—and it results in less hostility and polarization in the workplace than the failed NLRB process. Q: Does the Employee Free Choice Act take away so-called secret ballot elections? A: No. If one-third of workers want to have an NLRB election at their workplace, they can still ask the federal government to hold an election. The Employee Free Choice Act simply gives them another option—majority sign-up. “Elections” may sound like the most democratic approach, but the NLRB process is nothing like any democratic elections in our society—presidential elections, for example—because one side has all the power. The employer controls the voters’ paychecks and livelihood, has unlimited access to speak against the union in the workplace while restricting pro-union speech and has the freedom to intimidate and coerce the voters. Q: Does the Employee Free Choice Act silence employers or require that they remain neutral about the union? A: No. Employers are still free to express their opinion about the union as long as they do not threaten or intimidate workers. Q: Will employees be pressured into signing union authorization cards? A: No. In fact, academic studies show that workers who organize under majority sign-up feel less pressure from co-workers to support the union than workers who organize under the NLRB election process. Workers who vote by majority signup also report far less pressure or coercion from management to oppose the union than workers who go through NLRB elections. In addition, it is illegal for anyone to coerce employees to sign a union authorization card. Any person who breaks the law will be subject to penalties under the Employee Free Choice Act. Q: Who supports the Employee Free Choice Act? A: The Employee Free Choice Act has the support of hundreds of members of Congress of both parties, academics and historians, civil and human rights organizations such as the NAACP and Human Rights Watch, most major faith denominations and a strong majority of the American public. January 2009 �52246_P01_24:January 08 12/19/2008 5:25 PM Page 3 Tanker Golden State Begins Sea Trials U.S. Shipping Takes Delivery of ATB; Progress Continues in Tanker, T-AKE Programs As 2008 drew to a close, there was no slowdown in the number of stories about new SIU-contracted tonnage. In early December, General Dynamics NASSCO reported that the tanker Golden State had begun sea trials off the West Coast. The vessel is scheduled for delivery to U.S. Shipping this month (January). The Golden State is one of nine doublehulled, PC-1 tankers being built at the San Diego shipyard for U.S. Shipping Partners. As previously reported, the build program includes options for five additional ships. Each vessel in the class will be 600 feet long, displace about 49,000 deadweight tons and have a cargo capacity of 331,000 barrels. The tankers are expected to sail in the coastal trade, carrying petroleum and chemical products. Additionally, in late November, unioncontracted NASSCO conducted a keellaying ceremony for the third ship in the series, to be named the Sunshine State. Construction of that tanker started in July; the vessel is slated for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2009. The second ship in the series, the Pelican State, also is under construction. Those weren’t the only recent updates involving U.S. Shipping. Also in December, the company took delivery of the articulated tug-barge (ATB) Petrochem Trader. The ATB is the third in a series. Its barge (Petrochem Trader) was constructed at Bay Shipbuilding in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., while the tug (Brownsville) was built by Eastern Shipbuilding in Panama City, Fla. T-AKE Construction Contract Awarded Continues, On Dec. 15, NASSCO announced that it has been awarded a $940 million contract from the U.S. Navy for the construction of two T-AKE dry cargo-ammunition ships and to purchase long-lead construction materials for two additional T-AKE ships. Under the contract, NASSCO receives full funding for the construction of the USNS Washington Chambers (T-AKE 11) and USNS William McLean (T-AKE 12). Earlier in 2008, NASSCO received a total of $200 million to purchase the long lead materials for these ships, which, like the others in the class, will be crewed in the unlicensed positions by members of the SIU Government Services Division. Construction of the Washington Chambers and the William McLean is scheduled to begin in the first and fourth quarters of 2009, respectively. The new contract also provides $200 million for procurement of the engines for T-AKEs 13 and 14 and other components that have significant manufacturing lead times. A contract that fully funds both ships is expected by February 2010, according to the shipyard. Construction of the unnamed thirteenth and fourteenth ships is scheduled to begin in the second and fourth quarters of 2010, respectively. “This contract award permits General Dynamics NASSCO, our team of suppliers and subcontractors to maintain an efficient schedule to build these highly-capable Navy auxiliary ships at the best value to the U.S. government,” said Frederick J. Harris, president of General Dynamics NASSCO and himself a former merchant mariner. With the contract award, the Navy is exercising its remaining options to build all 14 ships in the T-AKE class. NASSCO has already delivered six T-AKE ships and is currently building the seventh through tenth ships of the class. The T-AKEs are 689 feet in length, have an overall beam of 106 feet, a navigational draft of 30 feet and displace approximately 42,000 tons. Powered by single-shaft diesel-electric propulsion systems, the T-AKEs can reach a speed of 20 knots. As part of the Military Sealift The Golden State is the first in a series of double-hulled tankers being built at NASSCO for U.S. Shipping Partners. Command’s (MSC) Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force, the T-AKEs are designated United States Naval Ship (USNS). Unlike their United States Ship (USS) counterparts, the T-AKEs are crewed by 124 civil service mariners working for MSC, as well as 11 sailors who provide supply coordination. When needed, the T-AKEs can also carry a helicopter detachment. The primary mission of the ships is to deliver food, ammunition, fuel and other provisions to combat ships at sea. Philly Tanker News Back on the East Coast, in late fall, Aker Philadelphia Shipyard delivered its fifth product tanker, the Overseas Texas City, to American Shipping Company for SIU-contracted OSG. Then, in early October, the union-contracted yard started construction on the ninth Veteran Class tanker (part of a series of at least 12 such ships). IMO Honors Horizon Falcon SIU members from the Horizon Falcon were among the honorees Dec. 1 in London as the International Maritime Organization presented certificates and other awards for heroism at sea. The agency’s main award went to a Brazilian mariner whose brave actions during a shipboard fire saved the lives of six fellow seafarers. The Horizon Falcon was honored for its role in a 2007 rescue during which crew members and officers saved two survivors from the bulk carrier Hai Tong No. 7, in severe weather generated by a typhoon. Retired Paul Hall Center Director of Training Bill Eglinton (center) accepted a framed IMO certificate on behalf of the Horizon Falcon. Also pictured are IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos (right) and Jock Whittlesey from the American Embassy in London. Eglinton noted the award ceremony “was quite formal and had a very large attendance of delegates, government officials and local UK dignitaries. Even past IMO SecretaryGeneral William O’Neil flew in to attend. It was nice being there to accept the honors on behalf of the Horizon Falcon, and I congratulate them as well.” January 2009 Early last month, Aker Philadelphia laid the keel for the eighth vessel. When completed, the 46,000 dwt vessels will be 600 feet in length and will be capable of transporting the equivalent of 14 million gallons of liquid product. Further, the shipyard recently signed an agreement entering into a partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The partnership is designed to assist Aker Philadelphia Shipyard in implementing a safety program to further protect employees, improve safety statistics and become qualified to participate in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program (VPP). The agreement was signed Nov. 12 during a small ceremony at the shipyard by representatives of OSHA, the Philadelphia Metal Trades Council and Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. Union Election Results Will Be Announced When Tallying Committee Completes Work Voting was scheduled to be completed at the end of last month (December), and results of the election of officials for the Seafarers International Union’s Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU will be announced, in accordance with the SIU constitution, upon completion of the tallying committee’s work. Results of balloting on the proposed constitutional amendment also will be announced. Special membership meetings were conducted late last month in union halls listed in the SIU constitution to elect delegates for a rankand-file tallying committee. That committee, including two members from each of the union’s constitutional ports, will tabulate results of the election, which started Nov. 1 in all SIU halls and was scheduled to end Dec. 31. The February issue of the Seafarers LOG will carry the results of the election. The ballot included a list of candidates seeking the posts of president, executive vice president, secretary-treasurer, six vice presidents, six assistant vice presidents and 10 port agents (for a total of 25 positions) along with the proposed constitutional amendment. Individuals elected in this round of balloting will serve a four-year term lasting from 2009 through 2012. Seafarers who were eligible to vote in the election were full book members in good standing, according to the union’s constitution. Members had the opportunity to pick up a ballot either in person at one of the 21 union halls around the country and overseas or via mail (absentee ballot). Article XIII of the union’s constitution spells out the procedures by which an election will be conducted. The entire text of Article XIII, along with a sample ballot, a list of voting locations, the constitutional committee’s report and other related information appears on pages 6-11 of the October 2008 issue of the Seafarers LOG. Additionally, a notice of the election was mailed in October to all members at their last known address, with a list of all voting locations as well as a sample of the official ballot. Seafarers LOG 3 �52246_P01_24x:January 08 12/23/2008 1:39 AM Page 4 Enthusiastic Crew Deploys on HSV Swift The November 2008 edition of the Seafarers LOG introduced readers to a group of Seafarers taking special training at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center who were about to embark for the first time on the U.S. Military Sealift Command’s HSV Swift. This enthusiastic group said they were ready to go – and on Nov. 25 they got their wish, as the high-speed vessel sailed from Louisiana. Besides the SIU members and the officers, the Swift – a new addition to the SIUcontracted fleet – also carried various Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force units as the vessel began a five-month deployment in support of Southern Partnership Station (SPS). According to the Defense Department, Southern Partnership Station is an annual deployment of various specialty platforms to the U.S. Southern Command area in the Caribbean and Latin America. The mission’s primary goal is information sharing with navies, coast guards, and civilian services throughout the region. “Southern Partnership Station provides an excellent opportunity to facilitate coop- eration, interaction and communication between regional partners’ civil and maritime services,” said Rear Adm. Joseph D. Kernan, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet. “Working together alongside our partner nations, sharing knowledge and experiences through joint, multinational and interagency exchanges will help to build strong relationships, improve interoperability and enhance regional maritime security.” Military training teams and subject-matter experts embarked on the Swift will provide partner nations with classroom and hands-on training in various subjects. For example, members of the Navy Expeditionary Training Command from Naval Amphibious Base in Little Creek, Va., will provide instruction in small boat operations, maintenance and repair, boarding techniques, armed sentry, search and rescue, combat lifesaving, leadership principles, and instructor training. The ship is scheduled to visit El Salvador, Panama, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Barbados and Colombia. Pacific-Gulf Marine Founder Capt. Pete Johnson Dies at 74 Capt. Peter F. Johnson, a respected maritime industry leader and founder of SIU-contracted Pacific-Gulf Marine, died Dec. 1 at his home in New Orleans. He was 74. A U.S. Navy veteran and former merchant marine officer, Johnson in 2008 received an honorary SIU membership book – a clear sign of the union’s collective high regard for him. “He was a good guy to work with and someone who was always very fair,” noted SIU President Michael Sacco. “Pete was a real asset to the industry. He was also a very kind person.” SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez pointed out Johnson had a significant, positive influence on the union. “There is a whole hierarchy in the current SIU administration that had the good fortune of being broken in by this garrulous, cigar-chomping old salt,” he stated. “Whether it was sitting across the mess table on a ship or the negotiating table in a conference room, the one thing you could count on is that you always knew exactly where you stood with Pete. If you were lucky, he counted you as a friend. If not, he had no time for you because he suffered no fools. Our world is a little less bright with his loss.” Tellez added, “His most enduring legacy is not so much the maritime company he built but his tremendous family he leaves behind – especially his son Todd, who now takes over the helm of his company. Our prayers and support go out to Todd and his family.” SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel described Pete Johnson as “one of those rare individuals who you meet in the maritime industry whose word was his bond. He could be a tough negotiator but always held the seafarer in high regard. He made sure his crews were well taken care of. “His heart and soul went in to making PGM successful, and our members were the beneficiaries of his tireless efforts,” 4 Seafarers LOG Heindel continued. “The industry has lost a true entrepreneur and leader. He will be missed. Our condolences go out to his wife, children and grandchildren.” A native of Salem, Mass., Capt. Johnson hailed from a true maritime family. His great, great grandfather and that gentleman’s two brothers were shipmasters in the early 1800s, sailing out of Salem. Capt. Johnson graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1957. He later sailed as an officer in the U.S. Navy. After coming ashore to work as a manager for various maritime organizations, he eventually founded PGM in 1976. As one remembrance put it, “The company’s management style reflects the high quality and integrity-based service that Capt. Johnson maintained throughout a career which spanned over five decades.” He belonged to a number of pro-American-flag industry groups and received several awards recognizing his work on behalf of the U.S. Merchant Marine. Survivors include his wife, four children, and 10 grandchildren. Capt. Pete Johnson had a well-earned reputation for hard work and integrity. The HSV Swift is operated by Sealift, Inc. for MSC. The Swift is operated for MSC by Sealift, Inc. and its unlicensed mariners are members of the SIU. Its wave-piercing catamaran hull is capable of more than 42 knots, according to MSC. It was developed as a support ship as part of the Navy’s sea-basing, prepositioning strategy and is slated for ongoing assignments in Central and South America. Power Outage, Misplaced Data Constitute Latest TWIC Hiccups Deadline for Mariners to Obtain New Card is April 15, 2009 As the year 2008 drew to a close, the federally mandated Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program continued facing its share of problems. According to news reports and government press releases, transportation workers had difficulty registering for the card online due to electrical problems that the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) experienced at its TWIC processing center. Additionally, in early December, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) pointed out in a letter to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff another TWIC predicament. Rep. Thompson lambasted the DHS for losing data on 3,000 TWIC applicants out of the national database. According to Rep. Thompson, “Many of these applicants work in ports where TWIC compliance is currently enforced. Unfortunately through no fault of their own, these workers are not only unable to gain admittance to their work sites but also must recommence the lengthy application process.” According to Rep. Thompson’s office, the apparent foul-up was due to an employee of TWIC contractor Lockheed Martin using the wrong applications database and deleting the 3,000 records. The TSA said Lockheed Martin is making every effort to contact these applicants, but chances are likely they would have to reapply. Notwithstanding the aforementioned issues, the deadline for U.S. mariners to possess a TWIC is April 15, 2009. Step-by-step instructions on how to enroll for the card have been printed in the last several issues of the Seafarers LOG and are available both on the SIU web site (www.seafarers.org) and the TSA’s TWIC site: www.tsa.gov/twic Information also may be obtained by calling the TSA TWIC Program Help Desk at 1-866-DHSTWIC (1-866-347-8942) or via email at credentialing@dhs.gov To check on your applications status online, go to: https://twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/TWICWebApp/StatusChec kPrep.do or contact your local enrollment center. Labor Protests of Invasive Testing Prove Effective as Court Responds The SIU and others in the maritime industry have spoken and the government is listening. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently mandated that merchant mariners must strip to the waist and be supervised when taking return-to-duty and follow-up urine drug testing, a new procedure that the DOT slipped into its rules without consulting mariners or the industry. The SIU, the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department and others vehemently opposed the procedural change as an unjustified invasion of privacy. The rule said employees must “raise their shirts, blouses, or dresses/skirts above the waste, and lower their pants and underpants, to show the observer, by turning around, that they do not have a prosthetic device on their persons. After this is done, they may return their clothing to its proper position.” The goal of the ruling was to make the intrusive ruling mandatory in the maritime industry immediately. Responding to petition by the SIU and others, the District of Columbia U.S. Court of Appeals listened by putting a stay on immediately making the rule mandatory. The stay is a delay of the mandatory portion of enforcement until all parties involved have the opportunity to submit petitions to the court regarding the case. Until at least Jan. 26, 2009, the directly observed testing will remain an option for employers who have reason to believe employees might be cheating during urine testing. However, it will not be mandatory. While the SIU agrees drug testing is necessary in the transportation industry, mariners already must comply with security, safety and substance dependency testing and rules that most other workers don’t face. In a 2008 letter to the DOT, SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez called the procedural change an “unreasonable assault on employees’ privacy. The Department has not provided any data with respect to the maritime industry that documents or even suggests that there is widespread or even sporadic falsification of return-to-duty or follow-up test specimens, particularly those which may have resulted in serious marine incidents or injury.” In the Oct. 22 edition of the Federal Register, the DOT admitted that “direct observation is intrusive and is not appropriate to use in the great mass of testing situations.” The Federal Register is an official record of the U.S. Government that documents responses and rulings of federal agencies and departments. Additionally, almost echoing facts that drug abuse and drug-test cheating in the maritime industry is rare, the DOT admitted in the Federal Register that its primary concern is with the aviation and rail industries. January 2009 �52246_P01_24:January 08 12/19/2008 5:25 PM Page 5 SIU President Michael Sacco (photo at left) addresses the crowd during a Dec. 11 ceremony honoring Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao. An estimated 400 people (photo above and below) were on hand for the ceremony in Washington, D.C. Labor Secretary Honored in D.C. Ceremony SIU President Michael Sacco was one of three featured guest speakers at a Dec. 11 ceremony in Washington, D.C., honoring U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao with a traditional portrait unveiling. Fraternal Order of Police President Chuck Canterbury and U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) were the other guest speakers at the event, which drew an estimated crowd of 400 to the Labor Department building. Deputy Labor Secretary Howard M. Radzely served as master of ceremonies. Chao, the only one of President Bush’s cabinet secretaries to serve throughout both of his terms, is an outspoken supporter of the U.S. Merchant Marine who served as godmother of the SIU-contracted cruise ship Pride of America. As pointed out by Sacco, she played a vital role in helping develop national apprenticeship standards for the maritime industry which were the first such standards ever approved by the Department of Labor. Initially, this was done for the trainee program at the SIUaffiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, located in Piney Point, Md. “It’s a program that helps people enter into rewarding, productive, family-sustaining careers,” Sacco noted during the ceremony. “It’s also a program that helps maintain jobs that are important to our national and economic security. “That’s just one example of Secretary Chao’s accomplishments, but it reflects her attention to detail and her genuine fondness for the rank-and-file worker.” The SIU president also described Chao’s lifelong achievements as “truly inspirational. This has been said before, but Secretary Chao represents the American dream.” A Chinese immigrant, she arrived in America at age 8 speaking no English. Eventually she earned an M.B.A. from U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao and artist Chen Yanning formally unveil the secretary’s portrait at the DOL’s “Great Hall.” the Harvard Business School. Her career spanned the public, private and non-profit sectors, including work as president and CEO of the United Way of America and director of the Peace Corps. Chao also chaired the Federal Maritime Commission and served as deputy administrator of the U.S. Maritime Notice/Reminder NMC Medical Guidelines Finalized As previously reported, late last fall, SIU headquarters distributed to all ports new medical guidelines and hearing and vision standards that the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center (NMC) began using to evaluate applications for original and renewal merchant mariner documents and licenses. Those guidelines were made final last year. The new guidelines are considerably more rigid than the old, officially to help ensure safety and productivity. They include conditions and categories such as hearing and vision loss; body mass index; alcohol and drug dependency/abuse; and a long list of other medical conditions that will require a waiver. Many of the medical conditions on the list are new with the new guidelines. To download the lists of conditions covered in the guidelines, go to the NMC’s web site: www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/nvic/2000s.asp#2008 For a waiver form go to: www.uscg.mil/nmc/downloads.asp Mariners with questions are encouraged to contact the NMC’s Medical Evaluation Branch via e-mail at: marinermedical@uscg.mil or call 1-888-IASKNMC (1-888-427-5662). Following are some tips from the Coast Guard when getting a medical evaluation: ■ Start early – The Coast Guard recommends starting the process six months prior to the expiration of the seafarer’s merchant mariner documentation. Some of the reasons are that mariners may need follow-up examinations, time to get reports and appointments, etc. ■ Be sure to get copies of any recent evaluation reports and medical records concerning current and active conditions. ■ Always tell the truth during the process. Non-disclosure of conditions or falsifying statements is not only a federal offense but will result in not receiving credentials when caught. ■ If issued a waiver that has conditions or additional requirements, follow up on the recommendations fully and right away. ■ If the MMD/z-card is denied, appeal immediately. There is a 60-day deadline to appeal after the denial. A denial letter will be sent by the NMC with instructions for subsequent steps. January 2009 Administration (an agency with the Transportation Department). It was in those capacities that she first interacted with the SIU, well before her tenure at the Labor Department. Canterbury described the secretary as “one of the most steadfast and constant champions of our nation’s workers…. She is a true partner with the men and women in law enforcement. That’s not a term we use lightly.” Hatch, after mentioning that he once belonged to a union, talked about the department’s wide scope of responsibility. He said Chao has been “an extraordinary leader for this department – one of the greatest secretaries of labor. This is not an easy post to manage.” He also read a message from Sen. Ted Kennedy (DMass.). Addressing the audience, Chao called Sacco and Canterbury “strong leaders and fierce advocates for their members. They are great presidents.” She mentioned that she first came to America on a month-long journey aboard a cargo ship, because that was the only means of transportation her family could afford. She thanked her parents (including her late mother, who passed away last year) for their “determination and boundless optimism in the promise of America.” Chao discussed various accomplishments by the department during the past eight years, including re-employment rights for soldiers and “leveling the playing field for faithbased organizations.” The portrait itself hangs in the building’s “Great Hall,” along with portraits of everyone else who’s ever held the office. Chao’s likeness was painted by renowned Chinese artist Chen Yanning. Coast Guard Unveils ‘Big Tow’ To Improve Footing in Tug Safety During the past few months the U.S. Coast has been conducting what it calls “Operation Big Tow” from coast to coast in the Great Lakes, in the Gulf regions and on inland waterways. The procedure involves agency personnel performing spot inspections of towing vessels and checking mariner documentation and licensing on those vessels. In a Coast Guard news release, the agency said it began the operation in November 2008 after a marine safety alert was released. The impetus came from an accident last summer in which an oil barge and cargo vessel collided on the Mississippi River, resulting in more than 282,000 gallons of fuel oil being spilled. The investigation following the spill revealed the individual at the helm of the non-union towing vessel wasn’t authorized to operate the tugboat without supervision of a licensed pilot. Operation Big Tow was slated to last until approximately the end of January. According to the agency, the project’s main objective is “to ensure towing vessels are being operated by properly licensed individuals through boardings and examinations. The Coast Guard will be working with the towing industry and towing vessel operators to conduct boardings underway, pier-side or through other methods that facilitate the flow of commerce while allowing examiners to check licenses and conduct safety checks.” In September, the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation conducted a hearing on the shortage of inland documentation, regulation and policing. The subcommittee invited the SIU to give testimony and insight on this subject – one on which the union for years has raised a red flag. SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez testified on behalf of the union. He urged the subcommittee to push for inland documentation for all crew members. He also said it is past time to sensibly regulate the entire inland industry, rather than just segments of it. Seafarers LOG 5 �52246_P01_24:January 08 12/19/2008 5:26 PM Page 6 MEETING AT PETTY’S ISLAND – While in town last fall for an event at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, SIU officials also met with members at nearby Petty’s Island (group photo above and four photos on right side below). At Sea And Ashore With the SIU Clockwise from left, President Sacco poses with Shop Steward Scott Smith. Mike Fay chats with Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel while Exec. VP Augie Tellez, John Haller, President Sacco and Felsher Beasley join for a group photo. SecretaryTreasurer Heindel (right) discusses union issues with Bill Rushon. FROM PINEY POINT UP THROUGH THE HAWSEPIPE – Encouraged by their father – longtime Seafarer Bob Mull (right in photo above) – brothers (from left) Vincent Mull, Victor Mull and Dave Mull each graduated from the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md., and later went on to earn engineering licenses. Dave and Victor currently sail with the AMO, while Vincent is a member of the MEBA. Bob Mull sailed in the deck department. He joined the union long before the school opened in 1967 but frequently attended Piney Point before retiring in the mid-1980s. WITH SEAFARERS IN TACOMA – TALKIN’ UNION IN BALTIMORE – SIU Baltimore Port Agent Elizabeth Brown (above, third from left) recently met with Seafarers aboard the USNS Seay in Baltimore, where they discussed the latest union and industry news. Pictured from left to right are OS Brandon Jones, AB Robert Hayes, Brown, Storekeeper Terry Malone, Bosun John Wells and OMU Steven Hoskins. 6 Seafarers LOG Pictured at the hall in Tacoma, Wash., (clockwise, from upper left) Port Agent Joe Vincenzo (left) swears in full book members AB Morgan Piper (center) and AB Piotr Mlynarczyk while AB Basil “Red” Stolen receives his first pension check, presented by Vincenzo. QE Norman Israel also picks up his first pension check, again presented by the port agent. Patrolman Kris Hopkins works the counter. January 2009 �52246_P01_24:January 08 12/19/2008 5:26 PM Page 7 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is welcomed by SIU VP Nick Marrone (left) and Asst. VP Nick Celona. U.S. Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.) U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) Oakland Hall Kicks Off Holiday Season 18th Annual Pre-Thanksgiving Feast Draws Enthusiastic Crowd Call it the unofficial-yet-traditional start of the holiday season. The 2008 edition of the yearly pre-Thanksgiving feast at the SIU hall in Oakland, Calif., took place Nov. 25, in its usual slot two days before the holiday. It met with rave reviews from attendees – a group that included Seafarers, SIU retirees and their families; political representatives and local officials; military personnel; company representatives; members and officials from other labor organizations, and others. “They all say this is how they know the holiday season is starting,” observed SIU Assistant Vice President Nick Celona. “It’s truly heartwarming to see so many people sharing the holiday spirit and celebrating all that is great about America.” The 18th annual event, like the ones preceding it, took lots of planning. Celona once again worked closely with the committee that organized the celebration, “but many individuals donated their time and talents to make it successful,” he stated. “Things went very smoothly, and that was due in large part to the outstanding help from the membership. It was a team effort all the way.” Alioto’s Restaurant on Fishermen’s Wharf and Scott’s Seafood from Jack London Square also played vital roles in helping make certain that the traditional, abundant Thanksgiving dishes were enjoyed by all in attendance. The event didn’t have an official theme, but several speakers delivered brief remarks consistent with the holiday season. U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D- Calif.) also touched on the Election Day results and what they may indicate for America’s working families in the months and years ahead. Other attendees included U.S. Reps. Barbara Lee, Jerry McNerney, Jackie Speier and George Miller; U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Paul F. Zukunft; Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith; San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris; San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White; and representatives from the U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Maritime Administration. Members and officials from many unions and related labor organizations also helped welcome the season, including California Labor Federation Executive SecretaryTreasurer Art Pulaski and individuals from the Alameda County Central Labor Council, Sheet Metal Workers, Carpenters, Fire Fighters, Police Officers Association, Laborers, IBEW, Plumbers, Sugar Workers, Sign Display & Allied Crafts Union, Iron Workers, Theatrical Stage Employees, MM&P, AMO, MEBA, MFOW, SUP and Machinists. Representatives from a number of union-contracted companies also joined in for the food and fellowship. Once again in keeping with tradition, representatives from the 23rd Marine Regiment presented the colors. They were joined by SIU member Bosun George Pino, who carried the U.S. Merchant Marine flag. Editor’s note: Special thanks to Charles Farruggia for the photos on this page and related photos on the front page U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) is pictured with SIU officials Nick Marrone and Nick Celona. Guests (photo at left, the one above and the two directly below) enjoy good food and good company at the SIU hall in Oakland, Calif. San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris is greeted by SIU officials Nick Marrone and Nick Celona. Seafarers are pictured with Patrolman Greg Stone (front). U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Paul F. Zukunft Administrative Assistant Tracey Moore, Custodian Charlie Cowan Safety Director Kathy Chester (left in photo at left) joins her mother for a Kodak moment during the feast while Seafarer George Lockett (photo at right) poses with wife. January 2009 Seafarers LOG 7 �52246_P01_24:January 08 12/19/2008 5:26 PM Page 8 Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 3328, Hagatna, Guam 96932 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 Coast Guard Magazine Features Paul Hall Center The SIU’s affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education recently was highlighted in the U.S. Coast Guard’s Proceedings magazine for its contributions to seafaring and its efforts to help fill U.S. shipping’s need for qualified mariners. The Fall 2008 edition of the magazine is a compendium of merchant marine statistics and other useful information explaining how the industry is structured and how to begin a career as a merchant mariner. Detailed descriptions of the school are provided by one of the magazine’s guest authors for this particular edition, SIU member and President of the U.S. Apostleship of the Sea Father Sinclair Oubre. He wrote that the school is an invaluable resource when he advises people on career options. Fr. Sinclair’s article also explains what a school applicant needs to do prior to attending the Paul Hall Center, which is located in Piney Point, Md. Additionally, he spells out how the various curriculums help prepare attendees for successful careers at sea. Fr. Sinclair, who began sailing in 1978, concludes by offering personal observations on how the industry has changed and how mariners nowadays are better-trained than ever. “Too often, mariners are portrayed as those who go to sea because they can’t do anything else or because they are in it for the money,” he observes. “These images do a disservice to the hard work mariners commit to their craft. A modern merchant mariner is one who has received unique training that allows him or her to perform irreplaceable tasks. He or she is entrusted with ships worth millions of dollars, carrying cargoes worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and liabilities that exceed billions of dollars. Modern mariners must also see themselves in this light…. “Today, every mariner is a professional, and good riddance to the past! On my first vessel, my orientation consisted of the captain turning to me and the other ordinary seaman, saying, ‘Let her go!’ Now, even the newest entry-level person has some type of basic safety training. No matter how basic this training is, it already separates mariners from contemporaries ashore.” A PDF version of the entire edition is available online at www.uscg.mil/proceedings The Fall 2008 edition of the Coast Guard magazine Proceedings includes a detailed look at the Paul Hall Center’s unlicensed apprentice program along with upgrading opportunities available at the Piney Point, Md.-based school. Pic-From-The-Past JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 8 Seafarers LOG The SIU in 1946 shut down the nation’s ports with a general strike when negotiated wage increases were rejected by the federal Wage Stabilization Board. After eight days, the board approved the increases and the post-World War II strike was called off. In the wake of that strike, a group of Seafarers (photo above) in solidarity gathered in a Brooklyn, N.Y., bar to celebrate their triumph, which was a victory for working people all over the United States. The event gave greater credence to their demand for respect during a crucial moment in history. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with other Seafarers LOG readers, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. High-resolution digital images may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org January 2009 �52246_P01_24:January 08 12/19/2008 5:26 PM Page 9 Paul Hall Center School Supplement This handy version of the Paul Hall Center’s catalog is printed in the Seafarers LOG as a convenience to SIU members. Please keep it for reference. NOTE: Prerequisites for all upgrading courses in the SHLSS catalog include being at least 18 years old, holding a U.S. Merchant Marine Document, passing a physical exam, and English language proficiency. Paul Hall Center Course Guide for 2009 The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, which opened in 1967, is the largest training facility for deep sea merchant seafarers and inland waterways boatmen in the United States. The school has developed a pioneering approach to education that has successfully integrated vocational training, academic enrichment and trade union responsibility. Named after Paul Hall (1915-1980), an outstanding past president of the SIU, the center is the product of a unique cooperative effort by the Seafarers International Union and the management of privately owned American-flag deep sea ships and inland tugs and towboats. The campus is located on 60 acres in picturesque Piney Point, Md., at the confluence of the Potomac River and St. George’s Creek. It features state-of-the-art equipment, knowledgeable instructors and helpful staff members. Tens of thousands of rated and licensed seamen have completed upgrading classes at the training center. Additionally, more than 22,000 men and women from every state in the U.S., Puerto Rico and several U.S. ter- DECK DEPT. Ratings Forming Part of a Navigational Watch/Able Seaman Applicants completing our 4-week Ratings Forming Part of a Navigational Watch/Able Seaman program satisfy: (1) the training, seagoing service, and assessment requirements of 46 CFR 12.05-3(c) and Section A-II/4 of the STCW Code, Mandatory Minimum Requirements for Certification of Ratings Forming Part of a Navigational Watch;—AND—(2) if presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, the written examination requirements of 46 CFR 12.05-9 for the “Deck General & Navigation General” and “Deck Safety & Rules of the Road” exam modules for any Able Seaman endorsement and the practical (knot tying) examination requirements of 46 CFR 12.05-9 for any Able Seaman endorsement PROVIDED that all other requirements of 46 CFR Subpart 12.05, including sea service, are also met. The course consists of hands-on training and classroom work covering deck seamanship, rules of the road, marlinespike seamanship, helmsmanship, cargo handling, safety, fire fighting, emergency procedures, first aid, anchoring, and mooring, and aids to navigation. Prerequisites: Sea service, Water Survival (Lifeboatman), STOS Special: 12 months’ service on deck, 2 months’ sea service under the supervision of the Master, the OIC of the navigational ritories have graduated from the trainee program for those just beginning their maritime careers. The school is committed to providing the nation’s maritime industry with skilled, physically fit and responsible deep sea seafarers and inland waterways boatmen. The school believes that the men and women who choose careers as professional seafarers or boatmen must be provided with the knowledge and skills to keep pace with technological advances within their industries. As a result, the school has developed a total program for professional advancement as a boatman or deep sea mariner. The Paul Hall Center offers more than 70 U.S. Coast Guard-approved classes, many of which emphasize hands-on training. Starting in 2008, the school began offering online “distance learning” classes that are taken via the internet. An overview of many of the courses available at Piney Point is contained in this eight-page section and also appears on the web site www.seafarers.org, in the Paul Hall Center section. Students should note that courses and class dates may change due to the manpower needs of SIU-contracted watch, or qualified ratings (STCW) Limited: 18 months’ service on deck, 2 months’ sea service under the supervision of the Master, OIC, or qualified ratings Unlimited: 3 years’ deck, 2 months’ sea service under the supervision of the Master or OIC Bridge Resource Management Applicants completing our 30-hour Bridge Resource Management course satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(o) and the requirements of Section B-VIII/ 2, Part 3-1 of the STCW Code. Bridge Resource Management-Unlimited is designed for persons with significant shipping experience who hold or are seeking a U.S. Coast Guard license. This course fulfills the training requirements of effective bridge teamwork as set forth in STCW 95, A-II/1, A-II/2, and BVIII/2 and 46 CFR 10.25 and 10.209. Prerequisites: Radar Unlimited, ARPA, License of 200 Gross Tons or greater OR seeking an original third mate or limited license Bridge Resource Management (1600 Tons or less) Students who successfully complete this course will have the knowledge and experience needed to continually reassess the allocation and use of bridge resources using bridge management principles. Applicants completing our 26-hour Bridge Resource Management (1600 companies. Therefore, Seafarers should check the latest issue of the Seafarers LOG for the most up-to-date class listings. Schedules also are available on the web site, and additional course descriptions may be posted, too. The basic eligibility for SIU members who want to upgrade at Piney Point includes a valid clinic card, a TWIC, 125 days’ sea time in the previous year, one day of sea time in the last six months prior to the date the class starts, a copy of their z-card (front and back), a copy of the identification page of their union book, plus any other course-specific requirements. If the course mandates a U.S. Coast Guard test to acquire the endorsement, then the upgrader must meet all Coast Guard requirements prior to taking the class. Some courses have other specific requirements which are printed in bold. For more information about the Paul Hall Center or any of its courses, contact the Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075, or call (301) 9940010. Tons) course satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(o) and the requirements of Section B-VIII/2, Part 3-1 of the STCW Code. THIS APPROVAL IS LIMITED TO SERVICE UPON VESSELS OF NOT MORE THAN 1600 GROSS TONS (DOMESTIC). Prerequisites: Radar Unlimited, ARPA, License of 200 gross tons or greater OR in the process of getting license Celestial Navigation Applicants completing our 126-hour Celestial Navigation course with a passing grade of at least 80% satisfy the Celestial Navigation training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). In conjunction with this course, any approved instructor is authorized to signoff for a successful demonstration on the students’ “Control Sheets” for the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-1-1A; OICNW-1-1B; OICNW-1-1C; OICNW1-1D; OICNW-1-1E and OICNW-1-1F. The course covers the areas of celestial navigation required for licensing as a second or third mate unlimited and for all limited licenses. Students are instructed in latitude observations by sun and Polaris, running fixes by sun, stars, and planets, compass error by amplitude and azimuth, star identification, and care and use of the sextant. Prerequisites: ARPA, Radar Observer, Scientific calculator skill, time/speed/distance formula Electronic Chart Display Information Systems (ECDIS) Applicants completing our 35-hour Electronic Chart Display Information Systems (ECDIS) course are considered to have successfully demonstrated the competencies “Plan and Conduct a Passage and Determine Position: Thorough Knowledge of and Ability to Use ECDIS” of Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code AND “Determine Position and the Accuracy of Resultant Position Fix: Position Determination Using ECDIS With Specific Knowledge of its Operating Principles, Limitations, Sources of Error, January 2009 Detection of Misrepresentation of information and Methods of Correction to Obtain Accurate Position Fixing” of Table A-II/2 of the STCW Code. The course provides training in the basic theory and use of electronic chart display and information systems (ECDIS) for those who will be in charge of a navigational watch on vessels equipped with ECDIS. Students learn to use, update, and verify electronic chart information. The training comprises all safety-relevant aspects and aims beyond the use of operational controls. All theoretical aspects and major characteristics of ECDIS data, such as data contents, system integration, information layers, and data updating, are covered in depth. Prerequisites: General Admission requirements; ARPA certificate; Radar certificate; Terrestrial and Coastal Navigation training for license preparation; USCG-approved STCW Basic Safety Training course Electronic Navigation Any applicant who has successfully completed our 40-hour Electronic Navigation course will satisfy the Electronic Navigation training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). The practical assessments in this course will be accepted as the equivalent of the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-1-4A; OICNW-1-4B;OICNW-1-4C; and OICNW-1-4D. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service, radar and ARPA Fast Rescue Boats Applicants completing our 30-hour Fast Rescue Boats course satisfy the requirements of Table A-VI/2-2 of the STCW Code, Specification of the Minimum Standard of Competence in Fast Rescue Boats. Continued on next page Seafarers LOG 9 �52246_P01_24x:January 08 12/23/2008 1:44 AM Page 10 Course Guide Continued from Page 9 The Paul Hall Center’s Fast Rescue Boats course trains students to handle and take charge of fast rescue boats during or after launch in adverse weather and sea conditions. Students learn how to operate a fast rescue boat engine, use all locating devices, including communication and signaling equipment between the rescue boat and a helicopter and the ship, and how to carry out search patterns. Prerequisites: Basic Safety, Survival Craft and Rescue Boats other than fast rescue boats Fundamental Concepts of Navigation Applicants completing our 70-hour Fundamental Concepts of Navigation course and who present our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center WITHIN 5 YEARS of the completion of training, receive 20 days’ sea service credit that may be used—ONLY—for the following: (1) Any license restricted to service upon vessels of not more than 200 gross tons (domestic); OR (2) Any license restricted to service upon inland or Great Lakes waters; OR (3) Any Able Seaman endorsement PROVIDED that the applicant has at least 6 months of actual sea service that can be credited toward an Able Seaman endorsement. Topics covered in this c1ass include the use of nautical charts, calculating time, speed, and distance problems, the use of plotting instruments and compasses, dead reckoning, bearings, fixes, current sailing, piloting, and an introduction to collision regulations and rules of the road. Prerequisite: 120 days of sea time as an AB Global Maritime Distress & Safety System (GMDSS) Applicants completing our 70-hour Global Maritime Distress & Safety System (GMDSS) course with a passing grade of at least 75% satisfy the GMDSS training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(n) and Table A-IV/2 of the STCW Code. Applicants for this 70-hour course must hold a 200-ton or greater license, or show a current U.S. Coast Guard approval letter indicating they are eligible to sit for a license greater than 200 tons. The class is designed to meet the requirements set forth in Table A-IV/2 of the amended STCW convention. Topics include principles of the global marine distress and safety system communications, distress alerting and operational procedures for VHF DSC, INMARST-C, MF/HF, NAVTEX, EPIRB, SART, and VHF (SCT). The course blends classroom instruction and practical exercises. Prerequisites: 1 year experience as a member of navigational watch on the bridge of an ocean going vessel OR licensed radio officer or engineer Government Vessels This 3-week class is open to mariners sailing in any department. The course is structured as three 1-week, stand-alone modules. The modules may be taken in any order. Included in the first week are an introduction to the U.S. Military Sealift Command and military vessels, damage control, CBRD (chemical, biological, radiological defense), anti-terrorism level I and hazardous materials training. The second week features forklift operations, underway replenishment and vertical replenishment. Cargo-handling and crane operations are included in the third week. (This course is required of students attending AB or FOWT courses.) Prerequisites: No additional Magnetic and Gyro Compasses Any applicant who has successfully completed our 20-hour Magnetic and Gyro Compasses course will satisfy the Compass—Magnetic and Gyro training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). The practical assessments in this course will be accepted as the equivalent of assessments OICNW-1-5A; OICNW1-5B; OICNW-1-5C; OICNW-1-5D; and OICNW-1-5E from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service Basic Meteorology Any applicant who has successfully completed our 40-hour Meteorology (Operational Level) course will satisfy the Meteorology training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). The practical assessments conducted in this course will be accepted as the equivalent of OICNW1-7A; OICNW-1-7B; and OICNW-1-7C from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service Radar Observer (Unlimited) Applicants completing our 5-day Radar Observer (Unlimited) course, including successful demonstration of all practical assessments, satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 10.480 for an endorsement as Radar Observer (Unlimited) and the radar training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). In conjunction with this course, any approved instructor is authorized to signoff for a successful demonstration on the students’ “Control Sheets” for the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-1-2B; OICNW1-2C; OICNW-3-1A; OICNW-3-1B; OICNW-3-1C; OICNW-3-1D; OICNW-31E; OICNW-3-1F; OICNW-3-1G; OICNW-3-1H; OICNW-3-1I; OICNW-31J; and OICNW-3-1K. This course features hands-on training and classroom work, including radar theory, observation, operation and use, interpretation and plotting, advanced radar plotting, collision avoidance and navigational exercise. Students operate modern audio-visual and radar simulation gear, as well as the full shiphandling simulator, as they practice controlling and maneuvering a vessel, plotting courses and safely guiding a ship without jeopardizing the safety of other vessels. Also included are practical exercises and lectures covering inland waterway and river navigation and piloting. Prerequisites: Navigation exercises assume background in chart work and coastal navigation Radar Observer Recertification Applicants completing our 1-Day Radar Observer Recertification course satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 10.480(d) for renewal of any Radar Observer endorsement. This course does not satisfy any training or assessment requirements of the STCW Convention and STCW Code. (Navigation exercises assume background in chart work and coastal navigation.) Prerequisites: Radar Observer Radar Observer Refresher Applicants completing our 3-Day Radar Observer Refresher course satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 10.480(d) for renewal of any Radar Observer endorsement. This course does not satisfy any training or assessment requirements of the STCW Convention and STCW Code. (Navigation exercises assume background in chart work and coastal navigation.) Prerequisite: Radar Observer ARPA Applicants completing our 32-hour Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) course, including successful demonstration of all practical assessments, satisfy the ARPA training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC) and of 46 CFR 10.205(m)(1). The practical assessments conducted in this course are equivalent to the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-32A; OICNW-3-2B; OICNW-3-2C; OICNW-3-2D; OICNW-3-2E; OICNW- 10 Seafarers LOG 3-2F; OICNW- 3-2G; OICNW-3-2H; OICNW-3-2I; OICNW-3-2J; OICNW-32K; OICNW-3-2L; and OICNW-3- 2M. (Navigation exercises assume background in chart work and coastal navigation.) This course of instruction incorporates the use of ARPA simulation equipment to operate, observe, and use the radar plotting aids. Students gain an understanding of the limitations of the aids as well as their performance factors, sensor inputs and malfunctions and gain knowledge of tracking capabilities, processing, operational warnings, and target acquisition. Prerequisite: Radar Observer Medical Care Provider Applicants completing our 21-hour Medical Care Provider course satisfy the Medical First Aid training requirements of Section A-VI/4 and Table A-VI/4-1 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 12.13-1. This course is designed for mariners who are employed or may be employed on U.S.-flag ships. It meets STCW requirements. Students successfully completing this course must take a refresher course within 5 years or provide information to the U.S. Coast Guard documenting maintenance of medical skills. Cardiopulmonary (CPR) certification must be renewed annually. Training as a Medical First Aid Provider is the second level of medical training required by STCW. Topics include a review of cardiac and airway management, rescuer safety, body structure, examining trauma victims and medical patients, treating head and spinal injuries, burns, musculoskeletal injuries, and rescued persons. Also included are obtaining radio medical advice, administering medication, and sterilization techniques. Prerequisites: Candidates for the course must possess current certification from the American Red Cross for CPR for the Professional Rescuer or equivalent certification issued through a similar authorizing agency. Candidates also need First Aid. Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (Including Sea Service) Applicants completing our entire 16week Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch Program, INCLUDING the 360 days of seagoing service: (1) receive 720 days’ sea service credit toward a license as Third Mate of Ocean or Near Coastal Steam or Motor Vessels of Any Gross Tons. Applicants must present evidence of not less than 1 year of qualifying seagoing service obtained AFTER enrollment in the OICNW program, including at least six months performing bridge watch-keeping duties under the superviContinued on next page January 2009 �52246_P01_24x:January 08 12/23/2008 1:45 AM Course Guide Continued from Page 10 sion of the master or a qualified officer. Applicants must have previously completed our entire Unlicensed Apprentice Program, and sea service awarded for completion of the Unlicensed Apprentice Program may NOT be used to meet the service requirements for OICNW and Third Mate;—AND—(2) Satisfy the training and assessment requirements of 46 CFR 10.910 and Section AII/1 and Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code, Specification of Minimum Standard of Competence for Officers in Charge of a Navigational Watch on Ships of 500 Gross Tonnage or More, PROVIDED that they have also completed the following Coast Guard approved courses within five years of completion of the OICNW program: a) Basic Safety Training; b) Basic and Advanced Fire Fighting; c) Medical Care Provider; d) Proficiency in Survival Craft; e) Tank Ship Familiarization (Dangerous Liquids); f) Celestial Navigation (STCW); g) Radar Observer (Unlimited); h) Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA); i) Bridge Resource Management; j) Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS); and k) Visual Communications. Prerequisites: ARPA, Basic/Adv. Fire Fighting, BRM, Celestial Navigation, First Aid, GMDSS, Medical First Aid Provider, Proficiency in Survival Craft or Water Survival, Radar Observer, Tanker Familiarization, BST, sea time for 3rd Mate and OICNW Oil Spill Prevention and Containment This 1-week course consists of classroom and practical training exercises. Topics include oil types and petroleum products’ behavior on water; pollution prevention regulations; hazardous materials training; spill prevention; absorbents, suction equipment, skimmers, and their proper use; and small boat operations. Students also receive instruction in spill containment booms, boom towing configurations, and anchoring operations. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites HAZMAT Recertification This 1-day class includes a regulatory overview of Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) requirements, reviews of toxology terminology, medical monitoring instruments and techniques, site-control and emergency preparedness, proper use of respiratory protection, and monitoring equipment and new technology. Prerequisite: 24or 40-hour Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) courses Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities Applicants completing our 4-hour Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities training requirements of Page 11 46 CFR 10.205(l)(4) and Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-4 of the Seafarers’ Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code. This course provides the unlicensed apprentice candidate with a general understanding and basic knowledge of human relationships, social skills necessary for living and working aboard operational merchant ships, and a working knowledge of issues impacting preparedness for international travel. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Personal Survival Techniques Applicants completing our 12-hour Personal Survival Techniques course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the Personal Survival training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-1 of the Seafarers’ Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(1). Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Proficiency in Survival Craft/Personal Survival Techniques (Lifeboatman) Applicants completing our 37-hour Proficiency in Survival Craft/Personal Survival Techniques course satisfy: (1) the Survival Craft training requirements of Section A-VI/2 and Table A-VI/2-1 of the STCW Code;—AND—(2) the training requirements of 46 CFR 12.10-3(a)(6) for any endorsement as Lifeboatman, PROVIDED that sea service requirements are also met;—AND—(2) if presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, the written and practical examination requirements of 46 CFR 12.10-5 for a Lifeboatman endorsement (exam module 481xx) and the written “Survival Craft” examination requirements for service on vessels not equipped with lifeboats (exam module 441xx or 706xx),—AND—(3) the Personal Survival Techniques training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table AVI/1-1 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(1). This course helps mariners develop the required knowledge and application skills for water survival including launch, use and recovery of survival craft, and the proper use of survival equipment. Additionally, students learn the procedures necessary to take charge and maintain a survival craft and protect embarked personnel while on board. Prerequisites: 180 days deck seatime Search and Rescue (Operational Level) Any applicant who has successfully completed our 16-hour Search & Rescue (Operational Level) course will satisfy the Search & Rescue training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman Applicants completing our 70-hour Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the training requirements for service as a Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman AND the training and assessment requirements of Table A-II/4 of the STCW Code, “Specification of Minimum Standard of Competence for Ratings Forming Part of a Navigational Watch,” and 46 CFR 12.05- 3(c) PROVIDED they also present evidence of at least 6 months’ sea-going service performing navigational watchkeeping functions under the supervision of the Master or officer in charge of the navigational watch. If the applicant does not present evidence of 6 months of this service, he or she satisfies the training and assessment requirements for certification as Rating Forming Part of a Navigational Watch RESTRICTED to lookout duties only. This certification is valid for 1 year and may not be renewed. This course is designed for deck trainees who need a fast track to Ratings Forming Part of the Navigational Watch. It meets the requirements of 46 CFR 12.05.3(c) and STCW Table A-II/4. Topics covered in the course include: anchoring, mooring, knot-tying, gyro and magnetic compass, wheel watch, error chain analysis and pilot interactions, helm control, rules of the road, IALA buoy systems, shipboard communication, helm watch relief and lookout watch. Prerequisites: UA Program Phases 1 and 2, or 180 days as an OS Tankerman PIC Barge Applicants completing our 38-hour Tank Barge Dangerous Liquids Course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the training requirements of 46 CFR 13.309 for an endorsement as Tankerman-PIC (Barge). Prerequisites: Basic Fire Fighting Tank Ship Dangerous Liquids Applicants completing our 5-day Tank Ship Dangerous Liquids course satisfy the training requirements of 46 CFR 13.113(d) (1) (ii) (A), 13.115 (b) (1), 13.209, 13.309, 13.409 or 13.509 for any dangerous liquids tankerman endorsement. This course provides training for masters, chief engineers, officers, and any person with immediate responsibility for the loading, discharging and care in transit or handling of cargo. It comprises a specialized training program appropriate to their duties, including oil tanker safety, fire safety measure and systems, pollution prevention, operational practice and obligations under applicable laws and regulations. Prerequisites: 3 months’ seagoing service on tankers (DL) OR completion of a Tank Ship Familiarization (Dangerous Liquids) (Paul Hall Center “Tanker Assistant” course) to cover STCW Code Section A-V/1 para. 2-8. Fire fighting course in accordance with 47 CFR 13.121 Table 13.121(g) OR Paul Hall Center Basic Fire Fighting, U.S.C.G.approved STCW Basic Safety Training course Tank Ship Dangerous Liquids (Simulator) Applicants completing our 53-hour Tank Ship Dangerous Liquids (Simulator) course satisfy the training requirements of 46 CFR 13.113(d)(1)(ii)(A), 13.115 (b)(1), 13.209, 13.309, 13.409 or 13.509 for any dangerous liquids tankerman endorsement;—AND— receive credit January 2009 for: (1) two loadings and two discharges which may be applied toward satisfying the requirements of 46 CFR 13.203(b)(1);—AND—(2) one commencement of loading and one completion of loading which may be applied toward satisfying the requirements in 46 CFR 13.203(b)(2);—AND—(3) one commencement of discharge and one completion of discharge which may be applied toward satisfying the requirements in 46 CFR 13.203(b)(3). This course provides training for masters, chief engineers, officers, and any person with immediate responsibility for the loading, discharging and care in transit or handling of cargo. It comprises a specialized training program appropriate to their duties, including oil tanker safety, fire safety measure and systems, pollution prevention, operational practice and obligations under applicable laws and regulations. Prerequisites: 3 months’ seagoing service on tankers (DL) OR completion of a Tank Ship Familiarization (Dangerous Liquids) (Paul Hall Center “Tanker Assistant” course) to cover STCW Code Section A-V/1 para. 2-8. Fire fighting course in accordance with 47 CFR 13.121 Table 13.121(g) OR Paul Hall Center Basic Fire Fighting, U.S.C.G.approved STCW Basic Safety Training course Tank Ship Familiarization/ Assistant Cargo DL Applicants completing our 63-hour Tank Ship Familiarization (Dangerous Liquids) course satisfy the training requirements of 46 CFR 13.409 for an original endorsement as TankermanAssistant DL. This course meets the Code of Federal Regulation requirements for personnel not having the required sea service. The objective of this course is to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct operations on tankships. Topics include the 16-hour worker health and safety (HAZWOPER) First Responder/ Operations Level, Ship Design and Operation, Cargo Characteristics, Enclosed Space Entry, Cargo Transfer and Shipment, and Pollution Prevention, and Emergency Operations and Response. Prerequisite: Fire Fighting Tank Ship Familiarization (Liquefied Gases) Applicants completing our 30-hour Tank Ship Familiarization (Liquefied Gases) course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy: (1) the training requirements of 46 CFR 13.409 for an original endorsement as TankermanAssistant (LG); —AND— (2) the tanker familiarization training requirements of paragraphs 1-7 of Section A-V/1 of the STCW Code. This course consists of a safety program designed to meet STCW requirements for those who have not served on LNG ships. The course of instruction includes LNG fire fighting, confined space awareness, LNG nomenclature, LNG ship operations, personal safety, LNG safety, hazardous material, LNG cargo tank (level indicators, temperature), LNG cargo pump (Carter pump construction and ops), inert gas generator (general flow system), nitrogen gas system, LNG vapor compressor, warm-up heater and boil-off heater. Prerequisite: Advanced Fire Fighting Vessel Security Officer This 12-hour course provides knowledge to those wishing to perform the duties and responsibilities of a Vessel Continued on next page Seafarers LOG 11 �52246_P01_24x:January 08 12/23/2008 1:47 AM Page 12 Course Guide Continued from Page 11 Successfully completed a USCGapproved STCW Basic Safety Training course; possess current U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; speak, read and understand the English language in accordance with 46 CFR 13.111; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.15-5; Fundamentals of Navigation OR equivalent course OR experience as determined by the instructor; valid Radar Observer Unlimited certificate; Able Seaman endorsement (any) Master 100 Tons Security Officer (VSO) as defined in section A/2.1.6 (and section A/12.1) of the ISPS Code with respect to the security of a ship, for implementing and maintaining a Ship Security Plan, and for liaising with the Company Security Officer (CSO) and Port Facility Security Officers (PFSOs). Successful students will be able to undertake the duties and responsibilities as Vessel Security Officer as defined in section A/12.2 of the ISPS Code. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Visual Communications (Flashing Light) Applicants completing our 1-day Visual Communications course with a minimum score of 80% will: (1) Satisfy the practical signaling examination requirements (flashing light) of 46 CFR 10.401(h) IF presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training;—AND— (2) Be considered to have successfully demonstrated the competence “Transmit and Receive Information by Visual Signaling” of Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Apprentice Mate (Steersman) The Paul Hall Center’s 103-hour Apprentice Mate (Steersman), Near Coastal course is a self-certifying course for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on uninspected towing vessels sailing under U.S. flag or registered/documented under any political subdivision in the United States. Training meets or exceeds requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(i) for original issuance or 46 CFR 10. 209(c)(iii) for renewal of a license as Apprentice Mate (Steersman) of Towing Vessels (Near Coastal and Great Lakes; —OR—(2) the examination requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(i) for original issuance or 46 CFR 10. 209(c)(iii) for renewal of a license as Master of Towing Vessels (Near Coastal and Great Lakes) provided that they also provide evidence of service in the towing industry before May 21, 2001, AND that the requirements of 46 CFR 10.464(h) are also met. After obtaining the requisite sea service and fulfilling other U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) requirements pertaining to this license, successful students will be able to take responsibility for the safety of an inspected towing vessel; be aware of obligations under Coast Guard regulations concerning safety and protection of passengers, crew, and the marine environment; and, be able to take the practical measures necessary to meet those obligations. Successful students will be issued a certificate of completion for an Apprentice Mate (Steersman), Near Coastal course. Prior to the scheduled class convening date, each candidate must meet the following entrance requirements: 12 Seafarers LOG The Paul Hall Center’s 90-hour Master 100 Tons, Near Coastal course is a selfcertifying course for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on passenger vessels sailing under U.S. flag or registered/documented under any political subdivision in the United States. Training meets or exceeds requirements of 46 CFR 10.206(i) for original license, 46 CFR 10.209(c)(iii) for renewal, and 46 CFR 209(f) for reissue. Students who present our certificate of training at a regional exam center within 1 year of the completion of training will satisfy the exam requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(i)for reissuance of a license. After obtaining the requisite sea service and fulfilling other U.S. Coast Guard requirements pertaining to this license, successful students will be able to take responsibility for the safety of an inspected passenger vessel of 100 tons and its passengers; be aware of obligations under Coast Guard regulations concerning safety and protection of passengers, crew, and the marine environment; and, be able to take the practical measures necessary to meet those obligations. Students successfully completing the course will be issued a certificate for successful completion for a Master 100 Ton, Near Coastal license. Prior to the scheduled class convening date, each candidate must meet the following entrance requirements: Successfully completed a USCGapproved STCW Basic Safety Training course; possess current U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; speak, read and understand the English language in accordance with 46 CFR 13.111; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.15-5; Fundamentals of Navigation, valid Radar Observer Unlimited certificate; Able Seaman endorsement (any) Terrestrial & Coastal Navigation Any applicant who has successfully completed our 80-hour Terrestrial & Coastal Navigation course will satisfy the Terrestrial Navigation and Coastal Navigation training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). The practical assessments conducted in this course will be accepted as the equivalent of the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table AII/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-1-2A; OICNW-1-2B; OICNW1-2C; OICNW-1-2D; OICNW-1-3A; OICNW-1-3B; and OICNW-1-3C. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service Emergency Procedures (Operational Level) The Paul Hall Center’s 21-hour Emergency Procedures at the Operational Level course is designed for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.-flagged vessels. This stand-alone course is a component of the Paul Hall Center’s Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (OICNW) Program. The functional elements of this course specifically meet Function 1: Navigation at the Operational Level; Competence 1.4 Respond to Emergencies; and Knowledge, Understanding, and Proficiency 1.4.1 Precautions for Protection and Safety of Passengers of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) OICNW Model Course No. 7.03 and the requirements of USCG Policy Letter 01-02. No OICNW assessments will be conducted in this course. Successful candidates will earn a Paul Hall Center certificate of training Emergency Procedures at the Operational Level. Prior to the scheduled class convening date, each candidate must meet the following entrance requirements: Successfully completed a USCGapproved STCW Basic Safety Training course; possess current U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; speak, read and understand the English language in accordance with 46 CFR 13.111; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.15-5 Basic Cargo Handling and Stowage (Operational Level) The Paul Hall Center’s Basic Cargo Handling and Stowage course is a 40hour course for students who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.flag vessels as required by STCW 1995, as amended, and are licensed or intending to be licensed personnel. On successful completion of this course, students will be able to use cargo plans and tables or diagrams of stability and trim data to calculate the ship’s initial stability, drafts, and trim for any given description of cargo and other weights. They will also be able to determine whether stresses on the ship are within permitted limits by the use of stress data or calculation equipment, or software. They will understand safety precaution used prior to entering enclosed or potentially contaminated spaces. Students should be able to supervise the preparation and dunnaging of holds and the operation of ships’ cargo gear and will be aware of the importance of adequately securing cargo to prevent damage to the ship or cargo. Trainees will identify dangerous goods and know that they are stowed and separated according to requirements of the IMDG Code. They will also know the hazards related to some bulk cargoes and the precautions to take during their loading, carriage, and discharge. Trainees will also have a basic knowledge of the piping and pumping arrangements of oil tankers. This course specifically addresses “Function: Cargo handling and stowage at the operational level” and “Competence: Monitor the loading, stowage, securing, care during the voyage and the unloading of cargoes” and “Knowledge Understanding and Proficiency: Cargo handling, stowage, and securing” found in Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code, amended 1995. This is accomplished through classroom lecture and practical exercises. Students successfully completing this course will be awarded a Paul Hall Center Basic Cargo and Stowage at the Operational Level course certificate. Prior to the scheduled class convening date, each candidate must meet the following entrance requirements: Possess a U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD); provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 13.125; speak, read and understand the English language in accordance with 46 CFR 13.111; provide documented proof of fulfilling USCG approved sea time requirements, completion of Basic Stability course Basic Shiphandling and Steering Control Systems Any applicant who has successfully completed the 40-hour Basic Shiphandling & Steering Control Systems (Operational Level) course will satisfy the Basic Shiphandling & Steering Control Systems training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). The practical assessments in this class will be accepted as the equivalent of the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-1-6A; OICNW-1-6B; OICNW-5-1A; OICNW-5-1B; and OICNW-5-1C. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service Basic Stability (Operational Level) The Paul Hall Center’s 40-hour Basic Stability at the Operational Level course is intended to provide training at the basic level for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.-flag vessels. It takes into account STCW Code, Table AII/1, “Function: Controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board at the operational level,” and “Competence: Maintain seaworthiness of the ship,” and “Knowledge, understanding and proficiency, ship stability.” Upon successful completion of the course, students will have knowledge of the principal structural members of a ship and the proper names of the various parts. They will be able to use tables and diagrams of ship stability and trim data to calculate the ship’s initial stability, drafts, and trim for any given disposition of cargo and other weights. Students will be able to determine whether stresses on the ship are within the permitted limits by use of stress data. They will understand the fundamental actions to take in the event of partial loss of intact buoyancy. At course completion, successful students will receive a Paul Hall Center certificate of completion in Basic Stability at the Operational Level. This course is open to watchkeeping officers, seamen who are training to become watchkeeping officers, and those Continued on next page January 2009 �52246_P01_24x:January 08 12/23/2008 1:47 AM Course Guide Continued from Page 12 who are responsible for loading cargoes. Students will be expected to use simple graphs and basic arithmetical skills and must meet the following requirements: USCG-approved STCW Basic Safety Training course, U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; read, speak and understand the English language at a level sufficient to perform job duties; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.05-7 Ship Construction (Operational Level) The Paul Hall Center’s 40-hour Ship Construction at the Operational Level course is intended to provide training at the basic level for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.flag vessels whose responsibilities include maintaining the seaworthiness of the ship. It takes into account STCW Code Table A-II/1: Function: controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board at the operational level; Ship construction. Upon successful completion of the course, students will have general knowledge of the principal structural members of a ship and the proper names for the various parts. At course completion, successful students will receive a Paul Hall Center certificate of completion in Ship Construction at the Operational Level. Page 13 This course is open to watchkeeping officers, seamen who are training to become watchkeeping officers, and those who are responsible for loading cargoes. Trainees will be expected to use simple graphs and basic arithmetical skills and must meet the following requirements: USCG-approved STCW Basic Safety Training course; U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; read, speak and understand the English language at a level sufficient to perform job duties; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.05-7 Watchkeeping (Operational Level) Any applicant who has successfully completed our 80-hour Watchkeeping (Operational Level) course will satisfy the Watchkeeping training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC); AND the Bridge Resource Management training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(o) and the requirements of Section B-VIII/2, Part 3-1 of the STCW Code. The practical assessments conducted in this course will be accepted as the equivalent of assessments OICNW-21A; OICNW-2-1B, OICNW-2-1C, OICNW-2-1D, OICNW-2-1E, OICNW2-1F, OICNW-2-2A, OICNW-2-2B, OICNW-2-2C, OICNW-2-2D, OICNW2-2E, OICNW-2-2F, OICNW-2-3A, OICNW-2-3B, OICNW-2-3C, OICNW2-3D, OICNW-2-3E, OICNW-2-3F, OICNW-2-3G, AND OICNW-2-3H from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service ENGINE DEPT. Many engine department courses have prerequisites. For example, to be accepted for Advanced Refrigeration/Containers, students must have successfully completed Basic Marine Electrician and Refrigeration System Maintenance and Operations. Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations Applicants completing our 140-hour Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations course and who present our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, satisfy the examination requirements of 46 CFR 12.15-9 for the General Safety examination module, PROVIDED they have also completed either our 63hour Basic Motor Plant Operations course and/or our 70-hour Basic Steam Plant Operations course. Applicants who have successfully completed our course need not present individually completed “Control Sheets” for the assessments in application for STCW certification. The objective of this course is to provide students with knowledge and practical operational skills required of rated engine department watchstanders as they sail in the capacity of FOWT. This objective is accomplished through classroom lectures and shore-side auxiliary plant simulator practical exercises. Prerequisites: Same as FOWT program Fireman, Oiler & Watertender (FOWT) Applicants completing Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations and both Basic Motor Plant Operations and Basic Steam Plant Operations will meet the requirements for endorsement as FOWT. (These classes are described below as stand-alone courses.) Applicants completing Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations and either Basic Motor Plant Operations or Basic Steam Plant Operations will be eligible for an FOWT (Restricted) endorsement. Prerequisites: Successful completion of the Paul Hall Center Unlicensed Apprentice Training Program; successful completion of the unlicensed apprentice sea voyage and required sea projects; unlicensed apprentice sea voyage performance evaluations within the engine department as completed by the First Assistant Engineer of at least satisfactory or better; recommendation by the unlicensed apprentice sea voyage participating vessel’s Chief Engineer OR 6 months’ sea time as wiper AND STCW certification in all areas of basic safety training; Continued on next page ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT The Academic Department has a long history of providing support and services to students at the Paul Hall Center. Since the founding of the school in Piney Point, Md., there has been academic support for students taking vocational programs as well as for those students who require basic skills, English language skills or wish to continue their education. There are a variety of opportunities offered to all students. Specific questions about the programs can be answered or explained by contacting the Academic Department at (301) 994-0010, ext. 5411. General Education Program The GED program is open to all mariners who do not have a high school diploma. Assistance is offered to prepare students to take the test in Maryland or in their home state. Emphasis is placed on writing skills, social studies, science, interpreting literature and art, and mathematics. GED students receive individualized instruction in preparation for the test. The school for many years has successfully prepared mariners to pass the test. For many students, this is a milestone in their lives. (Prior to taking the test in Maryland, a January 2009 12-week residency is required.) Adult Basic Education The Adult Basic Education (ABE) program assists students in improving their basic language, technical vocabulary and mathematical skills. These skills help students experience greater success in both vocational and academic classes. Students who receive low scores on the T’ABE benchmark examinations, given at the Paul Hall Center, are encouraged to enroll in this program. Students may enter these classes while attending upgrader courses or may enroll in an extended ABE course offered throughout the year. English as a Second Language The English as a Second Language course assists students in basic English and technical vocabulary skills. The purpose of the class is to give seafarers who have not learned English as their native language and who have difficulty speaking, hearing, understanding and/or writing the English language, the opportunity to gain proficiency in that language. As much as possible, instruction will be provided to give the seafarer the English language skills necessary to perform the essential tasks within the department under which he or she sails. Classes are offered throughout the year for those students requiring in-depth instruction, or students may schedule assistance during their upgrading classes. Basic Vocational Support Program The Basic Vocational Support Program assists students in improving course-specific vocational language and mathematic skills. It is designed to assist with the fundamental understanding of concepts and theoretical ideas which are the fundamentals of a given vocational course. Some of these classes are offered prior to the regularly scheduled courses to provide the student with knowledge and skills that will assist them once the classes have begun. These courses are ideal for those students who have been away from the classroom, need basic skills or do not use English as their native language. College Program The Paul Hall Center is a degreegranting institution approved by the Maryland Higher Education Commission. Vocational courses also are approved for credit by the American Council on Education (ACE). Students may apply for college credit for many of the vocational courses that they take while upgrading at the school. In addition the center offers general education courses required for an associate’s degree. The school currently offers Associate of Applied Science degree programs in nautical science technology (deck department students) or marine engineering technology (engine department students). Both degrees offer concentrations in either the deep sea or inland sections of the maritime industry. There also is a certificate program in maritime technology with concentrations in nautical science or marine engineering. All programs are designed to provide the opportunity for mariners to earn a college degree or certificate in their occupational areas and provide a solid academic foundation in general education subjects. Students are required to have a total of 60 to 70 college hours to earn a degree. Students also may take advantage of remedial programs that help prepare them for college level courses. It is recommended that students meet with a counselor to plan a college program. Seafarers LOG 13 �52246_P01_24x:January 08 12/23/2008 1:49 AM Page 14 Course Guide ONLINE/DISTANCE LEARNING Continued from Page 13 successful completion of the entry-level sea voyage and auxiliary plant familiarization sea project; total USCG approved sea service or equivalent sea service in the engine room of vessels of at least 6 months; meet all USCG physical standards for qualified members of the engine department Military veterans meeting the prior military sea service requirement in the engine room of vessels must meet the following entrance requirements: Prior approval to the military veterans program for ratings forming part of an engineering watch; meet all USCG physical standards for qualified members of the engine department JUNIOR ENGINEER Applicants completing our 70-hour Basic Propulsion Systems Maintenance, 70-hour Basic Refrigeration & HVAC, 70hour Basic Electricity, and 203-hour Auxiliary Plant Maintenance courses, and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 12.15-9, if presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, for the General Safety, Junior Engineer, and Deck Engineer examination modules, provided they also present evidence of acquiring at least 90 days engine room service while endorsed as a QMED Oiler prior to commencing the above training. Prerequisites: Ratings forming part of the engineering watch, FOWT, BAPO, and 180 days as a watchstander. Machinist Applicants completing our 102-hour Machinist course, and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 12.15- 9, if presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, for the Machinist examination module, provided they also present evidence of completing the requirements to be endorsed with a Junior Engineer rating endorsement prior to commencing the above training. This course provides mariners cognitive and practical mechanical skills in the area of general metalworking and machine tool operations. Prerequisites: SHLSS Junior Engineer or QMED any rating Marine Electrician Applicants completing our 280-hour Marine Electrician course, and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 12.15-9, if presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, for the Electrician examination module, provided they also present evidence of acquiring at least 90 days’ engine room service while endorsed as a QMED–Junior Engineer prior to commencing the above training. This course provides Engine De- Students must have access to the internet and an email address in order to take the following classes. These classes are taken online, not at the Paul Hall Center. Please be sure to provide an email address (printed neatly) on the application when applying. The training is designed to be self-paced but typically may be completed within one or two sittings. Hazardous Material Control and Management This is a review course designed to refresh mariners on the important aspects of hazardous material identification and control in the workplace. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to discuss the importance of proper training for employees with regard to hazardous chemicals; understand the importance of product labeling; and summarize basic information found on a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). In accordance with 49 CFR Part 176.13 the course incorporates the following topics: Pollution Prevention; Hazardous Material Terminology and Symbols; Hazardous Material Control and Management Program Administration; Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS); Hazardous Material Information Resource System (HMIRS); Hazardous Material Labeling; Hazardous Material Procurement and Receipts; Hazardous Material Inventory Management; Hazardous Material Handling, Use and Disposal; and, Hazardous Material Emergencies and Responses. Hearing Conservation This class is structured to refresh mariners on the important aspects of hearing conservation in the workplace, including the donning and care of personal protective equipment. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to discuss the importance of proper training with regard to dangerous noise areas in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.95. Environmental Awareness Upon completion of the course, students will be able to describe the requirements for the safe handling of potential shipboard pollutants including sewage, oil and oily waste, hazardous waste and hazardous material, solid waste and medical waste. The primary MSC references covered include: COMSCINST 5090.1B - Environmental Protection Program; COMSCINST 5090.2A Disposal of Solid Waste in the Marine Environment; and COMSCINST 4110.1B - Afloat Hazardous Material Control and Management (HMC&M) Program. Shipboard Pest Management Respiratory Protection The course is designed to refresh mariners on the important aspects of respiratory protection in the workplace, including the donning and care of personal protective equipment. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to discuss the importance of proper training with regard to personal protective equipment in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.134. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to discuss the importance of proper training with regard to pests in accordance with the U.S. Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Vessel Sanitation Program Operations Manual, August 2005, Chapter 8 – Integrated Pest Management and training IAW section 4.8.6.13.2. Shipboard Water Sanitation Heat Stress Management The class is designed to refresh mariners on the important aspects of heat stress in the workplace, including the donning and care of personal protective equipment. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to discuss the importance of proper partment personnel with the theoretical and practical knowledge and skills necessary to perform maintenance and repair operations on motors, generators, and controllers on board ship. Prerequisite: 6 months QMED, SHLSS Junior Engineer, or QMED any rating training with regard to elevated temperatures and dangerous areas of the ship in accordance with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Publication 83-113. Upon completion of the course, students will be able to discuss the importance of proper training with regard to potable water in accordance with the U.S. Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Vessel Sanitation Program Operations Manual, August 2005, Chapter 5 Potable Water. will be awarded a Paul Hall Center certificate Each student must have SHLSS Junior Engineer or QMED any rating, tanker familiarization, U.S. Coast Guard requirements and machinist Marine Refrigeration Technician Pumpman The Paul Hall Center’s Pumpman course is a 70-hour, 10-day course designed for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.-flag vessels. Training meets or exceeds requirements of 46 CFR Sec. 12.15-9 (c) for Pumpman. The objective of the Pumpman course is to provide engine department personnel with the theoretical and practical knowledge and the skills necessary to operate, maintain, and repair the equipment associated with the handling of liquid cargo onboard a tankship. Topics covered in the Pumpman course are Inert Gas Systems, Crude Oil Washing (COW) Systems, Vapor Recovery, and two days of assessment in the Cargo Simulator. On successful completion of this course, students The Paul Hall Center’s Marine Refrigeration Technician course is a 6week (210-hour) course designed for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.-flag vessels. Training meets or exceeds requirements of 46 CFR Section 12.15-9 (b) for Refrigeration Engineer. The objective of the Marine Refrigeration Technician course is to provide engine department personnel with the theoretical and practical knowledge and the skills necessary to perform maintenance and repair operations on ship’s stores plants, air conditioning plants, cargo refrigeration, ventilation and dehumidification equipment, as well as pantry refrigerators, water coolers, and ice machines. An introduction to refrigerated container units will also be presented. Successful candidates will earn a Paul Hall Center certificate of training. Each candidate must have six months seatime after Junior Engineer, QMED any rating, or SHLSS Junior Engineer Diesel Engine Technology This 4-week course, leading to certification in diesel engine technology, consists of classroom instruction and handson training. Topics of instruction include diesel engine theory; two- and fourstroke cycle operating principles; and the construction, operation, maintenance, repair and troubleshooting of low-, medium- and high-speed diesel engines. Also covered are associated auxiliaries 14 Seafarers LOG including intake and exhaust systems, lubrication and cooling systems, and fuel injection and starting systems. Students receive practical training in the operation and repair of diesel engines on board school training vessels. Prerequisites: QMED-Any Rating or equivalent inland experience Automated Cargo Operations This 6-week course of instruction in the pumpman career track includes classroom and simulator training in all facets of liquid cargo loading and discharge. The curriculum consists of cargo properties and emergency procedures, operation and maintenance of valves and pumps, loading procedures, cargo pump operations, cargo measurement, discharging procedures, ballasting procedures, tank cleaning, inert gas systems and more. Prerequisites: QMED-Any Rating Class 3 or QMED Junior Engineer/Pumpman Class 3. Recommended: Basic and Intermediate Math and Computer Basic Advanced plant maintenance must be completed for advancement to QMED Class 2 Refrigerated Containers Advanced Maintenance This 4-week course leads to certification in refrigerated containers maintenance and consists of classroom and practical shop training. The training experience enables students to assume the duties of a maintenance electrician on board ships carrying refrigerated containers. Students receive training in all phases of refrigerated container unit operation, maintenance, repair, and troubleshooting. This includes the various types of engines, refrigeration, and electrical sysContinued on next page January 2009 �52246_P01_24x:January 08 12/23/2008 1:49 AM Course Guide Continued from Page 14 tems. The course is designed to help students develop a systematic approach to troubleshooting and maintenance procedures. Prerequisites: SHLSS Junior Engineer or QMED any rating, Marine Electrician and Marine Refrigeration Technician Hydraulics The curriculum in the 4-week hydraulics course blends practical training with classroom work. Fluids, actuators, control devices, pumps, reservoirs, symbols, and hydraulic systems in marine equipment are among the subjects covered in this class. Also addressed are principles of electrical control of hydraulic systems, cargo winches, deck cranes, anchor windlasses, ships’ steering systems, ramps, fire doors, and a variety of other shipboard systems. Prerequisite: QMED-Any Rating Welding Classroom instruction and hands-on training compose this 4-week course, which features practical training in electric arc welding and cutting and oxyacetylene brazing, welding, and cutting. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites STEWARD DEPT. Galley Operations This four-week course provides the student with understanding of the basic baking knowledge and skills potentially required of a member of the steward department. Prerequisites: Paul Hall Center UA Program and 240 days’ sea time OR 365 days’ sea time as an SA Certified Chief Cook This course consists of six 2-week stand-alone modules totaling 12 weeks. This structure allows eligible upgraders to enroll at the start of any module. The objective of the Certified Chief Cook Course (FSM 203) is to provide steward department personnel with an understanding and knowledge of sanitation, nutrition, and the preparation and service of soups, sauces, meats, poultry, and seafood. Prerequisites: Galley Operations and 180 days’ sea time Advanced Galley Operations This course consists of four 1-week Page 15 modules (totaling 4 weeks). The course provides students with a thorough grasp of the advanced baking knowledge and skills required of a member of the steward department. Prerequisites: Paul Hall Center Certified Chief Cook and 180 days’ sea time Certified Chief Steward The Certified Chief Steward course is a 12-week course for members of the steward department. The course is presented in eight modules. Each module is assessed independently of the others. Modules may be taken in 1 week increments with breaks between. This course trains stewards to take charge of a production galley, plan and prepare meals, and supervise employees in galley operations for a period of not less than 28 days. On meeting the minimum requirements for Certified Chief Steward, culinary students will be competent to take charge of a production galley. The Certified Chief Steward course stresses the competencies related to the supervision of the galley, menu planning, requisitioning of supplies, inventory control, and sanitation. Prerequisites: Advanced Galley Operations and 180 days’ sea time SAFETY CLASSES Basic Safety Training Applicants completing our 40-hour Basic Safety Training course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy: (1) the Personal Survival training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-1 of the Seafarers’ Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(1);—AND— (2) the Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-2 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);—AND—(3) the Elementary First Aid training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table AVI/1-3 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(3);—AND—(4) the Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-4 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(4). Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites First Aid & CPR (21-Hour) Applicants completing our 21-hour First Aid & CPR course satisfy: (1) the Basic Safety-Elementary First Aid training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table AVI/ 1-3 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(3);—AND— (2)—IF— presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the date of training, the First Aid & CPR training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(h)(1)(ii) and 10.205(h)(2)(iii) for original issuance of a license. Students in this class learn the principles and techniques of safety and basic first aid, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) according to the accepted standards of the American Red Cross. Successful students are awarded a certificate from the American Red Cross. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites First Aid (8-Hour) Applicants completing our 8-hour Elementary First Aid course and presenting our Certificate of Training at the Regional Exam Center (REC) satisfy: (1) the First Aid training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(h)(1)(ii) for original issuance of a license;—AND—(2) the Basic SafetyElementary First Aid training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1- 3 of the Seafarers Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(3). Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites January 2009 Advanced Fire Fighting Applicants completing our 35-hour Advanced Fire Fighting course satisfy the Advanced Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/3 and Table AVI/3 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);—AND—the Advanced Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(g) and 10.401(g)(1) for a license. During this course, students learn to blueprint a vessel and organize emergency squads for fire fighting. The class covers effective communication between crew members and land-based fire units, leadership roles and responsibilities, documentation of crew training, and emergency squad training. Students also learn to inspect and service personal shipboard fire extinguishing equipment before going through shipboard simulations and actual firefighting drills. Prerequisite: Basic Fire Fighting Basic Fire Fighting (16-Hour) Applicants completing our 16-hour Basic Fire Fighting course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy: (1) the Basic Safety Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-2 of the Seafarers Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);— AND—(2) the Basic Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(g) and 10.401(g)(1) for a license;—AND—(3) the Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 13.113(d)(2)(i)(A), 13.113(e)(1)(i)(A) or (B), 13.201(e), 13.301(e), 13.401(d) or 13.501(e) for any tankerman endorsement. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Basic Fire Fighting (35-Hour) Applicants completing our 35hour Basic Fire Fighting course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy: (1) the Basic Safety Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-2 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);—AND—(2) the Basic Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(g) and 10.401(g)(1) for a license;—AND— (3) the Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 13.113(d)(2)(i)(A), 13.113(e)(1)(i)(A) or (B), 13.201(e), 13.301(e), 13.401(d) or 13.501(e) for any tankerman endorsement. The objective of this course is to familiarize the student with the chemical process of fire, its behavior and the various methods and equipment used to combat it. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Combined Basic & Advanced Fire Fighting Applicants completing our 41-hour Advanced Fire Fighting course satisfy: (1) the Advanced Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/3 and Table AVI/ 3 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);—AND—(2) the Advanced Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(g) and 10.401(g)(1) for a license. The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the fundamentals of shipboard and tank barge fire fighting. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites CRUISE SHIPS Crisis Management & Human Behavior Applicants completing our 7-hour Crisis Management & Human Behavior course satisfy: (1) the Crisis Management & Human Behavior training requirements of Table A-V/2 and Paragraph 5 of Section A-V/2 of the STCW Code for Passenger Ships Other Than Ro-Ro Passenger Ships;— AND—(2) the Passenger Safety training requirements of Paragraph 4 of Section A-V/2 of the STCW Code for Passenger Ships Other Than Ro-Ro Passenger Ships. This course is designed for any person responsible for the safety of passengers in an emergency on passenger ships. The training includes organizing the safe movement of passengers when embarking and disembarking, organizing shipboard emergency procedures, optimizing the use of resources, controlling responses to emergencies, controlling passengers and other personnel during emergency situations, and the establishing and maintaining effective communications. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Crowd Management Applicants completing our 4-hour Crowd Management course satisfy: (1) the Crowd Management training requirements of Paragraph 1 of Section A-V/3 of the STCW Code for Passenger Ships Other Than Ro-Ro Passenger Vessels;—AND—(2) the Safety Training requirements of Paragraph 3 of Section A-V/3 of the STCW Code for Passenger Ships Other Than Ro-Ro Passenger Vessels. This course profiles the required knowledge and applicable skills for crowd management including controlling a crowd in an emergency, locating safety and emergency equipment on board a vessel, complying with ships’ emergency procedures, effective communications during an emergency, and demonstrating the use of personal lifesaving devices. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Seafarers LOG 15 �52246_P01_24:January 08 12/19/2008 5:27 PM Page 16 Seafarers Paul Hall Center Upgrading Course Schedule The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the first few months of 2009. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promoting the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman January 19 March 2 April 27 June 22 April 13 June 29 February 23 April 6 June 1 January 5 February 16 April 13 June 8 March 30 April 20 May 4 February 9 May 18 May 11 February 13 March 27 May 22 July 17 April 17 July 3 February 27 April 10 June 5 January 16 February 27 April 24 June 19 April 10 April 20 May 15 February 20 May 29 May 15 Automated Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) Fast Rescue Boat Government Vessels Lifeboatman Radar Radar Renewal Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman Tank Ship Familiarization/Assistant Cargo DL Tank PIC Barge DL Engine Upgrading Courses Advanced Refrigerated Container Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations (BAPO) FOWT (UA only) FOWT Junior Engineer Marine Electrician Marine Refrigeration Technician Course Start Date Date of Completion Marine Refrigeration Technician Machinist Pumpman Welding May 4 June 1 June 22 March 2 April 6 May 4 June 1 June 12 June 19 July 3 March 20 April 24 May 22 June 19 Safety Specialty Courses Basic Firefighting (35 hr.) Basic & Advanced Firefighting Basic & Advanced Firefighting (Inland) BST/Basic Firefighting BST/Basic Firefighting Medical Care Provider MSC Small Arms (Company designees) February 2 March 9 April 13 February 17 May 25 March 30 May 11 March 23 January 26 February 23 February 6 March 20 April 17 February 20 May 29 April 3 May 15 March 27 January 29 February 26 Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes start every other Monday. The most recent class began December 29. Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. Adult Basic Education (ABE) January 5 March 30 June 22 February 2 March 30 May 25 February 2 March 2 April 27 June 22 March 9 January 5 May 11 February 9 January 30 April 24 July 17 February 27 April 24 June 19 February 21 March 27 May 22 July 17 May 1 February 27 July 3 March 20 UPGRADING APPLICATION English as a Second Language (ESL) College Program Preparatory Course (when applying, students should list the name of the prep course desired on upgrading application) Online Distance Learning Courses Students MUST have access to the internet with an e-mail address in order to take the following classes: DL Environmental Awareness, DL Hazmat Control & Mgmt, DL Hearing Conservation, DL Heat Stress Mgmt., DL Shipboard Pest Mgmt., DL Respiratory Protection and DL Shipboard Water Sanitation. The foregoing classes are taken online, not at the Paul Hall Center. Please be sure to provide an email address (printed neatly) on the application when applying. Address ________________________________________________________________ With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twenty-five (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested, 1995 STCW Certificate, valid SHBP Clinic Card and TWIC. _______________________________________________________________________ COURSE Name __________________________________________________________________ Telephone (Home)_________________________ (Cell)_________________________ Date of Birth ____________________________________________________________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Inland Waters Member ____________________________ START DATE _______________ DATE OF COMPLETION _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Social Security #_______________________ Book # __________________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Seniority_____________________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Department______________________ Home Port_____________________________________________________________ E-mail________________________________________________________________ LAST VESSEL: __________________________________Rating: ______________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off:________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held______________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # ___________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? Yes No SIGNATURE ________________________________ DATE___________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Not all classes are reimbursable. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. If yes, course(s) taken_____________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ 16 Seafarers LOG The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 1/09 January 2009 �52246_P01_24:January 08 12/19/2008 5:27 PM Page 17 Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. Welcome Ashore DEEP SEA JOHN DAVIS Brother John Davis, 54, joined the union in 1979 while training in Piney Point, Md. He initially sailed on the Overseas Chicago. Brother Davis was born in Alabama and sailed in the deck department. He upgraded frequently at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point. Brother Davis’s final voyage was aboard the 2nd Lt. John Paul Bobo. He resides in Whistler, Ala. TIMOTHY FLEMING Brother Timothy Fleming, 65, became an SIU member in 1970 in the port of New York. The Massachusetts native shipped in the steward department. Brother Fleming first went to sea on the La Salle. In 1974, he visited the Piney Point school to enhance his seafaring abilities. Brother Fleming most recently sailed aboard the San Juan. He is a resident of Worcester, Mass. DONALD GANUNG Brother Donald Ganung, 65, started sailing with the Seafarers in 1977 in the port of San Francisco. His first voyage was on the Leader. Brother Ganung often took advantage of educational opportunities available at the Paul Hall Center. He was last employed aboard the Horizon Challenger. Brother Ganung, a recertified steward, was born in Washington, D.C., and now makes his home in the Czech Republic. DAVID HOLLENBACK Brother David Hollenback, 65, donned the SIU colors in 1998 while in Piney Point, Md. He originally shipped on the Maersk Tennessee. Brother Hollenback January 2009 attended classes on two occasions at the Seafarers-affiliated school in Piney Point. The deck department member was born in New Jersey. Brother Hollenback’s final trip to sea was aboard the Seabulk Trader. He calls Roann, Ind., home. JEROME KEBBELL Brother Jerome Kebbell, 65, began sailing with the Seafarers in 1990 while in the port of Norfolk, Va. His first ship was the USNS Stalwart; his most recent was the USNS Bold. Brother Kebbell was born in Kentucky and worked in the steward department. He lives in Virginia Beach, Va. MELVIN MORGAN Brother Melvin Morgan, 64, joined the SIU ranks in 1961. He initially shipped with Suwannee Steamship Company as a member of the steward department. Brother Morgan upgraded at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. His last voyage was on the Horizon Kodiak. Brother Morgan was born in Florida and now resides in Othello, Wash. JORGE SALAZAR Brother Jorge Salazar, 62, started sailing with the union in 1970. His earliest trip to sea was aboard the Eagle Voyage. Brother Salazar worked in the steward department. He enhanced his skills on numerous occasions at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Salazar’s final ship was the Horizon Hawaii. He continues to live in his native commonwealth of Puerto Rico. BASIL STOLEN Brother Basil Stolen, 63, became an SIU member in 1968 while in the port of Duluth, Minn. He was born in Michigan and shipped in the deck department. Brother Stolen originally sailed with Alcoa Steamship. He visited the unionaffiliated school on two occa- sions to upgrade his seafaring abilities. Brother Stolen most recently worked on the Horizon Anchorage. He settled in Seattle. ment. His most recent trip was on an Orgulf Transportation vessel. Brother Simmons calls Brooksville, Fla., home. PRENTISS WALKER CHARLES YOUNG Brother Prentiss Walker, 65, was born in Mississippi. He joined the Seafarers in 1967, initially sailing aboard a CSX Lines vessel. Brother Walker was a member of the engine department. His last voyage was on the Cape John. Brother Walker is a resident of Bartlett, Tenn. Brother Charles Young, 62, joined the SIU ranks in 1987. He first worked aboard a Moran Towing of Texas vessel. Brother Young upgraded often at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. He was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. Brother Young last sailed on a ship operated by Intrepid Personnel & Provisioning. He lives in Taft, Texas. INLAND MICHAEL ANSOTIGUE Brother Michael Ansotigue, 62, donned the SIU colors in 1979. He first sailed with Mariner Towing. Brother Ansotigue was born in Hillsborough, Fla. He enhanced his skills numerous times at the Piney Point school. Brother Ansotigue’s final trip to sea was aboard a vessel operated by OSG Ship Management. He makes his home in Brandon, Fla. MARY HOPKINS Sister Mary Hopkins, 64, began shipping with the union in 1998. She worked primarily on Orgulf Transport Company vessels. Sister Hopkins was a member of the steward department. She was born in Ripley, Mo., and settled in Locust Grove, Okla. OTTO SCHUMANN Brother Otto Schumann, 66, started sailing with the SIU in 1968. He was employed with Interstate Oil Transportation for the duration of his career. Brother Schumann took advantage of educational opportunities available at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. He continues to reside in his native state of New Jersey. RICHARD SIMMONS Brother Richard Simmons, 62, was born in Providence, R.I. He became a Seafarer in 1991 while in the port of Puerto Rico. Brother Simmons originally shipped with Red Circle Transportation Company as a member of the steward depart- GREAT LAKES RICHARD BENNETT Brother Richard Bennett, 65, donned the SIU colors in 1989. He initially shipped with Great Lakes Corporation. Brother Bennett was born in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2000 and 2002, he attended classes at the Piney Point school to enhance his seafaring abilities. Brother Bennett most recently sailed aboard the Presque Isle. He is a resident of Two Harbors, Minn. NATIONAL MARITIME UNION JUAN CEPEDA Brother Juan Cepeda, 72, began his employment with the NMU in 1963, initially shipping from the port of New York. The Puerto Ricoborn mariner sailed in the deck department. Brother Cepeda’s first ship was the Chattahoochee; his last the Yorktown Express. became an NMU member in 1979. He originally shipped from the port of Boston. Brother Dobbyn sailed in the deck department. His final trip to sea was on the Green Point. In 2006, Brother Dobbyn upgraded his skills at the Paul Hall Center. ROGER HEROD Brother Roger Herod, 58, started shipping with the union in 1976 from the port of Mobile, Ala. His first voyage was aboard the Mormac Star, where he worked in the deck department. Brother Herod was born in Birmingham, Ala. His most recent trip was on the Michigan. EARL LAWRENCE Brother Earl Lawrence, 65, donned the NMU colors in 1977 in the port of New Orleans. His first ship was the Green Valley. Brother Lawrence was born in Louisiana and sailed in the steward department. He last sailed aboard the Louise Lykes. AGUSTIN RAMOS Brother Agustin Ramos, 68, joined the NMU ranks in 1967 while in the port of Philadelphia. His earliest trip to sea was on the Amoco Virginia. Brother Ramos was a member of the steward department. He attended classes at the Piney Point school in 2001. Brother Ramos was born in Honduras. His last voyage was aboard the Alliance Norfolk. MELFORD DILBERT Brother Melford Dilbert, 66, joined the union in 1990 while in the port of New Orleans. His first voyage was aboard the Cape Knox. Brother Dilbert was born in Honduras and worked in the deck department. RICHARD DOBBYN Brother Richard Dobbyn, 70, BYRON RYCE Brother Byron Ryce, 65, was born in Guyana. He began shipping with the union in 1986 from the port of New Orleans. Brother Ryce initially sailed on the Admiralty Bay as a member of the steward department. His most recent voyage was aboard the Cape Vincent. Seafarers LOG 17 �52246_P01_24:January 08 12/19/2008 5:27 PM Page 18 Final Depar tures DEEP SEA CHARLES BROWN Pensioner Charles Brown, 71, passed away Sept. 12. Brother Brown joined the SIU in 1962 while in the port of New Orleans. His first ship was the Del Alba; his last the Inger. Brother Brown was born in Louisiana and sailed in the steward department. He went on pension in 2005 and called St. Louis home. JOSEPH CAVE Pensioner Joseph Cave, 88, died Sept. 15. Brother Cave became a Seafarer in 1941. He was born in Chester, Pa. Brother Cave initially shipped in the deck department of a Pan Shipping Corporation vessel. Prior to his retirement in 1982, he worked aboard the Delta Manpower. Brother Cave lived in Kenner, La. HERMAN COLLIER Pensioner Herman Collier, 74, passed away Oct. 13. Brother Collier first donned the SIU colors in 1959. His earliest trip to sea was with Alcoa Steamship Company. Brother Collier, a member of the engine department, was born in Betsey Lane, Ky. His final voyage took place on the Pisces. Brother Collier began receiving his pension in 1983 and settled in Kent, Del. NORMAN DUHE Pensioner Norman Duhe, 69, died June 19. Brother Duhe was born in Louisiana. He started shipping with the union in 1970 from the port of New Orleans. Brother Duhe originally worked aboard an Interocean American Shipping Corporation vessel. The steward department member last sailed on the Stonewall Jackson. Brother Duhe retired in 2002 and continued to reside in his native state. INOCENCIO FONTELERA Pensioner Inocencio Fontelera, 79, passed away Sept. 29. Brother Fontelera signed on with union in 1970 while in the port of San Francisco. His first trip to sea was aboard the Maui. Brother Fontelera was born in the Philippines and shipped in the steward department. He was last employed on the Defender. Brother Fontelera became a pensioner in 1994 and called Salinas, Calif., home. YAHYA GHALEB Brother Yahya Ghaleb, 63, died Sept. 6. He joined the SIU ranks in 1979. Brother Ghaleb initially sailed aboard the Maryland as a member of the engine department. He was born in Yemen. Brother Ghaleb’s most recent voyage was on the Explorer. He was a resident of Brooklyn, N.Y. TUNG LEE Pensioner Tung Lee, 78, passed away Oct. 25. Brother Lee became a union member in 1985. He was employed aboard This Month In SIU History 1946 The membership voted overwhelmingly for a resolution that authorized the election of a committee to investigate the possibilities and advisability of establishing an upgrading school in the port of New Orleans. The membership felt very 18 Seafarers LOG the Independence for the duration of his career. Brother Lee started collecting his retirement compensation in 1996. He lived in Las Vegas. GERARDO LOPEZ Pensioner Gerardo Lopez, 84, died Sept. 20. Brother Lopez, a member of the steward department, began shipping with the Seafarers in 1972 from the port of New Orleans. He originally worked on the Steel Traveler. Brother Lopez was born in Mexico. His final voyage was aboard the Liberty Sea. Brother Lopez made his home in Metairie, La. He went on pension in 1994. JAMES MCDANIEL Brother James McDaniel, 53, passed away Sept. 23. He first donned the SIU colors in 1978 while in the port of Houston. Brother McDaniel was born in Paola, Kan., and sailed in the engine department. His earliest trip to sea was on the Robert E. Lee. Brother McDaniel most recently shipped aboard the Overseas Luxmar. He settled in Houston. JERRY MILLER Pensioner Jerry Miller, 61, died Nov. 21. Brother Miller was born in Jacksonville, Fla. He joined the Seafarers in 1968 and initially worked on the Wingless. Brother Miller was a member of the engine department. He last sailed aboard the USNS Capella. Brother Miller retired in 2003 and continued to live in his native state of Florida. NORMAN TOURTELLOT Brother Norman Tourtellot, 52, passed away Sept. 14. He signed on with the union in 1990. Brother Tourtellot’s earliest voyage was on the USNS Desteiguer. The deck department member was born in Providence, R.I. Brother Tourtellot’s final trip to sea was aboard the Horizon Challenger. He was a resident of Rockport, Texas. INLAND ROY MCNAB Brother Roy McNab, 51, died Sept. 7. He was born in Honduras. Brother McNab joined the SIU in 2008. He shipped on vessels operated by Crowley Towing & Transportation of Jacksonville. Brother McNab called Denham Spring, Kan., home. GREAT LAKES EUGENE REPKO Pensioner Eugene Repko, 68, passed away Oct. 27. Brother strongly that the union should establish and operate its own training schools rather have schools controlled and operated by the government. 1954 Two dozen Korean orphans who have known little more than hunger and deprivation in the past three years were treated to a full-scale Christmas dinner and party complete with Santa Claus, by the crew of the Schuyler Otis Bland. The crew also voted to throw in the ship’s fund for presents, candy and fruit for each of the children. To top that, the crew asked and the skipper agreed to throw in some cement so that work could be done on the orphanage to help make it a better place to live. Before the crew’s efforts, the orphanage consisted of a few ramshackle huts with dirt floors. Repko started sailing with the union in 1960 from the port of Detroit. He primarily worked with American Steamship Company as a member of the deck department. Brother Repko was born in Johnstown, Pa. He became a pensioner in 2003 and resided in Lorain, Ohio. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) have passed away. Name Aguilar, Fermin Arroyo, Fernando Berthlot, Woodrow Brown, David Coscolin, Felix Curran, Earl Darcangelo, Joseph Dearlove, Charles Fulfer, Charles Gonzalez, Angel Hernandez, Felix Hong, Robert Kutach, Otto McHenry, Cleveland Mojica, Anibal Moment, Corns Morris, Clyde Nunez, Carmelo Porras, Pablo Prevost, Emile Jr. Price, Melvin Quintana, Domingo Rigdon, Donovan Rivas, Julian Romero, Angel Sanders, Jimmie Sands, John Santana, Rafeal Singleton, Prince Sommers, Robert Williams, Fernando Age 84 75 91 74 92 83 86 93 82 82 95 84 81 80 79 72 85 79 101 73 81 90 76 73 84 80 82 83 83 81 79 DOD Oct. 1 Oct. 30 Oct. 24 June 26 Oct. 12 Oct. 30 May 1 Sept. 25 Oct. 19 Nov. 2 Oct. 4 Aug. 16 Oct. 18 Oct. 28 Oct. 29 Nov. 7 Oct. 14 Oct. 25 June 30 Nov. 2 Aug. 31 Oct. 26 Oct. 15 April 9 Sept. 17 July 16 Oct. 21 Oct. 28 Sept. 11 Oct. 17 Oct. 29 1969 Seafarers on the Del Sol, Steel Apprentice, Cape San Diego, Irmina Victory and U.S. Defender came under fire when the Viet Cong sent a barrage of rockets for two hours into the docks at Da Nang, Vietnam. During the attack shrapnel killed the watch mate on the Defender and heavily damaged the port. 1991 As war broke out on January 16 in the Persian Gulf, Seafarers continued to man the majority of the more than 100 American-flag ships which are supplying the U.S. forces in the Middle East combat zone. On the eve of the war more than 4.2 billion pounds of dry cargo, 8.4 billion pounds of fuel and nearly 460,000 American troops were shipping on MSC and Ready Reserve ships activated for service to the region. January 2009 �52246_P01_24:January 08 12/19/2008 5:27 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings ACHIEVER (Maersk Line, Limited), Oct. 19 – Chairman Frank L. Thompson, Secretary Johnnie B. McGill Jr., Educational Director David W. Sexton, Deck Delegate Curtis O. Nicholson. Chairman went over allotments procedures. Secretary advised crew to take advantage of Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Educational director reminded mariners to watch expiration dates on all MMDs. He also suggested applying early for TWIC card to avoid the rush as April 2009 is approaching quickly. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made to have ice machine and beverage dispenser fixed or replaced. Steward department was thanked for great work during voyage. Next ports: Newark, N.J., and Houston. CAPE INTREPID (Crowley Liner Services), Oct. 2 – Chairman LBJ B. Tanoa, Secretary Eric T. Manley, Educational Director Phillip L. Greenwell, Deck Delegate Mark Halberg. Chairman announced payoff Oct. 3 in Tacoma, Wash., and thanked crew for working well together during trip. Secretary expressed his gratitude for fellow crew members’ help keeping ship clean. Educational director urged Seafarers to keep endorsements up-to-date. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestions were made regarding Seafarers Pension Plan and Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan. Vote of thanks given to the steward department. Deck department was also thanked for handling and securing stores. Next port: Tacoma, Wash. HORIZON ENTERPRISE (Horizon Lines), Oct. 10 – Chairman George B. Khan, Secretary William E. Bryley, Educational Director Michael J. Wells, Deck Delegate Bobby Belches, Engine Delegate James Spranza, Steward Delegate Frank A. Ramones. Chairman reported payoff would take place at sea Oct. 10 and thanked everyone for a smooth trip. He relayed information from captain concerning various equipment and protecting clothing to be utilized during fire and boat drills (including gloves and flashlights). He asked crew not to wait until inspections if something needs to be done or fixed. Secretary reminded mariners departing vessel to leave clean linen for new members coming aboard. Educational director discussed locations to apply for TWIC cards and advised crew to watch expiration dates on all necessary seafaring documents. Mariners were encouraged to enhance their skills at the Piney Point school. Treasurer noted $900 in the ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. President’s report from the October 2008 Seafarers LOG was read and discussed. Recommendation was made to increase pension amounts. Crew members expressed their gratitude to Wiper Tony Kpudvia, GSU Musaid Abdulla and Chief Cook Frank Ramones. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash., Oakland, Calif., and Honolulu. HORIZON HUNTER (Horizon Lines), Oct. 12 – Chairman Loren E. Watson, Secretary Jennifer K. Jim, Educational Director Jeff A. Morris. Chairman read and distributed copies of SIU 401K Plan information. Educational director encouraged members to check out what the unionaffiliated school has to offer and apply for TWIC card early. Treasurer reported The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships’ minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. Holiday Greetings from Maersk Tennessee Steward Dept. Recertified Steward Tony Spain submitted these photos of steward department personnel aboard the Maersk Tennessee as the vessel was en route last month to Israel and Africa. Pictured in the group photo are (front, from left) Spain, Chief Cook Lamont Faulks, (standing) SA Paula Hopson and SA Darrell Gray. At right, Faulks puts his Paul Hall Center training to good use. Spain conveyed a “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” to all fellow SIU members. $2,000 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Members requested a computer be installed for e-mail. Next port: Tacoma, Wash. LIBERTY GRACE (Liberty Maritime), Oct. 12 – Chairman Pablo O. Borja Jr., Secretary Willie E. Massaline, Educational Director Bruce Zeno, Steward Delegate Nadine Butler, Engine Delegate Talal N. Saleh. Chairman advised all crew members to make sure they get their TWIC application in. Everyone leaving vessel was asked to leave rooms clean for next person. Secretary informed membership that he had absentee ballot information for upcoming SIU election. Crew was encouraged to contribute to SPAD (Seafarers Political Activity Donation). Educational director notified Baldomero Lopez Takes Part in Exercise The SIU-crewed 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez (shown in the Gulf of Thailand in this U.S. Navy photo) last year participated in exercise Freedom Banner 08. The operation is a maritime prepositioning force exercise conducted in Chuk Samet, Thailand, to provide equipment used by the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade in support of exercise Cobra Gold. The amphibious assault vehicles pictured here are rolling onto a RO/RO discharge facility. January 2009 mariners that upgrading applications were available in the Seafarers LOG. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made for heavy-duty washing machines and dryers for crew laundry. Chairman thanked steward department for doing a great job – food was excellent and the messhalls were well-maintained. Next port: Singapore. LIBERTY SUN (Liberty Maritime), Oct. 12 – Chairman Felix A. Santiago, Secretary Ronald J. Davis, Educational Director James L. Glover, Deck Delegate Shawn H. Abdullah, Steward Delegate Richard F. Oliva. Bosun announced payoff Oct. 18 in New Orleans. Secretary asked departing members to leave rooms clean and return keys. Educational director encouraged Seafarers to “give yourself a raise” by upgrading in Piney Point. He also reminded everyone to keep all paperwork current. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Vote of thanks given to the steward department. Next port: New Orleans. MAERSK MISSOURI (Maersk Line, Limited), Oct. 19 – Chairman Oliver M. Balico, Secretary Billy Gigante, Educational Director Hiawatha J. Williams, Deck Delegate James Burns, Engine Delegate Terry J. Mouton, Steward Delegate Jose F. Manandic. Chairman reported smooth voyage with a great crew and reviewed ship’s itinerary. He stated payoff would take place in Elizabeth, N.J., on Oct. 20. Educational director urged mariners to upgrade seafaring abilities often at the Paul Hall Center. Treasurer reported $1,500 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew expressed gratitude to the steward department for the extra effort they put in. Next ports: Elizabeth, N.J., Norfolk, Va., Charleston, S.C., and Malaga, Spain. MAERSK OHIO (Maersk Line, Limited), Oct. 19 – Chairman Jim Joyce, Secretary Fidelis N. Oliveira, Educational Director Mohamad Y. Abdullah, Steward Delegate Jorge L. Ellis. Bosun talked about the benefits of the 401K retirement plan and the importance of contributing to SPAD. Secretary recommended Seafarers visit the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md., to upgrade skills. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Chairman posted and explained procedures for absentee voting. Members requested new mattresses be purchased. Question was brought up concerning crew quarters. SEABULK PRIDE (Seabulk Tankers), Nov. 22 – Chairman Crisostomo C. Tizon, Secretary Scott A. Opsahl, Educational Director Donald H. McBride, Deck Delegate Michael W. Ostrowski, Steward Delegate Robert M. Borro. Chairman thanked crew for a smooth, safe voyage and reviewed manpower pool requirements for Seabulk ships. He also stressed the importance of shipboard meetings. Secretary expressed gratitude for help keeping pantry and messhall clean. Crew was reminded to fill out new address cards and if beneficiary has changed please fill out that card also and include the proper information. Educational director urged members to keep documents current and check Seafarers LOG for upgrading classes available at the Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion was made to install bulletin board in the crew lounge for union communications to be posted. Concern was expressed regarding budget for stores. Vote of thanks given to GVA Henry Egaran for job very well done. Next ports: Anacortes, Wash., and Point Wells, Wash. Seafarers LOG 19 �52246_P01_24:January 08 12/19/2008 5:27 PM Page 20 Letter To The Editor Remembering Tug Valour Crew How prophetic our maritime careers can be. Back in May 2002, I wrote this short verse as to what my final day at sea might be like. In the early 1990s I worked for Maritrans and sailed with Fred Brenner, who was chief mate on the Valour when she sank three years ago this month (January 2006). I would like to dedicate this short story, “The Midnight Watch,” to his memory and that of the other brave crew members. May God bless them all. Henry Gamp Annapolis, Maryland Editor’s note: The writer is an SIU member. The Valour tragedy claimed the lives of longtime Seafarer Ron Emory, Chief Mate Brenner and Chief Engineer Richard Smoot. Brenner sailed with the SIU from 19711985. The Midnight Watch Pitch black was the sky. Yet, at the same time, reassuringly it was a clear, still darkness, such that lights on the horizon could be seen many miles away. The running lights of a distant containership overtaking us on the port quarter and a well-illuminated anchored vessel broad on our starboard beam 14 miles away off the Chesapeake roadstead gave testimony to this fact. The main engines sang out a rhythmic mechanical roar, at times when synchronized, hummed together almost mesmerizing the soul. Other times, losing that synchronization, the engines played a more mournful, annoying tune. The dimly lit waffling engine tachometer needles kept beat with the droning engines. Small, irritating rattles abounded throughout the wheelhouse – the portside search light wheel a main offender. Then there was the steady tick-tock rolling of an unsecured pencil in the upper chart table drawer. Annoying at times to the watch officer, but not to the point of leaving the chair to arrest it. Vibrations compounded by short, jerking movements from below reverberated their way up the bridge tower. Their motion contributing further to the litany of rattles emanating throughout the structure, even the radars quivered and shivered on their pedestals. The drawers of file cabinets squeaked as the weight of their contents shifted to and fro, saying, “Open up, let us out.” The gyro repeater slowly clicked, first to the right and then back to the left as she yawed back and forth, roiling with the seas, the swing meter moving in unison. The encapsulated Union Plan Office Offers Scholarships To Seafarers, Spouses, Dependents Seafarers, their spouses and dependent children are eligible for eight union scholarships during the 2009 school year. The awards are being made available through the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP) and are intended to ease the financial burden of continuing one’s education. Three of the scholarships are specifically for SIU members. One is for $20,000 and is targeted for a student who plans on studying at a four-year college or university. The other two are for $6,000 each and are intended as two-year awards for study at a postsecondary community college or vocational school. The remaining five endowments— each in the amount of $20,000—will be awarded to the spouses and dependent children of Seafarers. To be considered for either of these funding opportunities, interested individuals should request a copy of the 2009 SHBP Scholarship Program booklet by filling out the form at right and returning it to the address provided. Once the scholarship booklet has been received, applicants should check the eligibility information. If eligible, applicants should collect required paperwork, complete the packages and mail them back to the SHBP Scholarship Program Office by April 15, 2009. Letters may be edited for conciseness and clarity. Submissions may be mailed to 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 or emailed to webmaster@seafarers.org. light on the dome of the magnetic compass bathed the bobbing compass card in muted red light, further verifying our vessel’s heading. Indicator control lights reflected points of light off the wheelhouse windows. Often those reflections appeared as mysterious ghosts on the horizon. Every now and again a distinct shudder was felt, caused by some errant wave, as she fell out of rhythm with the sea or had her stern lifted high, permitting her propellers to gulp a bubble of air and palpitate in the void. The radios were mostly silent, broken occasionally by crackling static like outbursts from the single side band on 2182 khz. On VHF Channel #16 an “Urgent Marine Safety Broadcast” from a distant Coast Guard station; the familiar “S-H-E-E-E-P-O-N-N M-Y-Y PO-R-T B-O-W, C-O-M-M-E I-N-N P-L-E-ES-E….,” and a pilot office dispatcher trying to get an update on a vessel’s arrive time, would break the silence from time to time. Radar contacts slowly crawled their way across the green illuminated radar screen, the Loran and G.P.S. numbers constantly changing on their screens as they recorded our position and progress as we marched over the sea, ever nearer our destination. Mysteriously, just after six bells, the moon arose out of nowhere, casting visible gleaming rays over the water. Clouds slowly drifted across her bright aperture, alternately allowing her light to shine through and fade away as though a transparent laced veil. Now and then a star was visible. Those clouds with their surreal and friendly soft hues were soothing to the lone, solitary mariner standing watch. The otherwise monotonous sounds of the night were pierced by the seven distinct sharp strikes resounding from the Old Faithful Chelsea Clock mounted on the back bulkhead. Casting a glance aft, a ray of moonlight reflected off her recently polished brass casing. Looking forward, frothy white water was being cast to the port and starboard, and the freshly painted white hand railings stood out prominently in the dim light. Emanating below, I could hear footsteps coming up the stairwell. Soon the midnight watch would be but another memory filed within the mariner’s soul, with each passing midnight watch stealing yet another day, marching towards that inevitable final midnight watch. Locked deep within the soul, the vexing, nagging uncertainty remains. Would that final watch be stood in some calm and tranquil harbor or fought clinging to the wheel while battling the raging sea, one without mercy, who plucks her victims during their prime and then hides her secrets well? Please send me the 2009 SHBP Scholarship Program booklet which contains eligibility information, procedures for applying and a copy of the application form. Name ...................................................................................................................................................... Mariner’s Social Security Number ........................................................................................................ Street Address ........................................................................................................................................ City, State, Zip Code ............................................................................................................................. Telephone Number ..........( )........................................................................................................... This application is for: Self Dependent Mail this completed form to: Scholarship Program Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 1/09 Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by 20 Seafarers LOG certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. January 2009 �52246_P01_24x:January 08 12/23/2008 1:56 AM Page 21 More Jobs, Mobilization In Historic Presidential Election Highlight Past Year for Seafarers Continued from Page 24 No matter the mission, their work didn’t go unnoticed. During meetings of the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department executive board, and later during National Maritime Day ceremonies, high-ranking military officers praised the U.S. Merchant Marine, calling the American-flag fleet nothing short of vital to national and economic security. Other News The union remained very active in supporting pro-labor and pro-maritime initiatives. SIU members helped gather one million signatures backing the Employee Free Choice Act – important legislation that would help restore fairness to the process of workers choosing whether or not to join unions. The SIU expressed support for the marine highway initiative championed by the U.S. Department of Transportation and its Maritime Administration. Early in the year, a Defense bill was signed that successfully capped a four-year effort to protect CIVMARS’ rights to union representation. In the aftermath of a major oil spill on the Mississippi River (involving non-union companies), the SIU testified on Capitol Hill about the need for improved inland safety measures. Seafarers mobilized to help provide hurricane relief after Ike struck along the Gulf. The Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan issued seven scholarships worth a combined $140,000 to members and dependents. The Sealand Meteor became the first U.S.-flag merchant ship to call on the Port of Shimizu in Japan. Although the deadline for mariners to obtain a TWIC was extended to April 2009, the program faced numerous difficulties even before ports were supposed to start enforcement. SIU International Transport Workers’ Federation inspectors assisted foreign crews in recovering back wages and repatriation. The union continued its international work not only via the ITF but also through the International Maritime Organization and related entities. February & March 2009 Membership Meetings Piney Point..............................Monday: February 2, March 2 Algonac ......................................Friday: February 6, March 6 Baltimore................................Thursday: February 5, March 5 Boston .........................................Friday: February 6, March 6 Guam...................................Thursday: February 19, March 19 Honolulu .................................Friday: February 13, March 13 Houston......................................Monday: February 9, March 9 Jacksonville.............................Thursday: February 5, March 5 Joliet....................................Thursday: February 12, March 12 Mobile...............................Wednesday: February 11, March 11 New Orleans...............................Tuesday: February 10, March 10 New York...................................Tuesday: February 3, March 3 Norfolk....................................Thursday: February 5, March 5 Oakland ...............................Thursday: February 12, March 12 Philadelphia..........................Wednesday: February 4, March 4 Port Everglades ....................Thursday: February 12, March 12 San Juan ...................................Thursday: February 5, March 5 St. Louis ...................................Friday: February 13, March 13 Tacoma.....................................Friday: February 20, March 20 Wilmington..............Tuesday: February 17,* Monday: March 16 Dispatchers’ Repor t for Deep Sea November 16, 2008 — December 15, 2008 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals Totals Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. January 2009 1 0 0 3 1 1 3 1 0 0 2 3 3 4 0 1 1 0 3 7 280 204 34 1 1 5 6 0 6 14 16 0 8 5 13 7 8 2 0 2 0 10 5 0 3 5 10 2 3 10 7 1 4 5 8 12 5 2 3 1 1 14 9 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 3 Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals All Departments **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C 1 1 5 9 1 6 37 28 0 12 19 29 16 16 2 1 3 1 35 19 241 1 2 2 11 2 3 23 27 1 5 10 13 12 13 7 5 5 0 20 12 174 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 5 1 0 5 0 1 4 4 26 1 2 2 8 0 1 29 20 0 10 10 16 5 9 4 0 3 1 23 11 1 1 9 20 4 17 71 51 1 17 28 74 26 37 10 1 11 5 53 46 4 8 3 23 6 18 58 28 3 13 11 55 22 17 6 5 13 8 45 34 2 3 2 8 3 1 6 4 0 2 4 12 4 6 1 1 1 0 8 9 155 483 380 77 1 0 0 5 0 1 6 12 0 1 4 8 5 6 1 0 3 0 5 2 0 1 5 13 1 14 26 35 1 14 10 29 9 12 4 1 4 0 20 19 3 4 7 16 5 6 18 26 1 7 7 21 24 6 2 2 4 2 28 17 0 0 1 2 2 1 2 2 0 1 1 8 3 4 0 0 1 0 6 5 ENGINE DEPARTMENT 109 105 18 1 0 3 5 1 3 10 17 1 0 5 11 10 10 1 0 2 1 10 6 97 0 1 1 3 1 0 9 11 0 2 2 7 8 9 0 1 5 4 12 5 81 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 6 60 218 206 39 0 0 2 7 0 3 7 11 0 2 5 10 4 10 2 1 2 0 15 11 3 0 2 8 1 20 29 28 0 9 9 35 17 32 3 4 4 2 28 35 2 2 1 7 1 4 11 15 1 4 1 14 15 4 1 2 2 3 7 14 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 1 0 1 8 0 15 16 15 0 8 5 27 10 22 1 3 3 4 13 19 2 0 1 4 1 0 6 11 1 1 1 9 5 1 1 1 2 1 6 4 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 6 1 4 19 14 0 4 5 14 7 22 3 0 1 2 13 20 137 2 0 1 6 4 2 5 7 0 1 3 6 8 4 0 1 1 0 4 1 171 58 6 1 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 0 1 0 3 2 3 0 0 0 0 9 2 1 0 3 5 1 7 16 15 1 5 2 32 11 12 1 1 3 0 14 12 0 0 1 7 1 4 6 10 0 2 3 10 8 10 0 20 0 1 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 0 3 1 4 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 1 2 3 1 3 16 5 0 0 1 22 8 6 1 0 0 1 7 7 20 141 90 18 580 508 148 493 Port Totals (*Change created by Presidents’ Day Holiday) 1 5 2 19 3 4 41 17 1 9 9 20 14 6 4 4 8 1 20 16 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs DECK DEPARTMENT 0 1 6 15 1 8 41 27 0 14 15 38 19 22 7 2 5 5 30 25 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 56 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 9 92 269 111 13 0 0 1 2 1 2 4 7 0 0 0 2 5 4 0 21 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 7 5 0 1 1 13 2 6 0 0 0 0 7 4 2 1 2 9 3 15 38 31 2 12 10 42 29 21 0 2 11 1 24 21 4 0 1 17 1 7 5 23 2 9 5 21 27 18 0 6 0 0 7 19 84 51 0 50 274 174 395 92 307 1020 971 303 ENTRY DEPARTMENT Seafarers LOG 21 �52246_P01_24:January 08 12/19/2008 5:27 PM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 708 – Unlicensed apprentices from Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 709 – Completing the Class 708 recently completed the water survival course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Rodney Brasley Jr., Erik Clausen, Paula Cloud, Scott Collins, Prentice Conley, Andrew Delutis, Tyler Hicks, Bryan Howell, Mitchell Newingham, John Perez, Yatniel Sanchez, Corey Shanley and Michael Viccione. water survival course recently were unlicensed apprentices from Class 709. Those graduating from the course (above, in alphabetical order) were: Jamal Awanallah, Wayne Bell, Tom Braillard, Nicolas Byers, Charlotte Chastain, Van Dixon, Lorenzo Hall Jr., Eric Simenstad, Devin Wood and Lee Wright. ARPA – Six upgraders on Oct. 6 graduated from this 32-hour course. Those completing the training (above, in alphabetical order) were: David Blue IV, Randall Brown, Felix Garcia, Carlos Gibbons, Calvin Kaawa, and Nicholas Kempker. Their instructor, Stacey McNeely, is standing third from left. FOWT – The following individuals (above, in alphabetical order) graduated from this course Nov. 7: Olawale Adegunwa, Jose Alcaide, Edwin Arroyo, Jose Bonita, Chris Ceyzyk, Daniel Chisum-Coffee, Kendra Gardner, Creg Gumanas, Ronald Hackensmith, Omar Izquierdo, Jon Larrinaga, Chris Mercado, Shawn Pantschyschak, Tijani Rashid, Sean Sammacicci, Christopher Sheppard and Bobby Turner. Tim Achorn, their instructor, is standing at far right. Welding – The following individuals (above, in alphabetical order) on Oct. 23 completed this 103-hour course: David Bernstein, James Donohue, Ruben Haynes, Alonzo Griswell, Patrocinio Maglinte and Joshua Zelinsky. Buzzy Andrews, their instructor, is standing third from the left. Able Seaman – Twenty-two mariners on Oct. 24 completed their requirements for graduation from this course. Those completing the training (above, in alphabetical order) were: Jay Aki, Jonathan Bennett, Rasheen Breathwaite, Dioonce Bright, Matthew Brown, Kevin Copeland, Timothy Cilwell, Bobby Dickson, Daniel Giles, Veronica Hernandez, Weston Hines, Yakan Isreal, Sean Jones, John McCormick, Aman Mohamed, Edward Newbegin, David Newsome, Johnnie Owens Jr., Neiman Pettis, George Phillips, Amer Saleh and Taufiq Wasel. Bernabe Pelingon, their instructor, is standing at the far left. 22 Seafarers LOG Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. January 2009 �52246_P01_24:January 08 12/19/2008 5:27 PM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes BAPO – Two classes of students (Phase III apprentices and upgraders) on Oct. 10 completed the 140 hours of training required in this course. Those graduating (left, in alphabetical order) were: Wale Adegunwa, Larbi Andaloussi, Joseph Bankhead, Jose Bonita, Dustin Brantley, Chris Ceyzyk, Daryl Cornett, Daniel Cortez, Peter Crane, Hubert Dennis, Michael Durago, Kendra Gardner, Darrell Goggins, Ronald Hackensmith, Yuri Hernandez, Braden Horne, Brian Jackson, Eric Kirkland, Richard Noto, Vicente Ordonez, Thomas Quinlan, Sean Sammacicci, Timothy Van Pelt, Bernard Wade II, Charles Wagner, Nicole Walton, Oshema Watson, Nathan White, Enoch Winrod, and Igor Yakunkov. Tim Achorn, their instructor, is standing at the far left. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Medical Care Provider – Eight individuals on Nov. 7 completed this course. Those graduating) above, in alphabetical order) were: Eugene Areand, Patrick David, Mark Dumas, Jeffrey Jones, David Nimmer, Robert Norris, Demetrrus Simmons and Carl Wonderly. Mark Cates, their instructor, is at the far right. STOS – The following Phase III apprentices (above, in alphabetical order) on Oct. 10 completed their requirements for graduation from this course: Virgil Beasley, David Brady, Victor Chevalier, Mitchell Childress, Angela Corbitt, John Curran, James East, Matthew Martel, Cory Mulligan, William Pakkala, Teresa Peterson, Keith Rogers, Mark Turner and Jovan Williams. Their instructor, Stan Beck, is standing at the far left Radar Observer – Seven upgraders on Oct. 3 completed this course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Randall Brown, Regina Ewing, Felix Garcia, Carlos Gibbons, Erik Johnson, Nicholas Kemer and Larry Rawlings. Stacey McNeely, their instructor, is second from the right. (Note: Not all are pictured.) BST (Hawaii) – Eighteen individuals (above, in no particular order) on Nov. 3 completed this course at the Seafarers Training Center in Barbers Point, Hawaii: Nathan Junell, Steve Pantoja, Israel Servin, Ariel Vega Correa, Charmain Rowlette, Cortney Lietz, Vivian Morris, Kristine Woulfe, Marla Vahai, Carl Allen, Darryl Willis, Christon Harris, Krissy Freitas, Jorge Ramos Flores, Barbara Strong, Elisabeth Wade, Danae Allen, Erik Duckett-Baker BST (Hawaii) – The following individuals (photo at left, in no particular order) on Oct. 31 completed this course at the Barbers Point, Hawaii-based Seafarers Training Center: Kisha Akana, Godfredo Banatao, Joshua Edwards, Jeff Schmitz, Ted Brackez, Chase Winniford, Robert Jackson, Walter Borges, Danielle Dobiesz, Erin Wallace, Patrick Kennedy, Nicholas Yashin, Kevin Prentice, Ahmad Beheiry, Christopher Linscott, Francisco Chavez, Maria Harrison, Ioan Panfiloiu, Mishelle Strafford, Justin Zinchini and Brandon Rokosh. January 2009 Seafarers LOG 23 �52246_P01_24x:January 08 12/23/2008 2:01 AM Page 24 Volume 71, Number 1 January 2009 SHBP Scholarship Reminder - Page 20 SIU Year in Review New Tonnage, Historic Election Highlight 2008 Numerous Contracts Ratified; Seafarers Continue Supporting Our Troops The election of pro-maritime Sen. Barack Obama to the White House and the steady addition of new tonnage to the Seafarers-contracted fleet arguably stand out as the two top stories of 2008 where the union is concerned. Starting with the delivery of an ammunition ship in January of last year, the union gained no fewer than 18 vessels, ATBs and tugboats, not including 10 other ships that remained under the SIU banner after being either up for bid or for sale. Other key stories directly involving Seafarers and SIU officials included the ratification of numerous contracts; continued backing of our troops in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom; growing support for the Employee Free Choice Act; international efforts to promote and protect mariners’ rights; and congressional appeals to boost inland waterways safety. Seafarers energetically supported Sen. Obama’s candidacy, including during this pre-election rally in Detroit. Additionally, the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education added new courses and opened a new conference center in addition to other accomplishments. Shipboard and port security issues continued to challenge all concerned, perhaps most notably with the federally mandated Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. As it has done since long before the issuance of the final TWIC regulations, the union continued to support the goal of appropriate security measures while trying to help ensure fair treatment of U.S. mariners. Following is a brief look back at these and other notable developments from 2008, a year in which the SIU observed its 70th anniversary. New Vessels, New Jobs The union welcomed significant new tonnage throughout the year, in various forms. Four ammunition ships, known as TAKE vessels and crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division, were delivered. Those ships, built at NASSCO, are the USNS Byrd, USNS Peary, USNS Earhart and USNS Brashear. NASSCO also continued construction on new tankers being built for U.S. Shipping Partners, the first of which is slated for delivery in 2009. Maersk Line, Limited added three vessels (the Maersk Michigan, Alliance St. Louis and Alliance Norfolk) and also transferred two others (MV Phillips and MV Baugh) to its commercial fleet, which preserved SIU jobs. APL Maritime added the containership APL Balboa to its American-flag fleet. Crowley christened the ATBs Integrity and Courage. Built at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, the OSG tankers Overseas Texas City and Overseas New York were delivered. Construction on additional tankers in the Veteran-class series continued at the yard. SIU-contracted Sealift, Inc. was award- SIU President Michael Sacco (right) is pictured with AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka during last year’s MTD executive board meetings in San Diego. Both men went on to play important roles in helping mobilize the union vote for the Obama-Biden ticket. Maersk Line, Limited brought in new tonnage including the Maersk Michigan (above). ed a contract to operate the HSV Swift, a prepositioning ship. Seafarers first sailed aboard the vessel late last year. U.S. Shipping took delivery of the new ATBs Galveston and Brownsville. American Roll-On/Roll-Off Carrier christened the Independence II, a car carrier. G&H Towing began operating the new Z-drive tugboat Wesley A for Bay-Houston Towing. Mariners aboard Hawaii Superferry’s new boat Alakai voted for SIU representation and approved a four-year contract. After a challenging start, the ferry steadily gained in popularity with customers and received strongly favorable reviews. The union also retained jobs on the eight Watson-class LMSRs, as Seafarers-contracted Ocean Ships, Inc. won the bid to operate those ships. President-Elect Backs Industry From coast to coast, Seafarers vigorously mobilized as part of an unprecedented get-out-the-vote campaign supporting the labor-backed team of Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Joe Biden. Early in the presidential campaign, SIU President Michael Sacco reminded members that the union traditionally does not take party affiliation into consideration when deciding whether to endorse a candidate. As he put it, “We’ve always had friends on both sides of the aisle, and we’ve always lived by the principle that we support those who support maritime.” On that score, Sen. Obama couldn’t have spoken out more strongly in favor of the U.S. Merchant Marine. The senator sent a personal letter to President Sacco in which he expressed unreserved, detailed backing of American mariners and the programs that help keep the U.S.-flag fleet viable. On a larger scale, both Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden possess solid records of supporting America’s working families, which made them a clear choice for endorsement by the AFL-CIO. Without question, the federation and its member unions (including the SIU) delivered on Election Day. Post-election polling clearly showed that union voters delivered a critical bloc of support in swing states that helped propel Obama and other working-family candidates to victory. Contracts Approved Despite the nation’s economic woes, the union secured contracts in 2008 that consistently increased wages and maintained benefits without sacrificing jobs. For example, three-year pacts were ratified at NY Waterway, Intrepid Personnel & Provisioning, Penn Maritime, Overseas Shipholding Group (inland), Petty’s Island and Starlight Marine. Additionally, Crowley boatmen approved a four-year contract while Matson crews gave the thumbs-up to a new five-year agreement. Rescues, Recognition Seafarers upheld the proud tradition of the “Brotherhood of the Sea” by handling several rescues. SIU members from the USNS Seay, USNS Sacagawea, Liberty Star, USNS Kanawha, Freedom Ferry and two NY Waterway ferries were among those who helped save lives. Also, crew members from the Chemical Trader prevented a catastrophe by responding quickly and efficiently to a shipboard fire which occurred during a major offload in Tampa, Fla. The USNS Grasp helped recover two downed Air Force jets, while the hospital ship USNS Mercy completed a four-month humanitarian mission overseas. Seafarers and a number of SIU-contracted companies also received recognition for various safety efforts and rescues that had taken place in 2008 and 2007. The Horizon Falcon in particular was honored several times, including once by the International Maritime Organization for a 2007 rescue. Progress at School The Paul Hall Center for the first time began offering online “distance learning” courses, and the feedback from students was quite positive. The Piney Point, Md.-based school earned “gold star” recognition from its county for superior compliance to food safety standards. It also opened the Keystone Conference Center, housed in the Paul Hall Memorial Library. The American Council on Education approved 26 Paul Hall Center courses for college credits, including 11 that either are new or previously hadn’t been submitted to ACE. Military Support Seafarers continued sailing aboard military support ships wherever and whenever needed. They transported important materiel including MRAPs, and also participated in various military exercises. Three SIU-crewed ships assisted the Navy in intercepting and shooting down a satellite in the Pacific. CIVMARS from the USS Mount Whitney helped deliver aid to Georgia. See More Jobs, Page 21 � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 January 2009 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES POLL: AMERICANS OVERWHELMINGLY BACK UNIONS AND EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT TANKER GOLDEN STATE BEGINS SEA TRIALS U.S. SHIPPING TAKES DELIVERY OF ATB; PROGRESS CONTINUES IN TANKER, T-AKE PROGRAMS UNION ELECTION RESULTS WILL BE ANNOUNCED WHEN TALLYING COMMITTEE COMPLETES WORK ENTHUSIASTIC CREW DEPLOYS ON HSV SWIFT POWER OUTAGE, MISPLACED DATA CONSTITUE LATEST TWIC HICCUPS PACIFIC-GULF MARINE FOUNDER CAPT. PETE JOHNSON DIES AT 74 LABOR PROTESTS OF INVASIVE TESTING PROVE EFFECTIVE AS COURT RESPONDS LABOR SECRETARY HONORED IN D.C. CEREMONY NMC GUIDELINES FINALIZED COAST GUARD UNVEILS ‘BIG TOW’ TO IMPROVE FOOTING IN TUG SAFETY OAKLAND HALL KICKS OFF HOLIDAY SEASON COAST GUARD MAGAZINE FEATURES PAUL HALL CENTER MORE JOBS, MOBILIZATION IN HISTORIC PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION HIGHLIGHT PAST YEAR FOR SEAFARERS NEW TONNAGE, HISTORIC ELECTION HIGHLIGHT 2008 NUMEROUS CONTRACTS RATIFIED; SEAFARERS CONTINUE SUPPORTING OUR TROOPS Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/01/2009 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. 71, No. 1 2009 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/525f4e0935f97a1109dbf053efd353d9.pdf 76defee7ecef4a8f340bc07bff45eb15 PDF Text Text 51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:44 PM Page 1 Volume 70, Number 12 December 2008 Have A Safe & Happy Holiday Season National Election Coverage Pages 2, 3, 11-14 SIU Crews Honored Pages 4, 5 Beck Notice Page 6 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:44 PM Page 2 President’s Repor t NY Port Council Salutes 3 The Future is on Our Radar Screen With Election Day behind us, I extend to all active and retired Seafarers and their families a most sincere congratulations and thank you for your efforts supporting organized labor’s unprecedented nationwide mobilization to back the candidates who support America’s working families. From the White House to state houses your work to get out the vote was successful, as many pro-worker, pro-maritime candidates were elected. The elections were tremendously important to our SIU family. But this was just the beginning. Ahead, all of us need to continue educating our elected leaders on the importance of maintaining and strengthening the Jones Act, the Maritime Security Program, cargo preference and other programs important to our nation and its economy. We will deliver the message that our industry, including greater use of our shipyards and marine highways, can help rebuild the U.S. economy. Also on the horizon, if not closer, are potential expansion of offshore drilling and an increase in the use of liquefied gas, including LNG. Here again, these components of the energy industry may prove vital not only to the overall economy but to the American-flag fleet. While maritime is always our first priority, it’s not the only thing on our radar screen. For the last few years, organized labor’s top legislative goal has been enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). I know Seafarers are familiar with this important legislation because during the past several months, you helped the AFL-CIO achieve its goal of collecting one million signatures in support of the bill. In fact, one of the people coordinating the federation’s “million-member mobilization” for the EFCA recently praised the SIU for contributing a significant number of signatures. Once again, I extend my appreciation for your efforts. And I should mention that the signature drive isn’t over, so if you haven’t already done so, please add your name to the long list of EFCA supporters. (More information is available on our web site and at the union halls.) This is going to be a red-hot topic in the months ahead. For those unfamiliar with the legislation, the EFCA would restore some balance to the system of forming unions and bargaining by giving workers – not bosses – the option of deciding how they will choose whether to form a union. The legislation also creates real penalties for employers who illegally interfere with organizing efforts and sets up a system to ensure that workers get a first contract once they’ve chosen union representation. The EFCA passed in the House in 2007 but got stalled in the Senate. President-Elect Barack Obama, Vice President-Elect Biden and numerous members of Congress have pledged to support the bill and see it through so it becomes law. Our grassroots efforts will continue for as long as it takes. While I have this opportunity, I want to wish all members and their families happy, safe holidays. One of the challenges of making a living at sea is that the job sometimes requires long periods away from loved ones, at times including the holiday season. The dedication required at this time of year is a credit to all Seafarers and is not taken for granted. My very best to each of you. Finally, I ask that you keep our troops around the world – and the Seafarers actively supporting them in Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom and elsewhere – in your thoughts and prayers. May they all enjoy successful missions and return home safe and sound. Volume 70, Number 12 December 2008 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFLCIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2008 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD. All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG The Maritime Trades Department’s Maritime Port Council of Greater New York and Vicinity, AFL-CIO, recently honored three individuals during the organization’s annual awards dinner. This year’s honorees were U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), SIU of Canada President Roman Gralewicz and Keystone Shipping Company Executive VP Philip W.J. Fisher. Cummings could not attend the Oct. 4 event in New York because of urgent work back on Capitol Hill. Pictured in the group photo (from left) are Gralewicz; his wife, Elaine; Suzanne Fisher; and Phil Fisher. In the two photos at the top of the page, Fisher (left) and Gralewicz address the attendees. Cummings received the port council’s Government Man of the Year Award. Gralewicz was presented with the Paul Hall Award of Merit (an honor named in memory of the late Paul Hall, an outstanding past president of the SIU). Fisher received the Herb Brand Memorial Man of the Year Award (named after the late Herb Brand, a longtime advocate of the U.S. Merchant Marine who worked in various capacities with the SIU and later served as president of the Transportation Institute). Maritime Labor Mourns AMO’s Ed Kelly The SIU joins its affiliated American Maritime Officers in mourning the death of Edward V. Kelly, AMO vice president at large. Kelly passed away Nov. 16 at his home in Bethesda, Md., after a long illness. He was 75. Besides doing outstanding work specifically on behalf the AMO, Kelly was a respected and well-known presence when it came to promoting American maritime labor in general. Based in Washington, D.C., he often represented the AMO in interactions with (among others) the U.S. Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security, Military Sealift Command, U.S. Transportation Command, Maritime Administration, National Defense Transportation Association, Navy League of the United States, AFL- AMO VP at Large Ed Kelly 1933-2008 CIO and the federation’s Maritime Trades Department. “Ed Kelly was a familiar figure to many in the federal government for many years,” said AMO National President Tom Bethel. “He knew the regulatory agencies like few others, and he earned the friendship and respect of four-star Navy admirals and top-tier defense logistics planners. But Ed was most proud of his association with the licensed civilian American merchant mariners he represented so well as an AMO official.” Kelly, a U.S. Navy veteran and a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y., is survived by his wife, Barbara S. Kelly; daughters Barbara Ann Kelly Myers and Megan Kelly Ambrosi; two brothers, two sisters and eight grandchildren. Interment took place last month at Arlington National Cemetery. The AMO is affiliated with the SIU through the Seafarers International Union of North America. December 2008 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:44 PM Page 3 Union Support Proves Vital on Election Day Seafarers Across Nation Rally for Pro-Maritime Ticket of Obama-Biden Headlined by the historic election of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as president, Election Day proved to be a great success for American’s working families. Union households played crucial roles in electing Sen. Obama and running mate Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) along with many other pro-worker candidates. Seafarers from coast to coast did their part in the weeks leading up to Nov. 4, voluntarily participating in numerous grassroots efforts to demonstrate support and help get out the vote. The union itself also went all-out in backing the ObamaBiden ticket, issuing a powerful endorsement in mid-August and following up with membership outreach that included unique, colorful campaign signs and stickers. (See related coverage on pages 2, 11-14.) According to the AFL-CIO (the national federation of trade unions to which the SIU is affiliated), post-election polling clearly showed that union voters delivered a critical bloc of support in swing states that helped propel Obama and other working-family candidates to victories. High turnout among working-class union voters in states like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan formed a foundation of support for Obama. In new battleground states like Colorado, Virginia, North Carolina and Florida, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said the federation mounted a bigger effort than ever before, voting by large margins for Obama, and “joined young people and other new voters to build a new majority for economic fairness.” AFL-CIO union members across battleground states supported Obama by a whopping 68-30 margin, according to an election night survey conducted for the AFL-CIO by Peter D. Hart Research Associates. “More than 250,000 union volunteers took to the streets in the largest independent voter mobilization in history,” AFL-CIO Political Committee Chair and AFSCME President Gerald McEntee said. “People volunteered because they want a president who will fight for America’s working families. In the critical battleground states, workers gave Sen. Obama the winning edge.” Calling the victory in the presidential race and the expansion of majorities in the House and Senate a working families’ mandate for broad-based economic change, AFL-CIO leaders vowed to continue the large-scale mobilization to push through broad economic reform. “Led by a candidate with an uncommon ability to inspire hope, we reclaimed our country from those who are serving corporate interests and the privileged at the expense of everyone else,” Sweeney said. “We have taken the first crucial steps to build a better future for our children and grandchildren. And what we’ve seen – the stunning voter participation and the common call for change – is an indication of the history we can continue to make together.” Other key findings from the electionnight survey include: ■ Obama won among white men who are union members by 18 points while losing that group by 16 points in the general public; ■ Obama won among union gun owners by a 12-point margin while losing that group in the general public by 25 points; ■ Union veterans voted for Obama by a 25-point margin. He lost among that group in the general public by nine points; ■ Sixty percent of union members identified the economy and jobs as their top issue, with 84 percent saying strengthening the economy was the most important factor in their vote; ■ Union members identified protecting pensions and Social Security and reducing health care costs as the top priorities for the new administration; ■ Seventy-five percent say the new president and Congress have a mandate to strengthen the economy, create jobs, and reform health care; ■ Eighty-one percent of union members support passing the Employee Free Choice Act (legislation backed by Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden). This year’s campaign was the largest and broadest effort in AFL-CIO history, according to the federation, whose affiliated unions collectively represent 10.5 million workers. The program reached union members, members of union households, retirees and mem- bers of Working America, the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate for workers who don’t have a union on the job. In all, the AFL-CIO’s program reached out to more than 13 million union voters in 24 battleground states. The AFL-CIO was engaged in 13 Senate races and 60 House contests as well as the presidential race. More than 250,000 AFL-CIO volunteers – including SIU members, retirees, officials and employees – gave up countless evenings and weekends throughout the course of this campaign to talk to co-workers, neighbors and other union members about the stakes in this election. In the final four days of the election, the AFL-CIO’s “Final Four” getout-the-vote program reached millions of union voters in battleground states. Over the course of the campaign, volunteers made 76 million phone calls, knocked on 14 million doors and delivered 29 million flyers at worksites. The AFL-CIO and its affiliate unions sent 57 million pieces of mail to union households this year. As a result of this effort, 84 percent of union members in battleground states said they heard from their union this election cycle. Working America played a central role in delivering working-class union voters this election. Working America grew to 2.5 million members this year, including 800,000 members in Ohio alone. The organization ran a year-long mobilization, engaging its members – mostly working-class moderates and independents – on health care, green jobs and other issues important to working families. In the final days before the election, more than 1,000 full-time canvassers fanned out across 11 battleground states. In total, Working America knocked on 1.65 million doors to encourage members to vote and educate them on the candidates’ positions on working family issues. The 2008 effort relied heavily on sophisticated targeting designed to increase voter turnout for Obama and other working family candidates among exurban and rural voters in key states. Since identifying more than 3 million undecided voters in August, the AFL-CIO’s intense communications among swing groups like retirees, veterans and gun owners shifted the landscape in states such as Ohio. The AFL-CIO also carried out a ninestate voter protection program to ensure every vote would count on Election Day. The My Vote, My Right voting rights protection program worked for several months to educate citizens about their voting rights and train polling monitors and worked closely with secretaries of state on election administration plans, AFL-CIO Political Director Karen Ackerman said. On Election Day, the program deployed more than 2,700 volunteer polling monitors nationwide, including 800 in Michigan and 500 in both Ohio and Pennsylvania. When the SIU endorsed Sen. Obama, SIU President Michael Sacco noted the senator’s strong support of the U.S. Merchant Marine. In a subsequent letter to the SIU president, Sen. Obama emphatically reiterated that support, writing in part: “America needs a strong and vibrant U.S.-Flag Merchant Marine. That is why you and your members can continue to count on me to support the Jones Act (which also includes the Passenger Vessel Services Act) and the continued exclusion of maritime services in international trade agreements…. In peace and in war, our Mariners have stood with us and my Administration will stand with them. “To make sure our Armed Forces have the equipment and ammunition they need at the time the materiel are required, my Administration will solidly support the continuation of the Maritime Security Program…. A strong U.S.-Flag commercial fleet needs our nation’s Cargo Preference laws. Whether it is carrying needed goods to those overseas in distress or moving government-generated cargo, American Mariners aboard American ships make sure the job is done…. Those programs set a firm foundation for America’s Merchant Mariners by providing opportunities for decent wages, good benefits and fair treatment. Certainly, a strong union movement has been and will continue to be a major contributor to the achievement of this essential national goal.” Voting Continues in Union Election Voting began last month and will continue through Dec. 31 in the election of officers of the SIU’s Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU. Balloting is taking place at 21 SIU halls throughout the country. Full-book SIU members in good standing are eligible to vote in the election, which will determine union One of Guam’s claims to fame is that it’s known as the place where America’s day begins, due to its time zone. With that in mind, Oiler James Short (right) is believed to have been the first Seafarer to vote this year in the union’s election. He is pictured Nov. 1 at the SIU hall in Guam, signing the log book as Port Agent John Hoskins observes. December 2008 officers for the 2009-2012 term. The ballot also includes a proposed constitutional amendment concerning members who serve on union finance, credentials, tallying and constitutional committees. Seafarers may obtain their ballots from 9 a.m. until noon, Mondays through Saturdays, except legal holidays, until Dec. 31. The ballot includes the list of candidates seeking the posts of president, executive vice president, secretary-treasurer, six vice presidents, six assistant vice presidents and 10 port agents (for a total of 25 positions) along with the proposed constitutional amendment. At the union halls, a member in good standing (upon presenting his or her book) is given a ballot and two envelopes. After his or her selection is marked, the ballot is folded and placed inside an envelope marked “ballot.” That envelope then is sealed inside a postage-paid envelope bearing the mailing address of the bank depository where bal- lots are kept until submitted to the union tallying committee. The rank-and-file tallying committee, consisting of two members from each of the union’s constitutional ports, will be elected in December. They will convene in early January and will tabulate and announce the election results. Article XIII of the union’s constitution spells out the procedures by which an election will be conducted. The entire text of Article XIII, along with a sample ballot, a list of voting locations, the constitutional committee’s report and other related information appears on pages 6-11 of the October 2008 issue of the Seafarers LOG. A list of voting locations and balloting procedures (including absentee ballot information) is available on the internet at www.seafarers.org, in the Seafarers LOG section. Additionally, a notice of the election was mailed in October to all members at their last known address, with a list of all voting locations as well as a sample of the official ballot. Patrolman Greg Stone (second from right) assists members at the Oakland hall. With him are Seafarers John Bennett, Richard Paulson, Thomas White, Abdul Muflihi, Majed Alsunbahi and Muthana Koraish. Obtaining their respective ballots at the hall in Oakland, Calif., are (from left) Seafarers Abdulhamid Musaed, Ali Suwaileh and Robert Borro. Seafarers LOG 3 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:45 PM Page 4 SIU Crews Land Honors During AOTOS Event SIU crews from five Seafarers-contracted vessels, a union bosun, a pair of maritime executives and a U.S. Air Force general officer formally were recognized Nov. 7 during the United Seamen’s Service (USS) 2008 Admiral of Ocean Sea Awards in New York. Hundreds of maritime industry leaders, including SIU President Michael Sacco and other union officers, attended the dinner and dance gala at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers. The annual outing has come to be regarded as one of the industry’s most prestigious honors. Receiving recognition in the form of the form of the AOTOS Mariner’s Plaque were SIU crew members who on specific dates were sailing aboard Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) USNS GYSGT Fred W. Stockham; Interocean American Shipping Corporation’s MV Courage; and MSC’s USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort. Joining the crews in the award circle and receiving the AOTOS Mariner’s Rosette was Recertified Bosun Scott Heginbotham for actions taken while sailing aboard Liberty Maritime Corporation’s MV Liberty Star. Recipients of the 2008 USS AOTOS Award were James A Capo, U. S. Maritime Alliance, Ltd.; Michael D. Garvey, Saltchuk Resources, Inc.; and Gen. Norton A, Schwartz, U. S. Air Force Chief of Staff. The event was packed with examples of deeds performed by the honored mariners who epitomize “brotherhood of the sea.” It was narrated by the Honorable Helen Bentley, who remarked that she had never missed an AOTOS event or passed on the opportunity to congratulate an honored seafarer. The individuals and crews honored, along with synopses of the actions for which they were recognized were as follows: AOTOS Mariner’s Plaque Recipients ■ The captain and crew of the USNS GYSGT Fred W. Stockham on June 23, while under way near Manila, were directed by the U.S. Pacific Command to render search and rescue assistance and humanitarian aid to the MV Princess of the Star, a ferry. The Princess at the time was traveling from Manila to Cebu City with 849 passengers Recipients of the United Seamen’s Service 2008 Admiral of the Ocean Sea Awards (left to right) were Air Force General Norton Schwartz, Michael Garvey and James Capo. The awards were presented Nov. 7 in New York. aboard. With the sudden onslaught of Typhoon Fengshen, which was packing winds in excess of 140 kilometers per hour, the vessel capsized. She sank with great loss of life off Romblon Island in the Sibuyan Sea. Under the command of Captain Perry Seyler, the Stockham arrived three miles off of the partially submerged ferry. After the winds calmed, the captain ordered rigid hull inflatable boats to be launched from the Stockham to search for survivors and assist Navy divers assessing the wreckage. Helicopters from the Stockham flew sorties some 34 hours and covered 17,000 square miles of ocean looking for survivors. The helicopter crews relayed coordinates of survivors found in the water or seen stranded on a remote island to the Philippines Coast Guard. One helicopter transported a victim to a nearby island for emergency medical treatment. The Stockham on June 29 was deployed off Panay Island to assist with humanitarian aid. Helicopter crews then flew 36 hours helping the USS Ronald Reagan Strike Group, delivering 17,350 pounds of rice and other supplies. The Stockham and her crew remained in the area and assisted with relief efforts until July 3. During this period, the captain and crew rendered around-the-clock assistance in the best tradition of service at sea. ■ While traveling eastbound on the Atlantic west of the Azores, the MV Courage on June 9, 2008 received a request from the U.S. Coast Guard to assist the French sailing vessel SV Motus which hours before had signaled distress while situated some 100 nautical miles away. Courage Capt. Scott Wiegand altered course and six hours later located the sailing vessel. After establishing radio communication with the distressed vessel, Captain Wiegand maneuvered the Courage alongside. Chief Mate Sean Morrisey then boarded the Motus where he found its captain had been knocked unconscious by the boom the previous day and was still unsteady. A doctor ashore reviewed the situation by radio interview, and determined that the captain be evacuated from the sailing vessel. The other two persons aboard the Motus had little sailing experience and were reluctant to continue the voyage without their injured captain. All three crew members were taken aboard the Courage and the sailing vessel was abandoned in the open ocean. Third Mate Alex Ramirez, the Courage medical officer, attended to the injured captain, and consulted the Maritime Medical Advisory Service. The agency advised that the treatment onboard the Courage was sufficient to allow it to continue to Bremerhaven where the rescued sailors were safely placed in the custody of the French Consulate. The entire operation was a tribute to the emergency response preparedness and the skilled seamanship of the MV Courage’s officers and crew. ■ The master, chief engineer and crew of the MSC hospital ship USNS Mercy from May through September 2008 distinguished themselves during a 148-day humanitarian deployment to the Philippines, Vietnam, Timor-Leste, Papua New Guinea and the Federated States of Micronesia. During this period, U.S. military medical professionals, non-government organizations, U.S. Public Health Service workers and 10 partner nations aboard treated nearly 90,000 patients and performed more than 1,350 surgical procedures. In actions which extended beyond shipboard duties, the Mercy crew joined forces with Navy Seabees and engineers from partner nations to renovate schools, medical clinics and hospitals throughout the region for a total of 16 major construction projects ashore. The ship’s mission could not have been successful without the dedication of 67 civil service mariners who navigated the ship between ports and ensured the onboard hospital was Continued on next page Ashes of Late Bosun ‘Snake’ Williams Are Scattered at Sea The ashes of late SIU Bosun Rowland “Snake” Williams were buried at sea Aug. 28 from aboard the Cape Wright, the last vessel on which he sailed before retiring. The ceremony, held off the North Carolina coast between Morehead City and Sunny Point, was conducted by a contingent of U.S. servicemenbers (Navy and Marines) who were aboard the vessel as it headed out to sea during a training mission. Brother Williams, who spent nearly 50 years sailing with the SIU, passed away April 18 while working around his home in Baltimore. He was 80. After retiring in 1991 following the conclusion the Persian Gulf War, Brother Williams spent the next 14 years of his life pitching in to help out at the SIU hall in Baltimore and aboard union-contracted ships which called on the port. Clockwise from left, members of the burial detail prepare to lay Williams’ ashes to rest while Sailors and Marines look on from their formation on deck. Following the burial, Capt. Robert Silva presented the American flag to AB David Martz of the SIU. Martz was a close friend of Williams. 4 Seafarers LOG December 2008 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:45 PM Page 5 Dacuag Earns Agency’s Highest Honor for Civilians A Seafarer from Hawaii recently received a highly coveted award from the U.S. Coast Guard for his actions in a lifesaving rescue of a foreign mariner on the high seas. AB John Dacuag on Oct. 24 was presented the U.S. Coast Guard’s Gold Lifesaving Medal—the highest Coast Guard Award for civilians—during a formal ceremony at the Fourteenth Coast Guard District’s headquarters in Honolulu for his part in the lifesaving event which took place in the Pacific Ocean while sailing aboard the SIUcontracted Horizon Falcon. Dacuag and his fellow Falcon shipmates on July 27, 2007 were en route from Guam to Yantian, China, when they received a radio message from the U.S. Coast Guard. The communication advised the captain to divert course in order to come to the aid of a vessel, the bulk carrier Hai Tong No. 7, which was carrying a cargo of logs. The storm surge of Typhoon Man-Yi had caused the Hai Tong No. 7’s cargo to shift. The vessel foundered and its Chinese crew had already been in the water for two days before any ship reached the scene. The Horizon Falcon was first to arrive. Captain Tom McDorr skillfully navigated his large vessel through rough seas filled with floating logs to attempt to locate and rescue survivors. A lifeboat with the chief mate and three seamen aboard was dispatched despite high winds and 24-foot swells. One Chinese survivor was pulled from the water, but as the lifeboat was being recovered by Horizon Falcon, a large swell nearly swamped the craft while damaging its motor. The lifeboat was ordered abandoned, but its crew and the survivor were able to climb to safety up the containership’s 40-foot pilot ladder. A second Chinese seaman was spotted in the water near the containership. At this juncture, Dacuag harnessed himself to the pilot’s ladder and, using a grappling hook, was able to snag and rescue the man. Around the same time, another vessel on the scene picked up 11 other crew members from the foreign-flag vessel. The Horizon Falcon, by now joined by a Navy P3 Orion aircraft and another merchant ship, continued the search for additional survivors, but no others were located. The containership was eventually directed to resume its voyage. The rescued Chinese seamen were delivered to the port of Yantian, where representatives of the Chinese government expressed their thanks to the captain and crew of the containership. The determined efforts and the professional and brave actions of the captain and crew of Horizon Falcon, under most difficult conditions, undoubtedly prevented the further loss of life in the sinking of Hai Tong No. 7. Rear Adm. Manson K. Brown, commander, Fourteenth Coast Guard District, presented Dacuag with his award. The citation which accompanied the medal—written by Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen—in part said of Dacuag, “His unselfish actions and valiant service, despite imminent personal danger, reflect the highest credit upon himself and are in keeping with the highest traditions of humanitarian service.” “Thank you. I’m very honored,” said Dacuag to the group of 100 Coast Guardsmen who attended the ceremony. “I am humbled to receive this award from the U.S. Coast Guard,” concluded Dacuag, whose extensive safety and rescue training at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., unquestionably came in handy during the rescue at sea. Dacuag over the years has been a frequent upgrader at the maritime training facility, which places paramount importance on safety. Many, if not all, of his shipmates aboard the Horizon Falcon also have attended and/or returned to the school to broaden their backgrounds and hone their skills. Dacuag and his shipmates – Bosun Steven Bush, ABs Ahmed Almuflihi, Jennifer Souci, Stanley Parker, Jack Kem, Earl Sparkes and Jerry Gonzaga, Electrician Ursel Barber, QMEDs Husain Ali and Gustavo Osorio, Recertified Steward Philip Lau and SA Milagros Clark— in the near future will again be honored for their extreme bravery demonstrated during the rescue. They are slated to receive the International Maritime Organization’s 2008 Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea Award. Rear Adm. Manson K. Brown, commander, Fourteenth Coast Guard District, presents the Coast Guard’s Gold Lifesaving Medal to AB John Dacuag during a ceremony at the unit’s Honolulu headquarters. NASSCO Delivers USNS Earhart to U.S. Military Sealift Command The U.S. Military Sealift Command on Oct. 30 accepted delivery of the dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Amelia Earhart (left) in San Diego. The ship, to be crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division, was built by General Dynamics NASSCO. Named in honor of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, the vessel is the sixth in the Lewis and Clark-class of underway replenishment ships. According to MSC, these vessels – called T-AKEs – deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to the Navy’s underway carrier and expeditionary strike groups, thereby “allowing them to stay at sea, on station and combatready for extended periods of time.” Mariners Garner Recognition at 2008 AOTOS Ceremony Continued from Page 4 fully functioning with electricity and a constant supply of fresh water throughout the deployment. The mariners ferried thousands of patients and passengers to and from the ship aboard its utility boats. The collective actions of the Mercy’s captain and crew brought new hope to thousands of families and individuals throughout Southeast Asia and Photo by Frank Cianciotti Recertified Bosun Scott Heginbotham (left) receives congratulations from Rear Adm. Robert Reilly, MSC commander, and others at the AOTOS ceremony. December 2008 Oceania by improving their quality of life. ■ The master, chief engineer and crew of the MSC hospital ship USNS Comfort—from June through October 2007—provided assistance to more than 98,000 people in 12 countries. The goodwill deeds came during a humanitarian assistance deployment to Latin America and the Caribbean. The hard work of the crew enabled the ship’s medical personnel to provide extensive medical coverage including more than 1,000 surgeries, 24,000 pairs of eyeglasses, 32,000 immunizations and 122,000 pharmaceuticals to people in Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Suriname. The 70 civil service mariners aboard the Comfort were an integral component of the mission— navigating the ship safely to each port, providing a constant supply of fresh water and electricity to the hospital and transporting patients, mission personnel and equipment between the ship and shore in two 33-foot utility boats. In addition, in Ecuador, the crew assisted Seabees in constructing two wheelchair ramps and installing 18 ceiling fans at a school. The Comfort’s master and crew represented the nation proudly and contributed significantly to a highly successful humanitarian outreach program that improved the lives of thousands of people. AOTOS Mariner’s Rosette Winner ■ Recertified Bosun Scott Heginbotham, while aboard the MV Liberty Star on March 13, 2008 reacted quickly and efficiently in saving the life of a fellow mariner aboard his vessel. Heginbotham was near the CO2 compartment on the ship when a subcontractor began to service the bank of CO2 bottles. In the process, the worker inadvertently started a series of potentially deadly events that began with the discharge of stored CO2 gas into the engine room. Heginbotham quickly realized that the first engineer was in the engine room and proceeded to his assigned emergency station. Along the way, he stopped to report the situation via radio to Capt. Clancy Faucheux. Heginbotham then donned his self-contained breathing apparatus and returned to the engine room, which by then was hazy due to the CO2 venting. Upon entering the room, he found the first engineer and took prompt action to place an emergency escape breathing apparatus on him and gave him chest compressions that saved his life. AOTOS Award Recipients ■ This award was presented to James A. Capo, chairman & CEO of U.S. Maritime Alliance, Ltd., and Michael D. Garvey, a founding partner and past chairman of Saltchuk Resources, Inc. A Special AOTOS Award was given to U.S. Air Force Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, former commander of the United States Transportation Command and now USAF Chief of Staff. John Bowers, chairman of the USS AOTOS Committee and President Emeritus of the International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO, said of the three 2008 USS AOTOS Award winners: “We have an impressive group of honorees this year. Jim Capo has been a friend and colleague across the negotiating table for many years and his leadership skills command respect by all who know him.” Bowers continued, “As a founder of Saltchuk, Mr. Garvey has helped to build one of America’s leading maritime shipping organizations, including Totem Ocean Trailer Express and Sea Star Line, that continues to employ many U.S. seafarers. General Schwartz has led USTRANSCOM through a difficult time with amazing operational results and he deserves a very special recognition.” The USS continues to provide community services for the U.S. Merchant Marine, the American Armed Forces, and seafarers of the world. A non-profit agency established in 1942, the USS operates centers in eight foreign ports in Europe, Asia, Africa and in the Indian Ocean, and also provides seagoing libraries to American vessels through its affiliate, the American Merchant Marine Library Association. Seafarers LOG 5 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:45 PM Page 6 Summary Annual Report NMU 401K PLAN Summary Annual Report Seafarers Pension Trust Editor’s note: Data in some of the summary annual reports published in this edition of the Seafarers LOG reflect the outcome of plans mergers that were previously reported both in the LOG and at monthly membership meetings. This is a summary of the annual report for the Seafarers Pension Trust, (Employer Identification No. 13-6100329, Plan No. 001) for the period January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENT Benefits under the plan are provided by a trust (benefits are provided in whole from trust funds). Plan expenses were $40,009,453. These expenses included $7,747,056 in administrative expenses and $32,262,397 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 16,823 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $976,131,266 as of December 31, 2007 compared to $676,260,582 as of January 1, 2007. During the plan year the plan experienced an increase in its net assets of $299,870,684. This increase includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had total income of $64,231,729, including employer contributions of $28,274,071, losses of $582,427 from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $35,687,748. MINIMUM FUNDING STANDARDS An actuary’s statement shows that enough money was contributed to the plan to keep it funded in accordance with the minimum funding standards of ERISA. YOUR RIGHTS TO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Assets held for investment; 3. Transactions in excess of 5 percent of the plan assets; and 4. Information regarding any common or collective trust, pooled separate accounts, master trusts or 103-12 investment entities in which the plan participates. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Margaret R. Bowen, Administrator, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 301-899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $4.65 for the full report, or $0.15 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan: Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. The report also can be examined at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, D.C. 20210. Summary Annual Report NMU Pension Trust of the NMU Pension and Welfare Plan Editor’s note: Data in some of the summary annual reports published in this edition of the Seafarers LOG reflect the outcome of plans mergers that were previously reported both in the LOG and at monthly membership meetings. This is a summary of the annual report for the NMU Pension Trust of the NMU Pension and Welfare Plan, (Employer Identification No. 13-6592643, Plan No. 001) for the period January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENT Benefits under the plan are provided by a trust (benefits are provided in whole from trust funds). Plan expenses were $26,137,302. These expenses included $2,397,279 in administrative expenses and $23,740,023 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 7,042 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $0 as of December 31, 2007 compared to $296,628,713 as of January 1, 2007. During the plan year the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $296,628,713. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had total income of $19,296,758, including gains of $12,992,599 from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $4,885,493. MINIMUM FUNDING STANDARDS Enough money was contributed to the plan to keep it funded in accordance with the minimum funding standards of ERISA. Beck Notice The Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU assists employees by representing them in all aspects of their employment and work aboard vessels which sail deep sea, on the Great Lakes and inland waters throughout the country. For the most part, the union spends a majority of its financial resources on collective bargaining activities and employee representation services. In addition to these expenditures, the union also spends resources on a variety of other efforts such as organizing, publications, political activities, international affairs and community services. All of these services advance the interests of the union and its membership. This annual notice is required by law and is sent to advise employees represented by the Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU about their rights and obligations concerning payment of union dues. This notice contains information which will allow you to understand the advantages and benefits of being a union member in good standing. It also will provide you with detailed information as to how to become an agency fee payor. An agency fee payor is an employee who is not a member of the union but who meets his or her financial obligation by making agency fee payments. With this information, you will be able to make an informed decision about your status with the Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU. 1. Benefits of union membership — While nonmembers do receive material benefits from a union presence in their workplace, there are significant benefits to retaining full membership in the union. Among the many benefits and opportunities available to a member of the Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU is the right to attend union meetings, the right to vote for candidates for union office and the right to run for union office. Members also have the right to participate in the development of contract pro- 6 Seafarers LOG YOUR RIGHTS TO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Financial information and information on payments to service providers; 3. Assets held for investment; 4. Transactions in excess of 5 percent of the plan assets; 5. Insurance information including sales commissions paid by insurance carriers; and 6. Information regarding any common or collective trust, pooled separate accounts, master trusts or 103-12 investment entities in which the plan participates. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of NMU Pension Trust, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. The charge to cover copying costs will be $5.50 for the full report, or $0.10 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, D.C. 20210. This is a summary of the annual report for the NMU 401K Plan, (Employer Identification No. 13-6592643, Plan No. 002) for the period January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENT Benefits under the plan are provided by an arrangement providing benefits exclusively through insurance and/or annuity contracts. Plan expenses were $356,927. These expenses included $356,927 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 544 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $4,040,970 as of December 31, 2007 compared to $3,751,535 as of January 1, 2007. During the plan year the plan experienced an increase in its net assets of $289,435. This increase includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had total income of $646,362, including employee contributions of $374,903 and earnings from investments of $271,459. YOUR RIGHTS TO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Financial information and information on payments to service providers; 3. Assets held for investment; 4. Insurance information including sales commissions paid by insurance carriers; and 5. Information regarding any common or collective trust, pooled separate accounts, master trusts or 103-12 investment entities in which the plan participates. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Board of Trustees of the NMU, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. The charge to cover copying costs will be $1.50 for the full report, or $0.10 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, D.C. 20210. Notice to Employees Covered by Union Agreements Regulated Under the National Labor Relations Act posals and participate in contract ratification and strike votes. Members also may play a role in the development and formulation of union policies. 2. Cost of union membership — In addition to working dues, to belong to the union as a full book member the cost is $500.00 (five hundred dollars) per year or $125.00 (one hundred twenty-five dollars) per quarter. Working dues amount to 5 percent of the gross amount an employee receives for vacation benefits and are paid when the member files a vacation application. 3. Agency fee payors — Employees who choose not to become union members may become agency fee payors. As a condition of employment, in states which permit such arrangements, individuals are obligated to make payments to the union in the form of an agency fee. The fee these employees pay is to support the core representational services that the union provides. These services are those related to the collective bargaining process, contract administration and grievance adjustments. Examples of these activities include but are not limited to, the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, the enforcement and administration of collective bargaining agreements and meetings with employers and employees. Union services also include representation of employees during disciplinary meetings, grievance and arbitration proceedings, National Labor Relations Board hearings and court litigation. Employees who pay agency fees are not required to pay for expenses not germane to the collective bargaining process. Examples of these expenses would be expenses required as a result of community service, legislative activities and political affairs. 4. Amount of agency fee — As noted above, dues objectors may pay a fee which represents the costs of expenses related to those supporting costs germane to the collective bargaining process. After review of all expenses during the 2007 calendar year, the fee cost associated with this representation amounts to 87.92 percent of the dues amount. This means that the agency fee based upon the dues would be $439.60 (four hundred thirty-nine dollars and sixty cents) for the applicable year. An appropriate reduction also will be calculated for working dues. This amount applies to the 2009 calendar year. This means that any individual who wishes to elect to pay agency fees and submits a letter between December 1, 2008 and November 30, 2009 will have this calculation applied to their 2009 dues payments which may still be owed to the union. As noted below, however, to continue to receive the agency fee reduction effective January 2010, your objection must be received by December 1, 2009. A report which delineates chargeable and nonchargeable expenses is available to you free of charge. You may receive a copy of this report by writing to: Secretary-Treasurer, Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. This report is based upon an audited financial report of the union’s expenses during 2007. Please note that as the chargeable and non-chargeable expenses may change each year, the agency fee amount may also fluctuate each year. Individuals who are entitled to pay agency fees and wish to pay fees rather than dues, must elect this option each year by filing an objection in accordance with the procedure noted below. 5. Filing of objections — If you choose to object to paying dues, an objection must be filed annually. To receive the deduction beginning in January of each year, you must file by the beginning of December in the prior year. An employee may file an objection at any time during the year, however, the reduction will apply only prospectively and only until December 31 of that calendar year. Reductions in dues will not be applied retroactively. As noted above, each year the amount of the dues reduction may change based upon an auditor’s report from a previous year. The objection must be sent in writing to: Agency Fee Payor Objection Administration, SecretaryTreasurer’s Office, Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. 6. Filing a challenge — Upon receiving the notice of calculation of the chargeable expenditures related to core representation activities, an objector shall have 45 days to submit a challenge with the SecretaryTreasurer’s office if he or she believes that the calculation of chargeable activities is incorrect. Every person who wishes to object to the calculation of chargeable expenses has a legal right to file such an objection. 7. Appeal procedure — Upon receiving the challenge(s) at the end of the 45-day period, the union will consolidate all appeals and submit them to an independent arbitrator. The presentation to the arbitrator will be either in writing or at a hearing. The method of the arbitration will be determined by the arbitrator. If a hearing is held, any objector who does not wish to attend may submit his/her views in writing by the date of the hearing. If a hearing is not held, the arbitrator will set the dates by which all written submissions will be received. The costs of the arbitration shall be borne by the union. Individuals submitting challenges will be responsible for all the costs associated with presenting their appeal. The union will have the burden of justifying its calculations. The SIU works very hard to ensure that all of its members receive the best representation possible. On behalf of all the SIU officers and employees, I would like to thank you for your continuing support. Sincerely, David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer December 2008 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:45 PM Page 7 Bosuns Commend Union, School 12 Seafarers Complete Recertification in Piney Point It might be an understatement to describe the November membership meeting in Piney Point, Md., as an uplifting occasion for the union’s newest class of recertified bosuns. Twelve Seafarers received their respective graduation certificates Nov. 3 during the meeting at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. They successfully completed the three-week class which is considered the highest level of vocational education available at the school to members of the deck department. As they took turns speaking from the auditorium’s stage, the Seafarers shared stories of inspiration and gratitude. They said the course taught them new skills and refreshed others, which will help them do a better job aboard ship. The group consisted of Bosuns Joseph Casalino (whose home port is New York), David Dinnes (Mobile, Ala.), Frederick Gathers (Jacksonville, Fla.), David Graves (Houston), Renato Govico (Honolulu), Leslie “Jake” Jacobs (Houston), Jose Jimenea (Houston), Scott Krajniak (Algonac, Mich.), Theodore “Ted” Lukawski (Jacksonville), Michael Moore (Norfolk, Va.), Lon Oliver (Tacoma) and Isaac Vega-Mercado (San Juan, P.R.). Besides complimenting the instruction they received, the new recertified bosuns had high praise for the training center’s staff and facilities. Collectively, they lauded the SIU leadership for the fashion in which it is conducting the business of the union and keeping the best interests of its rank-and-file members on the front burner. Each of the graduates also offered words of encouragement to unlicensed apprentices and upgraders who are attending the school. They urged the apprentices to work hard, pay attention and to be good shipmates when they go to their first vessel. Upgraders were advised to continue taking advantage of their opportunities to enhance their skills at the school and to freely share their knowledge with others. “I come from a family of Seafarers and this has been a great experience and a privilege to attend,” said VegaMercado. “Every time I’ve been to this school, the more I learn and the better it makes me.” “I was born in Guyana and used to ship with the Greeks,” explained Graves. “I jumped ship and was able to come to the U.S. and join the SIU. The union has changed my life tremendously, enabling me and my family to live better lives. Thank God for the SIU.” “This coursework is the milestone of my career,” said Krajniak. Talking to the trainees in the audience, he said, “You are our future. Stay involved in your career and union. There is no limit to what you can do.” “I thank my family and all SIU families for their patience and understanding in helping us reach this level in our careers,” said Jacobs. “Thanks to the SIU for giving me the opportunity and tools to achieve.” “I’ve sailed to all the continents and in two wars,” said Casalino, “And there is no one who fights for us like the SIU. The SIU teaches us brotherhood and integrity and how to work together at sea.” “I’ve learned so much here,” explained Jimenea about the school. “The course answered a lot of questions that Pictured from left to right following the November membership meeting in Piney Point, Md., are Recertified Bosuns Isaac Vega-Mercado, Leslie Jacobs, Fred Gathers, Lon Oliver, Renato Govico, Michael Moore, Jose Jimenea, Ted Lukawski, David Graves, David Dinnes, Joseph Casalino and Scott Krajniak. me and my shipmates have. Now I feel confident as a recertified bosun to go back to sea and explain a lot to my shipmates.” “The program is very well thought-out,” said Lukawski about the recertification course. “What we learned is very enlightening and it will certainly help me serve the membership as ship’s chairman.” “I became a Seafarer in Boston years ago with the National Maritime Union,” commented Moore, “and I think I’ve learned more in one month here than I had throughout my career. The SIU is a true teacher about the industry and the importance of components such as the Seafarers Political Action Donation (SPAD) to the future of all Seafarers.” “My life has changed since I joined the SIU,” said Govico. “Things are looking good for me and my family and I work in an industry where all have equal rights, no matter race, color, or origin. This is truly the American dream.” “This experience has been great,” exclaimed Gathers. “We’ve learned about the industry and how to be more effective in our jobs, especially how to be more effective communicating to our shipmates as leaders.” “This is a fantastic school,” said Dinnes. “We are fortunate to have it. It was a great vision Paul Hall and the leadership had when they developed it. The school continues being a vital part of U.S. shipping.” Oliver stated, “Every time I come to this school I learn so much. I learn to better appreciate my shipmates, the union and the sacrifices my family makes.” The bosun recertification course blends hands-on training and classroom instruction. It also includes meetings with representatives from the Seafarers Plans and various SIU departments. Topics include fire fighting and other safety training; sealift operations; the amended STCW convention; small arms; computer skills; water survival; other international maritime conventions and more. Given the U.S. Merchant Marine’s role supporting American troops in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, small-arms training in recent years has taken on added importance. Here, Instructor Robbie Springer (left) assists Bosun David Graves during hands-on training. December 2008 Bosun Jose Jimenea (left) assists Unlicensed Apprentice Anthony Badajos. Computer training is part of the recertification course. Seafarers LOG 7 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:45 PM Page 8 Guidance Aims to Facilitate Shore Leave A high-ranking Coast Guard official recently delivered noteworthy comments concerning shore leave for mariners in the United States. U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Brian M. Salerno, assistant commandant for marine safety, security and stewardship, said he knows about problems mariners have experienced when trying to take shore leave or receive visitors in U.S. ports. Some ports have restricted leave and even prevented seafaring ministries from visiting ships, ostensibly in the name of security. According to Salerno, since the implementation in 2004 of certain components of the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA), the Coast Guard has received reports of regulated maritime facilities refusing to grant shore leave to mariners holding properly issued visas. Crew change-outs have been denied, too. The agency has also received reports of chaplains, seafarer welfare organizations and unions being denied access to ships. In some cases, seafarers have been faced with exorbitant transportation rates through facilities for leave or visitation. The Coast Guard further states that in many cases passage was denied for security reasons or fears of safety and liability by the ports. Salerno last month presented a Coast Guard commandant-approved memorandum to captains of the ports throughout the U.S., explaining new guidance. That memo says the agency “specifically urges facility operators and owners to provide means to facilitate shore leave access for mariners and visits to vessels by seafarers’ welfare organizations.” The memo further explains, “Although the acquisition of a valid visa for seafarers does not automatically guarantee access if Customs And Border Protection (CBP) determines that access may compromise security, the denial of access by a regulated facility to those holding a valid visa and having clearance from CBP for the purpose of shore leave as well as the denial of access to representatives of seafarers welfare organizations runs counter to the intent of our regulations. “As a maritime service, the Coast Guard recognizes the importance of shore leave and access to seafarer welfare organizations as an important aspect of maintaining crew morale, readiness and wellbeing. Individuals seeking access through facilities for the purpose of shore leave or for the purpose of providing service to the seafarer community should not find artificial barriers imposed by a minority of facilities within our regulated stakeholder base.” The memo continues, “Regardless of the implementation of the TWIC regulations or the ultimate position taken by the United States on the Monthly Membership Meetings Keep Seafarers Informed on News, Issues Affecting Their Livelihoods Seafarers Identity Document (SID) as proposed in ILO 185, captains of the port should encourage, support, and facilitate vigorously any accommodations at regulated facilities, including but not limited to escort provisions, to make shore leave and access to seafarer welfare organizations possible. These accommodations should not impose an undue burden on the seafarer or seafarers’ welfare organization representative seeking access by way of exorbitant fees, extreme limitations in hours of availability, or other unreasonable restriction to the movements of these persons unless exigent, confirmed security concerns dictate such restriction is necessary. Additionally, in order to obtain greater clarity on the issue the Coast Guard has recently chartered a working group under national maritime security advisory committee to explore the problem and recommend solutions.” Fr. Sinclair Oubre, an SIU member who is president of the Apostleship of the Sea of the United States, described the guidance as “a significant shift by the Coast Guard on shore leave. This new letter shifts the burden more clearly on the facilities to demonstrate why they need to deny shore leave. This is a reversal of the earlier position that in principle did not oppose shore leave, but did not proactively ensure that the facilities allow shore leave.” Attending monthly membership meetings is a key avenue through which Seafarers can remain current on news that directly affects them. Conducted in each SIU hall around the country, these forums keep members aware of key union and maritime issues, many of Summary Annual Report Seafarers Vacation Plan This is a summary of the annual report for the Seafarers Vacation Plan, (Employer Identification No. 13-5602047, Plan No. 503) for the period January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENT The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $20,487,709 as of December 31, 2007 compared to $18,176,080 as of January 1, 2007. During the plan year the plan experienced an increase in its net assets of $2,311,629. This increase includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. During the plan year, the plan had total income of $62,085,737. This income included employer contributions of $60,529,110, realized gains of $447,976 from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $1,081,014. Plan expenses were $59,774,108. These expenses included $6,021,248 in administrative expenses and $53,752,860 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. YOUR RIGHTS TO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; and 2. Assets held for investment. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of: Margaret R. Bowen, Administrator, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746, 301-899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $3.30 for the full report, or $0.15 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan: Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. The report also may be examined at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, D.C. 20210. which could affect their livelihood and those of their family members. Below is the schedule of meetings which will be held in 2009. Each issue of the Seafarers LOG also lists the dates for the next two monthly meetings that have been scheduled for each port. Union Membership Meetings in 2009 Port Traditional Date January February March Piney Point Monday after first Sunday 5 2 2 New York Tuesday after first Sunday 6 3 Philadelphia Wednesday after first Sunday 7 Baltimore Thursday after first Sunday Norfolk April May June July August September October November December 6 4 8 6 3 *8 5 2 7 3 7 5 9 7 4 8 6 3 8 4 4 8 6 10 8 5 9 7 4 9 8 5 5 9 7 11 9 6 10 8 5 10 Thursday after first Sunday 8 5 5 9 7 11 9 6 10 8 5 10 Jacksonville Thursday after first Sunday 8 5 5 9 7 11 9 6 10 8 5 10 San Juan Thursday after first Sunday 8 5 5 9 7 11 9 6 10 8 5 10 Algonac Friday after first Sunday 9 6 6 10 8 12 10 7 11 9 6 11 Boston Friday after first Sunday 9 6 6 10 8 12 10 7 11 9 6 11 Houston Monday after second Sunday 12 9 9 13 11 15 13 10 14 *13 9 14 New Orleans Tuesday after second Sunday 13 10 10 14 12 16 14 11 15 13 10 15 Mobile Wednesday after second Sunday 14 11 11 15 13 17 15 12 16 14 *12 16 Oakland Thursday after second Sunday 15 12 12 16 14 18 16 13 17 15 12 17 Port Everglades Thursday after second Sunday 15 12 12 16 14 18 16 13 17 15 12 17 Joliet Thursday after second Sunday 15 12 12 16 14 18 16 13 17 15 12 17 St. Louis Friday after second Sunday 16 13 13 17 15 19 17 14 18 16 13 18 Honolulu Friday after second Sunday 16 13 13 17 15 19 17 14 18 16 13 18 Wilmington Monday after third Sunday *20 *17 16 20 18 22 20 17 21 19 16 21 Guam Thursday after third Sunday 22 19 19 23 21 25 23 20 24 22 19 24 Tacoma Friday after third Sunday 23 20 20 24 22 26 24 21 25 23 20 *28 *Wilmington changes created by Martin Luther King Day holiday and President’s Day hoilday; *Piney Point change created by Labor Day holiday; *Houston change created by Columbus Day holiday; *Mobile change created by Veterans Day holiday; *Tacoma change created by Christmas Day holiday. 8 Seafarers LOG December 2008 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:45 PM Page 9 Members, Families Volunteer To Help ‘Paint Tacoma Beautiful’ Seafarers recently continued their tradition of giving something back to their community as SIU members and families in Tacoma, Wash., again volunteered to help the Paint Tacoma Beautiful program. Paint Tacoma Beautiful is an annual program through which community members and local organizations pool their resources and volunteer manpower to help those who can’t help themselves. Through that program, 36 SIU members, employees, family members and friends in the Tacoma area washed, scraped, sanded, caulked and painted the home of Charlie McQueen and wife Janet. Altogether, they devoted more than 200 hours of volunteer manpower. For Mr. McQueen, this wasn’t his first interaction with mariners. He was in the U.S. Army during World War II and sailed to Europe for D-Day aboard a Liberty ship. “It was a cramped, long trip but the guys working on the ship made us as comfortable as they could, including us who didn’t have our sea legs,” he explained. “I’m a disabled vet and don’t get around too well and for almost 50 years I’ve been able to paint the house but I can’t anymore, so their help and the program were just great. There were people of all nationalities who drove as many as 60 miles to help. Many of them were just coming back from sea and some were about to go out. When I asked them why they were going out of their way to help, many said, ‘Because I care about my neighbors.’ Imagine that – some drove 60 miles to help others who they didn’t even know. Janet and I are very thankful of these great people and the brotherhood they showed.” Recertified Bosun Ben Born said finding motivation to volunteer for Paint Tacoma Beautiful was easy. “Doing something to help somebody else is a pretty good thing, and we all should do more of it,” said Born, a 33year Seafarer who was joined by his son, AB Billy Born, during the project. “I enjoyed it. The house and garage were in pretty bad shape when we first got there. I’m just glad the union is doing things like this. I really am.” Tacoma Port Agent Joe Vincenzo said of the SIU volunteers, “It takes heart to get out into the community and reach out to people who are on fixed incomes or who have reached a point in their lives when they can no longer do for themselves and spend time with them in their homes. The good will this creates is invaluable and is remarkable.” This is the second straight year that Seafarers have volunteered for the program. The following is a list of SIU members, family and friends who participated in Paint Tacoma Beautiful in 2008: Chief Steward Clark Williams Recertified Steward Amanda Suncin Chief Cook Leslie McGirt Bosun Chris Tizon GUDE Reynaldo Agbulos GUDE Joseph Hilario AB Dante Dizon AB Ben Picar GUDE Saleh Al Ajji Chief Cook Joey Lata AB Rex Simbre Chief Cook Saleh Ahmed Recertified Bosun Ben Born AB Billy Born Recertified Bosun Salvador Villareal GUDE Santos Lopez Recertified Steward Lincoln Pinn GUDE Virgil Todorache Recertified Bosun Paul Cadran reaches above and beyond to help. SIU Tacoma Safety Director Ryan Palmer puts his chipping and scraping skills to the test. Recertified Bosun Ben Born displays his painting technique. GUDE Saleh Al Ajji tackles the top of the job. Recertified Steward Lincoln Pinn GUDE Joseph Hilario reaches new heights when painting. Recertified Bosun Salvador Villareal breaks out the caulk OMU Oscar Luis December 2008 The SIU’s “Paint Tacoma” team worked on the home of a U.S. Army veteran. Chief Cook Lamberto Palamos GUDE Joseph Lacaden Chief Steward Boualem Habib GUDE Henry Egaran Recertified Bosun Paul Cadran SA Rene Caballero OMU Oscar Luis GVA Hernando Basilan STOS Eduardo Jorge Chief Cook Abdul Saleh AB Ausberto Laspinas AB Leo Torrenueva AB Gene Hoehn Sharalea Broin Port Agent Joe Vincenzo Safety Director Ryan Palmer Secretary Brenda Flesner Emilia Flesner Seafarers LOG 9 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:45 PM Page 10 Formally dedicating a monument to mariners outside MSC’s new facilities in Norfolk, Va., are (from left) Rear Adm. Robert Reilly (MSC commander), Steward Utility Yoland St. Clair, AB Terrance Dumas and Jack Taylor, director, Military Sealift Fleet Support Command. CIVMARS Help Dedicate New Complex in Norfolk The SIU participated in a recent ceremony conducted by the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) as the agency dedicated a new headquarters complex at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. – Breezy Point. SIU Government Services Division Representative Maurice Cokes and SIU CIVMARS attended the event, which took place Oct. 30. Approximately 400 people were on hand for the dedication. Rear Adm. Robert Reilly, MSC commander, joined Military Sealift Fleet Support Command Director Jack Taylor to officially dedicate MSFSC’s facilities. According to the agency, this move brings to an end 10 years of MSC’s Tidewater, Va., presence being split between facilities on Naval Station Norfolk and “temporary” offices 28 miles away at Camp Pendleton State Military Reservation in Virginia Beach. MSFSC’s headquarters will provide office space for approximately 450 personnel. As part of the dedication ceremony and in appreciation for the service of civil service mariners, Reilly and Taylor along with CIVMARS AB Terrence Dumas and Steward Utilityman Yoland St. Clair, both of USNS Sacagawea, unveiled a granite monument depicting mariners during an underway replenishment of a Navy combatant ship. The monument, intended as a constant reminder of the dedicated service given by MSC’s mariners, will serve as a focal point and central feature to the new headquarters complex, the agency noted. The text on the monument reads, “We Pay Tribute To United States Merchant Mariners And Their Patriotic Service To Our Navy And Our Nation.” Speaking about mariners, Reilly stated, “It is those people who hoist the colors, stand the watches, and deliver the goods we should remember we are obliged to serve as we occupy these buildings and meet our commitments. That is why we have chosen to grace this location with a commemorative marker here in front of these colors. To remind us of our mission, to recognize those who have served, and those who continue to serve, MSC and our Navy.” April 15 Marks TWIC Deadline for Mariners Although the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has begun enforcing the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program at various U.S. ports, the deadline for credentialed mariners to acquire this new document remains the same: April 15, 2009. In the interim, as reported numerous times, a valid z-card/merchant mariner document is considered sufficient documentation for mariners to comply with the TWIC requirements. The Department of Homeland Security in early November reported that more than 641,000 individuals had pre-enrolled for TWICs, while more than 405,000 cards had been issued. The latter figure is far below the projected 1 million-plus individuals who are estimated to need a TWIC, which has renewed concerns throughout the industry about effective implementation and enforcement. At press time the DHS couldn’t release the number of cards activated because from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3, it had problems in the activation process due to a power outage in its main TWIC processing facility. For more information On the web: www.tsa.gov/twic By phone: TWIC Program Help Desk, 1-866-DHS-TWIC (1-866347-8942) By email: credentialing@dhs.gov Step-by-step instructions ■ Pre-Enroll This can save time at the enrollment center itself. To pre-enroll, individuals must first register for an identification card. at https://twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/TWICWebApp/ Applicants will need to supply basic information including their name, date of birth and country of birth. ■ Gather Documentation As part of the TWIC application process, individual applicants must supply documentation verifying their identity. A list of acceptable documents was printed on page 4 of the January edition of the Seafarers LOG and is available on the TSA’s TWIC web site. ■ Enroll Applicants may enroll at any of the agency’s enrollment centers, at which time they must pay the TWIC fee of $132.50 (or the reduced fee of $105.25, if applying for a TWIC that expires in conjunction with a merchant mariner document). Applicants will provide fingerprints and be photographed as well as provide personal information. ■ Pick up TWIC Applicants must return to the same enrollment center to pick up their credential. They will be notified by email or phone (as specified during enrollment) when the card is ready. The individual TWIC will be activated, and the cardholder will select a corresponding PIN number. Health Care, Life Insurance Reminders to CIVMARS This is the time of the year that talk about federal government health, life insurance and retirement programs abounds. Civil service mariners are reminded that they must be enrolled in the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) program for at least five years prior to retirement in order to carry it into retirement and ensure Uncle Sam continues to pay its share into their golden years as long they are enrolled. However, this doesn’t mean they have to stay in the same specific health care plan as long as they are enrolled in the overall program. Spouses do not have to be enrolled five years preceding retirement and can be enrolled at any time, even after retirement, as long as the spouse is enrolled prior to death of the sponsor. If a member is enrolled as a family member on the FEHB policy of a spouse, that time counts 10 Seafarers LOG toward the five-year requirement. Additionally, enrollment time in the military’s Tricare program is viewed as equivalent to FEHB and that time counts toward the five years. The Federal Employees Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) program also has a five-year requirement, but it is different from that of the FEHB. The life insurance program does not have annual regularly scheduled open seasons to make changes. (The life insurance program’s latest open period was in 2004.) Unlike the FEHB, if an FEGLI policy is changed by a member during an open season and a member modifies his or her plan, the “clock” on the fiveyear requirement would start over. Detailed information on these benefits and others is available on the web at:www.opm.gov/insure/ Reaching this moment came after many years of work on the project. Renovation work began, on paper, on the three buildings at Breezy Point in 2000. The project was put on hold, in the aftermath of 9/11, while additional force protection issues were addressed, to include the installation of explosive-proof glass for 250 windows and moving the 350-car parking lot at least 50 feet from the three buildings. Further delays came in 2003 due to severe damage caused by Hurricane Isabel. The first of the three buildings was occupied in July 2008, while the majority of personnel moves occurred in September and October. The last of the buildings was scheduled to be occupied in November. Boilermakers Report Big Win at NASSCO Union Members Ratify Contract, Settle Lawsuit at San Diego Shipyard Members of Boilermakers Local 1998 won a major victory earlier this year when they unanimously ratified an agreement with the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), thereby ending a decade-long dispute. The union – affiliated with the SIU through the AFLCIO Maritime Trades Department (MTD) – reported that their members who are production and maintenance employees based at the San Diego shipyard had been without a labor contract for the past 16 years. According to Warren Fairly, vice president of the international union and an MTD executive board member, the company’s main impetus for reaching an agreement was to resolve a lawsuit filed by the union on behalf of the 2,300 workers employed at the shipyard. Fairly, who heads the Boilermakers’ industrial sector, said that the five-year contract “recognizes fundamental union rights as well as significant wage improvements for NASSCO employees.” The contract also contains a $5.2 million infusion into the workers’ pension plan. The union and the company also agreed that Local 1998 members would recoup $14 million for lost meal and break periods. “This settlement and agreement place the Boilermakers union and members of Local 1998 in a position to build a strong, viable local lodge,” said Boilermakers President Newton B. Jones. “It has been a long time coming, but the perseverance of these workers has paid off, and now they will truly be able to enjoy the benefits of union membership. This is a proud day for these members, Local 1998 President Bobby Godinez, and the International officers and staff who have worked so hard over the years on behalf of the NASSCO workers.” NASSCO designs, builds and repairs auxiliary ships for the U.S. Navy and tankers covered under the Jones Act. More than 15 years ago, production and maintenance employees there formed an independent union — the Shipyard Workers Union. The union merged with the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers in 2003. December 2008 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:45 PM Page 11 Seafarers Mobilize For Labor 2008 SIU Gets Out The Vote During Labor 2008 F rom coast to coast, active and retired Seafarers and their families participated in “Labor 2008” – the trade union movement’s voter education and mobilization program. SIU members volunteered considerable time and effort in supporting not only the union-endorsed team of Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Joe Biden, but also other pro-maritime, pro-worker candidates in federal, state and local elections. The results, as detailed elsewhere in this edition, collectively were a great win for America’s working families. Union households played key, often decisive roles in one contest after another. Pictured on the following four pages are SIU members and others taking part in rallies, phone banks and “labor walks” during the last few weeks before Election Day. Also shown is a reproduction of a letter from SIU President Michael Sacco to active and retired Seafarers in which he thanks them for their tireless, selfless, vital work. Seafarers take part in an Employee Free Choice Act rally in Detroit. The SIU’s voluntary political action fund remains an important part of promoting not just the union but the American-flag fleet as a whole. The SPAD T-shirt above carried the message in Lakeland, Fla. SIU Government Services Division Representative Maurice Cokes attends a rally in Norfolk, Va. Supporters in New Hampshire demonstrate their enthusiasm for the Obama-Biden ticket. AB Dan Thompson (left in the photo at far left) discusses the election with a retiree from the Amalgamated Transit Union in Richmond, Va. An SIU contingent (left) lines up en route to an event in Tacoma. In the photo above, unlicensed apprentices take part in labor walks in Richmond, Va. December 2008 Seafarers LOG 11 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:46 PM Page 12 LABOR 2008 Seafarers Launch Full-Scale Mobilization To Help Secure Election Win For Working Fami November 5, 2008 September 5, 200 Dear DearSeafarer: SIU Brothers and Sisters: For the past 20 years, I have been fortunate to ser I write to congratulate you and thank and you proud for your g greatest union in the world: the Seafarers International Union. In a pro-maritime candidates in this year’s elections. That inclu like this one to our rank-and-file members or retirees. But, these are SPAD, which remains vital to our union. Merchant Marine, and that’s why I’m asking for your support of pr his campaign for president. As you may know, organized labor as a whole put to mobilization the country to back the candidates Enclosedall is across a letter from the Obama Campaign spelling out working families. The SIU (and affiliated unions) playe most important to our livelihoods in our the SIU – namely, the Jones A mobilization, especially the so-called states Maritime Security Program.inSenator Obama’sbattleground rock-solid stance sup makes him an obvious choice for the SIU’s presidential endorsemen August.The (Theelection AFL-CIO also recently endorsed Senator Obama.) results – not just for the presidency but and local elections – are a great affirmation of the labor m As many of you know, SIUthe traditionally does not take p We made a difference. Youthe made difference. making an endorsement. We’ve always had friends on both sides of the principle we support those who maritime. But In this We allthat know that our work is support never finished. I wc factor at all. The bottom line is that Senator Obama has come out s of the entire executive board for your outstanding, energet while his opponent has not offered such support. Day. I understand the sacrifices involved in attending the r banks,On participating in “labor walks” doing military whatever e a personal note, I respect Senatorand McCain’s reco Your volunteerism is deeply appreciated. country. But, our political support is based on each candidate’s stan easy choice. Senator Obama departs from the stage. Again, thank you and congratulations. While we will believePlease the election results news for from the SIU, fo take a minute to signal read thegood enclosed letter the Oba with family and encourage them to “get out the v as a your whole, andand forfriends, America’s working families. depends on it. Fraternally, Michael Sacco President Sen. Joe Biden heads to the stage at an EFCA rally in Tacoma, Wash. 12 Seafarers LOG December 2008 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:46 PM Page 13 tioon Faamilies 082008 5, to serve as president of what consider the our grassroots support of Ipro-labor, n. In all that time, I have never sent a letter includes your continued support of ese are absolutely crucial times for the U.S. of pro-maritime Senator Barack Obama in ut together an unprecedented supportposition America’s gates out who the senator’s on the issues played significant roleand in the that nes Act, acargo preference, U.S. states. ce supporting the U.S. Merchant Marine sement, which the union issued in midma.) y but also for congressional, state The crowd in Tacoma included many SIU members. or movement’s collective strength. ake party affiliation into consideration when des of the aisle, and we’ve always lived by case, party affiliation is not a tthis I wanted to thank youonce on again behalf e out strongly in support of our core issues, ergetic efforts right through Election the rallies, manning the phone ever else and it takes to get out the vote. y record long history of service to our ’s stance on maritime. In that light, this is an e will take nothing for granted, I U,Obama for theCampaign. U.S. Merchant Marine he Share this information the vote” on Election Day. Our future , acco Supporters in Detroit (photo above) await Senator Obama’s arrival. In photo at left, Sen. Barack Obama—who has strongly voiced his backing of the U.S. Merchant Marine—speaks to the crowd in Detroit. December 2008 Seafarers LOG 13 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:47 PM Page 14 Seafarers Mobilize For Labor 2008 In Tacoma, Wash., Chief Steward Cynthia Caster (above) gives a “thumbs up” while speaking with a fellow union member about the importance of voting in the presidential election. Personnel from a number of unions including the SIU and its affiliated United Industrial Workers (photo at right) help get out of the vote in Wilmington, Calif. Those pictured include Jason Stutes, Thomas Wybo, Nick Rios, Guadalupe Murillo, Herb Perez, Emiliano Garcia, Eve Sullivan, Henry Commanger and Steve Bowmer. Seafarers in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., during the last weeks before Election Day were involved in a number of events. Clockwise from the left, Seafarers participated in rallies as well as labor walks. In photo at right, SIU Safety Director Kevin Marchand and Sheena McCleary from the state labor federation are ready for the next getout-the-vote event. Seafarers and other union members in New Orleans leave no doubt about whom they support. Seafarers and officials are joined by U.S. Reps. Gene Green (left), Sheila Jackson Lee (third from left) and Nick Lampson (third from right) at a get-out-the-vote event at Discovery Green Park in downtown Houston. Seafarers and other volunteers (photo above) show up at the sign shop in Harris County, Texas, to help boost the prospects of candidates who support America’s working families. In the photo at right, Seafarers are pictured at the Harris County, Texas, Democratic Party headquarters building. Among those in the photo are James Wheat, Leonilo Arano, Ursel “Buddy” Barber, A. Arzu, Omaha Redda, Paul Wade, Shwe Tun Aung and Mike Russo. 14 Seafarers LOG December 2008 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:52 PM Page 15 Prescription Meds Reminder When a Seafarer is at the hiring hall and a job comes up, usually there is no problem making it to the ship within the span of a few hours. But when medication is a concern, the situation may become a bit more problematic. With the current prescription mail order program (Prescription Solutions), Seafarers can get 90 days’ worth of their maintenance medicines, which is usually adequate. But if they are going to be on a ship for six months, for example, and have only a 30-day supply of medicine on hand, what can they do? There is no perfect solution in this case. However, if they want to take the job and they do need a drug refill, there are a couple options. Time is of the essence in taking a pierhead jump. A member can obtain a prescription override form at the port office for required medications, immediately call their doctor and have him or her call in a new prescription to a nearby participating pharmacy, and then pick it up. As a last resort for late evening or weekend pierhead jumps, the member can call his or her doctor for the required medication, pick it up, pay for it out of pocket and then submit the receipt to the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP) for reimbursement. It may happen that the doctor is not in the office that particular day, but by already having developed a relationship with one’s caregiver, this should not be a problem. The Seafarer should communicate with his or her doctor beforehand, finding out the best way to contact the doctor after hours and on weekends in such cases. That could eliminate problems such as the one involving a pierhead jump. The SHBP will do what it can to assist each SIU member in this predicament, but, ultimately, it is the responsibility of every Seafarer to be ready to take a shipboard job when it comes along. And that means being prepared by having the names, addresses and telephone numbers of their doctors and local pharmacies as well as a list of the medications they take. The bottom line is that Seafarers who take prescription medications should plan ahead and do everything within reason to ensure they’ve got an adequate supply for the entire voyage. Personals Donna and Adrienne Cameron (daughters of Don and Joe Cameron) want to get in touch with the following individuals: Murphy Brown, Lugi Simcich, Don Mason and Red Pensiski. The Camerons can be reached at (503) 331-1306, P.O. Box 18097, Portland OR 97218-0097 AB Scott Alan Stokes Your sister Tracey asks that you contact her by phone at either (951) 217-6588 or (951) 579-4534 or via email at venture567@gmail.com January & February 2009 Membership Meetings Piney Point..........................Monday: January 5, February 2 Algonac ................................Friday: January 9, February 6 Baltimore.........................Thursday: January 8, February 5 Boston ..................................Friday: January 9, February 6 Guam..................Thursday: January 22, February 19 Honolulu ........................... Friday: January 16, February 13 Houston.............................Monday: January 12, February 9 Jacksonville..................... Thursday: January 8, February 5 Joliet...............................Thursday: January 15, February 12 Mobile.........................Wednesday: January 14, February 11 New Orleans...........................Tuesday: January 13, February 10 New York.............................Tuesday: January 6, February 3 Norfolk.............................Thursday: January 8, February 5 Oakland ..........................Thursday: January 15, February 12 Philadelphia...................Wednesday: January 7, February 4 Port Everglades ..............Thursday: January 15, February 12 San Juan ...........................Thursday: January 8, February 5 St. Louis ..............................Friday: January 16, February 13 Tacoma................................Friday: January 23, February 20 Wilmington...........................Tuesday: January 20*, February 17* (*Changes created by Martin Luther King Day holiday and Presidents’ Day holiday) Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. December 2008 Dispatchers’ Repor t for Deep Sea October 16, 2008 — November 15, 2008 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals Totals DECK DEPARTMENT 1 2 2 4 1 0 3 6 0 1 1 5 7 2 2 11 0 1 8 3 1 0 5 15 1 6 33 18 0 13 10 33 12 25 2 0 7 3 29 27 2 3 4 4 4 3 21 12 1 3 5 16 20 12 4 3 5 6 16 15 0 0 0 1 1 0 5 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 6 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 10 0 3 22 14 0 5 5 21 6 12 2 0 6 1 21 13 4 1 12 14 5 15 69 58 1 17 33 75 23 37 5 1 10 1 67 39 5 7 4 21 6 16 42 44 4 11 15 57 24 25 11 11 15 8 46 31 1 4 2 6 3 0 4 7 0 3 5 13 8 4 3 5 1 1 9 11 265 228 60 240 159 23 142 487 403 90 0 0 2 9 1 8 16 17 1 6 5 23 8 8 2 1 1 1 12 14 3 2 2 5 3 1 11 19 0 5 2 14 14 8 1 3 3 2 11 10 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 3 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 135 120 17 ENGINE DEPARTMENT Totals Totals All Departments 0 0 3 9 0 7 12 11 0 6 5 10 7 2 0 0 0 1 10 9 1 1 3 2 1 0 6 11 1 4 1 7 10 5 1 3 4 1 11 9 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 4 0 4 9 10 0 1 0 6 2 2 0 0 0 0 10 3 0 0 3 12 2 11 28 36 2 6 14 31 14 17 4 1 6 1 27 19 3 3 5 13 5 4 21 30 0 6 5 22 23 13 1 1 7 6 27 17 0 1 1 2 2 1 2 2 0 1 1 3 7 3 0 0 1 1 5 3 92 83 8 53 234 212 36 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 3 0 1 4 0 12 17 18 0 2 5 15 7 25 2 3 3 0 21 16 1 2 1 3 1 6 7 4 0 2 2 7 7 1 0 2 1 2 4 8 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 154 61 7 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C 3 4 3 5 6 9 30 20 3 6 8 32 14 19 8 3 7 6 25 17 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs 2 1 7 8 3 6 33 31 1 7 15 37 13 27 3 1 6 0 33 31 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 1 0 1 8 0 6 16 14 0 2 6 15 5 12 0 2 2 0 9 16 0 0 0 3 0 2 7 2 0 1 1 3 5 1 0 0 1 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 11 4 0 0 0 7 2 6 0 0 0 0 6 8 3 0 2 11 4 15 32 30 0 6 9 28 14 37 5 2 2 0 30 35 3 2 1 12 4 6 11 12 0 5 5 15 19 6 1 2 3 3 6 13 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 3 0 1 0 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 5 115 32 4 50 265 130 18 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 1 0 1 0 0 1 5 3 0 2 0 9 1 4 0 0 0 0 9 4 0 2 1 4 3 8 19 11 0 5 5 15 12 14 0 2 3 0 14 9 2 0 0 7 0 5 8 14 1 3 2 6 17 6 0 25 0 0 4 10 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 2 0 2 4 5 0 0 17 12 0 2 3 6 9 12 0 0 0 0 12 6 1 0 0 1 0 3 6 3 0 0 1 1 2 4 0 18 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 5 5 0 2 1 15 1 8 0 0 0 0 9 6 2 1 2 11 6 11 37 28 1 8 8 52 26 17 0 3 9 1 22 20 5 1 1 16 1 10 7 25 2 10 2 18 31 15 1 10 0 0 10 18 40 127 110 14 90 42 0 56 265 183 594 536 194 461 364 77 245 1042 1010 327 Seafarers LOG 15 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:52 PM Page 16 Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 3328, Hagatna, Guam 96932 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 SHBP Offers Scholarships for Members, Dependents Eight scholarships are available to Seafarers, their spouses and dependent children who are planning to further their education during the 2009 school year. Made available through the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP), the scholarships collectively are designed to ease the financial challenges associated with attending college and vocational schools. Three of the awards are reserved specifically for SIU members. One is in the amount of $20,000 and is targeted for a student who plans on studying at a four-year college or university. The other two are for $6,000 each and are intended as two-year awards for study at a postsecondary community college or vocational school. The remaining five endowments— each in the amount of $20,000—will be awarded to the spouses and dependent children of Seafarers. To be considered for each of these funding opportunities, interested individuals need only apply; SHBP officials say now is an ideal time to start the application process. The first step in this procedure is to request a copy of the 2009 SHBP Scholarship Program booklet. To receive a copy of this guide, interested individuals should fill out the form below and return it to the address provided. Once the scholarship booklet has been received, applicants should then check the eligibility information. If eligible, applicants should then start collecting some of the other paperwork which must Please send me the 2009 SHBP Scholarship Program booklet which contains eligibility information, procedures for applying and a copy of the application form. Name ...................................................................................................................................................... Mariner’s Social Security Number ........................................................................................................ Street Address ........................................................................................................................................ City, State, Zip Code ............................................................................................................................. Telephone Number ..........( This application is for: )........................................................................................................... Self Dependent Mail this completed form to: Scholarship Program Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 12/08 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 be submitted along with the full application. All application packages must be completed and mailed back to the SHBP Scholarship Program Office by April 15, 2009. Among the items required are transcripts and certificates of graduation. Since schools are often quite slow in handling transcript requests, applicants are encouraged to request these items at their earliest possible convenience. The sooner these requests are made, the better. Another part of the application package includes letters of recommendation solicited from individuals who know the applicant’s character, personality and career goals. Photographs of the applicant as well certified copies of their birth certificates also need to be included. Once all packages have been received by the SHBP Scholarship Program Office, they will be examined and evaluated by a scholarship selection committee. This group, consisting of a panel of professional educators, will review the high school grades of all applicants as well as evaluate scores from their Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) and American College Tests (ACT). Accordingly, arrangements should be made by applicants who have not done so to take these tests no later than February 2009. Doing so will virtually assure that the results reach the evaluation committee in time for review. Seafarers and dependents who previously applied for the scholarship program and were not selected are encouraged to apply again this year, provided they still meet the eligibility requirements. Don’t allow the rapidly increasing costs of higher education prevent you from realizing your goals—the SHBP Scholarship Program can make a real difference. Pic-From-The-Past NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 16 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 This photo appeared in the April 15, 1955 Seafarers LOG. Shown are Seafarers from the Del Sud as they unwind at a dockside canteen in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1940. Pictured (from the left) are Joe Martello, Danny Byrnes, Percy Boyer, Eddie Parr and Frenchy Mouton. The individual (whose name is not known) third from the left is a local shoemaker who joined the mariners for refreshments. WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with other Seafarers LOG readers, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. High-resolution digital images may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org Seafarers LOG December 2008 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:53 PM Page 17 Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. Welcome Ashore DEEP SEA Lombard calls Dothan, Ala., home. GEORGE KEBLIS JOHN PARKER Brother John Parker, 65, donned the SIU colors in 1968. Brother Parker originally shipped on the Wayne Victory. The deck department member was born in Georgia. In 1972, Brother Parker attended classes at the Seafarersaffiliated school in Piney Point, Md. His final trip to sea was aboard the Point Revere. Brother Parker resides in Jacksonville, Fla. We’ve Heard of Shipboard Security, but this is Ridiculous Brother George Keblis, 65, joined the SIU in 1991 in the port of Wilmington, Calif. Brother Keblis initially sailed on the Gemini. He was born in Brownsville, Pa. Brother Keblis, who sailed in the deck department, enhanced his skills on numerous occasions at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. His final voyage was aboard the Liberator. Brother Keblis is a resident of Hemet, Calif. DANIEL KRESCONKO Brother Daniel Kresconko, 65, started shipping with the Seafarers in 1991. Brother Kresconko first went to sea on the Diamond State as a member of the engine department. The New Yorkborn mariner upgraded frequently at the Piney Point school. Brother Kresconko most recently worked aboard the 1st Lt. Jack Lummus. He makes his home in South Daytona, Fla. WARREN LOMBARD III Brother Warren Lombard III, 52, became a union member in 1980 while in Piney Point, Md. Brother Lombard was born in Louisiana and sailed in the steward department. His first voyage was on the Virgo. Brother Lombard often took advantage of the educational opportunities available at the Paul Hall Center. He was last employed aboard the ATB Freeport. Brother HERMAN REYNOLDS Brother Herman Reynolds, 62, began sailing with the Seafarers in 1990. Brother Reynolds’ first ship was the USNS Pollux; his most recent was the USNS Dahl. He was born in Chattanooga, Tenn. Brother Reynolds was a member of the deck department. He attended the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md., in 2001. Brother Reynolds lives in Whitehall, Pa. DAVID ROJAS Brother David Rojas, 71, joined the SIU ranks in 1964. He initially sailed on the Steel Design. Brother Rojas worked as a member of the engine department. His last voyage was aboard the Economy. Brother Rojas is a resident of Destin, Fla. JOHN SCHOENSTEIN Brother John Schoenstein, 59, started shipping with the union in 1968 while in the port of New York. Brother Schoenstein’s first trip was on the Manhattan. The deck department member was born in New York. Brother Schoenstein enhanced his seafaring abilities numerous times at the Seafarers-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. His most recent This Month In SIU History 1940 The Seafarers International Union remained undefeated in representation elections by winning a National Labor Relations Board election aboard Calmar Line ships by a vote of 323-9. Of 340 seamen who voted, only nine voted against the union and eight ballots were ruled invalid by the board. The lopsided victory was the third recent success for December 2008 Despite appearances, this photo from the Seafarers-crewed Tyco Dependable doesn’t signal a return to the grim days when U.S. mariners were treated as virtual prisoners. Instead, Seafarers (from left) AB John Cedeno, Bosun Sanyboy Whiting, OS Richard Murray and AB Paa Kwakye are showing off their Halloween costumes while the vessel is in Europe installing fiber-optic cable. voyage was aboard the SLMP-993 Oakland. Brother Schoenstein settled in North Las Vegas, Nev. CARLOS SOTO Brother Carlos Soto, 65, began his SIU career in 1970. Brother Soto initially shipped with Michigan Tankers Inc. He was born in Puerto Rico and worked in the deck department. Brother Soto upgraded his skills often at the Piney Point school. His final voyage took place aboard the Maersk Arkansas. Brother Soto makes his home in Palm Bay, Fla. INLAND ROBERT DOLLIVER Brother Robert Dolliver, 56, became a union member in 1978 while in the port of Wilmington, Calif. Brother Dolliver is a Virginia native. He originally sailed in the deck department of a Lynnhaven Services vessel. In 1998, Brother Dolliver attended classes at the Paul Hall Center. His last trip to sea was with South Bay Barge Inc. Brother Dolliver calls Long Beach, Calif., home. LARRY FLOWERS Brother Larry Flowers, 65, was born in North Carolina. Brother Flowers donned the SIU colors in 1977. He primarily shipped with C.S. Willis Inc. Brother Flowers now resides in Hobucken, N.C. RICHARD FORREST Brother Richard Forrest, 62, joined the union in 1967 while in the port of New York. Brother Forrest visited the Piney Point school on three occasions to enhance his seafaring abilities. His first voyage was aboard the the SIU in representation elections to represent seamen working aboard P&O and Baltimore Insular Line ships. The fact that the SIU has never lost a representation election in the two years since the union was founded shows that working seamen consider it the best organization to represent their interests. 1949 Certified by the NLRB as collective bargaining agent for nine Cities Service Oil Company tankers, the SIU immediately called upon the company to enter negotiations for a contract covering the company’s unlicensed personnel. The contract will culminate two years of effort by the SIU to obtain union wages, conditions and security for Cities Service seamen. The company began firing crew members by the shipload at the end of each voyage as the election drew near, but the replacements hired recognized the need for union representation and voted for the SIU. The company’s attitude was scored by the NLRB: “… it ill behooves the employer to file objections stemming principally from its own recalcitrance.” Western Comet. Brother Forrest was born in Pennsylvania and sailed in the deck department. He was last employed with Maritrans Operating Company. Brother Forrest is a resident of Scotrun, Pa. GREAT LAKES LARRY WILCOX Brother Larry Wilcox, 62, started shipping with the SIU in 1998 in Detroit. Brother Wilcox mainly sailed on Luedtke Engineering Company vessels. In 2001, he took advantage of educational opportunities available at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Brother Wilcox was a member of the deck department. He lives in his native state of Minnesota. 1962 SIU member James McLaughlin was walking to his Boston home when he saw a mother holding her six-monthold son out of a third-floor window to protect him from fire and smoke. The mother’s arms were shaking and weakening when McLauglin ran below window. As he did, the mother lost hold of the child. McLauglin then grabbed the child in his arms and fell backward to further cushion its fall. The child survived in fine condition but the mother suffered from smoke inhalation and burns suffered as she sheltered the child. 1993 Seafarers aboard the integrated tug-barge ITB Groton rescued seven Cuban refugees they spotted amidst heavy seas 30 miles north of Cuba. The refugees were afloat on a homemade raft consisting of eight inner-tubes held together with steel wire. The refugees were at sea for seven days and had not eaten in that time nor had water for several days. They told the crew the only provisions they took with them included two air pumps for the inner-tubes, some water, a lemon and some raw fish. Seafarers LOG 17 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:53 PM Page 18 Final Depar tures DEEP SEA SHIRLEY ADKINS Sister Shirley Adkins, 70, passed away Aug. 18. She became an SIU member in 1989. Sister Adkins was born in Whitesburg, Ky., and sailed in the steward department. Her first ship was the USNS Invincible; her last the USNS Soderman. Sister Adkins was a resident of Jacksonville, Fla. RONNIE BOND Brother Ronnie Bond, 58, died Aug. 23. He joined the Seafarers in 1967 while in the port of New Orleans. Brother Bond initially shipped aboard the Margaret Brown. The engine department member was born in Mississippi. Brother Bond most recently worked on the USNS Bellatrix. He continued to live in his native state. JACK DIXON Pensioner Jack Dixon, 72, passed away Aug. 17. He first donned the SIU colors in 1964. Brother Dixon’s first voyage was aboard the Los Angeles. He last sailed in the engine department of the Patriot. Brother Dixon retired in 2000 and made his home in England. O.C. JACOBS Pensioner O.C. Jacobs, 84, died Sept. 20. Brother Jacobs was born in Louisiana. He started sailing with the MC&S (Marine Cooks & Stewards) prior to that union’s merger into the SIU. Brother Jacobs worked in the steward department. His final voyage took place on the Delta America. Brother Jacobs went on pension in 1979 and called Antioch, Calif., home. ANTHONY NOTTURNO Pensioner Anthony Notturno, 84, passed away Sept. 1. Brother Notturno joined the SIU ranks in 1951. He initially shipped with Cabin Tanker Inc. 18 Seafarers LOG as a member of the deck department. Brother Notturno was born in Philadelphia. Before his retirement in 1986, he sailed aboard the Oakland. Brother Notturno resided in Villas, N.J. LARRY RUST Pensioner Larry Rust, 62, died Oct. 3. Brother Rust began shipping with the MC&S in 1970 while in the port of San Francisco. He was born in Rice Lake, Wisc., and worked in the steward department. Brother Rust’s final trip to sea was on the President Polk. He started collecting his pension in 1981 and lived in Houston. GENE SEXTON Pensioner Gene Sexton, 81, passed away Oct. 10. Brother Sexton became a Seafarer in 1956 while in the port of New Orleans. His first voyage was aboard a Seatrain Lines Inc. vessel. Brother Sexton was born in Tennessee. He last sailed in the deck department of the USNS Algol. Brother Sexton was a resident of Spring City, Tenn. He retired in 1987. CHARLIE WILLIAMS Pensioner Charlie Williams, 79, died Aug. 26. Brother Williams donned the SIU colors in 1966. He originally sailed with Waterman Steamship Corporation. Brother Williams was born in the Philippines. He shipped in the engine department. Brother Williams’ most recent voyage was aboard the Cape Carthage. He continued to reside in the Philippines. Brother Williams went on pension in 1995. MOODY WILLIS Pensioner Moody Willis, 87, passed away Aug. 22. Brother Willis started sailing with the union in 1948. His first ship was the McKettrick; his last the Boston. Brother Willis was a member of the engine department. He began his retirement in 1981 and made his home in Virginia. INLAND FRANCIS O’NEILL Pensioner Francis O’Neill, 75, died Oct. 4. Brother O’Neill was born in Philadelphia. He joined the SIU in 1957. Brother O’Neill initially sailed with Taylor Marine Towing Company. He called West Chester, Pa., home and started receiving his retirement compensation in 1998. GREAT LAKES EUGENE DAOUST Pensioner Eugene Daoust, 74, passed away Oct. 5. Brother Daoust, a member of the engine department, began sailing with the Seafarers in 1953 from the port of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He originally shipped with Inland Lakes Management. Brother Daoust was born in Alpena, Mich. He most recently sailed aboard an American Steamship Company vessel. Brother Daoust went on pension in 1979. He continued to live in Michigan. JOSEPH DEVOGEL Pensioner Joseph Devogel, 78, died Sept. 21. Brother Devogel signed on with the Seafarers in 1958 while in the port of Duluth, Minn. His earliest voyage was with Tomlinson Fleet Corporation. Brother Devogel sailed in the deck department. His final trip to sea was on the JAW Iglehart. Brother Devogel continued to reside in his native state of Wisconsin. He became a pensioner in 1992. JOSEPH SEVIGNEY Pensioner Joseph Sevigney, 86, passed away Aug. 5. Brother Sevigney first donned the SIU colors in 1952 while in the port of Detroit. He sailed in the engine department, originally aboard a Bulk Transport Inc. vessel. Brother Sevigney’s last voyage was on the Steel T. Crapo. He was born in New Hampshire but settled in Alpena, Mich. Brother Sevigney retired in 1987. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU), have passed away. Name Apshire, Lonnie Baerga, Juan Burda, Stanley Butler, Jesse Diaz, Cecilio Dingwall, David Durant-Bey, Charles Flores, Antonio Frazer, Frank Gillis, Alfred Gully, Willie Hernandez, Carlos Hsiez, Ming Jenkins, Robert Lima, Carlos Lindo, Carlton Martinez, Ezequiel Marvin, Clifford Montgomery, Winfred Motley, John Ramos, Manuel Resendez, Manuel Tedesco, Victor White, Charles Whitley, Willie Wiggins, Willie Wood, Samuel Woodley, Harold Age 66 84 92 85 86 88 77 79 82 84 84 90 94 86 93 88 95 83 85 80 91 82 80 68 83 91 81 103 DOD October 14 September 2 October 11 October 3 September 15 September 24 August 17 September19 October 15 October 2 September 30 September 16 September 22 October 13 September 21 September 19 October 6 September 27 October 5 October 10 October 5 September 22 October 15 September 19 October 4 September 20 September 18 September 25 December 2008 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:53 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings VIRGINIAN (Sealift Tankships Inc.), Aug. 31 – Chairman Laurentis Colbert, Secretary Leanne Smith, Deck Delegate Timothy Squires, Engine Delegate Michael Brown. Chairman reported successful voyage and reviewed ship’s itinerary. Discussion was held regarding requirements for medical benefits. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made for another washer and dryer due to increased usage while military personnel are aboard. Next port: Souda, Crete, Greece. ITB NEW YORK (USS Transport), Sept. 21 – Chairman Calvin M. Miles, Secretary Milton M. Yournett, Educational Director Ronnie L. Day Jr., Deck Delegate Kelvin W. Johnson, Steward Delegate William H. Kane. Chairman reminded departing crew to leave rooms and showers clean for mariners coming aboard. Secretary thanked crew for helping keep house clean. Educational director asked all Seafarers to check expiration date on z-card. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion was made to increase pension benefits. Steward department was thanked for a job well done. Next ports: Tampa, Fla. and Corpus Christi, Texas. OCEAN ATLAS (Pacific Gulf Marine), Sept. 21 – Chairman Jerry Borucki, Secretary Ronald D. Jones, Deck Delegate Christopher Bryant, Engine Delegate John J. Leahey. Chairman noted smooth sailing and reminded mariners to act in a responsible manner aboard vessel and ashore. Educational director advised members to keep necessary seafaring documents current. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made for direct deposit. SULPHUR ENTERPRISE (Central Gulf Marine), Sept. 30 – Chairman Jesse L. Mixon, Secretary Darryl K. Goggins, Educational Director Glenn G. Barnes, Deck Delegate Shaun C. Liles, Engine Delegate Juan Marin, Steward Delegate Audrey Brown. Chairman talked about TWIC cards and suggested mariners read the Seafarers LOG to stay informed of the latest information. Secretary urged those getting off vessel to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen. Educational director encouraged members to take advantage of LNG classes offered at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew expressed gratitude to the steward department for the extra effort they put in. Next port: Galveston, Texas. The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships’ minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. FLORIDA (Maersk Line Limited), Oct. 5 – Chairman Thomas W. Grosskurth, Secretary Daniel L. Wehr, Deck Delegate Monroe G. Monseur, Engine Delegate Robert Laidler, Steward Delegate Alfrancis M. Bauzon. Bosun announced payoff Oct. 10 in Charleston, S.C. He reported a smooth, safe trip. Educational director urged crew to check out what the union-affiliated school had to offer and keep documents current. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion was made to decrease time required to qualify for pension benefits and increase pension amounts to meet cost of living increases. Vote of thanks given to the steward department. Next port: Charleston, S.C. MAERSK GEORGIA (Maersk Line Limited), Oct. 1 – Chairman Brian P. Corbett, Secretary Kristin L. Krause, Educational Director Roy S. Frett Jr., Deck Delegate Arsenio I. Obenza, Engine Delegate Vince T. Cueva, Steward Delegate Rudolf Gibson. Chairman discussed ship’s itinerary, including scheduled boarding by U.S. Coast Guard personnel in Newark, N.J. Educational director advised mariners to check z-cards and apply for TWIC card as soon as possible, since deadline for mariners is in April 2009. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made for better e- mail system for privacy. Crew discussed current engine-department ratings and duties. MAERSK VIRGINIA (Maersk Line Limited), Oct. 5 – Chairman John J. Williamson, Secretary Alexander Banky III, Educational Director Rahul Bagchi. Chairman announced payoff in Newark, N.J., on March 13. He reminded Seafarers that have yet to get their TWIC card to apply soon as time is running out. He noted they will not be able to ship without it. Secretary urged members to vote in union elections. He also advised them to read the Seafarers LOG to stay informed of changes to benefit and shipping rules as they may occur. Mariners were encouraged to contribute to SPAD (Seafarers Political Activity Donation). Educational director encouraged crew members to enhance their seafaring abilities at the Piney Point school. Treasurer stated $1,240 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. It was reported that dryer on E deck was not working properly. Steward department was thanked for great meals. Next ports: Newark, N.J.; Norfolk, Va.; and Charleston, S.C. OVERSEAS DILIGENCE (OSG Ship Management), Oct. 7 – Chairman Reggie A. Watkins, Secretary Mary L. Smith, Educational Director Geoffrey P. Denesse, Steward Delegate Kenneth R. Kelly. Chairman emphasized the importance of following instructions the first time they are given. Secretary thanked crew members for their efforts in keeping house clean. Educational director recommended Seafarers visit the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md., to upgrade skills. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew discussed use of sailing board. WESTWARD VENTURE (Interocean American Shipping), Oct. 12 – Chairman Randal E. Evans Jr., Secretary Robert S. Davis, Educational Director Randy D. Slue, Deck Delegate Carl W. Davis, Steward Delegate Stephen E. Johnson. Chairman announced payoff Oct. 18 in Charleston, S.C. He asked members to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen. Secretary advised crew to read the Seafarers LOG and check the bulletin board for new postings. Educational director urged mariners to upgrade skills often at the Paul Hall Center. He suggested applying early for TWIC cards to avoid rush as April 2009 is approaching quickly. Beef reported in the deck department; no disputed OT. Inquiry was made concerning reimbursement of baggage fees. Next port: Charleston, S.C. Mariners Sail in Solidarity For Maersk’s Safety Program SIU crew members aboard the Seafarers-contracted Maersk Missouri recently enjoyed Veterans’ Day while steaming through the Gulf of Aden. The mariners used the occasion to show their solidarity with Maersk Line Limited’s (MLL) “Drive to Zero” initiative, a hands-on program designed to assist employees (mariners and shoreside personnel alike) in focusing on safety and teamwork to make the workplace as safe as possible. Aboard the vessel and posing with a cake made especially for the show of solidarity (above, from the left, kneeling and seated) were Emilio Ordaniel, Charlotte Chastain, Mark Jones, Brian McEleney, Billy Gigante, Jeff Levie and Paul Castillo. Standing in the back row (from the left) are Tody Vo, Steve Hamre, Dan Murley, Mohyeldeen El-Abbasi, Max Lacayo, Sal Inrahim, David Loison, David Shellock, Xavier Normil, Oliver Balico and Angel Corchado. As suggested by the Drive to Zero initiative title, its goal is to drive down unsafe and environmental incidents as close to zero as possible or eliminate them altogether. In this regard, one of the key steps MLL took toward enhancing safety was to partner with the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education to provide unlicensed mariners a two-day safety course called “Safety Boot Camps.” According to MLL, the boot camps are integral in the company’s approach to Drive to Zero. The agenda focuses on leadership and effective communications as well as more technical topics such as job safety analysis and prevention of electric shocks. December 2008 Seafarers LOG 19 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:53 PM Page 20 Summary Annual Report Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan This is a summary of the annual report for the Seafarers Momey Purchase Pension Plan, (Employer Identification No. 52-1994914, Plan No. 001) for the period January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENT Benefits under the plan are provided by a trust (benefits are provided in whole from trust funds). Plan expenses were $3,410,262. These expenses included $847,117 in administrative expenses and $2,563,145 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 20,960 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $70,629,761 as of December 31, 2007 compared to $49,919,701 as of January 1, 2007. During the plan year the plan experienced an increase in its net assets of $20,710,060. This increase includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had total income of $9,980,558, including employer contributions of $6,866,622, employee contributions of $125,366, gains of $1,188,130 from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $1,800,440. MINIMUM FUNDING STANDARDS Enough money was contributed to the plan to keep it funded in accordance with the minimum funding standards of ERISA. YOUR RIGHTS TO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Assets held for investment; and 3. Information regarding any common or collective trust, pooled separate accounts, master trusts or 103-12 investment entities in which the plan participates. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of: Margaret R. Bowen, Administrator, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746, 301-899-0675.The charge to cover copying costs will be $1.95 for the full report, or $0.15 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan: Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, D.C. 20210. Summary Annual Report MCS Supplementary Pension Plan This is a summary of the annual report for the MCS Supplementary Pension Plan, (Employer Identification No. 51-6097856, Plan No. 001) for the period January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENT Benefits under the plan are provided by a trust (benefits are provided in whole from trust funds). Plan expenses were $611,043. These expenses included $209,881 in administrative expenses and $401,162 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 949 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $8,143,400 as of December 31, 2007 compared to $8,253,399 as of January 1, 2007. During the plan year the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $109,999. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had total income of $501,044, including gains of $174,555 from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $324,529. The plan has a contract with Prudential Retirement Insurance Annuity Company which allocates funds toward individual policies. MINIMUM FUNDING STANDARDS An actuary’s statement shows that enough money was contributed to the plan to keep it funded in accordance with the minimum funding standards of ERISA. YOUR RIGHTS TO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Financial information and information on payments to service providers; 3. Assets held for investment; 4. Transactions in excess of 5 percent of the plan assets; and 5. Insurance information including sales commissions paid by insurance carriers. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of: Margaret R. Bowen, Administrator, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, Maryland 20746, 301-899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $4.95 for the full report, or $0.15 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan: Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, D.C. 20210. Summary Annual Report Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan This is a summary of the annual report for the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan, (Employer Identification No. 135557534, Plan No. 501) for the period January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENT The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $100,256,894 as of December 31, 2007 compared to $65,553,297 as of January 1, 2007. During the plan year the plan experienced an increase in its net assets of $34,703,597. This increase includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. During the plan year, the plan had total income of $79,037,345. This income included employer contributions of $73,065,946, realized gains of $237,879 from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $5,583,294. Plan expenses were $44,333,748. These expenses included $8,659,368 in administrative expenses and $35,674,380 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. YOUR RIGHTS TO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Assets held for investment; and 3. Transactions in excess of 5 percent of the plan assets. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of: Margaret Bowen, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746, 301-899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $2.70 for the full report, or $0.15 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan: Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, D.C. 20210. Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political pur- 20 Seafarers LOG poses of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. MEMBER RIGHTS/LMRDA. The LaborManagement Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) guarantees certain rights to union members and imposes certain responsibilities on union officers. The Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) enforces many LMRDA provisions while other provisions, such as the bill of rights, may only be enforced by union members through private suit in Federal court. Union Member Rights Bill of Rights: Union members have equal rights to participate in union activities; freedom of speech and assembly; a voice in setting rates of dues, fees and assessments; protection of the right to sue; and safe- guards against improper discipline. Copies of Collective Bargaining Agreements: Union members and nonunion employees have the right to receive or inspect copies of collective bargaining agreements. Reports: Unions are required to file an initial information report (Form LM-1), copies of constitutions and bylaws, and an annual financial report (Form LM-2/3/4) with OLMS. Unions must make the reports available to members and permit members to examine supporting records for just cause. The reports are public information and copies are available from OLMS. Officer Elections: Union members have the right to nominate candidates for office; run for office; cast a secret ballot; and protest the conduct of an election. Officer Removal: Local union members have the right to an adequate procedure for the removal of an elected officer guilty of serious misconduct. Trusteeships: Unions may only be placed in trusteeship by a parent body for the reasons specified in the LMRDA. Prohibition Against Violence: No one may use or threaten to use force or violence to interfere with a union member in the exercise of LMRDA rights. Union Officer Responsibilities Financial Safeguards: Union officers have a duty to manage the funds and property of the union solely for the benefit of the union and its members in accordance with the union’s constitution and bylaws. Union officers or employees who embezzle or steal union funds or other assets commit a Federal crime punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment. Bonding: Union officers or employees who handle union funds or property must be bonded to provide protection against losses if their union has property and annual financial receipts which exceed $5,000. Labor Organization Reports: Union officers must file an initial information report (Form LM-1) and annual financial reports (Forms LM-2/3/4) with OLMS; and retain the records necessary to verify the reports for at least five years. Officer Reports: Union officers and employees must file reports concerning any loans and benefits received from, or certain financial interests in, employers whose employees their unions represent and businesses that deal with their unions. Officer Elections: Unions must hold elections of officers of local unions by secret ballot at least every three years; conduct regular elections in accordance with their constitution and bylaws and preserve all records for one year; mail a notice of election to every member at least 15 days prior to the election; comply with a candidate’s request to distribute campaign material; not use union funds or resources to promote any candidate (nor may employer funds or resources be used); permit candidates to have election observers; and allow candidates to inspect the union’s membership list once within 30 days prior to the election. Restrictions on Holding Office: A person convicted of certain crimes may not serve as a union officer, employee or other representative of a union for up to 13 years. Loans: A union may not have outstanding loans to any one officer or employee that in total exceed $2,000 at any time. Fines: A union may not pay the fine of any officer or employee convicted of any willful violation of the LMRDA. (Note: The above is only a summary of the LMRDA. Full text of the Act, which comprises Sections 401-531 of Title 29 of the United States Code, may be found in many public libraries, or by writing the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Room N-5616, Washington, DC 20210, or on the internet at www.dol.gov.) SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. December 2008 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:53 PM Page 21 Seafarers Paul Hall Center Upgrading Course Schedule The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the first few months of 2009. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promoting the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. Adult Basic Education (ABE) English as a Second Language (ESL) College Program Preparatory Course (when applying, students should list the name of the prep course desired on upgrading application) Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman January 19 February 13 Lifeboatman/Water Survival January 5 February 16 Online Distance Learning Courses Students MUST have access to the internet with an e-mail address in order to take the classes below: DL Environmental Awareness DL Hazmat Control & Mgmt Engine Upgrading Courses Advanced Container Maintenance (Refer) January 5 January 30 Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations (BAPO) February 2 February 27 Junior Engineer March 9 May 1 FOWT February 2 March 2 February 27 March 27 January 5 February 27 Marine Electrician Academic Department Courses DL Hearing Conservation DL Heat Stress Mgmt DL Shipboard Pest Mgmt DL Respiratory Protection DL Shipboard Water Sanitation The foregoing clases are taken at home, not at the Paul Hall Center. Please be sure to provide an email address (printed neatly) on the application when applying. Safety Specialty Courses Basic Firefighting/STCW February 16 March 30 February 20 April 3 Upgrading Course Guide Coming Soon Government Vessels February 23 April 6 February 27 April 10 A future edition of the Seafarers LOG will contain a complete guide of all the upgrading courses available to students in 2009 at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training & Education in Piney Point, Md. Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. Important Notice Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes start every other Monday. The most recent class began December 1. UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twenty-five (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested, 1995 STCW Certificate and valid SHBP Clinic Card. Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ COURSE START DATE DATE OF COMPLETION Telephone (Home)_________________________ (Cell)_______________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Date of Birth __________________________________________________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security #_______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority_____________________________ Department______________________ Home Port_____________________________________________________________ LAST VESSEL: __________________________________Rating: ______________ E-mail________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off:________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held______________________________________ SIGNATURE ________________________________ DATE___________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? Yes No If yes, course(s) taken____________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ December 2008 NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Not all classes are reimbursable. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 12/08 Seafarers LOG 21 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:53 PM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Water Survival – Nine upgraders on Sept. 26 completed this 60hour course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical orer) were: Dionce Bright, Corey Covington, Timothy Culwell, Cirico Geonanga Jr., Alonzo Griswell, Orlando Herrera, Jose Martinez, Paublito RamosOrtiz and Cade Vaussine. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is at far right. Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 707 – Unlicensed apprentices from Class 707 recently completed the water survival course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: William Bennett, Sarah Billingsley, Rashid Body, Ernest Bullock Jr., Alexandra DeJesus, Romer Garrido, James Grant, Mark Hayes, Ryan Klinewski, Celso Maldonado Rivera, Pedro Marcial-Sanchez, Michelle Mason, Wendy McLauren, Xavier Normil, Jonathan Rivera, Andre Robinson Sr., James Smith, Michael Spirit, Ternillia Thomas, William Thomas and Leticia Vazquez. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Medical Care Provider – The following individuals (above, in alphabetical order) on Sept. 19 completed this course: Greg Allman, Randall Brown, David Goodwin, Sherwood Lewis Jr., Jackie Pruitt, Russell Shores, Timothy Thomas and Jonathan West Sr. Helo Fifefighting (AMSEA) – Eleven individuals on Sept. 29 completed this course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Anthony Bonin, Glen Burke, Charles Christiansen, William Devers, James Donohue, David Eddy, Todd Gallagher, Douglas Garee, Jacob George, Joseph Krajnik and Nathaniel Sherrill. Their instructor, Tom Truitt, is at far right. (Note: Not all are pictured.) 22 Seafarers LOG Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. Medical Care Provider – The following upgraders (above, in alphabetical order) on July 19 completed this course: Marie Acosta, Adam Begleiter, Troy Fleming, Douglas Foley, James Knute, Richard Lydon, Glen McCullough, Philander Walton and Donald Young. STCW – Twenty upgraders on Sept. 19 completed this course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Mian Ahmad, Eric Coleman, Romeo Cruda, Joven DeOcampo, Hugh Greene, Kris Hopkins, Thomas Keseru, Paul McDonnell, Darrin Murray, Paul Mutta, Emanuel Paul, Paul Pitcher, Gilbert Regaldo, Jacqueline Sivels, Don Simmons-Gregory, Gregory Smith, Jared Smith, Jamaal Waring, Kenneth Washington and Jeffrey Wise Sr. (Note: Not all are pictured.) December 2008 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:53 PM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes STCW (Express Marine) – The following mariners (above, in alphabetical order) on Oct. 3 completed this course: Colin Bridgman, Thomas Croskett, Michael Daniels, James Dixon, Jim Dutton, Dennis Gaskill Jr., Jerry Harper, Albin Henries, Richard Hurst, Guy Ireland, Garnett Leary Jr., Roland Mason Jr., Willie Midgette, Scott Noble, Edward Parks Jr., Terry Popperwill, Jerod Register and Foster Watts. Express Marine Rep. Keith Kirkeide is ninth from the right. The class instructor, Mark Cates, is at the far right. Welding – The following upgraders (above, in alphabetical order) completed this course Sept. 26: Robin Bourgeois, William Dukes, Dallon Garnett, Alexander Rhodes, Jesse Turner and Steven Wilson. Buzzy Andrews, their instructor, is second from the left. Small Arms – Seven individuals completed training in this course on Oct. 19. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Asaad Al Waseem, Stanley Boothe, Richard Cannady, Allen Faulks, Phillip Forman, Peter Fulcher and Robert Taylor. Tankship Familiarization – Thirteen Seafarers on Oct. 3 completed upgrade training in this course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Joseph Brown, Romeo Cruda, Joven DeOcampo, Basil D’Souza, Luis Irias, Thomas Keseru, Brett Lange, Cosmo Palomba, Emanuel Paul, Gilbert Regalado, Don Simmons-Gregory, Richard Thompson and Jamaal Waring. Their instructor, Jim Shaffer, is at the far right. Helo Firefighting (Swift) – Nine Seafarers on Oct. 3 completed this course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Leo Batiste, Rafael Chow, Jimmy Cordova, Andres Cruz, Vladimir Filip, Bryan Fletcher, Richard Fugit, Russell Lino and Oscar Pena. Their instructor, Steve Stockwell, is at the far left. GMDSS – The following individuals (above, in alphabetical order) on Sept. 23 completed this course: David Blue IV, Scott Chew, Carlos Gibbons, Calvin Kaawa, John Lee, Karl Mayhew, Robert Walker III and Kadatema Yague. Advanced Container Maintenance – Four upgraders on Sept. 26 graduated from this course. Those completing the training (above, in alphabetical order) were: James Donohue, Elwyn Ford, Steven Haver and Joseph Krajnik. Calvin Beal, their instructor, is at the far right. December 2008 BST (Hawaii) – The following individuals (above, in no particular order) on Oct. 3 completed this course at the Barbers Point, Hawaii-based Seafarers Training Center: Ethel Harada, Donna Austin, Karliah Butler, Kalae Balino and Jelena Malenica. Seafarers LOG 23 �51843_p01_24x3:51843 11/25/2008 2:54 PM Page 24 Volume 70, Number 12 December 2008 Summary Annual Reports - Pages 6, 8, 20 Booms are deployed as part of the school’s oil spill prevention and containment training. Center Places Premium on Environmental Protection SIU-Affiliated Maritime Training School Promotes ‘Culture of Safety’ Having spent more than two decades teaching at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, Jim Shaffer easily recognizes when students are truly “locked in” on the subject matter as opposed to merely getting by. When it comes to environmental training, it’s no stretch to say the students’ eyes and ears are wide open. “It’s very easy to get their attention when we start talking about, for example, oil spills and our duties aboard barges and tank ships,” Shaffer observes. “Our emphasis is on prevention, but we make students deeply aware of problems that can occur in loading and discharging procedures if the operation isn’t given our utmost focus. We also equip them with the skills and knowledge of what to do in case an accident occurs.” Shaffer teaches tankerman and hazardous-materials courses, which are only some of the dozens of environment-related classes available at the Piney Point, Md.-based school. Affiliated with the Seafarers International Union, the Paul Hall Center (named after an outstanding past president of the SIU) offers more than 70 U.S. Coast Guard-approved courses. Many of those classes specifically pertain to safeguarding the environment, while others contain at least one or two related components. Don Nolan, vice president of the school, first arrived on the waterfront campus in 1968, one year after it opened. Asked if it’s accurate to say that environmental safety is fully ingrained in the school’s culture, he quickly replies, “That’s the absolute truth. Certainly, it has grown over the years, particularly after the enactment of the Oil Pollution and Prevention Act of 1990, but it goes back even further. It would be shorter to list the classes that don’t involve environmental safety than those that do.” Nevertheless, there are some courses that may be considered staples of the center’s environmental training. They include a one-week oil spill pre- Hands-on training is an important component of numerous classes, including marine refrigerated containers maintenance (above). vention and containment course; tankerman-person in charge (PIC); cargo handling and stowage; emergency procedures; pumpman; basic and advanced fire fighting; marine refrigeration technician; marine refrigerated containers maintenance; inland engine room troubleshooting and casualty control; tank ship familiarization/liquefied gases (LNG); damage control; underway replenishment; oil spill response; HAZMAT first responder; HAZMAT incident commander; passenger vessel safety; confined-space safety and rescue, and others. Those curriculums and others are updated in order to remain current and compliant. Most of the aforementioned classes involve hands-on training, some of which takes place at the center’s cutting-edge Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School, a satellite campus located just a couple of miles away. The safety school (named in memory of the late SIU Executive Vice President Joe Sacco) opened in 1999, and it serves as a good example of the Paul Hall Center’s dedication to the environment. For instance, the fires are set using propone, while smoke is generated via “clean” machines that don’t affect the environment or disturb local wildlife. The water used for training is pumped from and recycled to a pond – it receives treatment in both directions, and actually returns to the pond cleaner than when it left. J.C. Wiegman, Paul Hall Center director of training, points out that not all of the school’s training takes place in Piney Point. For decades, and as needed, the Paul Hall Center has offered courses at various ports across the nation, including a long series of EPA-approved refrigeration classes in the mid-1990s. The school regularly partners with local fire fighters and other local entities in offering various safety training, including conducting emergency response drills. He also notes that while personal safety and protecting the environment are important in their own rights, there are other considerations on this subject. One is the cost of the ships and tugs and barges and other marine equipment utilized on the job. Another is potential liability – not a small matter, as most recently evidenced by the widely publicized spill in the Mississippi River in July. “It costs money if you spill oil in the water,” Wiegman says. “The crew has to know that if they have an accident it’s going to cost the company. That’s been part of our teaching here forever, but now it’s widespread throughout the industry.” Like Shaffer, Wiegman notes that although the school emphasizes prevention, students also learn in great detail how to respond in case of an incident. He, too, sees an encouraging pattern in the students’ focus on the environment, whether they are enrolled in the entry-level program or returning to campus for vocational upgrading. “The trainees who are first exposed to it are fully enveloped in learning all the things about protecting themselves,” states Wiegman, a U.S. Navy veteran. “After they’ve learned about environmental laws and regulations, along with personal protective equipment and its use, you might think they wouldn’t retain it. But, in the merchant marine we have to renew basic fire fighting every five years and we have to renew first aid and CPR training every two years. There are constant safety reminders aboard ship, both in writing and in the form of drills. As you get out on the ships, you realize you never stop learning about being safe and doing the right thing.” He concludes, “If you develop a safety culture, it starts with the entrylevel person but it never stops. That’s what we try to do at the Paul Hall Center – develop a culture of safety and awareness with everyone, regardless of what type of ship they’re on. We always need to be safe.” � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource December 2008 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES NY PORT COUNCIL SALUTES 3 MARITIME LABOR MOURNS AMO’S ED KELLY UNION SUPPORT PROVES VITAL ON ELECTON DAY SEAFARERS ACROSS NATION RALLY FOR PRO-MARITIME TICKET OF OBAMA-BIDEN SIU CREWS LAND HONORS DURING AOTOS EVENT DACUAG EARNS AGENCY’S HIGHEST HONOR FOR CIVILIANS NASSCO DELIVERS USNS EARHART TO U.S. MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND GUIDANCE AIMS TO FACILITATE SHORE LEAVE CIVMARS HELP DEDICATE NEW COMPLEX IN NORFOLK BOILERMAKERS REPORT BIG WIN AT NASSCO. SIU GETS OUT THE VOTE DURING LABOR 2008 LABOR 2008 SEAFARERS LAUNCH FULL-SCALED MOBILIZATION TO HELP SECURE ELECTION WIN FOR WORKING FAMILIES CENTER PLAES PREMIUM ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12/01/2008 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. 70, No. 12 2008 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/55e752121318b79a36a3afdd57c52012.pdf 7b2e834d05dbcaf9b515d6dd463b90b0 PDF Text Text 52060x:January 08 10/27/2008 1:31 PM Page 1 Volume 70, Number 11 November 2008 New Tonnage Here! SIU-Contracted Fleet Adds Tanker, ATB, Ammo Ship The union recently welcomed new vessels from coast to coast. At Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, the Overseas Texas City (photo at lower right) became the latest addition to the Seafarers-crewed OSG fleet. In Tampa, Crowley Maritime Corporation christened an articulated tug-barge (ATB) tank vessel consisting of the 9,280-hp boat Courage and barge 650-5 (right). Some of the crew members are pictured directly below with Crowley President and CEO Thomas B. Crowley Jr. (sixth from left, wearing jacket). In San Diego, NASSCO launched the newest vessel in the Lewis and Clark class: the USNS Carl Brashear (bottom). That ship will be crewed in the unlicensed positions by members of the SIU Government Services Division. Page 3. HSV Swift Crew Trains at Paul Hall Center Before reporting to the newly contracted HSV Swift, SIU crew members completed safety training at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center, located in Piney Point, Md. Their course work included the school’s MSCaccredited helicopter fire fighting class (right) as well as chemical, biological and radiological defense. Page 11. SIU Election News TWIC Updates and Reminders NS Savannah Feature Pages 12-13 Page 4 Page 7 �52060x:January 08 10/27/2008 1:34 PM Page 2 President’s Repor t Vice Adm. Rondeau Tours School After Election Day By the time most Seafarers receive this edition of the LOG, Election Day will have passed. Citizens will have elected a new president and vice president along with choosing members of the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. They will have voted in state and local elections, too. No matter the outcomes, I believe that just about everyone except advertising salespeople would agree that one of the better aspects of post-Election Day life is we’ll all get a break from the recent bombardment of political ads. As I write this column in late October, there is no escape from those ads if you turn on the TV or radio for even a few minutes. That’s par for the course in a presidential election year. Something else that doesn’t change is the SIU’s appropriately aggressive effort to promote the U.S. Merchant Marine to new and returning officeholders, regardless of political party. I can assure every Seafarer that no matter who came out on top in the Election Day voting all across the country, your union will remain tireless in working for the betterment of the membership and indeed the entire American-flag fleet. That’s par for the course, too. Over the years, some of you may have heard me acknowledge the political savvy of the rank-and-file membership. Simply put, the brothers and sisters of the SIU get it. You understand that without grassroots political action, our industry would be dead in the water. That’s why you were so terrific in volunteering your time leading up to November 4 to help pitch in and support pro-maritime candidates. That’s why your voluntary support of the SPAD, the union’s political action fund, is so consistently strong. We rarely have to look very far to find examples of how politics affects our livelihoods. That was the case again last month and at the end of September, as two pieces of legislation were enacted that have a big impact on maritime. There is no need to go into great detail here about those measures, but just consider some of the basic elements which were supported by the SIU. The U.S. Maritime Administration received additional authority in certain matters concerning cargo preference, a vital program. Another component of one of the bills strengthens protection of the Jones Act, which is a bedrock of the U.S.-flag fleet. The Title XI Shipbuilding Loan Guarantee program, crucial for our shipyards, got significant funding for the next fiscal year – a significant improvement compared to the last several years. And there were other positive developments, too. That’s just a snapshot of why the SIU went all-out in backing pro-maritime candidates this year (and why we do so in every election). Whether we like it or not, politics affects practically every part of our jobs – from documentation and training requirements to the survival of federal programs which help keep the American flag flying on the high seas. Even without knowing who won and who lost on the first Tuesday in November, I thank the membership for your overwhelmingly positive support of the union’s efforts. Your grassroots activities have made a difference, and your enthusiasm is inspiring. As we look ahead to the 111th Congress, I believe we can all rest assured that we did everything reasonably possible to elect the people who will support the U.S. Merchant Marine. Volume 70, Number 11 Vice Admiral Ann E. Rondeau, deputy commander, U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), toured the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education on Oct. 9. These photos were taken during the tour at the Piney Point, Md.-based school. Clockwise starting at bottom right, Vice Adm. Rondeau checks out the fire fighting and safety campus with Instructor Bobby Dean; chats with students in the full mission bridge simulator; and takes a hands-on turn in the crane simulator, flanked by Paul Hall Center Director of Training J.C. Wiegman (left) and Instructor Tom Truitt. During the tour, she spoke with upgraders and unlicensed apprentices in various classes, encouraging them in their studies. TRANSCOM includes three component commands – the Navy’s Military Sealift Command, the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command and the Army’s Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command – which provide intermodal transportation across the spectrum of military operations. Signs of Support During the final weeks leading up to Election Day, many Seafarers demonstrated their support for Democrat presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and vice presidential nominee Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.). In Honolulu (top photo) early last month, Seafarers (from left) Editho Barraca, Robert Borro and Luis Balatbat hang a banner at the union hall, which is located at a busy intersection. Below, Seafarers and other supporters in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., are pictured on Oct. 11 volunteering for a “labor walk” aimed at disseminating information about key issues affecting working families. SIU Ft. Lauderdale Port Agent Kenneth Moore led the effort and coordinated communications with the state labor federation and local central labor council. “We could not have pulled it off without the support and teamwork of all our union brothers and sisters,” noted SIU Ft. Lauderdale Safety Director Kevin Marchand. “It was hard work, but we had some fun, too.” November 2008 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFLCIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2008 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD. All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG November 2008 �52060x:2060p0 10/27/2008 1:35 PM Page 3 Crowley Maritime Christens ATB Courage Seafarers and SIU officials joined in the celebration Oct. 1 in Tampa as Crowley Maritime Corporation christened an articulated tug-barge (ATB) tank vessel consisting of the 9,280-hp boat Courage and barge 650-5. SIU Assistant Vice President Contracts Archie Ware and Ft. Lauderdale Safety Director Kevin Marchand represented the union. Joining them were the ATB’s first crew, consisting of Seafarers Capt. Mark Tilly, Capt. Bruce Walsh, 2nd Mate Joel Anderson, AB Jared Smith, Chief Mate Bill Harvell, OS/Utility Sean Leeson, Cook/Utility Artis Pilgrim, 2nd Mate Trainee Greg Palmer, Asst. Engineer Leif Frappied, Asst. Engineer Mike Citarelli, Chief Engineer Ryan Taylor Hogge, AB James Robenson and Asst. Engineer Chris Reems. The 135-foot Courage is the fifth of 10 new 185,000barrel ATBs that the company expects to take delivery of by the end of 2010. During ceremonies conducted at the Tampa Port Authority Cruise Terminal on Channelside Drive, Jane Collar, wife of Steve Collar, senior vice president and general manager, technical services, christened the Courage, while Kim Michel Case, wife of Tracy Case, Terminals, Transport and Marine manager, Marathon Petroleum Company LLC, christened the 587-foot barge 650-5. The vessel was designed and built by Crowley’s technical services group at VT Halter and is being operated by Crowley’s petroleum services group with a time charter to Marathon. Crowley already has eight ATBs in operation and has announced plans to build three larger 750-series (330,000barrel capacity) ATBs for delivery by the middle of 2013. Once all vessels are received, the fleet will stand at 17. “It’s always a happy occasion when we welcome new tonnage into the SIU fleet,” stated Ware. “Crowley’s growth reflects well not only on the company but on the SIU crews who have earned their confidence through safe, reliable, efficient work over many years.” “While Marathon currently charters two tankers - Blue Ridge and Coast Range - from Crowley, this marks their first foray into our ATB fleet,” said Bill Taylor, vice president, Crowley Atlantic and Gulf services. The 650-5, like its sister vessels the 650-3 and 650-4, has been certified by Lloyds Classification Society as complying with the requirements of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Green Passport program. This certification ensures that any and all potentially hazardous materials that went into the original construction of the barge have been identified and will be properly disposed of The barge 650-5 (above) and tug Courage (right) are new additions to Crowley’s SIU-crewed fleet. when the barge ceases trading at the end of its useful life. The ATBs are the newest and most environmentally friendly vessels in Crowley’s fleet, according to the company. In announcing the latest christening, Crowley pointed out, “They have an impressive record of zero spills during their 1,000-plus voyages while boasting other environmentally friendly traits as well. The Reliance Class ATBs were designed to reduce immediate environmental effects such as emissions and wastewater, while others are designed to protect the environment in the unlikely case that a large spill occurred.” The tug’s design incorporates the use of wing ballast tanks, engine room inner bottoms, and a fuel tank cascade overflow system. The barges were designed and equipped with a dual emergency retrieval system (one in the bow and one in the stern). These systems provide two separate retrieval hawsers (thick ropes or cables used to tow a ship) in the event of an emergency. In the unlikely event that the tug should separate from the barge, the dual systems can be utilized to prevent the barge from getting to the beach or being breached resulting in a spill. The tugs are designed and outfitted with grey water holding tanks to capture all grey water (non-industrial wastewater generated from domestic processes such as dish washing, laundry and bathing) when in port to reduce pollution. All engine and slop water including produced water, ballast water from oil cargo and deck water are all discharged ashore to licensed waste disposal contractors even though the vessels are equipped with OWS Oily Water Separators in the event of an emergency. An ATB has an articulated, or hinged, connection system between the tug and barge, which allows movement in one axis, or plane in the critical area of fore and aft pitch. Crowley and VT Halter Marine jointly designed the ATB tank vessel. The barge 650-5 was built at Halter’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., and the Courage at its shipyard, in Moss Point, Miss. The new ATBs feature the latest systems technology and double-hull construction for maximum safety and reliability. Not only does the unit have the capability of transporting refined products, but it can also carry heated cargoes and “easy” chemicals, which require special arrangements of vents, stripping systems, pump components and tank coatings above those normally required for product carriers. All of Crowley’s ATBs are built under the ABS SafeHull program for environmental protection. This program puts the vessel design through an exhaustive review to identify structural loads and strengthen the vessel structure. The 650-Class barges will be 27,000 deadweight tons, 587 feet in length, 74 feet in breadth and 40 feet in depth. The fully loaded draft will be 30 feet. There is an electric cargo pump in each of the 14 cargo tanks to assure maximum cargo integrity and segregation flexibility; two anchor windlasses and associated equipment to enable the vessel to accommodate offshore mooring operations; and a vacuum system with three retention tanks to easily handle cargo changes. There is an inert gas generator and vapor collection system for maximum safety. A layer of inert gas covers products in the tanks to make the atmosphere too lean for combustion. An enhanced mooring system features 1,000-foot Spectra-type lines on split drums with a high-speed recovery rate of 100 feet per minute. The tugs meet all SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) and ABS criteria, and have a foam capable fire monitor; twin fuel-efficient heavy fuel oil engines; a noise reduction package; and other upgrades to increase crew comfort. The communication and navigation equipment is among the most technologically advanced in the industry today. NASSCO Launches Carl Brashear Tanker Overseas Texas City Delivered to American Shipping Aker Philadelphia Shipyard Commences Construction on Ninth Tanker of Twelve The new tanker build program at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard is continuing efficiently and on schedule, as reflected by two recent events. On Sept. 18, a traditional naming ceremony took place at the shipyard for the Seafarers-contracted Overseas Texas City (the fifth new tanker delivered to American Shipping Company). The ceremony was conducted six days after the shipyard’s 10-year anniversary and was attended by representatives from the SIU, American Shipping Company, OSG America, and BP. SIU President Michael Sacco, Executive Vice President Augie Tellez, SecretaryTreasurer David Heindel, Vice President Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi and New York Safety Director Joseph Baselice represented the union. The vessel’s sponsor, Mrs. Jane Baldry, broke a champagne bottle against the wing of the bridge to formally christen the ship. According to the shipyard, the Overseas Texas City is the first vessel built there to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest Tier II requirements. The vessel was modified to incorporate three improved diesel powered electrical generating sets to run the ship’s electrical system, which will result in lower levels of pollutants while in operation. Three other November 2008 vessels are currently under construction at the yard, all of which will include these modifications. President and CEO of Aker Philadelphia Shipyard Jim Miller stated, “Aker Philadelphia is proud to deliver this remarkable ship in conjunction with the yard’s 10-year anniversary. Ten years ago, there was no shipbuilding taking place here in Philadelphia. Today, we deliver our ninth vessel and deliver it as promised. These actions are a true testament to the hard work and dedication of our skilled shipyard employees.” Ten days after delivery of the Overseas Texas City, the shipyard started construction on the ninth tanker of 12 for American Shipping Company. Construction officially began when two Aker Philadelphia employees, Jesus Sabando and Alan Oreszak, made the initial cut utilizing the yard’s state-ofthe-art plasma cutter. The employees were chosen to represent the shipyard based on their contributions to its employee suggestion program (initiated a few years ago to seek input from employees on ways to improve production). Currently there are three other vessels under construction at the yard. The previously delivered tankers include the SIU-crewed Overseas New York, Overseas Los Angeles, Overseas Houston and Overseas Long Beach. Aker Philadelphia Shipyard also constructed four containerships for Seafarers-contracted Matson. The USNS Carl Brashear, which will be the newest ship in the U.S. Navy’s Lewis and Clark-class of dry cargo/ammunition ships, was christened and launched during a ceremony Sept. 18 at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. After a series of tests and sea trials, the ship will be delivered to the Navy’s Military Sealift Command for operations next year. The vessel will be crewed in the unlicensed departments by members of the SIU Government Services Division. The 689-foot ship slid into the water for the first time as Lauren Brashear, granddaughter of the ship’s namesake and the ship’s sponsor, broke the traditional bottle of champagne against the bow, christening it USNS Carl Brashear. The ship honors Master Chief Petty Officer Carl Brashear, who joined the U.S. Navy in 1948 and was a Navy pioneer, becoming one of the first African Americans to graduate from the Navy Diving School and the first to qualify and serve as a master diver on active duty. After being severely injured in a diving accident, Brashear’s leg was amputated. Almost two years later, after strenuous rehabilitation and rigorous testing, he became the first person to be certified or recertified to dive as an amputee. “This ship will stand for the same values of honor, courage and commitment that inspired and motivated Master Chief Brashear,” said MSC Command Master Chief Kenneth Green, one of the ceremony’s guest speakers. Included among the nearly 3,000 in attendance were Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Joe Campa and actor Robert De Niro, who starred in the movie “Men of Honor,” which depicts the life and Navy career of Brashear. “USNS Carl Brashear will carry his spirit with it for years to come,” said Roughead. The auxiliary dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE 7) slides into the San Diego Bay during the christening and launch ceremony Sept. 18 at General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard. “The ship’s motto of ‘Boldly, Proudly, Fearlessly,’ are the core of Master Chief Brashear and the inspiration for this ship’s crew.” The USNS Brashear is the seventh of the Navy’s new T-AKE class of ships. These vessels deliver ammunition, provisions, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to U.S. Navy vessels and other ships at sea, allowing them to stay underway and combat ready for extended periods. The ship is crewed by approximately 124 civil service mariners working for MSC along with 11 U.S. Navy sailors, who provide supply coordination. Construction began on the Brashear in May 2007. The ship is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the second quarter of 2009. The Navy expects to build 14 T-AKEs, the first 11 of which will serve as combat logistics ships. The remaining three are expected to be part of the Maritime Prepositioning Force. Seafarers LOG 3 �52060:January 08 10/24/2008 1:42 AM Page 4 Union Election Voting Began Nov. 1 The voting process for officers of the Seafarers International Union’s Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU is under way. Eligible SIU members began casting their secret ballots at union halls Nov. 1. That process will go on until Dec. 31, as members may continue to vote at these locations or make their selections via absentee ballots in the mail. Seafarers eligible to vote in this election – which will determine union officials for the 2009-2012 term – are full-book members in good standing. This eligibility criteria is outlined in the union’s governing document, the SIU constitution. The ballot, a sample of which appeared on pages 7 and 8 of the October 2008 edition of the Seafarers LOG, lists the names of all qualified candidates as determined by the credentials committee, a group made up of six rank-and-file Seafarers who reviewed the nominating petitions of all SIU members seeking office in this district-wide election. The credentials committee report, which was prepared Aug. 16, and submitted to the membership at the September monthly meetings, indicated 29 candidates had qualified to run for 25 positions. (The committee report also was published in the October 2008 LOG.) The 25 posts for which Seafarers will cast their ballots are president, executive vice president, secretary-treasurer, six vice presidents, six assistant vice presidents and 10 port agents. 21 Polling Places The election will be conducted by mail ballot as provided in the union’s constitution. Secret ballots, accompanied by envelopes marked “Ballot” and postage-paid envelopes printed with the address of the bank depository where the ballots are kept until submitted to the tallying committee, will be available to full-book members in good standing at 21 union halls around the country. (See list of voting locations on this page.) Absentee Ballot Procedures In the case of members eligible to vote who believe they will be at sea during the Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2008 voting period, absentee ballots will be available. The SIU constitution ensures that members who are eligible to vote and who find themselves in this situation may vote absentee. Procedures are established in the SIU constitution to safeguard the secret ballot election, including the absentee ballot process. Following is the procedure to follow when requesting an absentee ballot: 1. Make the request in writing to the SIU office of the secretary-treasurer, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. 2. Include in the request the correct address where the absentee ballot should be mailed. 3. Send the request for an absentee ballot by registered or certified mail or the equivalent mailing service. 4. The registered or certified mail envelope must be postmarked no later than midnight, Nov. 15, 2008 and must be received at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 no later than Nov. 25, 2008. 5. The secretary-treasurer, after confirming eligibility, will send by registered mail, return receipt requested, to the address designated in the request, a ballot, together with an envelope marked “Ballot” and a mailing envelope no later than Nov. 30, 2008. 6. Upon receiving the ballot and envelopes, vote by marking the ballot. After voting the ballot, place the ballot in the envelope marked “Ballot.” Do not write on the “Ballot” envelope. 7. Place the envelope marked “Ballot” in the mailing envelope which is imprinted with the mailing address of the bank depository where all ballots are sent. 8. Sign the mailing envelope on the first line of the upper left-hand corner. Print name and book number on the second line. The mailing envelope is self-addressed and stamped. 9. The mailing envelope must be postmarked no later than midnight, Dec. 31, 2008 and received by the bank depository no later than Jan. 5, 2009. Eligible Seafarers may pick up their ballots between 9 a.m. until noon, Monday through Saturday, except legal holidays, from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31. Each member must present his or her book to the port agent or the agent’s designated representative when receiving the ballot along with the envelope marked “Ballot” and the mailing envelope. When the Seafarer receives the ballot and envelopes, his or her book will be marked with the word “Voted” and the date. If a member does not present his or her book, or if there is a question in regard to his or her eligibility to vote, the Seafarer will receive a mailing envelope of a different color marked with the word “Challenged.” His or her book will be stamped with the words “Voted Challenge” and the date. For members who believe they will be at sea during this time, the SIU constitution provides for absentee voting procedures. Full-book members in good standing who need to vote by absentee ballot should direct a request for the ballot to the union’s secretary-treasurer at SIU headquarters: 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. The SIU Constitution lists all acceptable reasons for obtaining an absentee ballot. Balloting Process Once the Seafarer has received his or her ballot and envelopes, he or she marks the ballot for the candidates of his or her choice and puts it in the envelope marked “Ballot.” This envelope is sealed by the member and then dispatched in the mail. These steps help ensure the integrity of the secret ballot process. The union’s constitution, in Article XIII, details the procedures for voting in union elections. All ballots will be counted by the rankand-file committee consisting of two members elected from each of the union’s constitutional ports. These committee members will be elected in December. They will convene in early January 2009. Voting Locations For 2008 Election Of 2009-2012 Officers Seafarers International Union of North America Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes & Inland Waters District/NMU Elections will be conducted by secret mail ballot. Ballots may be obtained at the following locations from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon (local time), Mondays through Saturdays, excluding holidays, during the voting period. The voting period shall commence Nov. 1, 2008 and shall continue through Dec. 31, 2008. Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Boston Ft. Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington VOTING LOCATIONS 520 St. Clair River Dr. 721 Sesame Street, Suite 1C 2315 Essex St. 5 Drydock Ave. 1221 South Andrews Ave. Cliffline Office Ctr., Suite 103B, 422 West O’Brien Dr. 606 Kalihi St. 1221 Pierce St. 3315 Liberty St. 10 East Clinton 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy. 3911 Lapalco Blvd. 635 Fourth Ave. 115 Third St. 1121 7th St. 2604 South Fourth St. Seafarers Harry Lindeberg School of Seamanship 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave. 4581 Gravois Ave. 3411 South Union St. 510 North Broad Ave. Algonac, MI 48001 Anchorage, AK 99503 Baltimore, MD 21224 Boston, MA 02210 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 Hagatna, Guam 96910 Honolulu, HI 96819 Houston, TX 77002 Jacksonville, FL 32206 Joliet, IL 60432 Mobile, AL 36605 Harvey, LA 70058 Brooklyn, NY 11232 Norfolk, VA 23510 Oakland, CA 94607 Philadelphia, PA 19148 Piney Point, MD 20674 Santurce, PR 00907 St. Louis, MO 63116 Tacoma, WA 98409 Wilmington, CA 90744 Seafarers, ITF Team Up to Aid Stranded Mariners Inspector Secures Back Pay for Crew In Separate Case Two separate incidents which occurred this past summer underscore both the effectiveness of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) when it comes to assisting mariners as well as the alertness and compassion of SIU members. In one case, Seafarers and AMO officers aboard the Alliance Norfolk in early July were approaching Umm Qasr, Iraq, when they learned that the runaway-flag bulk carrier M/V Nirmal Bhushan was abandoned in port. Indian and Filipino crew members aboard the Panamanian-flag ship had been stranded since January and were running extremely low on food, drinking water and fuel for ship’s power, to say nothing of not having received wages for many months. At that time, Alliance Norfolk Capt. Seth Harris noted, “The crew has been abandoned by both the vessel’s owners and the manning agency. The crew is existing under deplorable conditions.” Mariners aboard the U.S.-flag ship wasted no time coming to the aid of their foreign counterparts. Recertified Steward Joseph Gallo and Chief Mate Jan Waalewyn packaged stores and other provisions for the Nirmal Bhushan crew and then 4 Seafarers LOG transported it with the assistance of SA Rolando Batiz and Third Mate Jennifer Flounders. AB Jordan Polon acted as an observer and interpreter and obtained copies of statements from the stranded mariners. Gallo also contacted SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel, who in addition to his duties with the union also serves as an elected officer with the ITF. Heindel immediately mobilized the ITF Actions Unit, and positive results soon followed throughout the ensuing weeks. Ultimately, the officers and crew of the Nirmal Bhushan received their back pay and repatriation. The ship, which had been under arrest, was released by an Iraqi court and resumed sailing. “The crew of the Alliance Norfolk deserves credit for their compassion and commitment to an old seafaring tradition, which is coming to the aid of another seafarer,” said Heindel, first vice chair of the ITF Seafarers’ Section. “Certainly, their actions hold true to our motto in the SIU: Brotherhood of the Sea.” In the other case, which happened in August, SIU ITF Inspector Arthur Petitpas recovered more than $44,000 in back pay for multinational mariners aboard the Maltese-flag Isis, another runaway-flag ship that was docked in Baltimore. In addition to the back-wages issue, the vessel, loaded with a cargo of aluminum, faced other problems. Its main engine was malfunctioning, and the ship was running very low on stores. Petitpas repeatedly contacted the ship operator, but only received what turned out to be empty promises to pay the crew and repatriate those who wanted to sign off the vessel. Finally, some of the crew members went on strike. Petitpas continued pressing for fair treatment of the crew, and eventually reached a verbal agreement with an attorney for the charterer. The cargo then was unloaded and the Russian and Ukrainian seafarers received their pay and repatriation. The ITF is a global federation of 681 transport trade unions (including the SIU) which collectively represent 4.5 million workers in 148 countries. A runaway-flag or so-called flag-of convenience (FOC) ship is one that flies the flag of a country other than the country of ownership. According to the ITF, “FOCs provide a means of avoiding labor regulation in the country of ownership, and become a vehicle for paying low wages and forcing long hours of work and unsafe working conditions. Since FOC ships have no real nationality, they are beyond the reach of any single national seafarers’ trade union. “The ITF has therefore been obliged to take on internationally the role traditionally exercised by national trade unions – to organize and negotiate on behalf of FOC crews. For 50 years the ITF, through its affiliated seafarers’ and dockers’ unions, has been waging a vigorous campaign against shipowners who abandon the flag of their own country in search of the cheapest possible crews and the lowest possible training and safety standards for their ships.” November 2008 �52060:January 08 10/24/2008 1:42 AM Page 5 United Nations, IBF Move to Combat Piracy The United Nations Security Council early last month passed a resolution aimed at combating the growing piracy crisis off Somalia. The council asked nations with military capacity in the region to “actively fight piracy” on the high seas. Days earlier, the international shipping industry – speaking through the International Bargaining Forum (IBF) – issued a strongly worded statement calling attention to the emergency and also urging military action. “The pirates are now attacking ships on a daily basis with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades…. The pirates are operating with impunity, and governments stand idly by,” the IBF pointed out. The council said it “called upon states with naval vessels and military aircraft operating in the area to use, on the high seas and airspace off the coast of Somalia, the necessary means to repress acts of piracy in a manner consistent with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.” It further urged suitably equipped states to cooperate with Somalia’s transitional federal government “in conformity with the provision of resolution 1816 (2008) of 2 June, which allowed states cooperating with the government, for a period of six months, to enter Somalia’s territorial waters and use ‘all necessary means’ to repress acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea in a manner consistent with international law.” The council indicated it may renew that provision for an additional period. The resolution was sponsored by the U.S., Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, Panama, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain and the United Kingdom. It noted in part that the council is “gravely concerned by the recent proliferation of acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea against vessels off the coast of Somalia, and by the serious threat it poses to the prompt, safe and effective delivery of humanitarian aid to Somalia, to international navigation and the safety of commercial maritime routes, and to fishing activities conducted in conformity with international law.” In response, International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) General Secretary David Cockroft stated, “We’re delighted the security council has responded to our, the shipping industry and the IMO’s direct appeal for this action. It is further support for those naval forces seeking to close with the pirates who have turned the Gulf into a war zone – and a reminder to those navies who haven’t done so that it is now time to act.” The IBF, consisting of representatives from a number of key interna- The United Nations Security Council in session tional maritime organizations, including the ITF, sought to put the crisis in perspective when it noted, “If civil aircraft were being hijacked on a daily basis, the response of governments would be very different. Yet ships, which are the lifeblood of the global economy, are seemingly out of sight and out of mind. This apparent indifference to the lives of merchant seafarers and the consequences for society at large is simply unacceptable…. The shipping industry is utterly amazed that the world’s leading Union Says ‘No’ to Invasion of Privacy The U.S. Department of Transportation has recently mandated that merchant mariners must strip to the waist and be supervised when taking return-to-duty and follow-up urine drug testing, a new procedure change that the DOT slipped into its routine without consulting mariners or the industry. The SIU vehemently opposes the procedure change as an unjustified invasion of privacy. These new procedural requirements are spelled out in DOT’s 49 CFR Part 40.7(i) and say that employees must now “raise their shirts, blouses, or dresses/skirts above the waste, and lower their pants and underpants, to show the observer, by turning around, that they do not have a prosthetic device on their persons. After this is done, they may return their clothing to its proper position.” While the SIU agrees drug testing is necessary in the transportation industry, seafarers already have to comply with security, safety and substance dependency testing and rules that most Americans never face. In a letter to the DOT, SIU Executive Vice President Augustin Tellez called the procedural change an “unreasonable assault on employees’ privacy. The Department has not provided any data with respect to the maritime industry that documents or even suggests that there is widespread or even sporadic falsification of return-to-duty or follow-up test specimens, particularly those which may have resulted in serious marine incidents or injury.” He continued, “Mariners remain the most routinely and frequently drug-tested working populations in the U.S. In addition to those who test positive, mariners are required to be randomly drug tested aboard vessels at rates of 50 percent per vessel. “In the past five years,” Tellez added, “the preemployment drug testing positive rates among SIU members has been less than one percent each year. Based upon this excellent track record of maintaining a drug-free workforce, we believe the department should return to the status quo and permit marine employers and their designated representatives the discretion to waive the intrusive, directly observed procedures and the language in this new procedure be withdrawn. The SIU firmly believes that the goals of substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation which are designed to promote and enforce personal responsibility are seriously undermined by the department’s approach in these provisions.” November 2008 In formal comments on the same issue, the Transportation Institute, an association representing U.S.-flag vessel owners and operators engaged in all aspects of the nation’s marine transportation industry, stated that the DOT “has not viably demonstrated the need for such a change given the fact that the basis for the requirement has not been verified by any factual information and appears to be based solely on assumption.” The association also noted, “In mandating direct observation testing and removing the marine employers’ discretion, the Department is requiring that private sector collectors engage in the new, more invasive procedures for the seven required tests that many collectors may be reluctant to perform. Concerns have been raised regarding this situation to the extent that reports have been received that a major nationwide laboratory collector with hundreds of collection sites will refuse to collect drug screens under the newly defined directly observed procedures.” The AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD) also recently urged the DOT to reverse course on the procedures. In one communication to the agency, the department noted, “In promulgating Section 40.46(b), which now mandates collection under direct observation for return-to-duty or followup tests, DOT’s failure to provide notice and opportunity for comment is even more blatant. Nowhere in the NPRM or its preamble did DOT even discuss expanding direct observation for these types of tests. As such, DOT failed to put the public on notice that it was considering this regulatory change; failed to offer any rationale for expanding the circumstances in which this most intrusive form of testing will be required; and failed to allow any public comment on the matter. Greatly expanding the number of direct observation collections required, as this new provision will do, is even more onerous in light of the changes DOT has made to the manner in which direct observation testing must now be performed. Additionally, this new requirement will add burdens to employers who, under these provisions, will need to have trained individuals of the appropriate gender available to conduct these collections. By failing to provide the requisite notice and opportunity for comment, DOT deprived interested parties of any opportunity to discuss these issues or the impact expanded direct collections will have on the industry.” nations, with the naval resources at their disposal, are unable to maintain the security of one of the world’s most strategically important seaways, linking Europe to Asia via the Red Sea/Suez Canal.” The organization continued, “The international shipping industry, in the strongest possible way, urges governments to commit the necessary navy vessels now, and to ensure they have the freedom to engage forcefully against any act of piracy in the Gulf of Aden.” New NMC Medical Guidelines Become Final; SIU, Other Unions ‘Go to Bat’ on Mariners’ Behalf Earlier this year, SIU headquarters distributed to all ports new medical guidelines and hearing and vision standards that the National Maritime Center (NMC) began using to evaluate applications for original and renewal merchant mariner documents and licenses. Those guidelines have now been made final. The guidelines underwent an extensive review (over a three-year period) by a merchant marine personnel advisory committee that included representatives from the SIU and other unions; the final draft recommendations were forwarded to the Coast Guard in the spring. The SIU worked especially hard to ensure the new guidelines were the least burdensome on mariners as possible. The new guidelines are considerably more rigid than the old, officially to help ensure safety and productivity. They include conditions and categories such as hearing and vision loss; body mass index; alcohol and drug dependency/abuse; and a long list of other medical conditions that will require a waiver. Many of the medical conditions on the list are new with the new guidelines. To download the lists of conditions covered in the guidelines, go to NMC’s web site: www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/nvic/2000s.asp#2008 For a waiver form go to: www.uscg.mil/nmc/downloads.asp Mariners with questions are encouraged to contact NMC’s Medical Evaluation Branch via e-mail at: marinermedical@uscg.mil or call 1-888-IASKNMC (1-888427-5662). Following are some tips from the Coast Guard when getting a medical evaluation: ■ Start early – The Coast Guard recommends starting the process six months prior to the expiration of the seafarer’s merchant mariner documentation. Some of the reasons are that mariners may need follow-up examinations, time to get reports and appointments, etc. ■ Be sure to get copies of any recent evaluation reports and medical records concerning current and active conditions. ■ Always tell the truth during the process. Non-disclosure of conditions or falsifying statements is not only a federal offense but will result in not receiving credentials when caught. ■ If issued a waiver that has conditions or additional requirements, follow up on the recommendations fully and right away. ■ If the MMD/z-card is denied, appeal immediately. There is a 60-day deadline to appeal after the denial. A denial letter will be sent by the NMC with instructions for subsequent steps. Seafarers LOG 5 �52060:January 08 10/24/2008 1:42 AM Page 6 Study: U.S. ‘Marine Highways’ Offer Many Benefits Echoing the sentiments of the SIU, the U.S. Maritime Administration and other maritime organizations and experts, the Institute for Global Maritime Studies (IGMS) released a study in September further stressing the need for renewal of marine highway/short sea shipping. The IGMS grew out of the Maritime Studies Program at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. The aim of the non-profit educational organization (based in Gloucester, Mass.) is to explore a wide range of policy issues relating to the sea, and to disseminate findings to the general public through reports, articles and speeches. Its new study, “America’s Deep Blue Highway,” focuses on the need for investment and new policy toward coastal shipping from U.S. port to U.S. port. One of the realities of today’s economy is the need to ease pressure on the nation’s heavily congested highways and its weakened infrastructure, the report asserts. Another point in favor of utilizing America’s waterways reiterates a line of reasoning that SIU President Michael Sacco advanced in his column in the August Seafarers LOG – namely, that with the rising costs of energy, America must rely more on its own resources such as off-shore oil and liquefied natural gas. Those are resources that will depend heavily on American short sea shipping to various U.S. ports. “America can reduce the nation’s overall dependency on imported oil,” explains the institute. “Thus coastal shipping could help the nation deal with its oil addiction, and help the U.S. achieve a longstanding goal of reducing its oil imports from dangerous regions of the world.” According to the institute, “Transportation is fundamental to the economy, a major issue in our lives. We must return to the sea to get freight moving. The now-underused deep blue highway could provide resilience and improve the environmental performance of the nation’s transportation system. Coastal shipping could complement, not compete with, trucking and rail. This is especially critical given current pressures on the trucking industry, such as rising fuel costs.” The study points out the Federal Highway Administration estimates that freight tonnage will be 70 percent higher in 2020 than its 1998 level. Increased landside congestion slows the pace of economic productivity. The institute says in its research it has found a “growing chorus from numerous and diverse constituencies eager to move freight off the land and onto the water. “Rails and roads along most of America’s coastlines are at or beyond capacity,” says the study. “Making them better will be huge- ly expensive. The Society of Civil Engineers estimates that improving the nation’s surface transportation infrastructure would require $155.5 billion annually. The total price tag to shore up this failing system will cost trillions of dollars.” The institute’s study explains that transportation consumes more than two-thirds of the petroleum Americans now use – petroleum that is increasingly expensive and volatile in price. “Trucks use far more oil than trains or ships. On a ton-mile basis, ships are far more efficient users of energy than trucks.” Shipping is Safer and Reliable A second compelling reason for reviving coastal shipping, says the study, is national security. “Moving freight offshore would add resiliency to a brittle American transportation system. Our coastwise land transportation grids now suffer from infrastructure fatigue and vulnerability to disruption,” explains the study. “The American Society of Civil Engineers rates over 25 percent of our country’s 599,893 bridges as either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Today, even in ordinary circumstances, many American highways are at a breaking point, offering little resilience in the event of any unusual event…. “A relatively modest investment in our nation’s coastal sea routes would provide some redundancy, offering a prudent strategy to mitigate the impact of a disaster, be it an accident, storm, or terrorist attack.” Looking at coastal shipping as a means to help protect public safety, the study examines New York during the 9/11 attack. “In the face of this challenge, a fleet of NY Waterway Ferries, New York City police and fireboats, Coast Guard ships, commercial tugs and concerned local mariners supported and successfully executed a mass evacuation of lower Manhattan Island. With Manhattan’s subways and roadways not moving, NY Waterway nearly quintupled its daily average of 34,000 passengers to an astounding 158,500 that fateful day. Within a week of the incident, much of the New York ground transportation systems remained closed while the city’s surrounding waters increased their daily capacity to handle 250,000 commuters, over seven times the NY Waterway’s normal operating capacity. The mass exodus from Manhattan in the wake of this disaster is a powerful illustration of the national security value of coastal shipping.” (NY Waterway is an SIUcontracted company.) “Shipping offers a cheaper and safer means of carrying hazardous materials,” explains the institute. “It promises fewer accidents, reduces the risk to population centers, and would reduce wear and tear on roads. Trucks may account for only 10 percent of vehicle miles traveled but they cause over 75 percent of the Federal Highway Administration’s pavement maintenance costs.” It’s the Economy . . . The institute points at the economy as the third category of benefits from increased coastal and river shipping. It says policy goals should include reducing highway congestion, lowering highway maintenance costs, and increasing cargo flows between domestic ports. “Small ports, now underused, could enjoy all the benefits of a new economic enterprise. We currently spend more than $40 billion per year on highways,” says the study. “It would take a fraction of that amount to jumpstart coastal shipping. This would be a small yet prudent investment in the nation’s infrastructure that would bring substantial benefits to the American taxpayer.” Equally important, the institute predicts increased short sea shipping would boost national productivity. The study explains, “Federal, state and local governments should create a policy environment enabling entrepreneurial shipping companies to thrive. Moving freight quickly, cleanly, and safely is both good for free enterprise and good for the American public. It is in everyone’s interest to avoid landside transportation gridlock. Our vision is a vibrant system of sea highways connecting a network of American ports and interacting with the land-bound network.” Ships Use Less Energy According to the institute, “Medium and heavy trucks consume far more petroleum than do the rail and maritime sectors in the freight industry. In 2006, freight trucks accounted for over 18 percent of transportation’s oil consumption, second only to passenger cars and light trucks.” Based on its findings, the institute presents some of the following recommendations for public and private sector decisionmakers. This text was extracted directly from the study: ■ Develop and Implement a Comprehensive Strategic Transportation Vision. This vision should be national, and perhaps even continental, in scope. It should approach the system from an intermodal perspective, appreciating how road, rail, and water transportation can fit together to move freight and passengers more efficiently. Building on the recently released National Strategy for the Marine Transportation System, we argue that this vision needs a strong maritime component fully leveraging coastal shipping’s potential to be part of a national transportation solution. Accordingly, there should be real federal support to help make this mode a reality. ■ Eliminate the Harbor Maintenance Tax on Coastal Shipping. The domestic movement of containers accounts for only 0.2 percent of the total HMT collected, and the Harbor Maintenance Trust fund is running a $4 billion surplus that is expected to reach $8 billion by 2011. ■ Invest $150 million of Federal Funds in Prospective Coastal Shipping Ports. This should come in the form of grants to state and local transportation and planning departments managing working waterfronts to prepare piers, truck staging lots, and access ramps to landside transportation networks. This amount, equivalent to the cost of constructing only about 20 miles of expressway, would be sufficient to jumpstart coastal shipping services on the Atlantic, Gulf, Pacific, and Great Lakes coasts and should be above and beyond any support from the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act – a Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). This investment could be part of the Marine Highway Corridor Program identified in the recently released National Strategy for the Marine Transportation System. ■ Preserve Working Waterfronts. Industrial ports are in short supply, and will become more important as traffic congestion increases on America’s interstate highways and rail networks. Once a working waterfront is lost to housing or retail shops it is nearly impossible to bring it back. These ports are an undervalued but vital national resource and foresight is required to prevent their gentrification so that they will be ready to serve America’s revitalized deep blue highway. ■ Incorporate America’s Marine Highway into Homeland Security and Infrastructure Protection Plans. Adding to environmental and economic gains, coastal shipping also stands to bolster national security. Remembering the maritime evacuation of Manhattan on 9/11, we should think of coastal shipping as a vital national resource that will make America’s transportation network more resilient in times of emergency. ■ Encourage Hazardous Materials to be Carried Offshore and Away From Population Centers. 800,000 shipments of hazardous materials occur within the U.S. each day. Moving potentially dangerous cargoes offshore would not only help alleviate landside congestion but it would also spur coastal shipping operations. By removing the transportation of hazardous materials through some of the nation’s most crowded urban centers, it would also make sense from a safety and security perspective. Lake Carriers’ Assoc. Says Malfunction Stresses Need For Second Poe-Sized Lock A malfunction of the Poe Lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, on Sept. 24 has illustrated the pressing need for Congress to appropriate the funds to build another lock capable of handling the largest U.S.-Flag Great Lakes freighters, according to a key industry group. Although the vessel delays totaled only about three hours, had the problem been more severe, cargo movement on the Lakes would have slowed to a trickle, according to the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA). The group on Sept. 30 pointed out those U.S.-flag Lakers whose length and/or beam restrict them to the Poe Lock represent 70 percent of U.S.-flag carrying capacity. “The Poe Lock that connects Lake 6 Seafarers LOG Superior to the lower Great Lakes is the single point of failure that can cripple Great Lakes shipping,” said James H.I. Weakley, LCA president. “In 2007, the Poe Lock handled nearly 65 million tons of cargo. Without that lock, America’s steel industry is cut off from its major source of iron ore. Without that lock, Great Lakes basin utilities are denied access to clean burning, low-sulfur coal. There just aren’t enough ships that are small enough to transit the MacArthur Lock to make up for loss of Poe-class vessels.” The LCA represents 16 member companies which operate 63 U.S.-flag selfpropelled vessels and integrated tug/barge units. The need for a second Poe-sized lock (Photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) Shown from left to right at the Soo Locks are the MacArthur, Poe, Davis and Sabin locks. was recognized as long ago as 1986, according to the association. The Water Resources Development Act of that year authorized construction, but a lengthy debate over funding followed. “Thanks to the tireless efforts of Congressman James L. Oberstar (DMinn.), the funding logjam was broken last year when Congress authorized construction at full federal expense,” the Continued on Page 7 November 2008 �52060:January 08 10/24/2008 1:42 AM Page 7 Cleanup equipment is unloaded in Galveston, Texas, from the SIUcontracted Alliance New York, photo at left. In photo above, some of the Seafarers sailing aboard the Alliance New York are pictured last month. Seafarers Help in Hurricane’s Aftermath G&H Towing Praises SIU Members’ ‘Dedication and Commitment’ SIU members are helping with relief efforts in the Gulf Coast region following Hurricane Ike. Among other activities, crews from the Alliance New York recently transported cleanup equipment to Galveston, Texas, while Seafarers temporarily assigned to the training ship Texas Clipper (also docked in Galveston) are providing food and housing for some of the families displaced by the hurricane. Meanwhile, SIU boatmen employed by Galvestonbased G&H Towing Company recently were commended by the company for their outstanding efforts before, during and after the storm, which struck the area in mid-September. In a communication last month to the crews and the union, G&H praised the Seafarers’ performance and announced issuance of “a one-time special compensation” to be paid to eligible mariners. In its letter to the crew, the company noted, “We sailed over 80 ships from the Ports of Houston, Galveston, Texas City, Freeport and Corpus Christi in advance of the hurricane. Our crews then towed laid-up tugs to safe mooring locations, repositioned tugs to their assigned locations and made final preparations for the hurricane’s arrival. Through your efforts all of our tugs made it through the storm undamaged. “Following the storm, we coordinated a crew change of the entire fleet of tugs based in Houston at Jacintoport. The cooperation and can-do attitude of all crew members following the storm was inspiring…. Many personnel offered to work extra, since their homes were damaged or without utility services. Your dedication and commitment was evident and appreciated.” Seafarers temporarily assigned to the training ship Texas Clipper are using their skills to assist local families. TWIC Clock Continues to Tick Association Cites Need For Second U.S. Mariners Need Credential by April 15, 2009 Poe-Sized Lock Continued from Page 6 association pointed out in a news release. “We were lucky this time,” said Weakley. “There was unusually light traffic and the Corps was able to respond quickly. Nonetheless, the Poe Lock is nearly 40 years old. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does a fantastic job of maintaining the locks at the Soo, but mechanical problems are inevitable as the infrastructure ages. Great Lakes shipping is the raw-materials lifeline for America’s industrial heartland. We must twin the Poe Lock as soon as possible; $17 million has been appropriated to begin in-depth design work and build coffer dams, but in total, the project will cost more than $340 million and could take as much as 10 years to complete. Every day we wait puts America’s economy at risk. The railroads don’t have the rolling stock to haul the cargo that moves on the Great Lakes. Even if they did, ships burn less fuel and produce fewer emissions than trains (and trucks). Loss of the Poe Lock won’t just hurt the economy, it will harm the environment.” Many of the ships operated by LCA member companies carry SIU crews. These vessels transport the raw materials that drive the nation’s economy: iron ore and fluxstone for the steel industry, limestone and cement for the construction industry, coal for power generation, and more. Collectively, the ships can transport more than 115 million tons of cargo a year when high water levels offset the lack of adequate dredging of Great Lakes ports and waterways (another ongoing fight cited by the LCA and others). November 2008 While the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has stated that it has begun enforcing the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program at various U.S. ports, the deadline for mariners to acquire this new document remains the same: April 15, 2009. In the interim, as reported numerous times, a valid zcard/merchant mariner document is considered sufficient documentation for mariners to comply with the TWIC requirements. Many Seafarers already have acquired their TWICs or at least have enrolled for them. Based on feedback both at monthly membership meetings and via other communications, the process has been decidedly mixed for SIU members and officials. Nevertheless, the TWIC is not optional for U.S. mariners – it is a federally mandated card required for unescorted access in ports and aboard ships. With that in mind – and in part because of what generously may be described as occasional hiccups in the enrollment process – members are urged to apply for their TWICs as soon as possible. As of mid-October, there was no official word on implementation of another critical component of U.S. seafarer credentialing – the merchant mariner qualification credential (MMC), which eventually is supposed to replace the current z-card/MMD. Before the TWIC deadline for mariners got bumped from September 2008 to April 2009, the government had announced plans to issue a final rule on the MMC program. Interim communications indicated that the MMC may be a paper document rather than one in the traditional z-card style; would cost less than today’s z-card; and may be acquired entirely by mail, without having to visit a Coast Guard regional examination center. (Most or all of the information currently submitted in person at one of the RECs already would have been submitted at a TWIC enrollment center when an individual applied for a TWIC, removing the need, though not eliminating the option, to apply for an MMC in person.) Since then, there has been a shortage of information about the MMC program but the union is monitoring the situation and will publicize the details as they become known. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security early last month reported that more than 576,000 individuals had pre-enrolled for TWICs, while more than 363,000 cards had been activated. The latter figure is far below the projected 1 million-plus individuals who are estimated to need a TWIC, which has renewed concerns throughout the industry about effective implementation and enforcement. ■ Pre-Enroll For more information On the web: www.tsa.gov/twic By phone: TWIC Program Help Desk, 1-866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-3478942) By email: credentialing@dhs.gov Applicants must return to the same enrollment center to pick up their credential. They will be notified by email or phone (as specified during enrollment) when the card is ready. The individual TWIC will be activated, and the card-holder will select a corresponding PIN number. Step-by-step instructions This can save time at the enrollment center itself. To pre-enroll, individuals must first register for an ID starting at https://twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/TWIC WebApp/ Applicants will need to supply basic information including their name, date of birth and country of birth. ■ Gather Documentation As part of the TWIC application process, individual applicants must supply documentation verifying their identity. A list of acceptable documents was printed on page 4 of the January edition of the Seafarers LOG and is available on the TSA’s TWIC web site. ■ Enroll Applicants may enroll at any of the agency’s enrollment centers, at which time they must pay the TWIC fee of $132.50 (or the reduced fee of $105.25, if applying for a TWIC that expires in conjunction with a merchant mariner document). Applicants will provide fingerprints and be photographed as well as provide personal information. ■ Pick up TWIC Seafarers LOG 7 �52060:January 08 10/24/2008 1:42 AM Page 8 The USNS Mercy (photo above) is pictured near Weno Island, Micronesia. Humanitarian assistance was vital to the people who live in Papua, New Guinea, part of which is visible in the foreground of the photo at right. CIVMAR-Crewed USNS Mercy Completes Deployment The U.S. Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Mercy, carrying an unlicensed crew of SIU Government Services Division members, returned to San Diego Sept. 25 after completing Pacific Partnership, a four-month humanitarian, civic assistance and theater security cooperation mission, conducted with countries from the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia. According to MSC, throughout the 2008 Pacific Partnership mission, the Mercy served as an enabling platform for military and nongovernmental organizations to coordinate and carry out relationship-building work in the Republic of the Philippines, Vietnam, the Federated States of Micronesia, TimorLeste and Papua New Guinea. During this year’s mission more than 90,000 patients were treated by the medical teams from the Mercy. Among those treated were more than 14,000 dental patients and more than 1,300 surgery patients in various locations throughout the Western Pacific. “With thousands of people who benefited from the mission, it’s humbling to think that only 67 civilian mariners drove the ship,” said the Mercy’s civil service master, Capt. Robert Wiley. “While the Mercy’s focus was primarily medical, the mission wouldn’t have been possible without the civil service mariners getting the ship were it needed to go.” The civil service mariners or CIVMARS embarked for the deployment were responsible for the Mercy’s navigation, propulsion and engineering services. Because of the Mercy’s size, it wasn’t able to pull pierside in any of the countries, so CIVMARS also operated two 33-foot utility boats that were used Cook Drew Stanley (right) serves lunch to Bosun Gerald Butch. to ferry patients and mission personnel between ship and shore. “The mariners were the first that patients saw and the last when they departed,” said Navy Capt. Jim Rice, the Mercy’s embarked Military Treatment Facility commander. “They left a lasting impression.” In addition to running the ship and transporting patients, the Mercy’s CIVMARS contributed to Pacific Partnership’s community outreach, the agency noted. They assisted Navy Seabees with engineering projects that improved life for people in the host countries. The projects ranged from repairing plumbing, playground equipment and lighting in a local school and health clinic in Vietnam to fixing air conditioning in a hospital in Papua New Guinea. “Throughout Pacific Partnership, the Government Services Representative Kate Hunt speaks with crew members. professionalism of Mercy’s civilian mariners and the support of Military Sealift Command were vital to the success of the mission,” said Navy Capt. William Kearns, Pacific Partnership mission commander. The Mercy’s military treatment facility included personnel from public health/preventive medicine; U.S. Navy, U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force medicine; and U.S. Public Health Service. Nongovernmental organizations also embarked to provide medical support throughout the mission. The USNS Mercy is one of two U.S. Navy hospital ships owned and operated by MSC. In 2007, the Mercy’s sister ship, the USNS Comfort, deployed on a similar four-month humanitarian mission that treated more than 98,000 people in 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries. Bosun Gerald Butch pitches in to sweep the deck. With SIU CIVMARS Aboard the USNS Comfort These photos were taken in mid-September aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort in Baltimore. The vessel carries an unlicensed crew of SIU Government Services Division members. AB Curtis Watson III runs a deck resurfacer. 8 Seafarers LOG The vessel includes this mock-up of an operating room. SIU Baltimore Acting Port Agent Elizabeth Brown (left) and SIU Government Services Division Representative Kate Hunt are pictured near the ship. November 2008 �52060:January 08 10/24/2008 November 2008 1:42 AM Page 9 Seafarers LOG 9 �52060x:2060p0 10/27/2008 1:38 PM Page 10 Members are sworn in as they receive their books in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. From left to right are Julio Marcone, Lorenzo Alvarez, Robert Rocanelli and Johnny Palencia. Alvarez received his “B” book; the others, their respective “A” books. Meeting in Ft. Lauderdale – Attendance was very strong at the September membership meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., where the photos on the top portion of this page were taken. In addition to the presentation of the regular reports, representatives from the Florida AFL-CIO addressed the membership and encouraged everyone to register and vote. Among those present (clockwise from above) were Seafarers Alfredo Rodriguez, Allan Green, Errol Mullings and Randolph Scott; ACU German Solar Sr. and QMED Gerardo Vega, and OMU Hipolita Rochez and ACU Elena Lee. Safety Director Kevin Marchand (right) conducts orientation at the hall. Topics included the unlicensed apprentice program at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. At Sea and Ashore with the SIU Safety Award – Lifeboat Drill in Philly – OS Veronica Hernandez recently submitted these photos of a lifeboat drill aboard the new tanker Overseas New York. The drill took place last spring while the vessel was docked at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, site of its construction. Recertified Bosun Dan Laitinen (above right) recently earned a cash award from Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) for his safety-related efforts aboard the Maersk Rhode Island. Capt. James H. Walker (above left) reports that the bosun “earned the safety award for leading his crew on safely chipping and painting the above-deck cargo pipelines. This was a particularly difficult job to do safely since the pipelines are about three meters above the cargo deck and don’t offer any convenient flat surface from which to work. Mr. Laitinen’s leadership was instrumental in getting this job done safely and effectively. It is an honor to have such a fine leader and professional in the deck department aboard the Maersk Rhode Island.” The award is part of an overall safety program aggressively implemented by MLL with support from maritime labor. Celebrating a Milestone – In early September, Seafarers at Crowley-Petty’s Island (including those pictured above) observed a praiseworthy milestone. Specifically, they celebrated one year of accident-free work. Seafarers at the facility, located in the Delaware River between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, work with barges and RO/ROs. Seafarers Deliver – Capt. Garry Matthews in late August sent this picture of the SIU-crewed tugboat American Patriot (left) delivering cranes in Lagos, Nigeria, for APM Terminals. The cranes are secured on an unmanned barge. The tug is operated by American Marine Corporation. 10 Seafarers LOG November 2008 �52060:January 08 10/24/2008 1:43 AM Page 11 The Seafarers-contracted Swift, pictured near the battleship USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, is a versatile vessel that can sail at up to 42 knots. In this U.S. Navy photo from 2004, the HSV Swift passes through the drawbridge portion of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge en route to Alexandria, Va., just up the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Following Safety Training, Crew Says, ‘We’re Ready’ Nine Seafarers who recently completed safety training at the Paul Hall Center said the coursework substantially helped prepare them for upcoming assignment aboard the HSV Swift, operated by Sealift, Inc. Because the Swift has a helicopter flight deck and is involved in operations for the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC), Sealift asked the union-affiliated school to arrange for helicopter fire fighting training and chemical, biological and radiological defense (CBRD) training for the crew members. Toward the end of their instruction in early October, the experienced Seafarers Bosun Richard Fugit, AB Leo Batiste, AB Vladimir Filip, QMED Bryan Fletcher, QMED Russell Lino, QMED Oscar Pena, Chief Cook Rafael Chow, Chief Cook Jimmy Cordova and Chief Cook Andres Cruz said they were ready to go to the ship for the first time. (The high-speed vessel is a relatively new addition to the Seafarerscontracted fleet.) They all said they appreciated the top-notch training they received at the Piney Point, Md.-based school. While most of the members have been on MSC-related vessels before (for example, Cordova recalled how he helped prepare and serve 2,500 meals a day during Hurricane Katrina relief efforts), they look forward to the new experience aboard the Swift and believe this round of training has prepared them for the special mission of the ship. “MSC and Sealift are really getting their bang for the buck at this school,” said Fugit. “I can’t wait to get on board.” “Unique” is a word many people use to describe the Swift. The 331-foot long catamaran was first deployed under contract with Military Sealift Command in 2003 and has done a myriad of U.S. Navy task force operations varying from delivering cargo to humanitarian missions around the world. The Swift’s wave-piercing catamaran hull is capable of more than 42 knots, according to MSC. It was developed as a support ship as part of the Navy’s sea-basing, prepositioning strategy and is slated for upcoming assignments in Central and South America. The Paul Hall Center established its helicopter or helo fire fighting course to meet the unique needs of MSC. Last year, the course – which blends practical training with classroom instruction – received formal accreditation from the agency. Helicopter fire fighting training includes main topics such as fire chemistry; flight quarters organization; personal protective equipment; fire fighting equipment; helicopter types; and helicopter fire fighting tactics (including practical exercises on combating engine fires, cargo fires and more). CBRD is an eight-hour course designed to inform students of the dangers associated with weapons of mass destruction, how best to protect themselves and their vessels, and their responsibilities in a CBR environment. As quoted from the MSC guideline for the class: “The primary focus of this course is the knowledge of personal protection equipment, with an emphasis on survivability of the individual and the ship, and to impart confidence in their ability to survive and exist in a contaminated environment.” Earlier this year, when Sealift was awarded the contract to operate the Swift, the company noted that the ship will be deployed worldwide in support of U.S. Fleet Forces Command and the war on terrorism. The vessel also will be used for “emerging operational concepts such as sea-basing and the Global Fleet Station,” the latter of which is a military operation directed by U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command. In these three photos, students engage in hands-on training in Piney Point, Md., prior to signing on aboard the HSV Swift. The coursework took place at the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School, a component of the Paul Hall Center. Paul Hall Center Offers Career Advancement The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., offers the most U.S. Coast Guardapproved courses of any maritime school in the nation. The center features top-notch training from experienced instructors and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. The school offers courses for mariners sailing in the deck, engine and steward departments. Following is a quick look at one of those classes. For more information about the center and its courses, contact the Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; call (301) 994-0010; or visit the Paul Hall Center section of www.seafarers.org. Course dates are listed on page 21 of this issue of the LOG and also are carried on the web site. November 2008 Deck Department Spotlight Government Vessels This three-week class is open to mariners sailing in any department. The course is structured as three one-week, stand-alone modules. The modules may be taken in any order. Included in the first week are an introduction to the U.S. Military Sealift Command and military vessels, damage control, CBRD (chemical, biological, radiological defense), anti-terrorism level I and hazardous materials training. The second week features forklift operations, underway replenishment and vertical replenishment. Cargo-handling and crane operations are included in the third week. This course is required of students attending AB or FOWT courses. (Prerequisites: No additional.) Seafarers LOG 11 �52060x:2060p0 10/27/2008 1:39 PM Page 12 SIU crew members are working aboard the Savannah to decommmission, “safe store” and preserve the historic landmark. They are (above, left to right): GVA Yvonne Swann, GVA Therman Ames and Electrician Charles Wharton. The NS Savannah (photo at right) currently is moored in Baltimore. The vessel’s commissioning plaque (photo inset) provides a wealth of information about its history. Seafarers are ‘Part of History’ Aboard NS Cutaway model of the Savannah’s nuclear reactor “Not many SIU members can say they are part of this history,” said Charles Wharton, electrician aboard the world’s first nuclear-powered merchant vessel, the NS Savannah. The four SIU members on the Savannah are working for Keystone Shipping Services Inc. at the Port of Baltimore to decommission, “safe store” and preserve the historic landmark. The Savannah, a combination cargo and passenger ship, was named by President Dwight Eisenhower in memory of the SS Savannah, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic in 1819. It was conceived in the 1950s as part of Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” program in which the president proposed research programs for peaceful uses of atomic energy. The ship was designed, constructed and operated as a joint research and development project of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd) and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). MarAd supplied the ship and the AEC contributed the reactor and related nuclear systems. Its sponsor was First Lady Mamie Eisenhower. The keel of the Savannah was laid in Camden, N.J., and, of course, its home was the Port of Savannah, Ga. Its sleek design and steam generators allowed the 595-foot long ship to reach a cruising speed of 21 knots. The Savannah had spacious lounges, passenger rooms, a dance floor, a bar, a barber shop a huge state-of-the-art galley with an original RadarRange microwave oven (which is still onboard), plus a hospital and a swimming pool. The crew didn’t have it bad either. Crew cabins were spacious by the standards of the era and were shared by two crew members. The ship’s interior included plenty of stainless steel and tile, and an art deco flair. But, while the Savannah may look and sound like a luxury ride, it has a 9,400 deadweight ton cargo capacity and three now-operational cranes thanks to the crew. The ship’s reactor was first brought to power in 1961, with seagoing trials following in 1962. The AEC ended its participation in the project in 1965, transferring liability and title of the reactor to MarAd. The Savannah was operated in experimental and commercial demonstration service throughout the 1960s. Having carried hundreds of passengers (many given passage at no cost) and thousands of pounds of cargo along and east and west coasts and through the Panama Canal, it completed its research and development objectives, and was removed from service in 1970. When alternative uses for the ship failed to materialize, its nuclear power plant w defueled, partially decommissioned, a prepared for long-term lay-up under c temporary best practices. From 1981 to 1994 the vessel was bareboat chartered to the Patriots Poi Development Authority of Charleston S.C., for public display. During that p od the PPDA was designated a “colicensee” for the reactor and exercise custody of the ship – but ownership remained with MarAd and still does today. The ship’s charter was termina by mutual agreement in 1994 when th vessel was removed from Charleston drydocking. Then, the Savannah was placed in MarAd’s James River Rese Fleet for long-term retention in accor dance with the circa 1970 lay-up plan MarAd has no present plans to dis pose of the ship. It is a registered National Historic Landmark, and in t future the agency hopes to develop a program for its long-term preservatio Keystone is currently working toward decommissioning which will include up to 10-year project of removing the reactor and scheduled preservation w MarAd’s goal is to make the ship ava A mural of the ship’s reactor room (photo at left) was painted in the vessel’s entrance passageway for passengers to see when they came aboard. The ship’s original veranda opened (above) to the swimming pool. At right is a photo of one of the ship’s original dining areas. Notice the model of the SS Savannah at left. 12 Seafarers LOG November 2008 �52060:January 08 10/24/2008 1:43 AM Page 13 Clockwise from above, Electrician Wharton stands next to the ship’s reactor control board. The remaining photos show the Savannah’s engine room, control board, and hospital. S Savannah s When ed to ant was ned, and nder conl was s Point eston, that pericorcised ship does minated hen the eston for was Reserve accorp plan. o disd d in the op a vation. oward its lude an ng the on work. p avail- able for preservation through its Ship Donation Program. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission conducts regular inspections and has deemed the ship safe. “The nuclear material was taken off years ago and the NRC has many safeguards. There’s no risk to us [the crew] and I really enjoy being part of history and doing something not many get a chance to do,” says GVA Yvonne Swann. “This is going to be another SIU job well done,” exclaimed GVA Therman Ames about serving aboard the Savannah. “This is a great job because there’s always something different for each of us to do.” According to the SIU members who were on board in September, the many different jobs have included removing mold and mildew, electrical work, chipping, painting, getting furniture reupholstered, replacing old floor tile and many mechanical jobs in effort to help preserve the landmark and get the sleek ship as near to original condition as possible. They are also in the process of installing an air conditioning system and just finished reconstruction of some cargo winches. “It’s an exciting labor of love that we’re all proud to do,” said Swann. The ship’s barbershop is shown above while the photo at immediate right shows a typical crew cabin. The main reactor room hatch, complete with radiation indicator, is depicted at far right. The hatch is inspected regularly by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. An original RadarRange microwave oven (above, left) is still in the Savannah’s galley (above, right). November 2008 Seafarers LOG 13 �52060:January 08 10/24/2008 1:44 AM Page 14 SIU Plan Offers Eight Scholarships For 2009 Seafarers, Dependents May Apply The Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan each year offers scholarships to qualified Seafarers and dependents who are interested in furthering their education. Designed to ease the financial challenges associated with college and vocational studies, the 2009 SHBP Scholarship Program will offer eight awards: three will be designated for Seafarers and five will be targeted for spouses and dependents. One of the scholarships reserved for Seafarers totals $20,000 and is intended to help defray the costs associated with attending a fouryear, college-level course of study. The remaining two are in the amount of $6,000 each and are designed as two-year awards for study at a postsecondary vocational school or community college. Each of the five scholarships for spouses and dependents is for $20,000 apiece. Now is an ideal time to begin the application process. The first step is to send for the 2009 SHBP Scholarship Program booklet. The package contains eligibility information, procedures for applying for the scholarships and an application form. To obtain a copy of this handout, simply complete the form which appears below and return it to the address provided. As an alternative to requesting a package through the mail, they also are available at SIU halls. Once the scholarship booklet has been received, applicants should check the eligibility criteria to determine if they are eligible to participate. They should also begin collecting and assembling the remainder of the paperwork needed to submit with the full application, which must be received by April 15, 2009. Items that need to be incorporated in the final application package include transcripts and certificates of graduation. Since some institutions respond slowly in handling transcript needs, requests should be made as early as possible. Letters of recommendation – solicited from individuals who know the applicant’s character, personality and career goals – should be included as part of the application package. A high-quality photograph and a certified copy of the applicant’s birth certificate are also required and should accompany the package. A scholarship selection committee, consisting of a panel of professional educators, will examine the high school grades of all applicants as well as evaluate scores from their Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) and American College Tests (ACT). Accordingly, arrangements should be made by applicants who have not done so to take these tests no later than February 2009. Doing so will virtually assure that the results reach the evaluation committee in time for review. Seafarers and dependents who previously applied for the scholarship program and were not selected are encouraged to apply again this year, provided they still meet the eligibility requirements. Don’t allow the rapidly increasing costs of higher education prevent you from realizing your goals—the SHBP Scholarship Program can make a real difference. Please send me the 2009 SHBP Scholarship Program booklet which contains eligibility information, procedures for applying and a copy of the application form. Name ................................................................................................................................ Street Address ................................................................................................................. City, State, Zip Code ...................................................................................................... Telephone Number ..........( This application is for: ).................................................................................... Self Dependent Mail this completed form to: Scholarship Program Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 14 Seafarers LOG 11/08 Union Plus Scholarship Program Makes Starting, Continuing Education Affordable Since 1992, the Union Plus Scholarship Program has awarded more than $2.5 million to students of working families who want to begin or continue their post-secondary education. More than 1,700 families have benefited from this commitment to higher education. The Union Plus Scholarship Program is offered through the Union Plus Education Foundation. The students selected for university, college, trade school or technical scholarships represent a wide sampling of backgrounds, union affiliations, goals and accomplishments. Eligibility for Scholarships Because the SIU participates in Union Plus, current and retired SIU members, their spouses and their dependent children (including foster children, step children, and any other child for whom the individual member provides greater than 50 percent of his or her support) can apply for a Union Plus Scholarship. (Participating union members from the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada are eligible.) Members do not have to purchase any Union Plus program product or participate in any Union Plus programs to apply for the scholarships, and scholarship awards are not based upon participation in a Union Plus program. The individual must be accepted into an accredited college or university, community college or recognized technical or trade school at the time the award is issued. Note: Graduate students are now eligible. Evaluation criteria The scholarship program is open to students attending or planning to attend a college or university, a community college, or a technical college or trade school. Applicants for scholarships are evaluated according to academic ability, social awareness, financial need and appreciation of labor. Scholarship applications are judged by a committee of impartial post-secondary educators. Applications are first reviewed by a panel of independent career professionals. Semi-finalists are chosen based on a point scale, and their applications are then provided to judges for further review and selection of finalists and awards. Program judges include representatives from the American Association of Community Colleges, the United Negro College Fund, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. Scholarship award amounts The amount of the award ranges from $500-$4,000. This is a one-time cash award sent to individual winners for study beginning in the fall of the same year. How to apply For information about obtaining the Union Plus Scholarship application, visit the Union Plus web site at www.unionprivilege.org/benefits/education/scholarships/u p.cfm or call 1-800-452-9425. The application deadline is Jan. 31, 2009. Selected scholarship recipients’ names will be announced May 31. Due to the high volume of applications, only winners receive notification. Deadline: All applications must be postmarked by Jan. 31, 2009. November 2008 �52060:January 08 10/24/2008 1:44 AM Page 15 December 2008 & January 2009 Membership Meetings Dispatchers’ Repor t for Deep Sea September 16, 2008 — October 15, 2008 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Piney Point..........................Monday: December 8, January 5 TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Trip Reliefs **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C Algonac ................................Friday: December 12, January 9 Port Baltimore.........................Thursday: December 11, January 8 Boston ..................................Friday: December 12, January 9 Guam..................Friday: December 26, Thursday, January 22 Honolulu ........................... Friday: December 19, January 16 Houston.............................Monday: December 15, January 12 Jacksonville..................... Thursday: December 11, January 8 Joliet...............................Thursday: December 18, January 15 Mobile.........................Wednesday: December 17, January 14 New Orleans...........................Tuesday: December 16, January 13 New York.............................Tuesday: December 9, January 6 Norfolk.............................Thursday: December 11, January 8 Oakland ..........................Thursday: December 18, January 15 Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Philadelphia...................Wednesday: December 10, January 7 Port Port Everglades ..............Thursday: December 18, January 15 Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington San Juan ...........................Thursday: December 11, January 8 St. Louis ..............................Friday: December 19, January 16 Tacoma................................Friday: December 26, January 23 Wilmington...........................Monday: December 22, January 19 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. Personals Idania Pearson is looking for SIU member Kendrid Jackson. She asks that Jackson contact her as soon as possible at (773) 651-7583. Alicia Rios would like Albert Rios (formerly of Denver, Co.) or anyone who sailed with him to contact her at (801) 414-8468. Albert began sailing with the SIU in the late 40’s. Holiday Closures Please be advised that—unless an emergency arises—SIU Headquarters and all SIU hiring halls will be closed Tuesday, Nov. 11 for the observance of Veterans’ Day, and Thursday, Nov. 27 for the observance of Thanksgiving. Normal business hours will resume at all affected locations the following workdays after the respective holidays. Dig up some SIU treasures online at the Slop Chest: www.siustore.com Visit the store and place your order today! November 2008 Totals DECK DEPARTMENT 2 0 5 17 3 8 50 27 1 17 21 44 21 20 5 0 10 5 32 19 3 5 4 7 5 8 22 29 2 5 4 31 24 13 3 7 5 7 29 21 0 2 0 3 3 1 5 3 1 1 2 5 3 1 2 0 0 0 4 5 0 1 4 5 2 3 31 27 2 11 14 27 12 23 3 0 8 0 27 23 1 3 10 13 5 7 16 9 0 4 4 12 16 9 0 3 6 5 18 17 0 0 0 2 1 2 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 16 15 0 3 16 8 3 6 1 1 2 0 19 12 3 0 12 25 3 16 74 49 0 24 31 88 22 40 4 0 12 5 66 40 5 7 6 20 5 14 43 41 3 11 12 50 29 21 9 11 12 9 39 35 1 2 0 3 3 0 7 5 1 2 4 10 7 3 4 0 1 0 3 10 307 234 40 223 158 16 108 514 382 66 0 0 3 8 1 5 13 22 0 4 11 15 11 9 2 0 4 1 8 6 0 0 3 7 1 1 17 12 1 4 2 12 9 5 0 3 6 4 20 11 0 0 1 0 2 1 2 1 0 0 0 4 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 2 123 118 20 ENGINE DEPARTMENT Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals Totals All Departments 0 0 1 5 1 3 12 8 1 4 0 7 8 3 2 3 3 1 8 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 2 3 0 0 3 15 0 2 1 4 3 5 1 1 3 1 8 5 0 0 3 14 1 12 29 31 1 8 17 24 14 11 3 0 5 2 28 16 1 3 6 11 3 3 21 30 1 6 5 22 24 13 2 4 8 9 29 21 0 1 2 2 2 1 1 0 1 0 2 3 6 3 0 0 1 0 3 3 92 75 12 48 219 222 32 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 1 0 2 7 1 3 23 17 0 4 6 19 11 13 1 1 0 0 12 22 2 0 1 10 2 0 6 9 0 2 2 5 16 4 0 0 0 1 6 7 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 143 73 13 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington 0 0 3 3 1 5 7 13 0 5 4 7 9 13 2 2 4 0 10 4 1 0 2 3 2 6 12 17 0 5 5 16 7 12 3 3 1 0 14 11 3 0 0 2 1 0 6 5 0 0 1 2 10 3 0 1 0 0 5 5 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 7 0 1 1 7 3 9 1 2 0 0 6 7 1 0 3 15 4 14 36 30 0 7 10 34 11 34 4 2 1 0 21 44 3 0 1 14 3 4 10 13 0 4 5 13 21 7 0 0 4 2 6 8 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 2 0 1 1 4 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 120 44 6 47 271 119 18 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 4 0 1 2 6 0 7 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 0 3 8 0 2 25 17 1 5 6 25 16 12 0 6 4 0 12 8 3 1 1 10 1 5 3 11 1 5 1 12 12 9 1 17 1 0 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 4 0 1 1 4 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 7 0 2 13 12 0 4 2 16 9 7 1 6 0 0 10 2 0 0 0 4 0 2 5 4 0 2 0 3 6 1 0 19 1 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 9 3 0 1 1 10 1 5 0 0 0 0 6 5 2 1 5 13 4 8 39 43 1 6 7 60 25 29 0 3 10 1 26 21 6 1 1 14 2 11 12 5 1 7 1 17 29 23 2 3 0 0 8 13 29 156 106 19 95 52 0 38 300 163 602 581 179 454 372 86 203 1042 1023 279 Seafarers LOG 15 �52060x:2060p0 10/27/2008 1:41 PM Page 16 Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 3328, Hagatna, Guam 96932 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG ANNUAL FUNDING NOTICE FOR SEAFARERS PENSION PLAN Introduction This notice, which federal law requires all multiemployer plans to send annually, includes important information about the funding level of Seafarers Pension Plan, Plan Number 001, Employer Identification Number 13-6100329 (Plan). This notice also includes information about rules governing insolvent plans and benefit payments guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal agency. 1 This notice is for the plan year beginning January 1, 2007 and ending December 31, 2007 (Plan Year). Plan’s Funding Level The Plan’s “funded current liability percentage” for the Plan Year was more than 100%. In general, the higher the percentage, the better funded the plan. The funded current liability percentage, however, is not indicative of how well a plan will be funded in the future or if it terminates. Whether this percentage will increase or decrease over time depends on a number of factors, including how the plan’s investments perform, what assumptions the plan makes about rates of return, whether employer contributions to the fund increase or decline, and whether benefits payments from the fund increase or decline. Plan’s Financial Information The market value of the Plan’s assets as of January 1, 2007 was $676,381,358. The total amount of benefit payments for the Plan Year was $32,262,397. The ratio of assets to benefit payments is 21.0:1. This ratio suggests that the Plan’s assets could provide for approximately 21 years of benefit payments in annual amounts equal to what was paid out in the Plan Year. However, the ratio does not take into account future changes in total benefit payments or plan assets. Where to Get More Information For more information about this notice, you may contact Margaret R. Bowen, Plan Administrator, at 301-899-0675, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. For more information about the PBGC and multiemployer benefit guarantees, go to PBGC’s website, www.pbgc.gov, or call PBGC toll-free at 1-800-400-7242 (TTY/TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll free at 1-800877-8339 and ask to be connected to 1800-400-7242. Rules Governing Insolvent Plans Federal Law has a number of special rules that apply to financially troubled multiemployer plans. Under so-called “plan reorganization rules,” a plan with adverse financial experience may need to increase required contributions and may, under certain circumstances, reduce benefits that are not eligible for the PBGC’s guarantee (generally, benefits that have been in effect for less than 60 months). If a plan is in reorganization status, it must provide notification that the plan is in reorganization status and that, if contributions are not increased, accrued benefits under the plan may be reduced or an excise tax may be imposed (or both). The law requires the plan to furnish this notification to each contributing employer and the labor organization. Despite the special plan reorganization rules, a plan in reorganization nevertheless could become insolvent. A plan is insolvent for a plan year if its available financial resources are not sufficient to pay benefits when due for the plan year. An insolvent plan must reduce benefit payments to the highest level that can be paid from the plan’s available financial resources. If such resources are not enough to pay benefits at a level specified by law (see Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC, below), the plan must apply to the PBGC for financial assistance. The PBGC, by law, will loan the plan the amount necessary to pay benefits at the guaranteed level. Reduced benefits may be restored if the plan’s financial condition improves. A plan that becomes insolvent must provide prompt notification of the insolvency to participants and beneficiaries, contributing employers, labor unions representing participants, and PBGC. In addition, participants and beneficiaries also must receive information regarding whether, and how, their benefits will be reduced or affected as a result of the insolvency, including loss of a lump sum option. This information will be provided for each year the plan is insolvent. Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC The maximum benefit that the PBGC guarantees is set by law. Only vested benefits are guaranteed. Specifically, the PBGC guarantees a monthly benefit payment equal to 100 percent of the first $11 of the Plan’s monthly benefit accrual rate, plus 75 percent of the next $33 of the accrual rate, times each year of credited service. The PBGC’s maximum guarantee, therefore, is $35.75 per month times a participant’s years of credited service. Example 1: If a participant with 10 years of credited service has an accrued monthly benefit of $500, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the PBGC guarantee would be determined by dividing the monthly benefit by the participant’s years of service ($500/10), which equals $50. The guaranteed amount for a $50 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $24.75 (.75 x $33), or $35.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit is $357.50 ($35.75 x 10). Example 2: If the participant in Example 1 has an accrued monthly benefit of $200, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the guarantee would be $20 (or $200/10). The guaranteed amount for a $20 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $6.75 (.75 x $9), or $17.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit would be $177.50 ($17.75 x 10). In calculating a person’s monthly payment, the PBGC will disregard any benefit increases that were made under the plan within 60 months before the earlier of the plan’s termination or insolvency. Similarly, the PBGC does not guarantee pre-retirement death benefits to a spouse or beneficiary (e.g., a qualified preretirement survivor annuity) if the participant dies after the plan terminates, benefits above the normal retirement benefit, disability benefits not in pay status, or non-pension benefits, such as health insurance, life insurance, death benefits, vacation pay, or severance pay. ANNUAL FUNDING NOTICE FOR MCS SUPPLEMENTARY PENSION PLAN Introduction This notice, which federal law requires all multiemployer plans to send annually, includes important information about the funding level of the MCS Supplementary Pension Plan, Plan Number 001, Employer Identification Number 51-6097856 (Plan). This notice also includes information about rules governing insolvent plans and benefit payments guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal agency. This notice is for the plan year beginning January 1, 2007 and ending December 31, 2007 (Plan Year). Plan’s Funding Level The Plan’s “funded current liability percentage” for the Plan Year was 134.9%. In general, the higher the percentage, the better funded the plan. The funded current liability percentage, however, is not indicative of how well a plan will be funded in the future or if it terminates. Whether this percentage will increase or decrease over time depends on a number of factors, including how the plan’s investments perform, what assumptions the plan makes about rates of return, whether employer contributions to the fund increase or decline, and whether benefits payments from the fund increase or decline. Plan’s Financial Information The market value of the Plan’s assets as of January 1, 2007 was $8,253,399. The total amount of benefit payments for the Plan Year was $401,162. The ratio of assets to benefit payments is 20.6. This ratio suggests that the Plan’s assets could provide for approximately 21 years of benefit payments in annual amounts equal to what was paid out in the Plan Year. However, the ratio does not take into account future changes in total benefit payments or plan assets. Rules Governing Insolvent Plans Federal law has a number of special rules that apply to financially troubled multiemployer plans. Under so-called “plan reorganization rules,” a plan with adverse financial experience may need to increase required contributions and may, under certain circumstances, reduce benefits that are not eligible for the PBGC’s guarantee (generally, benefits that have been in effect for less than 60 months). If a plan is in reorganization status, it must provide notification that the plan is in reorganization status and that, if contributions are not increased, accrued benefits under the plan may be reduced or an excise tax may be imposed (or both). The law requires the plan to furnish this notification to each contributing employer and the labor organization. Despite the special plan reorganization rules, a plan in reorganization nevertheless could become insolvent. A plan is insolvent for a plan year if its available financial resources are not sufficient to pay benefits when due for the plan year. An insolvent plan must reduce benefit payments to the highest level that can be paid from the plan’s available financial resources. If such resources are not enough to pay benefits at a level specified by law (see Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC, below), the plan must apply to the PBGC for financial assistance. The PBGC, by law, will loan the plan the amount necessary to pay benefits at the guaranteed level. Reduced benefits may be restored if the plan’s financial condition improves. A plan that becomes insolvent must provide prompt notification of the insolvency to participants and beneficiaries, contributing employers, labor unions representing participants, and PBGC. In addition, participants and beneficiaries also must receive information regarding whether, and how, their benefits will be reduced or affected as a result of the insolvency, including loss of a lump sum option. This information will be provided for each year the plan is insolvent. Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC The maximum benefit that the PBGC guarantees is set by law. Only vested benefits are guaranteed. Specifically, the PBGC guarantees a monthly benefit payment equal to 100 percent of the first $11 of the Plan’s monthly benefit accrual rate, plus 75 percent of the next $33 of the accrual rate, times each year of credited service. The PBGC’s maximum guarantee, therefore, is $35.75 per month times a participant’s years of credited service. Example 1: If a participant with 10 years of credited service has an accrued monthly benefit of $500, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the PBGC guarantee would be determined by dividing the monthly benefit by the participant’s years of service ($500/10), which equals $50. The guaranteed amount for a $50 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $24.75 (.75 ´ $33), or $35.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit is $357.50 ($35.75 ´ 10). Example 2: If the participant in Example 1 has an accrued monthly benefit of $200, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the guarantee would be $20 (or $200/10). The guaranteed amount for a $20 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $6.75 (.75 ´ $9), or $17.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit would be $177.50 ($17.75 ´ 10). In calculating a person’s monthly payment, the PBGC will disregard any benefit increases that were made under the plan within 60 months before the earlier of the plan’s termination or insolvency. Similarly, the PBGC does not guarantee pre-retirement death benefits to a spouse or beneficiary (e.g., a qualified preretirement survivor annuity) if the participant dies after the plan terminates, benefits above the normal retirement benefit, disability benefits not in pay status, or non-pension benefits, such as health insurance, life insurance, death benefits, vacation pay, or severance pay. Where to Get More Information For more information about this notice, you may contact the office of the Plan Administrator, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746-4275, 301-899-0675. For more information about the PBGC and multiemployer benefit guarantees, go to PBGC’s website, www.pbgc.gov, or call PBGC toll-free at 1-800-400-7242 (TTY/TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll free at 1800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 1-800-400-7242). November 2008 �52060:January 08 10/24/2008 1:44 AM Page 17 Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. Welcome Ashore DEEP SEA SALIH ALI Brother Salih Ali, 65, signed on with the Seafarers in 1981. He was born in Yemen and attended classes on two occasions at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Brother Ali’s first ship was the Santa Maria; his last was the Horizon Consumer. He sailed in the steward department. Brother Ali resides in Dearborn, Mich. GREG BLASQUEZ Brother Greg Blasquez, 57, was born in California. He joined the union in 1970, initially sailing on the Trans Oneida. Brother Blasquez was a member of the engine department. He upgraded his skills often at the Piney Point school. Brother Blasquez’s final trip was aboard the Oakland. He makes his home in Concord, Calif. GABRIEL BONEFONT Brother Gabriel Bonefont, 63, became an SIU member in 1964. Brother Bonefont’s first voyage was on the Thetis. He was born in San Juan and worked in the deck department. Brother Bonefont enhanced his seafaring abilities frequently at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. His most recent voyage was aboard the ITB Mobile. Brother Bonefont is a resident of Houston. MIKE BUBAKER Brother Mike Bubaker, 66, donned the SIU colors in 1979. He originally shipped on the Inger as a member of the steward department. Brother Bubaker was born in Yemen. In 1987 and 2000, he completed classes at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Bubaker last sailed aboard the Great Land. He calls Detroit home. OSVALDO CASTAGNINO Brother Osvaldo Castagnino, 70, first went to sea as an SIU member in 1987 on the USNS Prevail. He was born in Rojas, Ariz. November 2008 Brother Castagnino upgraded on numerous occasions at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. He most recently worked aboard the Cape Trinity. Brother Castagnino lives in Houston. RALPH GIBBS Brother Ralph Gibbs, 71, began shipping with the Seafarers in 1961 while in the port of New York. He initially sailed with Cape Waterways Inc. Brother Gibbs was born in Pennsylvania. The deck department member’s final voyage was on the Cape Hudson. Brother Gibbs often took advantage of educational opportunities available at the SIU-affiliated school. He settled in Fairfield, Calif. RICHARD HANNON Brother Richard Hannon, 64, signed on with the SIU in 1966. His earliest trip to sea was on an Alcoa Steamship Company vessel. Brother Hannon worked in the engine department. He upgraded his skills frequently at the Piney Point school. Brother Hannon last shipped aboard the Lt. Col. Calvin P. Titus. He continues to reside in his native state of Alabama. GORDON HILTBRUNER Brother Gordon Hiltbruner, 72, started sailing with the union in 1990 while in the port of Seattle. He originally worked on the Chief Gabao, in the engine department. Brother Hiltbruner was born in Washington State. He enhanced his skills at the Paul Hall Center in 2000 and 2003. Brother Hiltbruner’s most recent voyage was aboard the Great Land. He makes his home in Fife, Wash. CHARLES JOHNSON Brother Charles Johnson, 64, was born in Virginia. He joined the SIU in 1961, initially shipping on the Good Fellow. Brother Johnson was a member of the engine department. He attended classes on two occasions at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Brother Johnson’s final trip to sea was aboard the Horizon Producer. He is a resident of Brooklyn, N.Y. JOHN “EYE BALL” LANDRY, SR. Brother John Landry Sr., 65, became a Seafarer in 1974 while in the port of New York. His first voyage was on the Monticello. Brother Landry was born in Texas and sailed in the deck department. He upgraded in 1979 at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Landry’s last ship was the Liberty Wave. He calls Port Arthur, Texas, home. DANIEL LOBRANDON Brother Daniel LoBrandon, 51, began shipping with the MC&S (Marine Cooks & Stewards) in 1987 in the port of San Francisco. The steward department member first worked aboard the Delta Queen. Brother LoBrandon enhanced his seafaring abilities numerous times at the Paul Hall Center. He most recently sailed on the Manoa. Brother LoBrandon was born in Louisiana and settled in San Francisco. GUY PRECOTT Brother Guy Precott, 65, donned the SIU colors in 1989. He was primarily employed with American Overseas Marine during his seafaring career aboard vessels such as the USNS Curtiss and the Dewayne T. Williams. Brother Precott upgraded frequently at the Piney Point school. The steward department member continues to live in his native state of Florida. KENNETH SMITH Brother Kenneth Smith, 71, started his SIU career in 2001 while in the port of Seattle. He originally sailed on the Horizon Anchorage. Brother Smith was born in Los Angeles and sailed in the engine department. In 2001 and 2002, he attended classes at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Smith last shipped aboard the 1st Lt. Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG 1950 Statistics about the U.S. Merchant Marine fleet show that in the 90 days following the outbreak of hostilities in Korea, U.S. merchant shipping shifted gears from normal world trade overnight and sent more than 80 privately owned ships streaming to Korea laden with war supplies. At the same time, American seamen were called upon to take from the boneyard more than 130 government-owned idle ships, fit them out, load cargo and rush westward to the battle zone. Of these ships, 33 privately owned vessels and 13 government-owned ships were manned by SIU crews. During this critical period the U.S. ships carried 80 percent of the three million tons of cargo – exclusive of petroleum products – delivered. The vessels carried 300 times the amount carried by air. Baldomero Lopez. He resides in Franklin, Tenn. ANGEL SOTOMAYER Brother Angel Sotomayer, 65, joined the union in 1969 while in the port of New York. His earliest voyage was with OMI Bulk Corporation. Brother Sotomayer, who sailed in all three shipboard departments, was born in Puerto Rico. He enhanced his seafaring abilities on three occasions at the SIUaffiliated school. Brother Sotomayer’s final voyage was on the El Morro. He makes his home in Levitown, P.R. 1972 At approximately 10 a.m., the Steel Designer’s fire alarm sounded. The ship was transporting a load of sodium hydroclorite to Panama that was now being threatened by fire. The chemical creates highly toxic and flammable sulphur dioxide when burned. After the ship’s CO2 had been exhausted, the only option was to secure the ship’s vents to control the blaze. This could only be done by a crew member making a hazardous climb up the king posts through heavy smoke and breath-defying fumes. That’s when Wiper James Oliver volunteered without hesitation. High above the ship’s waterline and hardly visible through the smoke, the SIU member worked quickly to secure the vents, one after another, and reduced the fire’s air supply. After spending several anxious minutes aloft, Oliver completed the task and returned to the deck to help his shipmates extinguished the now oxygen-starved blaze. This Month In SIU History 1961 A dress rehearsal session for fuel-loading procedures for the NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered merchant ship, went off without a hitch in Camden, N.J. The practice loading procedures were complete in every way but one – no atomic fuel was used. The four-hour run-through was designed to help ensure complete safety when the actual loading of reactor fuel takes place. 1986 After 45 days in a small rickety boat, 15 Vietnamese refuges were finally plucked from the ocean by the LNG Aries. The refugees said several ships had passed them during their weeks at sea and none had stopped except the Aries. The Aries’ SIU crew donated clean, dry clothes to the refugees as well as fixing them a top-notch meal. Seafarers LOG 17 �52060x:2060p0 10/27/2008 1:51 PM Page 18 Final Depar tures DEEP SEA CLARENCE BURGO Pensioner Clarence Burgo, 81, passed away July 28. Brother Burgo joined the union in 1966. He first worked on the Peco as a member of the deck department. Brother Burgo was born in Hawaii. His final voyage was with Ocean Carriers Inc. Brother Burgo began receiving his pension in 1990 and continued to reside in Hawaii. JAMES COLSON Pensioner James Colson, 75, died July 29. Brother Colson, a member of the deck department, started sailing with the Seafarers in 1963. He initially shipped on the Madaket. Brother Colson was born in Seattle. His last trip to sea was aboard the Voyager. Brother Colson retired in 1997 and made his home in Chehalis, Wash. ARTHUR HINZ Pensioner Arthur Hinz, 87, passed away April 7. Brother Hinz donned the SIU colors in 1964. His first voyage was on a Bulk Transport Inc. vessel. Brother Hinz worked in the deck department. He was born in Minnesota. Brother Hinz most recently shipped aboard the Overseas Alice. He lived in San Francisco and went on pension in 1987. CHARLES HOWELL Pensioner Charles Howell, 63, died Aug. 20. Brother Howell became a Seafarer in 1964 while in the port of New York. The deck department member’s earliest trip was on the Cape Washington. Brother Howell was born in Fayette, Ala. He last worked aboard the Endurance. Brother Howell was a resident of El Paso, Texas. He became a pensioner in 1998. JEFFERY JENKINSON Brother Jeffery Jenkinson, 55, passed away July 29. He was born in Alabama. Brother Jenkinson began sailing with the SIU in 2003 while in 18 Seafarers LOG Seattle. His first ship was the Cleveland; his last was the USNS Roy M. Wheat. Brother Jenkinson was a member of the deck department. He called Alaska home. PERCY KENNEDY Pensioner Percy Kennedy, 83, died Sept. 9. Brother Kennedy signed on with the Seafarers in 1951. His earliest voyage was on the Alcoa Pioneer. Brother Kennedy, who sailed in the deck department, was born in Pearl River, La. Prior to his retirement in 1987, he worked aboard the Archon. Brother Kennedy continued to live in Louisiana. ARTHUR LANG Pensioner Arthur Lang, 71, passed away Sept. 6. Brother Lang started shipping with the union in 1968. He was born in Jacksonville, Fla. Brother Lang sailed in the engine department, originally on the Longview Victory. He was last employed aboard the Achiever. Brother Lang began collecting his pension in 1999. He made his home in Florida. ERNESTO MARDONES Pensioner Ernesto Mardones, 88, died Aug. 3. Brother Mardones joined the SIU in 1972 while in the port of New York. He initially shipped on the R. D. Conrad. Brother Mardones was born in Chile. The engine department member most recently sailed aboard the Samuel L. Cobb. Brother Mardones settled in Shellville, Ga. He retired in 1991. JOHNNIE McCREE JR. Pensioner Johnnie McCree Jr., 82, passed away Sept. 2. Brother McCree donned the SIU colors in 1951. He first worked with Ore Navigation Corporation as a member of the steward department. Brother McCree was born in Alabama. His final trip was on the Horizon Pacific. Brother McCree went on pension in 1994 and resided in San Pablo, Calif. VINCENT TARALLO Pensioner Vincent Tarallo, 84, died, Aug. 4. Brother Tarallo became a Seafarer in 1951. His first voyage was aboard a Delta Steamship Lines vessel. Brother Tarallo was a New York native. His final trip was on the Albany, where he shipped in the engine department. Brother Tarallo started receiving his retirement compensation in 1989 and called San Bruno, Calif., home. INLAND PAUL EVANS Pensioner Paul Evans, 81, passed away Aug. 11. Brother Evans started shipping with the SIU in 1969. During his seafaring career, he worked as a member of the deck department in both the inland and deep sea divisions. Brother Evans originally sailed aboard an Allied Transportation Company vessel. His last trip to sea was on the Cape Flattery. Brother Evans went on pension in 1992 and made his home in North Carolina. CECIL FERRELL Pensioner Cecil Ferrell, 81, died Aug. 28. Brother Ferrell was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. He began sailing with the union in 1964. Brother Ferrell primarily worked aboard G&H Towing Company vessels. He retired in 1988 and continued to live in Texas. HENRY MEAD Pensioner Henry Mead, 81, passed away Aug. 29. Brother Mead signed on with the SIU in 1961. He was initially employed with Pennsylvania Railroad, Port of Norfolk. Brother Mead was born in Jersey City, N.J. Before retiring in 1989, he shipped on a New York Cross Harbor vessel. Brother Mead was a resident of New Jersey. ELLIOTT WHITE Pensioner Elliot White, 97, died Sept. 16. Brother White joined the union in 1962. He mainly sailed with McAllister Towing of Baltimore. Brother White was born in North Carolina but settled in Glen Burnie, Md. GREAT LAKES DONALD BLESENER Pensioner Donald Blesener, 85, passed away Aug. 2. Brother Blesener donned the SIU colors in 1961 while in Duluth, Minn. The deck department member worked with Great Lakes Towing Company for the duration of his career. Brother Blesener continued to reside in his native state of Minnesota. ROBERT KURKERWICZ Pensioner Robert Kurkerwicz, 80, died Aug. 27. Brother Kurkerwicz became a union member in 1947 while in the port of Detroit. He originally worked with Inland Lakes Management as a member of the deck department. Prior to his retirement in 1988, Brother Kurkerwicz shipped aboard the Paul H. Townsend. He was born in Alpena, Mich., and called Wilson, Mich., home. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU), have passed away. Name Butt, Jack Cortes, Eriberto Dash, James Friedman, Rueben Garcia, Victor Gomez, Eberto Gomez, Marcos Gonzalez, Luis Griffith, Albert Guity, Fernando Harris, Alphonse Hause, James Holcombe, Raymond Huertas, Roberto James, Horacio Johnson, Alfred La Ferriere, Joseph Larrosa, Hugo Macias, Gonzalo Martinez, Andrew Nater, Victor Nevarez, Octavio Packer, Lewis Paddyfut, Ira Peres, Manuel Perez, Victor Peters, Francis Pumarejo, Heriberto Rios, Emeraldo Robinson, William Roussell, Henry Smith, Frank Sutton, Paul Taman, William Viola, Norberta Williams, Alan Age 92 104 89 82 90 82 86 96 92 76 92 82 86 81 81 65 82 83 89 85 90 77 79 75 92 51 83 81 89 86 86 82 80 82 90 55 DOD Sept. 5 Sept. 14 Aug. 28 Aug. 20 Sept. 11 Aug. 28 Aug. 7 Aug. 27 Aug. 24 Aug. 20 Aug. 1 Aug. 7 Sept. 5 Aug. 30 Aug. 10 Aug. 10 Sept. 9 Aug. 7 Aug. 21 Sept. 10 Aug. 21 Aug. 9 Aug. 17 Aug. 5 Sept. 13 June 18 Sept. 12 Sept. 14 Sept. 6 June 27 Sept. 6 Aug. 22 Aug. 3 Aug. 26 Aug. 3 Sept. 14 November 2008 �52060x:2060p0 10/27/2008 1:43 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings HARRIETTE (Sealift Tankers Inc.), Aug. 17 – Chairman Moises Ramos, Secretary George Quinn, Deck Delegate Annie D. Walker, Steward Delegate George Quinn. Chairman discussed TWIC cutoff date and email to be sent to the union pertaining to payoff. Educational Director advised crew to take advantage of Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion was made regarding penalty rate of pay. Next ports: New Orleans and Houston. MAERSK CAROLINA (Maersk Line Limited), Aug. 3 – Chairman Konstantinos Prokovas, Secretary Gerard L. Hyman, Educational Director Daniel D. Gaffney. Chairman thanked everyone for a smooth, safe voyage. Secretary stated that stores for 50 days will be purchased in Norfolk, Va. Educational director urged mariners to enhance seafaring abilities at the Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestions were made pertaining to pension and vacation benefits. Request was made to purchase a universal DVD player for crew lounge. Vote of thanks given to steward department. MAERSK GEORGIA (Maersk Line Limited), Aug. 10 – Chairman Carlton P. Hall, Secretary Kristin L. Krause, Educational Director Roy S. Frett Jr. Chairman talked about TWIC cards. Secretary asked crew to separate trash from plastics. No beefs or disputed OT reported. New dryers to be pur- chased in Norfolk, Va. Crew members expressed their gratitude to union for reducing requirements to qualify for benefits. MAERSK MISSOURI (Maersk Line Limited), Aug. 24 – Chairman Domingo Leon Jr., Secretary Stanley J. Krystosiak, Educational Director Williams J. Hiawatha, Deck Delegate James Burns, Engine Delegate Albert Riollano, Steward Delegate Jose F. Manandic. Chairman reported safe trip and thanked crew for working well together. Secretary asked departing Seafarers to leave rooms clean for next person. Educational director encouraged members to check out what the union-affiliated school had to offer. Treasurer stated $3,000 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendation was made to increase vacation days. Next ports: Elizabeth, N.J., Norfolk, Va., Charleston, S.C., and Malaga, Spain. SEABULK PRIDE (Seabulk Tankers), Aug. 29 – Chairman Philip B. McGeoghegan, Secretary Orlando A. Hill, Educational Director Cary G. Pratts, Engine Delegate Marino C. Callejas. Chairman discussed benefits of union membership. Educational director relayed message from port agent pertaining to the frequency of union meetings. He also informed all about TWIC deadline being pushed back until April 2009. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew requested new mattresses, more pillows, 2 standup refrigerators, new linen for twin beds, new treadmill and exercise bike. The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships’ minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. More Snapshots from Crowley Christening As reported elsewhere in this edition, Crowley Maritime Corporation last month christened a new ATB consisting of the tugboat Courage and barge 650-5. Here are two more photos taken before the event, which was conducted in Tampa. WESTWARD VENTURE (Interocean American Shipping), Aug. 3 – Chairman Paul Wade, Secretary Robert S. Davis, Educational Director Randy D. Slue, Engine Delegate Gregory H. Holsey. Chairman announced payoff Aug. 8 in Jacksonville, Fla. He also informed members that after discharge, ship would be going to the Norfolk, Va., shipyard for at least four days for repairs. Secretary reported that captain would have another inspection on Aug. 7 and advised crew to clean rooms well, especially those getting off vessel. He also reminded mariners that communications are posted on the bulletin board outside bosun’s With Seafarers on the Antares As of the beginning of October, eight Seafarers-contracted fast sealift ships officially became part of the Maritime Administration’s Ready Reserve Force. While custody of the eight vessels (Algol, Altair, Antares, Bellatrix, Capella, Denebola, Pollux, and Regulus) was transferred from the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command to MarAd on October 1, 2007, the title was only transferred at the start of Fiscal Year 2009. As part of the official changeover, MarAd conducted a “stack unveiling ceremony” aboard the Antares (right) on Oct. 1 in Baltimore. Pictured below are some of the Seafarers and officers in attendance along with other SIU members and officers from the nearby Denebola: OS Dennis Uchic, Bosun Jerry Costello, AB Mike Kanga, Capt. Tom Casey, AB James Roy, Bosun Francisco Bravo, GUDE Lamont Stewart II, AB Leander Garrett, Wiper Albert Marshburn, 2nd Engineer Mike Phillips and Bosun H. Walter. room. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Questions concerning completion of duty requirements for extra pay were discussed and answered. Crew was asked to respect “no noise” ordinance in crew quarters area such as no slamming doors, long conversations in passageways and don’t use buzzer on dryer. Next ports: Jacksonville, Fla., and Norfolk, Va. HORIZON ANCHORAGE (Horizon Lines), Sept. 2 – Chairman Dan P. Fleehearty, Secretary Amanda F. Suncin, Educational Director Kevin T. McCagh, Engine Delegate John Day, Steward Delegate Patrick L. Durnin. Chairman reported payoff would take place on Sept. 22 and went over ship’s itinerary. Secretary encouraged crew members to keep all necessary seafaring documents up to date. Educational director stressed the importance of enhancing skills at the SIU-affiliated school. He urged everyone to notify him of any lighting or electrical problems so he could take care of them. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion was made pertaining to base wage. Bosun thanked all crew members for helping keep inside of house clean and everything running smoothly. Discussion was held regarding emergency towing exercise in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on Aug. 30. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash., Anchorage, Alaska, and Kodiak, Alaska. HORIZON ENTERPRISE (Horizon Lines), Sept. 12 – Chairman George B. Khan, Secretary William E. Bryley, Educational Director Michael J. Wells, Steward Delegate Frank A. Ramones. Chairman announced payoff on Sept. 13 at sea. He urged everyone to register to vote and vote for the candidate of your choice but make your voice heard this election year. Secretary reminded those departing vessel to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen for new members coming aboard. Educational director urged mariners to upgrade skills often at the Piney Point school and watch expiration dates on all MMDs. He suggested apply- November 2008 ing early for TWIC cards to avoid the rush as April 2009 is approaching quickly. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendations were made concerning pension benefits. Crew thanked Wiper Tony Kpodovia for keeping laundry room and passageway spic and span. Chief cook was also thanked for a job well done. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash., Oakland, Calif., and Honolulu. HORIZON FALCON (Horizon Lines), Sept. 14 – Chairman Lance X. Zollner, Secretary Charlfred M. Autrey, Educational Director Mathala Anwan, Deck Delegate Earl F. Sparkes, Steward Delegate Crista L. Ali. Bosun read president’s report from the Seafarers LOG. Secretary advised eligible rotary crew members to ask captain for the letter to file with their vacation applications to receive extra vacation pay if they meet the requirements. Educational director recommended Seafarers visit the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md., to enhance seafaring abilities. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion was made and carried pertaining to increasing vacation benefits and reducing retirement requirements. Seafarers expressed gratitude to steward department for good food. Next port: Tacoma, Wash. USNS LAWRENCE H. GIANELLA (Ocean Ships Inc.), Sept. 28 – Chairman Bernardino R. Eda, Secretary Philip F. Lau, Educational Director David W. Badah, Engine Delegate James R. Summers, Steward Delegate Linda J. Barber. Chairman reminded members about wage increase that takes effect next month. He asked crew to sign movies in and out from the bridge. Secretary encouraged Seafarers to upgrade whenever possible at the union-affiliated school. Educational director asked crew leaving ship to make sure rooms were clean and sanitized. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next ports: Cherry Point, N.C., and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Seafarers LOG 19 �52060:January 08 10/24/2008 1:45 AM Page 20 SEAFARERS EVERYWHERE PLEASE TAKE NOTE! Seafarers Health And Benefits Plan -Cobra Notice Are You Receiving All of Your Important Mail? To help ensure that each active SIU member and pensioner receives the Seafarers LOG—as well as other important mail— correct home addresses must be on file with the union. Those who recently have moved or feel that they are not getting their union mail, should use the form at right to update their home addresses. An individual’s home address is his/her permanent address. Unless otherwise specified, this is where all official union documents will be sent. Individuals receiving more than one copy of the LOG, those who have changed their address and those whose names or addresses are misprinted or incomplete, should fill out the form and send it to: Seafarers International Union, Address Correction Dept., 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Corrections via e-mail should be sent to kclements@seafarers.org HOME ADDRESS FORM (Please Print) Name: ________________________________________________________________ Phone No.: ____________________________________________________________ Address: ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ Social Security No.: ________ / ________ / ________ Book No.: _____________ Active SIU Pensioner Other ___________________________ This will be my permanent address for all official union mailings. This address should remain in the union file unless otherwise changed by me personally. 11/08 Under federal law, a participant and his or her dependents have the right to elect to continue their Plan coverage in the event that they lose their eligibility. This right is granted by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, better known as “COBRA.” The COBRA law allows a participant and his or her dependents to temporarily extend their benefits at group rates in certain circumstances where coverage under the Plan would otherwise end. A participant and his or her dependents have a right to choose this continuation coverage if they lose their Plan coverage because the participant failed to meet the Plan’s seatime requirements. In addition, a participant and his or her dependents may have the right to choose continuation coverage if the participant becomes a pensioner ineligible for medical benefits. The participant’s dependents may also elect continuation coverage if they lose coverage under the Plan as the result of the participant’s (1) death; (2) divorce; or (3) Medicare eligibility. A child can also elect COBRA if as the result of his or her age, he or she is no longer a dependent under the Plan rules. If a member and his or her dependents feel that they may qualify, or if they would like more information concerning these rights, they should contact the Plan office at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Since there are important deadlines that apply to COBRA, please contact the Plan as soon as possible to receive a full explanation of the participant’s rights and his or her dependents’ rights. Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. 20 Seafarers LOG PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. November 2008 �52060:January 08 10/24/2008 1:45 AM Page 21 Seafarers Paul Hall Center Upgrading Course Schedule The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the next few months of 2008. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promoting the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 9940010. Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman November 10 December 5 Advanced Container Maintenance November 11 December 8 Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) (must have radar unlimited) November 17 November 21 Celestial Navigation November 24 December 19 Radar Renewal (one day) December 8 December 8 Engine Upgrading Courses Advanced Container Maintenance (Refer) November 10 December 5 Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations (BAPO) November 10 December 5 Welding November 3 December 1 November 21 December 19 Safety Specialty Courses Basic Firefighting November 10 December 8 November 14 December 12 Tanker Assistant (DL) November 10 November 21 Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes start every other Monday. The most recent class began November 3. UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Date of Birth ______________________ Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____ Department ___________ E-mail ____________________________ Yes No General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. Online “Distance Learning” Courses In addition to the foregoing courses, the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education currently is offering the following internet-based courses: Environmental Awareness; Hazardous Material Control and Management; Hearing Conservation; Heat Stress Management; Shipboard Pest Management; Respiratory Protection, and Shipboard Water Sanitation. The courses are free to mariners covered by SIU contracts. To register, complete the regular upgrading application located on the bottom left portion of this page, and mail it to: Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 206740075. Applicants will receive user account information from the center via email. They are therefore urged to provide their e-mail addresses in the space provided on the application. Applicants should also include the word “online” when listing the courses they wish to take. Upgrading Course Guide Coming Soon A future edition of the Seafarers LOG will contain a complete guide of all the upgrading courses available to students in 2009 at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training & Education in Piney Point, Md. Important Notice Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twenty-five (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. COURSE BEGIN DATE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. U.S. Citizen: Academic Department Courses Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Yes Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ November 2008 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 11/08 Seafarers LOG 21 �52060:January 08 10/24/2008 1:45 AM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 706 - Unlicensed apprentices from Class 706 recent- Fast Rescue Boat – The following individuals (above, in no ly completed the water survival course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order were): Aurelio Anderson, Collins Brooks, Jeffery Caraway, Melvin Cooper, Diogenes Derecho, Jarrell Dorsey, Christopher Funderburk, Ian Harding, James Martin, Bryan Mash, Marqualis Matthews, Deven McCoy, Nakesha Miller, Jeremy Paschke, Maurice Reine, Chenequa Rodriquez, Brittany Ruffin, Steve Shaffer, Marcus Thorton, Charles Wescott, Germarr Williams, Mykael Willis and Paul Witwicki. (Note: Not all are pictured.) particular order) on Sept. 12 completed their requirements for graduation from this course: Weston Beres, Alonzo Griswell, John Lee, Richard Lydon, Anthony McNeil, Kenneth Steiner, and Randall Brown. The instructor, Stan Beck, is standing at the back, right. Advanced Firefighting – Six individuals on Sept. 5 completed this 41-hour course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were Lennart Bergstrom, Stanley Castro, Felix Garcia, Orlando Herrera, Douglas Maravelias and Michael Watkins. Their instructor, Steve Stockwell, is at the far right. AB – Sixteen mariners on Sept. 12 graduated from this course. Those completing the training (above, in alphabetical order) were David Bernstein, Farren Blackwell, Eric Coleman, Preston Grant, Terry Hester Jr., Anson John, Roderick Kelly, DeMond Lindsey, Joshua McAtee, Fadel Mohamed, Robert Raymond, Tommy Rodgers, Arvid Rutledge, Dominic Tuccio, Josean Villarrubia and Falando Williams. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is at the far right. Computer Classes FOWT – Fifteen upgraders completed this course Sept. 12. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were Kenneth Bricker Jr., Bryan Clark, Moriah Collier, Andrew Cooper, Jose Encarnacion, Ruben Haynes, Anthony Irizarry, Stanley Jackson Jr., Joel Jones, Richard Jones, Thaddeus Kilgore, Richard Murray II, DeAnthony Owens, Marcos Ramos-Mejias and Joshua Zelensky. Their instructor, Tim Achorn, is at the far right. 22 Seafarers LOG Three Seafarers recently completed computer training courses while upgrading at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Those completing various classes (photo above) were Dallon Garnett (left), Robin Bourgeios (right) and Omar Aswad (left in photo at right). Their instructor, Rich Prucha, is in the center in photo above and at the right in the photo at right. November 2008 �52060:January 08 10/24/2008 1:45 AM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes Tankship Familiarization - Two classes of Phase III trainees completed this 63-hour course Sept. 5. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Joseph Bankhead, Virgil Beasley, David Brady, Dustin Brantley, Victor Chevalier, Mitchell Childress, Daryl Corbett, Angela Corbit, Daniel Cortez, Peter Crane, John Curran, Hubert Dennis, James East, Darrell Goggins, Yuri Hernandez, Braden Horne, Richard Howard, Brian Jackson, Damonte Jones, Eric Kirkland, Matthew Martel, Cory Mulligan, Richard Noto, William Pakkala, Teresa Peterson, Thomas Quinlan, Rondell Richardson, Lazaro Rivera Rodriguez, Keith Rogers, Troy Smith, Mark Turner, Timothy Van Pelt II, Bernard Wade II, Charles Wagner, Nicole Walton, Oshema Watson, Nathan White, Jovan Williams, Enoch Winrod and Igor Yakunkov. BST (HAWAII) – The following individuals (above, in no particular order) on Sept. 27 completed this course at the Seafarers Training Center in Barbers Point, Hawaii: Michael McMullin, Justin Dickey, Cynthia Smith, Eric Smith, Jeff Robinson, George Garland, Whitney Dupont, Andrae Lane, William Carty, Ashley Castillo, Kyle Thompson, Iisa Gorman, Lucas Stoyanoff, Mario Cartagena, Stephanie Wray, Ryan Akers, Drew Hess and Julie Esparza. BST (HAWAII) – The following individuals (above, in no particular order) on Sept. 19 completed this course at the Barbers Point, Hawaii-based Seafarers Training Center: Samatha Arang, Melissa Mazza, Christine McClure, Hugh Brown, Yoerkis Gamboa, Charlie Lenier, Paul Murray, Daniel Feder, Matthew McConnell, Wenday Ling, Nicholas Murphy, Paul Haneishi, Destiny Winekoff, Stephanie Doty, Matthew Bonney, Jordon Butler, Sean Thomas, Rhandy Abrere, Ricky Santos, Janessa Ruiz, James McDonald and Casey LeBlanc. Medical Care Provider – Five individuals on Sept. 12 completed this 21-hour course. Those graduating (above in alphabetical order) were Cirico Geonanga, Orlando Herrera, Peter Madden, Ryan Neathery and Michael Watkins. Their instructor, Mark Cates, is at the far right. Junior Engineer – The following individuals completed this course Aug. 29. Graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were Antoine Best, Alfonso Bombita, Robin Bourgeois, Trevor Cohn, Carmelo Collazo, Sterling Cox, Dallon Garnett, Paula Gomez, Janis Kalnins, Scott Martin, Alexander Rhodes, Keith Riddick, James Summers, Jesse Turner, Furman Watson, Ronald Westerfield, Eeric White and Steven Wilson. Jay Henderson, their instructor, is at the far left. (Note: Not all are pictured.) November 2008 Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. Seafarers LOG 23 �52060x:January 08 10/27/2008 1:32 PM Page 24 Volume 70, Number 11 November 2008 TWIC News And Reminders - Page 7 U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin Unions Rally in Baltimore for Obama Hundreds Show Labor Unity and Strength in ‘Charm City’ Bosun Isaac Vega Mercado shows where he stands on the presidential race. The rally was a highly spirited event from start to finish. Clockwise from above, Maryland Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown addressed those in attendance as did Ernie Grecco, president, Metropolitan Baltimore AFL-CIO. Union members packed the IBEW hall in Baltimore for the rally. U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes also was among the speakers who addressed the more than 500 who attended. Seafarers are pictured with Sen. Ben Cardin (middle row, third from left) and Metropolitan Baltimore AFL-CIO President Ernie Grecco (middle of same row) after the rally. Standing next to Grecco in the same photo is SIU Baltimore Acting Port Agent Elizabeth Brown. Amidst the cheers, poster waving and camera flashes, 30 unlicensed apprentices and recertifying bosuns receiving training at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., were on hand in Baltimore on Oct. 16 to lend their voices for a rally for SIU-endorsed presidential candidate Barack Obama. The SIU endorsed Sen. Obama because of his staunch support and record on maritime and America’s merchant mariners (see his endorsement in the September 2008 edition of the Seafarers LOG). The event was hosted by the Metropolitan Baltimore Council of the AFL-CIO and was attended by more than 500 brothers and sisters from numerous unions, and various elected officials. “We’re here because we look out for those who look out for us,” said UA Jordache Hunter when talking about Obama and his support of maritime. More of the trainees chimed in explaining how Obama and his running mate, Joseph Biden, have an excellent track record of supporting U.S. shipping, including backing for the Jones Act and cargo preference. “We are going to make history during this election,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation and a major maritime and SIU supporter. “If it wasn’t for unions, we probably wouldn’t have health care, the wages we have today or education for our families. We wouldn’t be where we are today without unions. This ticket is the answer to our future.” National leader on health care and SIU supporter Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations, Judiciary, Environment and Public Works, Budget and Small Business Committees. He said, “Sen. Obama stands up for working families and will invest in mainstream America, not corporate America. He understands the needs of working families and will work for our concerns.” Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) noted she wears the union label “on her clothes and in her heart.” She is a major supporter of maritime and especially her home port of Baltimore, and is Senate chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science. “Unions are jobs and justice for workers,” she said. “We need change and a President Obama would never substitute a stimulus package for Wall Street for union jobs.” � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 Novemeber 2008 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES CROWLEY MARITIME CHRISTENS ATB COURAGE NASSCO LAUNCHES CARL BRASHEAR TANKER OVERSEAS TEXAS CITY DELIVERED TO AMERICAN SHIPPING UNION ELECTION VOTING BEGAN NOV. 1 SEAFARERS, ITF TEAM UP TO AID STRANDED MARINERS UNITED NATIONS, IBF MOVE TO COMBAT PIRACY UNION SAYS ‘NO’ TO INVASION OF PRIVACY NEW NMC MEDICAL GUIDELINES BECOME FINAL; SIU, OTHER UNIONS ‘GO TO BAT’ ON MARINERS’ BEHALF STUDY: U.S. ‘MARINE HIGHWAYS’ OFFER MANY BENEFITS LAKE CARRIERS’ ASSOC. SAYS MALFUNCTION STRESSES NEED FOR SECOND POE-SIZED LOCK SEAFARERS HELP IN HURRICANS AFTERMATH TWIC CLOCK CONTINUES TO TICK CIVMAR-CREWED USNS MERCY COMPLETES DEPLOYMENT FOLLOWING SAFETY TRAINING, CREW SAYS, ‘WERE READY’ SEAFARERS ARE ‘PART OF HISTORY’ ABOARD NS SAVANNAH UNIONS RALLY IN BALTIMORE FOR OBAMA Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 11/01/2008 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. 70, No. 11 2008 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/13b961ad3f1eb51ce8a25a3c81092e77.pdf 2ff195d422e41c337994a480285a538a PDF Text Text 50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:38 PM Page 1 Volume 70, Number 10 October 2008 SIU-Contracted Ocean Ships Inc. To Operate Watson-Class LMSRs SIU jobs aboard the eight Watson-class LMSRs are secure as Seafarers-contracted Ocean Ships, Inc. has been awarded the contract for operating the vessels (including the USNS Soderman, above, and the USNS Charlton, left). The agreement spans five years, including a series of one-year options. Page 3. Union Reaches 70th Anniversary This month, the SIU turns 70. Pictured from left to right are members in Marcus Hook, Pa., during the general strike in 1946; trainees and officials at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md., in 1983; and then-SIU President Paul Hall (sitting third from left) with former President Harry Truman (seated closest to camera) in 1960. For a year-by-year summary of the union’s history – along with more photos from different eras – turn to pages 13-16. U.S. Shipping Adds ATB U.S. Shipping Partners in late August announced the completion of its second articulated tug-barge (ATB) unit (shown above) as the barge Petrochem Producer was delivered in Wisconsin. The ATB’s tugboat, the Galveston, was delivered in July following construction in Florida. Collectively known as the Galveston Bay, the ATB entered service in September. Page 3. Ships Mobilize Due To Hurricanes Page 2 SIU Election Info. Pages 6-11 SIU CIVMAR News Pages 4, 17, 20 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:38 PM Page 2 President’s Repor t Recovering, Rebuilding after Hurricanes There is no shortage of important news this month, but let me begin with the most significant item: the safety of SIU members and their families. I am relieved to report that all indications are no SIU members were among the dozens of reported casualties in the U.S. from Hurricane Ike or Hurricane Gustav. Of course, that doesn’t mean the storms didn’t affect the SIU family. As reported elsewhere on this page, Seafarers answered the call before and during both hurricanes. They crewed up ships and tugboats and performed in the finest traditions of the Brotherhood of the Sea. I applaud every one of you. Unfortunately, some members suffered terrible material losses. I know of at least one Seafarer who went to check on his house in Texas after Ike, and he literally couldn’t find a trace of it. That situation isn’t the only instance of storm-related loss experienced by the membership, and that is why we have restarted the voluntary Seafarers Disaster Relief Fund. The SDRF came into existence after hurricanes Rita and Katrina back in 2005. It’s something we wish we didn’t need, but at times like this one, the SDRF is a helpful, practical way for union members, officials and employees to reach out and assist each other in difficult circumstances. If you are interested in donating to the fund, contact your port agent or call union headquarters at (301) 899-0675. Meanwhile, I again commend those who stepped up during the activations, and I extend my most heartfelt best wishes to our brothers and sisters who are rebuilding after the storms. Setting the Record Straight on EFCA Unless you completely avoid television, newspapers and radio, you know it is the season – the season for political ads, that is. And more ads and more ads, it seems. There is one series of attack ads in particular that has caught my attention lately, and from what you’ve told me, many of you have questioned it as well. It involves deception on the part of those who oppose the Employee Free Choice Act. Maybe you’ve heard their lies about how EFCA supposedly would eliminate the secret ballot from union representation elections. Brothers and sisters, don’t buy into that baloney. The legislation would not – I repeat, would not – eliminate secret-ballot elections. It simply would leave it up to workers to decide whether they wanted to vote by secret ballot or instead use card-check recognition, which is a perfectly legal, straightforward system already in use in some organizing campaigns. Right now, the deck is stacked against workers who want to join a union. Employers can and do get away with breaking the law – firing pro-union employees, bullying them into voting against union representation, and refusing to negotiate a first contract even after a majority of workers votes for the union. These tactics must stop. The Employee Free Choice Act will restore fairness to the process. Don’t let the anti-worker liars con you. The EFCA is a good bill for employees all across our nation. Get Out the Vote Seafarers are turning out in large numbers to support pro-maritime, pro-worker candidates in next month’s elections. Keep it up! This is an especially important election year for the U.S. Merchant Marine. We cannot afford to sit on the sidelines. Our livelihoods depend on electing people who will support our industry. In case you didn’t check out last month’s LOG or you missed the announcement on our web site, the SIU has endorsed Barack Obama for president. Senator Obama has come out very, very strong in support of our industry’s key laws and programs, including the Jones Act, cargo preference and the Maritime Security Program. He’s got my vote. Seafarers Weather Ike, Gustav Union Reactivates Seafarers Disaster Relief Fund SIU members mobilized ships and tugboats as storms battered the Gulf Coast in late August and again in mid-September. Hurricanes Gustav and Ike didn’t cause as much damage as Rita and Katrina three years earlier, but Ike in particular left devastation in its wake. For example, Seafarers-contracted Moran Towing lost its office facilities in Port Arthur, Texas, while Seabulk Towing (also based in Port Arthur) and G&H Towing (Galveston) sustained significant water damage to their respective offices. Individual Seafarers also suffered losses ranging from complete destruction of homes to lesser but still serious damage. With that in mind, the union has reactivated the Seafarers Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) for members, pensioners, employees and family members of the SIU as well as the affiliated unions the United Industrial Workers (UIW) and the Seafarers Entertainment and Allied Trades Union (SEATU). Donations may be sent to: Seafarers Disaster Relief Fund, c/o Secretary-Treasurer’s Office, SIU, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Seafarers also may make a one-time donation to the fund from their vacation check, via a special check-off. Vacation applications and check-off forms are available at all SIU halls. Also, cash donations to the fund are being accepted at all SIU halls. Anyone making a cash donation will receive a receipt. Please note that donations are not tax-deductible. For more information about the fund, contact headquarters at (301) 899-0675, extension 4438. Members who have sustained damages to their personal property or are in need of assistance should contact their local officials to make application. The fund will review the needs of applicants and up to the extent of the fund’s resources, make a one-time cash donation to qualified applicants up to $500 to assist in temporary housing and/or repairs. SIU Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey reported that Seafarers employed by G&H Towing went “beyond the call of duty” when Ike struck. Four ships (none of them SIU-contracted) were stuck in port during the storm. One broke loose, but the Seafarers-crewed tugs “got lines up and pushed her up into the mud in extreme conditions. Additionally, there were numerous barges and small vessels that were secured to maintain the safety of the port.” More SIU crew members were dispatched to the Cape Victory, Cape Vincent, Cape Taylor, Cape Trinity and Cape Texas in the Houston area before the hurricane arrived. The SIU-crewed USNS Bellatrix and USNS Altair crewed up in New Orleans before the storm. Also, Maersk Line, Limited praised Seafarers aboard the Maersk Nevada who weathered Ike’s full force while protecting the vessel, cargo and (in the words of the company) “most importantly, the crew.” Ike “was a scary thing,” said SIU Assistant Vice President Jim McGee, whose home sustained major damage. “It sounded like a freight train coming through my house.” The Houston hall closed for a few days afterward but reopened in time for a rescheduled monthly membership meeting Sept. 19. Earlier, Seafarers reported for duty aboard a number of ships activated on Labor Day weekend before Gustav arrived. Members climbed the gangways to the Altair, Bellatrix, Cape Kennedy, Cape Knox, Cape Victory, Cape Vincent, Cape Taylor, Cape Texas and Cape Trinity. They secured the ships during the storm and prevented damage. Seafarers Rally with Obama, Biden SIU members last month turned out for separate events showing support for Senators Barack Obama and Joseph Biden. The event for Senator Biden took place Sept. 19 in Sterling, Va., while the rally for Senator Obama happened Sept. 20 in Jacksonville, Fla. Clockwise from right, Senator Barack Obama addresses the crowd in Jacksonville, while Senator Joseph Biden (left) is greeted by Seafarer Daniel Duncan, who serves as president of the Northern Virginia Area Labor Federation. SIU members participating in the Jacksonville rally included (kneeling, from left) Lamont Robinson, Juan Colon, Jose Garcia, Anthony Thomas, Kenneth Benton, Dannal Williams, (standing) Karen Pride, Emil Norales, Danyelle Boman, Brian Jackson, Mary Young, John Bimpong, Breon Lucas and Charles Ferguson. Seafarers and others listen to the message in Jacksonville’s Metropolitan Park. The SIU Turns 70 Lastly, I encourage all Seafarers to take a look at the SIU timeline contained in this edition as our union reaches its 70th anniversary. This is a great milestone, and I salute the leadership of our past presidents – Harry Lundeberg, Paul Hall and Frank Drozak – along with the steady professionalism of our rank-and-file membership for helping the SIU not just survive but prosper in an often turbulent industry. Looking back on our history, we have a lot to be proud of. Looking ahead, we have a bright future – as long as we remain willing to work for it. That has never been a problem in the SIU and I know it never will be. Volume 70, Number 10 October 2008 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 207909998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2008 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG October 2008 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:39 PM Page 3 Ocean Ships Inc. Wins LMSR Contract SIU Jobs Expected to Increase as Some Vessels Bump Up to FOS The Defense Department in mid-September announced that SIU-contracted Ocean Ships, Inc. (OSI) has been awarded a contract to operate the eight Watsonclass LMSRs. Altogether, the agreement spans five years, including a series of one-year options. The award is major news for the SIU in more ways than one. First, Seafarers retain their jobs aboard all of the vessels – the USNS Watson, USNS Watkins, USNS Red Cloud, USNS Sisler, USNS Soderman, USNS Charlton, USNS Dahl and USNS Pomeroy. Additionally, over the life of the operating contract, each of the vessels will transition to full operating status (FOS). Currently, two of the ships are in FOS, while the others are in reduced operating status (ROS) carrying smaller crews. “More than 80 companies were solicited for this bid and 10 proposals were received, according to the government,” noted SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker. “There certainly was no guarantee that the award would go to an SIU-contracted company, so this is excellent news for Seafarers. The jump to FOS is a very big part of the story, too. Not only are we keeping the unlicensed jobs, we’ll actually be gaining.” OSI President and COO James P. McGregor said the turnover was slated to start in early October, probably with the USNS Sisler. “We’re hitting the ground running and we’re delighted the Navy and TRANSCOM (the U.S. Transportation Command) have the level of confidence in our company to award this contract,” McGregor said. “I’m personally encouraged that the Navy, TRANSCOM and the Marine Corps are working together to get these ships back to FOS and back into prepositioning.” He added that the award reflects well on the SIU and AMO mariners already serving in the company’s fleet (aboard vessels including the Lawrence Gianella, Richard Matthiesen, Paul Buck, Samuel Cobb, Cape May and Cape Mohican). “I firmly believe we don’t go it alone when we bid these contracts,” McGregor stated. “The capabilities of the unlicensed Seafarers and licensed officers from AMO, and our ability as a team to go forward and provide service the customers demand are vital.” According to the Defense Department announcement, when in ROS, the ships will be stationed on the U.S. East Coast. When in FOS, they will operate “in the Diego Garcia and Guam/Saipan areas in support of Army and Marine Corps prepositioning missions.” LMSR stands for large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off vessel. The ships covered under this contract were built at NASSCO in San Diego from 1998 to 2002. Each of the vessels is 950 feet long, with a beam of 105 feet. Each is equipped with two 110-ton single pedestal twin cranes, making it possible to load and unload cargo where shoreside infrastructure is limited or nonexistent. Additionally, each ship is equipped with six decks and a cargo-carrying capacity of about 393,000 square feet. The Military Sealift Command pointed out that each vessel can carry an entire U.S. Army Armor Task Force including 58 tanks and 48 other tracked vehicles, plus more than 900 trucks and other wheeled vehicles. Seafarers will remain aboard the USNS Charlton and the other Watson-class LMSRs. The USNS Soderman’s discharge ramp is used to load equipment onto a Navy lighterage system during an exercise in Guatemala last year. An amphibious assault vehicle is lifted by crane into a cargo bay aboard the USNS Charlton while the vessel is docked in Kuwait for Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Shipping Partners Adds ATB Galveston Bay Seafarers-contracted U.S. Shipping Partners in late August announced the completion of its second articulated tug-barge (ATB) unit as the barge Petrochem Producer was delivered by Bay Shipbuilding at Sturgeon Bay, Wis. The ATB’s tugboat, the Galveston, was delivered in July following construction at Eastern Shipbuilding of Panama City, Fla. The ATB – collectively known as the Galveston Bay – entered service last month. A third ATB is scheduled for delivery to U.S. Shipping in November while a fourth ATB is slated for November 2009. The company’s Seafarers-contracted fleet also includes the ITBs Groton, New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Mobile and Jacksonville, the Houston, Sea Venture, Chemical Pioneer, Charleston and ATB Freeport. In addition to the new ATBs, U.S. Shipping expects the first in a series of tankers being constructed at the NASSCO shipyard in San Diego to be delivered in January 2009. NASSCO also built the Alaska-class tankers operated by SIU-contracted Alaska Tanker Co. and currently is constructing the T-AKE vessels that are crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division. The new ATB consists of the tug Galveston and the barge Petrochem Producer. Pictured near the new vessel are (from left) Capt. Chris Mercier, ABs Edilberto Guerrero, Romeo Codillero and Robert Taylor, 3rd Asst. Engineer Paul Braemer, 1st Asst. Engineer David Marshall, Chief Engineer John Francis, Chief Mate Robert Corbett and U.S. Shipping VP Jan Ziobro. NY Waterway Crews Handle Two Rescues Seafarers employed by NY Waterway recently performed two rescues in the Hudson River. The first incident occurred Aug. 13 as the ferry Frank Lautenberg pulled into a pier at Jersey City. Deckhands Nestor Martinez and Cruz Marcano descended the ship’s ladder and rescued a man who was struggling in the water, while Captain Thomas Colomara contacted local authorities. According to news reports, the man had intentionally jumped from the ferry and wasn’t initially cooperative in the rescue. No such resistance took place on Aug. 22, when a local October 2008 man was rescued from the river as his motorboat took on water. Captain Vincent Lombardi and Deckhand Thomas Lennane (aboard the Admiral Richard Bennis) were sailing between the New York locations of Haverstraw and Ossining when they received a distress call from the smaller boat via a Coast Guard frequency. Lombardi answered the call, and the agency – upon learning that the SIU-crewed vessel was close to the distressed 26-foot boat – directed the ferry to its location. Moments after the Seafarers assisted the boat owner in climbing aboard, a private towboat arrived to pump and tow the foundering vessel. Seafarers sailing onboard NY Waterway passenger ferries recently rescued two people. Seafarers LOG 3 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:39 PM Page 4 Union Testifies on Inland Waterway Safety SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez testified Sept. 16 at a hearing conducted by a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee that focused on inland waterway safety in general and a July 23 accident and oil spill in New Orleans in particular. Tellez’s panel also included representatives from the National Mariners Association (formerly Gulf Coast Mariners Association), American Commercial Lines, Northeast Maritime Institute and American Waterways Operators. The other panel consisted of Rear Adm. James Watson of the U.S. Coast Guard and David Westerholm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The hearing was conducted in Washington, D.C., by the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, which is part of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Much of the testimony focused on details of the oil spill – a widely publicized disaster involving a nonunion tugboat which pushed a barge into the path of a Liberian-flag tanker. The tugboat Mel Oliver didn’t have a captain aboard when the incident occurred; it was illegal for the steersman apprentice at the helm to operate the boat without the captain’s presence in the wheelhouse. The spill that resulted from the barge splitting in half dumped more than 282,000 gallons of oil into the Mississippi River near New Orleans. Tellez urged the subcommittee to push for inland documentation for all crew members (a position the union has advocated for many years). He also said it is past time to sensibly regulate the entire inland industry, rather than just segments of it. “In a perfect world, the self-policing culture prevalent in the tug and barge industry on the inland waterways may have some value,” Tellez said. “Unfortunately, in the real and imperfect world, there are companies that will choose short-term commercial expedience and financial gain above marine safety and protection of the environment, to the detriment of responsible carriers who make the effort to provide safe marine transportation on the rivers of the United States. “While the investigation into the Mel Oliver incident is ongoing and not all penalties have been assessed, what are the immediate consequences to the company stemming from the self-policing culture of the towing industry? The company’s membership in a private asso- U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings begins the hearing. ciation which acts as the de facto regulator of the towing industry has been revoked because of its failure to pass a third-party safety audit and failure to submit a letter agreeing to mandatory annual audits. However, despite this action, the company can still operate in the inland marine environment along with hundreds of other operators that do not participate in the program.” The SIU official pointed out that while the Coast Guard is responsible for promoting marine safety and protecting the environment on the inland waterways, the agency “has been unable to adequately regulate the towing industry, due to lack of sufficient resources.” He said that manpower shortages in the inland sector have led some companies to skirt the rules (such as in the case of the Mel Oliver) and cut back on training. “The result can be seen in an inexperienced steersman operating a vessel that runs right down the Mississippi River through New Orleans and causes a catastrophe.” In an aside, he mentioned that the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education offers comprehensive training for inland boatmen. Tellez also credited SIU-contracted inland companies for consistently promoting high levels of personal shipboard safety and environmental standards. Finally, he pointed out that the Coast Guard’s own five-year “Marine Safety Performance Plan” categorizes the towing industry under the heading “Significant Residual Risks.” He said the designation “makes it abundantly clear that the U.S. Coast Guard must regulate all aspects of the tug and barge industry. Their marine safety program for towing vessels must include on-site towing vessel inspections, documentation for all crew members, setting of manning levels, establishing training requirements and standards, etc. The Coast Guard should work with the tug and barge industry in a mutual cooperative effort to enhance safety on the inland waterways. But under no circumstances should the towing and barge industry be permitted to practice self-policing in crucial areas.” Subcommittee Chairman U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) in his opening statement noted that DRD Towing, the Mel Oliver’s operator, “has a history of operating vessels without properly licensed personnel. Less than two weeks before the accident involving the Mel Oliver, DRD was apparently illegally operating the towing vessel Ruby E with a person holding only the apprentice mate’s license when the vessel sank. DRD Towing has also been cited by the Coast Guard for operating towing vessels without properly licensed personnel on several previous occasions.” The company also failed its American Waterways Operators safety audit in May, he added. He further charged that American Commercial Lines, the tugboat’s owner, chartered the vessel to DRD not to generate revenues but instead to apparently allow “ACL to operate its vessel at the cheapest possible costs, by shifting maintenance responsibilities and, more importantly, the hiring of crew members onto DRD, a firm that was obviously ill-prepared to meet these responsibilities but with which ACL had nonetheless done business for a decade.” U.S. Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), who chairs the full committee, said, “The Coast Guard has 100 Notices of Proposed Rulemakings that are backlogged, and the rulemaking that will create an inspection process for towing vessels is amongst those that have been overdue for over four years…. When laws are not created based on lessons learned from the past, it allows accidents like these to continue to happen where they may have been prevented if the law was in place.” CIVMAR-Crewed Lewis and Clark Wins Navy Safety Excellence Award The U.S. Military Sealift Command dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Lewis and Clark, which carries an unlicensed crew of SIU Government Services Division members, won the 2008 Department of the Navy safety excellence award in the MSC category, Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter announced on Aug. 20. The 689-foot ship is currently operating out of Norfolk, Va., and is crewed by 124 civil service mariners and a military detachment of 11 active-duty Navy sailors. In announcing the award, MSC said the Lewis and Clark’s crew “was recognized for developing new operational procedures upon delivery of the new class of ship that set the standard for on-board, high-risk operations across the entire class of T-AKE ships and have became a prototype model for the maritime industry. MSC’s engineering directorate lauded the crew for stepping up to the task of identifying, assessing and addressing safety issues during the ship’s break-in period.” “This award reflects a collaborative effort from the crew, who made sure to implement realistic safety standards as a social norm,” said Capt. Randall H. Rockwood, the Lewis and Clark’s civil service master from October 2007 to August 2008. “My goal was to set up a positive environment for my crew to develop safe operational procedures and in it, we made sure that each crew member understood the inherent dangers on board the ship.” The Department of the Navy safety excellence award program recognizes Navy and Marine Corps teams, ships and installations for exceptional commitment to safety and operational risk management, according to MSC. Winter’s message to the crew said in part, “Your integration of mission first, safety always into your command culture was superlative and your commitment to the safety of one another has no doubt prevented the loss of life and precluded numerous injuries and damage to our material assets.” Delivered in 2006, the Lewis and Clark is the first of a new class of 14 ships dedicated to MSC’s Naval Fleet The USNS Lewis and Clark, built at NASSCO, was delivered in 2006. Auxiliary Force. These ships are designed to operate for extended periods at sea and to deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to the Navy’s carrier strike groups and other naval forces worldwide. CIVMARS Provide Humanitarian Relief to Georgian Hotspot Carrying on the U.S. tradition of helping those in need around the world, SIU Government Services Division CIVMARS aboard the USS Mount Whitney, along with members of the MEBA and MM&P, respectively, delivered humanitarian relief supplies to the people of Poti, Georgia, Sept. 5, 2008 in support of “Operation Assured Delivery.” The delivery is part of the larger U.S. response to the Georgian government’s request for humanitarian assistance after the conflict with Russian forces. Overall, the Mount Whitney was expected to deliver more than 17 tons of aid, including 4,000 blankets donated by the U.S. Agency for International Development. Other cargo included juice, powdered milk and hygiene products. According to news accounts, Russian troops kept a close watch on the delivery. The Associated Press report- 4 Seafarers LOG ed that a Russian warship trailed the Mount Whitney across the Black Sea, and Russian military personnel on shore (approximately three miles from where the vessel docked) observed the cargo operations. From late August to early September, the USS McFaul and U.S. Coast Guard cutter Dallas carried more than 115 tons of humanitarian supplies to the port in Batumi, Georgia, while U.S. Navy C-9, C-40 and C-130 aircraft flew 20 continuous missions airlifting 325 tons of humanitarian aid into the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. The USS Mount Whitney carries a hybrid crew of U.S. Navy sailors and civilian mariners, and is home-ported in Gaeta, Italy. The ship is 636 feet long, with a beam of 108 feet. It can travel at up to 23 knots. CIVMARS aboard the USS Mount Whitney assisted in delivering aid to the people of Georgia after a Russian invasion. October 2008 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:39 PM Page 5 Ads Explain Why Nation Needs Free Choice Act Big Business Tries to Hoodwink Public with ‘Secret Ballot’ Claims On Labor Day, a leading worker advocacy group found that 68 percent of middle class Americans wish their launched a national television advertising campaign to member of Congress had voted in favor of the bill. “Despite the millions of dollars already spent to deceive educate the public on critical issues facing America’s voters on the Employee Free Choice Act, the American middle class. The ads, which begin airing on Sept. 1, are designed public isn’t buying it.” says Maxwell. “The reality is a to build on the broad public support for the Employee majority of Americans want policies like the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), a bipartisan bill in Congress Free Choice Act that will help restore the middle class. that will help workers achieve the American dream by These ads will show viewers the truth.” Publicly, the most common tactic of EFCA opponents giving them the freedom to choose a union. In announcing the campaign, American Rights at has been to suggest that the legislation somehow would Work noted it is releasing these ads “in celebration of deprive workers of the right to vote by secret ballot in Labor Day as part of a huge, new coordinated effort union elections. In reality, the bill would require employers among workers’ rights advocates, progressives, and to honor an already legal system called majority sign-up or labor unions to champion this legislation, which passed card-check recognition. Under that process, when more the House last year and garnered majority support in than 50 percent of workers sign cards indicating they want the Senate. The effort includes paid advertising through to join a union, the employer may honor their wishes withnational cable outlets and states throughout the coun- out the additional steps involved in an election. But, worktry…. As workers’ paychecks shrink and health care ers may still opt for an election. Pro-labor groups point out that since 2003, more than costs skyrocket out of control, CEOs average $6,153 an hour and their overall salaries have soared to 180 times half a million Americans formed unions through majority that of an average worker. The Employee Free Choice sign-up. Although commonly misrepresented by the bill’s Act will help level the playing field for America’s workers by giving them a fair and direct path to form unions. It will also help employees secure a contract in a reasonable period of time and toughen penalties against employers who violate the law.” According to Mary Beth Maxwell, executive director of American Rights at Work, “When workers are free to choose to join a union, our economy can work for everyone again.” The national ad campaign also comes out to set the record straight in response to antiunion, corporate-funded front groups stopping at nothing to mislead the American public about the EFCA. The corporate special interests that are against improving workers’ standard of living do not represent a majority of the public. A poll released in late August Aboard the Pride of America, AB Gary Hunt (left) and Asst. Refrigeration by the nonpartisan Drum Major Institute Michael Jones sign postcards supporting the Employee Free Choice Act. opposition as a radical proposal, these findings show that majority sign-up is a widely used and proven means of organizing, giving hundreds of thousands of workers free choice and a fair chance to form a union. Further, the EFCA does not eliminate the option of a secret-ballot election. As noted by a spokeswoman for American Rights at Work, “While anti-union interests claim the National Labor Relations Board election system protects the right to vote, the grim reality remains that our broken system denies an overwhelming number of employees the opportunity to ever have a choice. According to [recent] research, employers engage in such rampant violations of the law to fight the union that in four out of 10 cases, workers never even get a chance to vote for a union. It’s not that 40 percent of the time, unions lose. It’s that our labor laws are so broken that 40 percent of the time after saying they want a union, workers never get a chance to even have a vote.” Additionally, in 46 percent of elections, workers report that employers interfere with the NLRB-supervised election process by firing pro-union employees, cutting back on workers’ hours, making groundless demotions, and using other intimidating tactics. The EFCA fixes these problems by guaranteeing recognition of a union if a majority of workers want one; establishing stronger penalties for employers who break the law; and cutting out employers’ delay tactics so that workers can have a straightforward path to securing a contract once they form a union. As previously reported, many SIU members have stepped up in support of the AFLCIO sponsored Million-Member Mobilization, a grassroots campaign to get at least 1 million signatures in support of the EFCA. As part of that project, postcards were sent to union halls around the country Engineer and overseas providing Seafarers the opportunity to offer their signatures. MarAd Reports Examine State of Industry Agency: Maritime Laws Help Generate Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs, Billions in Revenue According to the U.S. Maritime Administration (MarAd), the future looks bright for seafarers and the maritime industry – but the industry also must take the lead in developing and protecting the nation’s shipping and waterways. The agency recently issued two new reports – one an annual submission, the other titled “Strategic Plan for 2008-2013.” In the latter document, MarAd explains, “The industry is in a period of renewal and expansion, with a 24-percent increase in industry fixed assets and more than 10,000 jobs added in the past five years.” Since 2000, says that report, the total value of international trade has risen by over 40 percent, and it is becoming a larger part of the national economy. The combined value of foreign trade (imports and exports) represented 13 percent of U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1990, rising to nearly 22 percent in 2006. According to MarAd, if this trend continues, it is projected that the value of U.S. foreign trade will be equivalent to 35 percent of the nation’s GDP in 2020, and 60 percent in 2030. What this means to the maritime industry is that marine transportation will become even more important to the nation’s economy, since 95 percent of America’s foreign trade is moved by ship. America’s network of waterways moves more than 2.3 billion tons of domestic and foreign cargo each year. The top 50 ports in the U.S. handle about 84 percent of all waterborne domestic and international cargo tonnage (more than 1.9 billion tons annually). In the coming years, demand at almost all U.S. ports will at least double, according to the agency. The domestic Jones Act component, a fleet of more than 38,000 vessels, is “Made in America” and represents an aggregate $48 billion investment, states the report. Building and maintaining the Jones Act fleet sustains roughly 150,000 jobs throughout the U.S. economy, MarAd observes. This fleet is being continuously upgraded and renewed, with domestic maritime carriers moving almost one billion tons of cargo annually along U.S. coasts, rivers and lakes, on the Great Lakes, and both to and from Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Guam. October 2008 In addition to commercial functions, says MarAd, U.S.-flag ships and the connecting intermodal systems play an integral but often unheralded role in bringing critical supplies to military missions across the globe. The nation’s sealift assets, strategic ports and supporting infrastructure are key links in the defense-logistics chain and the projection of American power. The U.S.-flag industry also brings life-saving food to the world’s most impoverished people, the agency points out. U.S. ships furnish support during times of need, such as using vessels in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to support first responders and those involved in the rebuilding efforts. In the strategic report, MarAd says it is developing a framework to help guide involvement and investment in the overall marine transportation system. One of the items of importance the agency points out is that there is too much congestion in U.S. ports and the gateways. MarAd states that more private and public funds are required for port development improvements such as dredging. Repeating its previous calls, MarAd says there is a need for targeted, regional, major freight corridor cooperation involving water and ground transportation. The agency also calls for development and improvement of the nation’s intermodal waterways – what it describes as “marine highways.” MarAd also encourages global connectivity along with an increase of global trade to sustain American growth and the American shipping industry. “It is critically important to encourage and sustain American involvement and investment in it. This is important for the economy during times of peace and a matter of survival during times of war or national emergency,” the agency notes. “The maritime industry is also an important source of jobs and positive revenue for America’s balance of payments,” it continues. “The Maritime Administration must preserve and expand the U.S. maritime industry and increase investment in U.S. marine transportation infrastructure, including domestic shipping, shipyards and maritime personnel.” Concerning the Maritime Security Program, cargo preference, shipbuilding loan guarantees, tax-deferred funds, training of entry–level licensed mariners, and enforcement of U.S. cabotage laws, MarAd says these programs are intended to foster a strong merchant marine and protect American jobs and investment. Cargo preference is a good example of how these programs can succeed. For example, says the agency, in 2007, 118 U.S.-flag vessels carried preference cargoes. That figure translated to more than 5,500 shipboard jobs and a larger number of shore-side maritime and transportation-related jobs. The cargo preference programs generated more than 10 million tons of cargo and $1.4 billion of ocean freight revenue, according to U.S. government figures. These cargoes represent from seven percent to more than 50 percent of some U.S. carriers’ annual revenues and are vital to retaining vessels under the U.S. flag. The U.S.-flag domestic fleet of more than 38,000 vessels transports about a billion metric tons of cargo between U.S. ports on the oceans and along the coasts, inland waterways and the Great Lakes. The business opportunities provided by U.S. cabotage laws including the Jones Act have encouraged large investments in vessels, shipyard modernization and other marine transportation assets, says MarAd. The agency in its strategic plan says the U.S. marine transportation system must meet the some of the following critical needs now and in the future: ♦ It must move a larger volume of goods and people with high levels of reliability and efficiency ♦ It must be safe, flexible, resilient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly ♦ It must encourage the constant renewal of a highly qualified workforce that fully meets systemic needs for skilled labor ♦ It must promote innovative financing mechanisms and investment in partnership with the private sector to improve and expand U.S. maritime infrastructure ♦ It must ensure a stable shipyard industrial base to effectively build and repair the ships, vessels and barges that serve the marine transportation system ♦ It must be available to serve American interests in time of national or international emergency ♦ It must preserve and promote American economic interests and encourage American content and participation. To read the report and plan, go to MarAd’s web site: www.marad.dot.gov Seafarers LOG 5 �50928x1:January 08 9/29/2008 12:57 PM Page 6 Information for the 2008 Election of Officers SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes & Inland Waters District/NMU Balloting Begins Nov. 1 for Union Officers Voting starts Nov. 1 for the election of officers for the Seafarers International Union Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU. SIU members will be able to cast secret ballots at union halls or by mail through Dec. 31, 2008. Seafarers eligible to vote in this election to determine union officials for the 2009-2012 term are full-book members in good standing. This eligibility criteria is spelled out in the union’s governing document, the constitution. The ballot will list the names of all qualified candidates as determined by the credentials committee, a group made up of six rank-and-file Seafarers who reviewed the nominating petitions of all SIU members seeking office in this district-wide election. A sample of this ballot appears on pages 7 and 8. The credentials committee report, which was prepared Aug. 16, and submitted to the membership at the September monthly meetings, indicated 29 candidates had qualified to run for 25 positions. (The committee’s report was published in the September 2008 Seafarers LOG.) The 25 posts for which Seafarers will cast their ballots are president, executive vice president, secretary-treasurer, six vice presidents, six assistant vice presidents and 10 port agents. 21 Polling Places The election will be conducted by mail ballot as provided by the union’s constitution. Secret ballots, accompanied by envelopes marked “Ballot” and postage-paid envelopes printed with the address of the bank depository where the ballots are kept until submitted to the tallying committee, will be available to fullbook members in good standing at 21 union halls around the country. (See list of voting locations on this page.) Eligible Seafarers may pick up their ballots and envelopes marked “Ballot” and mailing envelopes at these halls between 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 noon, Monday through Saturday, except legal holidays, from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31. Each member must present his or her book to the port agent or the agent’s designated representative when receiving the ballot, the envelope marked “Ballot” and the mailing envelope. When the Seafarer receives the ballot and envelopes, his or her book will be marked with the word “Voted” and the date. If a member does not present his or her book, or if there is a question in regard to his or her eligibility to vote, the Seafarer will receive a mailing envelope of a different color marked with the word “Challenged.” His or her book will be stamped with the words “Voted Challenge” and the date. For members who believe they will be at sea during this time, the SIU constitution provides for absentee voting procedures. Full-book members in good standing who need to vote by absentee ballot should direct a request for the ballot to the union’s secretary-treasurer at SIU headquarters 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. VOTING LOCATIONS ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame Street, Suite 1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 BOSTON 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 FT. LAUDERDALE 1221 South Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 Secret Ballots JOLIET 10 East Clinton, Joliet, IL 60432 Once the Seafarer has received his or her ballot and envelopes. he or she marks the ballot for the candidates of his or her choice and puts it in the envelope marked “Ballot.” This envelope is sealed by the member and then dispatched in the mail. These steps ensure the integrity of the secret ballot process. The union’s constitution, in Article XIII, details the procedures for voting in union elections. All ballots will be counted by the rankand-file committee consisting of two members elected from each of the union’s constitutional ports. These committee members will be elected in December. They will convene in early Jan. 2009. MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy., Mobile, AL 36605 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 PHILADELPHIA 2604 South Fourth St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 PINEY POINT Seafarers Harry Lindeberg School of Seamanship, Piney Point, MD 20674 PUERTO RICO 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Santurce, PR 00907 ST. LOUIS 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 TACOMA 3411 South Union St., Tacoma, WA 98409 WILMINGTON 510 North Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 Procedures for Voting Seafarers LOG Elections will be conducted by secret mail ballot. Ballots may be obtained at the following locations from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon (local time), Mondays through Saturdays, excluding holidays, during the voting period. The voting period shall commence Nov. 1, 2008 and shall continue through Dec. 31, 2008. Cliffline Office Ctr., Suite 103B, 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 One part of the article of the SIU constitution covering rules for elections concerns the election of candidates who are unopposed for the office in question. The section states that those candidates who are unopposed for any office or job shall be considered elected to that office or job and that the tallying committee shall not have to count the votes for any such candidate. The entire section, contained in Article XIII, Section 5 of the SIU constitution reads as follows: “A candidate unopposed for any office or job shall be deemed elected to such office or job notwithstanding that his name may appear on the ballot. The Union Tallying Committee shall not be required to tally completely the results of the voting for such unopposed candidate but shall certify in their report that such unopposed candidate has been elected to such office or job. The Election Report Meeting shall accept the above certification of the Union Tallying Committee.” 6 SEAFARERS INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes & Inland Waters District/NMU GUAM Notice on Unopposed Candidates All Seafarers eligible to vote in the union’s 2008 election of officers and job holders for the term 2009-2012 may vote by secret ballot from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2008. Secret ballots, together with self-addressed, stamped envelopes for mailing, will be available at union halls to all eligible voters. Seafarers are eligible to vote in the union’s election if they are full-book members in good standing. Details of the election procedure are spelled out in Article XIII of the SIU constitution, which is printed verbatim on pages 9 and 10 of this issue of Seafarers LOG. In summary, here is the procedure for voting: ■ Eligible Seafarers may pick up ballot and mailing envelopes from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon (local time), Monday through Saturday, excluding legal holidays, from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2008 at designated union halls (see list on this page). ■ When a full-book member arrives to vote, he or she should present his or her book to the port agent of his duly designated representative. ■ The member will be asked to sign a roster NOTICE OF 2008 ELECTION FOR ELECTION OF 2009-2012 OFFICERS sheet indicating the date, the number of the ballot given the member and his or her book number. ■ The member will have his book stamped with the word “Voted” and the date. ■ At the same time, the member will receive a ballot, together with an envelope marked “Ballot” and a mailing envelope. The mailing envelope has the address of the depository printed on it, making it selfaddressed. It also has the postage pre-paid. ■ The top part of the ballot above the perforated line will be retained by the port agent or his duly designated representative. ■ In case where a member does not produce his or her book, or if there is a question about the member’s good standing or other eligibility matters, the member will receive a mailing envelope of a different color marked with the word “Challenge.” His or her book will also be stamped “Voted Challenge” and the date. ■ After a member has voted, he or she puts the ballot in the mailing envelope which is addressed to the bank depository and stamped. The mailing envelope should then be put in the mail. Procedure For SIU Absentee Ballots In the case of members eligible to vote who believe they will be at sea during the Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2008 voting period, absentee ballots will be available. The SIU constitution ensures that members who are eligible to vote and who find themselves in this situation may vote absentee. Procedures are established in the SIU constitution to safeguard the secret ballot election, including the absentee ballot process. Here is the procedure to follow when requesting an absentee ballot: 1. Make the request in writing to the SIU office of the secretary-treasurer, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. 2. Include in the request the correct address where the absentee ballot should be mailed. 3. Send the request for an absentee ballot by registered or certified mail or the equivalent mailing service. 4. The registered or certified mail envelope must be postmarked no later than midnight, Nov. 15, 2008 and must be received at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 no later than Nov. 25, 2008. 5. The secretary-treasurer, after confirming eligibility, will send by registered mail, return receipt requested, to the address designated in the request, a ballot, together with an envelope marked “Ballot” and a mailing envelope no later than Nov. 30, 2008. 6. Upon receiving the ballot and envelopes, vote by marking the ballot. After voting the ballot, place the ballot in the envelope marked “Ballot.” Do not write on the “Ballot” envelope. 7. Place the envelope marked “Ballot” in the mailing envelope which is imprinted with the mailing address of the bank depository where all ballots are sent. 8. Sign the mailing envelope on the first line of the upper left-hand corner. Print name and book number on the second line. The mailing envelope is self-addressed and stamped. 9. The mailing envelope must be postmarked no later than midnight, Dec. 31, 2008 and received by the bank depository no later than Jan. 5, 2009. October 2008 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:39 PM Page 7 ELECTION NOTICE OF 2008 ELECTION Section 401 (e) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (Landrum-Griffin Act) requires the mailing of an election notice to each member entitled to vote at his last known address. This notice is being sent to you in compliance therewith and, in addition, contains information of interest to all candidates and members. SEE REVERSE SIDE FOR VOTING LOCATIONS AND PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL REVISIONS No. 00000 08 20 st, 1 3 SEAFARERS INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICAAtlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU S RS BER ICE EM F EC OF 12 GH D 0 2 9– OU 00 HR 2 T OF 008 N IO st, 2 T EC ER 1 EL R EMB O F OV N D O RI E P OFFICIAL BALLOT For Election of 2009–2012 Officers and Constitutional Amendments MARK YOUR BALLOT WITH INK OR INDELIBLE PENCIL A PRESIDENT Vote for One 1 Charles Burdette Collins, C-1652 2 Michael J. Sacco, S-1288 3 Augustin Tellez, T-764 SECRETARY-TREASURER (Vote for One) 4 David W. Heindel, H-1443 Vote for One Archie Ware Jr., W-1169 Vote for One P Bryan D. Powell, P-1987 17 BALTIMORE PORT AGENT (Vote for One) 23 Chester Wheeler, W-25058 MOBILE PORT AGENT (Vote for One) 24 25 26 27 NEW ORLEANS PORT AGENT (Vote for One) Chris Westbrook, W-5787 HOUSTON PORT AGENT (Vote for One) Kenneth Moore, M-6084 Tracey Mayhew, M-3487 ST. LOUIS PORT AGENT (Vote for One) 28 Rebecca J. Sleeper, S-2497 DETROIT-ALGONAC PORT AGENT (Vote for One) Thomas Orzechowski, Jr., O-601 NOTE: Because of the appeals deadline, the final version of the ballot may be different than this sample ballot. If so, the updated ballot will be printed in the November 2008 issue of the Seafarers LOG. OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 See Reverse Side for Voting Locations and Proposed Constitutional Revisions Todd R. Brdak, B-2684 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 Thornton H. Elliott Jr., E-15001 OAKLAND PORT AGENT (Vote for One) 29 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 October 2008 Georg Kenny, K-1041 E VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF THE SOUTHERN REGION, GREAT LAKES AND INLAND WATERS (Vote for One) Edward J. O’Connor, O-599 James P. McGee, M-5945 ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES AND FISHING INDUSTRIES (Vote for One) Nicholas J. Marrone, M-2308 22 L 16 VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF THE WEST COAST (Vote for One) Joseph T. Baselice, B-2795 Ambrose L. Cucinotta, C-1795 ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF THE SOUTHERN REGION, GREAT LAKES AND INLAND WATERS (Vote for One) Dean E. Corgey, C-5727 21 Nicholas A. Celona, C-1578 ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF THE WEST COAST (Vote for One) 15 Robert Selzer, S-1258 PHILADELPHIA PORT AGENT ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF THE ATLANTIC COAST (Vote for One) 13 NEW YORK PORT AGENT (Vote for One) 20 Vote for One 12 14 VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF THE GULF COAST (Vote for One) 9 Patrick Vandegrift, V-488 Joseph Mieluchowski, M-2933 Joseph T. Soresi, S-2658 8 19 ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF THE GULF COAST (Vote for One) VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF THE ATLANTIC COAST (Vote for One) 7 Kermett T. Mangram, M-2394 11 George Tricker, T-919 6 Michael D. Murphy, M-2483 PINEY POINT PORT AGENT ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF CONTRACTS AND CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF CONTRACTS AND CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT (Vote for One) 5 18 M EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT (Vote for One) 10 VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES AND FISHING INDUSTRIES (Vote for One) OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 G TIN VO VOTING PERIOD NOVEMBER 1st, 2008 THROUGH DECEMBER 31st, 2008 INSTRUCTIONS TO VOTERS—In order to vote for a candidate, mark a cross (X) in voting square to the left of name. If you vote for more candidates for office than specified herein, your vote for such office will be invalid. Seafarers LOG 7 �50928x2:January 08 9/29/2008 7:00 PM Page 8 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 ELECTION NOTICE OF 2008 ELECTION FOR ELECTION OF 2009-2012 OFFICERS AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS Election will be conducted by secret mail ballot. OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 Ballots may be obtained at the following locations from 9:00 A.M. to 12 Noon, Mondays through Saturdays, excluding holidays, during the voting period. The voting period shall commence on November 1st, 2008 and shall continue through December 31st, 2008. NEW ORLEANS NEW YORK NORFOLK OAKLAND PHILADELPHIA PINEY POINT 3911 LaPalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 635 Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232 115 Third Street, Norfolk, VA 23510 1121 7th Street, Oakland, CA 94607 2604 South Fourth Street, Philadelphia, PA 19148 Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship, Piney Point, MD 20674 PUERTO RICO 1057 Fernandez Juncos Avenue, Santurce, PR 00907 ST. LOUIS 4581 Gravois Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63116 TACOMA 3411 South Union Street, Tacoma, WA 98409 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 WILMINGTON 510 North Broad Avenue, Wilmington, CA 90744 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 VOTING LOCATIONS 520 St. Clair River Drive, Algonac, MI 48001 721 Sesame Street, Suite 1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 2315 Essex Street, Baltimore, MD 21224 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 1221 South Andrews Avenue, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 422 W. O’Brien Dr., Cliffline Office Ctr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 606 Kalihi Street, Honolulu, HI 96819 1221 Pierce Street, Houston, TX 77002 3315 Liberty Street, Jacksonville, FL 32206 10 East Clinton, Joliet, IL 60432 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 1640 Dauphin Island Parkway, Mobile, AL 36605 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 ALGONAC ANCHORAGE BALTIMORE BOSTON FT. LAUDERDALE GUAM HONOLULU HOUSTON JACKSONVILLE JOLIET MOBILE OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 WHEREAS, the Executive Board of the Seafarers International Union of North America, Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU met on February 27, 2008 to discuss the current needs and conditions of the Union, its membership and the maritime industry in this country; and WHEREAS, among their discussions and deliberations was the subject of proposed revisions in the Union’s Constitution which would enable the Union to function more efficiently and to continue to fulfill its obligations to the membership; and WHEREAS, the majority of the membership concurred with the proposed amendment at the regular membership meetings in May 2008; and WHEREAS, a Constitutional Committee was elected on August 14, 2008, in accordance with Article XXV, Section 2 of our Constitution. They studied the proposed Constitutional Amendments Resolution and unanimously concurred on all proposed constitutional revisions; and WHEREAS, the report of the Constitutional Committee was approved by the membership at the regular membership meetings in September 2008. NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS RESOLVED THE FOLLOWING CONSTITUTIONALLY ADOPTED PROPOSITIONS, TO BE VOTED UPON, IF ADOPTED, WOULD AMEND THE CONSTITUTION AS FOLLOWS: PROPOSITION #1 Are you in favor of amending Article X, Section 14 (c) 5; Article XIII, Section 2; Article XIII, Section 4 (c) and Article XXV to include the following language relating to union members who serve on union finance, credentials, tallying and constitutional committees. OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 “Committee members shall receive a per diem in an amount determined by the Secretary-Treasurer but in no event shall they receive an amount less than the AB Green hourly rate as specified in the current union industry wide contract for eight hours for each day of service commencing with the day subsequent to their election and ending on the day they complete their service or, if applicable, return to the Port from which they were elected.” OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 PLACE "X" IN BOX OF YOUR CHOICE NO ❏ YES ❏ OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 Seafarers LOG OFFICIAL BALLOT 2009 - 2012 8 Be advised, however, that when a constitutional amendment is being considered at the same time that an election for officers is taking place, there shall be only one tallying committee used for both tallies and that Committee will be the one elected to serve as per Article XIII, Section 4. October 2008 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:39 PM Page 9 Information for the 2008 Election of Officers SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes & Inland Waters District/NMU SIU Constitution Spells Out Rules on 2008 Elections The section of the union’s constitution outlining voting procedures in the SIU’s elections, which are held every four years, appears here and on page 10 in its entirety. Article XIII Elections for Officers, Assistant Vice-Presidents and Port Agents Section 1. Nominations. Except as provided in Section 2(b) of this Article, any full book member may submit his name for nomination for any office, or the job of Assistant VicePresident, or Port Agent, by delivering or causing to be delivered in person, to the office of the Secretary-Treasurer at Headquarters, or sending a letter addressed to the Credentials Committee, in care of the Secretary-Treasurer at the address of Headquarters. This letter shall be dated and shall contain the following: (a) The name of the candidate. (b) His home address and mailing address. (c) His book number. (d) The title of the office or other job for which he is a candidate, including the name of the Port in the event the position sought is that of Port Agent. (e) Proof of citizenship. (f) Proof of seatime and/or employment as required for candidates. (g) In the event the member is on a vessel, he shall notify the Credentials Committee what vessel he is on. This shall be done also if he ships subsequent to forwarding his credentials. (h) Annexing a certificate in the following form, signed and dated by the proposed nominee: “I hereby certify that I am not now, nor, for the five (5) years last past, have I been either a member of the Communist Party or convicted of, or served any part of a prison term resulting from conviction of robbery, bribery, extortion, embezzlement, grand larceny, burglary, arson, violation of narcotics laws, murder, rape, assault with intent to kill, assault which inflicts grievous bodily injury, or violation of Title II or III of the Landrum Griffin Act, or conspiracy to commit any such crimes. Dated ____________________________ Signature of Member Book No. _________________________ Printed forms of the certificate shall be made available to nominees. Where a nominee cannot truthfully execute such a certificate, but is, in fact, legally eligible for an office or job by reason of the restoration of civil rights originally revoked by such conviction or a favorable determination by the Board of Parole of the United States Department of Justice, he shall, in lieu of the foregoing certificate, furnish a complete signed statement of the facts of his case together with true copies of the documents supporting his statement. Any full book member may nominate any other full book member in which event such full book member so nominated shall comply with the provisions of this Article as they are set forth herein relating to the submission of credentials. By reason of the above self nomination provision the responsibility, if any, for notifying a nominee of his nomination to office shall be that of the nominator. All documents required herein must reach Headquarters no earlier than July 15 and no later than August 15 of the election year. The Secretary-Treasurer is charged with safekeeping of these letters and shall turn them over to the Credentials Committee upon the latter’s request. Section 2. Credentials Committee (a) A Credentials Committee shall be elected at either the regular meeting in August of the election year or at a special October 2008 meeting convened in August of the election year at the Port where Headquarters is located. It shall consist of six (6) full book members in attendance at the meeting with two (2) members to be elected from each of the Deck, Engine and Steward Departments. No officer, Assistant VicePresident, or Port Agent, or candidate for office of the job of Assistant VicePresident, or Port Agent, shall be eligible for election to this Committee except as provided for in Article X, Section 4. In the event any Committee member is unable to serve, the Committee shall suspend until the President or Executive Vice-President or the Secretary-Treasurer, in that order, calls a special meeting at the Port where Headquarters is located in order to elect a replacement. The Committee’s results shall be by majority vote with any tie vote being resolved by a majority of the membership at a special meeting called for that purpose at that Port. (b) After its election, the Committee shall immediately go into session. It shall determine whether the person has submitted his application correctly and possesses the necessary qualifications. The Committee shall prepare a report listing each applicant and his book number under the office or job he is seeking. Each applicant shall be marked “qualified” or “disqualified” according to the findings of the Committee. Where an applicant has been marked “disqualified,” the reason therefore must be stated in the report. Where a tie vote has been resolved by a special meeting of the membership, that fact shall also be noted with sufficient detail. The report shall be signed by all of the Committee members and be completed and submitted to the Ports in time for the next regular meeting after their election. At this meeting, it shall be read and incorporated in the minutes and then posted on the bulletin board in each Port. On the last day of nominations, one (1) member of the Committee shall stand by in Headquarters to accept delivery of credentials. All credentials must be in Headquarters by midnight of closing day. (c) When an applicant has been disqualified by the Committee, he shall be notified immediately by telegram, overnight mail, air mail, special delivery, or an equivalent mail service at the address listed by him pursuant to Section 1 of this Article. He shall also be sent a letter containing their reasons for such disqualification by airmail, special delivery, registered or certified, to the mailing address designated pursuant to Section 1(b) of this Article. A disqualified applicant shall have the right to take an appeal to the membership from the decision of the Committee. He shall forward copies of such appeal to each Port where the appeal shall be presented and voted upon at a regular meeting no later than the second meeting after the Committee’s election. It is the responsibility of the applicant to insure timely delivery of his appeal. In any event, without prejudice to his written appeal, the applicant may appear in person before the Committee within two (2) days after the day on which the telegram, overnight mail, air mail, special delivery or an equivalent mail service is sent to correct his application or argue for his qualification. The Committee’s report shall be prepared early enough to allow the applicant to appear before it within the time set forth in this Constitution and still reach the Ports in time for the first regular meeting after its election. (d) A majority vote of the membership shall, in the case of such appeals, be sufficient to overrule any disqualification by the Credentials Committee in which event the one so previously classified shall then be deemed qualified. (e) The Credentials Committee, in passing upon the qualifications of candidates, shall have the right to conclusively presume that anyone nominated and qualified in previous elections for candidacy for any office, or the job of Assistant VicePresident or Port Agent has met all the requirements of Section 1(a) of Article XII. Section 3. Balloting Procedures. (a) Balloting in the manner hereafter provided shall commence on November 1st of the election year and shall continue through December 31st, exclusive of Sundays and (for each individual Port) holidays legally recognized in the City of which the Port affected is located. If November 1st and December 31st falls on a holiday legally recognized in a Port in the City in which that Port is located, the balloting period in such Port shall commence or terminate, as the case may be, on the next succeeding business day. Subject to the foregoing, for the purpose of full book members securing their ballots, the Ports shall be open from 9:00 A.M. to 12 Noon, Monday through Saturday, excluding holidays. (b) Balloting shall be by mail. The Secretary-Treasurer shall insure the proper and timely preparation of ballots without partiality as to candidates or Ports. The ballots may contain general information and instructive comments not inconsistent with the provisions of this Constitution. All qualified candidates shall be listed thereon alphabetically within each category with book number and job seniority classification status. The listing of the Ports shall first set forth Headquarters and then shall follow a geographical pattern commencing with the most northerly Port of the Atlantic Coast, following the Atlantic Coast down to the most southerly Port on that coast, then westerly along the Gulf of Mexico and so on, until the list of Ports is exhausted. Any Port outside the Continental United States shall then be added. There shall be no write-in voting and no provisions for the same shall appear on the ballot. Each ballot shall be so prepared as to have the number thereon place at the top thereof and shall be so perforated as to enable that portion containing the said number to be easily removed to insure secrecy of the ballot. On this removable portion shall also be placed a short statement indicating the nature of the ballot and the voting date thereof. (c) The ballots so prepared at the direction of the Secretary-Treasurer shall be the only official ballots. No others may be used. Each ballot shall be numbered as indicated in the preceding paragraphs and shall be numbered consecutively, commencing with number 1. A sufficient amount shall be printed and distributed to each Port. A record of the ballots, both by serial numbers and amount, sent thereto, shall be maintained by the SecretaryTreasurer who shall also send each Port Agent a verification list indicating the amount and serial numbers of the ballots sent. The Secretary-Treasurer shall also send to each Port Agent a sufficient amount of blank opaque envelopes containing the word, “Ballot” on the face of the envelope, as well as a sufficient amount of opaque mailing envelopes, first class postage prepaid and printed on the face thereon as the addressee shall be the name and address of the depository for the receipt of such ballots as designated by the President in the manner provided by Article X, Section 1, of this Constitution. In the upper left-hand corner of such mailing envelope, there shall be printed thereon, as a top line, provision for the voter’s signature and on another line immediately thereunder, provision for the printing of the voter’s name and book number. In addition, the Secretary-Treasurer shall also send a sufficient amount of mailing envelopes identical with the mailing envelopes mentioned above, except that they shall be of different color, and shall contain on the face of such envelope, in bold letters, the word, “Challenge.” The Secretary-Treasurer shall further furnish a sufficient amount of “Roster Sheets” which shall have printed thereon, at the top thereof, the year of the election, and immediately thereunder, five (5) vertical columns designated date, ballot number, signature full book member’s name, book number and comments, and such roster sheets shall contain horizontal lines immediately under the captions of each of the above five (5) columns. The SecretaryTreasurer shall also send a sufficient amount of envelopes with the printed name and address of the depository on the face thereof, and in the upper lefthand corner, the name of the Port and address, and on the face of such envelope, should be printed the words, “Roster Sheets and Ballot Stubs”. Each Port Agent shall maintain separate records of the ballots sent him and shall inspect and count the ballots when received to insure that the amount sent, as well as the number thereon, conform to the amount and numbers listed by the Secretary-Treasurer as having been sent to that Port. The Port Agent shall immediately execute and return to the Secretary-Treasurer a receipt acknowledging the correctness of the amount and the numbers of the ballots sent, or shall notify the Secretary-Treasurer of any discrepancy. Discrepancies shall be corrected as soon as possible prior to the voting period. In any event, receipts shall be forwarded for all the aforementioned election material actually received. The Secretary-Treasurer shall prepare a file in which shall be kept memoranda and correspondence dealing with the election. This file shall at all times be available to any member asking for inspection of the same at the office of the Secretary-Treasurer and shall be turned over to the Union Tallying Committee. (d) Balloting shall be secret. Only full book members in good standing may vote. Each full book member may secure his ballot at Port offices from the Port Agent or his duly designated representative at such Port. Each Port Agent shall designate an area at the Port office over which should be posted the legend “Voting Ballots Secured Here.” When a full book member appears to vote he shall present his book to the Port Agent or his aforementioned duly designated representative. The Port Agent or his duly designated representative shall insert on the roster sheet under the appropriate column the date, the number of the ballot given to such member and his full book number, and the member shall then sign his name on such roster sheet under the appropriate column. Such member shall have his book stamped with the word, “Voted” and the date, and shall be given a ballot, and simultaneously the perforation on the top of the ballot shall be removed. At the same time the member shall be given the envelope marked “Ballot” together with the prepaid postage-mailing envelope addressed to the depository. The member shall take such ballot and envelopes and in secret thereafter, mark his ballot, fold the same, insert it in the blank envelope marked “Ballot,” seal the same, then insert such “Ballot” envelope into the mailing envelope, seal such mailing envelope, sign his name on the upper left-hand corner on the first line of such mailing envelope and on the second line in the upper left-hand corner print his name and book number, after which he shall mail or cause the same to be mailed. In the event a full book member appears to vote and is not in good standing or does not have his membership book with him or it appears for other valid reasons he is not eligible to vote, the same procedure as provided above shall apply to him, except that on the roster sheet under the column “Comments”, notation should be made that the member voted a challenged ballot and the reason for his challenge. Such member’s membership book shall be stamped “Voted Challenge”, and the date, and such member instead of the above-mentioned mailing envelope, shall be given the mailing envelope of a different color marked on the face thereof with the word, “Challenge.” At the end of each day, the Port Agent or his duly designated representative shall enclose in the envelope addressed to the depository and marked “Roster Sheets and Ballots Stubs,” the roster sheet or sheets executed by the members that day together with the numbered perforated slips removed from the ballots which Continued on page 10 Seafarers LOG 9 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:39 PM Page 10 Information for the 2008 Election of Officers SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes & Inland Waters District/NMU Article XIII Constitutional Rules Continued from page 9 had been given to the members, and then mail the same to such depository. To insure that an adequate supply of all balloting material is maintained in all Ports at all times, the Port Agent or his duly designated representative, simultaneously with mailing of the roster sheets and ballot stubs to the depository at the end of each day, shall also make a copy of the roster sheet for that day and mail the same to the Secretary-Treasurer at Headquarters. The Port Agent shall be responsible for the proper safeguarding of all election material and shall not release any of it until duly called for and shall insure that no one tampers with the material placed in his custody. (e) Full book members may request and vote an absentee ballot under the following circumstances: while such member is employed on a Union contracted vessel and which vessel’s schedule does not provide for it to be at a Port in which a ballot can be secured during the time and period provided for in Section 3(a) of this Article or is in an accredited hospital any time during the first ten (10) days of the month of November of the election year. The member shall make a request for an absentee ballot by registered or certified mail or the equivalent mailing device at the location from which such request is made, if such be the case. Such request shall contain a designation as to the address to which such member wishes his absentee ballot returned. The request shall be postmarked no later than 12:00 P.M. on the 15th day of November of the election year, shall be directed to the Secretary-Treasurer at Headquarters and must be delivered no later than the 25th of such November. The SecretaryTreasurer shall determine whether such member is eligible to vote such absentee ballot. The Secretary-Treasurer, if he determines that such member is so eligible, shall by the 30th of such November, send by registered mail, return receipt requested or an equivalent mail service, to the address so designated by such member, a “Ballot,” after removing the perforated numbered stub, together with the hereinbefore mentioned “Ballot” envelope, and mailing envelope addressed to the depository, except that printed on the face of such mailing envelope shall be the words “Absentee Ballot” and appropriate voting instructions shall accompany such mailing to the member. If the Secretary-Treasurer determines that such member is ineligible to receive such absentee ballot, he shall nevertheless send such member the aforementioned ballot with accompanying material except that the mailing envelope addressed to the depository shall have printed on the face thereof the words “Challenged Absentee Ballot.” The Secretary-Treasurer shall keep records of all of the foregoing, including the reasons for determining such member’s ineligibility, which records shall be open for inspection by full book members and upon the convening of the Union Tallying Committee, presented to them. The Secretary-Treasurer shall send to all Ports the names and book numbers of the members to whom absentee ballots were sent. (f) All ballots to be counted must be received by the depository no later than the January 5th immediately subsequent to the election year and must be postmarked no later than 12 midnight December 31st of the election year. Section 4. (a) At the close of the last day of the period for securing ballots, the Port Agent in each Port, in addition to his duties set forth above, shall deliver or mail to Headquarters by registered or certified mail, attention Union Tallying Committee, all unused ballots and shall specifically set forth by serial number and amount the unused ballots so forwarded. (b) The Union Tallying Committee shall consist of twenty (20) full book members. Two (2) shall be elected from 10 Seafarers LOG each of the ten (10) Ports of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Mobile, New Orleans, Houston, Detroit-Algonac, San Francisco, St. Louis and Piney Point. The election shall be held at the regular meeting in December of the election year or, if the Executive Board otherwise determines prior thereto, at a special meeting held in the aforesaid Ports, on the first business day of the last week of said month. No officer, Assistant VicePresident, Port Agent, or candidate for office, or the job of Assistant VicePresident, or Port Agent shall be eligible for election to this Committee except as provided for in Article X, Section 4. In addition to the duties herein set forth, the Union Tallying Committee shall be charged with the tallying of all the ballots and the preparation of a closing report setting forth, in complete detail, the results of the election, including a complete accounting of all ballots and stubs, and reconciliation of the same with the rosters and receipts of the Port Agents, all with detailed reference to serial numbers and amount and with each total broken down into Port totals. The Union Tallying Committee shall have access to all election records and files for their inspection, examination and verification. The report shall clearly detail all discrepancies discovered and shall contain recommendations for the treatment of these discrepancies. All members of the Committee shall sign the report, without prejudice, however, to the right of any member thereof to submit a dissenting report as to the accuracy of the count and the validity of the ballots, with pertinent details. In connection with the tally of ballots there shall be no counting of ballots until all mailing envelopes containing valid ballots have first been opened, the ballot envelopes removed intact and then all of such ballot envelopes mixed together, after which such ballot envelopes shall be opened and counted in such multiples as the Committee may deem expedient and manageable. The Committee shall resolve all issues on challenged ballots and then tally those found valid utilizing the same procedure as provided in the preceding sentence either jointly or separately. (c) The members of the Union Tallying Committee shall, after their election, proceed to the Port in which Headquarters is located, to arrive at that Port no later than January 5th of the year immediately after the election year. Each member of the Committee not elected from the Port in which Headquarters is located shall be reimbursed for transportation, meals, and lodging expenses occasioned by their traveling to and returning from that Port. Committee members elected from the Port in which Headquarters is located shall be similarly reimbursed, except for transportation. All members of the Committee shall also be paid at the prevailing standby rate of pay from the day subsequent to their election to the day they return, in normal course, to the Port from which they were elected. The Union Tallying Committee shall elect a chairman from among themselves and, subject to the express terms of this Constitution, adopt its own procedures. All decisions of such Committee and the contents of their report shall be valid if made by a majority vote, provided there be a quorum in attendance, which quorum is hereby fixed at ten (10). The Committee, but not less than a quorum thereof, shall have the sole right and duty to obtain all mailed ballots and the other mailed election material from the depository and to insure their safe custody during the course of the Committee’s proceedings. The proceedings of the Committee, except for their organizational meeting and their actual preparation of the closing report and dissent therefrom, if any, shall be open to any member provided he observes decorum. Any candidate may act as an observer and/or designate another member to act as his observer at the counting of the ballots. In no event shall issuance of the above referred to closing report of the Committee be delayed beyond January 31st immediately subsequent to the close of the election year. In the discharge of its duties, the Committee may call upon and utilize the services of clerical employees of the Union. The Committee shall be discharged upon the completion of the issuance and dispatch of its report as required in this Article. In the event a recheck and recount is ordered pursuant to this Article, the Committee shall be reconstituted, except that if any member thereof is not available, a substitute therefore shall be elected from the appropriate Port at a special meeting held for that purpose as soon as possible. (d) The report of the committee shall be made up in sufficient copies to comply with the following requirements: two (2) copies shall be mailed by the Committee to each Port Agent and the SecretaryTreasurer no later than January 31st immediately subsequent to the close of the election year. As soon as these copies are received, each Port Agent shall post one (1) copy of the report on the bulletin board in a conspicuous manner and notify the Secretary-Treasurer, in writing, as to the date of such posting. This copy shall be kept posted until after the Election Report Meeting which shall be the March regular membership meeting immediately following the close of the election year. At the Election Report Meeting, the other copy of the report shall be read verbatim. (e) Any full book member claiming a violation of the election and balloting procedure or the conduct of the same, shall within seventy two (72) hours of the occurrence of the claimed violation notify the Secretary-Treasurer at Headquarters, in writing by certified mail, of the same, setting forth his name, book number and the details so that appropriate corrective action, if warranted, may be taken. The Secretary-Treasurer shall expeditiously investigate the facts concerning the claimed violation, take such action as may be necessary, if any, and make a report and recommendation, if necessary, a copy of which shall be sent to the member and the original shall be filed for the Union Tallying Committee for their appropriate action, report and recommendation, if any. The foregoing shall not be applicable to matters involving the Credentials Committee’s action or report, the provisions of Article XIII, Sections 1 and 2 being the pertinent provisions applicable to such matters. All protests as to any and all aspects of the election and balloting procedures or the conduct of the same not passed upon by the Union Tallying Committee in its report, excluding therefrom matters involving the Credentials Committee’s action or report as provided in the last sentence of the immediately preceding paragraph, but including the procedure and report of the Union Tallying Committee, shall be filed in writing by certified mail with the SecretaryTreasurer at Headquarters to be received no later than the February 25th immediately subsequent to the close of the election year. It shall be the responsibility of the member to insure that his written protest is received by the SecretaryTreasurer no later than such February 25th. The Secretary-Treasurer shall forward copies of such written protest to all Ports in sufficient time to be read at the Election Report Meeting. The written protest shall contain the full book member’s name, book number, and all details constituting the protest. (f) At the Election Report Meeting the report and recommendation of the Union Tallying Committee, including but not limited to discrepancies, protests passed upon by them, as well as protests filed with the Secretary-Treasurer as provided for in Section (e) immediately above shall be acted upon by the meeting. A majority vote of the membership shall decide what action, if any, in accordance with the Constitution shall be taken thereon, which action, however, shall not include the ordering of a special vote, unless reported discrepancies or protested procedure or conduct found to have occurred and to be violative of the Constitution affected the results of the vote for any office or job, in which event the special vote shall be restricted to such office, offices and/or job or jobs, as the case may be. A majority of the membership at the Election Report Meetings may order a recheck and recount when a dissent to the closing report has been issued by three (3) or more members of the Union Tallying Committee. Except for the contingencies provided for in this Section 4(f), the closing report shall be accepted as final. There shall be no further protest or appeal from the action of the majority of the membership at the Election Report Meetings. (g) Any special vote ordered pursuant to Section 4(f) shall be commenced within ninety (90) days after the first day of the month immediately subsequent to the Election Report Meetings mentioned above. The depository shall be the same as designated for the election from which the special vote is ordered. And the procedures shall be the same as provided for in Section 3, except where specific dates are provided for, the days shall be the dates applicable which provide for the identical time and days originally provided for in Section 3. The Election Report Meeting for the aforesaid special vote shall be that meeting immediately subsequent to the report of the Union Tallying Committee separated by one (1) calendar month. Section 5. Elected Officers and Jobholders. A candidate unopposed for any office or job shall be deemed elected to such office or job notwithstanding that his name may appear on the ballot. The Union Tallying Committee shall not be required to tally completely the results of the voting for such unopposed candidate but shall certify in their report that such unopposed candidate has been elected to such office or job. The Election Report Meeting shall accept the above certification of the Union Tallying Committee without change. Section 6. Installation into Office and the Job of Assistant Vice-President or Port Agent. (a) The person elected shall be that person having the largest number of votes cast for the particular office or job involved. Where more than one (1) person is to be elected for a particular office or job, the proper number of candidates receiving the successively highest number of votes shall be declared elected. These determinations shall be made only from the results deemed final and accepted as provided in this Article. It shall be the duty of the President to notify each individual elected. (b) The duly elected officers and other job holders shall take over their respective offices and jobs and assume the duties thereof at midnight of the night of the Election Report Meeting, or the next regular meeting, depending upon which meeting the results as to each of the foregoing are deemed final and accepted, as provided in this Article. The term of their predecessors shall continue up to, and expire at that time, not withstanding anything to the contrary contained in Article XI, Section 1. This shall not apply where the successful candidate cannot assume his office because he is at sea. In such event, a majority vote of the membership may grant additional time for the assumption of the office or job. In the event of the failure of the newly-elected President to assume office the provisions of Article X, Section 12 shall apply until the expiration of the term. All other cases of failure to assume office shall be dealt with as decided by a majority vote of the membership. Section 7. The Secretary-Treasurer is specifically charged with the preservation and retention of all election records, including the ballots, as required by law, and is directed and authorized to issue such other and further directives as to the election procedures as are required by law, which directives shall be part of the election procedures of this Union. October 2008 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:39 PM Page 11 REPORT OF CONSTITUTIONAL COMMITTEE We, the undersigned Constitutional Committee, were elected at a Special Meeting held in Piney Point on August 14, 2008, in accordance with Article XXV, Section 2 of our Constitution. We have had referred to us and studied, the proposed Constitutional Amendments Resolution submitted by our Executive Board. This Resolution, containing the proposed amendment, prior to its submission to us, was adopted by a majority vote of the membership at Headquarters and all ports. The provisions of the Resolution including its “WHEREAS” clauses, are contained in this report so that all members will have available to them its full text for their review and study at the same time that they read this, our Report and Recommendation. Whereas, the current Constitution and By-Laws of the Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU currently provides for the election of members to serve on finance, credentials, tallying and constitutional committees; and Whereas, the relevant Constitutional provisions contain language pertaining to the payment of committee members during their time of service; and Whereas, the afore-mentioned Constitutional Sections have conflicting provisions relating to the payment of committee members when all such committee members are, in practice, routinely paid the same amounts which have been comparable to eight hours a day at prevailing contractual standby rates of pay; and Whereas, such pay rates no longer exist in the industry wide contracts and all Constitutional Sections providing for payment of committee members for these four committees should be identical; and Whereas, the committee members of these four committees are, in actuality, not being paid for work performed but are instead receiving a per diem from the Union to compensate them for miscellaneous expenses incurred over and above travel, meals and lodging; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The following language shall modify existing language or shall be added to existing language to reflect the intent and practices of the Union concerning members who serve on the Finance, Credentials, Tallying and Constitutional Committees: “Committee members shall receive a per diem in an amount determined by the Secretary Treasurer but in no event shall they receive an amount less than the AB Green hourly rate as specified in the current union industry wide contract for eight hours for each day of service commencing with the day subsequent to their election and ending on the day they complete their service or, if applicable, return to the Port from which they were elected.” To effectuate the above changes, Article X, Section 14(c), number 5 shall be amended by deleting the next to last sentence of the first paragraph and by adding in its place, the above quoted language; Article XIII, Section 2, shall be amended by adding a new subsection which shall be lettered (f) and which shall contain the above quoted language; Article XIII, Section 4, (c) shall be amended by deleting the last sentence of the first paragraph and by adding in its place the above quoted language and Article XXV, shall be amended by adding a new Section which shall be numbered 4 and which shall contain the above quoted language. In addition the following sentence shall also be added to this new Article XXV, Section 4 “When a Constitutional Amendment is being considered at the same time that an election for officers is taking place, there shall be only one tallying committee used for both tallies and that Committee will be the one elected to serve as per Article XIII Section 4.” We further recommend, if it is reasonably possible, that a copy of our Committee’s Report containing the proposed Resolution and mem- bership action taken to date, be printed in the Seafarers LOG, October 2008 issue so that the membership will be kept abreast as to all facts and actions taken as of this time. In addition, we recommend that copies of such LOG issue, to the extent possible, be made available to the membership at all Union offices and Halls during the months of November and December 2008. Your Constitutional Committee wishes to thank the Union, its officers, representatives, members and counsel for their cooperation and assistance during our deliberations and to assure all members that we believe the adoption of the proposed Resolution will serve the needs of the Union and the membership. Fraternally submitted, Constitution Committee August 16, 2008 PROCEDURE FOR ABSENTEE BALLOTS In the case of members eligible to vote who believe they will be at sea during the Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2008 voting period, absentee ballots will be available. The SIU constitution ensures that members who are eligible to vote and who find themselves in this situation may vote absentee. Procedures are established in the SIU constitution to safeguard the secret ballot election, including the absentee ballot process. Here is the procedure to follow when requesting an absentee ballot: 1. Make the request in writing to the SIU office of the secretary-treasurer, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. All Seafarers who believe they will be at sea during the voting period Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2008 should request an absentee ballot. Here’s how to be sure your vote counts. 2. Include in the request the correct address where the absentee ballot should be mailed. 3. Send the request for an absentee ballot by registered or certified mail or the equivalent mailing service. 4. The registered or certified mail envelope must be postmarked no later than midnight, Nov. 15, 2008 and must be received at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 no later than Nov. 25, 2008. 5. The secretary-treasurer, after confirming eligibility, will send by registered mail, return receipt requested, to the address designated in the request, a ballot, together with an envelope marked “Ballot” and a mailing envelope no later than Nov. 30, 2008. 6. Upon receiving the ballot and envelope, vote by marking the ballot. After voting the ballot, place the ballot in the envelopes marked “Ballot.” Do not write on the “Ballot” envelope. 7. Place the envelope marked “Ballot” in the mailing envelope which is imprinted with the mailing address of the bank depository where all ballots are sent. 8. Sign the mailing envelope on the first line of the upper left-hand corner. Print name and book number on the second line. The mailing envelope is selfaddressed and stamped. 9. The mailing envelope must be postmarked no later than midnight, Dec. 31, 2008 and received by the bank depository no later than Jan. 5, 2009. October 2008 Seafarers LOG 11 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:39 PM Page 12 Nine Seafarers Complete Recertification ber of SIU-contracted companies for the Nine Seafarers recently graduated difference they have made in his life. from the steward recertification One “salt of the sea” who recertified course offered at the SIU-affiliated was Wilson, who joined the SIU in 1993 Paul Hall Center for Maritime in Jacksonville when he retired from the Training and Education. U.S. Navy after 23 years. “I couldn’t Successfully completing the resist the opportunity SIU gave me to go course were Denis Burke, Michael back to sea,” he explained. “We are paid Carello, Willie Massaline, Audrey well and the union gives me life securiBrown, Rachael Figueiredo, Joel ty. This is a great and professional Molinos, Mohamed Shibly, Carlos school with the highest standards. The Sanchez and Wayne Wilson. SIU and the school are a wonderful famEach of the graduates received a ily. I encourage anyone who gets the certificate during the Sept. 8 union chance to come here and take advantage membership meeting at the school in of it. Piney Point, Md. “To my fellow members, stay clean, In keeping with tradition, the work hard, ask questions, contribute to steward addressed their fellow members, SIU officials, school employees The recertified stewards stand with Paul Hall Center Vice President Don Nolan (second from SPAD and vote. They’re all vital to our right) following the September membership meeting in Piney Point, Md. Pictured from left to right lives and to labor.” and guests at the meeting. are Wayne Wilson, Michael Carello, Audrey Brown, Rachael Figueiredo, Willie Massaline, Joel “The union has stood by me and my Carello, who was a member of the Molinos, Denis Burke, Mohamed Shibly, Nolan and Carlos Sanchez. family during some difficult times,” National Maritime Union until its said another Paul Hall Center veteran, merger with the SIU in 2001, stated, affiliated school as “a wonderful experience that all memFigueiredo, who ships from Brooklyn. “I have always “If it wasn’t for the SIU, I probably wouldn’t be sailing. bers should take advantage of any chance they get. The had a family here at the school and in SIU. My six-yearI’ve been to Piney Point twice for BST (basic safety school and the union have changed my life. Thanks so old twins and I are grateful for the quality of life union training) and once for gallery operations and I realize much to the SIU leadership for keeping us strong and keepmembership has given us.” the importance of the education this school affords. This ing jobs plentiful. To the apprentices in attendance, don’t Figueiredo said that her experiences at the school is the best way to improve ourselves.” be afraid to ask questions – it could save lives.” have taught her a lot about the importance of unions in Speaking about the union, Carello, whose home port Another veteran of the school, Sanchez (who sails from the maritime industry, along with helping her hone her is Boston, said, “I’ve learned how important the SIU is San Juan) said he would have never had the opportunity to job skills. to all of us. If it wasn’t for the strength of the SIU, I see the world if he hadn’t gone to sea with the SIU. Molinos ships from Wilmington, Calif., and joined think none of us would be sailing today. Six months ago “This has been the greatest opportunity in my life!” he the SIU in 1992 in Honolulu. He has been to the Piney I made my will and included the SIU Scholarship Fund exclaimed. “I’ve learned how to be a leader and have seen Point on numerous occasions and says every time he as a recipient because the program and the SIU are that how wonderful the people are on board. The union gives all attends he learns more. “I feel truly blessed that I was important to our families and our future.” of us the chance to get ahead by being the best we can be selected for this recertification program and to be an Shibly has in-depth knowledge of the benefits of the and encourages us. You have everything with the SIU.” SIU member.” SIU not only because he joined the union in Seattle in Commenting on the school, Sanchez said, “Everyone Molinos mentioned that he has learned so much 1984, but also because his daughter graduated from here is the best. From the instructors to the people on the about the industry and the union that he feels qualified George Washington University in Washington, D.C., phones trying to help, to the learning material to the equipto help fellow shipmates who have questions. “I share with the help of a Seafarers scholarship grant. “The SIU ment, they are the best.” what I learn with my shipmates. The more everyone is an inspiration to us all,” said Shibly, who has upgradBurke has been sailing out of Honolulu since 1982 and learns, the better we all are off.” ed three times in Piney Point. “We’ve learned to work is a regular at the Paul Hall Center, having upgraded many Massaline, who ships from Jacksonville, has seen a hard together and it helps our families’ future. I’ve times. “The SIU has opened a lot of doors for me,” he said. lot during his career. He was an NMU member until the learned a lot about our union and industry at the school “I was swinging pizza before I went to sea. I left the indusmerger with SIU and this was his second trip to the and feel I’m equipped to help answer my shipmates’ try once and missed it so much, I went back.” school. “I’m glad to be a part of this union,” he said. questions.” Burke noted that he learns something different and use“SIU officials do an outstanding and clear job explain“All of the courses I have attended have helped me ful about his job every time he visits the school. “I feel coning how the union, management and industry work. learn how to make a safer and more pleasant work envi- fident to help teach my shipmates,” he stated. “I’ve also Everyone here was very helpful and detailed in their ronment,” explained Brown, who ships out of Mobile, learned about the importance of our contributions to the training and what is expected on the job.” Ala., and was brought into the SIU by her older brother Seafarers Political Action Donation (SPAD) program and Massaline also stressed the value of the coursework 19 years ago. “The SIU has been good to me and has how essential they are to our existence. When it comes to on food safety and prevention of food-borne illnesses. enabled me to lead a good life. I used to work three jobs hands-on training to supplement our hands-on careers, you The three-week recertification class blends practical but now the SIU has given me good job and life stabil- can’t do better than this school.” training with classroom instruction. ity.” During the ceremony, Burke thanked SIU officials for Brown described her three times attending the SIU- all they do and thanked family, friends, mentors and a num- Hands-On Training During Recertification The recertified steward class includes safety coursework in CPR and resuscitation (left), and fire extinguisher training, among other practical components. 12 Seafarers LOG October 2008 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:39 PM Page 13 Ready Then, Ready Now! SIU Marks 70 Years of Promoting Mariners’ Rights, Serving as Part of America’s Fourth Arm of Defense On October 14, the Seafarers International Union will reach its 70th anniversary. This page and the three that follow contain a sampling of events and images from the union’s history. SIU President Michael Sacco’s column on page 2 of this edition also spotlights the anniversary and the union’s steady progress. The headline on this page is a tribute to the SIU’s early history – specifically, an homage to the Seafarers who sailed in World War II. “Ready Then, Ready Now!” is the title of an old pamphlet written by the late SIU historian John Bunker. That booklet chronicles SIU members’ efforts and sacrifices in the war. Altogether, 1,235 Seafarers lost their lives. But World War II certainly wasn’t the only time SIU members stepped up as part of the nation’s fourth arm of defense. In every conflict since then, Seafarers reliably have answered the call and delivered the goods – from Korea to Vietnam to the first Persian Gulf War, right through to today’s Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. They have mobilized with equal dependability and professionalism during numerous humanitarian missions around the world. Remaining equipped to “turn to” in peace and war requires the SIU keep up with constantly changing demands from various components of the industry. Heading that list are training requirements – and on that score, the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education takes a back seat to no one. The school enjoys a well-earned reputation for staying ahead of the industry’s needs, and currently offers more than 70 U.S. Coast Guard-approved courses in addition to academic support. Grassroots political action also remains a must in this industry. Here again, SIU members historically have understood how politics affects their livelihoods. Accordingly, they volunteer their time and resources in support of not only maritime but also the labor movement as a whole. The timeline below touches on other important activities, including the union’s efforts in international affairs. Where the SIU is concerned, perhaps the one thing that hasn’t been altered since 1938 is the union’s foremost objective. President Sacco summed it up 10 years ago, when the union turned 60, and his words are just as fitting today: “The SIU remains dedicated to providing jobs and job security to its membership. That is something that never has changed, and it never will change.” 1938 – American Federation of Labor (AFL) presents an international charter for mariners to Harry Lundeberg on October 14. The union is known as the Seafarers International Union of North America (SIUNA). It consists of three separate districts: Atlantic, Gulf and Great Lakes, which will be referred to as SIU. Department to give maritime-related unions equal status with the Building Trades and Metal Trades departments. The SIU shuts down the nation’s ports with a general strike when negotiated wage increases are rejected by the federal Wage Stabilization Board. After eight days, the board approves the increases, which match those approved for West Coast unions, and the strike is called off. 1939 – First contracts with shipping companies (Savannah Line, P&O Steamship and Colonial Navigation) are signed. Among the issues won by members are overtime pay for work on Saturday afternoons, Sundays and holidays, two weeks of vacation and hiring through the union hall. Union gains war bonuses for crews sailing into dangerous zones. Also, delegates from the Atlantic, Gulf and Great Lakes districts approve the SIU’s first constitution. 1940 – SIU’s Atlantic and Gulf districts merge after ratification by membership. The SIU overwhelmingly wins an NLRB-conducted representation election for the crew of Calmar Line vessels. 1941 – John “Whitey” Hawk is elected to head the SIU Atlantic and Gulf District as its secretary-treasurer. A German submarine sinks the SIU-crewed SS Robin Moor on May 21, the first time an American-flag vessel is torpedoed. Crew members were given 20 minutes to abandon ship. 1942 – The SIUNA holds its first convention. Harry Lundeberg is elected president. The SIU joins with the Sailors’ Union of the Pacific to oppose attacks on the Jones Act, the nation’s freight cabotage law. War Shipping Administration takes control of U.S.-flag merchant fleet. 1943 – Union members continue war effort risking life SIU’s first president Harry Lundeberg visits the crew on the Invader in 1942. and injury to deliver needed supplies to troops around the globe. 1944 – SIU fights effort by Maritime War Emergency Board to cut mariners’ wages. With bonuses and overtime included, the average seaman’s salary is $32.25 a week. The SIU opens its new building at 51 Beaver Street, combining the New York hiring hall with the Atlantic and Gulf District headquarters. 1945 – The SIU creates the position of Director of Organizing to prepare for the battle to recruit new members and sign non-union companies at the war’s end. New York Port Agent Paul Hall is appointed. The SIU and other maritime unions fight an attempt by the U.S. Coast Guard to control the U.S.-flag merchant fleet in peacetime. The campaign to represent crews aboard the Isthmian fleet begins. 1946 – Membership approves committee to investigate the possibility of establishing an upgrading training school in New Orleans. Voting for representation begins aboard Isthmian ships. The AFL creates the Maritime Trades The New York union hall, shown in 1946, also housed SIU headquarters. October 2008 This World War II Memorial to SIU members is located in Piney Point, Md. 1947 – Paul Hall is elected to secretary-treasurer of SIU, the union’s highest position. The SIU wins the campaign to represent Isthmian crews and signs a contract with the company, completing the two-year campaign. Seafarers march with members of the United Financial Employees to help them in their strike against the New York Cotton Exchange. This began the SIU’s commitment to helping other non-maritime unions in time of need. 1948 – Cities Service unlicensed tanker crews vote for SIU representation with more than 83 percent saying yes to the union. The vote followed a yearlong organizing effort which met with stiff opposition from the company. However, labor laws call for another ballot to be conducted. New agreements with contracted companies retain the union hiring hall, a major issue during the negotiations. 1949 – The forerunner of today’s United Industrial Workers (UIW) is chartered by the SIU as the Marine Allied Workers Division. The SIUNA charters the SIU of Canada to restore democratic trade unionism in that country following threats of a communist takeover. Despite the anti-union campaign waged by Cities Service, 89 percent of the crew again voted for SIU representation. The company continues to fight despite NLRB certification that the SIU is the bargaining agent. Congress passes separate bill backed by the SIU calling for 50 percent of military cargo going to non-communist A lifeboat class in New York Seafarers LOG 13 �50928x2:January 08 9/29/2008 7:02 PM Page 14 countries as well as 50 percent of goods headed to Europe under the Marshall Plan to be carried aboard U.S.-flag, U.S.-crewed vessels. lent of two weeks’ vacation pay for each 12 months of service. Union headquarters moves from Manhattan to 675 Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn. eliminate cargo preference provisions for carrying American grain to the Soviet Union. President Lyndon Johnson creates the Maritime Advisory Committee. 1950 – The SIU becomes the first mariners’ union to negotiate a company-financed welfare plan for its members. The plan would provide Seafarers with a $500 death benefit and $7 per week hospital benefits. Just days before a Senate hearing looking into Cities Service’s anti-union campaign, the company signs a contract with the SIU, thus ending the union’s four-year effort to organize the tanker fleet. Korean Conflict begins and SIU-crewed ships are delivering the goods to U.S. troops. 1952 – The first of three projected upgrading schools opens for Seafarers. Operating out of headquarters in Brooklyn, the first class qualifies members to obtain their AB certificates. Plans call for training to start soon for both engine and steward department members. Welfare plan expanded to include maternity and disability benefits. SIU membership overwhelmingly approves new constitution. Union implements scholarship program for members and their dependents. 1965 – SIU fights attempts to weaken the Jones Act by allowing foreign-flag vessels to enter the Puerto RicanU.S. mainland trade. The SIUNA testifies before Congress on the need to build new U.S.-flag bulk carriers to make the fleet more competitive in the world market. Training programs operating under as the Andrew Furuseth Training School change their name to the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship in memory of the SIUNA founder. 1953 – Two unions join the growing ranks of the SIUNA: the Marine Firemen, Oilers and Watertenders Union (MFOW) and the Marine Cooks and Stewards (MC&S). AFL calls on the Seafarers to help in the creation of a new longshoremen’s union after the International Longshoremen’s Association is removed from the national labor federation on corruption charges. 1966 – As the war in Vietnam calls for an increase in shipping, the SIU works with MEBA-District 2 to enable engine department Seafarers to upgrade their skills and obtain an engineer’s license. SIU meets the manpower need created when vessels are broken out for the war effort. 1951 – The SIU gains an industry-wide vacation plan for its members. The program provides for the equiva- 1954 – SIU protests the transfer of 80 U.S.-flag Liberty ships (including 26 under contract to the SIU) to runaway flags by the U.S. maritime administrator. The union terms the action a “torpedo to the midships of the American Merchant Marine” because it not only means the loss of thousands of American jobs but also places the vessels in competition with the U.S. fleet. Frank Drozak (left), the union’s third president, is pictured with Sen. Joseph Biden during MTD meetings in 1987 in Bal Harbour, Fla. 1967 – U.S. Coast Guard approves lifeboat training offered by the Lundeberg School. SIU President Hall 1955 – The SIU adopts its seniority system of A, B and C book membership. Welfare plan expands to include hospital and surgical benefits as well as doctors’ visits at home for spouses and dependents. Union negotiates an industrywide health and safety plan to establish clinics in all ports. The SUP, MFOW and MC&S – all SIUNA affiliates –begin work as the SIU Pacific District. Andrew Furuseth Training School opens in Mobile, Ala., to go along with upgrading facilities in Brooklyn and New Orleans. The AFL merges with the Congress of Industrial Organizations to form the AFL-CIO. 1956 – Dr. Joseph B. Logue named medical director of the Seafarers Welfare Plan Medical Program. First of four health centers is ready to open near the Brooklyn headquarters. The SIU, maritime labor and the shipping industry defeat a proposal in the Senate to weaken the nation’s cargo preference laws. The hospital ship Comfort is crewed by SIU CIVMARS. 1957 – SIUNA Founder and President Harry Lundeberg dies. SIU Secretary-Treasurer Paul Hall elected to replace him. Brooklyn clinic opens; others set for Baltimore, Mobile and New Orleans. Members’ families are eligible to use the facility. 1958 – Optical benefits for members cover free eye exams and glasses. The SIU and National Maritime Union (NMU) launch campaign to combat runaway-flag shipping situation with the help of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). The Great Lakes District votes to affiliate with the Atlantic and Gulf District. SIU and NMU members picketing in support of a higher minimum wage 1959 – SIU implements blood bank program for members and their families. The union provides additional training facilities at headquarters so members can obtain lifeboat tickets. Also, ordinary seamen and wipers are given upgrading opportunities. SIU headquarters moved to Maryland in 1982. 1960 – The membership approves a revision to the SIU constitution. Under the changes, the membership meetings will be held monthly, the presiding officer’s title goes from secretary-treasurer to president and the district’s name becomes the Seafarers International Union Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District (AGLIWD). A committee of galley gang members recommends creation of a recertification program for chief stewards. 1961 – SIU optical plan coverage expanded to include members’ spouses and dependents. Welfare plan now includes provisions for Seafarers who become sick or injured off the job. Union negotiates first pension plan for deep sea members. Aboard the Steel Maker in 1953 1962 – Agreement allows SIU-contracted ship to carry fresh canned milk, now available because of technology changes, aboard vessels. This means steward departments will not have to take chances by purchasing milk in foreign lands. First steward recertification class gets under way at headquarters. SIU marches with other maritime unions in support of ILA strike in Atlantic and Gulf ports. 1963 – SIU-crewed Floridian strafed by Cuban jets 50 miles north of the island nation. Seafarers fly to Germany to crew the world’s largest cable ship, the Long Lines. The SIU wins the first union contract to cover crew members aboard an oceanographic research vessel, ending a three-day strike aboard the Anton Brunn. An early union meeting 14 Seafarers LOG 1964 – The union begins its seniority upgrading program so B book members can gain their A books. The SIU attacks efforts by the U.S. government and grain companies to The Horizon Falcon announces the purchase of property in southern Maryland to serve as a consolidated training center for SIU members. The Lundeberg School moves to Piney Point, Md., where members can upgrade their skills and newcomers can learn the skills to become mariners. 1968 – Campaign launched by the SIU and MTD to rebuild the U.S.-flag merchant fleet. Union blasts cuts in federal budget directed at the Maritime Administration as reflecting “a lack of awareness of maritime’s essential role in our defense efforts and our peacetime economy.” 1969 – Members concur with a headquarters resolution to create a ship’s committee – composed of a chairman, secretary and delegate from each of the three departments – aboard each SIU-contracted vessel and to hold regular shipboard meetings. The Nixon administration October 2008 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:39 PM Page 15 unveils its maritime program. It is designed to build new ships, encourage increased private investment and guarantee more government cargo for U.S.-flag vessels. 1970 – Congress passes and President Richard Nixon signs into law the Merchant Marine Act of 1970, the first major piece of maritime legislation enacted since 1936. The measure calls for 300 ships to be built. The Lundeberg School institutes a reading program to help members who are slow readers increase their literacy skills. The school also is accredited by the state of Maryland to conduct high school diploma equivalency (GED) tests. The union commences a series of crew and pensioner conferences. 1971 – SIU and MTD fend off congressional attacks on both Jones Act and funding for U.S. Public Health Service Hospitals. Congress approves law that eliminates the need of mariners to pay withholding tax in more than one state. SIU-contracted companies Waterman Steamship and Delta Steamship receive subsidies to build new vessels under provisions of the 1970 Merchant Marine Act. 1975 – Alcohol Rehabilitation Center opens in Valley Lee, Md., near the campus of the Lundeberg School. The crew of the SIU-contracted Mayaquez is held captive for 72 hours by Cambodian rebels. The crew was released unharmed following action by U.S. armed forces. QMED upgraders can take advantage of new shipboard automation course at Piney Point. 1976 – Following a vote of the memberships, the Inland Boatmen’s Union merges with the AGLIWD. SIU signs vacation plan with Steuart Petroleum, the first in the inland industry. 1977 – Seafarers crew the first LNG carrier built in the Western Hemisphere, the LNG Aquarius, constructed at the shipyard in Quincy, Mass. Later in the year, SIU members climb the ladder aboard the first privately constructed and operated hopper dredge, the Manhattan Island. SIU-crewed tankers carry some of the first loads from the Trans-Alaska pipeline. Sea-Land’s Galveston transported the first oil from the pipeline in a 30-gallon drum to Seattle where the crude was divided into souvenirs. 1978 – MC&S votes to merge with the AGLIWD, the first time East Coast and West Coast shipboard jurisdiction is united. Coast Guard recognizes upgrading time at Lundeberg School for on-the-job credit. New three-year pact with Interstate Oil Transport establishes new benefits for inland members, including major medical coverage for dependents. aboard Lavino Shipping oceanographic vessels. 1987 – The AGLIWD and SIU of Canada along with other shipping unions and companies urge representatives from the two countries to keep the nations’ maritime laws out of a U.S.-Canada free trade agreement. The Overseas Joyce becomes the first U.S.-crewed (and SIU-crewed) car carrier to bring Japanese automobiles to America. 1988 – SIUNA and SIU President Frank Drozak succumbs to cancer. Michael Sacco succeeds him as the head of both organizations. After many years of fighting, World War II-era mariners are granted veterans’ status. However, the action is limited to sailing between December 7, 1941 and August 15, 1945 rather than December 31, 1946, as is the case for other veterans. 1989 – SIU-crewed vessels deliver food and other aid to former Communist-bloc countries in Eastern Europe as the Iron Curtain comes down. The grounding of the Exxon Valdez (crewed by what amounted to a company union) in Valdez, Alaska, sets in motion a series of new regulations that will affect Seafarers for years to come. The Lundeberg School initiates an oil spill prevention and containment course. 1979 – Seafarers crew UST Atlantic, the largest vessel built in the Western Hemisphere, at the Newport News (Va.) shipyard. Great Lakes members man the new thousandfooter, Indiana Harbor. The Coast Guard backs off its attempt to eliminate a certified tankerman as part of crew on tank barges under tow. The SIU had been fighting this action for five years. The SIUNA-affiliated Atlantic Fishermen’s Union merges with the AGLIWD. A change in the SIU Welfare Plan allows members to use either the U.S. Public Health Service hospital or a private facility for covered care. Fire Fighting training at the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School at the Paul Hall Center Seafarers on parade during Memorial Day ceremonies in Washington, D.C., in 2007 1980 – SIUNA and SIU President Paul Hall passes away. Frank Drozak takes the helm of both organizations. Seafarers climb the ladder for the first diesel-powered SeaLand containership, the Sea-Land Patriot. On June 21, the SIU-crewed Oceanic Independence set sail from Honolulu, marking the return of the U.S.-flag to deep sea passenger ships after a nearly 10-year absence. Crewmembers train at Piney Point prior to manning vessel. The Overseas Houston is part of a new tanker build program. 1981 – AFL-CIO announces support for five-point U.S.-flag program to increase manpower and vessels in fleet. Reagan administration eliminates U.S. Public Health Service hospitals from budget, cuts funding for new vessels called for in 1970 Merchant Marine Act. Seafarers Welfare Plan restructures because of the loss of the hospitals, which had provided treatment for mariners since the start of the nation. The SIUNA-affiliated Military Sea Transport Union merges with the AGLIWD. 1982 – Union headquarters moves from Brooklyn to the Washington, D.C. suburb of Camp Springs, Md. in order to be closer to the government to continue the fight for a strong U.S.-flag merchant fleet. 1983 – The Lundeberg School continues to meet the everchanging needs of the maritime industry. The first shiphandling simulator is installed while basic and advanced computer training is offered. But the change that caught the eyes of most in Piney Point was the opening of the six-story, 300-room Seafarers Training and Recreation Center. The Reagan administration completely eliminates the shipbuilding provisions of the 1970 Merchant Marine Act from the budget. SIU-contracted NY Waterway ferries were on hand to help evacuate workers who were in New York City during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. 1972 – Bilateral agreement reached between U.S. and Soviet Union calls for one-third of cargo between two nations to be carried aboard U.S.-flag vessels. New, faster containerships – the SL-7s – begin sailing with Seafarers as the crew. 1973 – The bosun recertification program begins at the Lundeberg School. Seafarers take over as the crew for formerly military-manned Military Sealift Command tankers. Legislation approved to start work on TransAlaska oil pipeline. President Nixon addresses SIUNA convention, reaffirming his strong support for the U.S.flag fleet. 1974 – Lundeberg School launches training program for liquified natural gas (LNG) tankers. SIU fights for oil cargo preference legislation. The measure is passed by Congress, but vetoed by President Gerald Ford. October 2008 1984 – SIU members crew a series of military supply and prepositioning vessels, including the fast sealift ships (former SL-7s). Members attending a deep sea crew conference and an inland conference outline a series of proposals designed to carry the SIU into the future. Among the calls adopted by the union was a change in pension credits for members who have sailed more than 3,000 days; the need for continued grassroots support as well as contributions to the Seafarers Political Action Donation (SPAD); a standardized set of procedures for obtaining military contracts; and supporting the union’s effort to organize the unorganized. 1985 – The union moved forward by continuing to crew military-support vessels, thus providing new jobs for members. The Lundeberg School updates its curriculum to include courses that will assist Seafarers working on these vessels, including underway replenishment, crane operations and helicopter operations. 1986 – The SIU works with others in labor, maritime, environment and consumer groups to defeat a proposed oil pipeline from Baton Rogue, La., to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The effort saves hundreds of jobs in the tanker industry. The union gains recognition to represent the unlicensed crews Crowley continues to add new tonnage. 1990 – Seafarers respond to the nation’s call to sail materiel to U.S. troops stationed in Saudi Arabia after Iraq overruns Kuwait. The Maritime Administration breaks out the Ready Reserve Force fleet, but no SIUcrewed vessel sails shorthanded. The union works with the Bush administration to keep maritime out of the world trade talks, known as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). 1991 – The Persian Gulf War lasts 43 days as United Nations (UN) forces repel Iraq from Kuwait. Seafarers continue to supply troops in the region and then return the goods when the fighting is over. The action of the U.S.-flag fleet draws high praise from government and military officials. It also calls attention to the need to revitalize the fleet. Donning the union’s traditional white caps, SIU members march with the U.S. armed forces in the national victory parade in Washington, D.C. On the anniversary of Paul Hall’s birth, the grounds of the Lundeberg School are named in memory of the late SIU president – the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. The Seafarers Welfare Plan holds benefits conferences in each of the union’s ports. The SIU, along with the other maritime unions, sues the Coast Guard to prevent the implementation of user fees for zcards. Seafarers LOG 15 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:39 PM Page 16 1992 – In testimony before Congress, the Bush administration outlines a program to revitalize the U.S.-flag merchant fleet. Seafarers crew two new cable ships, the Global Sentinel and the Global Mariner. SIU Pacific District members climb aboard the first new containership built in the U.S. since 1987, the R.J. Pfeiffer. UIW members win campaign to keep Queen Mary in Long Beach, where they work aboard the hotel. Nearly 20 SIU-crewed vessels are deployed to Somalia to assist a U.S.-led, UN relief effort to the war-torn nation. 1993 – The House of Representatives passes a maritime revitalization bill. Negotiations for the new standard tanker and freightship agreements lift the cap on pensions for eligible Seafarers. Mariners aboard 16 Dyn Marine oil spill response vessels vote to join the SIU. Center opens the world-class Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School. SIU crews continue supplying materiel to U.S. troops stationed in the Persian Gulf and the Balkans. SIU and NMU members vote to proceed with talks for a proposed merger. 2000 – The Paul Hall Center installs a new simulator, opens a safety school in Honolulu and announces planned construction of single-occupancy dorm rooms on the Piney Point, Md., campus. The union opens new halls in Baltimore and Guam and completely refurbishes the facility in Wilmington, Calif. It was a huge year for new job opportunities, as SIU-contracted companies either begin operating or announce plans to build no fewer than 20 new ships, Z- 2004 – SIU members continue delivering the goods in the next phases of Operation Iraqi Freedom as well as in Operation Enduring Freedom. NCL America’s Pride of Aloha sets sail in July. Construction continues on the first two T-AKE vessels, to be crewed by CIVMARS. Seafarers reelect Michael Sacco as union president in an election that ends Dec. 31, 2004. The union wins organizing campaigns in Philadelphia, San Juan and Cleveland. Health care benefits dominate contract talks across the country (for all unions). The U.S. Merchant Marine is included in the new National World War II Memorial. The SIU pushes for enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act. The union mourns the losses of retired Vice President West Coast George McCartney; Major Ken Conklin, founder of the Paul Hall Center’s trainee program; Ed Turner, retired executive vice president; Steve Edney, retired UIW national director; Keith Terpe, retired SIU of Puerto Rico president; and others. 1994 – President Bill Clinton becomes the first U.S. chief executive to tour the Paul Hall Center when he attends a luncheon at the facility. Seafarers crew vessels assisting U.S. troops in Haiti restoring democracy to the Caribbean nation. SIU members also sail to the Persian Gulf to support the nation’s armed forces when Iraq threatens to invade Kuwait. Union members play an active role in oil spill clean-up operations in San Juan and Houston. The Clinton administration unveils a new maritime revitalization program. Although it passes the House, it is blocked by farm-state legislators in the Senate. Boatmen for New Orleans-based E.N. Bisso Co. vote for SIU representation. The Lundeberg School conducts EPA-approved refrigerant handling courses in each of the union’s ports. 1995 – Congress passes and President Clinton signs SIU-supported legislation allowing the export of Alaskan North Slope oil as long as it is carried aboard U.S.-flag tankers. More new jobs along the rivers are created when the paddlewheel steamboat American Queen begins sailing. The vessel is the first overnight passenger ship built in a U.S. yard in 40 years. Seafarers crew the first two Army prepositioning ships, the SP5 Eric G. Gibson and the LTC Calvin P. Titus. 1996 – Congress passes and President Clinton signs the Maritime Security Act of 1996, a 10-year, $1 billion maritime revitalization program that will help fund approximately 50 militarily useful U.S.-flag vessels. Seafarers meet with, call and write members of Congress to express support for the nation’s cabotage laws. Members ratify new five-year standard tanker and freightship agreements that include a money purchase pension plan, 100 percent medical coverage for Seafarers and their dependents, dental coverage for dependents, wage increases and much more. The Maritime Administration announces a program to build five double-hulled tankers in U.S. shipyards. SIU members will crew the ships. The SIU-crewed American Queen and American Republic carry the Olympic torch in preparation for the Atlanta games. 1997 – The Paul Hall Center overhauls its curriculum to meet the needs of Seafarers for the 21st century. The center develops and issues a Coast Guard-approved Training Record Book to help members satisfy the requirements of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for mariners (STCW). The Paul Hall Center launches an LNG recertification program and tankerman (PIC) barge course. The steward department upgrading schedule is rewritten. Finally, the school creates an all-new, ninemonth unlicensed apprentice program for people entering the maritime profession to replace the old trainee program. Seafarers crew the first three of eight newly built prepositioning ships to be operated by Maersk Lines. Other new jobs are provided by several reflagged vessels as well as new Crowley tractor tugs. The SIU launches its web site, www.seafarers.org. 1998 – SIUNA and NMU announce talks under way to affiliate NMU with SIUNA. Seafarers Welfare Plan initiates prescription plan that eliminates out-of-pocket expenses for qualified pensioners. SIU joins fight with other unions to stop nationwide effort to limit the ability of the labor movement to participate in political activities. Paul Hall Center breaks ground for state-of-the-art firefighting school, named in memory of the late SIU Executive Vice President Joseph Sacco. WWII mariners scored another overdue victory when the cutoff date for veterans’ recognition was extended to match that which applies to the armed forces. 1999 – SIU members climb the gangways to new car carries (the Green Dale and the Tanabata) as well as other new vessels. Expansion of the U.S.-flag cruise ship fleet becomes more promising as the president of American Classic Voyages and the president of Ingalls Shipbuilding sign a contract in the U.S. Capitol to build two vessels for the Hawaiian trades. The Paul Hall 16 Seafarers LOG bill that includes a 10-year extension of the U.S. Maritime Security Program. The SIU makes no fewer than 20 additions to its contracted fleet. More jobs are on the horizon as Norwegian Cruise Lines unveils plans to start a U.S.-flag division. In an historic decision, consolidation of the east and west coast CIVMAR units is approved by the Federal Labor Relations Authority – benefiting both mariners and the agency. The union opens a new hall in Joliet, Ill. The Paul Hall Center, SIU and Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao make history in developing and approving the first ever National Apprenticeship Standards for the maritime industry. The SIUNA welcomes the AMO as its newest autonomous affiliate. The USNS Red Cloud offloads materiel in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Seafarers have been vital in delivering the goods to our troops fighting wars. drive tugs and ATBs. (Editor’s note: The nation somehow survived widespread concern about the so-called Y2K bug, which turned out to be not much of a problem after all.) 2001 – SIU members are among the first to respond to the terrorist attacks of September 11. Seafarers aboard NY Waterway ferries transport an estimated 168,000 people from lower Manhattan, while members of the union’s Government Services Division crew up the hospital ship USNS Comfort when it activates in response to the attacks. Earlier in the year, the NMU merges into the SIU, following approval by the memberships of both unions. Intermittent merger talks between the two unions had gone on since the mid-1950s. Seafarers welcome numerous gains that were secured in new contracts, including the new standard freightship and tanker agreements. Members crew up newly contracted military support ships and other new vessels. The U.S. Coast Guard approves the Paul Hall Center’s new global marine distress and safety system (GMDSS) course. 2002 – Seafarers support U.S. troops involved in Operation Enduring Freedom. The union stands up for mariners’ rights during hearings and forums in the U.S. and abroad examining port and shipboard security – a result of September 11. The union gains jobs aboard military support ships, passenger ferries, a hopper dredge, a heavy-lift ship and an oceanographic survey vessel, among others. SIU members perform several daring rescues at sea. The union continues its work with the ITF. The Seafarers Pension Plan issues check No. 1 million. Work is completed on the new hotel near the Paul Hall Memorial Library. 2003 – More than 2,000 Seafarers crew up dozens of RRF ships and mobilize prepositioning vessels in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. President Bush signs a Defense 2005 – The year begins with Seafarers mobilizing to support victims of the tsunami which struck in the last days of the prior year, and ends with members still on duty in the U.S. Gulf Coast where they helped provide relief for hurricane victims. SIU members continue sailing in OIF and OEF. SIU-contracted OSG announces it will operate 10 new tankers to be built in Philadelphia. NCL America launches the Pride of America. Matson orders two additional containerships, while the second and third Alaska class tankers are delivered. The union establishes the Seafarers Disaster Relief Fund. The Paul Hall Center’s vessel security officer (VSO) course becomes the first such curriculum approved by the U.S. Maritime Administration. Adjustments administered to benefits through the SHBP reflect a nationwide crisis. SIU Executive Vice President John Fay dies at age 73. 2006 – President Bush delivers his Labor Day address at the Paul Hall Center. U.S. Shipping Partners and NASSCO announce plans to build nine tankers. Horizon Lines reveals plans to charter five new U.S.-flag ships for 12-year terms. NCL America adds the Pride of Hawaii to its fleet. Crowley christens the first of six new 185,000barrel ATBs. Seafarers continue supporting our troops and are recognized in ceremonies conducted by MarAd and MSC. Seafarers approve new standard contracts that improve wages, maintain medical benefits and preserve jobs. CIVMARS crew up new ammunition ships. More than 7,000 students train at the Paul Hall Center. Assistant Vice President Contracts Steve Judd, 45, and retired Vice President Contracts Angus “Red” Campbell, 84, are among those mourned by the union. 2007 – The SIU introduces a 401(k) savings plan. Seafarers climb the gangways to new ships and replacement tonnage including the first three Veteran class tankers, the third and fourth T-AKE ships and five new Horizon vessels. Delegates to the SIUNA convention plot a course consistent with the event’s theme: Mapping Out a Brighter Future. They reelect Michael Sacco as president. The union continues to weigh in on the new Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. The Paul Hall Center celebrates its 40th anniversary. MSC approves the school’s helo fire fighting training. The school upgrades its simulators and makes other improvements. The Horizon Falcon rescues Chinese sailors in the North Pacific. 2008 – Seafarers deliver life-saving MRAPS for our troops. CIVMARS perform rescues at sea. Progress continues in the new tanker build programs in San Diego and Philadelphia. Maersk Line, Limited adds three new vessels. The Paul Hall Center begins offering online courses. During MTD meetings, U.S. military leaders powerfully declare support for the U.S. Merchant Marine. More new tankers and T-AKE ships are delivered. Alaska Tanker Company achieves safety milestone of 12 million man hours without a lost-time injury. The USNS Mercy begins a fourth-month humanitarian mission. The TWIC deadline for CIVMARS is extended to April 2009. Hawaii Superferry’s Alakai joins the SIU-crewed fleet. Certain Paul Hall Center courses are approved for college credits. The union endorses Senator Barack Obama for president. October 2008 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:39 PM Page 17 Important Notice to CIVMARS On August 28, 2008 the union was notified by the Military Sealift Command (MSC) that approximately 1,400 CIVMARS were affected by a personal and financial information breach. The breach occurred when SF 50 forms (a basic personnel form that includes Social Security numbers, names, addresses, wages and other detailed personal information) was sent to wrong addresses. Protecting your credit is very important. A compromised credit report may affect your ability to obtain or keep a security clearance. Failure to maintain good credit may also affect your ability to get a mortgage, financing for other purchases or may drive up the interest rate for these items, since it is difficult to obtain credit without a good credit rating. If you are a victim of identity theft or if you think that you may become a victim, there are steps that you can take to protect your credit rating, some of which are spelled out in this notice. The union immediately requested that Military Sealift Fleet Support Command (MSFSC) take a number of actions to protect all the CIVMARS affected by this breach. In summary, the union requested a) that MSC implement a credit monitoring program for all affected CIVMARS; b) that MSC pay for a credit security “freeze” for each affected CIVMAR, or reimburse each CIVMAR for the cost of such freeze and associated costs of the credit freeze process; c) that MSC provide assurances to the union that each affected CIVMAR’s security clearances will not be affected by the unauthorized disclosures of personal and financial information in the SF 50s; and d) that CIVMARS be afforded sufficient official time and access to computers aboard vessels to monitor their credit. As a result of strong, timely union advocacy, MSC has agreed to implement the credit monitoring program for affected CIVMARS. Please note that MSC has advised the union that they have determined that no West Coast CIVMARS were affected by this breach in personal information. The union is waiting to hear what other steps MSC will be taking and we anticipate that there will be continued changes to this situation. As a result of MSC’s failure to implement certain protections for CIVMARS, the union has filed grievances in the hope that MSC will take appropriate action, and if not, request that an arbitrator award CIVMARS the protections the union has requested and provide a monetary award under the Privacy Act. The results of these grievances may take time. The SIU wants to assist affected CIVMARS. The union would like you to know that there are ways you can protect yourself now. Here are the steps you can take. Review Your Credit Reports Regularly To protect yourself against identity theft you should regularly review your consumer credit reports for suspicious activity utilizing the credit monitoring service MSC has agreed to purchase. If you need further assistance you can also contact your union representative. Place a Fraud Alert on Your Credit Reports You can limit the likelihood of someone fraudulently opening credit in your name by requesting that a fraud alert be placed on your credit reports. By requesting a fraud alert, creditors who review your report will know that you either suspect identity theft or are actually a victim of identity theft. Knowing this, creditors are less likely to open a new account without first verifying the identity of the person applying for credit. There are two types of fraud alerts. You may place a 90day fraud alert on your credit reports or you may place a seven-year fraud alert on your credit reports. By requesting a seven-year alert you also will be removed from various telephone and mailing marketing lists for a period of five years. To request a fraud alert you need only contact one of the three credit reporting services. They will notify the other two. Placing a Security Freeze on Your Credit Reports A security freeze is a very high level of identity theft protection. You will not need to check your credit reports as often if you place a security freeze on your credit reports. You can prevent someone from fraudulently opening credit in your name by requesting that a security freeze be placed on your credit report. When you “freeze” your report, creditors will not have access to your credit information. Since creditors will not issue new credit to someone without first reviewing his or her credit report, an imposter will be unable to obtain credit using your name. When you request a security freeze, the credit reporting service will issue you a unique Personal Identification Number. With your PIN you can “thaw” or lift the security freeze for a particular creditor or specific period of time. In most states, you can place a security freeze on your report free of charge if you have been a victim of identity theft. However, if you only suspect identify theft, you may have to pay a fee to “freeze” and “thaw” your credit report. The exact amount that you may be charged depends on the state where you live. Visit http://www.consumersunion.org/campaigns//learn_more/ 003484indiv.html for more information on security freeze fees. Other Steps to Protect Yourself Monitor bank and credit-card accounts regularly to spot any questionable charges and report them immediately. You October 2008 can spot fraud more quickly by checking online instead of waiting for monthly statements. Open what appears to be credit-card junk mail before tossing it. Make sure that it isn’t a letter alerting you about new accounts opened in your name or an address change that you haven’t authorized. Don’t carry your Social Security card in your wallet. Shred documents with personally identifying information, such as driver ’s license and financial-account numbers, before discarding them. Helpful Resources Credit reporting services and addresses: Equifax: 1-888-567-8688 Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc P.O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374 TransUnion Fraud Victim Assistance Department P.O. Box 6790 Fullerton, CA 92834 Victim Assistance Department: 1-800-680-7289 Experian: 1-888-397-3742 To receive your free annual MIB consumer file compiled by US life insurance companies go to www.mib.com or call 866-692-6901. If you find lists of medical conditions and tests that do not belong to you, this may be an indication of ID theft. To stop prescreened credit card offers, call toll free: 888-567-8688 To be removed from many lists for marketing mail, calls and email, visit: h t t p : / / w w w. d m a c o n s u m e r s . o r g / c g i / o f f m a i l i n g l i s t h t t p : / / w w w. d m a c o n s u m e r s . o r g / c g i / o f f t e l e p h o n e http://www.dmaconsumers.org/consumers/optoutform_emps.shtml For information on the federal “Do Not Call” list to avoid telemarketer calls, see: https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx Privacy Rights Clearinghouse step-by-step information for identity theft victims: http://www.privacyrights.org/identity.htm; http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17-it.htm. For information in Spanish for victims of identity theft: http://www.privacyrights.org/spanish/pi17(g).htm. Para información en español para victimas del robo de identidad: http://www.privacyrights.org/spanish/pi17(g).htm. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (a nonprofit organization) provides more in-depth information at: http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs17a.htm Federal Trade Commission toll-free consumer identity theft hotline: 877-IDTHEFT or (877) 438-4338; http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft (online consumer complaint form). Comprehensive consumer brochures for ID theft prevention and for victims of identity theft: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/idtheftmini.ht m, http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/idtheft.htm If you need additional assistance you can call or email your union representatives: Kate Hunt: khunt@seafarers.org, 718-499-6600 Ext: 223 Maurice Cokes rcokes@seafarers.org, 757-575-9716 USNS Pathfinder Participates in Demonstration The U.S. Military Sealift Command oceanographic survey ship USNS Pathfinder, operated by Seafarerscontracted Horizon Lines, finished a 10-day demonstration of at-sea capabilities on the Black Sea with Ukraine’s Department of Underwater Heritage Sept. 17. During the demonstration, civilian surveyors from the Naval Oceanographic Office Institute for Exploration and Ukraine’s Department of Underwater Heritage were scheduled to work together to search for downed vessels. According to the Institute for Exploration’s preliminary cruise report, at least 15 shipwrecks were identified during the mission, including German World War II submarine U-18 and World War I Russian minelayer RUS Prut. U-18 was the first target the oceanographers identified using underwater video capabilities with a remotely operated vehicle, or ROV. The Pathfinder is one of seven oceanographic survey ships operated by Horizon for MSC. These noncombatant ships are a unique part of the U.S. Navy’s fleet tasked with learning more about the world’s oceans and undersea environment, according to the agency. “For the crew, this is an opportunity to take the ship somewhere we have not been before, and that is always a very exciting event,” said the Pathfinder’s civilian master, Capt. Troy Erwin. “The data we will collect in Ukrainian territorial waters will improve the navigation- The SIU-crewed USNS Pathfinder is operated by Horizon Lines. al accuracy of charts used in this area for many ships.” In May 2008, the Pathfinder collaborated with Estonian naval forces to search for the Kaleva, a commercial aircraft that exploded over the Gulf of Finland after taking off from the Tallinn airport in June 1940. The Naval Oceanographic Office employs approximately 1,100 civilian, military and contract personnel and is responsible for providing oceanographic products and services to the U.S. Department of Defense. Paul Hall Center Offers Career Advancement The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., offers the most U.S. Coast Guard-approved courses of any maritime school in the nation. The center features top-notch training from experienced instructors and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. The school offers courses for mariners sailing in the deck, engine and steward departments. Below is a quick look at one of those classes. For more information about the center and its courses, contact the Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; call (301) 994-0010; or visit the Paul Hall Center section of www.seafarers.org. Course dates are listed on page 25 of this issue of the LOG and also are carried on the web site. Deck Department Spotlight Apprentice Mate (Steersman) The Paul Hall Center’s 103-hour Apprentice Mate (Steersman), Near Coastal course is a self-certifying course for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on uninspected towing vessels sailing under U.S. flag or registered/documented under any political subdivision in the United States. Training meets or exceeds requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(i) for original issuance or 46 CFR 10. 209(c)(iii) for renewal of a license as Apprentice Mate (Steersman) of Towing Vessels (Near Coastal and Great Lakes; —OR—(2) the examination requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(i) for original issuance or 46 CFR 10. 209(c)(iii) for renewal of a license as Master of Towing Vessels (Near Coastal and Great Lakes) provided that they also provide evidence of service in the towing industry before May 21, 2001, AND that the requirements of 46 CFR 10.464(h) are also met. After obtaining the requisite sea service and fulfilling other U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) requirements pertaining to this license, successful students will be able to take responsibility for the safety of an inspected towing vessel; be aware of obligations under Coast Guard regulations concerning safety and protection of passengers, crew, and the marine environment; and, be able to take the practical measures necessary to meet those obligations. Successful students will be issued a certificate of completion for an Apprentice Mate (Steersman), Near Coastal course. Prior to the scheduled class convening date, each candidate must meet the following entrance requirements: Successfully completed a USCG-approved STCW Basic Safety Training course; possess current U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; speak, read and understand the English language in accordance with 46 CFR 13.111; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.15-5; Fundamentals of Navigation OR equivalent course OR experience as determined by the instructor; valid Radar Observer Unlimited certificate; Able Seaman endorsement (any) Seafarers LOG 17 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:39 PM Page 18 Your Vote is Vital on November 4 Election Day, November 4, is a critical day for all Americans. It’s the day the nation’s citizens will decide the course of the country for years to come. This Election Day, America will not only select a president and vice president but also members of the Senate, House of Representatives and officials at the state and local levels. Seafarers understand how politics affects their livelihoods. They know it’s important to ask which candidates support the Jones Act, cargo preference and the Maritime Security Program. They know it’s vital to identify which candidates support working families. As always, the union encourages members to support pro-maritime, pro-labor candidates on Election Day. In addition to the information published on this page, Seafarers may take advantage of election-related resources offered on the internet. They include the AFLCIO web site, www.aflcio.org. Some issues and positions cited as critical by the federation include: The Employee Free Choice Act The AFL-CIO notes that America’s working families are struggling to make ends meet and the middle class is disappearing. The best opportunity working people have to get ahead economically is by joining together in unions to bargain with employers for better wages and benefits. But the current system for forming unions and bargaining is broken. Employers routinely intimidate, harass, coerce and even fire workers who try to form unions and bargain for economic wellbeing. The Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800, S. 1041) would level the playing field for workers and employers and restore our freedom to choose a union. Health Care America has a health care crisis. Forty-seven million Americans have no health insurance, while millions more are feeling the pressure of skyrocketing costs and inadequate coverage. The system needs serious, comprehensive reform that will provide guaranteed, affordable health care for all. Trade & Manufacturing U.S. trade deals in recent years have cost America’s workers millions of jobs and lowered living and working standards for workers globally. The next president must fight for a trade policy that supports working families here and abroad. Retirement Security After a lifetime of work, retirees deserve a basic level of security. But, employer-provided pensions are disappearing and Social Security is under threat. The next president must strengthen Social Security and not allow dangerous privatization schemes. Additionally, workers’ pensions and retirement savings must be protected. Education Every child deserves a world-class public education and access to affordable higher education. America's future – our ability to compete globally and grow economically – depends on what we’re willing to provide to our children. Where to Turn? There are resources available to help make the voting process easier. Two components of voting concerning members in the maritime industry are voter registration and absentee voting. The AFL-CIO’s web site contains a section titled Working Families Vote 2008. The section is an online center to provide a comprehensive voter guide that fosters civic participation among working people and encourages them to register and vote by informing and engaging them on key working family issues and the presidential candidates’ records and positions on the issues. The full web address is: https://ssl.capwiz.com/aflcio/e4/nvra/ Voters may also turn to the Federal Voting Assistance Program’s web site: www.fvap.gov The program helps military members, mariners and others who cannot vote in their state of residence register to vote and also provides assistance with absentee voting. Also, information on voter registration and absentee voting was sent to all SIU halls last month. State Voter Registration Deadlines Alabama - Friday, Oct. 24 Alaska - Sunday, Oct. 5 (postmark by Saturday, Oct. 4) Arizona - Monday, Oct. 6 Arkansas - Monday, Oct. 6 California - Monday, Oct. 20 Colorado - Monday, Oct. 6 Connecticut - Tuesday, Oct. 21 Delaware - Saturday, Oct. 11 District of Columbia - Monday, Oct. 6 Florida - Monday, Oct. 6 Georgia - Monday, Oct. 6 Hawaii - Monday, Oct. 6 Idaho - Register at Polls Illinois - Tuesday, Oct. 7 Indiana - Monday, Oct. 6 Iowa - Friday, Oct. 24 Kansas - Monday, Oct. 20 Kentucky - Monday, Oct. 6 Louisiana - Monday, Oct. 6 Maine - Tuesday, Oct. 21 Maryland - Tuesday, Oct. 14 Massachusetts - Wednesday, Oct. 15 Michigan - Monday, Oct. 6 Minnesota - Tuesday, Oct. 14 Mississippi - Monday, Oct. 6 Missouri - Wednesday, Oct. 8 Montana - Monday, Oct. 6 (or same day at elections office) Nebraska - Friday, Oct. 24 (mail by Fri, Oct. 17) Nevada - Tuesday, Oct. 14 New Hampshire - Same Day New Jersey - Tuesday, Oct. 14 New Mexico - Tuesday, Oct. 7 New York - Friday, Oct. 10 North Carolina - Friday, Oct. 10 North Dakota - N/A Are You Receiving All Your Important Mail? To help ensure that each active SIU member and pensioner receives the Seafarers LOG—as well as other important mail— correct home addresses must be on file with the union. Those who recently have moved or feel that they are not getting their union mail, should use the form at right to update their home addresses. An individual’s home address is his/her permanent address. Unless otherwise specified, this is where all official union documents will be sent. Individuals receiving more than one copy of the LOG, those who have changed their address and those whose names or addresses are misprinted or incomplete, should fill out the form and send it to: Seafarers International Union, Address Correction Dept., 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Corrections via e-mail should be sent to kclements@seafarers.org 18 Seafarers LOG HOME ADDRESS FORM (Please Print) Name: ____________________________________________________________ Phone No.: ________________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Social Security No.: ________ / ________ / ________ Book No.: _________ Active SIU Pensioner Other ________________________ This will be my permanent address for all official union mailings. This address should remain in the union file unless otherwise changed by me personally. 10/08 Ohio - Monday, Oct. 6 Oklahoma - Friday, Oct. 10 Oregon - Tuesday, Oct. 14 Pennsylvania - Monday, Oct. 6 Rhode Island - Saturday, Oct. 4 South Carolina - Saturday, Oct. 4 South Dakota - Monday, Oct. 20 Tennessee - Monday, Oct. 6 Texas - Monday, Oct. 6 Utah - Monday, Oct. 6 or in person Tuesday, Oct. 28 Vermont - Wednesday, Oct. 29 Virginia - Monday, Oct. 6 Washington - Monday, Oct. 4 (or Mon, Oct. 20 in person) West Virginia - Wednesday, Oct. 15 Wisconsin - Wednesday, Oct. 15 (or Mon, Nov. 3 at office) Wyoming - Can register at polls SEAFARERS HEALTH AND BENEFITS PLAN — COBRA NOTICE Under federal law, a participant and his or her dependents have the right to elect to continue their Plan coverage in the event that they lose their eligibility. This right is granted by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, better known as “COBRA.” The COBRA law allows a participant and his or her dependents to temporarily extend their benefits at group rates in certain circumstances where coverage under the Plan would otherwise end. A participant and his or her dependents have a right to choose this continuation coverage if they lose their Plan coverage because the participant failed to meet the Plan’s seatime requirements. In addition, a participant and his or her dependents may have the right to choose continuation coverage if the participant becomes a pensioner ineligible for medical benefits. The participant’s dependents may also elect continuation coverage if they lose coverage under the Plan as the result of the participant’s (1) death; (2) divorce; or (3) Medicare eligibility. A child can also elect COBRA if as the result of his or her age, he or she is no longer a dependent under the Plan rules. If a member and his or her dependents feel that they may qualify, or if they would like more information concerning these rights, they should contact the Plan office at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Since there are important deadlines that apply to COBRA, please contact the Plan as soon as possible to receive a full explanation of the participant’s rights and his or her dependents’ rights. October 2008 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:40 PM Page 19 Notice/Reminder NMU Vacation Benefits As reported at the August membership meetings and in previous editions of the LOG, the NMU Vacation Fund merged into the Seafarers Vacation Plan on Jan. 1, 2007. As a reminder, if a member had 30 days of covered employment up to and including Dec. 31, 2006, for which the member has not yet collected a vacation benefit from the NMU Vacation Fund, he or she is eligible to apply for such earned and uncollected benefits from the Seafarers Vacation Plan at any time on or before Dec. 31, 2008. Please be aware that the Seafarers Vacation Plan allows participants to collect accrued vacation benefits while working in covered employment and, thus, members will be eligible to collect the vacation benefits which they accrued under the NMU Fund at any time on or before Dec. 31, 2008, even if those members continue to work in covered employment. However, as of Jan. 1, 2009, all uncollected vacation benefits that members accrued under the NMU Fund will expire. For more information, contact the vacation/records department at headquarters: (301) 899-0675. November & December 2008 Membership Meetings Piney Point.......................Monday: November 3, December 8 Algonac .............................Friday: November 7, December 12 Baltimore......................Thursday: November 6, December 11 Boston ...............................Friday: November 7, December 12 Guam.............Thursday: November 20, Friday: December 26 Honolulu .........................Friday: November 14, December 19 Houston..........................Monday: November 10, December 15 Jacksonville...................Thursday: November 6, December 11 Dispatchers’ Repor t for Deep Sea August 16, 2008 - September 15, 2008 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Joliet............................Thursday: November 13, December 18 Totals Mobile......................Wednesday: November 12, December 17 Port New Orleans.............Wed.: November 12, Tuesday: December 16 New York..........................Tuesday: November 4, December 9 Norfolk..........................Thursday: November 6, December 11 Oakland .......................Thursday: November 13, December 18 Philadelphia...............Wednesday: November 5, December 10 Port Everglades ...........Thursday: November 13, December 18 San Juan ........................Thursday: November 6, December 11 St. Louis .........................Friday: November 14, December 19 Tacoma ...........................Friday: November 21, December 26 Wilmington......................Monday: November 17, December 22 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals All Departments October 2008 **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C DECK DEPARTMENT 3 5 8 19 3 9 26 19 0 7 12 19 21 13 3 18 18 4 27 22 0 0 0 3 1 1 2 6 1 3 2 5 3 2 2 0 0 0 2 5 1 0 5 15 3 2 38 21 2 13 9 33 11 17 3 3 3 2 37 17 2 4 2 6 5 8 26 14 0 7 11 16 15 11 4 4 4 2 21 10 0 0 0 5 2 0 0 2 1 2 1 1 3 3 1 1 0 0 4 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 13 13 0 6 5 18 6 17 3 1 4 1 18 10 4 1 12 13 2 11 63 55 1 23 31 82 16 47 5 0 13 0 68 54 4 6 11 30 6 12 39 36 5 15 12 37 29 21 8 9 17 10 36 37 1 0 0 1 1 1 3 8 1 1 3 7 8 1 2 0 2 2 2 8 294 251 39 233 177 26 119 501 380 52 0 0 3 4 0 7 15 12 1 5 6 9 11 12 4 2 4 0 21 9 2 2 6 6 2 4 7 15 0 2 3 9 18 10 2 4 3 3 18 9 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 5 7 2 9 13 20 0 7 7 9 8 9 4 1 2 0 6 9 1 0 4 5 3 3 11 13 0 2 5 8 16 4 0 3 4 1 12 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 2 0 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 1 7 0 3 4 7 0 1 2 6 6 8 0 1 1 0 6 6 0 0 3 11 1 11 27 24 1 9 9 21 13 18 4 2 7 1 35 15 2 4 3 10 3 6 16 24 2 7 3 20 19 12 4 5 4 8 22 16 0 1 2 2 1 1 2 5 0 1 2 3 4 4 0 2 0 0 1 7 125 128 16 108 100 15 52 213 190 36 3 0 1 6 3 14 11 15 0 6 8 21 6 24 4 3 1 0 14 26 2 0 2 5 3 4 10 7 1 3 4 10 9 5 1 2 3 0 8 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 174 84 9 ENGINE DEPARTMENT STEWARD DEPARTMENT Port Attention Seafarers Trip Reliefs 1 1 9 10 4 9 34 30 0 13 14 50 6 33 3 0 0 1 47 26 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 2 0 0 4 2 7 18 13 0 6 5 20 10 13 2 3 1 1 11 20 1 1 3 12 2 1 6 2 1 3 5 4 7 3 1 2 1 1 8 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 5 3 6 0 2 1 10 2 8 1 0 0 0 8 6 2 0 4 11 4 18 29 31 0 9 9 35 7 36 7 6 3 0 24 36 3 1 1 8 1 7 10 13 0 3 5 13 20 8 0 1 4 1 8 7 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 143 54 6 56 274 118 12 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 9 0 4 0 0 0 0 5 3 1 2 7 7 4 5 16 17 0 2 3 27 15 14 1 10 2 1 20 11 1 0 0 6 0 5 6 8 0 4 1 7 7 6 1 11 0 0 6 9 0 0 0 0 0 3 5 0 0 0 0 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 5 2 0 3 4 2 2 3 13 13 0 5 4 16 10 7 0 8 1 0 16 3 1 0 0 3 0 4 6 8 0 2 2 3 5 3 0 10 0 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 5 3 0 2 0 10 1 7 0 0 0 0 4 4 1 2 5 13 6 11 38 29 0 7 3 61 23 35 2 3 7 1 26 21 3 0 0 10 2 11 9 24 0 3 2 14 29 19 1 8 0 1 7 15 26 165 79 23 110 54 0 41 294 158 619 628 143 507 441 101 227 1029 982 258 Seafarers LOG 19 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:40 PM Page 20 Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 3328, Hagatna, Guam 96932 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 TWIC Deadline for Mariners: April 15, 2009 Seafarers are reminded that April 15, 2009 is the deadline for U.S. mariners to obtain the government-mandated Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). The U.S. Department of Homeland Security in May announced the revised deadline; the original cutoff date was Sept. 25, 2008. By law, all U.S. Coast Guard-credentialed mariners with active merchant mariner documents (MMDs), licenses, and/or certificates of registry, with or without an STCW endorsement, must hold a valid TWIC in order to maintain their mariner credentials. Failure to obtain and continue to hold a valid TWIC may result in the suspension or revocation of mariners’ credentials. After April 15, 2009, the Coast Guard will not issue a merchant mariner credential to an appli- cant who does not hold a valid TWIC. The SIU encourages members to enroll for the TWIC as soon as possible. To apply for a TWIC, a mariner must first enroll at any TWIC enrollment center. Pre-enrollment through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) web site (www.tsa.gov/twic) is supposed to expedite the processing time at the center. Mariners will need to pick up their TWICs, after being notified that they are ready, at the same enrollment center where they applied. In order to ensure the information on TWIC applications is forwarded to the Coast Guard for the processing of individuals’ merchant mariner credential applications, they must identify themselves as mariners at TWIC enrollment centers. Mariners also must provide proof of citi- zenship and/or alien status along with Social Security number. Step-by-step instructions on the entire process have been published in prior editions of the LOG; they also are available on the web both at www.seafarers.org and at the TSA web site. Seafarers also are asked to occasionally visit the SIU web site and/or check with their port agents for the latest TWIC news. The TSA TWIC web site now includes a link where individuals may check the status of their card and/or schedule a time to pick it up. FOR MORE INFORMATION ■ On the web: www.tsa.gov/twic ■ Phone: TWIC Program Help Desk, 1-866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-347-8942) ■ By email: credentialing@dhs.gov USNS Byrd Joins 7th Fleet The U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Richard E. Byrd entered the waters of the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet on July 24, marking the first Lewis and Clark-class multi-product combat logistics support ship in service to the 52 million-square-mile region. The Byrd replaces MSC combat stores ship USNS Niagara Falls, which has been forward-deployed supporting 7th Fleet since 1994. The USNS Byrd’s crew includes members of the SIU Government Services Division. Though the entry into the fleet’s territorial waters was unceremonious, it signaled a significant change for Logistics Group Western Pacific, also know as Commander Task Force 73, which will operationally control the ship while in theater. “This ship will enable our command to provide the warfighter with a level of support that is unprecedented,” said Rear Adm. Nora Tyson, CTF 73 commander. “It brings a much more robust capability to the fight.” The 689-foot-long underway replenishment vessel, known as a T-AKE, replaces the current capability of the Kilauea-class ammunition ships and Mars-class combat stores ships, and it also possesses the capability to refuel ships at sea. “The combat stores ships are extremely capable and SIU CIVMARS are sailing aboard the USNS Byrd, one of MSC’s newest vessels. have developed a real ‘can-do’ culture for any mission in 7th Fleet. However, having the T-AKE as a one-stop logistics ship in the Navy’s largest theater will significantly improve the flexibility of our operations,” said Capt. Jim Smart, CTF 73 assistant chief of staff for logistics. “While we say a sad farewell to Niagara Falls and honor her many years of fine service and her reputation for professional excellence, we welcome and are glad to have Byrd and its crew on the Navy team in the Western Pacific.” The Byrd has a crew of 124 civil service mariners working for MSC as well as a military detachment of 11 sailors who provide operational support and supply coordination. When needed, the vessel can also carry a supply detachment. Keel Laid for New Missile Range Instrumentation Ship Shipyard workers at VT Halter Marine Inc., laid the keel for the Navy’s newest missile range instrumentation ship (T-AGM 25) during a ceremony Aug. 13 in Pascagoula, Miss. Assistant Secretary of State for Verification, Compliance and Implementation Paula A. Desutter authenticated the keel laid “straight and true.” The T-AGM 25 eventually is scheduled to replace the Seafarers-contracted USNS Observation Island, a 50-yearold Mariner-class ship converted in 1980 for its current role. According to the Defense Department, the stillunnamed T-AGM 25 will collect ballistic missile data in support of international treaty verification using the Cobra Judy Replacement radar system being jointly developed by Raytheon and Northrop Grumman. “The proliferation of advanced ballistic missile technology around the world guarantees that this ship will be a vital asset to the United States and its allies,” said Bilyana Anderson, the program manager for auxiliary ships, small boats and craft in the U.S. Navy’s Program Executive Office for Ships. “USNS Observation Island has ably served the Navy and the nation in this role for more than two decades, and T-AGM 25 will continue that proud tradition for years to come.” The T-AGM 25 is scheduled for delivery in 2010. Pics-From-The-Past PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 20 Seafarers LOG Getting out the vote is nothing new for the SIU, as shown in these undated file photos. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with other Seafarers LOG readers, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. High-resolution digital images may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org October 2008 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:41 PM Page 21 Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. Welcome Ashore DEEP SEA JESSE GREER Brother Jesse Greer, 67, joined the union in 1964 while in the port of New York. He first sailed on the Del Norte. Brother Greer worked in the deck department. He upgraded his skills on three occasions at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Brother Greer’s last vessel was the Buenos Aires. He is a New Orleans resident. RICKIE JUZANG Brother Rickie Juzang, 54, signed on with the Seafarers in 1970. Brother Juzang was born in Alabama. He attended classes often at the Piney Point school. The U.S. Army veteran worked in the steward department. Brother Juzang’s final trip was aboard the Maersk California. He now resides in Phenix City, Ala. the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. He last sailed in the steward department on the Gulf Reliance. Brother Saloom is a resident of Brewton, Ala. became a Seafarer in 1971. He initially sailed aboard the George Goble as a member of the deck department. Brother Root was born in Wisconsin. He attended classes at the SIU-affiliated school in 2002. Brother Root’s most recent voyage was on the Presque Isle. He is a resident of Ashland, Wis. ROBERT STEPHENS ANTHONY WILLOUGHBY Brother Robert Stephens, 62, began shipping with the SIU in 1979. He primarily worked aboard vessels operated by Steuart Transportation Company. Brother Stephens continues to live in his native state of North Carolina. Brother Anthony Willoughby, 62, was born in Duluth, Minn. He donned the SIU colors in 1968. Brother Willoughby was first employed with Zenith Dredge Company. His final voyage was aboard a Great Lakes Towing Company vessel. Brother Willoughby calls Superior, Wis., home. GREAT LAKES LARRY DAHL Brother Larry Dahl, 62, joined the union in 1970 while in the port of Duluth, Minn. He originally shipped on a Michigan Tankers vessel. Brother Dahl was born in Minnesota and sailed in the deck department. In 2002, he visited the Piney Point school to enhance his skills. Brother Dahl most recently worked aboard the Walter J. McCarthy. He settled in Superior, Wis. SANTOS PASTORIZA Brother Santos Pastoriza, 65, was born in Puerto Rico. He became an SIU member in 1964. Brother Pastoriza initially sailed on the Commander in the engine department. He enhanced his seafaring abilities in 1985 at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Brother Pastoriza’s most recent voyage was aboard the Santa Clara. He makes his home in Staten Island, N.Y. RICHARD PICKETT Brother Richard Pickett, 65, donned the SIU colors in 1962. His first trip to sea was on a ship operated by AH Bull Steamship Company. Brother Pickett was born in New York and worked in the steward department. His final voyage was aboard the Guayama. Brother Pickett calls Franklin Square, N.Y., home. INLAND JIMMY SALOOM Brother Jimmy Saloom, 54, first went to sea in 1990 with Crowley Towing of Jacksonville. He was born in Alabama. Brother Saloom upgraded frequently at October 2008 Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU), recently went on pension. ROBERT HAMMER Brother Robert Hammer, 66, signed on with the union in 1962. His earliest trip to sea was on the Lemmerhirt. Brother Hammer sailed in the deck department. His final voyage was aboard a Great Lakes Towing Company vessel. Brother Hammer resides in Tonawanda, N.Y. DAVID MATTHES Brother David Matthes, 65, started sailing with the SIU in 1990 while in the port of Algonac, Mich. The engine department member was born in Alpena, Mich. Brother Matthes’ first ship was the St. Clair. He upgraded in 2003 at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Matthes last shipped on the St. Mary’s Challenger. He continues to make his home in Michigan. WILLIAM ROOT BERNARD FANUNICIAL Brother Bernard Fanunicial, 67, began his seafaring career in 1975 from the port of New York. His first voyage was on the Texaco Wisconsin. Brother Fanunicial was born in the Philippines and shipped in the engine department. His last vessel was the Horizon Tiger. CHARLES HAGGINS Brother Charles Haggins, 64, joined the NMU in 1994. He was born in Hot Springs, N.C. Brother Haggins originally sailed aboard the Sea Isle City. He most recently worked in the deck department on the USNS 1st Lt. Harry L. Martin. Brother Haggins lives in Newport, Tenn. ANTHONY MONTOYA Brother Anthony Montoya, 60, signed on with the NMU in 1964 while in the port of San Francisco. His earliest trip was aboard the Beria Victory. Brother Montoya was born in San Francisco. His final voyage was on a vessel operated by U.S. Lines. LUCIO PIRES Brother Lucio Pires, 62, first went to sea in 1980. He initially shipped aboard the American 1939 On Wednesday, October 2, 1939 in Savannah, Ga., delegates from the Atlantic, Gulf and Great Lakes Districts met for the purpose of drafting a constitution for the Seafarers International Union. In addition to the basic constitution, issues to be voted included the shipping rules, hospital and strike assessments and a constitutional amendment that provided that in order to become a member, a man must be a citizen. The constitution was adopted by a vote of 1,225 in favor and 180 opposed. The votes on the constitutional amendment, the shipping rules and the assessments likewise carried by large majorities. Eagle. Brother Pires was born in Cape Verde. The steward department member last sailed on the Green Ridge. Brother Pires resides in Providence, R.I. ARCHIE SANKAR Brother Archie Sankar, 66, started sailing with the NMU in 1975 from the port of New York. He was born in South America. Brother Sankar’s first ship was the Export Courier; his last was the Tyco Decisive. He is a resident of Kissimmee, Fla. ROBERT TROY Brother Robert Troy, 65, became a union member in 1967 while in Port Arthur, Texas. He originally shipped on the Gulf Lion as a member of the steward department but later switched to the engine department. Brother Troy is a Texas native. His most recent voyage was aboard the Lykes Discoverer. He came ashore to work for the union in 1999 and remained there after the SIU-NMU merger in 2001. heroism” in rescuing a shipmate from drowning in shark-infested waters off Iraq. Velazquez was bosun aboard the Steel Worker when James Downey had fallen overboard off a stage while spot chipping and landed in the water unconscious after hitting the ship and dock as he fell. Velazquez dove into the shark-infested water after Downey. When he couldn’t find Downey he went under water again and was able to grab his arm and pulled him to the surface. According to the citation, “Without hesitation, with utter disregard of your personal safety but knowing a current existed and the area was infested with sharks, you immediately jumped into these dangerous waters and were successful in locating and saving the unconscious man.” This Month In SIU History 1945 Final triumph over Japan involved heavy cost to the American Merchant Marine in ships and men, reports the War Shipping Administration. A total of 130 merchant vessels were sunk in the Pacific over the duration of the war by Japanese suicide fliers, shell fire, torpedo attacks and bombings, plus another 128 were lost off the Philippines and 30 off Okinawa. Other ships were sunk in the Indian Ocean by both Japanese and Nazis. General Douglas MacArthur said of the merchant marine, “They have brought our lifeblood and they have paid for it with some of their own.” 1957 Seafarer William Velazquez was awarded a Coast Guard citation for “exemplary conduct and 1973 The crew of the SIU-manned Falcon Princess was praised by the U.S. Navy for conducting the first-ever, at-sea refueling of an amphibious vessel by a civilian charter tanker. The tanker pumped more than 158,000 gallons of oil to the USS Blue Ridge in just one hour and 10 minutes. The transfer was part of a Military Sealift Command program examining the feasibility of using civilian owned and manned vessels to support the operation of military vessels under MSC’s Charger Log IV Program – a test program that helped set the stage for future civilian charter ship and military vessel cooperation. Brother William Root, 56, Seafarers LOG 21 �50928x1:January 08 9/29/2008 12:54 PM Page 22 Final Depar tures DEEP SEA SAID ABDULLAH Brother Said Abdullah, 44, passed away May 29. He started shipping with the union in 1990. Brother Abdullah was born in Yemen. He sailed in the steward department, originally on the Independence. Brother Abdullah was last employed aboard the Horizon Falcon. He called Dearborn, Mich., home. ment in 1996, he worked aboard the El Faro. Brother Mason settled in Jackson, Tenn. LARRY MORGAN Brother Larry Morgan, 59, passed away April 23. He was born in Maryland. Brother Morgan began sailing with the SIU in 1978 while in Seattle. His first ship was the Golden Monarch; his last was the Marilyn. Brother Morgan was a member of the deck department. He called Dallas home. SAMIR BECKFORD Brother Samir Beckford, 37, died May 18. He donned the SIU colors in 1999. Brother Beckford’s first voyage was on the Sgt. Matej Kocak. He worked in both the engine and steward departments. Brother Beckford was born in Honduras. He most recently shipped aboard the Observation Island. Brother Beckford lived in Pembroke Pines, Fla. RICHARD ERBE Pensioner Richard Erbe, 84, passed away May 11. Brother Erbe, a member of the deck department, began sailing with the Seafarers in 1952. He initially shipped from the port of New York on an Interocean American Shipping vessel. Brother Erbe was born in Ohio. His last trip to sea was aboard the Del Mar. Brother Erbe retired in 1975 and made his home in Shepherd, Texas. EDWARD GOOCH Pensioner Edward Gooch, 69, died June 17. Brother Gooch joined the union in 1967. He first worked on an Anchorage Tanker Corporation vessel as a member of the deck department. Brother Gooch was born in the Philippines. His final voyage was aboard the El Faro. Brother Gooch began receiving his pension in 2003 and resided in Puerto Rico. GUY LEARY Brother Guy Leary, 38, passed away May 30. He became an SIU member in 1989 while in Piney Point, Md. Brother Leary’s earliest trip was on the USNS Desteiguer. The engine department member was born in Edmonds, Wash. Brother Leary most recently sailed aboard the North Star. He was a resident of his native state. BILLIE MASON Pensioner Billie Mason, 76, died May 27. Brother Mason signed on with the Seafarers in 1952. His earliest voyage was on the Edith. Brother Mason was born in Tennessee and shipped in the deck department. Prior to his retire- 22 Seafarers LOG JOHN NASH Pensioner John Nash, 89, died June 27. Brother Nash donned the SIU colors in 1943 while in the port of New York. He was originally employed on the Catherine as a member of the steward department. Brother Nash was born in Elizabeth, N.J. His final trip was aboard the Market. Brother Nash went on pension in 1981. He made Maitland, Fla. home. MICHAEL O’NEAL Brother Michael O’Neal, 39, passed away May 24. He joined the Seafarers in 2005 while in Seattle. Brother O’Neal initially sailed on the Pfc. Eugene A. Obregon. The deck department member most recently shipped aboard the Global Patriot. Brother O’Neal lived in his native state of Washington. ALAN RAFFINAN Brother Alan Raffinan, 49, died May 12. He started sailing with the union in 1995. Brother Raffinan primarily sailed on the Independence during his career with the SIU. He was born in the Philippines and shipped in the deck department. Brother Raffinan resided in California. ALFRED SALEM Pensioner Alfred Salem, 85, passed away June 1. Brother Salem became an SIU member in 1952 while in the port of New York. His first voyage was aboard the Andrew Jackson in the steward department. Brother Salem was born in the Philippines. Before his retirement in 1986, he worked on the Cape Washington. Brother Salem was a resident of Pearland, Texas. WILLIAM SLUSSER Pensioner William Slusser, 82, died July 12. Brother Slusser donned the SIU colors in 1956 in the port of Seattle. The Virginiaborn mariner sailed in the engine department. Brother Slusser originally shipped with Sinclair Oil Corporation. His final trip was on the SLMP-853 Tacoma. Brother Slusser retired in 1994 and made his home in Seattle. INLAND JOSEPH KADAK Pensioner Joseph Kadak, 63, passed away July 15. Brother Kadak began sailing with the union in 1973, initially on a Dixie Carriers vessel. He was born in Louisiana. Brother Kadak was a member of the engine department. His most recent voyage was aboard the Pacific Reliance. Brother Kadak went on pension in 2006 and lived in Sevierville, Tenn. JAMES KIRCHHARR Pensioner James Kirchharr, 85, died July 14. Brother Kirchharr started sailing with the SIU in 1962. He primarily shipped with Dravo Basic Materials Company. Brother Kirchharr continued to reside in his native state of Alabama. WILHELM KRISTIANSEN Pensioner Wilhelm Kristiansen, 87, passed away June 1. Brother Kristiansen signed on with the union in 1979. He was born in Norway and shipped in the steward department. Brother Kristiansen last sailed with Allied Towing Company. He called Chesapeake, Va., home. EUGENE LEDET Brother Eugene Ledet, 56, died April 5. He was born in Louisiana and joined the SIU in 1977. Brother Ledet mainly shipped aboard vessels operated by Crescent Towing of New Orleans. The deck department member made his home in Avondale, La. CARSON MATHEWS Pensioner Carson Mathews, 92, passed away June 28. Brother Mathews donned the SIU colors in 1960 while in the port of Norfolk, Va. He initially worked on a Gulf Atlantic Transport Corporation vessel. Brother Mathews was born in North Carolina. His final trip was with Allied Towing Company. Brother Mathews started collecting his pension in 1981. He continued to live in his native state. JULIAN McALPIN Pensioner Julian McAlpin, 71, died June 4. Brother McAlpin began sailing with the union in 1970. He was employed mainly with Hvide Marine aboard the Seabulk Tanker. Brother McAlpin was born in Tennessee but settled in Courtland, Miss. He became a pensioner in 1999. STEVEN MELLON Brother Steven Mellon, 58, passed away June 29. He joined the Seafarers in 2004. Brother Mellon worked with Maritrans Operating Company for the duration of his career. He was born in Parkersburg, W.Va., and sailed in the steward department. Brother Mellon resided in Ohio. MARBLE NELSON Pensioner Marble Nelson, 84, died July 11. Brother Nelson signed on with the union in 1941 while in the port of Mobile, Ala. He briefly sailed in the deep sea division aboard an Alcoa Steamship Company vessel. Brother Nelson was a member of the deck department. Prior to his retirement in 1985, he shipped with Crescent Towing of Mobile. Brother Nelson made his home in Alabama. department member was born in Russell, Ky. Before retiring in 1997, Brother Sellers was employed aboard the St. Clair. He was a resident of Ohio. NORMAN SMALL Pensioner Norman Small, 85, died May 26. Brother Small became a union member in 1960. He was born in Duluth, Minn. Brother Small last worked with Great Lakes Associates in the deck department. In 1982, he retired and settled in Mountain Lake, Minn. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU), have passed away. Name Alburty, James Age DOD 82 July 14 Alvarez, Marcelino 85 June 11 Arriola, Freddy 49 July 12 Brown, Robert 69 June 20 Brown, Vincent 84 June 30 EDWARD QUINN Castro, Jesus 82 June 5 Pensioner Edward Quinn, 84, passed away July 13. Brother Quinn became an SIU member in 1974. He initially shipped with Dixie Carriers in the deck department. Brother Quinn was last employed on a Moran Towing of Texas vessel. He went on pension in 1994 and lived in Texas. Choo, Lian 93 July 25 JOSEPH SONNIER Pensioner Joseph Sonnier, 87, died July 11. Brother Sonnier began sailing with the SIU in 1964. He primarily sailed aboard Higman Barge Lines vessels. Brother Sonnier worked in the deck department. He retired in 1985 and resided in Louisiana. Clay, Clarence 85 June 17 Duarte, Aguinel 89 June 12 Dugas, Charles 85 May 27 Gonzalez, Eliseo 72 July 31 Haisten, Howard 80 July 25 Hamilton, Bennie 90 June 12 Hendy, Aubrey 86 May 11 Hickey, Michael 80 June 13 Hopkins, Bird 75 June 19 Johnson, Carey 71 July 1 Johnson, Lehwald 81 June 24 Kuilan, Miguel 100 June 8 Laria, Angel 80 June 12 Lopez, Manuel 95 June 14 Messali, Mitch 77 May 23 Moreira, Isaac 86 July 30 Myers, James 79 May 24 Nyland, Harold 75 June 25 Pinckney, Willis 85 June 5 Ramirez, Arcadio 89 June 23 Ramos, Armando 88 June 7 DAVID WIERSCHEM Richen, O’Connell 89 May 25 Pensioner David Wierschem, 60, passed away July 29. Brother Wierschem was born in Missouri. He joined the union in 1974 while in the port of St. Louis. Brother Wierschem first sailed on vessels operated by Inland Tugs. He worked in both the deck and steward departments. Brother Wierschem most recently shipped with OLS Transport Company. He called St. Louis home. Rivera, Gasper 88 June 23 Smith, Clyde 82 June 1 Thomas, Jerry 72 June 17 Tomczak, Joseph 82 June 17 Tyler, Roy 75 April 25 Walker, Julius 90 July 7 Walter, Clifton 86 June 16 Wells, Joseph 77 July 18 White, Arthur Jr. 68 June 19 Youngblood, Dick 91 June 14 GREAT LAKES JOHN SELLERS Pensioner John Sellers, 71, passed away June 14. Brother Sellers started his SIU career in 1960, initially shipping on the Trent. The deck October 2008 �50928x1:January 08 9/29/2008 12:53 PM Page 23 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings ALLIANCE ST. LOUIS (Maersk Line Limited), July 26 – Chairman Michael J. Proveaux, Secretary Franklyn J. Cordero, Educational Director Geoffrey L. James, Deck Delegate Ruben Rivera. Chairman reported a smooth voyage and excellent crew. Secretary thanked members for their help keeping ship clean. Educational director advised mariners to upgrade skills at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. He also requested educational movies for crew to view. No beefs or disputed OT reported. It was stated that dryer needs to be fixed or replaced. Next ports: Galveston, Texas, Brunswick, Ga., Jacksonville, Fla., and Baltimore, Md. ATLANTIC (Maersk Line Limited), July 20 – Chairman Paul Dornes, Secretary Michael M. Amador, Educational Director Rene R. Rosario, Deck Delegate Dominic Marco, Engine Delegate Wade Jordan, Steward Delegate Allen Van Buren. Chairman announced payoff on July 24 and expressed his gratitude to crew for safe journey. Secretary asked departing members to leave fresh linen for arriving Seafarers and thanked everyone for keeping areas clean. Educational director urged crew members to check expiration dates on all necessary seafaring documents and file for TWIC card. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion was made to increase pension benefit amounts and to get new DVDs. CHEMICAL TRADER (Intrepid), July 29 – Chairman Raymond A. Tate, Secretary Josue L. Iglesia, Educational Director Mark Davis. Chairman reported payoff would take place in Lake Charles, La., on Aug. 1. He also informed crew of extension on TWIC card deadline. Secretary thanked everyone for their part in keeping ship clean and urged fellow crew members to support SPAD (Seafarers Political Activity Donation). Educational director advised mariners to take advantage of educational opportunities available at Piney Point school. Treasurer noted $855 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Discussion was held pertaining to problems with TWIC cards. All mariners were encouraged to register to vote. Thanks were given to the steward department for good food and keeping mess hall clean. Members were reminded that no sandals, hats or tank tops were to be worn in the messhall during meal hours. Next port: Lake Charles, La. GLOBAL SENTINEL (Transoceanic Cable Ship), July 6 – Chairman Lee October 2008 Hardman, Secretary Vicki L. Haggerty, Educational Director Vladimir G. Tkachev, Deck Delegate John G. Salarda, Steward Delegate Robert J. Haggerty, Engine Delegate Gary M. Bartlett. Chairman notified crew members of TWIC deadline extension and reduction in seatime requirements for benefits. They were also reminded to leave rooms clean when departing. Bosun thanked steward department for July 4 cookout and deck department for cleanup. Educational director recommended mariners visit the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md., to enhance seafaring abilities. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next port: Portland, Ore. HORIZON EAGLE (Horizon Lines), July 20 – Chairman Daniel W. Seagle, Secretary Cynthia L. Caster, Educational Director Shawn L. Clark, Deck Delegate Chad Chivrell, Engine Delegate Jesse Canales Jr., Steward Delegate Mohamed H. Ghaleb. Chairman went over ship’s itinerary and advised crew to have z-card ready for customs and immigration. Secretary urged crew members to see her for any cleaning supplies needed and expressed gratitude for help keeping ship clean. She asked that those departing vessel clean cabins before leaving. Educational director talked about TWIC card extension and suggested those who have z-cards about to expire, renew z-cards first and get a reduced fee. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Kudos given to electrician for installing fans in cabins, work spaces and messhall. Motion was made to include provision for members to make two trips on and then take two trips off in new standard contracts. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash., Oakland, Calif., Honolulu, and Guam. HORIZON RELIANCE (Horizon Lines), July 13 – Chairman Kissinfor N. Taylor, Secretary Joel A. Molinos, Educational Director Frank P. Sena, Engine Delegate Ely Hermano, Steward Delegate Ceasar Santos. Chairman discussed reduction in seatime requirements for medical coverage and read the president’s report from the Seafarers LOG. Secretary thanked crew for helping keep ship clean. Educational director urged Seafarers to upgrade at the union-affiliated school and keep documents current. He also noted that TWIC cards must be obtained by April 15, 2009. Treasurer stated $665.19 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next ports: Long Beach, Calif., and Honolulu. HORIZON TRADER (Horizon Lines), July 27 – Chairman Amante V. The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships’ minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. Snapshots from the Great Lakes The SIU-crewed tugboat Ivory Coast (above), operated by Hannah Marine, pushes a barge that houses seven showrooms of technological product displays. The exhibit is constructed from dozens of cargo shipping containers. AB Eric Johnson (photo at right) shows his support for the Maritime Defense League while aboard the Detroit Princess. In photo at lower right, AB Luther Willis and DEU Ahmed Algalham are pictured near where their tugboat will notch into the barge exiderdome No. 1. Steward department members (photo below) aboard the John J. Boland include (from left) SA Wilson Peniston, 2nd Cook Khaled and AMO Relief Steward Ben. Gumiran, Secretary Kevin M. Dougherty, Educational Director Melvin L. Kerns, Deck Delegate Luis F. Alvarez, Engine Delegate Victor L. Sapp, Steward Delegate Larry L. Griffin. Bosun stated payoff would be upon arrival in Jacksonville, Fla., on Aug. 1. He noted change to seatime required for medical coverage reduced to 125 days. Anyone who was denied coverage with 125 days or more should resubmit their claims. He requested that anyone having a beef or problem should bring it to the attention of the ship’s chairman or union. Educational director stressed the importance of enhancing skills at the SIUaffiliated school. Treasurer reported $985 in crew fund and $1,000 in satellite fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendations were made regarding pension and medical benefits. Next ports: Jacksonville, Fla., San Juan, P.R., and Elizabeth, N.J. INTREPID (Maersk Line Limited), July 25 – Chairman Abdulla R. Alwaseem, Secretary Michael J. Gramer, Educational Director Anthony J. Kimbrell, Deck Delegate Patricio C. Libre, Engine Delegate Romeo Rivera, Steward Delegate Patricia Geras. Bosun announced payoff upon arrival in Long Beach, Calif., on July 28. He thanked all those going on vacation for a great voyage. Secretary asked mariners leaving to clean rooms and round up any dirty linen so it can be sent ashore. Educational director advised mariners to upgrade skills at the Paul Hall Center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Vote of thanks given to those involved in lowering the seatime requirements to 125 days for medical benefits. Next ports: Long Beach, Calif., Oakland, Calif., and Dutch Harbor, Alaska. LIGHTNING (Maersk Line Limited), July 13 – Chairman Romeo L. Lugtu, Secretary Jessy G. Sunga, Educational Director Brian S. Leach. Chairman thanked Seafarers for smooth sailing. Treasurer noted $3,448 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. President’s report from the Seafarers LOG was read and discussed. Planned purchase of TV and DVD player discussed. MAERSK ALABAMA (Maersk Line Limited), July 17 – Chairman Lech Jankowski, Educational Director Stephen P. Roberts, Deck Delegate Gary Cardillo, Engine Delegate Carlos Dominguez, Steward Delegate Cheryl Lynch. Chairman reminded crew to keep documents up-to-date and clean house. Educational director urged members to take advantage of upgrading and training offered in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion was made pertaining to dental and optical coverage. It was note that dishwasher needed repairers and new chairs need to be purchased for messhall. Next port: Mombasa, Kenya. Seafarers LOG 23 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:41 PM Page 24 Letters to the Editor With Seafarers at the Ft. Lauderdale Hall These photos were taken at the August membership meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Kudos to Seafarer Redinger STOS Bill Redinger recently completed his first trip, aboard the National Glory, after graduating from the unlicensed apprentice program at the Paul Hall Center. He also is a carpenter – an excellent one at that – and has his own business. After semi-retiring, Bill decided on some adventure in what he thought would be a totally different lifestyle by going to sea. Any bosun in his right mind would be happy to use his carpentry skills, as I have aboard the National Glory. Bill’s outstanding work included beautiful wood trim along the inside ladder wells; gorgeous frames for the electrical switches on the bridge; a perfect waterproof radio holder for the captain’s shower; and help in building shelves for the bosun’s locker. All of this was done in addition to days consisting of sanitary; splicing pendants, making monkey fists, running mooring winches, relieving the helm and helping out in the galley; stripping and waxing; picking up the slack as needed; and, on his own time, making pencil holders for other crew members. Bill, did you actually think I would not know about these extra jobs you did? You learned to be an excellent shipmate well before coming to the National Glory. I truly hope this is published in the LOG in its entirety. We will all surely miss you. In closing, Bill has been an outstanding shipmate and an excellent example of the caliber of people Paul Hall, Mike and Joe Sacco, Red Campbell, Augie Tellez and others have envisioned in the manning of SIU-crewed ships. Recertified Bosun Donald Rezendes Aboard the National Glory Electrician Ruben Raino displays his “B” book. FOWT Tomas Merel AB Ron Webb Chief Cook Heath Bryan Recalling a Life at Sea My name is Lawrence A. Hendricks. I am a retired merchant seaman, formerly with the NMU for 22 years. I was delighted to receive the Seafarers LOG because it connected me with my years at sea. Recently, I completed my autobiography about my life as a mariner. The book is titled “All at Sea – A Seaman’s Story of Passion and Intrigue.” I believe my experiences in the merchant marine taught me how to be a man, and I hope the book will appeal to readers who are searching for identity. Here is a brief excerpt: “We left Copenhagen and went to Kotka, a small town in Finland. When we arrived, it was to find a town completely covered with snow. It was a very quiet place with not much to do, or many things to see. No one wanted to go ashore, so I hired a taxi and decided to see what little there was. He took me to a spot that had a magnificent view. In spite of the cold weather, the reflection of the moonlight on the snowcapped mountains was a thing of beauty. I was so mesmerize with this picturesque mountain scenery that I could hardly move. When I did, after what seemed to be a very long time, we returned to the ship. At this time my only thought was to be alone, and retain this feeling of peace and tranquility.” The 264-page book is available in paperback at www.authorhouse.com or by calling 888-280-7715. It’s also available on amazon.com and may be ordered through your local book seller. Lawrence A. Hendricks San Diego, California Secretary Clara Rampersadsingh AB Dean Stanley Electrician Joe Gutierrez Bosun Virgilio Rosalas, SA Tiburicio Garcia, AB Nelson Montoya Seafarers Alex Bonilla, Luis Irias, Jhon Moreno Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. 24 Seafarers LOG PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. October 2008 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:43 PM Page 25 Seafarers Paul Hall Center Upgrading Course Schedule The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the next few months of 2008. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promoting the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 9940010. Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman November 10 December 5 Advanced Container Maintenance November 11 December 8 Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) (must have radar unlimited) October 6 November 17 October 10 November 21 Celestial Navigation October 20 November 24 November 14 December 19 Lifeboatman/Water Survival October 27 November 7 Radar November 3 November 14 Radar Renewal (one day) October 27 December 8 October 27 December 8 Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman (STOS) October 20 October 31 Bosun Recertification Course November 3 October 14 Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes start every other Monday. The most recent class began October 6. Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. Online “Distance Learning” Courses In addition to the foregoing courses, the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education currently is offering the following internet-based courses: Environmental Awareness; Hazardous Material Control and Management; Hearing Conservation; Heat Stress Management; Shipboard Pest Management; Respiratory Protection, and Shipboard Water Sanitation. The courses are free to mariners covered by SIU contracts. To register, complete the regular upgrading application located on the bottom left portion of this page, and mail it to: Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 206740075. Applicants will receive user account information from the center via email. They are therefore urged to provide their e-mail addresses in the space provided on the application. Applicants should also include the word “online” when listing the courses they wish to take. Important Notice Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. Engine Upgrading Courses Advanced Container Maintenance (Refer) November 10 December 5 Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations (BAPO) November 10 December 5 Firemen/Watertender/Oiler (FOWT) October 13 November 6 Marine Electrician October 27 December 19 Welding October 6 November 3 December 1 October 23 November 21 December 19 Safety Specialty Courses Tanker Assistant (DL) November 10 November 21 UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Date of Birth ______________________ With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twenty-five (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. COURSE BEGIN DATE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Seniority _____ Department ___________ E-mail ____________________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ U.S. Citizen: ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Yes No Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Yes Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? Yes No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ October 2008 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 9/08 Seafarers LOG 25 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:43 PM Page 26 Paul Hall Center Classes Computer Classes Four Seafarers recently completed computer courses while upgrading at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Those completing various classes (photo above) were Michael Munoz (left), Gabrial Albino (right), Leslie McGirt (left in photo below) and Azad Ardeshirdavani (right in photo below). Their instructor, Rich Prucha, is pictured in the center of both photos. Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 705 – Unlicensed apprentices from Class 705 recently graduated from the water survival course. Those graduating from the course (above, in no particular order) were Christopher Coombs, Michael Correa, Jason Davis, Ronald DeHoog, Stanford Drakes, Joshua Hansen, Bryan Alflen, Benjamin Arroyo Rodriguez, Robert Blunt, Michael Brannon, Phillip Clemon, Vicki Coats, Kevin McCrea, Douglas McLaughlin, Joshua Milton, Twanna Moody, Robert Rothwell, Adam Sanders, Joshua Sanders, Kenneth Summerford, Jesse Sunga, Lezlie Vehikite, Aleksey Vigovskiy and Rickey Yancey. Their instructor, Forest McGee, is second from the left. Small Arms Training – Four individuals completed this course Aug. 22. Graduating from the training (above, in alphabetical order) were Sergio Centeno, Cholley Moses, Paul Pitcher and Kenneth Steiner. Their instructor, Stephen Stockwell, is at the far right. Advanced Firefighting – Eleven individuals from G&H Towing on Aug. 8 completed this training. Graduating from the course (above, in alphabetical order) were Bryan Albrecht, Leslie Anderson, Bruce Beam, David Callis, Erich Engelbrecht, Luis Irias, Hubert Joseph, Albert Keech, David Philyaw, Mike Shanks and David Spaulding. Government Vessels – Eight mariners on July 25 completed training in this course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were Marie Acosta, Azad Ardeshirdavani, Vic Atkinson, Casimiro Gavza Jr., Vincent Izzo, Leslie McGirt, Michael Penkwitz and Timothy White. Mark Cates, their instructor, is at the far right. 26 Seafarers LOG Government Vessels – Nine Phase III students on Aug. 1 completed this course. Finishing the training (above, in alphabetical order) were Stephen Amthauer, Keithan Bland, Jack Forde, Joseph Loureiro, John Monaco, Ronnie Rodriguez, Junior Tanaka, John Wahl, and Sean Wilson. Their instructor, Stan Beck, is standing at far left. (Note: Not all are pictured.) October 2008 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:44 PM Page 27 Paul Hall Center Classes Pumpman – Four Seafarers on Aug. 22 completed this course. Upgrading their skills and graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were Harold Gerber, Scott Spilman, Philander Walton and Richard Wright. Jim Shaffer, their instructor, is second from the right. STOS – Ten individuals graduated from this course Aug. 15. Completing their training (above, in alphabetical order) were Stephen Amthauer, Keithan Bland, Joherky Concepcion, Jack Forde, Joseph Loureiro, John Monaco, Ronnie Rodriguez, Junion Tanaka, John Wahl and Sean Wilson. Their instructor, Stan Beck, is at the far right. Water Survival – Six individuals completed training in this course Aug. 15. Graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were Omar Aswad, Milton Ballard, Eric Clotter, Eric Coleman, Ruben Fiel and Mark Wertz. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is at the far right. Crowd Management (Hawaii) - Sixteen Seafarers on Aug. 11 finished requirements for graduation from this class aboard the Pride of America. Those graduating (above, in nor particular order) were: Zedediah Strout, Hal Thomas, Coralde Noel, Michael Lais, Jeffrey Bach, Jelford Lawrence, Kenya Kwaw, Aurora Kirkwood, Virgilio Punzalan, Joemarie Aboy, Elkeik Madgy, Eugene Ajoste, Darrell Bennett, Justin Johnson, Montree Nakwichet and Xavier Cain. Advanced Firefighting (Hawaii) - The following Seafarers (above, in no particular order) on Aug. 15 completed their requirements for graduation from this course at the Barbers Point, Hawaii-based Seafarers Training Center: Christopher Powers, James Carras, Kalani Low, Keoki White, Calvin Kaawa, Joshua Ano, Jonathan Brunold, and Quirino Bangloy. October 2008 Machinist – Six upgraders on Aug. 8 completed training in this course. Enhancing their skills and graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were Reginald Colbert, Terrance Colbert, Harol Gerber, Scott Spilman, Philandar Walton and Richard Wright. Steve Harver, their instructor, is at the far right. BST (Hawaii) - The following individuals (above, in no particular order) on Aug. 22 completed this course at the Barbers Point, Hawaii-based Seafarers Training Center: Edward Ortiz III, Matthew Kuirinij, Justin Hantz, Dustin Teeman, Tyrone Danials, Chi Fai Hau, Angel Grisales, Joseph Aranda, Kimberly Meyer, Michelle Brown, Tara Timko, Courtney Sutton, Kristopher Williams, Quintin Mitchell, Christian Zrvizu, Hilary Howser, John Marshall, Adam Walker, Patrick Kelly, Joshua Klene, Freddy Foster II and German Miranda. Welding – Three mariners upgraded their skills in the course and graduated July 25. Those completing the course (above, in alphabetical order) were Sergio Cedeno, Alfredo Mendoza and Mark Wertz. Buzzy Andrews, their instructor, is second from the left Marine Refrigeration - The following individuals (above, in alphabetical order) on Aug. 22 graduated from this course: James Donohue and Joseph Krajnik. Their instructor, Calvin Beal, is in the center. Seafarers LOG 27 �50928x:January 08 9/26/2008 10:45 PM Page 28 Volume 70, Number 10 October 2008 Mariners Need TWIC by April 15, 2009 - Page 20 Around the Ports with the SIU RALLY WITH USWA – Seafarers and other trade unionists didn’t let oppressive weather prevent them from marching in support of United Steelworkers Local 8888 during an Aug. 15 rally in Newport News, Va. The Steelworkers represent roughly 7,000 workers at Northrop Grumman’s Newport News Shipyard who were preparing to negotiate a new contract. (The existing agreement expires in late October.) Approximately 500 people participated in the rally, some of whom are shown in the photos directly above and below. The event also had a political flavor, as former Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner addressed the crowd while local officials and candidates also attended. CONGRATULATIONS, GRADUATES -- Receiving their GED graduation certificates from the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education on Sept. 8 are (left to right) Richard Noto, John Curran and David Brady. HAPPY BIRTHDAY – AB Omar Almaklani (above left photo) is happy to report that his son Saber (above right) recently celebrated his second birthday. The Seafarer asked that these photos be shared in the LOG. SEAFARERS UPGRADE – SIU Santurce Port Agent Amancio Crespo (left in photos directly above and below) congratulates Seafarers Diego Hatch (top photo) and Jaime Baretty, respectively, for recently securing their third mate’s licenses. The photos were taken at the union hall in Puerto Rico. ABOARD THE COAST RANGE – This photo was taken in mid-August aboard the Coast Range while the vessel was in Port Everglades, Fla. Pictured are Bosun T. Banks, AB Rick Wiemer, AB T. Stringer, OS Brian Deans, OS Basil McMillan, Chief Steward Tran Nee and AB Michael Cousin. SAFE OPERATIONS – Early last month, Seafarers at Crowley-Petty’s Island celebrated a laudable achievement: one year of accident-free operations (and counting). Some of the members are pictured above. They work with roll-on/roll-off ships and handle mechanical work on barges. Petty’s Island is located in the Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 October 2008 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES SEAFARERS WEATHER IKE, GUSTAV UNION REACTIVATES SEAFARERS DISASTER RELIEF FUND OCEAN SHIPS INC. WINS LMSR CONTRACT SIU JOBS EXPECTED TO INCREASE AS SOME VESSELS BUMP UP TO FOS U.S. SHIPPING PARTNERS ADDS ATB GALVESTON BAY NY WATERWAY CREWS HANDLE TWO RESCUES UNION TESTIFIES ON INLAND WATERWAY SAFETY CIVMAR-CREWED LEWIS AND CLARK WINS NAVY SAFETY EXCELLENCE AWARD CIVMARS PROVIDE HUMANITARIAN RELIEF TO GEORGIAN HOTSPOT ADS EXPLAIN WHY NATION NEEDS FREE CHOICE ACT BIG BUSINESS TRIES TO HOODWINK PUBLIC WITH ‘SECRET BALLOT’ CLAIMS MARAD REPORTS EXAMINE STATE OF INDUSTRY INFORMATION FOR THE 2008 ELECTION OF OFFICERS NINE SEAFARERS COMPLETE RECERTIFICATION USNS PATHFINDER PARTICIPATES IN DEMONSTRATION YOUR VOTE IS VITAL ON NOVEMBER 4 USNS BYRD JOINS 7TH FLEET KEEL LAID FOR NEW MISSILE RANGE INSTRUMENTATION SHIP Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 10/01/2008 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. 70, No. 10 2008 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/eeccf0f8e88c390567d83280c68c2831.pdf ad3323aa53056e825544213f09c84d7d PDF Text Text 50414_p01_24:50414p 8/29/2008 7:33 PM Page 1 Volume 70, Number 9 September 2008 Maersk Michigan Means More SIU Jobs SIU-contracted Maersk Line, Limited has added another ship to its Seafarers-crewed fleet: the Maersk Michigan (below). The vessel was built in 2003 and is scheduled to reflag under the Stars and Stripes in early September. Page 3. Ferry Crew to the Rescue! Seafarers aboard the Freedom Ferry recently rescued a woman who had jumped or fallen into the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Camden, N.J. Among those involved in the rescue were the father-son team of Capt. Rodger Taylor (right) and Deckhand Matthew Taylor, pictured aboard the vessel. Page 3. Fire Fighting and Safety School Is Vital Part of Paul Hall Center Seafarers participate in a variety of essential drills at the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School, which is part of the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. Students are pictured at left, right and above right in some of the classes that take place at the school, based in southern Maryland. For more information and additional photos, turn to Pages 12-13. CIVMAR News Pages 5, 10 SIU Election Info. Presidential Election Updates Pages 2, 24 Pages 4, 6, 7 �50414_p01_24:50414p 8/29/2008 7:33 PM Page 2 President’s Repor t Register and Vote Over the years, I’ve always appreciated our membership’s solid understanding of why politics is important to our union and our industry. With Election Day 2008 fast approaching, I know you realize that when we in the SIU talk about politics, we talk first and foremost about jobs. We care about our industry. We care about the labor movement. We absolutely care about our country’s security. But none of that will make any difference if the American flag disappears from the high seas, or if unions are wiped out. That’s why we’re involved in politics. If we’re out of work, we can’t help our industry or our fellow trade unionists across the land. And if there were no U.S. Merchant Marine, our nation would face enormous risk. As most Seafarers know, we work in a very heavily regulated industry. That means our livelihoods depend in part on decisions made by legislators and administrations in Washington, D.C. Brothers and sisters, it’s no coincidence that so many unions – and numerous businesses – have their headquarters in or near the nation’s capital. We all must stay active in politics, or we’ll soon be out of business. That’s why I urge you to make sure you’re registered to vote. That’s why I urge you to support pro-maritime, prolabor candidates at every level. That’s why I urge you to find the time to get to the polls on November 4, or, if needed, to cast your absentee ballot. You’ve probably heard the saying that all politics is local. I was reminded of it recently, when a transportation newspaper with worldwide circulation published an antiJones Act editorial. What a coincidence: It’s an election year in the U.S., and foreigners are taking shots at one of the pillars of the American-flag fleet. I can assure you that the Jones Act is never off of our radar, no matter the year. We will continue to promote and protect this law which is vital not only to our industry but indeed to America’s national and economic security. But, the editorial is reminder of why we must keep our guard up at all times – and why we must elect people who support American maritime labor. With every election cycle, we go through a process of trying to help educate newly elected or appointed individuals about the importance of the U.S. Merchant Marine. That won’t change, but it’s a far more efficient, effective process when our members have reached out to their local officials. Your contact means so much more because that politician knows the issue is important to someone back home who actually voted them into office. On that note, I thank the rank-and-file membership for your outstanding support of the voluntary Seafarers Political Activity Donation fund, which we call SPAD. Whether promoting SPAD with a catch-phrase like “Politics is pork chops” or “It takes a four-letter word to be heard,” or explaining its purpose in more detail, the bottom line is that SPAD gives us a chance to have our voices heard by those who govern our industry. On the back page of this issue of the LOG, you’ll see our statement endorsing Senator Barack Obama for president. That endorsement is based on the senator’s support of the laws and programs that keep our industry – and our jobs – afloat. We apply the same test in every election, and not just at the federal level. Our first question is always, “Where do the candidates stand on maritime?” This year in particular, that’s a question we can’t afford not to ask – and this is a vote we can’t afford to sit out. Volume 70, Number 9 September 2008 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 207909998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2008 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG Gen. Duncan McNabb Confirmed As U.S. TRANSCOM Commander Gen. Norton Schwartz to Serve as Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Duncan McNabb soon will assume command of the United States Transportation Command, the agency announced last month. With the Senate confirmation vote Aug. 1, the 34-year Air Force veteran will become the ninth TRANSCOM commander. McNabb provided testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 22 prior to the full Senate voting on his confirmation. The president must offer the official appointment to the general before he can assume his new position. “I know U.S. Transportation Command’s success depends on the strength of the total force and of our industry partners,” said McNabb. “I will work to continue to strengthen and leverage these partnerships across the entire joint deployment and distribution enterprise.” Currently serving as the Air Force vice chief of staff, McNabb will assume command of TRANSCOM once Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, also confirmed by the Senate Aug. 1, assumes his new position as Air Force chief of staff. In his current position, McNabb serves as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Requirements Oversight Council and Deputy Advisory Working Group. He assists the chief of staff with organizing, training and equipping more than 710,000 activeduty, Air Guard, Reserve and civilian forces serving in the United States and overseas. His previous command experience includes positions as commander, 89th Operations Group at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.; commander, 62nd Airlift Wing, McChord AFB, Wash.; and comman- Gen. Duncan McNabb Gen. Norton Schwartz der, Tanker Airlift Control Center, Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott AFB, Ill. Immediately prior to his current position, McNabb served as commander of Air Mobility Command, one of the three service commands comprising TRANSCOM. The others are the Army’s Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, also headquartered at Scott AFB, and the Navy’s Military Sealift Command, headquartered at the Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. Schwartz, a 35-year veteran in special operations, will be the 19th Air Force chief of staff. “I intend to embody the Air Force core values of integrity, service and excellence as I lead the Air Force at this critical transition period,” he said. TRANSCOM is the single manager for global air, land and sea transportation for the Department of Defense. Seapower Subcommittee Chairman Emphasizes Support for Jones Act U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), chairman of ships must be built in the U.S. and owned by the Seapower Subcommittee of the House Armed American companies. Wrapping up his comments on the Jones Act, Services Committee, recently stressed his ongoing Rep. Taylor cautioned that waivers are “never an support for the Jones Act. end-all,” and warned that such Addressing the Propeller Club waivers may turn out to be the of the United States during a July “camel’s nose under the tent.” He 22 luncheon in Washington, concluded that America cannot D.C., Rep. Taylor stated, “I am a have a strong shipbuilding and fanatic when it comes to the repair base without strict enforceJones Act. The privilege of operment of the Jones Act. ating between American ports The congressman also empha[rightly comes with the requiresized the need to maintain a U.S. ment that ships used in the trade] Navy fleet consisting of at least 313 are American-owned, flagged, vessels (as articulated by high-rankand crewed vessels. It’s that siming Navy officers). ple.” He said he wants to help ensure Rep. Taylor, who also serves that our troops are supported by on the Coast Guard and Maritime American-flag ships with American Transportation Subcommittee of crews. the House Transportation and Rep. Taylor also reiterated his Infrastructure Committee, pointed out that approximately 40 U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) support for the Title XI other countries have laws similar is an ardent supporter of the U.S. Shipbuilding Loan Guarantee Program. He said that despite some to the Jones Act. Long a crucial Merchant Marine. struggles, “I still believe Title XI is component when it comes to helping maintain a viable U.S. Merchant Marine, a good program, and I will do what I can to encourthe Jones Act stipulates that vessels transporting age people to buy American and build American…. cargo from one domestic port to another (as Rep. It’s like any other government program: It’s going Taylor explained) must fly the U.S. flag and carry to be as good or bad as the people running it want American crews. The law also specifies that such it to be.” AFL-CIO Elects 3 to Executive Council The AFL-CIO Executive Council early last month approved the election of three new council members at its summer meeting in Chicago. The executive council – composed of 47 union leaders – is the key decisionmaking body of the 10.5-million member AFL-CIO. The new members of the council are Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers (AFT); Matthew Loeb, president of the Stage and Theatrical Employees (IATSE); and Jill Levy, president of the American Federation of School Administrators (AFSA). “We’re thrilled to welcome these three passionate advocates for working families to the executive council,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. Weingarten, who replaces recently retired AFT President Edward J. McElroy, joins the council after being elected to succeed McElroy in July. Loeb served as IATSE’s division director of motion picture and television production before his election as president in late July. He replaces retiring IATSE President Tom Short. Levy is a longtime union activist who served for several years as supervisor of special education for New York City’s public schools and headed AFSA Local 1. She served in several national offices for AFSA and was elected union president in 2006. Levy replaces retiring executive council member Baxter Atkinson. September 2008 �50414_p01_24x:50414p 9/2/2008 2:15 PM Page 3 The Maersk Michigan sports its new paint job while in drydock. Among the first mariners to crew up the new addition are AB Saleh Mothana, QMED Edward Hanvey, Recertified Bosun Michael Brewley, Chief Cook Alba Luz Ayala, Chief Mate John Gomard, Chief Steward Army Joe Leake, AB John Carr and GVA Abdulnaser Saeed. Union-Contracted Fleet Adds Maersk Michigan SIU-contracted Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) in late August announced that it had completed the purchase of a 47,000 DWT product tanker to add to its U.S.flag fleet. The M/T Marco, which is scheduled to reflag under the Stars and Stripes in early September, will be renamed the Maersk Michigan. The 597-foot vessel is a double-hulled tanker built in 2003. In announcing the purchase, the company noted that the ship “will provide U.S. government customers, such as the Defense Energy Support Center, with expanded petroleum transport capacity around the world.” “This vessel clearly and strongly reflects the company’s commitment to both the American flag and U.S. crews,” stated SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez. “The union continues working to expand job opportunities and job security for our members. However, bringing tonnage in under the Stars and Stripes is a boost not only for the SIU but for overall national and economic security, because ships like the Maersk Michigan help maintain the pool of qualified shipboard manpower that’s so vital to our country.” “The addition of the Maersk Michigan represents our commitment to expanding our U.S.-flag fleet and to providing U.S. government customers with strategic tanker capacity where it is needed most,” said Steve Carmel, MLL’s senior vice president of maritime services. “We are also proud that the ship will add new jobs and capacity to the overall U.S.-flag fleet.” MLL Labor Relations Vice President Ed Hanley added, “The crew did a great job to take over the vessel under significant time pressure and other challenges. We had to do the crew change at anchor in less than favorable conditions — heavy swells, rain, etc. Lots of stores had to be offloaded from the launch, and the mariners had to move into rooms that were not left very tidy by the outgoing crew… The training and professionalism Philly Ferry Crew Rescues Woman in Delaware River As Captain Rodger Taylor guided the Freedom Ferry away from Penn’s Landing for the next part of its regular run between Philadelphia and Camden, N.J., he noticed something in the water which obviously didn’t belong there. Specifically, he saw a woman in distress in the Delaware River. Within minutes, Taylor and Deckhands Matthew Taylor (Rodger’s son), Zachary Tannoia and Kevin Fisher had teamed up to safely pull the woman from the water, administer first aid and get her to shore. Local fire and rescue personnel arrived a short time later and transported the unidentified person to Thomas Jefferson Hospital, located about five blocks away. Capt. Taylor said the Seafarers didn’t learn the woman’s name, but did receive word that she was in stable condition at the hospital. It wasn’t known whether she had jumped or fallen into the river. A 1979 graduate of the Paul Hall Center trainee program, Capt. Taylor praised his crew members for the rescue, which began shortly after 1 p.m. on August 5. He also credited the mariners and the ferry operator, Hornblower SIU Deckhands (from left) Matt Taylor, Zach Tannoia and Kevin Fisher were integral in the rescue. September 2008 Marine, for their serious approach to the weekly safety drills conducted aboard the Freedom Ferry – exercises which undoubtedly helped save the woman’s life. “The drills really helped out,” he said. “This operation really felt like our basic rescue drill, except it was an actual rescue. The crew members did exactly what they were supposed to do. I was really impressed with them and I’m really proud of all three of them.” Capt. Taylor said that when he first maneuvered the ferry into rescue position, one of the deckhands threw a life ring into the water, but the woman didn’t respond. Matthew Taylor then jumped into the river to save her, just as she appeared to be going under the water. A rescue ladder, davit and sling also were deployed from the ferry. Rodger Taylor said the victim, upon being brought aboard the boat, “was conscious but very pale. She was white as a ghost, actually, and may have been going into shock. She was moaning but didn’t talk. The guys performed first aid and, luckily, we saw a policeman walking along Penn’s Landing” (which hastened the arrival of shore-side rescue personnel). Only 15 minutes elapsed from the moment Capt. Taylor first saw the woman to the time the fire and rescue crew transported her to the hospital. He concluded, “I just can’t say enough about how the guys handled this situation. They were totally professional and really got the job done. It was a unique situation because my son was involved, but again, I commend all three of the guys. They all deserve recognition.” The ferry is part of the RiverLink system overseen by the Delaware River Port Authority. of the SIU crew showed as everyone was completely focused on taking over the vessel properly and discharging the cargo safely. They did a great job!” This wasn’t the only big news recently announced by the company. In July, MLL reported that it had won the bid to purchase and operate the MV Pvt. Franklin J. Phillips and MV William B. Baugh – a development which preserves Seafarers’ jobs aboard both vessels. The Baugh has been renamed the Maersk Texas while the Phillips has been renamed the Maersk Tennessee. The ships are sailing in MLL’s commercial service. Previously, they were part of the U.S. Military Sealift Command’s prepositioning fleet. Tanker Construction Moves Forward at Ship Facilities In San Diego, Philadelphia Construction is moving forward on two separate tanker build programs in Philadelphia and San Diego, respectively. In mid-July, Aker Philadelphia Shipyard launched the fifth in a series of a dozen product tankers. Hull 009 was floated off its blocks and transferred from the building dock to the outfitting dock. While in the outfitting dock, testing, commissioning and on-board work will continue until the vessel embarks on sea trials. At that point, it will be thoroughly tested prior to delivery to American Shipping Company and subsequent bareboat charter to SIUcontracted OSG America. According to the shipyard, Hull 009 has been modified to incorporate three improved diesel powered electrical generating sets to power the vessel’s electrical system. These diesel engines comply with the Environmental Protection Aker Philadelphia Shipyard recently conducted a keel-laying ceremony for a new tanker. The Golden State is one of the tankers under construction at NASSCO. Agency’s latest Tier II requirements. The vessel’s emergency diesel generator, hydraulic power packs, and rescue and lifeboat engines have all been upgraded as well. Early last month, the yard conducted a keel-laying ceremony for the seventh ship in the series. Again, this tanker is being constructed for American Shipping Company and ultimate operation by OSG. Meanwhile, General Dynamics NASSCO recently announced the beginning of construction of the third ship in its series of nine product carriers. The plans are to lay the ship’s keel in November and deliver the vessel to SIU-contracted U.S. Shipping Partners in the fourth quarter of 2009. The tanker will carry petroleum and chemical products in Jones Act trade between U.S. ports. Seafarers LOG 3 �50414_p01_24x:50414p 9/2/2008 2:16 PM Page 4 Panel Reviews Nomination Petitions for Election The credentials committee, composed and Clarence Poore from the port of of six rank-and-file SIU members, has Norfolk; and John Hoskins from the port reviewed all nominating petitions of SIU of Baltimore. Hoskins was selected by the members seeking office in the 2008 dis- committee to serve as chairman. trict-wide elections in the union’s During the special meeting on August Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters 14, Seafarers had to present their union District/NMU. books in order to be nominated to the After meeting last month and studying committee. After the voting took place, the nomination applications to ensure results immediately were made known. each candidate had complied with the criThe union constitution establishes teria spelled out in the SIU’s constitution, guidelines for the credentials committee the credentials comin Article XIII, mittee issued its See pages 6 and 7 for the full Section 2. According report, which will be text of the committee reports. to those rules, the presented to the memcommittee must be bership for its approval at the September elected at the port where headquarters is meetings. located (Piney Point). Twenty-nine candidates for 25 ballot The credentials committee must conpositions qualified to run in the election, sist of six full-book members, including which takes place Nov. 1 through Dec. two members from each of the three ship31, the committee reported. board departments: deck, engine and Members of the committee were elect- steward. ed at a special meeting conducted at headAdditionally, no elected official or quarters-port of Piney Point on August candidate for union office is permitted to 14, 2008. Voted to the committee by their serve on the committee. fellow Seafarers were Chris Nardone Members seeking the position of presand Hazel Johnson from the port of ident, executive vice president, secretaryPhiladelphia; John Reid, Jerry Stillman treasurer, vice president, assistant vice Serving on the rank-and-file credentials committee as well as the constitutional committee are Seafarers (from left) Hazel Johnson, Chris Nardone, John Hoskins, John Reid, Clarence Poore and Jerry Stillman. president or one of 10 port agent posts had to submit nominating papers between July 15 and Aug. 15. The Seafarers who served on the credentials committee also were elected by their fellow members to serve on the con- stitutional committee, in accordance with Article XXV, Section 2 of the union’s constitution. They issued a separate report detailing the proposed constitutional amendments that will appear on the ballot. Gov. Gregoire Credits ATC The Alakai sails every day, offering round-trip service between Maui and Oahu. Hawaii Superferry Ridership Grows by 40 Percent in July Survey Shows Passenger Satisfaction; 2nd Boat Under Construction Hawaii Superferry’s SIU-crewed Alakai got off to a strong start with its July ridership and rode the momentum to an overall 40 percent gain in passengers compared to the previous month. The number of vehicles transported in July aboard the ferry also grew significantly, up by 36 percent from June. According to the company, more than 36,600 passengers and 9,200 vehicles traveled between Oahu and Maui during the month of July, averaging 390 passengers and 99 vehicles per voyage. The June passenger count was previously reported up 20 percent over May. July’s figures were bolstered by the 6,000 people who rode the Alakai during Independence Day weekend – a company record for ridership on a holiday weekend. That wasn’t the only good news recently reported by the Seafarers-contracted business. Hawaii Superferry also noted that its second vessel, under construction in Mobile, Ala., is approximately 75 percent complete and is expected to enter service in May. Also, the company recently commissioned a research firm to gauge customer satisfaction. The survey’s results couldn’t have been much better, as 92 percent of the passengers polled gave the highest 4 Seafarers LOG possible rating to their overall experience on the ferry. Ninety percent of those polled indicated they are “very likely” to utilize the ferry again, and a whopping 98 percent said they would recommend the Alakai to their family and friends. (Passengers were randomly selected on randomly selected voyages beginning in late June through July. A total of 347 people completed the survey.) “Any successful operation is a team effort, and the SIU crew members aboard the Alakai definitely deserve their share of credit for ridership growth and customer satisfaction,” stated SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker. “Seafarers are helping to deliver a quality, affordable service and the public is responding with enthusiasm.” “Business is good and we are very pleased with the rate at which our passenger and vehicle loads have increased these past three months,” added Hawaii Superferry President and CEO Tom Fargo. “We have operated over 400 voyages now and we’re equally pleased with the feedback we’ve been receiving from passengers.” The 349-foot Alakai, which has an aluminum hull, carries a crew of 25 and operates seven days a week. Washington State Governor Christine ATC’s fleet includes four SeafarersO. Gregoire earlier this year sent a con- crewed vessels: the Alaska Class tankers gratulatory letter to the head of SIU-con- Alaskan Legend, Alaskan Frontier, tracted Alaska Tanker Company in recog- Alaskan Explorer and Alaskan Navigator. nition of a major safety milestone. Those ships transport Alaskan North “On behalf of the people of Slope crude oil from Valdez, Alaska, to Washington State, I offer my congratula- refineries in Washington State and tions on the Alaska Tanker California. Company (ATC) reaching Many of the company’s an important milestone: mariners have undergone more than six calendar years safety training at the SIUand 12 million man hours affiliated Paul Hall Center, without a time-loss injury,” located in Piney Point, Md. the governor said in her letAs reported in the May ter, dated June 30 (and LOG, Mathur in late sporting a union bug). March sent a communicaAddressed to ATC tion to shipboard and President and CEO Anil shore-side ATC personnel Mathur, Gov. Gregoire’s letin which he credited all ter continued, “I applaud the concerned for the latest fact that your company has achievements. He wrote in received a number of part, “This remarkable perWashington State awards for your safety and formance by the ATC oil spill prevention record, Gov. Christine O. Gregoire employees, ship and shore, including recognition from has been enabled by our the Alaska State Legislature, the U.S. union leadership (SIU and MEBA), our Coast Guard, and from our own contractors, our client BP Alaska, our Washington State Department of Ecology. owners, our external stakeholders and our Many in the business and labor communi- regulators,” he said. “Meaningful and ty have told me that ATC is a leader in the lasting results at this level require a supfield of transporting oil and that you are portive environment. I am very grateful to viewed as a model for the industry.” each of these entities.” NTSB Issues Final Report On Majestic Boat Grounding Shipboard Decision could have led to ‘Catastrophic Disaster’ The February 2008 edition of the Seafarers LOG reported that the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) preliminary report on the May 14, 2007 grounding of Majestic America Line’s sternwheeler riverboat, the Empress of the North, off the coast of Alaska showed there was a new employee on watch at the time the ship hit a submerged portion of a charted rock. The preliminary report cited that Marino Cattiotti was assigned a fourhour watch from midnight to 4 a.m. because another navigator fell ill. The NTSB recently released its final report on the matter, in which it says the illness was no excuse for turning watch over to an inexperienced, newly licensed third mate. The agency places the most blame for the incident on the vessel’s mas- ter, who assigned Cattiotti to the bridge watch during the night of the accident. “The third mate was not familiar with the route, the vessel’s handling characteristics, or the equipment on the vessel’s bridge,” noted the board. The board said the fallout from the decision could have been much worse. “The flawed decision making in this accident created the potential for a catastrophic disaster,” observed NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker. “Those in leadership positions need to make sure they consider every option possible when making critical decisions that could put lives at risk.” The ship grounded 25 miles southwest of Juneau, forcing the evacuation of 206 passengers. September 2008 �50414_p01_24x:0414p 9/2/2008 2:32 PM Page 5 Mississippi River Oil Spill Renews Concerns Perhaps the best thing one could say about the July 23 fuel oil spill in the Mississippi River outside New Orleans was that no humans were injured – at least not physically. But, the damage from the accident involving a non-union tugboat and barge and a Liberian-flag tanker is extensive and ongoing. More than 100 miles of vital inland waterway was closed, stalling commerce for more than a week. The incident is expected to cost taxpayers untold dollars in containment, cleanup, salvage and remediation. According to Coast Guard investigators, nearly 420,000 gallons of fuel oil were spilled when American Commercial Lines’ (ACL) oil-laden barge DM 932 collided with the chemical tank ship Tintomara. ACL is a non-union company that hired another non-union company, DRD Towing, to push the barge up the Mississippi. The DRD tug Mel Oliver pushed ACL’s barge into the Tintomara in the early hours of the morning, splitting the barge in two. To some extent, the incident renewed the debate regarding uninspected towing vessels and the lack of documentation among some mariners employed aboard inland tugs and tows. In its aftermath, press reports noted that in 2007, for example, the Coast Guard conducted fewer than 300 random checks of approximately 7,000 uninspected towing vessels. Since 2004, such checks have led to nearly 2,000 civil penalty cases for mariners who either had insufficient documentation or none at all – but only a fraction of those cases led to fines or prosecution. A preliminary Coast Guard investigation found the captain of the Mel Oliver was not on board and a steersman apprentice was operating the tug at the time of the collision. While this employee was licensed, his license did not authorize him to operate the vessel without the captain’s presence in the wheelhouse. In essence, there were no properly qualified personnel piloting the tug. Some reports likened it to letting a teenager with a learner’s permit drive alone. The Coast Guard also reported that the Tintomara and the vessel traffic service did radio call-outs to the Mel Oliver to warn of impending collision and received no response from the tug. Cleanup was further delayed as the split barge shifted in the currents of the Mississippi, closing the river a second time. All told, the Mississippi was not fully open for transport until August 10. Less than two weeks before the Mel Oliver wreck, a different DRD Towing tug sank after colliding with a ship. Here again, a DRD-employed apprentice mate Inland documentation (or lack of it) and uninspected towing vessels were in the news after the July 23 oil spill in the Mississippi River. Salvage operations are pictured above in this U.S. Coast Guard photo. was at the helm of the tug. While at press time there was no definitive cost of spill containment and cleanup operations, at the height of the efforts the Coast Guard reported on August 2 that more than 500 vessels had been cleared, inspected and/or decontaminated and released since operations began. The agency had recovered more than 139,000 CIVMAR Notes The union is pursuing many arbitrations and negotiations on behalf of CIVMARs. The list below notes several of these important arbitrations and negotiations. Arbitrations the Union is Working on Habitability: T-ARS Class: Grapple, Salvor T-AH: Comfort, Mercy The union is seeking habitability pay for CIVMARs who were required to stay in sub-standard conditions aboard these vessels. On the USNS Comfort, CIVMARs in the open berthing are covered by this arbitration. Liberty Restrictions: For all CIVMARs in the east and west coast fleets that have been subject to the implementation of the “buddy system,” the union is seeking compensation for this liberty restriction. For CIVMARs on the Mercy and other vessels where liberty was restricted in areas, the union is seeking compensation for these liberty restrictions. Failure to Pay 10% Supplement to Entitled Supply Department Personnel MSC unilaterally changed conditions of employment when it denied certain supply department personnel a 10 percent pay supplement. The union believes it is very important that it bring matters to arbitration when MSC implements new employment conditions without notifying the union and bargaining about these changes. A CIVMAR’s occupation can be difficult. CIVMARs generally work in very up-tempo, challenging work environments in positions of great responsibility. While the union may not prevail on each of these grievances, it is important for CIVMARs and the union to stand together to ensure that each of these issues is presented to obtain payment for CIVMARs. What can you do you: Have union meetings aboard your vessels. Make sure you know your responsibilities and your entitlements under your collective bargaining agreement and the CMPI. Support the union’s efforts on all these issues – join the union. Negotiation Subjects Here is a list of subjects that the union is negotiating with MSC: ■ “No guest policy” at the Doubletree hotel and overflow hotels. The MSC/Doubletree changed their guest policy without adequate notice to the union. CIVMARs are no longer allowed to have guests stay at the hotel. The union has also filed a grievance about this issue and is awaiting a response from MSC. ■ Procedures regarding the TWIC card requirement. ■ Fire retardant coveralls. The union is negotiating the CIVMARs’ ability to receive these coveralls aboard vessels. The union is especially concerned about CIVMARs’ September 2008 ability to get smaller or larger sizes readily. One of the proposals submitted by the union was to allow CIVMARs to purchase their own fire retardant clothing and get reimbursed by MSC. MSC refused to agree to this proposal. The union will now take some of these proposals to the federal service impasse panel for resolution. What you can do: Ensure the union knows whether you have had difficulty getting coveralls in the correct size for you. If you have any information about this subject, contact your union representative or if you have access to email please write to civmarsupport@seafarers.org ■ EBIS - the Employee Benefit Information Service. On September 30, 2008, CIVMARs will no longer be able to file any more paper forms to elect benefits or make certain TSP transactions. All transactions must be made via email or telephone. The union put in many proposals about EBIS including the use of official time on the vessel for CIVMARs having to access this system, register and make elections. (See related story, Page 10.) What you can do: Complete as quickly as possible the union survey sent to the customer service units and the vessels. Make sure you register for EBIS as soon as possible. Let the union know if you are encountering any issues concerning access to computers, including difficulty logging onto the system and the length of time it takes to perform EBIS transactions. ■ The union is extremely concerned with problems we are hearing from CIVMARs about MSC’s failure to correctly process workman compensation claims. Every injured CIVMAR is entitled to complete the CA16. What you can do: If you are injured during the course of a voyage, whether on or off the vessel, it is very important to that you follow the procedures and secure your entitlements. The shipboard supervisory personnel must supply you with the appropriate forms and ensure you receive the appropriate treatment. MSC shore-side personnel must do the same. For traumatic injuries ask your supervisor or the MSO to authorize medical treatment on Form CA-16 before you go to the doctor. Even if injuries appear minor, they can develop into a more medically challenging problem. It is always safest to file the proper paperwork. If you believe you are not receiving the correct information about worker’s compensation injuries, call your union representative or e-mail civmarsupport@seafarers.org The union is working on many other issues and will be letting CIVMARs know about the above and others in future communications. It’s important that we continue to hear from you and that you communicate with your shipmates. Hold union meetings aboard the vessels, appoint shipboard delegates, keep in touch with your union representatives and your fleet delegate, and keep checking the LOG and the SIU web site (www.seafarers.org) for updates on these and other issues of importance to CIVMARs. gallons of an oil/water mix, while more than 2,000 responders were deployed throughout the region affected by the spill. Field responders used three tugs, 159 work boats, four barges, 20 skimmers and 13 vacuum trucks on scene to clean up the spill. Approximately 155,000 feet of containment boom and sorbent boom were deployed. AMO’s Crangle Dies at Age 71 Charles T. Crangle, a former SIU member who spent the last 17 years working as director of Congressional and legislative affairs for the SIUNA-affiliated American Maritime Officers, died Aug. 1 at his home in Washington, D.C. He was 71. Though Crangle officially represented the AMO – and did so in a manner that earned admiration throughout the industry – his efforts often benefited the U.S. Merchant Marine as a whole. As AMO National President Tom Bethel put it, “Charlie Crangle knew the issues inside and out. No one was more articulate, more persuasive, more credible or more respected than Charlie Crangle in defense of the legitimate interests of seagoing labor.” Bethel added that Crangle “was instrumental in beating back the five-year effort to amend or repeal the Jones Act a decade ago, and he helped steer the Maritime Security Act of 1996 and reauthorization of the Maritime Security Program in 2003 through the House and Senate. Charlie hammered home the critical need for Charles Crangle sealift funding and for enforcement of U.S.-flagged cargo preference laws…. We will miss him and we will always remember him.” U.S. Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said he was “shocked and heartbroken” upon hearing of Crangle’s passing. “It’s as if I had lost a brother,” Rep. Oberstar said. Crangle was “so vibrant and so dedicated to the cause of maritime labor.” The former Great Lakes Seafarer is survived by three siblings, three daughters, two sons, a daughter-in-law, 10 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Seafarers LOG 5 �50414_p01_24:50414p 8/29/2008 7:33 PM Page 6 Credentials Approved for Candidates to 25 Union Offices REPORT OF CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE ON CANDIDATES FOR 2008 ELECTION OF OFFICERS, 2009-2012 SEAFARERS INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICAATLANTIC, GULF, LAKES AND INLAND WATERS DISTRICT/NMU We, the undersigned members of the Credentials Committee, were duly elected at a Special meeting held in Headquarters-Port of Piney Point on August 14, 2008. We have examined the credentials of candidates for elective office or job in the Seafarers International Union of North America-Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU for the years 2009-2012, in accordance with Article XI, Section 1, and submit the following report. Your Committee qualified or disqualified those members who submitted for office based upon the Union Constitution, particularly those provisions contained in Articles XII and XIII. The applicable constitutional provisions are as follows: ARTICLE XII, Qualifications for Officers, Assistant VicePresidents, Port Agents, and Other Elective Jobs Section 1. Any member of the Union is eligible to be a candidate for, and hold, any office or the job of Assistant Vice-President, or Port Agent provided: (a) He has at least three (3) years of seatime in an unlicensed capacity aboard an American-flag merchant vessel or vessels. In computing time, time spent in the employ of the Union, its subsidiaries and its affiliates, or in any employment at the Union’s direction, shall count the same as seatime. Union records, Welfare Plan records and/or company records can be used to determine eligibility; and (b) He has been a full book member in continuous good standing in the Union for at least three (3) years immediately prior to his nomination; and (c) He has at least one hundred (100) days of seatime, in an unlicensed capacity, aboard an American-flag vessel or vessels covered by contract with this Union or one hundred (100) days of employment with, or in any office or job of, the Union, its subsidiaries and its affiliates, or in any employment at the Union’s direction or a combination of these, between January 1 and the time of nomination in the election year, except if such seatime is wholly aboard such merchant vessels operating solely upon the Great Lakes or, if such seatime is wholly aboard tugboats, towboats or dredges and contractual employment thereon is for fixed days with equal amount of days off, he shall have at least sixty-five (65) days of such seatime instead of the foregoing one hundred (100) days; and (d) He is a citizen of the United States of America; and (e) He is not disqualified by law. He is not receiving a pension from this Union’s Pension Fund, if any, or from a Union-Management Fund, to which Fund this Union is a party or from a company under contract with this Union; unless such individual commenced receiving a pension benefit from any such fund by virtue of having reached the age of 70½. (f) He has not sailed in a licensed capacity aboard an American flag merchant vessel or vessels within twenty four (24) consecutive months immediately prior to the opening of nominations. Section 2. All candidates for, and holders of, other elective jobs not specified in the preceding sections shall be full book members of the Union. Section 3. All candidates for, and holders of, elective offices and jobs, whether elected or appointed in 6 Seafarers LOG accordance with this Constitution, shall maintain full book memberships in good standing. ARTICLE XIII, Election for Officers, Assistant Vice-Presidents, and Port Agents Section 1. Nominations. Except as provided in Section 2(b) of this Article, any full book member may submit his name for nomination for any office, or the job of Assistant Vice-President, or Port Agent, by delivering or causing to be delivered in person, to the office of the Secretary-Treasurer at Headquarters, or sending a letter addressed to the Credentials Committee, in care of the SecretaryTreasurer at the address of Headquarters. This letter shall be dated and shall contain the following: (a) The name of the candidate. (b) His home address and mailing address. (c) His book number. (d) The title of the office or other job for which he is a candidate, including the name of the Port in the event the position sought is that of Port Agent. (e) Proof of citizenship. (f) Proof of seatime and/or employment as required for candidates. (g) In the event the member is on a vessel, he shall notify the Credentials Committee what vessel he is on. This shall be done also if he ships subsequent to forwarding his credentials. (h) Annexing a certificate in the following form, signed and dated by the proposed nominee: “I hereby certify that I am not now, nor, for the five (5) years last past, have I been either a member of the Communist Party or convicted of, or served any part of a prison term resulting from conviction of robbery, bribery, extortion, embezzlement, grand larceny, burglary, arson, violation of narcotics laws, murder, rape, assault with intent to kill, assault which inflicts grievous bodily injury, or violation of Title II or III of the Landrum Griffin Act, or conspiracy to commit any such crimes.” Dated................................................. Signature of Member ........................ Book No. ........................................... Printed forms of the certificate shall be made available to nominees. Where a nominee cannot truthfully execute such a certificate, but is, in fact, legally eligible for an office or job by reason of the restoration of civil rights originally revoked by such conviction or a favorable determination by the Board of Parole of the United States Department of Justice, he shall, in lieu of the foregoing certificate, furnish a complete signed statement of the facts of his case together with true copies of the documents supporting his statement. Any full book member may nominate any other full book member in which event such full book member so nominated shall comply with the provisions of this Article as they are set forth herein relating to the submission of credentials. By reason of the above self nomination provision the responsibility, if any, for notifying a nominee of his nomination to office shall be that of the nominator. All documents required herein must reach Headquarters no earlier than July 15 and no later than August 15 of the election year. The Secretary-Treasurer is charged with safekeeping of these letters and shall turn them over to the Credentials Committee upon the latter’s request. In order to ascertain the meaning of the term “member in good standing” which is used in Article XII, Subsection 1(b), the Committee referred to Article XXIV, Section 9 of our Constitution which reads as follows: Section 9. The term “member in good standing” shall mean a member whose monetary obligations to the Union are not in arrears for thirty (30) days or more, or who is not under suspension or expulsion effective in accordance with this Constitution. Unless otherwise expressly indicated, the term “member” shall mean a member in good standing. Your Committee sought guidance from the Union’s General Counsel and the Secretary-Treasurer as to whether this section would apply to a member who is unable to pay dues because of employment aboard an American flag merchant vessel as stated in Article III, Section 3(e). Your Committee was advised that, in keeping with past practice and constitutional interpretation, the same thirty (30) day grace period should be applied in these situations. Accordingly, when a member who is working on foreign articles leaves the vessel, the dues for the applicable quarter must be paid within thirty (30) days from the date of discharge in order to maintain good standing. Your Committee also referred to Article XXIV, Section 13 for the definition of the term “seatime”. This section reads as follows: Section 13. The term “seatime” shall include employment upon any navigable waters, days of employment in a contracted employer unit represented by the Union or time spent in the employ of the Union or one of the Union’s direct affiliates as an elected or appointed representative. We also noted in Article XXIV, Section 14, the meaning of the term “in an unlicensed capacity aboard an American-flag merchant vessel or vessels.” This portion of the Constitution reads as follows: Section 14. The term “in an unlicensed capacity aboard an American-flag merchant vessel or vessels” shall include persons employed in an unlicensed or licensed capacity aboard dredges, tugboats, towboats and similar vessels used to tow, propel, or push barges or other conveyances or assist merchant vessels in docking or undocking, or persons otherwise employed in a contracted employer unit represented by the Union. After full and careful deliberations, the Committee made its decisions and sent appropriate notification to candidates. The ultimate decisions of this Committee are later set forth. In arriving at these ultimate decisions, the Committee was most concerned with carrying out a stated principle of our Union which is that “every qualified member shall have the right to nominate himself for, and, if elected or appointed, to hold office in this Union.” In connection with the foregoing, we have also consulted with the Secretary-Treasurer who, under our Constitution, has the obligation to insure appropriate election procedures as legally required (Article XIII, Section 7). Our SecretaryTreasurer has further consulted with the Union’s Counsel as to the law applicable in Union nominations and elections. The following is a complete listing of all members who submitted their credentials to the Committee. Their names and the office or job for which they submitted such credentials are listed in the order in which this Committee feels they should be placed on the general ballot, that is, in alphabetical order under the office or job for which they run, and that the Ports, following the Headquarters offices, beginning with Piney Point, be arranged on the ballot geographically, as has been done in the past. After each member’s name and book number is his/her qualification or disqualification, followed by the reason for that decision. PRESIDENT Charles Collins, C-01652 Qualified Credentials in order Michael J. Sacco, S-01288 Qualified Credentials in order EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT Augustin Tellez, T-00764 Qualified Credentials in order SECRETARY-TREASURER David W. Heindel, H-01443 Qualified Credentials in order VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF CONTRACTS AND CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT George Tricker, T-00919 Qualified Credentials in order VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF THE ATLANTIC COAST Joseph T. Soresi, S-02658 Qualified Credentials in order VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF THE GULF COAST Dean E. Corgey, C-05727 Qualified Credentials in order VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF THE WEST COAST Nicholas J. Marrone, M-02308 Qualified Credentials in order VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF THE SOUTHERN REGION, GREAT LAKES AND INLAND WATERS Thomas Orzechowski, Jr, O-00601 Qualified Credentials in order VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES AND FISHING INDUSTRIES Kermett T. Mangram, M-02394 Qualified Credentials in order ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF CONTRACTS AND CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT Joseph Mieluchowski, M-02933 Qualified Credentials in order Victor Nunez, N-00566 Disqualified - was not in continuous good standing for 3 years prior to time of nomination. George Perry, P-01978 Disqualified - did not have at least 100 days of seatime or Union employment between January 1 and time of nomination. Archie Ware, W-01169 Qualified Credentials in order ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF THE ATLANTIC COAST Nicholas A. Celona, C-01578 Qualified Credentials in order ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF THE GULF COAST Ambrose L. Cucinotta, C-01795 Qualified Credentials in order ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF THE WEST COAST Bryan Powell, P-01987 Qualified Credentials in order ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF THE SOUTHERN REGION, GREAT LAKES AND INLAND WATERS James P. McGee, M-05945 Qualified Credentials in order ASSISTANT VICE-PRESIDENT IN CHARGE OF GOVERNMENT SERVICES AND FISHING INDUSTRIES Chester Wheeler, W-25058 Qualified Credentials in order PINEY POINT PORT AGENT Michael Murphy, M-02483 Qualified Credentials in order Patrick Vandegrift, V-00488 Qualified Credentials in order NEW YORK PORT AGENT Robert Selzer, S-01258 Qualified Credentials in order PHILADELPHIA PORT AGENT Joseph Baselice, B-02795 Qualified Credentials in order Edward O’Connor, O-00599 Qualified Credentials in order BALTIMORE PORT AGENT Georg Kenny, K-01041 Qualified Credentials in order MOBILE PORT AGENT Thornton Elliot, E-15001 Qualified Credentials in order NEW ORLEANS PORT AGENT Chris Westbrook, W-05787 Qualified Credentials in order HOUSTON PORT AGENT Kenneth Moore, M-06084 Qualified Credentials in order OAKLAND PORT AGENT Samuel Garrett, G-01534 Disqualified – was not in continuous good standing for 3 years prior to time of nomination. Tracey Mayhew, M-03487 Qualified Credentials in order ST. LOUIS PORT AGENT Rebecca J. Sleeper, S-02497 Qualified Credentials in order DETROIT-ALGONAC PORT AGENT Todd Brdak, B-02684 Qualified Credentials in order As you will note in the foregoing sections of the Committee’s Report, the provisions of the SIU Constitution governing election procedures made it mandatory that some of the nominees be disqualified. In light of these circumstances, the Committee wishes to call to the attention of all members the necessity of following all requirements and procedures which are established by our Constitution to govern eligibility for candidacy to Union office. However, at this time, the Committee particularly desires to point out the provisions of Article XIII, Section 2(c) of the Constitution, which spell out in detail the right of a disqualified candidate to appeal from the decision of the Credentials Committee and how he does it. In compliance with Article XIII, Section 2(b) of our Constitution, and in an attempt to give every nominee every consideration and to try to prevent any disqualifications by this Committee, Jerry Stillman, of the Credentials Committee, remained at the entrance of the Headquarters building of the Union until midnight of Friday, August 15, 2008, to receive any credentials that might have been delivered by hand after the closing of business hours by the Union. The Committee points out that in the President’s Pre-Balloting Report approved by the membership as per the Constitution and published in the May Seafarers LOG the exact offices and jobs for which nominations were to be made was set forth. In passing upon the credentials for certain of the nominees, this Committee had to make three (3) disqualifications, and the following are the details relative to each of those disqualifications: 1. Victor Nunez, Book No. N00566, Candidate for Assistant Vice President of Contracts & Contract Enforcement. Your committee noted the Continued on Page 7 September 2008 �50414_p01_24:50414p 8/29/2008 7:33 PM Page 7 REPORT OF CONSTITUTIONAL COMMITTEE We, the undersigned Constitutional Committee, were elected at a Special Meeting held in Piney Point on August 14, 2008, in accordance with Article XXV, Section 2 of our Constitution. We have had referred to us and studied, the proposed Constitutional Amendments Resolution submitted by our Executive Board. This Resolution, containing the proposed amendment, prior to its submission to us, was adopted by a majority vote of the membership at Headquarters and all ports. The provisions of the Resolution including its “WHEREAS” clauses, are contained in this report so that all members will have available to them its full text for their review and study at the same time that they read this, our Report and Recommendation. Whereas, the current Constitution and By-Laws of the Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU currently provides for the election of members to serve on finance, credentials, tallying and constitutional committees; and Whereas, the relevant Constitutional provisions contain language pertaining to the payment of committee members during their time of service; and Whereas, the afore-mentioned Constitutional Sections have conflicting provisions relating to the payment of committee members when all such committee members are, in practice, routinely paid the same amounts which have been comparable to eight hours a day at prevailing contractual standby rates of pay; and Whereas, such pay rates no longer exist in the industry wide contracts and all Constitutional Sections providing for payment of committee members for these four committees should be identical; and Whereas, the committee members of these four committees are, in actuality, not being paid for work performed but are instead receiving a per diem from the Union to compensate them for miscellaneous expenses incurred over and above travel, meals and lodging; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The following language shall modify existing language or shall be added to existing language to reflect the intent and practices of the Union concerning members who serve on the Finance, Credentials, Tallying and Constitutional Committees: “Committee members shall receive a per diem in an amount determined by the Secretary Treasurer but in no event shall they receive an amount less than the AB Green hourly rate as specified in the current union industry wide contract for eight hours for each day of service commencing with the day subsequent to their election and ending on the day they complete their service or, if applicable, return to the Port from which they were elected.” To effectuate the above changes, Article X, Section 14(c), number 5 shall be amended by deleting the next to last sentence of the first paragraph and by adding in its place, the above quoted language; Article XIII, Section 2, shall be amended by adding a new subsection which shall be lettered (f) and which shall contain the above quoted language; Article XIII, Section 4, (c) shall be amended by deleting the last sentence of the first paragraph and by adding in its place the above quoted language and Article XXV, shall be amended by adding a new Section which shall be numbered 4 and which shall contain the above quoted language. In addition the following sentence shall also be added to this new Article XXV, Section 4 “When a Constitutional Amendment is being considered at the same time that an election for officers is taking place, there shall be only one tallying committee used for both tallies and that Committee will be the one elected to serve as per Article XIII Section 4.” We further recommend, if it is Committe Approves Candidates’ Credentials Continued from Page 6 receipt of a letter dated July 15, 2008, addressed to Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel in which Brother Nunez requested his name be placed on the ballot for election to the position of Assistant Vice President of Contracts & Contract Enforcement. Your committee noted that SecretaryTreasurer David Heindel issued a letter dated July 31, 2008 via overnight mail requesting Brother Nunez submit his proof of seatime as required by Article XII, Section 1 (c) of the Constitution. Brother Nunez did have the necessary seatime to qualify. Your committee also noted that Union records show that Brother Nunez paid his Second Quarter 2008 dues on June 12, 2008, whereas they should have been paid no later than May 1, 2008. Your committee also noted that Brother Nunez submitted seatime from vessels under the Marshall Islands flag. Article XII, Section 1 (a) and (c) provide that seatime required to be eligible to run for office must be aboard American-flag vessels under contract with the Union. Based upon advice from General Counsel, the committee decided not to disqualify Brother Nunez based upon his seatime aboard Marshall Island flag vessels since they are covered by collective bargaining agreements with the Union. Based upon the provisions of Article XII, Section 1 (b), and further supported by Article III, Section 3; Article V and Article XXIV, Section 9 previously carried herein, the committee did disqualify Brother Nunez for the job of Assistant Vice President of Contracts & Contract Enforcement solely as a result of not being in continuous good standing during the relevant time period. In accordance with the requirements of Article XIII, Section 2 (c) of our Constitution, and in order to assure adequate notice of its decision, the committee informed Brother Nunez of his disqualification and set forth the reason for such disqualification by certified overnight mail sent on August 18, 2008 to the address stated in his letter of nomination. A copy of the Union Constitution was enclosed with the aforementioned letter so that Brother Nunez would have available the procedure to be followed in appeal from the disqualification decision of the Committee. 2. George Perry, Book No. P-01978, Candidate for Assistant Vice President of Contracts & Contract Enforcement. Your committee noted the receipt of a letter dated July 12, 2008, addressed to Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel in which Brother Perry requested his name September 2008 be placed on the ballot for election to the position of Assistant Vice President of Contracts & Contract Enforcement. Your committee noted that SecretaryTreasurer David Heindel issued a letter dated July 17, 2008 via overnight mail requesting Brother Perry submit his signed certificate and proof of seatime as required by Article XII, Section 1 of the Constitution. Your committee also noted that the overnight mail was returned to Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel following which an email was sent to Brother Perry on August 1, 2008 onboard the Alliance New York. Your committee noted that on August 11, 2008 Brother Perry responded by email stating that he faxed the signed certificate to Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel’s Office. Union records, however, indicate that Brother Perry does not have the required one hundred (100) days of seatime, in an unlicensed capacity aboard an American flag vessel or vessels covered by contract with this Union. In accordance with the requirements of Article XIII, Section 2 (c) of our Constitution, and in order to assure adequate notice of its decision, the committee informed Brother Perry of his disqualification and set forth the reason for such disqualification by certified overnight mail sent on August 18, 2008 to the address stated in his letter of nomination. A copy of the Union Constitution was enclosed with the aforementioned letter so that Brother Perry would have available the procedure to be followed in appeal from the disqualification decision of the Committee. 3. Samuel Garrett, Book No. G-01534 Candidate for Oakland Port Agent Your committee noted the receipt of a letter dated August 8, 2008, addressed to Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel in which Brother Garrett requested his name be placed on the ballot for election to the position of Oakland Port Agent. Your committee noted that on August 14, 2008 an email was sent to Jeff Turkus, Port Agent in Guam, requesting that he go onboard the Horizon Hawk, which was expected to be in his port on Sunday, August 17, 2008 with a certificate that Brother Garrett could sign and that Jeff Turkus could then fax to SecretaryTreasurer David Heindel. SecretaryTreasurer David Heindel received an email from Jeff Turkus acknowledging that he would go onboard, have Brother Garrett sign and fax the certificate to SecretaryTreasurer Heindel. Your committee also noted that Union records show that Brother Garrett paid his Third Quarter 2005 dues on October 20, 2005 whereas they should have been paid no later than July 31, 2005. Union records also indicate that First Quarter 2006 dues were paid on June 8, 2006 whereas they should have been paid no later than January 31, 2006; Second Quarter 2006 dues were paid on June 8, 2006 whereas they should have been paid no later than May 1, 2006. It is for these reasons that Brother Garrett was disqualified. In accordance with the requirements of Article XIII, Section 2 (c) of our Constitution, and in order to assure adequate notice of its decision, the committee informed Brother Garrett of his disqualification and set forth the reason for such disqualification by certified overnight mail sent on August 18, 2008 to the address stated in his letter of nomination. A copy of the Union Constitution was enclosed with the aforementioned letter so that Brother Garrett would have available the procedure to be followed in appeal from the disqualification decision of the Committee. Our committee was presented with a nomination of Brother Michael Murphy for the position of Piney Point Port Agent. After reviewing his credentials it appeared that he would be qualified to run for this position except for the fact that, when signing the certificate that gets attached to the nomination pursuant to Article XIII of the Constitution, Brother Murphy deleted the section which states he has not been a member of the Communist Party. Our committee, when evaluating Brother Murphy’s qualifications, sought the advice of Union General Counsel who advised us that provisions such as the one in question have been struck down by Courts and consequently, she recommended that it not be used to disqualify Brother Murphy. Based upon advice of counsel and the cited legal precedent the Committee has decided to qualify Brother Murphy by finding his credentials in order. In addition, our committee recommends that the Union consider amending its constitution in the future to remove the above quoted phrase from the nomination certification. All credentials received as of August 15, 2008, were turned over to the Committee in good order, and those received by mail subsequently, but not later than August 15, 2008, have similarly been furnished to the Committee in good order. All credentials have been examined in strict accordance with the Constitution. Any defect in the credentials disposed of by the Committee has been the sole responsibility of the sender and no person adversely affected by such defect has denied this to the Committee. Fraternally submitted Credentials Committee Dated: August 16, 2008 reasonably possible, that a copy of our Committee’s Report containing the proposed Resolution and membership action taken to date, be printed in the Seafarers LOG, October 2008 issue so that the membership will be kept abreast as to all facts and actions taken as of this time. In addition, we recommend that copies of such LOG issue, to the extent possible, be made available to the membership at all Union offices and Halls during the months of November and December 2008. Your Constitutional Committee wishes to thank the Union, its officers, representatives, members and counsel for their cooperation and assistance during our deliberations and to assure all members that we believe the adoption of the proposed Resolution will serve the needs of the Union and the membership. Fraternally submitted, Constitution Committee August 16, 2008 Procedure For Obtaining SIU Absentee Ballots Elections for the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are scheduled for later this year. As in past SIU election years, a comprehensive guide will be published in the Seafarers LOG prior to the balloting. In the case of members eligible to vote who believe they will be at sea during the Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2008 voting period, absentee ballots will be available. The SIU constitution ensures that members who are eligible to vote and who find themselves in this situation may vote. Procedures are established in the SIU constitution to safeguard the secret ballot election, including the absentee ballot process. Here is the procedure to follow when requesting an absentee ballot: 1. Make the request in writing to the SIU office of the secretary-treasurer, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. 2. Include in the request the correct address where the absentee ballot should be mailed. 3. Send the request for an absentee ballot by registered or certified mail. 4. The registered or certified mail envelope must be postmarked no later than midnight, Nov. 15, 2008 and must be received at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 no later than Nov. 25, 2008. 5. The secretary-treasurer, after confirming eligibility, will send by registered mail, return receipt requested, to the address designated in the request, a ballot, together with an envelope marked “Ballot” and a mailing envelope no later than Nov. 30, 2008. 6. Upon receiving the ballot and envelope, vote by marking the ballot. After voting the ballot, place the ballot in the envelope marked “Ballot.” Do not write on the “Ballot” envelope. 7. Place the envelope marked “Ballot” in the mailing envelope which is imprinted with the mailing address of the bank depository where all ballots are sent. 8. Sign the mailing envelope on the first line of the upper left-hand corner. Print name and book number on the second line. The mailing envelope is self-addressed and stamped. 9. The mailing envelope must be postmarked no later than midnight, Dec. 31, 2008 and received by the bank depository no later than Jan. 5, 2009. Seafarers LOG 7 �50414_p01_24:50414p 8/29/2008 7:33 PM Page 8 Fourteen Stewards Complete Recertification Course Fourteen Seafarers recently completed their respective climbs to the summit of the merchant mariner culinary training ladder when they graduated from the steward recertification course offered at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. In recognition of their individual achievements, each of the graduates received a certificate during the Aug. 4 union membership meeting at the school in Piney Point, Md. Meeting and favorably satisfying the demands of their instructors were Chief Stewards Paul Isherwood, Leesther Collins, Alvin Major, Luis Caballero, Fidelis Oliveira, Donna Sailing, Robert Bostick, Francisco Delgado, Tina Knox, Rudolph Daniels, Clyde Thompson, Kenneth Mitchell, Eddie Taylor and Jack McElveen. Each of the recertified stewards spoke to the audience of SIU officials, fellow Seafarers, family members, friends and guests who attended the membership meeting. In addition to making complimentary remarks about the instruction they received and the training center staff and facilities, the recertified stewards collectively lauded the SIU leadership and offered words of encouragement to the unlicensed apprentices and upgraders who were in the audience. First to take the podium was Isherwood, who sails out of the port of Boston. “I joined the union in 2001 and have been going to sea for 30 years,” he told those in attendance. “I have learned a lot since being here for the steward upgrading course. The whole experience of being here this time (he upgraded at the school one other time) has opened my eyes to lot of things that I did not know before.” Specifically, he cited the course’s food safety block as being especially valuable. “It is essential in our jobs as chief stewards to keep up with food sanitation standards and keep everyone healthy aboard the vessel,” he said. “I can now implement the safety practices that I learned here on a daily basis aboard my vessel.” Isherwood expressed praise for the exceptional job the school’s vocational staff did and said all instruction was presented in a highly professional manner. He also thanked union officials for the exemplary fashion in which they are leading the union. “To the trainees, study and work hard while you are here,” he concluded. “There are a lot of opportunities out there for you.” Next to address the audience was Collins, whose home port is Jacksonville, Fla. “First of all, I’d like to thank God for this accomplishment,” she said. After thanking SIU President Mike Sacco, the SIU executive board, union administrators and everyone else who made her upgrade training possible, she reflected on her Piney Point experience. “I feel blessed to have gone through the SIU steward recertification program,” Collins said. “It has been an awesome experience for me and the instructors were great. They all were very patient with all of us and took time to answer all of our questions. Of particular importance, Collins said, was the knowledge she gained about the functions of the AFL-CIO, how the union’s pension and vacation plans work and the role SPAD plays in the political process with respect to the longevity and success for the maritime industry. She also noted that she was pleased to gain a broader prospective on the intricate duties of the chief steward aboard a vessel. “Be the best that you can be,” Collins told the trainees and other upgraders present. “Do your jobs with dignity and pride.” Members of the class pose with Jack Gallagher (seated, fifth from left) of the Addiction Rehab Center shortly after he briefed them on the center’s programs. She concluded, “Thank you SIU, I love you.” Major has been going to sea for more than 40 years and currently ships out of the port of Boston. “I have been a proud member of the SIU since 2001,” he said, “and I am extremely proud to be a member of this steward recertification class. “Having completed this advanced training, I am now more aware of how the union works and I am now able to do a much better job aboard ship.” Major enjoyed the experience of meeting department heads and staff members during his visit to SIU headquarters. “I had an opportunity to visit the SIU headquarters at Camp Springs and I am totally impressed with the organization, its efficiency and the dedication of everyone I met, especially our leadership.” Major said he was impressed with all of the programs that the Paul Hall Center has to offer and encouraged everyone in the audience to take advantage of them. “To the trainees, you have a great opportunity here,” he said. “You have great classes and great instructors who can help you make your dreams come true, but it’s up to you to make it happen. Do your jobs with pride and always be safety conscious, not just for yourselves but also for your shipmates.” Caballero joined the SIU in 2001 and calls New York his home port. “I would like to thank the union membership and the instructors at the school for all that they did for us in making it possible for us to be graduating today,” he said after taking the podium. “Training is very important for all of us. The training I received during my time here has helped me a lot and with it, I am sure I can now do a better job aboard the ship,” he said. “To the trainees, please study hard while you are here,” he continued. “Learn from your instructors and learn to work together with your classmates. When you get out to sea, work hard and never be afraid to ask questions. Remember, you are the future of our union.” Oliveira was next to address the audience. He sails out of the port of Boston, and like most of his steward recertification classmates joined the SIU in 2001. “I learned a lot and all of the instructors did a wonderful job,” he said. Reflecting on the quality of the Paul Hall Center’s programs, facilities and vocational staff, Oliveira noted, “The union officials have made this institution great and they deserve a great deal of credit. Being here and undergoing this training has been a very, very exciting experience for me, and I thank everyone involved.” Directing his attention to the trainees and other upgraders, he said “You have great instructors here and I urge you to take advantage of it.” The stewards improved their computer skills during the course. 8 Seafarers LOG Sailing is home-ported in Houston, Texas. Filled with elation, she took the podium. “It’s very nice to be here, finally,” she said. “Completing steward recertification training is a big step for all of us.” After welcoming her classmates who were former members of the NMU, she shared her Piney Point experience with those in the audience. “The experience of being here has been pretty amazing for all of us for sure,” Sailing said. “We gained an incredible amount of knowledge in a very short amount of time. And I am here to say thanks to all of our instructors and our leaders. We know that our union will say strong because of these people who back us on every front and work for us,” she said. “They all do a tremendous job.” “To the trainees,” she concluded, “congratulations, you’re here. Stay strong, work hard and have a great career.” Former NMU member Bostick began his presentation by expressing his gratitude to those responsible for the SIU-NMU merger. “I’d like to thank the leadership of the SIU for giving us the opportunity to be a part of this union,” said the New York home-ported mariner. “I have been a part of this union since 1989 and have been out there [at sea] for a long time. “I am very glad to be a part of the SIU because I think it is a very strong organization,” Bostick continued. “The people here are good people, they treat me and my family good and the same goes for all of my other family members [his classmates and their families]. “I would like to thank the rank-and-file as well, because without you all, I would not have gotten the opportunity to go through this training. I want to say to the trainees, I know you will make it because you are now in the same place I once was,” he said. “I encourage you to keep you heads up, stay sharp and focused and I’m sure you will achieve your goals.” Delgado sails out of the port of Boston and was next to address the audience. “I’ve been a proud member of the SIU since 2002 and have been going to sea for 30 years,” he said. He expressed this thanks to the union officials for making his upgrade training possible and lauded the school’s vocational staff for a job well done. “My experience here was great and I found the campus atmosphere to be very relaxing.” Delgado said that aside from his actual training, the most interesting part of his upgrading experience was the opportunity to visit SIU headquarters. “It was exciting to go around and meet all of the staff members who work in the different departments,” he said. “They all did a wonderful job explaining what they do…. It was nice to be able to put faces with names.” Knox hails from the port of Houston. “As everyone knows, I am no good reading from a paper so I’ll just go from my heart,” she told members of the audience. “I am so glad and honored to be a part of the SIU and to have been given the opportunity to come here to learn and grow. “Those who came up here before me have already said most of the things the things I wanted to say, so I won’t keep you,” Knox continued. “But to the trainees, I want you to stick together, believe in yourselves and if you have a handicap, don’t worry because this school is a great organization with great instructors. Don’t be too proud to step out and ask for help and above all else, help one another.” Daniels ships out of the port of New York. “I am former member of the NMU,” he said, “and I have been around for a long time.” Daniels said that his current trip to Piney Point was his second and that all of his experiences have been excellent. “The school offers a great opportunity for all of us to learn and upgrade our skills,” he continued, “and all of the instructors are willing to assist anyone who needs it. I’m thankful for this opportunity to be a member of the SIU and to be able to be here to improve myself.” Thompson, who sails out of the port of New Orleans, was the next to take the podium. “I’m a former NMU member who has been sailing for 19 years, 15 as chief steward,” he said. “Being here was a tremendous educational experience for all of us, and I think all of the instructors did a wonderful job.” He then acknowledged his classmates and spoke about the closeness they enjoyed as a group. “I love you all and I’ll never forget you,” he said. Thompson added that found the food safety aspects of the training especially beneficial and that the entire upgrading program gave him a lot to take back to his ship. “To the trainees, take your experience here seriously,” he said. “Take the training seriously and you will never be let down by any of your crew members aboard the ships. The steward’s door is always open to you, and when you hit the ship look for us.” Mitchell is home-ported in Wilmington, Calif., and has been sailing for nearly 30 years. “Becoming a member of a labor organization was probably the best thing that ever happened to me,” said Bostick, who donned the Seafarers colors with the 2001 SIU/NMU merger “It has given me the opportunity to add value to my life. Value because it provides me an opportunity to travel the world, to take care of my family, put my children through college and see things that I thought I’d never be able to see. “I would like to say specifically to the trainees that your union leadership is totally professional,” Mitchell continued. “You are truly blessed to have a leadership that has a vision for your future as well as mine. Value the fact that what ever you do here today will add value to your life…. It’s imperative to be as professional a seaman as you possibly can so that people can say to someone else: ‘Go for SIU seamen,’ because they know that you are professional.” Taylor was next to address the audience. A veteran of more than 32 years at sea, he sails out of the port of New Orleans. “I thank God for the opportunity to come here to upgrade and to become part of the SIU family,” Taylor said. “I’d like to thank all of my classmates, the instructors, assistants and especially the galley department for all of your efforts and support. “I really want to say that before the merger, I heard many things about the SIU from NMU people,” Taylor said. “I must say, though, that I am very, very impressed with everything about the organization and how it runs.” Turning his attention to the trainees, he said, “Always remember that when you come out to the ship, don’t be scared of anything. Ask questions while you are there. All of us had to go the through the same thing that you are now experiencing – whether there was a training program or not. We all still had to learn our way to come up.” McElveen was the final recertified steward to address the audience. He sails out of New Orleans, has been going to sea for nearly eight years and has seen many ports around the world. After declaring himself as the youngest of the group, McElveen thanked his classmates for their support and encouragement. “We stuck together as a team and as a family during our training,” he said to them, “I am blessed to have been your presence and I will always remember each of you.” Focusing on the role which the union has played in his life, he said, “The union has been important. It has provided me a sense of value and a better understanding of my job. “I knew at an early age that I loved to cook, but a career in the traditional food industry was very unappealing,” McElveen continued. “But the union gave me a new interest and a greater desire to use my passion because it helped me along the way. The union has always been here to help protect each of us…. I believe in the union wholeheartedly and I think we all need to believe in them.” He advised the unlicensed apprentices to “continue to strive and do whatever it is that you need to do in order to be successful. It’s going to be hard and challenging, but anything in life worth having is worth fighting for.” September 2008 �50414_p01_24x:50414p 9/2/2008 2:20 PM Page 9 TWIC Deadline for Mariners April 15, 2009 Seafarers are reminded that April 15, 2009 is the deadline for U.S. mariners to obtain the government-mandated Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). The U.S. Department of Homeland Security in May announced the revised deadline; the original cutoff date was Sept. 25, 2008. By law, all U.S. Coast Guard-credentialed mariners with active merchant mariner documents (MMDs), licenses, and/or certificates of registry, with or without an STCW endorsement, must hold a valid TWIC in order to maintain their mariner credentials. Failure to obtain and continue to hold a valid TWIC may result in the suspension or revoca- tion of mariners’ credentials. After April 15, 2009, the Coast Guard will not issue a merchant mariner credential to an applicant who does not hold a valid TWIC. The SIU encourages members to enroll for the TWIC as soon as possible. To apply for a TWIC, a mariner must first enroll at any TWIC enrollment center. Pre-enrollment through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) web site (www.tsa.gov/twic) is supposed to expedite the processing time at the center. Mariners will need to pick up their TWICs, after being notified that they are ready, at the same enrollment center where they applied. Four Union-Contracted Companies Earn Safety Awards From AMS, Inc. Four SIU-contracted companies are among eight maritime transportation businesses that have been designated to receive maritime safety awards from American Maritime Safety, Inc. (AMS). Representatives from Maersk Line, Limited; Crowley Maritime Corp; LMS Ship Management (Waterman and Central Gulf); and Ocean Shipholding, Inc. on Oct. 16 in New York will be afforded recognition for their companies’ commendable maritime practices by the AMS Safety Advisory Committee. Specifically, Maersk will receive the Responsible Vessel Carrier Award; Crowley the Tanker Vessel Safety Award; LMS the Quality Ship Management Award; and Ocean Shipholding the American Maritime Safety Award. The awards will be presented during the AMS Membership Dinner at the Yale Club of New York City. Established in 1988, AMS is a maritime trade association built on facilitation of the maritime industry’s compliance with U.S. Coast Guard regulations and international protocols. The AMS consortium administers maritime safety programs for U.S. and international vessels of all kinds, representing the interests of over 400 marine employers in the U.S. and abroad. AMS presents eight of its member companies with maritime safety awards in recognition of their commendable maritime practices. Dedicated to preserving the marine environment and to promoting safe vessel navigation and operation, the award winners exemplify the qualities AMS constantly looks for in its members. In order to ensure the information on TWIC applications is forwarded to the Coast Guard for the processing of individuals’ merchant mariner credential applications, they must identify themselves as mariners at TWIC enrollment centers. Mariners also must provide proof of citizenship and/or alien status along with Social Security number. Step-by-step instructions on the entire process have been published in the last few editions of the LOG; they also are available on the web both at www.seafarers.org and at the TSA web site. Seafarers also are asked to occasionally visit the SIU web site and/or check with their port agents for the latest TWIC news. For instance, when the DHS announced the changed deadline, the SIU site immediately posted the news release on its home page and also distributed the information to all SIU halls. The TSA TWIC web site now includes a link where individuals may check the status of their card and/or schedule a time to pick it up. FOR MORE INFORMATION ■ On the web: www.tsa.gov/twic ■ By phone: TWIC Program Help Desk, 1-866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-3478942) ■ By email: credentialing@dhs.gov Center Offers Career Advancement The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., offers the most U.S. Coast Guard-approved courses of any maritime school in the nation. The center features top-notch training from experienced instructors and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. The school offers courses for mariners sailing in the deck, engine and steward departments. Below is a quick look at one of those classes. For more information about the center and its courses, contact the Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; call (301) 994-0010; or visit the Paul Hall Center section of www.seafarers.org. Course dates are listed on page 21 of this issue of the LOG and also are carried on the web site. Safety Course Spotlight Advanced Fire Fighting Applicants completing the school’s 37-hour Advanced Fire Fighting course satisfy the Advanced Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/3 and Table A-VI/3 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);—AND—the Advanced Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(g) and 10.401(g)(1) for a license. During this course, students learn to blueprint a vessel and organize emergency squads for fire fighting. The class covers effective communication between crew members and land-based fire units, leadership roles and responsibilities, documentation of crew training, and emergency squad training. Students also learn to inspect and service personal shipboard fire extinguishing equipment before going through shipboard simulations and actual firefighting drills. Prerequisite: Basic Fire Fighting Maersk Crews Complete Latest ‘Boot Camp’ The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education regularly hosts safety “boot camps” attended by mariners and shore-side employees from union-contracted Maersk Line, Limited (MLL). The two-day boot camps are part of Maersk’s ongoing efforts promoting workplace safety. Graduates from the August boot camp are pictured above, at the school in Piney Point, Md. SIU members completing the training included Steward Zein Achmad, QMED/Electrician Dennis Baker, Bosun Oliver Balico, QMED Charles Clausen, Bosun Mark Coleman, Bosun Basil D’Sousa, QMED/Electrician Shawn Deloach, QMED Nicholas Dippel, QMED/Electrician Tesfaye Gebregziabher, Bosun Lenar Ilagan, AB Joselier Itaralde, Chief Electrician Ron Kitlas, Bosun Anthony Maben, Bosun Karl Mayhew, AB Godofredo Milabo, Steward/Baker Natalie Nunes, AB David Perry, AB Clarence Poore, Chief Cook Gary Ramirez, QMED/Electrician Thomas Respicio, AB Joe Reynolds, Bosun Wilfredo Rice, AB Glen Rogers, QMED Steve Roseberry, MDR Jackson Senseney, Steward/Baker Stephanie Sizemore, Chief Cook Barbara Smith, Bosun Kenneth Steiner, Bosun James Walker, QMED/Electrician William Watterson, Bosun Wallace William and QMED/Electrician Alexander Zharkoff. September 2008 Seafarers LOG 9 �50414_p01_24:50414p 8/29/2008 7:33 PM Page 10 CIVMARS aboard Mercy, Grasp, Saturn ‘Show Hearts’ While civilian mariners have fulltime jobs and are ready for deployment to wherever the U.S. Military Sealift Command sends their ships around the world, CIVMARS aboard the USNS Mercy, USNS Grasp and USNS Saturn recently showed their hearts by using their spare time to help others through humanitarian acts. All three ships are crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division. Mariners from the hospital ship USNS Mercy are no strangers to helping those in need, but in an exercise called Pacific Partnerships 2008, they renovated a school’s facilities in Tinh Khanh Hoa, Vietnam. They added new handicapped accessible doors, sinks, light fixtures and handrails. Volunteers also painted window shutters and installed exhaust fans and a rubberized floor in common areas of the school. With a medical staff of 15 and 34 teachers, the center serves 152 students below the age of 15, most of whom are deaf or blind. Continuing their efforts at the Vinh Trung village health clinic, a five-room clinic staffed by three medical support personnel who serve 7,000 residents, the Mercy’s crew members updated lights, installed ceiling fans and repainted the clinic. Volunteers also built a steel metal awning that will be used as an outdoor patient waiting area, and they poured concrete to make a sidewalk outside of the building. Civil service mariners from the rescue and salvage ship USNS Grasp completed three days and more than 445 man-hours of improvement projects at the Antigua School for the Deaf and the T.N. Kirnon School for the Blind Unit in Antigua. The Grasp arrived in Antigua July 4 as part of a four-month international outreach mission to the Caribbean. While the ship’s embarked team of 15 Navy divers conducted tailored training and security operations with military divers from Antigua, Dominica and St. Lucia, CIVMARS sought out an opportunity to do a goodwill project ashore. The 60-year-old, 3,400-square foot school is attended by 18 deaf and three blind children. From July 15-17, all 29 of the Grasp’s CIVMARS and the four sailors of the ship’s military detachment spent time, most of it volunteered, working at the school. Three of the embarked Navy divers also participated. The Grasp’s crew pressure washed the building’s exterior, painted all interior and exterior walls – a surface area of more than 11,000 square feet – removed nearly two-dozen 55-gallon lawn bags of trash and landscaped the school’s courtyard. Meanwhile, crew members from the combat stores ship USNS Saturn participated in a community relations project in Municipio de Ztapa, Guatemala, July 23. Nineteen sailors and civil service mariners from the Saturn took a day during the ship’s in-port maintenance period to deliver Project Handclasp medical supplies and hygiene products to the Centro de Salud Clinic. Additionally, they delivered toys and first aid kits to the Escuela oficial Urbana Mixta Tipo Minimo and Escuela oficial Urbana Mixta Puerta de Heirro elementary schools. Project Handclasp involves a collection of donated humanitarian, educational and goodwill items the Navy delivers to people in need around the world. Welcome Ashore, Brother Troy USNS Grasp AB Donald Barney (photo at left) pressure washes a school for the deaf and blind in Antigua. Mariners from the USNS Saturn (photo above) provided vital aid to a Guatemalan community. Crew members from the USNS Mercy helped refurbish a school in Vietnam. Union Continues EBIS Negotiations CIVMAR Feedback is Vital as New System ‘Goes Live’ Active and retired Seafarers and SIU officials were on hand July 2 to wish Houston Patrolman Robert Troy (right) a happy retirement. Brother Troy started sailing with the NMU in 1967, as a member of the engine department. He came ashore to work for the union in 1999 and remained there after the SIU-NMU merger in 2001. “It was a good, long run and I enjoyed every minute of it,” Troy said. “Now, I plan on spending a lot of time with my grandkids and greatgrandkids, plus doing a little fishing and golfing.” He added that his retirement party at the Houston hall was “wonderful. I’m surprised so many people showed up.” 10 Seafarers LOG On July 22, 2008, the Military Sealift Command (MSC) sent a notice to CIVMARS about a new benefit program called the Employee Benefits Information System (EBIS). This program will allow CIVMARS to make benefit elections and thrift savings plan (TSP) changes electronically. Retirement counseling is also available. After September 30, CIVMARS will no longer be able to file benefit elections by submitting paper forms. All changes will have to be made electronically. Prior to sending an introductory notice, MSC and the union conducted discussions and negotiations about the impact of the program upon CIVMARS, about the CIVMAR notice and about other information which would be sent to CIVMARS. These negotiations are continuing. The union expressed many concerns about this program. A few of those were: whether CIVMARS would have access to the shipboard computers to do the necessary registration and changes during work hours; whether there would be enough computers on the vessels to accommodate CIVMARS needing to access EBIS; how long it would take to accomplish benefit changes and other transactions as a result of the slow speeds of the computers; how CIVMARS would confirm that important transactions were received and implemented; and, whether CIVMARS will be able to reach EBIS representatives by telephone from forward deployed areas around the world. During the negotiations the union proposed, and MSC agreed, that the timeframe for final implementation of the program would be 60 days and that if necessary, the EBIS phone line representatives would be available to CIVMARS at mutually arranged times after or before the regular phone line hours. The union hopes this will assist CIVMARS sailing in faraway time zones. While the union is hopeful EBIS will be as beneficial as MSC believes, the union still has many reservations about its use, especially for CIVMARS forward deployed. It is very important that the union hears from CIVMARS regarding their experiences with the implementation of EBIS. A timely response from CIVMARS is very important. As noted above, the union has submitted and will submit proposals to MSC that the SIU believes will help lessen the difficulties of using this new system, and negotiations will continue. If CIVMARS have e-mail access, they are asked to please send e-mail comments regarding concerns and experiences with the EBIS program to: civmarsupport@seafarers.org or send comments using the methods noted below. CIVMARS also may call their Government Services Division representatives. Starting in late July, the union began distributing a survey to CIVMARS to get a comprehensive picture of how the program is operating. Those surveys may be returned to union representatives. They also may be faxed to (301) 702-4411 or mailed to: CIVMAR EBIS Survey Response, Seafarers International Union, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, Maryland 20904. Additionally, the survey is available for download at www.seafarers.org, in the Member Benefits and Resources section. The full web address for the survey, which is in PDF format, is: http://www.seafarers.org/members/civmar/ebissurvey.pdf September 2008 �50414_p01_24:50414p 8/29/2008 7:34 PM Page 11 Pictured in the photos directly above, at right and those at bottom left and right on this page are SIU members attending the safety meeting. Jacksonville Hall Hosts Maersk Safety Meeting Strong attendance and helpful dialogue were evident at the Jacksonville, Fla. union hall as Seafarers and SIU officials on July 10 participated in a safety meeting conducted by Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) Director of Quality, Environment, Safety and Security (QESS) Patrick Callahan. The gathering took place immediately following the July membership meeting. It was part of an ongoing and far-reaching effort by MLL to promote safe operations and general wellbeing throughout its fleet. Topics ranged from common safety practices to specific experiences aboard various ships and in certain ports. For example, Recertified Bosun Pat Ray and SIU Jacksonville Safety Director Karl Leiter both noted that electricians from time to time need additional help on vessels that carry a lot of reefers. Recertified Bosuns James Saunders and Barry Carrano pointed out that the industry as a whole has experienced gradual reductions in crew sizes. Both mariners stated that putting more individuals aboard the ships would enhance safety. AB Todd Homer expressed concerns with some of the port and Coast Guard operations in Charleston, S.C., which he believes sometimes cause seemingly unnecessary delays for individuals traveling to and from the vessels, while AB Doug Hodges and Electrician Danilo Martin simply thanked Callahan for making the effort to keep Seafarers informed about the company’s various safety initia- tives. Many other safety-related subjects also were discussed. Besides the Jacksonville meeting and a few more assemblies that recently took place at other SIU halls, the union has partnered with MLL to advance safety via different activities. One such endeavor is MLL’s “Drive to Zero” program, a system which is designed to help mariners and shore-side personnel focus on safety and teamwork in order to make the workplace as safe as possible. The name reflects the program’s goal of driving down unsafe and environmental incidents as close to zero as possible or eliminating them altogether. The results have been very positive since inception in 2007. Maersk’s “Safety Boot Camps,” attended by MLL crew members, also continue generating desirable effects. Each boot camp is a two-day safety course conducted at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, located in Piney Point, Md. The most recent one took place last month. Other MLL safety components include monthly safety council meetings attended by company personnel; a recognition program involving cash awards to vessels reaching certain milestones without any lost-time accidents; a separate cash award program designed to reward individual crew members who go out of their way to promote safety aboard ship; and on-board safety training. Recertified Bosun James Saunders Recertified Bosun Pat Ray Recertified Bosun Barry Carrano AB Todd Homer Pictured from left to right (above) after the meeting in Jacksonville are AB Lydell Grant, Patrick Callahan of MLL, AB Charlene Edwards and SA Mary Young. AB Doug Hodges (right) thanks MLL’s Patrick Callahan for a safety presentation. Electrician Danilo Martin (right) follows up with MLL’s Patrick Callahan concerning shipboard safety. September 2008 Seafarers LOG 11 �50414_p01_24:50414p 8/29/2008 7:34 PM Page 12 Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting & Is Key Component of Paul H SIU-contracted companies and Seafarers have a myriad of services, training courses an benefit for mariners and the companies they work for is the Paul Hall Center for Maritime most U.S. Coast Guard-approved courses of any maritime school in the nation. A founding principle of the SIU and its affiliated school, located in Piney Point, Md., i advancements in the maritime industry. With this in mind, the center offers state-of-themaritime trades. Much of the center’s safety and fire fighting curriculum is hands-on train Fighting and Safety School. The value of the school to Seafarers is it’s not only a basic and advanced fire fighting sch ing; damage control; confined-space safety training; basic safety training; CPR and firs small arms training and requalification; chemical, biological and radiological defense; an fighting. Many U.S.-flag operating companies depend on the Paul Hall Center to help ensure Sea their STCW certification. They often work closely with the school in developing company offered at the fire fighting and safety campus. Recent examples include the HAZMAT tr school continues hazwopper and oil spill containment training for inland and deep sea com training for the liquefied natural gas (LNG), cruise, gaming and towing industries. Accompanying this article are photos of some of the hands-on training the Paul Hall Fighting and Safety School. That facility is named after the late SIU Executive Vice Preside The U.S. Military Sealift Command last year formally approved the school’s “Shipboard Helicopter Fi Learning water survival as a team Recertified bosuns on the small arms range Students undergo CPR training at the school (above). The school includes a confined-space training maze (photo at left). The facility is normally dark and smoky during training, and students must stay low and feel their way through the maze as a team. Students combat a galley fire. 12 Seafarers LOG September 2008 �50414_p01_24:50414p 8/29/2008 7:35 PM Page 13 & Safety School l Hall Center s and capabilities at their fingertips. One such time Training and Education, which offers the Md., is to remain at the forefront of change and -the-art coursework and training in numerous training accomplished at its Joseph Sacco Fire ng school but a facility for water survival trainfirst aid; hazardous material safety training; se; and recently MSC-certified helicopter fire e Seafarers are trained and qualified to receive pany-specific curriculums, some of which are AT training developed for Harley Marine. The a companies, as well as safety and prevention Hall Center provides at the Joseph Sacco Fire esident Joey Sacco, who passed away in 1996. ter Fire Fighting Team Member” class. September 2008 Learning personal survival during water survival training A “wet trainer” facility is utilized during damagecontrol training. Seafarers LOG 13 �50414_p01_24:50414p 8/29/2008 7:35 PM Page 14 Snug Harbor Provides Housing, Care For Older Seamen Editor’s note: The following article on North Carolina’s Snug Harbor retirement community was submitted for publication in the LOG by Janet Grainge, marketing director. It has been lightly edited to conform to local style and space limitations. Tucked away in a small fishing village in coastal North Carolina is a beautiful piece of American history that few people are aware of. Sea Level, a small town in the “Down East” area of North Carolina, is home to the oldest retirement community in our nation. This home’s story is worth sharing, and for retired mariners across the world, worth knowing about. The Sailors’ Snug Harbor is the second oldest charitable trust in the United States, established in 1801 by a merchant and seamen from the city of New York, Capt. Robert Richard Randall. Randall’s father, Thomas Randall, was a prominent citizen and a member of the Committee of 100 that essentially established the United States. He was a coxswain on the barge that brought General Washington to the foot of Wall Street at the close of the Revolutionary War. Robert Richard never married and at the age of 51, as he became ill, summoned his family friend and attorney, Alexander Hamilton, to draw his will. Hamilton, the nation’s first secretary of the treasury, was privately practicing law in New York in 1801. He and his assistant, Daniel D. Tompkins, who would become fifth governor of New York and sixth vice-president of the United States, are credited with drafting Randall’s will. Randall, a sea captain more through possession of merchant ships than by actual merit, was involved in The Marine Society of New York and knew of the hardships bestowed upon seamen who were past their sailing prime. Older seamen who were no longer deemed useful on the merchant ships were often left at a port with no money or housing available. The vision set forth in Randall’s will would provide housing and care for these seamen, regardless of rank, religion, race, or nationality. Randall wished to bequeath his 21-acre farm to a perpetual trust. That trust was and still is managed by a board of trustees who were designated to serve based on the positions they occupied in the city of New York. Those named included the mayor of the city, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, the president of the Marine Society of the City of New York, the first vice-president of the Marine Society of the City of New York, the senior rector of Trinity – Wall Street and the senior pastor of First Presbyterian. According to his Will, these trustees were charged with the responsibility of managing the estate that Randall left until the sum was such that it would create “a mariner asylum or hospital to care for aged, decrepit, and worn out seamen….”. The plan was to build the hospital on the family farm. Randall died within days upon signing his will. Five years later, the first recorded meeting of The Sailors’ Snug Harbor Board of Trustees was held in New York. It was not until 1833 that a facility was built and opened for the retired merchant seamen. The years Snug Harbor residents have a spacious dinning area (photo at left) and many lavishly decorated lounge areas (photo above) where they can relax. between Randall’s death and the facility’s opening proved beneficial to the trustees in finding a location for the facility. Although the will declared the Randall family farm as the site for The Sailors’ Snug Harbor, the city of New York had built up quickly around the land and the area became the heart of Greenwich Village. The trustees opted to build on Staten Island where smog and pollution were less invasive. The Randall land on Manhattan was divided up into rental properties to help nourish the perpetual trust. The Sailors’ Snug Harbor opened its doors on Staten Island in August 1833, and for 175 years the Trust has provided housing and medical care for retired merchant seamen. The original facility was a series of beautiful buildings along the Kill Van Kull (the body of water which separates Staten Island from New Jersey), said buildings being designed by Minard Lefever. The Sailors’ Snug Harbor structures, critically renowned for their Greek Revival architecture, were listed as historic with the Landmarks Preservation Commission in New York. The hospital, dormitories, and other buildings could not be altered under the historical commission’s guidelines, but by the 1970’s, were in dire need of health department and fire department code updates. Under the governance of Capt. Leo Kraszeski, plans were made to search for relocation of the facility. The search spanned from Virginia to Florida and was eventually narrowed down to South Carolina. Charleston was leading the search, and Kraszeski and board member Wilbur Dow made plans to visit the proposed site. Dow was scheduled to meet Kraszeski in Charleston after a business trip to Florida. Dow, an attorney by trade, visited a one-time legal client Dan Taylor, head of a Caribbeanbased family shipping business. Taylor, a native of Sea Level, N.C., shared with Dow his visions of building a retirement facility in Sea Level. Taylor had recently signed a contract with Duke Hospital in Durham for medical services at a hospital that Taylor started in Sea Level. His dream of a retirement facility intrigued Dow and he agreed to visit the Sea Level property with Kraszeski. Dow and Kraszeski visited the Sea Level property and found Dan Taylor’s offer too good to turn down. The architectural services of Edward H. Noakes & Associates were enlisted to create a modern retirement facility. Kraszeski is noted to have requested that the architects build him a “Cadillac” retirement home. The new Sea Level facility opened June 24, 1976, with a new administrative and medical staff. History is an integral part of Snug Harbor and is portrayed through the artifacts, ship models and paintings that adorn the hallways of this renowned retirement facility. The home has the look and feel of an elegant nautical museum rather than an institution due to its extensive maritime art collection, numerous model ships, and nautical artifacts. The home is adorned with 19th- and early 20thcentury art transferred from the Staten Island facility. The 102-acre property of Snug Harbor rests on the shores of Nelson Bay and is surrounded by Carolina pines and azaleas. The facility is more than 100,000 square feet and can comfortably house 120 residents. Three wings serve as residence areas, one wing for each level of care. Snug Harbor offers all-private accommodations in independent living, assisted living and skilled nursing care. The Trust established by Captain Randall has now positioned itself as an organization providing purely financial assistance to retired seamen in need. As the needs of so many seamen have changed over the years, the Trust will now provide stipendiary help to seamen to age wherever they choose. As a result, the members in New York saw fit to sell the facility, but still retain a working agreement with the new owners (management has stayed the same) to ensure that seamen who qualify for admission can continue to benefit from the Trust and come to Snug Harbor for the same excellent care and comfort that has been provided for nearly 200 years. The facility currently houses nearly 50 retired seamen and approximately the same number of non-seafarers–nurses, lawyers, and people from all walks of life. Mariners are now permitted to bring their wives. The decidedly nautical environment and decorating motif remains, but the resident population is quite diverse. Residents enjoy a variety of activities provided by a full-time recreation staff. Snug Harbor features a half-mile walking path around its building where residents can find a dock, greenhouse, garden, and woodworking shop. All residential, dining, and medical services are on one floor and under the same Are You Receiving All Your Important Mail? To help ensure that each active SIU member and pensioner receives the Seafarers LOG—as well as other important mail—monthly, correct home addresses must be on file with the union. Those who recently have moved or feel that they are not getting their union mail, should use the form at right to update their home addresses. An individual’s home address is his/her permanent address. Unless otherwise specified, this is where all official union documents will be sent. Individuals receiving more than one copy of the LOG, those who have changed their address and those whose names or addresses are misprinted or incomplete, should fill out the form and send it to: Seafarers International Union, Address Correction Dept., 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Corrections via e-mail should be sent to kclements@seafarers.org 14 Seafarers LOG HOME ADDRESS FORM (Please Print) Name: ____________________________________________________________ Phone No.: ________________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Social Security No.: ________ / ________ / ________ Book No.: _________ Active SIU Pensioner Other ________________________ This will be my permanent address for all official union mailings. This address should remain in the union file unless otherwise changed by me personally. 9/08 roof. Snug Harbor has two physicians on staff who visit residents once a week, each on different days. A full rehabilitative therapy program of physical, occupational and speech therapy is also available on site in Snug Harbor’s gymnasium. Many individuals in the community take advantage of respite and Medicare stays upon discharge from the hospital for short-term rehabilitation. Snug Harbor is among the top retirement homes in the nation and features one of the largest maritime art collections in the world. Each of the three residential wings is in a Tshape design where four hallways of resident rooms meet at a large skylight area with planted greenery at the base of its four brick walls. Each of the four hallways has either 10 resident rooms or up to five suites for married couples. At the end of every hallway is a lounge area with a screened-in porch. Each month, the recreation staff hosts lounge parties within each wing so that residents may socialize and meet new neighbors. One can reach Snug Harbor by taking Highway 70 East through Morehead City and Beaufort. Sea Level is about 26 miles east of Beaufort on Highway 70. A large statue of Capt. Robert Richard Randall, sculpted by Augustus Saint-Gaudens in 1883 for the Staten Island facility, now graces the front lawn of Snug Harbor on Nelson Bay. For information or to schedule a tour, contact the Janet Grainge of the Snug Harbor marketing department at (252) 225-4411, or visit the facility via the web at www.snugharborhome.com. SEAFARERS HEALTH AND BENEFITS PLAN — COBRA NOTICE Under federal law, a participant and his or her dependents have the right to elect to continue their Plan coverage in the event that they lose their eligibility. This right is granted by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, better known as “COBRA.” The COBRA law allows a participant and his or her dependents to temporarily extend their benefits at group rates in certain circumstances where coverage under the Plan would otherwise end. A participant and his or her dependents have a right to choose this continuation coverage if they lose their Plan coverage because the participant failed to meet the Plan’s seatime requirements. In addition, a participant and his or her dependents may have the right to choose continuation coverage if the participant becomes a pensioner ineligible for medical benefits. The participant’s dependents may also elect continuation coverage if they lose coverage under the Plan as the result of the participant’s (1) death; (2) divorce; or (3) Medicare eligibility. A child can also elect COBRA if as the result of his or her age, he or she is no longer a dependent under the Plan rules. If a member and his or her dependents feel that they may qualify, or if they would like more information concerning these rights, they should contact the Plan office at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Since there are important deadlines that apply to COBRA, please contact the Plan as soon as possible to receive a full explanation of the participant’s rights and his or her dependents’ rights. September 2008 �50414_p01_24:50414p 9/2/2008 12:29 AM Page 15 Notice/Reminder NMU Vacation Benefits As reported at the August membership meetings and in previous editions of the LOG, the NMU Vacation Fund merged into the Seafarers Vacation Plan on Jan. 1, 2007. As a reminder, if a member had 30 days of covered employment up to and including Dec. 31, 2006, for which the member has not yet collected a vacation benefit from the NMU Vacation Fund, he or she is eligible to apply for such earned and uncollected benefits from the Seafarers Vacation Plan at any time on or before Dec. 31, 2008. Please be aware that the Seafarers Vacation Plan allows participants to collect accrued vacation benefits while working in covered employment and, thus, members will be eligible to collect the vacation benefits which they accrued under the NMU Fund at any time on or before Dec. 31, 2008, even if those members continue to work in covered employment. However, as of Jan. 1, 2009, all uncollected vacation benefits that members accrued under the NMU Fund will expire. For more information, contact the vacation/records department at headquarters: (301) 899-0675. October & November 2008 Membership Meetings Piney Point..........................Monday: October 6, November 3 Algonac .................................Friday: October 10, November 7 Baltimore............................Thursday: October 9, November 6 Boston ...................................Friday: October 10, November 7 Guam..............................Thursday: October 23, November 20 Honolulu .............................Friday: October 17, November 14 Houston..............Tuesday: October 14, Monday: November 10 Jacksonville........................Thursday: October 9, November 6 Dispatchers’ Repor t for Deep Sea July 16, 2008 — August 15, 2008 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Joliet...............................Thursday: October 16, November 13 Totals Mobile.........................Wednesday: October 15, November 12 Port New Orleans......Tuesday: October 14, Wednesday: November 12 New York .............................Tuesday: October 7, November 4 Norfolk...............................Thursday: October 9, November 6 Oakland ..........................Thursday: October 16, November 13 Philadelphia.....................Wednesday: October 8, November 5 Port Everglades ..............Thursday: October 16, November 13 San Juan .............................Thursday: October 9, November 6 St. Louis .............................Friday: October 17, November 14 Tacoma...............................Friday: October 24, November 21 Wilmington..........................Monday: October 20, November 17 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. Attention Seafarers Another New Ship! SPAD Works For You! September 2008 Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals Totals All Departments **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C DECK DEPARTMENT 1 3 8 15 6 8 29 19 1 9 8 29 14 14 4 4 6 4 29 15 1 0 2 4 1 1 2 4 1 0 1 3 5 3 1 1 1 1 4 4 1 0 4 12 0 9 35 34 0 6 9 29 17 14 4 0 7 2 18 26 0 3 1 13 3 6 22 14 1 5 4 19 15 12 4 6 6 2 21 13 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 1 0 0 2 5 0 2 2 11 0 4 24 14 0 2 2 17 10 6 4 0 4 0 21 11 4 0 12 22 2 6 71 51 3 28 32 82 22 36 5 1 14 2 66 46 4 7 8 20 10 12 56 30 8 19 17 38 33 24 10 1 10 11 47 28 2 0 0 4 3 1 3 5 2 0 3 5 12 4 2 0 1 2 3 6 263 226 40 227 170 23 134 505 393 58 0 0 6 12 1 8 14 12 0 6 6 15 5 12 1 0 5 2 11 7 0 1 2 7 2 2 18 15 3 4 5 18 14 6 2 4 3 2 9 11 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 2 2 0 0 0 1 2 4 121 128 19 ENGINE DEPARTMENT 0 0 2 4 1 9 11 20 0 3 6 20 8 6 1 0 3 2 9 5 0 3 5 6 1 1 8 13 0 4 3 7 5 6 2 1 3 3 9 9 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 7 0 0 2 12 0 1 1 11 6 2 1 0 4 0 21 5 0 0 7 19 3 15 31 24 1 12 14 26 11 20 4 2 6 1 23 18 4 2 2 13 6 5 25 24 3 9 6 24 22 10 5 5 5 6 21 13 0 1 2 2 1 1 2 5 1 2 2 7 2 4 0 2 0 1 4 7 110 89 8 65 237 210 45 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 0 0 2 6 3 9 27 18 0 5 6 18 10 15 5 7 2 1 15 19 2 1 3 5 3 4 6 7 0 0 5 4 10 3 1 2 2 3 3 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 168 66 12 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs 1 0 9 13 1 5 51 27 1 15 15 31 13 24 0 0 7 1 23 26 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 0 1 4 2 8 19 17 1 4 7 14 14 16 2 3 1 3 16 18 0 0 0 12 2 4 5 9 0 0 1 4 10 0 1 1 0 3 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 3 0 2 5 9 0 1 4 10 8 1 0 1 0 1 3 5 1 0 4 11 4 14 41 27 0 12 8 39 9 30 6 7 5 1 22 33 3 2 4 8 1 6 8 8 0 8 7 10 18 7 0 1 3 2 10 7 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 150 56 9 54 274 113 11 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 0 0 0 0 0 4 5 4 0 2 0 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 3 2 6 2 9 22 17 0 6 1 35 17 18 0 7 5 0 17 6 3 0 0 6 2 7 6 11 0 2 2 7 23 17 1 14 0 1 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 0 0 1 3 1 6 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 1 2 2 1 5 13 13 0 3 1 23 14 4 0 7 2 2 10 4 0 0 0 1 1 3 5 6 0 1 2 1 16 5 0 12 1 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 9 2 0 2 0 10 1 7 0 0 0 0 4 5 1 3 3 12 4 11 39 27 0 11 7 66 22 34 2 3 7 1 28 19 3 0 0 14 2 13 12 32 0 2 5 18 30 25 1 8 0 2 6 14 27 174 110 23 108 58 0 47 300 187 579 594 181 510 423 98 253 1063 1016 301 Seafarers LOG 15 �50414_p01_24:50414p 8/29/2008 7:40 PM Page 16 Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 3328, Hagatna, Guam 96932 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 The Flickertail State (photo at left) delivered the components of the temporary pier. Seafarers aboard the LMSR USNS Pililaau (photo above) contributed to the success of Pacific Strike 2008. SIU Crews Help Ensure U.S. Readiness Seafarers Participate in Military ‘JLOTS’ Exercise Numerous SIU-crewed ships were in full swing on July 29 in an exercise off the coast of California as part of Pacific Strike 2008 – a joint logistics over-the-shore (JLOTS) activity involving more than 3,000 soldiers, sailors, Marines and civilians as well as four U.S. ships under the U.S. Military Sealift Command’s operational control. Those vessels included the SIU-crewed USNS Pililaau. The Pililaau is a large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship (LMSR) operated by American Overseas Marine Corporation (AMSEA). During the exercise, it discharged more than 210,000 square feet of Army vehicles and cargo from an anchorage two miles offshore. The fleet also included the heavy lift ship Cape Mohican (operated by Ocean Ships), which delivered the Navy barges; the crane ship Flickertail State (operated by Interocean American Shipping), which delivered the components of the temporary pier; and the tanker Chesapeake (operated by Interocean American Shipping), which pumped more than 200,000 gallons of water to shore – demonstrating the ship’s ability to transfer fuel. The Chesapeake also supplied fuel to the 39 Navy and Army watercraft operating as part of the exercise. JLOTS is the U.S. military’s method of transporting military and humanitarian cargo to shore from ships at sea. This capability allows the Department of Defense to deliver cargo even where port facilities are nonexistent, damaged or inadequate. “The only way to move massive amounts of equipment to our military forces or to people in need is by ship,” said Brig. Gen. Mark MacCarley, deputy commander of the 8th Theater Sustainment Command, which is responsible for oversight of this year’s exercise. “If there isn’t a port, we still need the capability to get our equipment to shore.” The Pililaau arrived off the coast of Camp Pendleton July 21, carrying nearly 1,000 wheeled and tracked vehicles and more than 500 containers of equipment belonging to the 3rd Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division and the 45th Sustainment Brigade. Offload operations began the next morning and continued around-the-clock until just before midnight July 27. The equipment began its journey from the Pililaau’s cavernous cargo holds to shore in one of two ways. The Pililaau’s two shipboard, 110-ton cranes lifted containers from the weatherdeck onto barges that transported the equipment to shore. Concurrently, military personnel drove tanks, trucks and other vehicles down the ship’s stern and side ramps onto one of two floating platforms of shallow-draft barges. The vehicles were then driven onto various Army and Navy watercraft for transport to shore. At the beach, military personnel transferred the cargo to shore via a temporary pier that Navy Seabees built in the weeks leading up to the offload. Once ashore, soldiers staged the equipment, which traveled via local roads to the Army’s National Training Center in Ft. Irwin, Calif. Navy reservists for the Military Sealift Command orchestrated the movement of all four of these ships, coordinating directly with the exercise operations staff to ensure success. The Cape Mohican, Flickertail State and Chesapeake are all part of the U.S. Maritime Administration’s Ready Reserve Force. When not deployed on a mission, these ships are maintained pier-side by a small crew. The Chesapeake (photo at left) pumped more than 200,000 gallons of water to shore – demonstrating the ship’s ability to transfer fuel. During the exercise, the Cape Mohican transported Navy barges. Pic-From-The-Past NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG The photo above was sent to the LOG by Trinidad Sanchez, a retired steward department member from Puerto Rico. Sanchez, second from left in the photo, is pictured with three of his U.S. Navy shipmates (full names not available) in the Navy Club in Sacebo, Japan. The photo was taken in 1958 while Sanchez and his mates were on liberty from the aircraft carrier USS Hancock, C.V.A. 19 (photo at right). After serving in the Navy, Sanchez joined the SIU in 1967. He sailed in the deep sea division for more than 25 years. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with other Seafarers LOG readers, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. High-resolution digital images may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org September 2008 �50414_p01_24:50414p 9/2/2008 1:47 AM Page 17 Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. Welcome Ashore DEEP SEA AMADO ABANIEL Brother Amado Abaniel, 67, was born in the Philippines. He became an SIU member in 1980. Brother Abaniel initially sailed on the Santa Juan in the deck department. He enhanced his seafaring abilities often at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Brother Abaniel’s most recent voyage was aboard the Charger. He makes his home in Long Beach, Calif. ROGER BUENCONSENJO Brother Roger Buenconsenjo, 66, joined the union in 1993 while in the port of San Francisco. He first shipped on the Horizon Producer. Brother Buenconsenjo worked in the deck department. He upgraded his skills on three occasions at the Piney Point school. Brother Buenconsenjo’s last vessel was the Blue Horizon. He is a resident of Houston, Texas. WILFREDO CRUZ Brother Wilfredo Cruz, 71, signed on with the SIU in 1986. He originally sailed aboard the USNS Wilkes as a member of the deck department. In 2000, Brother Cruz attended classes at the Seafarers-affiliated school. He was born in Puerto Rico. Brother Cruz’s final trip to sea was on the El Morro. He resides in Yauco, P.R. department member was born in Mobile, Ala. Brother Flemings enhanced his seafaring abilities frequently at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. He last sailed on the El Faro. Brother Flemings continues to live in his native state. ANTONIO HALL Brother Antonio Hall, 70, joined the union in 1991 while in the port of New Orleans. He initially shipped aboard the Cape Mendocino. Brother Hall worked in the steward department. He was born in Panama. In 2003, Brother Hall took advantage of educational opportunities offered at the Piney Point school. His final trip was on the Cape Hudson. Brother Hall calls New Orleans home. HENNIE HAYLOCK Brother Hennie Haylock, 66, began sailing with the SIU in 1993 from the port of New Orleans. His earliest trip to sea was aboard the Courier. Brother Haylock sailed in the deck department. He upgraded his skills in 2000 at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Haylock’s most recent voyage was on the USNS Pollux. He makes his home in North Miami Beach, Fla. JUAN MAMARIL JAMES ELBE Brother James Elbe, 71, donned the SIU colors in 1982. His first voyage was aboard the Virgo. Brother Elbe was born in Bloomsberg, Pa., and worked in the deck department. He visited the Paul Hall Center in 1999 and 2000 to upgrade his skills. Brother Elbe most recently shipped on the Maersk Missouri. He settled in Euclid, Ohio. AUDRY FLEMINGS Brother Audry Flemings, 65, first went to sea in 1986 aboard the USNS Assurance. The steward September 2008 Brother Juan Mamaril, 65, became an SIU member in 2001. He was born in the Philippines and shipped in the steward department. Brother Mamaril worked primarily aboard the Cape Edmont. He enhanced his seafaring abilities in 2001 and 2006 at the union-affiliated school. Brother Mamaril is a resident of Goose Creek, S.C. ABRAHAM MURRAY Brother Abraham Murray, 66, was born in North Dakota. He started shipping with the SIU in 1991. Brother Murray initially sailed on the Cape Mendocino. On numerous occasions, the deck department Seafarer upgraded his skills at the Piney Point training center. Brother Murray was last employed aboard the Horizon Reliance. He lives in Tacoma, Wash. The engine department member attended classes at the Paul Hall Center in 2000 and 2001. Brother Powers settled in Victorville, Calif. INLAND JAMES HATTER DONALD OYOLA Brother Donald Oyola, 65, joined the Seafarers in 1965. His first voyage was on the Ocean Spray. Brother Oyola was born in Peru and worked in the engine department. His final trip to sea was aboard the Champion. Brother Oyola resides in Dundalk, Md. NELSON POWERS Brother Nelson Powers, 69, donned the SIU colors in 1999 while in the port of Wilmington, Calif. His first vessel was the USNS Effective; his last was the Charger. Brother Powers was born in Springfield, Ohio. Brother James Hatter, 55, signed on with the SIU in 1975 while in the port of New York. He originally shipped on a Barge Harbor Towing vessel. Brother Hatter enhanced his abilities on two occasions at the Seafarersaffiliated school. He most recently sailed with G&H Towing Company as a member of the deck department. Brother Hatter calls Brazoria, Texas, home. JOHN TIPICH Brother John Tipich, 71, became a union member in Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG 1945 Another SIU mariner from World War II has received the coveted Meritorious Service Medal for his actions. Lex Fanjoy was aboard the SS Lawton B. Evans when it was anchored off the Italian coast at Anzio. A violent gale and electrical storm broke and Fanjoy volunteered to cut the static-charged cables holding a barrage balloon that threatened to ignite the gasoline cargo. Fanjoy went aloft, despite several electrical charges and cut the cable. Shortly afterwards he was struck by an electrical charge that caused him to fall, knocking him into the crosstrees. Luckily he was not seriously injured. 1984 in the port of Wilmington, Calif. He mainly worked aboard vessels operated by Crowley Towing & Transportation of Wilmington as a member of the engine department. Brother Tipich upgraded frequently at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. He makes his home in his native state of California. EUGENE WOTURSKI Brother Eugene Woturski, 62, joined the SIU in 1966. His first ship was the Globe Carrier. Brother Woturski sailed in the deck department. In 1976, he visited the Piney Point school to enhance his skills. Brother Woturski was last employed with American Towing of Virginia. He is a resident of Villas, N.J. ing formal ratification of an agreement reached last week between negotiators for the union and 32 Canadian inland shipping companies. Voting on the full agreement will be held aboard all ships within the next two weeks, according to Leonard McLaughlin, SIU of Canada president. Release of full details of the settlement must await formal membership ratification, McLaughlin said, but it involves an overall 34 percent increase for Seafarers over three years and provides for a basic work week of 40 hours, previously denied to seamen in Canada. The decision by the SIU members to return to work after an agreement was reached ended a 37-day strike in which the key issues in dispute were a 40-hour week, ship manning, the 24hour work span and paid leave. Although a wage increase was sought by the union, most of its demands centered in the area of fringe benefits. This Month In SIU History 1959 While loaded with sand dredged off Coney Island, the dredge Sand Captain’s bow lookout heard two men calling out into the night sky. Immediately the crew was roused from their sleep and swung into action. The crew lowered the ship’s lifeboat and with the vessel’s search light, they spotted the two men clinging to wreckage. The men’s small watercraft had swamped and the two men were afloat for five hours. The crew chipped in with clothes and money and deposited the two men at the captain’s anchorage in the Bronx. 1967 The 5,400 members of the SIU of Canada have returned to their ships pend- 1978 The SIU-manned ST Alliance was cited by the American Institute for Merchant Shipping and the National Safety Council for rescuing five people aboard a foundering sailboat off the Boston coast. The tanker was running eight miles off Boston Pilot Station in 10-foot waves and galeforce winds when the crew spotted a sloop-rigged sailboat that was without engine power and radio. The sailboat’s mast and sails were also in the water. After an hour, the 630-foot Alliance was able to move alongside the little boat and take the passengers aboard to safety. Seafarers LOG 17 �50414_p01_24:50414p 8/29/2008 7:41 PM Page 18 Final Depar tures DEEP SEA GEORGE BARBER Pensioner George Barber, 63, passed away April 28. Brother Barber signed on with the union in 1966. He first sailed aboard the Red Arrow. Brother Barber was born in New York and shipped in the deck department. His final voyage was on the Comet. In 2006, Brother Barber started collecting his retirement compensation. He resided in San Diego, Calif. SAMUEL BROWN Pensioner Samuel Brown, 85, died May 8. Brother Brown donned the SIU colors in 1951. He was originally employed aboard the John Hanson. Brother Brown was a member of the steward department. His last ship was the Overseas Washington. Brother Brown went on pension in 1988. He continued to live in his native state of North Carolina. ERNEST COX Pensioner Ernest Cox, 65, passed away May 4. Brother Cox joined the Seafarers in 1969. He initially sailed on the Halcyon Panther in the engine department. Brother Cox was born in Harrisburg, Pa. His final trip to sea was aboard the Courier. Brother Cox made his home in Brooklyn, N.Y. He began receiving his pension in 1999. KENT DOCTOR Brother Kent Doctor, 38, died May 25. He became an SIU member in 1994 while in the port of Wilmington, Calif. Brother Doctor’s maiden voyage was with OLS Transportation. He was born in Indiana and worked in the deck department. Brother Doctor most recently sailed on the Ocean Atlas. He was a resident of Antwerp, Ohio. FREDDIE GOETHE Pensioner Freddie Goethe, 57, passed away May 20. Brother Goethe, a member of the deck department, began shipping with the Seafarers in 1971. He initially sailed aboard the Halcyon Panther. Brother Goethe was born in Lyons Ga. His last trip was on the Florida. Brother Goethe retired in 1998 and called Jacksonville, Fla., home. 18 Seafarers LOG SAMUEL GOODMAN Pensioner Samuel Goodman, 82, died April 29. He started shipping with the union in 1978 in the port of San Francisco. Brother Goodman was born in Arkansas. He originally worked aboard the Delta America in the steward department. Brother Goodman’s final journey was on the Voyager. He resided in Tacoma, Wash. GEORGE HAND Pensioner George Hand, 87, passed away April 7. Brother Hand signed on with the SIU in 1947 while in the port of New York. His first voyage was aboard a South Hail Company vessel. Brother Hand sailed in the engine department. Prior to his retirement in 1981, Brother Hand shipped on the San Juan. He was born in South Carolina but made his home in Towson, Md. LESLIE HARADA Pensioner Leslie Harada, 84, died May 14. Brother Harada joined the union in 1959 while in the port of New York. He initially shipped aboard the Navigator as a member of the engine department. Brother Harada was born in Hawaii. He last worked on the Horizon Navigator. Brother Harada went on pension in 1990. He lived in San Pedro, Calif. SHERMAN JARMAN Pensioner Sherman Jarman, 78, passed away April 23. Brother Jarman was born in Washington State. He began his MC&S (Marine Cooks & Stewards) membership in 1975. Brother Jarman’s earliest trip was with States Steamship Company. He sailed in the steward department. Brother Jarman’s final ship was aboard the President Jefferson. He settled in Everett, Wash. JAMES JUZANG Pensioner James Juzang, 85, died April 27. Brother Juzang donned the SIU colors in 1944 in the port of New York. He was originally employed aboard the Del Rio. Brother Juzang was born in Alabama and shipped in the steward department. His final voyage was on the Cove Navigator. Brother Juzang was a resident of Prichard, Ala. He became a pensioner in 1986. JAMES KING Pensioner James King, 78, passed away May 6. Brother King began shipping with the Seafarers in 1956 from the port of Baltimore. The engine department member was born in North Carolina. Brother King initially sailed aboard the Marore. His last voyage was on the Lake. In 1985, Brother King started collecting his retirement compensation. He called Dundalk, Md., home. STEVE KOLINA Pensioner Steve Kolina, 85, died April 12. Brother Kolina became an SIU member in 1943 in the port of New York. His first vessel was the Alcoa Planter; his last was the American Condor. Brother Kolina was born in Pennsylvania. He sailed in the steward department. Brother Kolina resided in his native state and retired in 1987. in 1987. Brother Otero was a resident of Puerto Rico. MOHAMED SHAIE Pensioner Mohamed Shaie, 71, died April 25. Brother Shaie donned the SIU colors 1967. He initially shipped on the Warrior. Brother Shaie sailed in the engine department. His final journey was aboard the Horizon Producer. Brother Shaie was born in Arabia but called Armona, Calif., home. He began collecting his pension in 2002. LOLA TORLAND Pensioner Lola Torland, 87, passed away April 27. Sister Torland became a Seafarer in 1978. Her first voyage was on the Santa Mercedes. Sister Torland was born in Los Angeles, Calif. The steward department member most recently sailed aboard the Maui. Sister Torland resided in San Francisco. She retired in 1988. Pensioner James Mannete, Jr., 71, passed away May 15. Brother Mannete was born in Pennsylvania. He started sailing with the SIU in 1958 while in the port of New York. Brother Mannete’s earliest trip to sea was on the Rose Knot. The deck department member last shipped aboard the Sugar Islander. Brother Mannete went on pension in 1994. He made his home in Gretna, La. RICHARD McCAUSLAND Pensioner Richard McCausland, 80, died April 26. Brother McCausland joined the union in 1966. His first voyage was on a Columbia Steamship Company vessel. Brother McCausland was born in Sharpsburg, Pa., and shipped in the steward department. His final voyage was aboard the Performance. Brother McCausland began receiving his retirement pay in 1993. He lived in Florida. JUAN OTERO Pensioner Juan Otero, 82, passed away April 5. Brother Otero signed on with the Seafarers in 1951 in the port of New York. He originally sailed on the Robin Doncaster. Brother Otero was born in Puerto Rico. He worked in the steward department. Brother Otero most recently shipped aboard the San Juan. He became a pensioner JAMES CARAWAN Pensioner James Carawan, 78, died April 13. Brother Carawan became a union member in 1972. He was first employed with IBC Company. Brother Carawan was born in Pamlico, N.C. Before his retirement in 1994, he sailed with C.G. Willis Inc. Brother Carawan was a resident of Bayboro, N.C. He went on pension in 1994. MANUEL RIVAS Pensioner Patrick Turbidy, 91, died April 1. Brother Turbidy joined the MC&S in 1962 while in the port of San Francisco. He first shipped on the Santa Maria as a member of the steward department. Brother Turbidy’s final trip took place aboard the President McKinley. He went on pension in 1982 and lived in San Francisco. Pensioner Manuel Rivas, 69, died April 14. Brother Rivas started sailing with the SIU in 1988. He worked in both the deep sea and inland divisions. Brother Rivas originally shipped on the Quality. The Cubanborn mariner most recently sailed with G&H Towing Company. Brother Rivas resided in Houston, Texas, and began collecting his pension in 2002. R. D. WHALEY HERBERT THOMPSON Pensioner R. D. Whaley, 82, passed away May 31. Brother Whaley was born in Middleton, Tenn. He began sailing with the Seafarers in 1968 in the port of Houston. Brother Whaley originally shipped on the York. He worked in both the steward and engine departments during his SIU career. Brother Whaley was last employed aboard the Independence. He made his home in Jackson, Tenn. Brother Whaley started receiving his retirement compensation in 1990. Pensioner Herbert Thompson, 71, passed away April 10. Brother Thompson donned the union colors in 1975. He first worked aboard a G&H Towing vessel. Brother Thompson was born in Austin, Texas. Before retiring in 1999, he shipped with Crowley Towing and Transportation of Wilmington. Brother Thompson lived in Houston. PATRICK TURBIDY JAMES MANNETE JR. the Mt. McKinley. His final voyage was aboard the Bob-Lo Island. Brother Boyd retired in 1992 and called Sea Level, N.C., home. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU), have passed away. Name Age DOD MOSES WILLIAMS Betancourt, Roberto 81 Pensioner Moses Williams, 88, died April 26. Brother Williams signed on with the MC&S in 1958 while in the port of San Francisco. He sailed primarily on vessels operated by American Ship Management which included the President Madison and the President Fillmore. Brother Williams was born in the Philippines and shipped in the steward department. He became a pensioner in 1983 and settled in Severn, Md. Bobie, Nicholas 83 April 22 Boivin, Roger 87 April 26 INLAND ALTON BOYD Pensioner Alton Boyd, 81, passed away May 13. Brother Boyd joined the SIU ranks in 1957 in the port of Detroit, Mich. He was born in Wilkes, N.C., and worked as a member of the deck department. Brother Boyd initially sailed on June 1 Cook, William 93 May 31 Fernandez, David 71 April 29 Greenidge, St Clair 85 June 26 Guidry, Herbert 81 May 20 Hughes, Willie 81 May 11 Johnson, Harry 80 May 19 Lovelady, Paul 87 July 1 Luke, Harold 84 May 30 Ramos, Louis 74 July 14 Severino, Anthony 84 July 16 Suissa, Elie 84 May 21 Wells, William 65 July 15 Williams, George 72 May 25 Woods, Charles 76 May 28 Zoldi, Julius 85 May 25 September 2008 �50414_p01_24:50414p 8/29/2008 7:41 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings CLEVELAND (Sealift Inc.), June 8 – Chairman Christopher C. Chikwere, Secretary Denis W. Burke, Educational Director Dale D. Nesfield, Deck Delegate Pio L. Vili, Engine Delegate Dale D. Nesfield, Steward Delegate Wally J. Saul Jr. Chairman announced payoff in Lake Charles, La., on June 14. He encouraged mariners to read the Seafarers LOG. Secretary asked departing crew members to leave staterooms clean for arriving Seafarers and advised all members to keep dues paid up. Educational director urged crew to enhance skills at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. He noted that TWIC cards must be obtained by April 15, 2009. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Concerns were expressed regarding air conditioning vents in crew mess hall. Steward department was thanked for excellent food and BBQs. Next ports: Lake Charles, La., Aquaba, Jordan, Alexandria, Egypt, and Houston. CHARGER (Maersk Line, Limited), June 28 – Secretary Terry N. White, Educational Director Juanito P. Dansalan, Engine Delegate Yahya Mohamed, Steward Delegate Andy N. Campollo. Secretary reported a safe trip and expressed gratitude to his fellow crew members for their hard work. He also thanked them for helping keep the ship clean and urged them to upgrade at the Piney Point school whenever possible. Treasurer stated $700 in ship’s fund which will be used to purchase movies. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made for a new DVD player in crew lounge. Vote of thanks given to the steward department for great food and service. HORIZON EAGLE (Horizon Lines), June 19 – Chairman Darryl G. Smith, Secretary Cynthia L. Caster, Educational Director Shawn L. Clark, Deck Delegate Chad B. Chivrell, Engine Delegate Jessie Canales Jr. Chairman reminded mariners to have their z-card ready for immigration and customs upon arrival in port. He read and posted TWIC extension information on bulletin board. Secretary was grateful for crew’s good attitude and cooperation while there was no air conditioning. She encouraged anyone needing cleaning supplies for their rooms to see her. Educational director discussed TWIC document and recommended mariners visit the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md., to enhance seafaring abilities. Treasurer noted $524 in ship’s fund. It was reported that deck head and laundry room needed more attention as mentioned in sanitary inspection. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Clarification was requested pertaining to recent reduction in seatime requirements for medical eligibility. Crew thanked steward department for a job well done. HORIZON HAWK (Horizon Lines), June 22 – Chairman September 2008 Wayne D. Casey, Secretary Glenn A. Taan, Educational Director David M. Parker, Deck Delegate Rodolfo Asopardo. Bosun informed members that seatime requirements for medical have been reduced to 125 days and that TWIC card deadline has been pushed back until April 15, 2009. Educational director stressed the importance of upgrading skills at the SIU-affiliated school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. It was reported that chairs in mess hall needed cleaning. Crew members were reminded to fill out completion of duty application. HORIZON PRODUCER (Horizon Lines), June 27 – Chairman Patrick C. Ray Jr., Secretary Thomas D. Smith, Educational Director Angel S. Hernandez, Steward Delegate Carlos Sanchez. Chairman thanked mariners for a safe, injury-free voyage. He encouraged crew to inform him of any problems. Educational director advised Seafarers to apply for TWIC card ASAP because some delays have been reported. Treasurer stated $3,400 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Electrician asked members to put clothes in washing machine evenly so it will operate smoothly during spin cycle. Crew extended vote of thanks to steward department for great job. LIBERTY GLORY (Liberty Maritime), June 22 – Chairman Victor M. Beata, Secretary Grant H. Armstead, Educational Director Charles Sneed, Deck Delegate Fitsum Yohannes, Steward Delegate Hamin Sialana. Chairman announced payoff in Corpus Christi, Texas, on June 25. He thanked crew for a job well done and reminded them of TWIC card extension. Secretary reported that stores would be received June 25. He expressed gratitude to crew members for their help in keeping vessel clean. Educational director suggested mariners pre-enroll for TWIC card online. Treasurer reported $600 in ship’s fund; money will be used to purchase a TV and DVD player. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendations were made regarding pension benefits. Crew members requested fans for state rooms. Next port: Corpus Christi, Texas. LIBERTY GRACE (Liberty Maritime), June 1 – Chairman Pablo O. Borja Jr., Secretary Christopher B. Amigable, Educational Director Ronald F. Lukacs. Chairman notified crew that payoff would take place on June 6 in Pittsburg, Calif. He talked about how important it is to keep union dues current and thanked everyone for another safe trip. Secretary thanked crew for helping keep mess hall and lounge clean. He asked departing members to leave rooms clean for next mariner. Educational director urged Seafarers to enhance skills at the union-affiliated school and keep documents current. He also talked about the importance of The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships’ minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. SA Jose Garcia (left), Chief Cook John Padilla (photo above) are shown in the President Adams galley. Pictured from left to right (photo at right) are Recertified Steward Brandon Maeda, 2nd Mate Chris Kalinowski (graduate of Paul Hall Center trainee class 500) and Chief Mate Nick Marcantonio (class 446). The Adams (photo below) loads cargo in Singapore. Snapshots from the President Adams Recertified Steward Brandon Maeda emailed these photos taken this summer during a 58-day round trip aboard APL Maritime’s President Adams. The voyage began (and eventually ended) in New York and included stops in Charleston, S.C.; Savannah, Ga.; Norfolk, Va.; Port Said, Egypt; Jebel Ali, Dubai, UAE; Port Klang, Malaysia; Singapore; Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Salalah, Oman. The vessel sailed through 13 different time zones. This photo of the Omani coastline was taken from the seamen’s club in Salalah, Oman. contributing to SPAD (Seafarers Political Action Donation). No beefs or disputed OT reported. Thanks were given to entire crew for all the hard work they performed. New full-size washing machine has been ordered. Next ports: Pittsburg, Calif., San Francisco, and China. MAERSK CAROLINA (Maersk Line, Limited), June 8 – Chairman Brian K. Fountain, Educational Director Kevin M. Cooper, Deck Delegate Abdul Q. Gharama. Chairman reported another smooth voyage with no LTA. He announced payoff in Newark, N.J., on June 16. Secretary thanked mariners for help keeping house clean. Educational director advised crew members to check expiration dates on necessary seafaring documents. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestions were made pertaining to vacation and pension benefits. Request was made for new mattresses. Next ports: Newark, N.J., Charleston, S.C., and Malaga, Spain. MAERSK RHODE ISLAND (Maersk Line, Limited), June 23 – Chairman Daniel Laitinen, Secretary Christopher T. Hale, Educational Director Marcelino V. Cayabyab, Deck Delegate Larry A. Rawlins, Engine Delegate Matthew D. Wright. Bosun expressed gratitude for another safe voyage. He stated that ship and crew are to receive award for no LTAs in the past five years, which is a testament to the training they received at the Paul Hall Center. Educational director encouraged all mariners to upgrade at any chance you get; it will lead to a better life for you and your family. Treasurer reported $3,400 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next port: Ulsan, Korea. MARILYN (Sealift Inc.), June 8 – Chairman Mohamed H. Mohamed, Secretary Jonathan L. Damphier, Educational Director Dennis N. Barbosa, Deck Delegate Kevin A. Kellum, Steward Delegate Meili W. Seegers. Chairman informed members of payoff on June 10 in Houston. He warned them not to forget to apply for their TWIC card. Secretary thanked Seafarers for keeping mess hall and lounge clean. He suggested everyone keep documents up-to-date and contribute to SPAD. Educational director urged crew to take advantage of upgrading and training offered in Piney Pont, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made for an extra dryer and furniture for lounge. Next ports: Houston, New Orleans, and North Korea. OVERSEAS HOUSTON (OSG Ship Management), June 22 – Chairman Michael S. Sinclair, Secretary Scott A. Opsahl, Educational Director Edward H. Self, Deck Delegate Marvin M. Chester. Chairman thanked crew for a great voyage and discussed manpower pool requirements for OSG Ships. Secretary expressed his gratitude to members for helping keep pantry and mess hall clean. He asked mariners to fill out new address cards and/or beneficiary cards. Educational director encouraged mariners to check expiration dates on all necessary seafaring documents. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendation was made to increase food budget and to install chalk board in crew lounge to post union information. Discussion was held on proper protocols to follow when resolving problems aboard vessel. Next ports: Long Beach, Calif. and Cherry Point, N.C. Seafarers LOG 19 �50414_p01_24:50414p 8/29/2008 7:41 PM Page 20 Letters to the Editor Paul Hall Center Training Pays Off My name is Bill Boardman. I was a member of class 639 at the Paul Hall Center and wanted to thank the school for the excellent training I received there. I sailed as an AB for three years. On August 12, 2008, I was operating a charter fishing vessel (the Fat Cat) 80 miles off the coast of New Jersey. We received a mayday call from a sinking vessel (the 42-foot Made to Sea) less than five miles away from us, around 2 a.m. Thanks to the training I learned at Piney Point, I was able to help successfully rescue all five people of the sunken vessel out of their life raft. Thank you! I remember well as a student hearing about people who did great things with the training they received at the SIU-affiliated school, and I wanted to pass this on. Looking back on the rescue, I remember the appropriate questions coming from my mouth that I’d learned in Piney Point as if someone else was asking them. When faced with this emergency, my training came through and I was able to perform exactly as I was taught. He recently joined the ship in Jacksonville, and he elevated morale aboard the vessel. I had heard stories about the bosun prior to his signing on, but couldn’t believe he was that good. Well, was I in for a surprise! The bosun handles all of the crew with respect and appreciation. He capitalizes on people’s strengths while understanding their weaknesses. There is nothing he would ask of a crew member that he wouldn’t willingly do. He inspires loyalty and is a pleasure to work with and for. I was just hoping that through writing this letter to the LOG that he could be given a pat on the back and the recognition he deserves. AB Sue Fagan Aboard USNS Paul Buck Capt. Bill Boardman Belmar, New Jersey AB from USNS Buck Credits Bosun Corl This is a letter of appreciation from aboard the USNS Paul Buck for Recertified Bosun Philip Corl. Recertified Bosun Phil Corl Annual Funding Notice/SIU Pacific District Pension Plan Introduction This notice, which federal law requires all multiemployer plans to send annually, includes important information about the funding level of the SIU Pacific District Pension Plan, Plan Number 001, Employer Identification Number 94-6061923 (Plan). This notice also includes information about rules governing insolvent plans and benefit payments guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal agency. This notice is for the plan year beginning August 1, 2006 and ending July 31, 2007 (Plan Year). Plan’s Funding Level The Plan’s “funded current liability percentage” for the Plan Year was at least 100%. In general, the higher the percentage, the better funded the plan. The funded current liability percentage, however, is not indicative of how well a plan will be funded in the future or if it terminates. Whether this percentage will increase or decrease over time depends on a number of factors, including how the plan’s investments perform, what assumptions the plan makes about rates of return, whether employer contributions to the fund increase or decline, and whether benefits payments from the fund increase or decline. Plan’s Financial Information The market value of the Plan’s assets as of August 1, 2006 was $130,406,267. The total amount of benefit payments for the Plan Year was $9,042,135. The ratio of assets to benefit payments is 14.4. This ratio suggests that the Plan’s assets could provide for approximately 14 years of benefit payments in annual amounts equal to what was paid out in the Plan Year. However, the ratio does not take into account future changes in total benefit payments or plan assets. Rules Governing Insolvent Plans Federal law has a number of special rules that apply to financially troubled multiemployer plans. Under so-called “plan reorganization rules,” a plan with adverse financial experience may need to increase required contributions and may, under certain circumstances, reduce benefits that are not eligible for the PBGC’s guarantee (generally, benefits that have been in effect for less than 60 months). If a plan is in reorganization status, it must provide notification that the plan is in reorganization status and that, if contributions are not increased, accrued benefits under the plan may be reduced or an excise tax may be imposed (or both). The law requires the plan to furnish this notification to each contributing employer and the labor organization. Despite the special plan reorganization rules, a plan in reorganization nevertheless could become insolvent. A plan is insolvent for a plan year if its available financial resources are not sufficient to pay benefits when due for the plan year. An insolvent plan must reduce benefit payments to the highest level that can be paid from the plan’s available financial resources. If such resources are not enough to pay benefits at a level specified by law (see Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC, below), the plan must apply to the PBGC for financial assistance. The PBGC, by law, will loan the plan the amount necessary to pay benefits at the guaranteed level. Reduced benefits may be restored if the plan’s financial condition improves. A plan that becomes insolvent must provide prompt notification of the insolvency to participants and beneficiaries, contributing employers, labor unions representing participants, and PBGC. In addition, participants and beneficiaries also must receive information regarding whether, and how, their benefits will be reduced or affected as a result of the insolvency, including loss of a lump sum option. This information will be provided for each year the plan is insolvent. Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC The maximum benefit that the PBGC guarantees is set by law. Only vested benefits are guaranteed. Specifically, the PBGC guarantees a monthly benefit payment equal to 100 percent of the first $11 of the Plan’s monthly benefit accrual rate, plus 75 percent of the next $33 of the accrual rate, times each year of credited service. The PBGC’s maximum guarantee, therefore, is $35.75 per month times a participant’s years of credited service. Example 1: If a participant with 10 years of credited service has an accrued monthly benefit of $500, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the PBGC guarantee would be determined by dividing the monthly benefit by the participant’s years of service ($500/10), which equals $50. The guaranteed amount for a $50 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $24.75 (.75 ´ $33), or $35.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit is $357.50 ($35.75 ´ 10). Example 2: If the participant in Example 1 has an accrued monthly benefit of $200, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the guarantee would be $20 (or $200/10). The guaranteed amount for a $20 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $6.75 (.75 ´ $9), or $17.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit would be $177.50 ($17.75 ´ 10). In calculating a person’s monthly payment, the PBGC will disregard any benefit increases that were made under the plan within 60 months before the earlier of the plan’s termination or insolvency. Similarly, the PBGC does not guarantee pre-retirement death benefits to a spouse or beneficiary (e.g., a qualified pre-retirement survivor annuity) if the participant dies after the plan terminates, benefits above the normal retirement benefit, disability benefits not in pay status, or non-pension benefits, such as health insurance, life insurance, death benefits, vacation pay, or severance pay. Where to Get More Information For more information about this notice, you may contact Ms. Michelle Chang, Administrator, SIU Pacific District Pension Plan, 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107, 415-764-4993. For more information about the PBGC and multiemployer benefit guarantees, go to PBGC’s website, www.pbgc.gov, or call PBGC toll-free at 1800-400-7242 (TTY/TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll free at 1-800-8778339 and ask to be connected to 1-800-4007242). Additional Explanation Introduction The SIU Pacific District Pension Plan has added the information below to supplement the Annual Funding Notice (above) that is required by federal law. This additional information will be helpful in understanding how each part of the notice relates to the SIU Pacific District Pension Plan (Plan). Plan’s Financial Information The main purpose of the Annual Funding Notice is to ensure more open communication about a plan’s funding level. The Annual Funding Notice divides the Plan’s assets by its annual benefit payments to determine how many years the Plan’s assets may be able to pay benefits. This simple measurement does not take into account the Plan’s expected annual income. When the Plan’s assets and the annual addition of this income are taken into account, the Plan’s assets can be expected to pay benefits for years into the future. Rules Governing Insolvent Plans This section of the Annual Funding Notice applies only to severely financially troubled pension plans, which this plan is not. Because of the Plan’s greater than 100% funded status, it is not anticipated that the special rules regarding “plan reorganization” and plan insolvency would ever apply to this Plan. Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC The Trustees expect the Plan to continue to pay benefits for many years in the future. The Trustees are committed to maintaining the Plan’s funded status because, in their view, the Plan’s financial strength is the best guarantee that all participants and beneficiaries will receive all the Plan benefits they have earned. Thus, it is not expected that the PBGC benefit guarantees mentioned in this notice will ever become applicable. Where to Get More Information For more information about this Additional Explanation, you may contact Ms. Michelle Chang, Administrator, SIU Pacific District Pension Plan, 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107. Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. 20 Seafarers LOG PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. September 2008 �50414_p01_24:50414p 8/29/2008 7:41 PM Page 21 Seafarers Paul Hall Center Upgrading Course Schedule The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the next few months of 2008. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promoting the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Course Start Date Date of Completion Safety Specialty Courses Fast Rescue Boat September 8 September 12 Medical Care Provider September 8 September 12 Tanker Assistant (DL) September 22 November 10 September 6 October 3 November 21 September 12 Tankerman (PIC) Barge Steward Upgrading Courses Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman September 29 November 10 October 23 December 5 Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) (must have radar unlimited) October 6 November 17 October 10 November 21 Celestial Navigation October 20 November 24 November 14 December 19 GMDSS September 15 September 26 Lifeboatman/Water Survival September 15 October 27 September 26 November 7 Radar September 22 November 3 October 3 November 14 Radar Renewal (one day) October 27 December 8 October 27 December 8 Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman (STOS) October 20 October 31 Bosun Recertification Course November 3 October 14 Engine Upgrading Courses Advanced Container Maintenance (Refer) November 10 December 5 Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations (BAPO) September 15 November 10 October 10 December 5 Firemen/Watertender/Oiler (FOWT) October 13 November 6 Junior Engineer August 30 October 24 Marine Electrician October 27 December 19 Welding September 8 October 6 November 3 December 1 September 26 October 23 November 21 December 19 UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Date of Birth ______________________ Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____ Department ___________ E-mail ____________________________ No Yes Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes start every other Monday. The most recent class began September 1. Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. Online “Distance Learning” Courses In addition to the foregoing courses, the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education currently is offering the following internet-based courses: Environmental Awareness; Hazardous Material Control and Management; Hearing Conservation; Heat Stress Management; Shipboard Pest Management; Respiratory Protection, and Shipboard Water Sanitation. The courses are free to mariners covered by SIU contracts. To register, complete the regular upgrading application located on the bottom left portion of this page, and mail it to: Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 206740075. Applicants will receive user account information from the center via email. They are therefore urged to provide their e-mail addresses in the space provided on the application. Applicants should also include the word “online” when listing the courses they wish to take. Important Notice Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twenty-five (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. COURSE BEGIN DATE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. U.S. Citizen: Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? Yes No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ September 2008 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 9/08 Seafarers LOG 21 �50414_p01_24:50414p 8/29/2008 7:41 PM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Computer Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 704 – Unlicensed apprentices from Class 704 recently graduated from the water survival course. Those graduating from the course (above, in alphabetical order) were: Jason Babbitt, William Bailey, Martin Baker, Daniel Balch, Reginald Berkes, Larry Byrd, Darrin Cobb, Angela Corbitt, Jason Crusing, Ezekiel Deas Jr., Daniel Devine, Timothy Garton Jr., Heather Hammons, Pacheco Hernandez, Aretta Jones, Ryan Kiefer, Daniel Kosnik, Kirby Landert, Lucian Lepadatu, Tierria Noble, Eric Pinto, Thomas Reed II and Stephen Wood. Their instructor, Ben Cusic, is standing second from left in the second row. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Nine Seafarers recently completed computer courses while undergoing upgrade training at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Those completing various classes (photo above, standing left to right) were Sergio Cedeno, Sandy Santiago and Glenn McCullough. Vinvent Ippolito is kneeling. In photo at left, Jovita Carino posed with Rich Prucha, instructor. Graduates in the photo below (from left to right) include Adam Degleiter, Cornelius Smith, Philander Walton and Alfredo Mendoza. FOWT - The following upgraders (above, in alphabetical order) on July 11 completed this course: Azad Ardeshirdavani, Victor Atkinson, Jovita Cario, Juan Castillo, Kevin Daughtry, Mohammed Elazzouzi, John Fraley, Daniel Griffin, Si Hughes, Arthur Kately III, Donnetta McLee, Joshua Montgomery, Pierre Norwood and Andres Nunez. Tim Achorn, their instructor, is at far right. Government Vessels - Twelve upgraders completed this course July 24. Those graduating (right, in alphabetical order) were: Alyxi Alexander, Desmond Baptiste, Sergio Cedeno, Thomas Cyrus Jr., Raphael Dewberry, Michael Durago, Marc Escalona, Troy Fleming, Dale Harrison, Alex Mitchell, Sandy Santiago and Alfredo Silva. Their instructor, Mark Cates, is at far right. 22 Seafarers LOG Fast Rescue Boat - Five individuals on July 18 completed training in this course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were Denis Burke, Jovita Carino, Ashby Furlough, Bernabe Pelingon and David Turinski. Their instructor, Stan Beck, is at left in the far back. (Note: Not all are pictured.) September 2008 �50414_p01_24x:50414p 9/2/2008 2:24 PM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes Tank Ship Familiarization - Twenty-one phase three apprentices on July 11 graduated from this course. Those completing the training (above, in alphabetical order) were: Stephen Amthaner, Ryan Bernal, Keithan Bland, Tyesha Boyd, Adam Brubeck-Galloway, Ashley Carmichael, Louise Digman, Jack Forde, Marcus Gramby, Joshua Johnson, Tanaka Junior, Joseph Loureiro, LaToya Lunford, Jasper McNeill, John Monaco, Travis Odom, Robert Orloff III, Ronnie Rodriguez, John Wahl, Pamela Wilson and Sean Wilson. STCW (Hawaii) – The following students (above, in no particular order) on July 18 completed this course at the Seafarers Training Center at Barbers Point, Hawaii: Nubia Acevado, Willie Beamer, Douglas Campbell, Victor Dorobantu, Leslie Dunning, Jason Evans, D’Andre Evans, Aaron Lade, Vincent Pickney, Cortez Smith, Sergey Tikhonov, Luke Carrico, Chelsy Burns, Yomar Diaz, Connie Dietrich, Christopher Haughey, Mario Monroy, Victor Rivera, Beth Thomure and Bobbi Wells. BST - The following individuals (above, in alphabetical order) recently completed this course: Rene Alfaro, Raphael Dewberry, Troy Fleming, Lonnie Jones Jr., Michael Munoz, Jermaine Robinson, Alexander Rodriguez and Dana Wilks. Their instructor, Joe Zienda is at far left. Welding - The following individuals (above, in alphabetical order) on June 27 graduated from this one-week course: Tony Beasley, Patrick Bradley, John Chapin, Douglas Duvak, Dante Mungioli III, Cecil Williams and Charles Wisler. Buzzy Andrews, their instructor, is second from left. Celestial Navigation – Ten individuals on June 27 completed this course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Philip Corl, Frank Guido, Chad Noda, Leslie O’Hair, James O’Meara, Jason Pinsky, William Ray, Errol Soderquist, Lawrence Soulier and Mike Wiley. Their instructor, Stacy McNeely, is standing at far right. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Advanced Firefighting – Nine upgraders on July 11 Water Survival – Four upgraders on July 4 completed this 60-hour course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Albert Beneman, Luis Irias, Kirk Moffett and Manes Sainvil. Bernabe Pelingon, their instructor, is at far left. (Note: Not all are pictured.) September 2008 completed this course. Those graduating (left, in alphabetical order) were: Marie Acosta, Darryl Alexander, Adam Begleiter, Brian Gauntt, Vincent Ippolito, Glen McCullough, Eddie Taylor, Olson Thorne and Philandar Walton. Their instructor, Steven Stockwell, is at far right. Seafarers LOG 23 �50414_p01_24x:50414p 9/2/2008 2:24 PM Page 24 Volume 70, Number 9 September 2008 Mariners Need TWIC by April 15, 2009 - Page 9 Letter from Senator Obama to SIU President Sacco Following is the text of a letter sent late last month to SIU President Michael Sacco by U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.). The letter was sent in response to the SIU’s endorsement of Senator Obama’s bid for the presidency – the union’s press release is printed at lower left. August 28, 2008 Dear President Sacco: It is an honor to have the endorsement of the Seafarers International Union and its members. Working Americans like you at the SIU have throughout our history been the backbone of the American economy, and your commitment and effort this election cycle will help restore a sense of shared prosperity and security to the nation. America needs a strong and vibrant U.S.-Flag Merchant Marine. That is why you and your members can continue to count on me to support the Jones Act (which also includes the Passenger Vessel Services Act) and the continued exclusion of maritime services in international trade agreements. American Merchant Mariners always have answered the nation’s call from the first days of the Revolutionary War to today. In peace and in war, our Mariners have stood with us and my Administration will stand with them. To make sure our Armed Forces have the equipment and ammunition they need at the time the materiel are required, my Administration will solidly support the continuation of the Maritime Security Program. The MSP has proven itself since being enacted in 1996, making sure our troops deployed overseas have no worries about when their supplies will be delivered. A strong U.S.-Flag commercial fleet needs our nation’s Cargo Preference laws. Whether it is carrying needed goods to those overseas in distress or moving government-generated cargo, American Mariners aboard American ships make sure the job is done. People around the world look to the U.S. Flag as a symbol of hope and determination. Ships flying Old Glory with American crews are important icons of our resolve. Those programs set a firm foundation for America’s Merchant Mariners by providing opportunities for decent wages, good benefits and fair treatment. Certainly, a strong union movement has been and will continue to be a major contributor to the achievement of this essential national goal. I am proud to stand with and for you and your members. I consider the SIU endorsement a significant statement about what we can do, working together, for change and progress that improves the quality of life for working families. Sincerely, Barack Obama SIU Endorses Senator Obama for President August 13, 2008 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Seafarers International Union (SIU) is proud to endorse the candidacy of Senator Barack Obama of Illinois for President of the United States. The union – which represents American merchant mariners who work aboard deep sea, Great Lakes and inland waters vessels – made the decision based on the candidates’ positions on matters that directly affect SIU members. “Senator Obama has stood with the Seafarers and the U.S.-flag Merchant Marine on the vitally important issues of the Jones Act, the Maritime Security Program and cargo preference,” stated Seafarers President Michael Sacco. “Senator Obama has confirmed that an administration led by him would continue to fight for these programs in order to maintain and grow our country’s merchant fleet.” Sacco noted the SIU has a strong history of bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. “Our union traditionally does not take party affiliation into consideration when it has endorsed. In making this endorsement, the SIU is considering what it always has when making such a decision – the primary concerns of the membership,” he added. “The American Merchant Marine serves as the nation’s fourth arm of defense. In these uncertain times, the men and women who serve in our Armed Forces need to know their supplies will be delivered efficiently and on time. Senator Obama understands this,” said Sacco. The Seafarers International Union was founded in 1938. Its 82,500 members live throughout the country. Election Day: November 4, 2008 Register to Vote! Make Sure Your Voice is Heard! Don’t Sit This One Out! This page has been paid for by the Seafarers Political Activity Donation (SPAD) 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 This page was not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 September 2008 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES GEN. DUNCAN MCNABB CONFIRMED AS U.S. TRANSCOM COMMANDER SEAPOWER SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRMAN EMPHASIZES SUPPORT FOR JONES ACT AFL-CIO ELECTS 3 TO EXECUTIVE COUNCIL UNION-CONTRACTED FLEET ADDS MAERSK MICHIGAN PHILLY FERRY CREW RESCUES WOMAN IN DELAWARE RIVER TANKER CONSTRUCTION MOVES FORWARD AT SHIP FACILITIES IN SAN DIEGO, PHILADELPHIA PANEL REVIEWS NOMINATION PETITIONS FOR ELECTION GOV. GREGOIRE CREDITS ATC HAWAII SUPERFERRY RIDERSHIP GROWS BY 40 PERCENT IN JULY NTSB ISSUES FINAL REPORT ON MAJESTIC BOAT GROUNDING MISSISSIPPI RIVER OIL SPILL RENEWS CONCERNS AMO’S CRANGLE DIES AT AGE 71 CREDENTIALS APPROVED FOR CANDIDATES TO 25 UNION OFFICES FOUR UNION-CONTRACTED COMPANIES EARN SAFETY AWARDS FROM AMS, INC. CIVMARS ABOARD MERCY, GRASP, SATURN ‘SHOW HEARTS’ UNION CONTINUES EBIS NEGOTIATIONS JACKSONVILLE HALL HOSTS MAERSK SAFETY MEETING JOSEPH SACCO FIRE FIGHITING AND SAFETY SCHOOL IS KEY COMPONENT OF PAUL HALL CENTER SNUG HARBOR PROVIDES HOUSING, CARE FOR OLDER SEAMEN SIU CREWS HELP ENSURE U.S. READINESS SEAFARERS PARTICIPATE IN MILITARY ‘JLOTS’ EXERCISE LETTER FROM SENATOR OBAMA TO SIU PRESIDENT SACCO Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 09/01/2008 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. 70, No. 9 2008 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/b7da7a67452a49891099a7423c0f4e4f.pdf 6fabe8dd1e5547323ca2155232eab4d4 PDF Text Text 49927_P01_24X3:January 08 7/29/2008 12:03 PM Page 1 Volume 70, Number 8 August 2008 Federation Endorses Sen. Obama for President Top leaders of AFL-CIO unions, including SIU President Michael Sacco (right), recently voted without opposition to endorse pro-maritime Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) (left) in his bid to become the next president of the United States. Sen. Obama has expressed very strong support for pro-maritime statutes including the Jones Act and the U.S. Maritime Security Program. The photo below left was taken after the labor endorsement meeting June 26 in Washington, D.C. Page 2. SIU Jobs are Secure As Phillips, Baugh Transfer to Maersk’s Commercial Fleet Seafarers Contribute to MRAP Milestone The U.S. Department of Defense in July announced another milestone in the mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle (MRAP) program. As of early last month, 10,000 MRAPs had been delivered to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of these vehicles have been delivered by SIU-crewed ships, including the USNS Pililaau (right), pictured earlier this year offloading an MRAP in Kuwait. Page 4. SIU-contracted Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) last month announced that it had won the bid to purchase and operate the MV Pvt. Franklin J. Phillips (above) and the MV PFC William B. Baugh (bottom photo) – a development which preserves Seafarers’ jobs aboard both vessels. The ships have transferred to MLL’s commercial fleet after previously sailing as prepositioning vessels for the U.S. Military Sealift Command. Page 3 SIU Boatmen Welcome New Z-Drive Tug A new SIU-contracted tugboat recently was christened in Houston. The Wesley A (left), operated by G&H Towing for BayHouston Towing Company, is a state-of-the-art addition to the union’s contracted inland fleet. Pictured at the ceremony (right) are crew members along with SIU officials VP Gulf Coast Dean Corgey (fourth from left) and Asst. VP Jim McGee (right). Page 3. (Photos by Robert John Mihovil) Contracts Approved Pages 3, 4 Superferry Sets Record Page 6 �49927_P01_24:January 08 7/25/2008 12:02 PM Page 2 President’s Repor t Maritime’s Role in the Energy Debate Early in this decade, chances are good that unless you lived in the Pacific Northwest or near Capitol Hill, it wasn’t easy to get into a conversation about ANWR and whether the U.S. should open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for safe oil exploration. Today, with gasoline at well over $4 a gallon in most parts of the country and with other energy costs also increasing, things have changed – in more ways than one. Michael Sacco ANWR is all over the news, all across the land. “Energy independence” is now a hot topic in the November elections, and the latest polling shows a significant change in public attitudes not only about oil exploration in ANWR but also about offshore drilling. According to numerous news reports, and again based on reliable polling, most Americans now favor such exploration. (In the case of ANWR, a great majority of Alaskans have long supported exploration.) Most also believe it will lead to lower prices for energy in the U.S. For the record, the SIU’s position on ANWR is that we still believe ANWR exploration potentially offers substantial benefits for the entire nation. In particular where the SIU is concerned, it could lead to significant numbers of new jobs in the U.S. Merchant Marine. When and if the time comes, oil delivered from ANWR should and will be carried aboard American-flag ships. Such procedure is just good common sense, not to mention it is required by the Jones Act, which mandates that cargo moved from one U.S. port to another be transported aboard vessels that are crewed, flagged, owned and built American. If as a nation we’re aiming for greater self-reliance, then a viable, strong U.S.-flag fleet is a crucial part of the equation. And laws like the Jones Act and the U.S. Maritime Security Program are more important than ever to our country’s wellbeing. The same line of thinking holds true in regards to liquefied gas, a very lively topic at several large ports across the country. As this issue of the LOG went to press, the U.S. Maritime Administration announced that one company (Suez Energy), as part of its liquefied natural gas deepwater port license application, has committed to use an American-flag, U.S.crewed ship (including the unlicensed mariners) in the company’s proposed LNG import facility off the Florida coast. I applaud the announcement and I hope it’s just one of many such commitments to come. As I wrote last year, as our government issues licenses for new LNG terminals – and with the very probable increase in importing such cargo – it’s not only good policy but also sound, safe judgment to acknowledge that having U.S. LNG vessels and crews will help reduce any economic leverage or even outright threats from those who wish to harm our nation. U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton put it quite well last month in his Suez announcement. In part, he said, “The employment of U.S. citizens aboard the LNG vessels serving our natural gas receiving facilities is clearly in the nation’s best interest. Placing the transportation of LNG under the control of U.S. mariners, who are subject to strenuous background checks, will add an additional layer of safety and security to our energy supply chain.” The same logic applies to the ANWR situation and, for that matter, to other cargoes. In fact, this goes beyond the energy issue and extends to the core reasons why we need a strong U.S. Merchant Marine in the first place. Whether we’re delivering materiel for our troops, or moving oil from coast to coast, or bringing loaded containers from overseas, or plying the inland waterways or sailing on the Great Lakes, the U.S. Merchant Marine is a necessary, reliable part of the very fabric of America’s national and economic security. Our track record proves it, and so do the Seafarers who are currently sailing aboard all kinds of ships, all over the world. In the ongoing debate over energy, the U.S. Merchant Marine’s role, value and dependability will not be overlooked. Volume 70, Number 8 August 2008 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 207909998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2008 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), the Democratic Party’s presumptive presidential nominee for the 2008 Elections, was a guest speaker during the AFL-CIO’s 25th Constitutional Convention in July 2005 in Chicago. The senator is pictured above with AFL-CIO President John Sweeney during that function. Federation Endorses Obama The top leaders of AFL-CIO unions, including SIU President Michael Sacco, on June 26 voted without opposition to endorse pro-maritime Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in his bid to become the next president of the United States. The federation’s General Board, which designated Obama as the candidate of its choice for the White House, includes presidents of all 56 unions in the AFL-CIO, as well as Executive Council members and representatives of state and local federations, trade departments and constituency groups. The General Board votes by per capita membership. In conjunction with the endorsement, the AFLCIO launched a new web site: Meet Barack Obama (http://www.aflcio.org/issues/politics/obama.cfm.) In its endorsement statement, the General Board noted that Sen. Barack Obama “has secured the nomination of his party in a campaign that has energized millions of Americans and spoken to the hopes and dreams of people from every corner of our nation. His leadership can re-engage disenfranchised Americans and bring our country together. Senator Obama has advocated a change of direction for our nation that mirrors the priorities of the labor movement.” Obama has a 98 percent voting record on working families’ issues, compared to just 16 percent for Sen. John McCain, his Republican presidential opponent. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, in announcing the federation’s backing, said, “Barack Obama has proven from his days as an organizer, to his time in the Senate and his historic run for the presidency that he’s leading the fight to turn around America.” As a champion for working families, Sweeney said, “Obama knows what it’s going to take to create an economy that works for everyone, not just Big Oil, Big Pharma, the insurance companies, the giant mortgage lenders, speculators and the very wealthy. We’re proud to stand with Senator Obama to help our nation chart a course that will improve life for generations of working people and our children.” The federation’s endorsement was not only a stamp of approval; it marked the beginning of a huge, united political mobilization among working class voters. The AFL-CIO will focus on mobilizing more than 13 million union voters – including union members, families of members, retirees and members of the AFL-CIO community affiliate Working America – in 24 priority states, working to elect pro-labor U.S. senators and representatives, as well as state and local candidates. When it comes to the U.S.-flag maritime industry, Sen. Obama has expressed very strong support on laws and programs such as the Jones Act, the U.S. Maritime Security Program and cargo preference regulations. “The Jones Act is a vital part of our national defense and supports American workers,” Sen. Obama said earlier this year. “As president, I would fully enforce it…. Furthermore, maintaining the American Merchant Marine fleet is vital to our economy and national security. I would oppose any move to undermine this Act.” Concerning the Maritime Security Program, Sen. Obama stated that it “helps ensure U.S.-flag vessels are ready to meet our needs during times of war or national emergency and I support fully funding it. I support funding the Maritime Security Program so that it serves our nation’s national security needs. If the GAO [General Accountability Office] or another independent body finds that the MSP program needs to be expanded, I will support expanding it to the size necessary.” He added, “Our cargo preference laws are an important way for us to regulate and support the maritime industry. Supporting the maritime industry allows us to ensure that we have the resources we need during times of war and national emergency and maintains standards in the industry. I will continue to support cargo preference laws where they uphold our goals in shipping.” SIU-Contracted Companies Honored with Safety Awards A number of Seafarers-contracted companies received recognition June 5 in Houston as the Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) conducted its annual safety awards luncheon. The CSA represents 31 U.S.-based companies that own, operate or charter oceangoing tankers, containerships and other merchant vessels engaged in both the domestic and international trades. The CSA also represents other entities that maintain a commercial interest in the operation of such oceangoing vessels. Among the honors presented were the Jones F. Devlin awards, which were given to companies that have operated ships for at least two years without a mariner involved in a lost-time injury. Recipients included Alaska Tanker Company; Crescent Towing; Crowley Maritime Corporation; Crowley Petroleum Services; E.N. Bisso & Son, Inc.; American Overseas Marine; Horizon Lines; Interocean American Shipping Corporation; American Roll-on-Roll-off Carrier; Sea Star Line; Totem Ocean Trailer Express; Keystone Shipping; Maersk Line, Limited; Ocean Shipholdings; OSG Ship Management; Seabulk Tankers; Seabulk Towing; and U.S. Shipping Partners. Individual SIU-crewed vessels receiving honors included the Horizon Falcon, Brenton Reef, Green Bay, Santa Cruz, USNS Lawrence Gianella, Overseas Long Beach and R.J. Pfeiffer. Joseph Cox, CSA president, said the awards program’s growth since inception in the mid1950s is a credit to “the professionalism of our seafarers and the dedication of shore-based company personnel to safe operation.” He added, “CSA’s involvement in safety is longstanding. We continue to represent the industry, domestically and internationally, on safety issues encompassing every facet of ship operations. It is therefore only fitting that an industry so focused on safety, publicly recognizes the skills and dedication of the women and men who are responsible for actions in keeping with the highest traditions of the sea – aid to those in peril.” More than 240 people attended the awards luncheon, including representatives of the SIU. August 2008 �49927_P01_24:January 08 7/25/2008 12:02 PM Page 3 SIU Jobs Saved Aboard Phillips, Baugh Maersk Wins Bid to Operate RO/ROs in Commercial Sector SIU-contracted Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) last month announced that it had won the bid to purchase and operate the MV Pvt. Franklin J. Phillips and the MV PFC William B. Baugh – a development which preserves Seafarers’ jobs aboard both vessels. In the near future, the Baugh will be renamed the Maersk Texas while the Phillips will be renamed the Maersk Tennessee. The ships will sail in commercial service; previously, they were part of the U.S. Military Sealift Command’s prepositioning fleet (since 1984). The continuation of SIU jobs aboard both vessels is no small accomplishment, considering that six of the seven bidders reportedly planned to scrap them, even though the ships are in good shape. Earlier this year, MSC notified MLL that the charter for each ship would be terminated on July 15. A carefully governed bidding process followed, with MLL emerging the winner. One requirement in the process was that the highest price be attained for the ships. “The company has acknowledged that the longstanding, effective working relationship between the SIU and Maersk Line, Limited helped give them the reassurance to proceed in this bidding process,” noted SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker. “They deserve credit for once again demonstrating their commitment to the U.S. Merchant Marine, and I believe that the union and the rankand-file membership also deserve credit.” In mid-July, both vessels were transferred to MLL’s commercial fleet and started undergoing minor conversions to accommodate their new missions. According to the company, the ships will fit well with MLL’s existing U.S.-flag services. They are roughly comparable to older but well-maintained, low-mileage vehicles. One MLL official estimated that the ships “have at least five more years of useful life.” The Phillips and the Baugh basically are identical. Each vessel is slightly longer than 755 feet, with a beam of 90 feet and a speed of 16.4 knots. Each is a combination container and roll-on/roll-off ship. Since the mid-1980s, they primarily have operated in Diego Garcia and Guam. “Much of the crew has been with the prepositioning program for many years, The MV Pvt. Franklin J. Phillips (above) served for many years in MSC’s prepositioning fleet. and the unblemished record of mission readiness over 25 years is a testament to their skills and dedication,” said MLL Labor Relations Vice President Ed Hanley. “The new opportunity for commercial trading is being embraced by most crew members, who are looking for- ward to the challenge with enthusiasm. “Operational excellence and careful cost management are critical to keeping the U.S. flag competitive in the international trades, and it is comforting as an operator to know we have such outstanding mariners aboard these vessels.” Matson Contract Approved The Wesley A is equipped with the most modern gear. New SIU-Crewed Tug Christened Photos by Robert John Mihovil Seafarers observe the christening from aboard the tugboat. August 2008 The SIU-crewed tugboat Wesley A formally was christened in mid-June in Houston. Seafarers and SIU officials including Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey and Assistant Vice President Jim McGee attended the ceremony. The z-drive harbor boat is operated by SIU-contracted G&H Towing for BayHouston Towing Company, the tug’s owner. It sails with a crew of four and was constructed at Main Iron Works in Houma, La. Like its sister tug, the SIU-crewed Thor, which entered service in 2007, the Wesley A is equipped with the most modern equipment available, including hightech navigational and propulsion systems. It’s also outfitted with a firefighting system that includes a vapor-mist feature designed to extinguish fires on LNG vessels or at LNG terminals. Powered by two Caterpillar 3516C engines which produce a total of 6,300 horsepower, the Wesley A is 98.5 feet long and has a beam of 39.3 feet. Its hull depth is listed as 16.4 feet. Crew members sailing aboard Matson Navigation Co. vessels have approved a new five-year contract calling for wage increases and other gains. The SIU represents steward department mariners aboard Matson ships. The other unlicensed crew members are represented by the Sailors’ Union of the Pacific and the Marine Firemen, Oilers, Watertenders and Wipers Association, respectively. In addition to increasing wages, the contract boosts pension benefits while maintaining the same level of medical coverage. These two photos were taken last month aboard the Mokihana in Hawaii. Pictured from left to right (photo above) are ACU Mohamed Mohamed, Chief Cook Khalid Mohamed and SIU Hawaii Safety Director Frank Iverson. Shown in the photo below (left to right) are Chief Cook Mohamed, Recertified Steward Michael Baker and ACU Mohamed. Seafarers LOG 3 �49927_P01_24:January 08 7/25/2008 12:02 PM Page 4 Starlight Marine Crews Ratify 3-Year Contract Seafarers who are employed by Starlight Marine Services recently approved a new three-year contract that calls for substantial wage increases and other gains. The agreement currently covers 22 SIU members working at the California-based company. Seafarers voted overwhelmingly in favor of the pact. Serving on the SIU negotiating team were SIU Vice President West Coast Nick Marrone, Assistant Vice Pictured from left to right are SIU Asst. VP Nick Celona, Seafarer Jack Matievich, SIU VP West Coast Nick Marrone and Seafarers Mike Price, Chris Ramos and Sterling Jones. The mariners are employed by Starlight Marine. President Nick Celona and Seafarers Bryan Wynn and Justin Rogers. “I want to thank the delegates for a job well done in tough negotiations,” Celona stated. “The rest of the membership at Starlight also deserves credit for their hard work and continued outstanding safety record.” The contract stipulates wage increases in each year of the agreement. It includes a new transportation benefit and, for the first time, brings Starlight crew members into the Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan (SMPPP). The contract maintains benefit levels in the Seafarers Pension Plan and also allows for individual participation in the new Seafarers 401(k) Plan. (The SMPPP, Seafarers Pension Plan and Seafarers 401(k) Plan are three completely separate plans.) Additionally, the contract specifies that the company will pay for continued medical coverage (known as COBRA) in the event of a layoff. This is the second SIU contract at Starlight. The first was an initial five-year agreement ratified in 2003, the year Starlight Marine boatmen unanimously chose SIU representation. The company operates a fleet of seven state-of-the-art tugs and four barges in the San Francisco Harbor. They provide ship assistance and also perform bunkering and lightering operations. According to the company, “Starlight’s professional operators and deck crews are among the finest and most experienced in the harbor. Safety for employees and pro- Among the Starlight Marine boatmen ratifying the new contract were (from left) Bryan Wynn, Justin Rodgers, Ryan Tom and Jonathan Willingham. SIU Asst. VP Nick Celona is standing at far right. tection of the environment is always number one at Starlight. The company has extensive safety programs and systems that ensure a safe environment for the care and custody of cargo.” USNS Stockham Seafarers Refurbish Filipino School Several SIU members from the USNS Stockham recently volunteered to pitch in with refurbishment of a local elementary school in Subic Bay, Philippines. Chief Steward Emmanuel Zephyr said he and other Seafarers along with other volunteers helped with repairs and painting at Tapinak Elementary School. Other SIU members who couldn’t make it to the school still aided the cause by helping provide lunch for everyone participating in the philanthropic endeavor. Joining Zephyr for the project were fellow Seafarers ACU Yahya Munassar, ACU Frakhruddin Malahi, ACU Saleh Sewileh, SA Hayel Omer, SA Ali Y. Mohamed and SA Abdulgabar Ahmed. The Stockham is operated by Keystone for the U.S. Military Sealift Command. The 906foot vessel is part of MSC’s prepositioning fleet. The Seafarers-crewed USNS Seay loads MRAPs in Charleston, S.C., for delivery to U.S. troops overseas. SIU Crews Help Deliver Life-Saving Milestone Chief Steward Emmanuel Zephyr (left in photo above) and head of Security for the Philippines Police Department Ms. Cruz take a quick break. In photo below, members of the USNS Stockham crew and other volunteers help repair and paint a Subic Bay elementary school. ACU Frakhruddin Malahi (photo at left) works the grill. 4 Seafarers LOG The U.S. Department of Defense in early July announced that 10,000 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs) have been delivered to warfighters in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of the MRAPs already in service were delivered overseas by SIU-contracted ships including large, medium-speed, rollon/roll-off vessels known as LMSRs. According to the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps, the MRAP vehicles have raised, V-shaped underbellies that deflect the force of improvised explosive devices and other blasts from below better than other vehicles in use. In February 2008, the MRAP program office, headed by Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC), recorded its 5,000th MRAP vehicle acceptance. That milestone was reached less than a year after Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made MRAPs the DoD’s top acquisition priority. Since then, the program has advanced at near-unprecedented speed, doubling production of the life-saving vehicle in just over four months. Gates said, “This is a significant achievement. This program has gone from zero to 10,000 in just about a year and a half. These vehicles have proven themselves on the battlefield and are saving lives.” “The many successes of the joint MRAP vehicle program are the result of an overwhelming team effort by the many players in this program,” said Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan, MCSC commander. “From production to integration, from transportation to fielding, many commands and organizations have played major roles in this program.” Before being shipped overseas, the MRAPs are equipped with weapons, radios and other gear by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command center at Charleston, S.C. From that point the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) takes over and moves the vehicles by air and sea to the combat zones. The final contract order for MRAP vehicles is expected later in the summer, bringing the overall total more than 15,000 vehicles in the current build-up. August 2008 �49927_P01_24:January 08 7/25/2008 12:02 PM Page 5 Seafarers Step Up in Free Choice Mobilization Seafarers are resolute in their backing of the AFL-CIO sponsored MillionMember Mobilization, a grassroots campaign to get at least 1 million signatures in support of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). As part of that crusade, postcards recently were sent to union halls around the country and overseas providing Seafarers the opportunity to offer their respective signatures. Already, according to union officials, hundreds of rank-andfile members have stepped to the forefront to affix their signatures to these postcards which call on the new U.S. president and Congress to enact the EFCA (H.R. 800, S. 1041). They are among the more than 300,000 rank-andfile union members under the AFL-CIO umbrella so far who have urged the immediate enactment of the legislation. Response to date has been so strong that several ports have run out of cards and requested more from the federation. Once signed and collected, the cards will be presented to the new Congress after the November elections in a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. The message on the cards to the new president and Congress reads as follows: “I urge you to enact the Employee Free Choice Act immediately. This crucial legislation will protect workers’ freedom to choose a union and bargain, without management intimidation. Allowing Coalition Aims To Cure Nation’s Health Care Woes More than 80 labor, community, health activist, women’s and other groups have banded together to create a grassroots coalition and campaign called “Health Care for America Now!” The coalition, announced last month by the AFL-CIO (to which the SIU is affiliated), will undertake a campaign to build support and educate the public and lawmakers on how to repair the health care system. That system, according to the coalition, currently is putting quality health care further beyond reach for too many families. Health Care for America Now’s goal is to organize and mobilize millions of Americans to win a guarantee of quality, affordable health care for all. These goals are especially important to unions and their members; unions for years have warned of the inequities and troubles with the current health care system. In fact, a recent AFL-CIO survey of workers and their families shows health care as one of the greatest concerns they have in this troubled economy. Health Care for America Now says it will bring together community organizers, nurses, doctors, small business owners, faith-based groups, organizations of people of color, and seniors who believe it’s time for an American solution that provides quality, affordable health care for everyone. The body will offer a bold new path that gives Americans real choice and a guarantee of quality coverage they can afford: keep their current private insurance plan, pick a new private insurance plan, or join a public health insurance plan. It is also calling for regulation on health insurance companies. The coalition’s web site says, “We need to set and enforce rules that quash health insurance companies’ greed once and for all. There is a huge divide between our plan and the insurance companies’ plan for health care reform. We want to make sure you have the quality coverage you need at the price you can afford. They want to leave you alone to fend for yourself in the unregulated, bureaucratic health insurance market.” August 2008 more workers to freely join unions and bargain with their employers will help rebuild the middle class by expanding health care, improving retirement security and raising the standard of living for America’s working families. My bargaining rights are worth working for and voting for!” Introduced by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass) and Reps. George Miller (DCalif.) and Peter King (R-N.Y.), the bill on March 1, 2007 by a vote of 241 to 185 passed in the House of Representatives. Thirteen Republicans joined 228 Democrats in voting for the bill. Two Democrats and 183 Republicans voted against the bill. The Senate on June 26, 2007 voted 51 to 48 on a motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to consider the bill. Shortly after the House vote, AFLCIO President John Sweeney said,” [This vote] …marks a momentous turning point in the growing movement to restore our nation’s middle class. Today, the voices of tens of millions of working people who deserve the right to make a free choice to bargain for a better life have been heard and heeded on Capitol Hill. “Because of today’s vote,” Sweeney continued, “the future looks a little brighter to all Americans who have watched corporations celebrate record profits, but have themselves been shut Seafarers are answering the call to action in the AFL-CIO’s mobilization to to get at least 1 million signatures in support of the Employee Free Choice Act. Response to date has been so strong that several ports have run out of cards and requested more from the federation. out of the party, left with stagnant wages and facing soaring costs. A union card is the single best ticket into the middle class and, thanks to the Employee Free Choice Act, working people may finally have the chance to be part of a union.” If enacted by the new U.S. president and Congress, the EFCA would enable working people to bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions by restoring their freedom to choose for themselves whether to join a union. As indicated on the postcards, the EFCA would: ■ Establish stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during first-contract negotiations. ■ Provide mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes. ■ Allow employees to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation. In addition to the postcards, Seafarers may also participate in the signature drive via the internet by visiting: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/efc a_card_support Study: ‘Prevailing Wage’ Law Adds Benefits Often during difficult economic times like the U.S. is facing today, self-proclaimed economists and pundits spotlight areas they say are costing the government and commercial sectors too much in overhead that gets passed on to consumers and taxpayers. At times, these so-called specialists make comments that may influence policymakers whose decisions can be detrimental to certain sectors of the economy. Those decisions may affect overall economic confidence and can cast stereotypes and dispersions on the actual purposes of unions that work to improve the quality of life of all Americans. One such example is what union brothers and sisters in the construction fields are currently fighting when working on government contracts. It also affects those working for federal service contractors. For years, many state and local governments required companies that that wanted contracts for public works to pay their workers wages that reflect those commonly received in the area. This “prevailing wage” law was adopted by the federal government in 1931 with the passage of the Davis-Bacon Act. The government said the goal of the act was to ensure that the government’s buying power in a region wouldn’t unfairly influence labor and other costs in the area, but also would help guarantee a fair wage to enhance the welfare of workers and their families. The act applies to all contractors whether they are union or not and it makes sure bids go to those who are qualified rather than those who offer the cheapest rates. The principles of the act were later expanded with the Service Contract Act in 1965, which requires federal service contractors to pay prevailing wages and benefits. Some naysayers have argued for years that “prevailing wage” inflates government contract costs. However, a new study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) called “Prevailing Wages and Government Contracting Costs” has seemingly put the last nail in the coffin of the critics’ arguments. The EPI – a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank – says its study shows prevailing wage has no negative impact. In fact, the EPI says prevailing wage laws provide added benefits such as better workplace safety, increased government revenues and elevated workers’ skills in the construction industry. In essence, the EPI says the law enables the hiring of skilled workers who will get the job done right the first time. The EPI’s point is simple: The idea behind the prevailing wage is that a wage floor keeps big government projects from damaging the local economy by driving down wages and undermining living standards. The assumption that contractors will pass higher labor costs to taxpayers is erroneous, according to the EPI. The study shows that critics’ previous studies do not compare building projects for design, materials used and special needs such as security, and many other aspects that can make each project different. Further, the EPI cites a Beacon Hill Institute study which found the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hourly Division incorrectly set hourly wages too high for nine major construction occupations. The department, therefore, showed government construction costs at $8.6 billion per year too high when it argued against prevailing wages. The EPI study reports: ■ Prevailing wage regulations do not, in all cases, increase wages. Public contractors may pay at prevailing wage rates without the regulation. If these contractors are included in opponents’ arguments, it would skew their study results. ■ Average labor costs, including benefits and payroll taxes, are one-quarter of construction costs. Therefore, even if prevailing wage regulations raised wages by 10 percent, the impact on contract costs would be less than 2.5 percent. The EPI says in the larger scope of a project, these costs are so small, they are likely to be undetectable in increased project costs and especially when prevailing wage impact studies are applied to the overall contractor market. ■ Improved productivity can offset higher wages. Better-skilled workers attracted by the higher wage might complete a job in less time, or firms looking to reduce their higher labor costs might utilize labor-saving technologies. ■ Higher wage costs might be offset through “factor substitution,” i.e., the substitution of more expensive labor with, maybe, less expensive materials. ■ Contractors might absorb the wage costs as another avenue of winning project bids. According to the AFL-CIO, Davis-Bacon provides a living wage for the men and women who are working to build this country’s infrastructure. Thanks to these higher wages, workers have a few extra dollars to spend in local shops and restaurants, for example, thus providing additional tax dollars for their communities. The law also allows for a better-trained workforce, which results in safer working conditions and which in turn means reduced outlays for workers’ compensation. In areas where local prevailing wage laws have been repealed, analyses have shown that workers are less inclined to stay in the industry, apprenticeship programs have been cut back or eliminated, and on-the-job injuries and deaths have increased. In some cases, the “completed” job had to be repeated by another contractor to make sure it was performed correctly. Obviously, such operations do not save taxpayers money and may actually increase the overall cost. Prevailing wage laws are critical to American workers and their families in all industries, according to the federation. That’s why the SIU has joined forces with the AFL-CIO, the Maritime Trades Department and other affiliates to ensure this vital legislation is not repealed. To read the EPI’s study, go to: www.epi.org Seafarers LOG 5 �49927_P01_24:January 08 7/25/2008 12:03 PM Page 6 Clockwise from left, the Alakai is equipped with state-of-the-art safety and navigational equipment. AB Joshua Ano is one of the crew members who helped ready the Alakai for sea trials. He is joined by others in the wheelhouse and still others on the pier. The ferry has a service speed of 35 knots which it partially shows off in the photo above. Hawaii Superferry Sets Passenger Record Hawaii Superferry’s SIUcrewed Alakai recently set a company record for the number of passengers carried on a holiday weekend. Superferry officials reported that more than 6,000 people boarded the boat and sailed between Maui and Oahu during the Independence Day weekend (July 4-6). Previously, the greatest number of passengers in a single weekend was 5,500, on Memorial Day weekend earlier this year. One passenger told a local news- The photo above was taken in July during a regularly scheduled shipboard meeting involving Seafarers, SIU officials and company representatives. “The overall intent is always to work together through open discussions to find ways to continue making things better for the employees while maximizing the efficiency of the company’s operation,” said SIU Asst. VP Bryan Powell, pictured above with SIU Representative Hazel Galbiso, Hornblower Marine VP Bill Annand, HornblowerHawaii Director of Marine Operations John Keever, Hornblower-Hawaii HR Director Cindy Ramsey and SIU Delegates Warren Asp, Adrian Almeida and Gary Ferreira. 6 Seafarers LOG paper in Hawaii that the Alakai has become a more attractive travel option for her and her relatives because they get a better rate compared to the cost of air travel. The Alakai carries a crew of 25. The 349-foot, aluminum-hull ferry operates seven days a week. It can carry 866 passengers and 282 cars. The vessel’s name means ocean path. Additional details about the ferry (including schedules) are available at www.hawaiisuperferrry.com. A full complement of cabin stewards works aboard the ferry including Ann Cosson (photo at left) Dorothy Toro and Leeann Toro (left to right, above) and Maggie Simonson and Brandy Choy Foo (left to right, below). Other Alakai crew members are Cabin Steward Sherry Uehara (photo at left), Purser Jasmine Keanu (above) and Cabin Steward Michael Alatan (photo at right). August 2008 �49927_P01_24:January 08 7/25/2008 12:03 PM Page 7 Meetings Offer Info on 401(k) Plan eafarers last month took advantage of the opportunity to learn more about one of the newest benefits available to them, as more than 100 members turned out for informational meetings in Houston and New Orleans. The sessions (which followed the monthly membership meetings in those ports) focused on the Seafarers 401(k) Plan, a benefit instituted in January 2008. The Seafarers 401(k) Plan came to fruition as a result of the most recent standard freightship and tanker negotiations. Last month’s 401(k) meetings took place July 14 (Houston) and July 15 (New Orleans). Four more such gatherings are scheduled for this month, as follows: ■ August 7, Norfolk, Va. ■ August 18, Wilmington, Calif. ■ August 20, Oakland, Calif. ■ August 22, Tacoma, Wash. For the August 401(k) meetings, all but the Oakland session immediately follow the regular membership meetings in those ports. Also, a 401(k) meeting is scheduled for the Jacksonville, Fla., hall on October 9, right after the membership meeting. Last month, officials from the SIU, the Seafarers Plans office and Smith Barney reviewed the basics of the Seafarers 401(k) Plan with interested members and answered related questions. Conducting those meetings were SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel, Seafarers Plans Administrator Maggie Bowen and Smith Barney Vice President/Financial Planning Specialist Larry Goldstock. Members were encouraged to consider signing up for this relatively new benefit. As previously reported, there are no employer contributions associated with the Seafarers 401(k) Plan. Voluntary contributions may be made by participants via a pre-tax payroll deduction through their employer. The Plan will allow Seafarers to save a percentage of their earnings, tax-deferred, for future retirement. This is a potentially great way to enhance retirement income and ease financial concerns. A Seafarer is eligible to participate if he or she works under the standard freightship or standard tanker agreements as well as many other SIU contracts. As of mid-July, the list of SIUcontracted companies participating in the Plan included the following: Alaska Tanker Company, Armada, American Overseas S The Houston hall (depicted in the three photos above) saw a strong turnout for the informational meeting. Marine, Central Gulf Lines, Central Marine Logistics, Crowley Liner Services, Crowley Liner Services-Petty’s Island, Crowley Towing and Transportation, M-Ships, HMC Ship Management, H&M Lake Transport, Horizon Lines, Inland Lakes Management, Interocean American Shipping, Intrepid Personnel and Provisioning (ATB), Intrepid Ship Management, Key Lakes/GLF, Keystone Shipping, Liberty Maritime, Maersk, Marine Transport Lines, OSG Ship Management, Ocean Ships, Ocean Duchess, Osprey Ship Management, Pacific Gulf Marine, Red River, Seabulk, Sealift Chemicals Inc., Sealift Inc., Starlight Marine, Sulphur Carriers, Transoceanic Cable Ship Company, USS Transport, and Waterman. (Members are asked to check with their port agents for updates on participating employers.) As contracts are renegotiated in the months and years ahead, additional SIU members will become eligible to participate. Everyone who is eligible should have received an enrollment kit earlier this year or late last year. A copy of the kit – in PDF format – is posted on the SIU web site, www.seafarers.org, in the “Member Benefits and Resources” section, along with additional forms for the Seafarers 401(k) Plan. The forms also are available at www.massmutal.com/retire. SIU members are advised that individual participants in the Seafarers 401(k) Plan who change employers will need to submit only page 1 of the application to the new employer. If a member returns to the same employer, there is no need to do anything in terms of additional or different paperwork, even if the Seafarer is assigned to a different vessel in the company’s fleet. Both the union and the Seafarers Plans therefore suggest that participating members keep multiple copies of page 1 on hand. For more information, call the Smith Barney-SIU “hotline” at the following toll-free number: 800-421-5127. Members at the New Orleans hall (shown in the two photos above and in those on the bottom of this page) listen and ask questions about the Seafarers 401(k) Plan. Providing information at the New Orleans hall are (from left to right in the photo above) Plans Administrator Maggie Bowen, Safety Director James Brown, Port Agent Chris Westbrook, Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel and Smith Barney VP Larry Goldstock. August 2008 Seafarers LOG 7 �49927_P01_24:January 08 7/25/2008 12:03 PM Page 8 New TWIC Deadline: April 15, 2009 As has been reported in previous editions of the Seafarers LOG, the new deadline for U.S. mariners to obtain the government-mandated Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) is April 15, 2009. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security in May announced the revised deadline; the original cutoff date was Sept. 25, 2008. The following is a list of addresses for Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) enrollment centers as of mid-July, as published by the Transportation Security Administration at the following web address: http://www.tsa.gov/twic Alabama Tennessee Valley Training Center 115 Woodall Road Decatur, AL 35601 250 North Water Street Mobile, AL 36602-4000 Alaska 619 E Ship Creek Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 Native Village of Eyak 110 Nicholoff Way Cordova, AK 99574 Suite 202 3200 Hospital Drive Juneau, AK 99801 Ketchikan Harbor Office 2933 Tongass Ave Ketchikan, AK 99901 50097 Kenai Spur Nikiski, AK 99635 223 Harbor Way Petersburg, AK 99833 Harrigan Centennial Hall 330 Harbor Drive Sitka, AK 99835 Suite 300 13201 San Pablo Ave. Richmond, CA 94806 1401 Halyard Drive West Sacramento, CA 95691 Suite 103 1025 W Laurel St. San Diego, CA 92101 Suite 202 500 Sansome Street San Francisco, CA 94111 17 Fyffe St. Stockton, CA 95203 Terminal Island 1001 New Dock St. San Pedro, CA 90731 Connecticut Unit 2A 300 Long Beach Blvd. Stratford, CT 06615 850 Grand Ave. New Haven, CT 06511 75 Crystal Ave. New London, CT 06320 Delaware 102 Quigley Boulevard New Castle, DE 19720 1 Hausel Rd. Port of Wilmington Wilmington, DE 19801 Wrangell Harbor Office Shakes Street Wrangell, AK 99929 Florida 955 Talleyrand Ave. Jacksonville, FL 32206 Arkansas 2005 E 17th Street Little Rock, AR 72202 Habana Plaza (Rear) 3125 Riviera Dr Key West, FL 33040 California 2050 Park Road Benicia, CA 94510 975 N America Way Miami, FL 33132 Suite 500 301 E. Ocean Blvd. Long Beach, CA 90802 visit the SIU web site and/or check with their port agents for the latest TWIC news. For instance, when the DHS announced the changed deadline, the SIU site immediately posted the news release on its home page and also distributed the information to all SIU halls. The Transportation Security Administration TWIC web site now Suite 303 2051 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Riviera Beach, FL 33404 Suites 119, 120 5323 W. Hwy 98 Panama City, FL 32401 Suite 105 1020 Hastings Street Traverse City, MI 49686 Hawaii Hilo Hawaiian Hotel 71 Banyan Dr. Hilo, HI 96720 Port Fourchon Harbor Police 108 A.O. Rappelet Rd. Port Fourchon, LA 70357 Suite 204 1347 Kapiolani Blvd. Honolulu, HI 96814 LaPlace Shopping Center 1933 West Airline Hwy. LaPlace, LA 70068 Minnesota 1310 Port Terminal Road Duluth-Superior, MN 55802 Holiday Inn 1500 Hwy 71 International Falls, MN 56649 Suite 106 291 Hookahi St. Wailuku, HI 96793 Maine 163 Hildreth Street North Bangor, ME 04401 Suite 102 2970 Kele St. Lihue, HI 96766 Suite 12 236 Oxford Street Portland, ME 04101 Illinois Dixon Building Suite 206 8741 South Greenwood Chicago, IL 60619 Maryland Suite 220 2200 Broening Hwy Baltimore, MD 21224 Three Rivers Safety Council Suite TWIC 1615 W. Jefferson St. Joliet, IL 60435 2914 W. Willow Knolls Dr. Peoria, IL 61614 Suite 2106 3225 Old Washington Rd. Waldorf, MD 20602 Suite 204C 212 W. Main St. Salisbury, MD 21801 Room B006 34 13th Ave., NE Minneapolis, MN 55413 Suite 104 2161 University Ave. St. Paul, MN 55114 Mississippi Delta Plaza Mall, Unit B19 800 Highway 1 South Greenville, MS 38703 Suite D 1223 30th Ave. Gulfport, MS 39501 Ergon Refining 227 Industrial Drive Vicksburg, MS 39183 New Hampshire Suite 2 30 Mirona Road Extension Portsmouth, NH 03801 Suite 153 1635 1st St. Granite City, IL 62040 Massachusetts Boston Autoport 100 Terminal Street Charlestown, MA 02129 Indiana 4849 W Lloyd Expy Evansville, IN 47712 Unit 5 300 Tremont St. Carver, MA 02330 New Jersey Quality Inn Conference Center 531 Route 38 W Maple Shade, NJ 08052 Suite 110 200 Russell St. Hammond, IN 46320 Michigan Suite 101 115 N. First Ave. Alpena, MI 49707 North Jersey Suite G 89 Luening St. South Hackensack, NJ 07606 863 North Pine Road Essexville, MI 48732 400 Grove Rd. Thorofare, NJ 08086 Suite 1 200 W. Erie Street Rogers City, MI 49779 Suite 665 33 Wood Avenue South Iselin, NJ 08830 Delray Mechanical 667 S. Post St. Detroit, MI 48209 New York 102 Smith Blvd. Albany, NY 12202 Suite 1 906 Ludington St. Escanaba, MI 49829 Suite 5 2680 Grand Island Blvd. Grand Island, NY 14072 430 S. Water Street Marine City, MI 48039 Sheraton Long Island 110 Motor Parkway Hauppauge, NY 11788 Old City Hall Bldg 220 Suite 120 W Washington St. Marquette, MI 49855 178 West Hoffman Ave Lindenhurst, NY 11757 Suite 37C 3602 Northgate Court New Albany, IN 47150 Kansas Commerce Plaza 1 - 7th Floor 7300 West 110th Street Overland Park, KS 66210 Kentucky 322 Harrison Ave. Paducah, KY 42001 Suites 117/118 707 Mullet Rd. Port Canaveral, FL 32920 Oakland Maritime Support Services (OMSS) 11 Burma Rd. Oakland, CA 94607 Port Everglades Badging Office 1030 Taylor Rd. Dania Beach, FL 33004 Suite 550 1340 W. Tunnel Blvd. Houma, LA 70360 Suite 104 1830 Embarcadero Ave. Oakland, CA 94606 Manatee County Port Authority 13604 Reeder Road Palmetto, FL 34221 Suite # 306 1300 N. Bertrand Dr. Lafayette, LA 70506 2000 Marina Vista Dr. Martinez, CA 94553 2604 E. 7th Ave. Tampa, FL 33605 700 W. McNeese St. Lake Charles, LA 70605 1251 N. Rice Ave. Oxnard, CA 93030 Georgia Country Inn and Suites 211 Gateway Center Blvd. Brunswick, GA 31525 512 Roderick Street Morgan City, LA 70380 Seafarers LOG 396 N. State Street St. Ignace, MI 49781 Suite 104 170 East James Drive St. Rose, LA 70087 5214 Augusta Rd. Garden City, GA 31408 Louisiana Safety Council for Louisiana Capital Area 8180 Siegen Ln. Baton Rouge, LA 70810 Suite B 1931 N. Gaffey St. San Pedro, CA 90731 includes a link where individuals may check the status of their card and/or schedule a time to pick it up. FOR MORE INFORMATION ■ On the web: www.tsa.gov/twic ■ By phone: TWIC Program Help Desk, 1-866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-3478942) ■ By email: credentialing@dhs.gov T WIC Enrollment Centers 501 E Bremner St. Valdez, AK 99686 1900 Bendixsen Street Samoa, CA 95564 8 The SIU encourages members to enroll for the TWIC as soon as possible. Step-bystep instructions have been published in the last few editions of the LOG and are available on the web both at www.seafarers.org and at the Transportation Security Administration’s TWIC web site, www.tsa.gov/twic. Seafarers also are asked to occasionally Suite 122 800 East Ellis Road Norton Shores, MI 49441 AmericInn of Silver City 120 Lincoln Ave. Ontonagon, MI 49953 511 Ashmun St. Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783 Howland Hook Marine Terminal 241 Western Ave. Staten Island, NY 10303 Whitehall Ferry Terminal Room 210 4 South St. New York, NY 10004 Continued on next page August 2008 �49927_P01_24X:January 08 7/28/2008 Continued from Page 8 One East 2nd St. Oswego, NY 13126 700 Hummel Ave Southold, NY 11971 Suite 310 803 West Avenue Rochester, NY 14611 North Carolina 311 Atlantic Beach Causeway Atlantic Beach, NC 28512 Suite 107 5704 Oleander Drive Wilmington, NC 28403 Ohio 4830 State Rd. Ashtabula, OH 44004 Suites 754, 755 8044 Montgomery Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45236 Suite 226 3100 E45th St. Cleveland, OH 44127 Suite D, Office B 401 Broadway Ave. Lorain, OH 44052 Suite 102 444 W. Perkins Ave. Sandusky, OH 44870 One Maritime Plaza 720 Water St. Toledo, OH 43604 11:20 AM Page 9 T WIC Enrollment Centers Washington Ste. D 8327 Summit Park Rd. Anacortes, WA 98221 Oregon Suite 112 400 Virginia Ave. Coos Bay, OR 97459 Rhode Island Suite 105 17 Virginia Ave. Providence, RI 02905 West Gulf Maritime Association Suite 100 1717 Turning Basin Houston, TX 77029 Port of Everett Marina Marina Conference Center 404 14th Street Everett, WA 98201 Suite 100 7025 N. Lombard St. Portland, OR 97203 South Carolina Suite 112 4600 Goer Drive North Charleston, SC 29406 621 W Main Street La Porte, TX 77571 411 West Main Street Port LaVaca, TX 77979 Red Lion Hotel,Kelso 510 Kelso Drive Kelso, WA 98626 Tennessee Suite 427 5959 Shallowford Road Chattanooga, TN 37421 Suite 123 3800 Highway 365 Port Arthur, TX 77642 Red Lion Hotel, Pasco Room 2110 2525 N. 20th Avenue Pasco, WA 99301 Mall of the Mainland Space #1074 10000 Emmett F. Lowery Expy Texas City, TX 77590 Fraternal Order of Eagles AERIE No. 1 6205 Corson Ave. S Seattle, WA 98108 1750 FM 1432 Victoria, TX 77905 Fife Business Park Suite 17 5009 Pacific Hwy East Tacoma, WA 98424 Pennsylvania 50 West Powhattan Ave. Chester, PA 19029 Suite 120B 601 Upland Ave. Brookhaven, PA 19015 Woodbourne Professional Building 1723 Woodbourne Rd. Levittown, PA 19057 Philadelphia Regional Port 3460 North Delaware Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19134 Suite 104 701 North Point Drive Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Puerto Rico Primer Piso, Salon de Conferencias Ave. Santiago de los Caballeros, final Edifico Turismo, Playa Ponce, PR 00716 Navy Frontier Pier (Muelle Frontier) Suite 1 408 Avenue Fernandez Juncos San Juan, PR 00901 Oklahoma 5350 Cimarron Rd. Catoosa, OK 74015 Tennessee Valley Training Center 324 W. Mallory Avenue Memphis, TN 38109 Suite 510 3200 West End Ave. Nashville, TN 37203 Texas Ford Convention Center Tyler Room 5115 Interstate 10 S Beaumont, TX 77705 1000 Foust Road Brownsville, TX 78521 Virginia Suite 300, Room 359 11815 Fountain Way Newport News, VA 23606 Suite F 814 Greenbrier Circle Chesapeake, VA 23320 Virgin Islands Renaissance Park Estate Anguilla Kingshill, VI 00851 7433 Leopard St. Corpus Christi, TX 78409 Brazos Mall, Suite 1039 100 Hwy 332 West Lake Jackson, TX 77566 Suite 202a 8000 Niksy Center Charlotte Amalie, VI 00802 Suite 103 6000 Broadway Galveston, TX 77551 33rd Place Building Suite 107 3305 Main Street Vancouver, WA 98663 West Virginia Tri-State Fire Academy 4200 Ohio River Rd. Huntington, WV 25702 Wisconsin 425 South Military Avenue Green Bay, WI 54303 Chase Commerce Center Suite 620 Building 28 Floor 1 3073 S. Chase Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53207 SIU VP Gulf Goast Dean Corgey (third from left in photo at left) chats with El Morro crew members (in no particular order) AB Wilfredo Cruz, GUDE Cleveland Lewis, Chief Steward Mary Sims, Electrician Joseph Letang, Chief Cook Alexie Vazquez and AB Julio Matos. Chief Steward Kenneth Whitfield (photo at right) prepares breakfast for the El Morro crew while El Faro crew members AB Sirio Ceno (left in photo below) and GUDE David Newsome secure heaving lines after their vessel docks. With Seafarers Aboard The El Morro, El Faro In The Port of Jacksonville SIU VP Gulf Coast Dean Gorgey recently visited with Seafarers aboard the SIU-contracted vessels El Morro and El Faro in the Port of Jacksonville, Fla. SIU Assistant VP Contracts Archie Ware accompanied Corgey during his visit and snapped these photos for publication in the LOG. SA Erasmo Guevara (above) prepares items for the breakfast bar aboard the El Morro while Chief Cook Isaac Newsome (photo at right) devotes his total energies to the preparation of entrees for the crew’s lunch meal. August 2008 Seafarers LOG 9 �49927_P01_24:January 08 7/25/2008 12:05 PM Page 10 Seafarer Wins $1,000 Union Plus Scholarship Active and Retired Union Members, Dependents May Apply for 2009 Grants Recertified Steward Brandon Maeda recently was awarded a $1,000 Union Plus scholarship. Altogether, the organization for the year 2008 presented scholarships to 108 applicants representing 40 unions. Those grants have a total monetary value of $150,000. “With credit so tight, prices rising and fewer loans available to students who want to attend college, scholarship programs like these are more important than ever,” said Leslie Tolf, president of Union Privilege, the organization that administers the scholarship program for Union Plus. Maeda, who joined the SIU in 1983, is studying to become a registered nurse. “I can say without hesitation that everything I have today is a product of the opportu- nities afforded me by the union,” he stated. The scholarships are granted to students attending a two-year college, fouryear college, graduate school or a recognized technical or trade school. Since 1992, Union Plus has awarded more than $2.4 million in scholarships to union families. Recipients are selected “based on academic ability, social awareness, financial need and appreciation of labor,” according to Union Plus. Current and retired members of unions participating in any Union Plus program (including the SIU), their spouses and their dependent children (including foster children, stepchildren, and any other child for whom the individual member provides greater than 50 percent of his or her support) may apply for a Union Plus Scholarship. Union members from the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada are eligible. Members do not have to purchase any Union Plus program product or personally participate in any Union Plus programs to apply for the scholarships. The scholarship awards are not based upon participation in a Union Plus program. The individual must be accepted into an accredited college or university, community college or recognized technical or trade school at the time the award is issued. Graduate students are eligible. According to Union Plus, scholarship applications are judged by a committee of impartial post-secondary educators. Applications are first reviewed by a panel of independent career professionals. Semifinalists are chosen based on a point scale, and their applications are then provided to judges for further review and selection of finalists and awards. Program judges include representatives from the American Association of Community Colleges, the United Negro College Fund, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. The amount of the award ranges from $500 to $4,000. This is a one-time cash award sent to individual winners for study beginning in the fall of the same year. For information on eligibility and to receive a notification when the application is available for next year’s scholarship, visit www.UnionPlus.org/Scholarships or call 1-877-881-1022 . Union Plus Announces Disaster Assistance Editor’s note: Union Plus, affiliated with the AFLCIO, recently issued the following bulletin. U.S. Maritime Administration Deputy Administrator and Chief Counsel Julie Nelson delivers remarks in front of the Seamen’s Memorial Sundial. The Coast Guard Marine Safety Office Port Arthur Color Guard leads the crowd to the seawall to place a ceremonial wreath. Port Arthur Conducts Maritime Day Ceremony In what has become a National Maritime Day tradition, Father Sinclair Oubre, president of the Apostleship of the Sea of the United States and an active SIU member, recently welcomed attendees to the annual service at the Seamen’s Memorial Sundial in Port Arthur, Texas. The May 22 ceremony also commemorated mariners and fishermen who have passed away during the last year. Additionally, special recognition was given to the Christus St. Mary’s Hospital Emergency Room staff, a local company and local volunteer Edna Noack for the extra efforts they made to assist mariner Yong Liang Goa, who was injured at sea and treated at the local hospital. The staff of St. Mary’s Hospital Emergency Room is recognized during the ceremony. SIU Representative Robert Troy and Betty Kiel, supporter of the local seamen’s center, were among those in attendance. Recognition was also given to Port Arthur’s newest addition to the local maritime industry – namely, LNG facilities. On hand were representatives of Chenier LNG, Exxon Mobile LNG and crew members of the Celestine River, the first LNG ship to navigate the Sabine-Neches Waterway. The memorial service continued as participants were led by members of the U.S. Coast Guard walking from Port Arthur’s Sundial Memorial to its seawall, where a wreath was laid in the water to remember and honor seafarers who had lost their lives at sea. U.S. Maritime Administration Deputy Administrator and Chief Counsel Julie Nelson, guest speaker at the event, noted that she has attended numerous maritime celebrations and remembrances across the country, but that relatively smaller ones such as the event in Port Arthur are particularly meaningful to the community. Paul Hall Center Offers Career Advancement The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., offers the most U.S. Coast Guard-approved courses of any maritime school in the nation. The center features top-notch training from experienced instructors and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. The school offers courses for mariners sailing in the deck, engine and steward departments. Below is a quick look at one of those classes. For more information about the center and its courses, contact the Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; call (301) 994-0010; or visit the Paul Hall Center section of www.seafarers.org. Course dates are listed on page 21 of this issue of the LOG and also are carried on the web site. 10 Seafarers LOG Deck Department Course Spotlight Fast Rescue Boats Applicants completing the school’s 30-hour fast rescue boats course satisfy the requirements of Table A-VI/2-2 of the STCW Code, Specification of the Minimum Standard of Competence in Fast Rescue Boats. The Paul Hall Center’s Fast Rescue Boats course trains students to handle and take charge of fast rescue boats during or after launch in adverse weather and sea conditions. Students learn how to operate a fast rescue boat engine, use all locating devices including communication and signaling equipment between the rescue boat and a helicopter and the ship, and how to carry out search patterns. Prerequisites: Basic Safety, Survival Craft and Rescue Boats other than fast rescue boats Union members living in areas impacted by the devastating flooding in the Midwest and who participate in Union Plus programs may have one less financial worry. The Union Plus Credit Card Disaster Relief Fund is available to help cardholders who are facing financial hardship due to the floods. Union cardholders are eligible to apply for Disaster Relief Fund grants of $500. The money does not have to be repaid. To qualify for a Union Plus Credit Card Disaster Relief Fund grant, the union member must: ■ Have been a victim of the flooding in counties designated by FEMA as qualifying for individual assistance in states including Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin. ■ Have experienced a significant loss of income or property due to the disaster. ■ Have been a Union Plus Credit Card holder for at least 12 months and have an account in good standing. ■ Describe his or her circumstances and document the income or property loss. To apply for a Disaster Relief Fund grant, cardholders can call the Union Plus Credit Card Disaster Relief Fund at 1-877-761-5028. Other special assistance for cardholders includes skip payments, lower rates, fee waivers and other help. Disaster victims who participate in the Union Plus Loan, Auto Insurance, Mortgage and UnionSecure Insurance programs may be eligible to receive payment extensions or other special help from the program providers. Assistance plans vary by program provider. To find out more, members who participate in any of the following programs should call: ■ Union Plus Loan: 1-800-343-7097 ■ Union Plus Mortgage: 1-866-766-2164 ■ Union Plus Auto Insurance: 1-877-244-0304 ■ UnionSecure Insurance: 1-800-393-0864 Counties designated by FEMA as qualifying for individual assistance include: Colorado: Larimer and Weld Counties. Indiana: Adams, Bartholomew, Brown, Clay, Daviess, Dearborn, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Henry, Jackson, Jennings, Johnson, Knox, Marion, Monroe, Morgan, Owen, Parke, Putnam, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Sullivan, Vermillion, and Vigo Counties. Iowa: Adams, Benton, Black Hawk, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Cedar, Cerro Gordo, Delaware, Fayette, Floyd, Hardin, Johnson, Jones, Linn, Louisa, Marion, Muscatine, Page, Polk, Story, Tama, Union, and Winneshiek Counties. Missouri: Barry, Jasper, and Newton Counties. Wisconsin: Crawford, Columbia, Sauk, Milwaukee, Racine, Richland and Vernon Counties. The Union Plus Credit Card Disaster Relief Fund is administered by Union Privilege. Union Privilege and HSBC, the company providing the credit card program, established the fund. Union Privilege, founded by the AFL-CIO in 1986, develops and manages the Union Plus benefits programs. Union Privilege uses the combined buying power of millions of union families to obtain top quality goods and services at competitive prices with unique union-member-only features. For more information visit http://www.unionplus.org August 2008 �49927_P01_24X:January 08 7/28/2008 11:21 AM The steward department takes a momentary break from their busy lunch duties. Pictured (left to right) are SA Marvin Davis, Chief Cook Joel Molinos and Recertified Steward Fernando Guity. Page 11 OMU Davon “Bud” McMillan in the steering gear room. Two of the original crew members who took the Los Angeles from the shipyard to its maiden voyage are (left to right) AB John Mensah and AB John Kamara. Pumpman Tom Bain is busy welding in the steering gear room. Shipboard Scenes from the Overseas Los Angeles AB John Mensah, unofficial ship’s photographer, captured most of these images during a recent voyage aboard the Overseas Los Angeles. The vessel, leased for charter in the Jones Act market to SIU-contracted OSG America, was built at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. It was delivered in November 2007. Sharing jokes in the crew mess after a hard day at work are (left to right in photo at left) SA Marvin Davis and AB John Kamara. In photo above, center, the Overseas Los Angeles crew musters on the stern for shipboard safety drills. AB Mike Moore (photo above, right) starts his watch on the high-tech bridge. He was one of the original crew members who took the vessel from the shipyard on its maiden voyage. AB John Mensah (above) runs the winch in preparation for the Long Beach docking while Recertified Bosun Brad Seibel (right in photo at right) and STOS Josean Villarrubia prepare the Los Angeles for arrival in the Port of Long Beach, Calif. Two Seafarers Receive Full Books in Oakland, Calif. Two SIU members recently received their full union books at the hall in Oakland. In the photo at immediate right, SA Karen Thomasson is sworn in by SIU Assistant VP Nick Celona. AB Dominic Gilmartin (left in photo at far right) is sworn in by Patrolman Greg Stone. Congratulations to both Seafarers. August 2008 Seafarers LOG 11 �49927_P01_24X:January 08 7/28/2008 11:22 AM Page 12 American Steamship’s Adam E. Cornelius carries iron ore pellets, coal and limestone. Snapshots from the G UA I. Villaflor, AB Abdul Hussein, Recertified Bosun Bill MulCahy, UA William Pakkala Aboard H. Lee White T he photos on these two pages (taken in June and July) show Seafarers and SIU officials at the union hall in Algonac, Mich., and at various job sites around the area. SIU members in the Great Lakes region sail aboard more than 20 ships along with dozens of tugboats and integrated tug-barge units. iron ore, limestone, coal, c other cargoes. According to the Lake C association representing Am Lakes), “In a typical shipp SA Ahmed Al-Shahtoor Aboard Sam Laud AB Tim McKenna Aboard tug Cleveland Conveyorman Dean Parks, pictured aboard the Adam E. Cornelius, recently returned from serving in Iraq. In addition to being a Seafarer, Parks is an artillery specialist in the U.S. Army Reserve. VP Great Lakes Tom Orzechowski Mary Jenkins, SIU administrative assistant Port Agent Todd Brdak AB William Dobbins Aboard tug Cleveland 12 Seafarers LOG 2nd Cook Darlene Weymouth Aboard Sam Laud August 2008 �49927_P01_24X:January 08 7/28/2008 11:23 AM Page 13 Luedtke Engineering (photo at left and photo above) is one of many SIU-contracted companies based in the Great Lakes region. hee Great Lakes Region nits. The larger vessels transport oal, cement, sand and salt, among ake Carriers’ Association (an ng American-flag operators on the hipping season, the U.S.-flag Lakes fleet will haul upwards of 115 million tons, or almost half a ton for every person living in the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii.” The Great Lakes system includes Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior, their connecting waters, and the St. Lawrence River. SIU Representative Don Thornton Safety Director Monte Burgett (right) assists a member. August 2008 GUDE Hussein Jinah Aboard H. Lee White Deckhand Don Mills, Engineer Ed Carlson Deckhand Don Mills Aboard dredge Lucille T. Seafarers LOG 13 �49927_P01_24:January 08 7/25/2008 12:09 PM Page 14 General Notice Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) Alliance NY Crew Honored For Supporting U.S. Troops During a recent voyage to Iraq, SIU members aboard the Alliance New York (some of whom are pictured above) were recognized for supporting American and international coalition military forces in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Some received the U.S. Merchant Marine Expeditionary Medal, while those who had earned the medal on previous voyages were presented with certificates from the U.S. Maritime Administration. The presentations took place on Independence Day. As the ship’s master, Capt. Costas Balomenos, put it, “What better day to present these awards than the Fourth of July?” Pictured from left to right are AB Robert Cole, AB Rodney Seth Roberson Sr., UA Angela Corbitt, UA Larry Byrd, GSU Lonnie Jordan and AB Oliver Bohannon Jr. Other SIU members aboard during the voyage to the Port of Umm Qasr included Recertified Bosun Thomas Grosskurth, AB Charles Wright Jr., AB Michael Mahoney, GUDE Val Custis, GUDE Kenneth Bricker Jr., Chief Steward Ronal Lupinacci and Chief Cook Breon Lucas. National Maritime Day Observed in San Pedro, Calif. As previously reported, Seafarers, SIU retirees and SIU officials earlier this year participated in a number of National Maritime Day ceremonies, including events in California and in Washington, D.C. Pictured on May 22 at the American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial in San Pedro, Calif., are retired steward department Seafarer Mary Lou Lopez and retired SIU Wilmington Patrolman/Dispatcher Jesse Solis. In recognition of the importance of the U.S. Merchant Marine, Congress in 1933 approved (by joint resolution) the designation of May 22 of each year as National Maritime Day. Congress also authorized and requested that the president issue an annual proclamation calling for its appropriate observance. SEAFARERS HEALTH AND BENEFITS PLAN — COBRA NOTICE Are You Receiving All Your Important Mail? To help ensure that each active SIU member and pensioner receives the Seafarers LOG—as well as other important mail—monthly, correct home addresses must be on file with the union. Those who recently have moved or feel that they are not getting their union mail, should use the form at right to update their home addresses. An individual’s home address is his/her permanent address. Unless otherwise specified, this is where all official union documents will be sent. Individuals receiving more than one copy of the LOG, those who have changed their address and those whose names or addresses are misprinted or incomplete, should fill out the form and send it to: Seafarers International Union, Address Correction Dept., 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Corrections via e-mail should be sent to kclements@seafarers.org 14 Seafarers LOG The union has become aware of situations where members may have unintentionally agreed to give large portions of their pensions to their ex-spouse as part of their divorce agreements. In each case, the scenario involved a legal document known as a qualified domestic relations order, abbreviated as QDRO (usually pronounced “quadro”). A QDRO is a court order that directs a pension plan to pay another individual, usually an exspouse, a portion of one’s pension benefit. The purpose of this notice is to alert or remind Seafarers to the existence of the QDRO in the hope that, if a divorce occurs, the distribution of pension benefits is fair for all concerned. A QDRO establishes the right of a former spouse to receive part or all of the other former spouse’s qualified retirement benefits – and obligates the person receiving those benefits to pay taxes on that income. Often, lawyers are retained to draft QDROs. Remember that the lawyer who drafts the QDRO does so in the best interest of his or her client, who is generally the ex-spouse. As the participant, you should make sure that you are adequately protected by retaining counsel of your own to review the document. If the QDRO meets the statutory requirements, the Seafarers Pension Plan must honor it no matter how it divides the pension assets. In that case, the QDRO will govern the distribution of the SIU retiree’s pension. Both the Seafarers Pension Plan and the Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan have model QDRO language which the Plans encourage you to utilize. The bottom line in these circumstances is that the union urges Seafarers to protect their rights, secure good representation and be certain to understand the basics of a QDRO. Ideally, such a document would never be needed. Unfortunately, some marriages end in divorce – and in those instances, if pension benefits exist, the division of those benefits must be addressed. HOME ADDRESS FORM (Please Print) Name: ____________________________________________________________ Phone No.: ________________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Social Security No.: ________ / ________ / ________ Book No.: _________ Active SIU Pensioner Other ________________________ This will be my permanent address for all official union mailings. This address should remain in the union file unless otherwise changed by me personally. 8/08 Under federal law, a participant and his or her dependents have the right to elect to continue their Plan coverage in the event that they lose their eligibility. This right is granted by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, better known as “COBRA.” The COBRA law allows a participant and his or her dependents to temporarily extend their benefits at group rates in certain circumstances where coverage under the Plan would otherwise end. A participant and his or her dependents have a right to choose this continuation coverage if they lose their Plan coverage because the participant failed to meet the Plan’s seatime requirements. In addition, a participant and his or her dependents may have the right to choose continuation coverage if the participant becomes a pensioner ineligible for medical benefits. The participant’s dependents may also elect continuation coverage if they lose coverage under the Plan as the result of the participant’s (1) death; (2) divorce; or (3) Medicare eligibility. A child can also elect COBRA if as the result of his or her age, he or she is no longer a dependent under the Plan rules. If a member and his or her dependents feel that they may qualify, or if they would like more information concerning these rights, they should contact the Plan office at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Since there are important deadlines that apply to COBRA, please contact the Plan as soon as possible to receive a full explanation of the participant’s rights and his or her dependents’ rights. August 2008 �49927_P01_24:January 08 7/25/2008 12:09 PM Page 15 Procedure For Obtaining SIU Absentee Ballots Elections for the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are scheduled for later this year. As in past SIU election years, a comprehensive guide will be published in the Seafarers LOG prior to the balloting. In the case of members eligible to vote who believe they will be at sea during the Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2008 voting period, absentee ballots will be available. The SIU constitution ensures that members who are eligible to vote and who find themselves in this situation may vote. Procedures are established in the SIU constitution to safeguard the secret ballot election, including the absentee ballot process. Here is the procedure to follow when requesting an absentee ballot: 1. Make the request in writing to the SIU office of the secretary-treasurer, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. 2. Include in the request the correct address where the absentee ballot should be mailed. 3. Send the request for an absentee ballot by registered or certified mail. 4. The registered or certified mail envelope must be postmarked no later than midnight, Nov. 15, 2008 and must be received at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 no later than Nov. 25, 2008. 5. The secretary-treasurer, after confirming eligibility, will send by registered mail, return receipt requested, to the address designated in the request, a ballot, together with an envelope marked “Ballot” and a mailing envelope no later than Nov. 30, 2008. 6. Upon receiving the ballot and envelope, vote by marking the ballot. After voting the ballot, place the ballot in the envelope marked “Ballot.” Do not write on the “Ballot” envelope. 7. Place the envelope marked “Ballot” in the mailing envelope which is imprinted with the mailing address of the bank depository where all ballots are sent. 8. Sign the mailing envelope on the first line of the upper left-hand corner. Print name and book number on the second line. The mailing envelope is self-addressed and stamped. 9. The mailing envelope must be postmarked no later than midnight, Dec. 31, 2008 and received by the bank depository no later than Jan. 5, 2009. Dispatchers’ Repor t for Deep Sea June 16, 2008 — July 15, 2008 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals September & October 2008 Membership Piney Point.........................Monday: September 8, October 6 Algonac .............................Friday: September 12, October 10 Baltimore........................Thursday: September 11, October 9 Boston ...............................Friday: September 12, October 10 Guam............................Thursday: September 25, October 23 Honolulu ............................Friday: September 19, October 17 Houston............Monday: September 15, Tuesday: October 14 Jacksonville....................Thursday: September 11, October 9 Totals Joliet.............................Thursday: September 18, October 16 Port Mobile.......................Wednesday: September 17, October 15 New Orleans ..................Tuesday: September 16, October 14 New York ...........................Tuesday: September 9, October 7 Norfolk...........................Thursday: September 11, October 9 Oakland ........................Thursday: September 18, October 16 Philadelphia.................Wednesday: September 10, October 8 Port Everglades ............Thursday: September 18, October 16 San Juan .........................Thursday: September 11, October 9 St. Louis ............................Friday: September 19, October 17 Tacoma ...............................Friday: September 26, October 24 Wilmington.........................Monday: September 22, October 20 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals All Departments August 2008 **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C DECK DEPARTMENT 4 5 0 20 3 4 33 25 5 11 8 21 23 17 7 14 10 8 23 18 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 4 0 2 2 1 11 1 0 0 0 1 1 6 0 2 3 10 1 7 36 22 0 7 12 23 11 26 5 0 5 1 36 19 1 1 6 8 5 3 35 25 1 3 9 21 15 11 1 14 9 3 13 13 0 1 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 3 1 1 1 3 11 0 0 30 18 0 4 11 14 6 6 1 0 5 2 13 15 5 0 12 22 1 13 63 63 3 24 26 87 26 29 9 2 16 4 67 50 9 9 1 21 8 14 53 37 10 18 14 38 34 22 10 3 12 10 49 32 3 0 0 3 1 0 5 5 2 1 2 4 11 4 1 0 0 1 3 9 320 259 33 226 197 17 141 522 404 55 0 0 1 4 3 9 19 23 0 4 8 13 8 8 6 1 5 0 13 13 1 3 2 8 3 6 11 12 1 6 3 9 11 6 2 2 4 3 16 7 0 2 1 2 0 2 2 6 0 0 0 5 0 2 0 2 0 0 1 2 138 116 27 ENGINE DEPARTMENT Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs 4 0 7 15 0 7 46 33 2 10 17 47 23 18 9 1 13 1 38 29 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 0 3 0 0 9 13 16 0 7 4 9 7 6 4 1 1 0 12 10 0 3 2 4 1 5 6 14 0 3 1 5 13 5 2 0 3 0 13 9 0 1 0 1 1 2 2 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 4 0 2 10 13 0 2 5 6 2 1 2 0 3 0 17 6 0 0 3 13 3 19 31 35 1 10 14 32 16 13 4 3 7 1 20 16 5 4 6 17 7 7 26 27 1 11 6 18 20 12 6 4 6 9 22 11 0 1 2 4 1 2 2 5 1 1 0 7 4 4 0 2 1 0 4 5 102 89 16 73 241 225 46 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 1 0 2 6 2 6 22 21 1 5 4 23 13 22 2 2 2 2 15 23 0 1 1 10 1 5 10 10 0 3 3 9 16 5 1 1 2 2 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 1 0 1 0 2 179 89 10 1 0 3 7 1 4 9 16 0 5 7 15 7 13 0 2 2 1 19 17 0 0 1 6 2 3 9 5 0 3 1 5 11 7 1 0 3 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 6 0 1 11 15 0 3 3 15 7 5 1 1 0 0 10 9 1 0 4 11 3 15 37 29 1 11 9 39 15 38 5 7 5 3 22 37 2 2 3 15 0 8 11 12 0 9 6 12 21 4 0 1 1 3 11 9 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 132 65 6 87 292 129 14 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 1 0 1 0 0 3 4 2 0 0 0 8 1 7 0 0 0 0 6 2 0 2 4 3 3 5 22 22 0 8 1 31 13 17 1 5 1 1 14 15 2 0 1 5 0 7 9 15 0 1 4 6 21 11 0 18 0 0 6 8 1 0 1 0 0 0 5 3 0 0 0 3 0 6 0 0 0 0 6 1 0 1 2 2 0 2 12 14 0 3 2 14 7 18 0 3 1 0 15 9 1 0 0 5 0 2 2 1 0 1 0 1 7 5 0 17 0 1 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 6 2 0 1 1 12 1 9 0 0 0 0 5 4 3 2 5 8 5 13 35 27 0 9 7 66 24 21 2 5 4 3 24 21 3 0 1 10 2 15 16 35 0 1 8 14 28 21 1 7 1 2 8 17 35 168 112 26 105 49 0 46 284 190 672 632 182 486 456 88 301 1101 1042 305 Seafarers LOG 15 �49927_P01_24X:January 08 7/28/2008 11:23 AM Page 16 Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 Some of the Rhode Island crew receives the Constant Care Award plaque from Ship Vetting Program Manager Jonathan Henson. SIU-Crewed Maersk Ships Reach Safety Milestones As part of its growing safety program, SIU-contracted Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) recently gave Constant Care Awards to two ships: the container and roll-on/roll-off vessel Cpl. Louis J. Hauge Jr., which is part of the U.S. Military Sealift Command’s prepositioning fleet; and the product tanker Maersk Rhode Island. Each ship earned a Constant Care Award for achieving five years without a lost-time accident. The award is part of MLL’s “Drive to Zero” program, which is a hands-on initiative to assist employees (mariners and shore-side personnel alike) in focusing on safety and teamwork to make the workplace as GUAM P.O. Box 3328, Hagatna, Guam 96932 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 Recertified Bosun Daniel Laitenen Maersk Rhode Island HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 Pictured from left to right aboard the Rhode Island are GVA Walid Nasser, AB William McIntyre, Chief Steward Christopher Hale and Chief Cook Cecil Husted. Crew members and others are pictured aboard the tanker, including (not in order) Bosun Daniel Laitenen, MSC Commanding Officer of Military Sealift Fleet Support Command (MSFSC) Ship Support Unit Guam Delbert Yordy, Chief Steward Christopher Hale, Captain James Walker, GVA Walid Nasser, Port Agent Jeff Turkus, Pumpman Marcelino Cayabyab, 2nd Pumpman Matthew Wright, AB William McIntyre, 1st Engineer Henry Matuszynski, 2nd Engineer Chris Smith, AB Larry Rawlins and AB Michael Willis. safe as possible. As suggested by the title, its goal is to drive down unsafe and environmental incidents as close to zero as possible or eliminate them altogether. MLL’s Director of Quality, Environment, Safety and Security (QESS) Patrick Callahan credits teamwork and focus for the achievement. He noted, “This accomplishment is a result of a true team effort from our mariners and office personnel alike. ‘Drive to Zero’ started as a vision from senior management and is quickly becoming a way of life for MLL employees afloat and at shore. We still have a lot of room for improvement but this is a milestone worth celebrating!” Seafarers aboard the Rhode Island were recently recognized by the company with the award by MLL’s Ship Vetting Program Manager Jonathan Henson, and the photos accompanying this story were submitted by SIU Guam Port Agent Jeff Turkus. Pic-From-The Past The photo at right, which appeared in the July 22, 1955 edition of the Seafarers LOG shows officers and crew members from the SIUcrewed Southstar during shore leave from their duties while in an overseas port. Pictured (from the left) are Master Ben Shaw, Chief Mate Robert Welch, AB Willard Mullins, Radio Operator C.H. Childers, OS William Betgood and AB Benny Swearington. According to the caption which ran with the photo, it was taken in France and the crew was preparing to tour the sites in the city of La Pallice. The gentleman to the far right apparently is their tour guide. TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with other Seafarers LOG readers, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. High-resolution digital images may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org August 2008 �49927_P01_24:January 08 7/25/2008 12:10 PM Page 17 Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. Welcome Ashore DEEP SEA VELONDER ALFORD Sister Velonder Alford, 65, became an SIU member in 2001. She initially sailed on the Kauai. Sister Alford was born in Oklahoma and worked in the steward department. She enhanced her seafaring abilities in 2001 and 2002 at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Sister Alford’s most recent voyage was aboard the 2nd Lt. John Paul Bobo. She makes her home in Toledo, Wash. LENZY BARNEY JR. Brother Lenzy Barney Jr., 65, was born in Alabama. He joined the union in 1991 while in the port of Mobile, Ala. Brother Barney first shipped on the Equality State. The engine department member’s last vessel was the Cleveland. Brother Barney lives in Mobile. JAMES ELLIOTT Brother James Elliott, 67, donned the SIU colors in 1997 in the port of Norfolk, Va. He originally shipped aboard the Wilson. Brother Elliott was born in Linden, N.C., and worked in the engine department. He attended classes often at the Piney Point school. Brother Elliott’s final voyage was on the Observation Island. He continues to reside in Norfolk. FRANCISCO MUNOZ Brother Francisco Munoz, 65, signed on with the SIU in 1968. He originally sailed with Victory Carriers Inc. as a member of the deck department. Brother Munoz was a frequent upgrader at the Paul Hall Center. The recertified bosun was born in Chile. Brother Munoz’s last vessel was the Meteor. He is a resident of San Francisco. MICKEY NOBLE Brother Mickey Noble, 56, became an SIU member in 1971. He was initially employed aboard the Rose City. Brother Noble was a member of the deck department. He upgraded on numerous occasions at the maritime training facility in Piney Point, Md. Brother Noble was born in France. His final voyage was on the Intrepid. Brother Noble lives in San Francisco. TEODORO QUINONES Brother Teodoro Quinones, 50, was born in Puerto Rico. He began his seafaring career in 1977 in Piney Point, Md. Brother Quinones’ first trip was aboard the Walter J. McCarthy. He worked in the engine department and enhanced his skills often at the Piney Point school. Brother Quinones was last employed on the Sea Star. He makes his home in Vega Baja, P.R. ALI RASHID DOMINGO MIRELES Brother Domingo Mireles, 77, first went to sea in 1990 from the port of Houston. His initial trip was aboard the USNS Algol. Brother Mireles was born in Texas and sailed in the engine department. He most recently shipped on the Cape Vincent. Brother Mireles upgraded on two occasions at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. He calls Beaumont, Texas, home. August 2008 Brother Ali Rashid, 65, joined the MC&S (Marine Cooks & Stewards) in 1981. His earliest voyage was aboard the President Wilson, where he shipped as a member of the steward department. Brother Rashid is a Yemen native. His final ship was the APL Korea. In 2000, Brother Rashid upgraded at the Seafarersaffiliated school in Piney Point, Md. He settled in Washington State. ALLAN ROGERS Brother Allan Rogers, 64, became a Seafarer in 1965 while in the port of New York. He was born in Baltimore, Md., and worked in the deck department. Brother Rogers’ first ship was the Steel Executive; his last was the USNS Mendonca. He frequently took advantage of educational opportunities offered at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Rogers lives in Rhodesdale, Md. Schwarz was born in Germany and sailed as a member of the steward department. He attended numerous classes at the Piney Point school. Brother Schwarz’s last voyage was on the Quality. He resides in Lake Worth, Fla. INLAND ELIAS RUIZ Brother Elias Ruiz, 65, began sailing with the union in 1978. He initially sailed aboard the Mount Explorer. Brother Ruiz was born in Honduras. He upgraded on numerous occasions at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Ruiz most recently shipped on the El Faro. He calls Houston, Texas, home. GERHARD SCHWARZ Brother Gerhard Schwarz, 72, donned the SIU colors in 1975 while in the port of San Francisco. His original trip to sea was aboard the Independence. Brother DANIEL DEARING Boatman Daniel Dearing, 62, became an SIU member in 1978 while in the port of Wilmington, Calif. He primarily shipped aboard vessels operated by Crowley Towing & Transportation of Wilmington. Boatman Dearing was born in Seattle. In 1982, he enhanced his skills at the SIU-affiliated school. Boatman Dearing is a resident of Costa Mesa, Calif. THOMAS ROSTAN Boatman Thomas Rostan, 62, joined the union in 1990. He initially sailed with OLS Transport Ltd. as a member of the deck department. Boatman Rostan upgraded on two occasions at the maritime training facility in Piney Point, Md. His most recent trip was aboard a Penn Maritime Inc. vessel. Boatman Rostan makes his home in Largo, Fla. GREAT LAKES HUSAIN ALI Brother Husain Ali, 65, was born in Arabia. He signed on with the Seafarers in 1970. Brother Ali’s earliest journey was on the Buck Monitor. The deck department member was last employed aboard the Richard J. Reiss. Brother Ali settled in Dearborn, Mich. JOHN BONIFAS Brother John Bonifas, 64, began sailing with the union in 1978. His first sailed on the Columbia as a member of the engine department. Brother Bonifas was born in Michigan. He frequently took advantage of educational opportunities available at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Bonifas’ final ship was the Walter J. McCarthy. He calls Manistique, Mich., home. Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. tied a lifeline around his waist, swam to the raft and brought the injured man on board. 1950 1982 U.S. Customs officials made their first search of an Iron Curtain country vessel under the authority of the recently passed “Trojan Ship” measure, which permits inspection of foreignflag ships for atomic bombs and other weapons. The security check took place in Boston aboard a Finnish ship. Seafarers are urged to apply their own security measures aboard their ships in foreign ports. Vigilance should be maintained to prevent unauthorized persons from boarding or otherwise gaining access to their vessels. The officers and SIU crew of the USNS Southern Cross were honored by the American Institute of Merchant Shipping for their “humanitarian assistance to Vietnamese refugees adrift in the South China Sea during late September 1981.” The USNS Southern Cross, part of the SIU Government Service Division fleet operated by the Military Sealift Command, Pacific, picked up 58 desperate “boat people” from a 35-foot boat on July 15, 1981 while en route from Subic Bay, Philippines to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. At the time, their actions were lauded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. There were 18 men, 13 women and 27 children on the boat. 1967 This Month In SIU History The maritime industry’s highest award for safety was presented to the SIU-crewed Steel Maker for the rescue of four seamen from the Spanish ship Monte Palomares. The Steel Maker was en route from Spain to New York when it received an SOS from the Monte Palomares, foundering in a North Atlantic storm 900 miles from Bermuda, and immediately altered course to assist the sinking vessel. The Spanish ship had already gone down by the time the Steel Maker arrived, but a red flare from a life raft was spotted and the Steel Maker maneuvered alongside. Three of the raft’s survivors scrambled up the ship’s cargo net to safety, but a fourth was too injured to climb. An SIU member then 1992 Three USNS Mercy crew members were cited by the commander of Military Sealift Command Pacific for rescuing two fishermen off the northern coast of California. SIU member Robert McCumsey brought to safety the two fishermen from a life raft of a capsized 42-foot craft. The Seafarer was assisted by the Mercy’s captain and chief mate in the five- to seven-foot seas with heavy fog and low visibility. McCumsey received the Meritorious Civilian Service Medal. Seafarers LOG 17 �49927_P01_24:January 08 7/25/2008 12:11 PM Page 18 Final Depar tures DEEP SEA RICHARD ADAMSON Pensioner Richard Adamson, 80, passed away March 15. Brother Adamson, a member of the engine department, began sailing with the Seafarers in 1946. He initially shipped aboard the Steel King. Brother Adamson’s last trip was on a SeaLand vessel. He retired in 1990 and called Pembroke Pines, Fla., home. JOHN BENEDICT Pensioner John Benedict, 79, died March 4. Brother Benedict signed on with union in 1947 while in the port of New Orleans. He first sailed aboard the Del Rio. Brother Benedict was born in New Orleans and shipped in the deck department. His final voyage was on the Robert E. Lee. In 1986, Brother Benedict started collecting his retirement compensation. He resided in Harahan, La. JAMES BOLEN Pensioner James Bolen, 75, passed away March 2. Brother Bolen donned the SIU colors in 1966. He was originally employed aboard a Delta Steamship Lines vessel. Brother Bolen was a member of the deck department. His last ship was the Freedom. Brother Bolen went on pension in 1998. He lived in his native state of Washington. WILLIAM BOWLES Pensioner William Bowles, 88, died March 31. Brother Bowles became an SIU member in 1951. His earliest trip was on an M.J. Troy Inc. vessel. Brother Bowles worked in the engine department. Prior to his retirement in 1984, he sailed aboard the Overseas Valdez. Brother Bowles was a resident of Theodore, Ala. HERMAN BYRD Pensioner Herman Byrd, 72, passed away March 21. Brother Byrd joined the Seafarers in 1965. He initially sailed with Victory Carriers Inc., in the deck department. Brother Byrd was born in Mount Vernon, Ala. His final voyage was on the Quality. Brother Byrd made his home in Houston. He began receiving his pension in 1994. WILLIAM CALLAHAN Brother William Callahan, 64, died March 8. He started shipping with the union in 1964. Brother Callahan was born in Illinois. He sailed in 18 Seafarers LOG both the inland and deep sea divisions. Brother Callahan originally worked aboard a Dravo Basic Materials Company vessel. The engine department member was last employed on the Overseas Alice. Brother Callahan called Mobile, Ala., home. GUILLERMO CENTENO Pensioner Guillermo Centeno, 74, passed away March 7. Brother Centeno was born in Puerto Rico. He began his MC&S (Marine Cooks & Stewards) membership in 1979. Brother Centeno’s first ship was the Santa Maria; his last was the Maui. He was a member of the steward department. Brother Centeno became a pensioner in 1994. He resided in Eagle Pass, Texas. JAMES FLIPPO Pensioner James Flippo, 85, died March 23. Brother Flippo signed on with the SIU in 1944 while in the port of Mobile, Ala. His first voyage was aboard a Waterman Steamship Corporation vessel. Brother Flippo sailed in the deck department. Before his retirement in 1986, he sailed on the Sugar Islander. Brother Flippo was born in Alabama and made his home in Brookeland, Texas. Columbia Tiger. His last voyage was on the Horizon Consumer. In 1991, Brother Poleate started collecting his retirement compensation. He settled in Pensacola, Fla. JUAN PONCE Pensioner Juan Ponce, 74, died March 24. Brother Ponce became an SIU member in 1972. His first vessel was the Longview Victory; his last was the Commitment. Brother Ponce was born in Puerto Rico. He sailed in the engine department. Brother Ponce went on pension in 2003 and called Bayamon, P.R., home. OVIDIO RODRIGUEZ Pensioner Ovidio Rodriguez, 92, passed away March 13. Brother Rodriguez joined the union as a charter member in 1938 while in the port of New York. His earliest trip to sea was with AH Bull Steamship Company. Brother Rodriguez was born in Puerto Rico and shipped in the deck department. His final voyage was aboard the Del Valle. Brother Rodriguez began receiving his retirement pay in 1980. He lived in New York City. WILLIAM SHARP Pensioner Leonard Grove, 82, passed away April 2. Brother Grove joined the union in 1953 while in the port of New York. He initially shipped aboard the Steel Direct as a member of the deck department. Brother Grove was born in Kulpmont, Pa. He most recently worked on the St. Louis. Brother Grove went on pension in 1987. He continued to live in Pennsylvania. Pensioner William Sharp, 87, died March 17. Brother Sharp signed on with the Seafarers in 1956 in the port of Wilmington, Calif. He originally sailed on the Del Rio. Brother Sharp was born in Meridian, Miss. He worked in the steward department, most recently aboard the Great Land. Brother Sharp became a pensioner in 1989. He resided in Tacoma, Wash. JACK NASROEN MIKE STRAKA Pensioner Jack Nasroen, 85, died March 6. Brother Nasroen donned the SIU colors in 1951. He was originally employed aboard the Ponce. Brother Nasroen was born in Indonesia and shipped in the steward department. His final voyage was aboard the Oakland. Brother Nasroen was a resident of Marysville, Calif. He retired in 1986. Pensioner Mike Straka, 83, passed away March 14. Brother Straka was born in Central City, Pa. He started sailing with the SIU in 1953 from the port of Baltimore. Brother Straka’s first voyage was on the Marore. The deck department member last sailed aboard the Motivator. Brother Straka retired in 1989 and made his home in Sharon, Pa. LEONARD GROVE JOHN POLEATE Pensioner John Poleate, 86, passed away March 19. Brother Poleate began shipping with the Seafarers in 1970. The deck department member was born in Patton, La. Brother Poleate initially sailed aboard the WILLIAM WALTON Pensioner William Walton, 78, died April 5. Brother Walton donned the SIU colors in 1951. He initially shipped on a vessel operated by Mayflower Steamship Corporation. Brother Walton worked in the engine department, most recently aboard the Horizon Navigator. He was born in Los Angeles but called Raymond, Wash., home. Brother Walton started collecting his pension in 1990. CHIN WONG Pensioner Chin Wong, 86, passed away March 17. Brother Wong became a Seafarer in 1952. His first ship was the Burbank Victory. Brother Wong was a member of the engine department. Prior to his retirement in 1986, he worked with CSX Lines. Brother Wong was a resident of San Francisco. CARLOS ZAPATA Pensioner Carlos Zapata, 77, died April 8. Brother Zapata joined the SIU in 1965. His first sailed aboard the Ocean Cloud. Brother Zapata was born in La Ceiba, Honduras. He shipped in the deck department. Brother Zapata’s final trip took place aboard the Seabulk Challenger. He went on pension in 1997 and lived in Covington, La. INLAND BENJAMIN CHIANCIOLA Pensioner Benjamin Chianciola, 81, passed away April 4. Boatman Chianciola was born in Massachusetts. He joined the union in 1980. Boatman Chianciola last sailed on a vessel operated by Serafina II, Inc. He made his home in Gloucester, Mass. Boatman Chianciola retired in 1988. ROY DENT Pensioner Roy Dent, 65, died March 27. Boatman Dent signed on with the SIU in 1970 while in the port of St. Louis. He initially sailed on an Inland Tugs vessel. Boatman Dent was born in Walnut Ridge, Ark. He last was employed with Southern Ohio Towing Company. In 2004, Boatman Dent began receiving his retirement pay. He lived in Lilbourn, Mo. FLOYD KOENIG SR. Pensioner Floyd Koenig Sr., 79, passed away April 17. Boatman Koenig donned the SIU colors in 1975. He was originally employed with Whiteman Towing Company. Boatman Koenig was born in Gretna, La. He last worked for Crescent Towing of New Orleans. Boatman Koenig became a pensioner in 1990. He was a resident of Terrytown, La. CHARLES McDANIEL Pensioner Charles McDaniel, 74, died March 16. Boatman McDaniel started sailing with the Seafarers in 1965 from the port of St. Louis. The Pennsylvania native primarily shipped on vessels operated by Inland Tugs. Boatman McDaniel called Georgetown, Ohio, home. He went on pension in 1998. WILLIAM McLAREN JR. Pensioner William McLaren Jr., 74, passed away April 1. Boatman McLaren was born in Galveston, Texas. He joined the union in 1962. Boatman McLaren often sailed with Galveston Wharves. He started collecting his pension in 1994. Boatman McLaren resided in his native state. JIMMIE STEVENS Pensioner Jimmie Stevens, 74, died March 30. Boatman Stevens became a union member in 1973 while in the port of Wilmington, Calif. His earliest trip to sea was aboard an Allied Towing vessel. Boatman Stevens was a Florida native. He most recently worked with Maritrans Operating Company. Boatman Stevens retired in 1995 and settled in Gresham, S.C. WALTER VICKERY Pensioner Walter Vickery, 81, passed away March 12. Boatman Vickery began his seafaring career in 1957. He was born in Philadelphia. Boatman Vickery first sailed with Taylor Marine Towing Company. Before his retirement in 1989, he sailed on Mariner Towing vessels. Boatman Vickery made his home in New Jersey. GREAT LAKES JOSEPH LABLANC Pensioner Joseph LeBlanc, 84, died March 20. Brother LeBlanc signed on with the union in 1959 while in the port of Detroit. He initially worked on an American Steamship Company vessel as a member of the engine department. Brother LaBlanc was born in Royal Oak, Mich. His final voyage was with Michigan Tankers Inc. Brother LaBlanc went on pension in 1978 and called Warren, Mich., home. RICHARD WALLAKER Brother Richard Wallaker, 48, passed away March 5. He joined the SIU in 1992. Brother Wallaker primarily sailed with Luedtke Engineering Company. He was a resident of Frankfort, Mich. August 2008 �49927_P01_24:January 08 7/25/2008 12:11 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings CAPE KNOX (Keystone Shipping), May 11 – Chairman Grant A. Shipley, Secretary John W. Hale, Educational Director Rodolfo C. Cunanan, Deck Delegate Andre Skevnick, Steward Delegate Jeffery L. Tardieff. Chairman reminded crew members to keep documents in order so when they go for a job there should be no problem getting it. Secretary and educational director stressed the importance of upgrading skills at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Mariners would like phones and refrigerators in rooms. Motion was made to raise pension amounts. Next port: New Orleans. CHARGER (Maersk Line Limited), May 24 – Chairman Samuel H. Lampshire, Secretary Louis Nicoud, Educational Director Juanito P. Dansalan, Deck Delegate Khaled Munasser, Engine Delegate Yahya Mohamed, Steward Delegate Andy N. Campollo. Chairman notified members that ship would arrive in Los Angeles on May 26. He requested they double bag all trash and put it in covered containers. Crew was also asked to make sure that all doors are kept locked, for security measures. Educational director urged Seafarers to enhance skills at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Treasurer reported $750 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion was made to increase vacation benefits. Request was made for a new radio and TV in crew lounge. Thanks was given to all aboard vessel for their help in keeping the ship clean, with a special thanks to the steward department for great food and a clean mess hall. Next ports: Los Angeles, Oakland, Calif., Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and Yokohama, Japan. GREEN DALE (Waterman Steamship), May 18 – Chairman Robert V. Bakeman, Secretary Mohamed B. Kamer, Educational Director Jessie A. Parente, Deck Delegate Steven A. Lonas, Engine Delegate Jessie A. Parente, Steward Delegate Amilcor Bermudez. Chairman expressed gratitude to crew for working well together. Educational director encouraged members to take advantage of upgrading and training offered in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. It was noted that security people were needed on ramp when in port and during canal transit. Crew members would like a new DVD player and new clothes dryer since they are down to one dryer now. Next port: Long Beach, Calif. HONOR (Interocean American Shipping), May 7 – Chairman Billy G. Hill Sr., Secretary Patricia A. Sullivan. Chairman thanked crew for a safe and productive voyage. He also announced payoff on May 12 in Galveston, Texas. He informed mariners that rooms would be given sanitary inspections before payoff. Crew was notified that TWIC deadline had been extended until April 15, 2009. Secretary encouraged crew to upgrade when possible at the Piney Point school to keep our union strong. She also recommended applying for necessary seafaring documents at least six months ahead of time. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next ports: Beaumont, Texas, Jacksonville, Fla., Baltimore, Md., and Charleston, S.C. HORIZON HUNTER (Horizon Lines), May 25 – Chairman Loren E. Watson, Secretary Jennifer K. Jim, Educational Director Harold A. Bryan, Deck Delegate George W. Mazzola, Engine Delegate Joseph I. Laguana, Steward Delegate Steven C. Wasch. Bosun read Horizon Lines’ pre-physical procedure and steward posted the information on bulletin board. Educational director suggested everyone attend classes at the Paul Hall Center to enhance job skills. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Chairman to inquire with captain about ship’s fund; it was suggested that perhaps a ledger should be kept to keep crew informed about how money is spent. No beefs or disputed OT reported. It was noted that small washer was not working properly again. Next port: Tacoma, Wash. The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships’ minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. Aboard the Pride of Aloha These photos were taken of crew members aboard the Pride of Aloha while the vessel was bunkering in Cristobal, Panama. Pictured in the photo above (from left to right) are Storekeeper Aristotle Cortez, Engineer Luice Failugua, and Junior Engineer Medardo Valerio. In photo above right, Machinists Efren Bacomo, Joemarie Aboy and Donato Surrell take a quick break from their duties in a section of the vessel’s engine room while AB Florito Alegado, Storekeeper Cortez and OS Juanito Ceralde (photo at right) pose on the vessel’s deck. HORIZON TIGER (Horizon Lines), May 5 – Chairman Mark S. Lance, Secretary Terry L. Allen, Educational Director Paul P. Pagano, Deck Delegate James E. Murphy, Engine Delegate Gualberto M. Salaria. Chairman informed crew members that Coast Guard inspection would take place sometime during the next couple of trips. Departing Seafarers were asked to leave rooms clean for next member. Secretary thanked fellow crew members for their help keeping ship clean. Educational director discussed TWIC deadline extension. Treasurer stated $540 in ship’s fund. Recommendation was made to ask company to get satellite TV set up and crew would pay monthly fee out of ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Aboard the ITB Philadelphia in Bayonne New Jersey Crew members aboard the SIUcrewed ITB Philadelphia paused from their duties for these photos while the vessel was in Bayonne, N.J. Shown in the photo below (left to right) are Assistant Cook Farid Zaharan and Recertified Steward Dana Paradise. Steward Paradise (photo at right, from left to right) later joins Bosun Michael Wagner and two other members of the crew during a meal in the crew mess. August 2008 The procedure for filing a beef was discussed. Request was made for new mattresses. Vote of thanks was given to the steward department for good food and great cookouts. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash., Oakland, Calif., and Honolulu, Hawaii. INTEGRITY (Interocean American Shipping), May 31 – Chairman Paul O. Jagger, Secretary Thomas E. Kleine, Educational Director Tirso D. Sarmiento, Deck Delegate Francis Miller, Engine Delegate Rodney M. Payne, Steward Delegate Gloria Baker. Chairman went over ship’s itinerary. Secretary explained procedure of shipboard meetings and relayed information from phone conversation with Asst. VP Archie Ware pertaining to rotation. Educational director recommended upgrading at the SIU-affiliated maritime training center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made for increase in optical and dental benefits. It was noted that parts to fix ice machine have been ordered. Next ports: Bayonne, N.J., Baltimore, Md., Charleston, S.C., and Brunswick, Ga. MAERSK CALIFORNIA (Maersk Line Limited), May 26 – Chairman Raymond Henderson, Secretary Glenn C. Bamman, Educational Director Jimmie Robles, Deck Delegate Glen A. Rogers Jr., Engine Delegate Sammy Montana, Steward Delegate Richard M. Worobey. Chairman talked about shipping procedures and the importance of getting TWIC card. Educational director urged all mariners to enhance seafaring abilities at the union-affiliated school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew lounge needs a new DVD player capable of playing WUSA movies. Crew was looking into getting credentials for shore leave for Kuwait. Next ports: Kuwait and Jebel Ali, Dubai. CAPE MOHICAN (Ocean Duchess), June 23 – Chairman Stephen R. Garay, Secretary Steven E. Parker, Educational Director Kashmir S. Dhillon, Deck Delegate Clemens A. Kessler, Engine Delegate Essam A. Hussein, Steward Delegate Jasper Jackson Jr. Bosun talked about importance of union and solidarity. He also discussed why union meetings take place and how union officials can’t help unless they are kept informed of what is going on aboard the vessel. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion was made to reinstate Paul Hall Day as a holiday. Crew would like new mattresses, furniture, TV and DVD player. Crew successfully loaded military hovercraft onto vessel; it was the first load of this type aboard the Cape Mohican. Next port: Oakland, Calif. HORIZON RELIANCE (Horizon Lines), June 15 – Chairman Kissinfor N. Taylor, Secretary Joseph A. Laureta, Educational Director Joseph J. Egan, Deck Delegate Frank Sena, Engine Delegate Thomas V. Hastings, Steward Delegate Carmelo D. Cruz. Chairman read the president’s report from the Seafarers LOG and also read notice regarding lowering seatime requirements to 125 days to qualify for medical benefits. Secretary thanked members for helping keep ship clean. Educational director reiterated the importance of checking document expiration dates and upgrading skills. Treasurer reported $665.19 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next ports: Long Beach, Calif., and Honolulu, Calif. Seafarers LOG 19 �49927_P01_24X:January 08 7/28/2008 11:24 AM Page 20 Letter to the Editor Editor’s note: The Seafarers LOG reserves the right to edit letters for grammar as well as space provisions without changing the writer’s intent. The LOG welcomes letters from members, pensioners, their families and shipmates and will publish them on a timely basis. ‘Moral Obligation’ Includes Fair Treatment of Mariners Each day, I take time to reflect – not just on my life, but on that part of my life spent sailing tankers in the merchant marine during World War II. I have some satisfaction now that due to the tremendous efforts of other shipmates, and the related sea unions, I have my discharge from the Coast Guard which indicates I am a veteran of the United States. Each day, however, I am saddened by the fact that those of us who served in that war continue to be looked down upon as something not whole, something not really to be respected despite that piece of paper that says we are veterans. I can only hope that those men and women who now sail the dangerous seas will not have the disappointments the remaining seamen from World War II retain. On April 24, 2008, the Veterans’ Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007 was passed in the United States Senate by the vote of 96-1. This was S.1315. While the act increases a number of benefits which veterans should receive, and recognizes the increased medical care demanded from new types of conflicts, it also recognizes in Section 402 that some 13,000 remaining Filipino Scouts should now be included in full medical and educational benefits. The story of the Filipino Scouts is a long and wonderful example of men who served under the American flag following the invasion of the Philippines by the Japanese in World War II. Various presidents had indicated that these men, then some 225,000, some who survived the Bataan Death March, should be treated as equal American veterans. But true to the story of so many other groups who fought beside our regular troops, there were those who said, “No, we have no money for them.” However, things change. Elections come and go; new members of the House and Senate get elected. New rhetoric flows out in dramatic, patriotic drumbeat. The bill finally came out of the Veterans’ Committee in the Senate and then came the speeches – not just for the increased benefits, but now for the Filipino Scouts. In opening the debate on the issue, the lead senator for the Scouts said, “This nation has a moral obligation to care for those who have served under its flag.” There was the usual push and pull by senators to show their constituents how they feel. Then, the bill passed, as it should have the year before. What was not discussed was the fact that the bill to belatedly thank the remaining merchant seamen from World War II languishes in the same committee and no one speaks for us. Where is the moral obligation for us? Where will the moral obligation be when current-day seamen facing daily terrorist threats in foreign waters look at their service and how it should be judged? In the speeches for the Scouts, it was said that President Roosevelt and President Truman favored veterans’ treatment for them. President Roosevelt also encouraged GI benefits for merchant seamen in 1944, but he died the following year. We then endured years of neglect and suffered through both a federal court trial and 10 years of legislative neglect until finally, in 1998, most of the seamen received limited benefits. Most, however, will only receive a tombstone and a flag when they cross the bar. Several years ago, it was proposed that a limited financial benefit be provided to the remaining seamen to compensate these veterans for the extensive educational, home finance and medical benefits denied them since the end of the wartime service. This legislation passed the House, but remains stuck in the Senate. Through all the hearings on the legislation, as was the case in past legislative fights, the seamen have to fight misinformation that puts an ugly face on the issue. One congressman, not knowing our history, belittled us by saying some seamen only entered the merchant marine after the Japanese surrendered. The fact is that all seamen went through landside training before they shipped out, and many had signed up months before the Japanese surrendered. This training time is not counted and our service time officially only began when we signed the ship’s articles. Service time for all other services began at the swearing-in ceremony and many servicemen and women never left the United States. Yet, all these individuals received GI benefits. We have no complaint with this. But, again, where is the moral obligation to get our story right? I believe that men and women are elected to higher office to not only serve their constituents, but the U.S. as a whole. I believe history is a guide for men and women in the future so that our country can continue to be the place everyone in the world envies and the place they want to live. I believe those who control benefits should recognize they have a moral obligation to men and women who have served their country. I fear that when most citizens go to vote, they can’t focus on such a small matter as an obligation to servicemen and women when they choose their candidates. I pray that this thought will be something that those who have heard the call of the sea will remember when they make their choices for office. Moral obligation is not a matter of pick and choose; it is not a lottery. Moral obligation to veterans is a standard by which elected officials should be judged. Don T. Trimbath Vice President, Government Affairs American Merchant Marine Veterans Auburn, California Welcome Ashore, Brother Munoz Recertified Bosun Francisco Munoz (center) recently stopped by the Oakland hall to pick up his first retirement check. Family members joined him to share in the excitement. Pictured from left to right are daughter Angelina; wife, Sonia; Francisco; daughter Olga; and SIU Assistant VP Nick Celona. Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. 20 Seafarers LOG PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. August 2008 �49927_P01_24:January 08 7/25/2008 12:11 PM Page 21 Seafarers Paul Hall Center Upgrading Course Schedule The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the next few months of 2008. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Deck Upgrading Courses Course Course Start Date Date of Completion Welding September 8 October 6 November 3 December 1 September 26 October 23 November 21 December 19 Safety Specialty Courses Advanced Fire Fighting (must have basic fire fighting) August 2 August 8 Fast Rescue Boat August 18 September 8 August 22 September 12 Medical Care Provider September 8 September 12 Tanker Assistant (DL) September 22 November 10 September 6 October 3 November 21 September 12 Start Date Date of Completion August 18 September 29 November 10 September 12 October 23 December 5 Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) (must have radar unlimited) October 6 November 17 October 10 November 21 Celestial Navigation October 20 November 24 November 14 December 19 Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. GMDSS September 15 September 26 Lifeboatman/Water Survival September 15 October 27 September 26 November 7 Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes start every other Monday. The most recent class began July 21. Steward Recertification Course August 18 September 8 Radar September 22 November 3 October 3 November 14 Radar Renewal (one day) October 27 December 8 October 27 December 8 Able Seaman Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman (STOS) August 25 October 20 September 5 October 31 Bosun Recertification Course November 3 October 14 Engine Upgrading Courses Advanced Container Maintenance (Refer) September 1 November 10 September 26 December 5 Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations (BAPO) September 15 November 10 October 10 December 5 Firemen/Watertender/Oiler (FOWT) August 18 October 13 September 12 November 6 Junior Engineer August 30 October 24 Marine Electrician October 27 December 19 Pumpman August 11 August 22 UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Date of Birth ______________________ Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____ Department ___________ E-mail ____________________________ Yes No Steward Upgrading Courses Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. Online “Distance Learning” Courses In addition to the foregoing courses, the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education currently is offering the following internet-based courses: Environmental Awareness; Hazardous Material Control and Management; Hearing Conservation; Heat Stress Management; Shipboard Pest Management; Respiratory Protection, and Shipboard Water Sanitation. The courses are free to mariners covered by SIU contracts. To register, complete the regular upgrading application located on the bottom left portion of this page, and mail it to: Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 206740075. Applicants will receive user account information from the center via email. They are therefore urged to provide their e-mail addresses in the space provided on the application. Applicants should also include the word “online” when listing the courses they wish to take. With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twenty-five (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. COURSE BEGIN DATE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. U.S. Citizen: Tankerman (PIC) Barge Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Yes Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ August 2008 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 8/08 Seafarers LOG 21 �49927_P01_24X:January 08 7/28/2008 11:24 AM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Computer Classes Four Seafarers recently completed computer courses while undergoing upgrade training at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. The graduates joined instructor Rich Prucha (second from left in photo above and left in photo below) for these photos. Graduates included (photo above) James Copeland, Rolando Dinong, Cecil Yearwood and (photo below) Rodolfo Monopilo. Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 703 – Unlicensed apprentices from Class 703 recently graduated from the water survival course. Those graduating from the course (above, in alphabetical order) were Casey Amay, Jonathyn Bland, Sean Clodfelter, Christopher Gonseth, Shawn Haber, Yuir Hernandez, Braden Horne, Ralph Howell Jr., Eric Kirkland, Johnnie Langston, Jarred Moylan, Richard Noto, William Pakkala, Ivyrose Villaflor and Nathan White. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Fast Rescue Boat - Six upgraders graduated from this 30-hour course June 20. Those completing the course (above, in alphabetical order) were Adam Begleiter, Matthew Hojna, David Miller, Christopher Pinkerton, Liberatoz Viray and Philander Walton. Their instructor, Tom Truitt, is standing in back, fourth from left. Advanced Container Maintenance - Six upgraders completed this course June 27. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were John Conn, Gary Dahl, Scott Fuller, Angel Hernandez, Daniel Mitchell and Tyson James. Calvin Beal, their instructor, is standing, second from left. Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations - Twenty upgraders and Phase III unlicensed apprentices completed this 140-hour course June 13. Those graduating (photo at right, in alphabetical order) were Vic Atkinson, Alexis Bonilla, Tristan Brand, Jovita Carino, DeMorris Duggins, Kabir Garcia, Tonya Gist, Tsawang Gyurme, Spencer Hiruko, Si Hughes, Arthur Kately III, Larry Locke, Daniel McDougald, Mark Merenda, Frederick Nyarko, Algernon Ramseur, Tijani Rashid, Mohamed Sheriff, Christopher Shivalier and Roderick McClary. Their instructor, Tim Achorn, is standing, far right. Important Notice Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover— for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. 22 Seafarers LOG August 2008 �49927_P01_24X:January 08 7/28/2008 11:26 AM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes Tank Ship Familiarization DL - The above upgraders on June 13 completed this 63-hour course. Those graduating (in alphabetical order) were Azad Adavani, Greg Baker, Sergio Cedeno, Yamira Colon, Rolando Dinong, Curtrina Duck, Sergey Golubev, Ricardo Guevara, Matthew Hojna, James Jones III, Anthony Kpodovia, David Miller, Kirk Moffett, Allen Newgen, Michael Ratigan, Sandy Santiago, Alfredo Silva, Donald Stickens, Abel Vazquez and George Washington. Jim Shaffer, their instructor, is standing at far right. Welding—Four mariners upgraded their skills in this course and graduated May 2. Those graduating (above, in no particular order) were Robert Weinhardt, Don Perry, Domenic Mallace and Kerry O’Callagan. Their instructor, Buzzy Andrews, is third from left. ARPA - The above individuals completed this 32-hour course June 20. Pictured (in no particular order) are Lou Cabano, Vincent Ippolito Sr., and Michael Ratigan. Stacey McNeely was their instructor. Able Seaman - Eleven upgraders graduated from this course June 20. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were Maurice Beasley, Bryan Brady, Raphael Dewberry, Emmanuel Garcia, Benigno Gonzales, Cheryl Lee, Wade McClennan, Victor Moody, Blaine Musk, Dana Wilks and Courtney Williams. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is standing at far right. Welding - The following individuals (above, in alphabetical order) graduated from this course June 20: Gavin Benckert, Thomas Jones, Freddie Malbas, Latisa May-Christopher, Robert Puckett, Cornelius Smith and Kenneth Sumner. Their instructor, Buzzy Andrews, is at far right. Crowd Management (Hawaii) - Seventeen crew members from The Pride of America completed this course aboard their SIU-contracted vessel. Completing the training (above, in no particular order) were Carl Castagna, Amin Mohamed, Reynante Angulo, Michael Warner, Rien Libhart, Danilo Cortez, Alejandro Quirolgico, Alex Fagaragan, Larry Dizon, Juan Vega, Terje Ostbye, Paulette Callin, Sharon Powell, Nicole Falche, Andrew Kost, Dimarko Shoulders and Miguel Rivera. August 2008 STCW (Hawaii) - The following students (above, in no particular order) graduated from the STCW course at the Barbers Point, Hawaii-based Seafarers Training Center. Completing the course were Alwin Corpuz, W.T. Greer III, Eric Liley, Isaac Miner, Jason Watson, Kathleen Adams and David Hahn. Seafarers LOG 23 �49927_P01_24X:January 08 7/28/2008 11:57 AM Page 24 Volume 70, Number 8 August 2008 Mariners Need TWIC by April 15, 2009 - Page 8 SIU steward department members (photo above) take a momentary break before returning to their duties aboard the USNS Hayes, docked in Tampa, Fla., when this photo was taken. ENCOURAGMENT FROM OFFICIALS – SIU President Michael Sacco (standing in photo above) and VP Contracts. George Tricker (photo at left) last month dropped in on some classes at the Paul Hall Center to quickly update students on timely maritime news affecting their livelihoods and also to wish them well in their studies. Sacco is pictured with a class of recertified stewards, while Tricker is addressing upgraders in the junior engineer program. DEU Santiago Ruiz, AB Shelby Rankin (photo above) send greetings from aboard the Blue Ridge. Chief Cook Gary Favaloram (photo at left) is pictured aboard the Blue Ridge near Tampa, Fla. At Sea And Ashore With the SIU hese photos were taken recently aboard SIUcrewed vessels, at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., and at the Seafarers-contracted facility in Petty’s Island. T SUPPORT FOR SPAD – SIU members at Crowley-Petty’s Island (located in the Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New Jersey) work with roll-on/roll-off ships and perform mechanical work on barges. They also proudly support SPAD, the union’s voluntary political activity fund, as shown in the group photo above. The members are sporting the most recent SPAD T-shirts which have been distributed to members who contribute to the fund. In photo inset above right, Seafarer Mike Fay shows off the artwork on the back of the shirt as John Haller looks on. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 August 2008 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES FEDERATION ENDORSES OBAMA SIU-CONTRACTED COMPANIES HONORED WITH SAFETY AWARDS SIU JOBS SAVED ABOARD PHILLIPS, BAUGH MAERSK WINS BID TO OPERATE RO/ROS IN COMMERCIAL SECTOR NEW SIU-CREWED TUG CHRISTENED STARLIGHT MARINE CREWS RATIFY 3-YEAR CONTRACT USNS STOCKHAM SEAFARERS REFURBISH FILIPINO SCHOOL SIU CREWS HELP DELIVER LIFE-SAVING MILESTONE SEAFARERS STEP UP IN FREE CHOICE MOBILIZATION STUDY: ‘PREVAILING WAGE’ LAW ADDS BENEFITS HAWAII SUPERFERRY SETS PASSENGER RECORD MEETINGS OFFER INFO ON 401(K) PLAN PORT ARTHUR CONDUCTS MARITIME DAY CEREMONY SHIPBOARD SCENES FROM THE OVERSEAS LOS ANGELES SNAPSHOTS FROM THE GREAT LAKES REGION PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING SIU ABSENTEE BALLOTS SIU-CREWED MAERSK SHIPS REACH SAFETY MILESTONES Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 08/01/2008 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. 70, No. 8 2008 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/92de6d835da91cfde8fe6d9beadd797a.pdf 811d528a2e30c37b6d6782d811c7ec2d PDF Text Text 49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:11 AM Page 1 Volume 70, Number 7 July 2008 Hawaii goes SIU! The SIU-contracted fleet now includes Hawaii Superferry’s Alakai (below), a high-speed vessel offering interisland service in the Hawaiian Islands. After a challenging debut, things are running smoothly aboard the 349-foot vessel, which has a service speed of 35 knots. Pictured at right aboard the ferry are (from left) AB Calvin Kaawa, SIU Asst. VP Bryan Powell and AB Tony Miana. Page 3. Maritime Day Events Focus on Merchant Marine’s Key Role During National Maritime Day ceremonies in Washington, D.C., representatives of the military and the administration credited the U.S. Merchant Marine for its dependability throughout American history, including in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The SIU participated in events hosted by (respectively) the U.S. Maritime Administration, U.S. Military Sealift Command, and the Propeller Club of Washington and Kings Point Alumni Association. Pictured in the group photo above (from left) following the MarAd ceremony are AMO President Tom Bethel, Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton, SIU President Michael Sacco, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters, SIU of Canada President Roman Gralewicz, Rhode Island State Senator Leonidas Raptakis, MSC Commander Rear Adm. Robert Reilly Jr. and U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral James Watson. At left, Secretary Peters greets unlicensed apprentices from the Paul Hall Center who attended the ceremonies. At right, Unlicensed Apprentice Rickey Yancey carries the U.S. Merchant Marine wreath as part of MSC’s remembrance. Among those standing in the background is General Norton Schwartz (dark uniform), commander, U.S. Transportation Command, who served as keynote speaker. Coverage of the D.C. ceremonies appears on pages 12-13. SIU Contract News Page 4 TWIC Deadline: April 15, 2009 Page 10 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:11 AM Page 2 Seafarers’ Safety Training Proves Vital In Chemical Trader Emergency Incident President’s Report TWIC Concerns I will leave it to others to debate whether problems were inevitable with implementing the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program, better known as TWIC. What I know based on personal experience along with feedback from rank-and-file Seafarers, and based on internal industry communications and public media reports, is that the program is off to a rough start. Since long before the TWIC final rule was issued, the SIU has been proactive in trying to Michael Sacco help make the program as effective and as user-friendly as possible. We are continuing those efforts today and will do so in the months and years ahead – working cooperatively with other maritime unions and other stakeholders, and participating in key industry groups like the Department of Homeland Security’s National Maritime Security Advisory Committee, abbreviated as NMSAC. Still, it’s ultimately up to the responsible agencies, particularly the Transportation Security Administration, and their contractors to make sure the program works properly. So far, there’s a lot of room for improvement. Recently, it became known that two-thirds of the machines used to produce the actual TWIC cards are broken. Through various communications including face-to-face feedback, we’ve learned that mariners sometimes aren’t being notified when their cards are ready for pickup. In other cases, they’re being told their TWICs are ready, only to travel back to the enrollment center and find out that’s not the case. (I can personally relate to that last example.) There have been problems with long waits on the toll-free TWIC telephone hotline and with computer crashes at the enrollment centers. Sometimes the fingerprint machines don’t work. Cards have been issued with incorrect expiration dates. In some cases, employees at the enrollment centers haven’t verified receipt of all the necessary paperwork with certain applications. In some port areas, the enrollment centers are located a long way from the facilities they’re designed to serve. Those are just some of what I’d call the basic problems the program has run into so far. There also are a number of fairly complex technical and procedural issues still unresolved. By the way, I haven’t even mentioned the card readers – which probably is a topic better reserved for another day, anyway. None of this is intended to ridicule the program, or to toss out criticism for the sake of criticism. The SIU, as we’ve done all along, supports the goals of the TWIC program. And again, we’re trying to be part of the solution as much as possible. What I’m saying is, apply now. Don’t wait. We have no choice but to secure our TWICs – it’s the law, and the April 2009 deadline will arrive soon enough. As the saying goes, however, forewarned is forearmed. Register and Vote SIU members have long understood that grassroots political activities are vital to helping maintain a strong U.S.-flag fleet. In fact, political action is nothing short of a necessity. At every level, we’ve got to remain politically involved. That’s true all the time, but it’s probably more apparent these days, since it’s a presidential election year. In any case, I urge all Seafarers, pensioners and their families to make the most of this election season. Be active. Make sure you are registered to vote (and if you’re not, please register). Read up on the issues and back the candidates who will support the U.S. Merchant Marine. We have an important message – namely, that America is best-served by a strong, vibrant U.S. Merchant Marine. We can all help ensure that our message is heard in November and beyond. Volume 70, Number 7 SIU Members Praised for ‘Awesome Response’ The fast action of SIU members and officers saved lives along with the integrated tug and barge (ITB) SMT Chemical Trader, more than 10 million gallons of gasoline and possibly a petroleum terminal during offloading of the “liquid gold” on May 22 in Tampa, Fla. Ninety percent of the mariners who were aboard the Intrepid Personnel & Provisioning ITB were asleep when, at 1:50 a.m., a minor onboard explosion occurred along with a fire. “I saw a small fire on deck and grabbed an extinguisher,” said Bosun Victor Cooper, who was one of the mariners on watch. “The fire was coming from a machinery space and I sounded the alarms.” In a commendation letter to the crew from the ship’s Master Jeffrey Ritter, he noted that despite the incident occurring so early in the morning with most of the crew asleep, they responded quickly and had the fire out in 12 minutes. “In this time,” explained the captain, “the crew managed to muster, suit up, run out the hoses, commence bulkhead cooling, secure the ventilation and, upon the captain’s order, release the CO2.” Ritter said everyone aboard “responded in a quick, effective and professional manner.” A tug mate reportedly received second-degree burns Some of the SIU crew members from the Chemical Trader are pictured in the aftermath of their speedy, efficient response to a shipboard emergency. Seafarers’ actions arguably prevented a catastrophe. from the heat in the machinery space but was quickly rescued by the crew that got him ashore for medical treatment. According to the bosun, he’s recovering well. The investigation into the cause of the incident is ongoing. “The response of the crew was awesome,” said the bosun. “The training really paid off.” Cooper was referring to the STWC and fire fighting training all of the unlicensed crew members have received at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education and the weekly onboard drills that take place NASSCO Delivers USNS Peary to MSC Newer tonnage continued to enter the union’s Government Services Division fleet last month as the U.S. Military Sealift Command took delivery of the dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Robert E. Peary in San Diego. The agency accepted the ship June 5 at the General Dynamics NASSCO Shipyard, where the vessel was built. Named in honor of Navy Rear Adm. Robert E. Peary, leader of the first expedition to the North Pole, the ship is the fifth in the Lewis and Clark class of underway replenishment ships, with the designation T-AKE 5. The ships’ primary mission is to deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to the Navy’s underway carrier and expeditionary strike groups, allowing them to stay at sea for extended periods of time. July 2008 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 207909998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2008 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG aboard the Intrepid ITB. “Our folks were excellent,” added Cooper. “Even the Coast Guard members on the scene praised us for averting what could have been a very serious incident.” The other SIU members who were aboard the Chemical Trader on May 22 were ABs Philip Gallagher, Anthony Moore Jr., Brian Gauntt, Ronald Webb, and Donald Clotter, QMED Troy Banks, GUDE Jose EncarnacionRivera, Engine Utility Florian Turcios, Steward/Baker Josue Iglesia and Chief Cook Manes Sainvil. The USNS Peary, pictured recently in San Diego, is the newest addition to the SIU’s Government Services Division fleet. The T-AKEs are replacing some of MSC’s aging, single-mission ships such as Kilauea-class ammunition ships and Mars- and Sirius-class combat stores ships that are nearing the end of their service lives. At the end of July, the 689-foot Peary is scheduled to go on a short shakedown cruise where the ship’s crew will test a range of shipboard operations. By the end of the summer, the Peary is expected to depart for its home port in Norfolk, Va., from where it will soon deploy on its first operational mission. The Peary has a crew of civil service mariners working for MSC as well as a military detachment of 11 sailors who provide operational support and supply coordination. When needed, the Peary can also carry a helicopter detachment. MSC operates approximately 110 noncombatant, merchant mariner-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, conduct specialized missions, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world and move military cargo and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces and coalition partners. July 2008 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:11 AM Page 3 The Alakai, whose stern is shown above, is equipped with state-of-the-art safety and navigational equipment along with lots of amenities for passengers. The vessel also has a service speed of 35 knots which it partially shows off in the photo at right. Alakai Joins SIU-Contracted Fleet One of the newest additions to the Seafarers-contracted fleet is also one of the most distinctive vessels carrying an SIU crew. Following certification of the SIU as the collective bargaining representative for employees sailing aboard Hawaii Superferry’s Alakai, a four-year contract took effect earlier this year. The agreement brought numerous gains for crew members, including immediate, substantial wage increases followed by additional wage gains in each year of the pact. The contract also added vacation and holiday pay, medical benefits (including dental and vision), participation in the Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan and more. Built at Austal USA in Mobile, Ala., the Alakai carries a crew of 25. The 349-foot, aluminum-hull ferry provides interisland, round-trip service from Honolulu to Maui seven days a week. According to the company, the vessel, operated for Hawaii Superferry by Hornblower Marine, can transport 866 passengers and 282 cars. At least once, the Alakai, which has a service speed of 35 knots, carried cargo for the U.S. military. As of mid-June, the Alakai (which means “ocean path”) was offering two round trips per day, four days per week; and a single daily trip on the other three days. One round trip takes approximately 10 hours, counting about six hours of sailing time. “This vessel represents the SIU’s progress as we enter a new era in marine passenger and vehicle transportation,” said SIU Vice President West Coast Nick Marrone. “Coupled with national concerns of cleaner air and high fuel costs, this vessel signals the gateway to future travel and commuting options nationwide. Once again, the SIU is in the forefront.” SIU Assistant Vice President Bryan Powell, who led the union’s organizing drive, added, “The organizing and recognition phases of this project were certainly some of the most lengthy, complex and challenging efforts that we’ve seen in recent times, but the results were very positive. This operation’s success is a product of the hard work and persistence of all stakeholders. “I am proud of what we have achieved so far and we absolutely recognize the hard work and commitment of the crew members who hung in there through all the trials and tribulations,” Powell continued. “We all look forward to the expected delivery of the second vessel in 2009 and the continued growth and prosperity of the Hawaii Superferry project.” The ferry is equipped with state-of-the-art safety and navigational equipment, and its design incorporates the latest in environmentally responsible maritime technology. For example, the ferry’s water-jet propulsion system has no exposed propellers. According to the company, “One of the most important fea- Crew members participate in fire fighting exercises at the Seafarersaffiliated safety school in Hawaii. July 2008 tures is the ferry’s catamaran design, which enables family friendly, high-speed transport over Hawaii’s open ocean waters. Modern catamarans have revolutionized high-speed sea transport along European shores, linking Great Britain to Ireland and joining isolated communities along the Norwegian coast, and our ships will accomplish the same here.” The Alakai has satellite navigation systems that track the vessel’s position at all times. Automatic fire control systems are situated throughout, and all passenger and crew spaces incorporate fireproof and fire-resistant materials. The vessel’s two catamaran hulls include eight watertight compartments, and the Alakai has the most advanced evacuation and life-raft systems available. Finally, the Alakai boasts plenty of passenger amenities. Among them are a passenger deck engineered for clear viewing; big-screen entertainment QMED Orlando Pajarillo choices; video games; educational and Hawaiian-themed programming; and three dining areas, all with appealing menus. Chief Engineer Jay Long Cabin Steward Faith Abang This meeting took place as part of the process of verifying union representation aboard the ferry. Pictured from left to right are SIU VP West Coast Nick Marrone; SIU Asst. VP Bryan Powell; Dr. Bill Puette, director of the University of Hawaii’s Center for Labor Education and Research (here serving as a neutral party); Robert Katz, Esq., legal counsel for the company; and Cynthia Ramsey, human resources coordinator for Hawaii Superferry. Seafarers LOG 3 �49311_p01_24X:9311p0 6/30/2008 2:17 PM Page 4 VP Dean Corgey (standing in photo at left) and VP Nick Marrone (seated in photo above) answer Seafarers’ questions about the new pact. Seafarers check out some of the gains contained in the new agreement with Intrepid Personnel & Provisioning. Negotiating Teams Secure Good Contracts in ‘Tough Times’ Several SIU contracts recently have been ratified. Following are summaries of each. Joiner and Murphy. AB/Tankerman Bruce 3-Year Pact Inked with Penn 3-Year Agreement Signed with Maritime Intrepid More than 100 SIU members recently SIU boatmen unanimously ratified a contract covering more than 100 Seafarers employed by Intrepid Personnel & Provisioning. The three-year agreement includes wage and subsistence increases along with increases in maintenance and cure, missing-man wages and reimbursement for lodging. It also maintains Core Plus medical benefits and a 401(k) plan. Pension credit rates will be maintained. Intrepid Personnel & Provisioning moves petroleum products back and forth from the West Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. Intrepid has a total of six ATBs and ITBs under SIU contract with more on the way. The SIU negotiating team included SIU Vice President West Coast Nick Marrone, SIU Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey and members Capt. George Sadler, Chief Engineer Robert Paul overwhelmingly approved a three-year contract with Penn Maritime Inc. Penn Maritime operates barges and tugs and is the largest coastal transporter of heated asphalt products. Contract highlights include annual wage increases, maintaining Core Plus health benefits, increases in “longevity pay,” participation and company contributions in the 401(k) plan, and an additional holiday. The agreement also calls for shortand long-term disability, an increase in maintenance and cure, and bereavement involving maternal and paternal grandparents. The negotiating committee included SIU Atlantic Coast Vice President Joseph Soresi, SIU Patrolman Joe Baselice and members John Harvard (representing mates), Jeff Rydza (engineers) and Teddy Crockett (ABs). tions to the Seafarers Health and Benefit Plan to maintain the top level of benefits and the necessary company contributions into the pension plan to maintain days of credit for days worked. Nothing Petty for Seafarers at Petty’s Island More than 50 SIU members at Petty’s Island agreed to a three-year pact with Crowley. Petty’s Island is located in the Delaware River between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The members there work with roll-on/roll-off ships and perform mechanical work on barges at Crowley’s facility. Some of the highlights of the “no loss” contract include pay increases over each of the three years, one additional personal day off at the beginning of the third year of the contract, three days off for the death of a grandparent and/or grandchild and compensation for sick leave not used by the end of any contract period (to be paid out at the hourly rate at which it was accrued). Members will now be able to participate in the Seafarers 401(k) through payroll deduction, and the company is increasing its contribution to the separate Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan. The union also secured from the company the necessary contribution to maintain medical benefits at the top Core Plus level. Finally, the union secured company contributions into the pension plan to maintain days of credit for days worked. St. Louis Port Council Honors 3 3 More Years with OSG Inland SIU VP West Coast Nick Marrone (left) and SIU VP Gulf Coast Dean Corgey review Intrepid contract highlights with members aboard the Coastal Reliance. SIU boatmen working for Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. inland operations in Philadelphia overwhelmingly ratified a three-year contract calling for wage increases and other gains. The agreement covers nearly 100 Seafarers who operate tugs and barges primarily between Philadelphia and the Gulf Coast. The contract includes gains in travel compensation, an increase in overtime pay rates and additional compensation for ABs on lightering vessels and Cooks/Ordinary Seamen who complete a mutually agreed upon class at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, based in Piney Point, Md. It also includes the addition of the Seafarers Money Purchase Plan at company expense, necessary company contribu- Important Notice To All Seafarers Earlier this year, the St. Louis Port Council, affiliated with the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department, honored three individuals who live up to labor’s ideals and who support America’s working families. Pictured above at the April 5 event are (from left) SIU and MTD President Michael Sacco; Port Council VP Jack Martorelli; St. Louis Chief of Police Col. Joseph Mokwa, management man of the year; Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce, “able helmsman” award winner; Painters District Council No. 2 Business Manager Kevin Kenny, labor man of the year; St. Louis Building and Construction Trades Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer Jerry Feldhaus; and Port Council President Dick Mantia. Pictured below are U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.), Feldhaus, Martorelli, Sacco, former U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt and SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez. Trustees Announce Timely News About Changes To Eligibility Rules Covering Members’ SHBP Benefits As reported at the June membership meetings and on the SIU web site, the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan Trustees, at a recent board meeting, have decided to change the eligibility rules. Beginning January 1, 2008, to be eligible for benefits, Seafarers must have 125 days of covered employment in calendar year 2007. The one (1) day in six (6) months rule is still in effect. This change is a result of many factors. The Plan’s financial situation is no longer critical because of the benefit changes instituted in 2005, the use of a 4 Seafarers LOG medical and dental network and the stabilization of medical costs. The Trustees also took into consideration the appeals that participants have made indicating that due to shipping rotations they were unable to achieve the 150 days needed to maintain their eligibility. If a Seafarer had at least 125 days of covered employment during 2007 and had claims denied due to lack of eligibility, please resubmit them to the claims office. If members have any questions, please call 1-800-252-4674. July 2008 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/30/2008 11:56 AM Page 5 Report Outlines Steps to Boost U.S.-Flag Fleet Organization Cites Critical Need for Strong U.S. Merchant Marine The ability to utilize U.S.-flag commercial ships and American crews is essential to U.S. national and economic security interests, according to a report by the Navy League of the United States. The Navy League is a non-profit organization of more than 65,000 members (including the SIU) dedicated to nonpartisan, enhanced public understanding of the missions and challenges facing today’s Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and U.S. Merchant Marine, as well as advocating for the wellbeing of the men and women of each service. Much of the league’s advocacy takes place on Capitol Hill, the Pentagon, in ports and communities. The organization annually publishes its maritime policy through which it conducts research on the industry and makes recommendations. This year’s report, titled “Preserving Sea Power – A National Imperative,” gives details to why sealift capability, U.S. mariners and American-flag ships are vital to the U.S. both commercially and for defense. According to the Navy League, 95 percent of the equipment and supplies required to deploy U.S. armed forces overseas is delivered by ship. U.S.-flag commercial and government-owned vessels, manned by U.S. citizen mariners, continue to play a significant and indispensable role in strategic sealift support for Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Such reliance on American-flag sealift will continue, the report concludes. Additionally, the report explains even as the United States’ need for reliable and efficient marine transportation continues to grow in domestic and international trade, the base of skilled U.S. citizen mariners is shrinking in proportion to the declining numbers of U.S.flag commercial ships. This diminishing pool of mariners presents a crisis that threatens the nation’s ability to project timely military power, said the report. Following are some of the actions the Navy League supports to achieve the goals of maintaining and increasing the number of U.S.-flag ships and mariners. ■ Utilize budgetary and legislative measures — including capital and operationsrelated changes in U.S. tax and maritime regulations — needed to maintain a viable U.S.flag Merchant Marine. ■ Completely fund the 60-ship Maritime Security Program. To replicate the lift capacity of this fleet would cost DOD $8 billion in capital outlay. ■ Maintain the Jones Act and Passenger Vessel Services Act. Oppose any legislative initiatives or trade agreements that would weaken these vital industry support mechanisms. ■ Provide funding for the Title XI Ship Construction Loan Guarantee Program for the U.S. commercial industry, for both economic and national security reasons. ■ Provide funding for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and federal programs at the state maritime colleges and maritime union/industry training facilities to ensure that sufficient numbers of licensed and unlicensed mariners are available to serve the nation’s needs. ■ Build upon efforts by the U.S. Coast Guard to expedite the licensing and documentation of U.S. Merchant Mariners while striking a balance between national security and maritime commercial interests. ■ Enact legislation for the Department of Veterans Affairs to treat U.S. Merchant Marine veterans of action in World War II as they do all other veterans. Marine Transportation System The Navy League also echoes the Maritime Administration’s call for improvements to a marine highway system. The league’s report says the U.S. marine transportation system (MTS) consists of waterways, ports and their intermodal connections, vessels and vehicles that are crucial to the U.S. economy. As the world’s trade leader, the United States requires a technologically advanced, secure, efficient and environmentally sound MTS, explains the league. The MTS annually moves through 300 public and private ports and 25,000 miles of navigable waterways more than 2.3 billion tons of domestic and international cargo worth $2 trillion; imports 3.3 billion barrels of oil to meet energy demands; and transports 180 million passengers by ferry and more than seven million cruise ship passengers. An estimated 13 million people are employed in this industry. Roughly one quarter of the world’s trade flows through U.S. ports. The league states U.S. economic prosperity is dependent on international trade, of which 95 percent by volume moves by sea. Any disruption in this global supply chain would have a serious and immediate impact on the U.S. economy and, consequently, national security. International and domestic trade is expected to double in volume by 2020, according to government research, creating greater congestion on overburdened land, port, water and freight delivery systems. Only a truly seamless, integrated, multimodal transportation system with an expanded marine highway system (sometimes called short-sea shipping) will meet the nation’s growing needs. Some initiatives the league supports include: ■ Efforts to ensure that the MTS is, and remains, adequate and safe to conduct maritime commerce and U.S. military deployments. ■ America’s marine highway initiatives such as an exemption of waterborne cargo trans-shipped between U.S. ports from the Harbor Maintenance Tax. This double tax is a major disincentive for increased waterborne transport. ■ Dredging and marking river and harbor channels that connect U.S. ports to the rest of the world. ■ Modernization of locks and dams to regulate water flow and facilitate commerce. ■ Revitalization of the Title XI section of the Merchant Marine Act of 1936 to support replacement of existing Jones Act liner tonnage and support the investment required for short-sea shipping, including infrastructure in both large and small ports; and support for the needs of the shipyards that will have to efficiently build replace- ment Jones Act vessels and those to be used to accommodate short-sea shipping. The Big Picture: The U.S. Industrial Base The Navy League and other prominent industry organizations have raised concerns about the deteriorating health of the nation’s industrial base. The league’s report cites examples of the difficulties in several prominent ship acquisition and construction programs which are a direct result of this weakened industrial base. The report explains the base has diminished over the past few decades and a concerted effort must be made to recover. Historically, says the league, seafaring nations which at one time possessed a strong navy providing sea control wherever they desired, were shown to have lost that power when the nation allowed the industrial base to falter and finally wither to ineffectiveness. With several countries striving to become near-peer competitors in sea control, the U.S. must have a strong industrial base, according to the report. The report points to shortages of skilled personnel and production as the key problems. Some of what the league urges includes: ■ Government develop and institute an effective industrial base policy that addresses critical issues to ensure the capability to build and maintain an affordable fleet capable of surge to meet demands in a crisis. ■ A stable and increased level of predictable funding for the ships. ■ Capital investments in the existing infrastructure to allow industry to stay abreast of the latest technical advances, attract the best young engineers and skilled workers, and ensure it has the capability and capacity to surge repair, production and construction of the nation’s fleet in a time of crisis. ■ All parties (government and industry) to spend more funds to train and educate the workforce and endeavor to improve retention. For the Navy League of the United States’ full report and other maritime advocacy efforts, go to: www.navyleague.org. ITF Inspectors Hone Strategies For Advancing Mariners’ Rights A dozen inspectors from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) met last month at the Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, where they collaborated on methods for promoting mariners’ wellbeing around the globe. The inspectors discuss regulations affecting shore leave for vessel personnel. July 2008 Convening in Piney Point, Md., the inspectors discussed shore leave for seafarers; the federation’s campaign against flag-of-convenience or runway-flag shipping; the benefits of ITF contracts, and more. They also briefly met with SIU President Michael Sacco and SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel, who is first vice chair of the ITF Seafarers’ Section. A few of the inspectors traveled from overseas, while the rest are based in the U.S. Attending the meeting June 10-11 were Fabrizio Barcellona, Dwayne Boudreaux, Stefan Dombois, Jeff Engels, Ricky Esopa, Martin Larson, Enrique Lozano, Arthur Petitpas, Tony Sacco, Tony Sasso, Shwe Tun Aung and Shoji Yamashita. The ITF is a global federation of 681 transport trade unions (including the SIU) which collectively represent 4.5 million workers in 148 countries. A runaway-flag or so-called flag-ofconvenience (FOC) ship is one that flies the flag of a country other than the country of ownership. According to the ITF, “FOCs provide a means of avoiding labor regulation in the country of owner- These ITF inspectors met last month in Piney Point, Md. ship, and become a vehicle for paying low wages and forcing long hours of work and unsafe working conditions. Since FOC ships have no real nationality, they are beyond the reach of any single national seafarers’ trade union. “The ITF has therefore been obliged to take on internationally the role traditionally exercised by national trade unions – to organize and negotiate on behalf of FOC crews. For 50 years the ITF, through its affiliated seafarers’ and dockers’ unions, has been waging a vigorous campaign against shipowners who abandon the flag of their own country in search of the cheapest possible crews and the lowest possible training and safety standards for their ships.” Seafarers LOG 5 �49311_p01_24X:9311p0 6/30/2008 2:17 PM Page 6 Some of the exercise participants make their way up the USNS Soderman’s side port ramp. Soderman crew members (above) worked hand in hand with soldiers during the exercise to ensure that they became famiiar with the vessel’s cargo handling capabilities and on-board gear. SIU-Crewed Soderman Assists in Military Exercise SIU members sailing aboard the USNS Soderman recently participated in Operation Spearhead Strike, a U.S. Army Logistics-Over-The-Shore training exercise in Virginia. Conducted on the beaches of Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Va., the training (which took place May 5-9) was in preparation for Operation Pacific Strike, a larger military Joint Logistics-Over-The-Shore (JLOTS) exercise slated to take place later this summer in Camp Pendleton, Calif. During Operation Spearhead, some 700 soldiers from units attached to the U.S. Army’s 7th Sustainment Brigade came together to hone their cargo handling skills aboard a large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship (LMSR). The Soderman, one of the Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) 19 LMSRs, was used during the execution phase of the exercise. With the aid of the Soderman crew, soldiers gained valuable experience by practicing roll-on/roll-off and lift-on/lift-off procedures—the two cargo movements on an LMSR—in a real world environment. According to Soderman Chief Mate Samaro Bannister, few of the brigade’s personnel had any hands-on experience cargo handling, not to mention the specifics of working with an LMSR, so the exposure and lessons learned during the exercise were invaluable. Throughout the training, teams rotated through the various cargo handling options specific to the LMSRs, Bannister said. The crew deployed the Soderman’s side-port ramp, which is connected to a platform on its uppermost continuous deck, he noted. This ramp was then lowered to an RRDF, a barge-like floating dock made of interlocking sections. Smaller vessels, including landing craft utilities and logistic support vessels, then docked along side the RRDF and deployed a rolling stock of vehicles that ranged from Humvees to tractors. These vehicles drove off the smaller vessels onto the RRDF and continued aboard the vessel via the deployed ramp. The vehicles were then staged at different locations throughout the vessel. At the same time that roll-on/roll-off maneuvers were being conducted, the Soderman’s hatches were opened via its cargo crane so that soldiers could practice lift-on/lift-off operations between multiple decks, Bannister said. Additional lifton/lift-off operations took place on the Soderman’s weather deck, lifting and lowering containers and vehicles from smaller vessels and floating platforms on the opposite side of the vessel. Soldiers who participated in this exercise were able to experiment, practice and become familiar with the various configurations and loading options unique to The USNS Soderman’s side port ramp (right portion of photo above) is deployed so that an RRDF, the barge-like floating dock in the foreground, could be used during the training exercise. LMSRs to optimize loading efficiency, Bannister concluded. Soderman crew members worked hand in hand with the soldiers throughout the exercise. Along the way, they explained the vessel’s capabilities and the gear she carries. They also encouraged safe but innovative problem solving to overcome possible setbacks and snares that arise during these operations. Seafarers aboard the Soderman during Operation Spearhead included: Bosun James D. Orlando; ABs Jackson B. CIVMARS Tow Decommissioned Submarine Two SIU-crewed Military Sealift Command vessels earlier this year were involved in the successful tow of decommissioned nuclear submarine USS Hyman G. Rickover from Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Wash. The 255-foot rescue and salvage ship USNS Grapple and the 226-foot ocean tug USNS Sioux played key roles in the 10,000-mile relocation of the decommissioned Los Angeles-class attack submarine to the Pacific Northwest. According to the Military Sealift Command (MSC), the journey began April 8 when the USNS Grapple departed Kittery with the Rickover in tow. The Grapple and Rickover traveled 3,600 miles to the Panama Canal where, in accordance with Panamanian law, a canal pilot and tugboats guided the Rickover through the locks April 24-25. Then, the Grapple escorted the Rickover through the canal to the Pacific Ocean where the Sioux resumed the submarine tow and continued the journey to Bremerton. The Sioux and Rickover stopped in San Diego May 13-23. The U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Carr, guided missile destroyer USS Pickney and guided missile frigate USS Rodney M. Davis provided force protection escorts from Maine to Panama, from Panama to San Diego and from San Diego to Bremerton, respectively. “We really enjoy towing submarines,” Capt. Brad Smith, the Sioux’s civil service master, told the agency. “When it came to Rickover, it was a pleasant tow. There was good weather, and [the tow] was uneventful, which is everything you hope for when doing a mission like this.” The Sioux and Grapple are both crewed by SIU civil service mariners working for MSC – 20 aboard Sioux and 24 aboard the Grapple. The Grapple also carries a small military detachment. For the tow, a seven-person crew of Navy submariners also rode the MSC ships to monitor the Rickover and respond to any tow-related problems. The Rickover is the 22nd of the U.S. Los Angelesclass attack submarines and the only one not named after a U.S. city. The submarine was commissioned on July 21, 1984, commenced inactivation March 1, 2007 and was decommissioned Dec. 17, 2007. The vessel’s reactor was de-fueled at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Named in honor of Hyman G. Rickover, the father of the nuclear Navy, the Rickover played an instrumental roll in submarine operations during the height of the Cold War. While in Bremerton, the Rickover will go through a dismantling program overseen by the Navy. The submarine will remain moored at the shipyard until it is drydocked for dismantling and disposal, which is currently scheduled for 2016. The Grapple is one of MSC’s four rescue and salvage ships, and the Sioux is one of four fleet ocean tugs. These ships tow other ships, lift heavy objects like downed aircraft and deploy divers for rescue and salvage operations. The USNS Grapple (above right) tows the USS Hyman G. Rickover. 6 Seafarers LOG Cagle, Richard L. Trovillo, Jesus H. Olbes, Henry Brown Jr., and Godofredo Milabo III; Ordinary Seamen Isaac M. Diaz, Antonio G. Mitchell and John T. Williams Jr.; and QMEDs Richard L. Abbott, Robert J. Brown, Antuan M. Barnes and Kevin Quinlan. Also aboard were Wiper Ivan N. Perez, Chief Steward Kimberly B. Strate, Chief Cook Efren Matias, SA Linda Rotter, SA Marco A. Cayetano and Storekeeper William J. Fortner. Attention Seafarers Another New Ship! SPAD Works For You! July 2008 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:11 AM Page 7 8 Bosuns Graduate from Recertification Course Eight Seafarers last month completed the bosun recertification course at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. The three-week class is considered the school’s top curriculum for deck department mariners. Graduating from the course were Mike Brewley, Paul Cadran, Jerry Costello, Carl Davis, James Darden, Zeki Karaahmet, Mark Lance and James Saunders. Like most other Paul Hall Center classes, bosun recertification blends practical training with classroom instruction. Students tackled numerous topics including fire fighting and other safety training, sealift operations, small arms, computer skills, water survival and more. They also met with representatives from the Seafarers Plans and various SIU departments. Near the end of the schedule, they met with officials from the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department in Washington, D.C. In keeping with tradition, the bosuns briefly addressed fellow members, unlicensed apprentices and SIU officials upon graduation – in this case, during the June membership meeting in Piney Point, Md. They complimented the school personnel, thanked the union’s top leadership for their support and advised the trainees to take advantage of the opportunities available through the SIU and the Paul Hall Center. (Though successfully completing the Bosuns, family members and SIU officials are pictured last month at the Paul Hall Center. course, Brother Brewley couldn’t attend the meeting due to an urgent family matter.) Darden was the first to the podium. “I heard (SIU President) Mike Sacco say years ago that we’re a family,” he said. “This union has not only been a family to me, but a family to my children. For that, I’m grateful.” Darden pointed out to the apprentices that the Paul Hall Center offers not only vocational training, but also academic support and a college degree program. He urged them to check into the various offerings. Karaahmet, formerly an NMU member, hadn’t attended the school prior to recertification, but he said the Paul Hall Center made a very positive impression on him. “I fell in love with this school – the beauty of the campus, the excellent fire fighting school,” he noted. “It’s all made possible by dedicated instructors. And to the union officials, you’re awesome. I thank you a million times for a job well done.” A native of Turkey, Karaahmet noted that he formerly had sailed on foreign-flag ships where he only earned about $500 per month. “Now, I’m part of this SIU family that provides me an opportunity.” He credited Sacco for “24/7” dedication to the organization, and also advised the apprentices to carry themselves appropriately both aboard ship and ashore. Cadran graduated from the trainee program in 1989. He told the current class of apprentices, “Stick with it. At the ship, leave your ego and attitude at the gangway. Remember that and you’ll be all right.” Lance, a 1974 graduate of the trainee program, said the recertification class will help him do a better job aboard ship. He said Seafarers “have a lot to be proud of ” and encouraged fellow members “to work more for the common good.” Reflecting on his career, Lance added, “It’s been great seeing the world and making money, but the best is being on a ship with a good crew. That’s what I wish for you all.” Davis noted that SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker (then a port official) helped him join the SIU in 1991 “and it has been a wonderful 18 years. It’s been a long, good run. The travel has been great.” He commended the instructors, staff and facilities at Piney Point, noting in particular the “top-notch” quality of the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School, which includes a smallarms range. Addressing the apprentices, Davis said, “On board, a lot of us have been doing this for a long time. Come aboard to learn, and we’ll teach you.” Saunders said the school and union “have done everything in the world for me. If you back the SIU, they’re going to back you. We have the best organization in the world.” He encouraged the trainees to “stick with it. It works, and the officials stick behind you all the time.” Costello said he benefited from the various safety training and also renewed his appreciation for how politics affects not only the SIU but the whole American maritime industry. With that in mind, he emphasized “how important it is to support SPAD,” the union’s voluntary political action fund. He said that visiting the Maritime Trades Department, housed at AFL-CIO headquarters, “provides good background on where we came from and how it all comes together through the MTD. Strength in numbers gives you a voice in Washington.” Safety training is a key component of the recertification course. Among the subjects covered are CPR (photo above), small-arms training (photo below) and fire fighting (photo at bottom right) The bosuns praised the Paul Hall Center’s Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School, where this photo (above) was taken. July 2008 Seafarers LOG 7 �49311_p01_24X:9311p0 6/30/2008 2:18 PM Page 8 SIU-Affiliated Institution Offers Career Advancement Members of the review team and school officials are pictured on the Paul Hall Center campus. ACE Approves Paul Hall Center Courses The American Council on Education (ACE) recently completed a successful review of 26 courses offered at the Paul Hall Center. The review was conducted by a team composed of eight educators with expertise in culinary arts, health and safety, deck and engine courses. The review team examined 15 courses that had been previously approved and required renewed approval, and 11 new courses being offered, or courses that had never been submitted to ACE for approval. The American Council on Education is a college credit-recommending service. What this means for Paul Hall Center students is, for example, unlicensed apprentices earn up to 13 college credits for Phase I of their training which can be used in the future toward a degree. Courses submitted to ACE are reviewed and are recommended for college credit. There are two degrees that students (depending on their shipboard department) may earn at the SIU-affiliated school: Associate of Applied Science in Nautical Science Technology, and Associate of Applied Science in Marine Engineering Technology. Mariners may transfer these credits to higher learning institutions for consideration in pursuing their degree. For more than 30 years the Paul Hall Center has utilized the benefits provided by the ACE College Credit Recommendation Service. Generally, this involves having ACE assess new or rewritten curriculums at the school as they become available. It has long been the policy of ACE that learning outside the classroom can be measured for college credit. For instance, since 1945, ACE’s Military Evaluation Program has assessed formal military courses in terms of academic credit. In 1974, the College Credit Recommendation Service was created to evaluate learning in business and industry settings. The Paul Hall Center called upon ACE in those early years to begin evaluating its courses in order to provide additional educational and training opportunities for its students and to verify the quality of the courses offered to the mariners. Since this initial collaboration with ACE, the College Credit Recommendation Service has saved mariners thousands of dollars in college tuition as students have submitted their course work from the Paul Hall Center to meet college course requirements. Colleges and universities have also been well-served by the program, because qualified adults from the workforce have been motivated to complete their postsecondary education knowing that their previous studies and life experiences can convert into college credits. It is important to note that each college or university determines which of the courses approved by ACE will be accepted toward a certificate or a degree. Students planning to use their Paul Hall Center courses for credit, or wanting information on how ACE-recommended credits could assist them with their continuing education, should contact the academic department at the Paul Hall Center prior to submitting their transcript. At the closing presentation of the most recent ACE approval, a team member evaluating the courses (a professor at a maritime university) stated the courses he reviewed were as good as the courses taught at his university, said Paul Hall Center Director of Training J.C. Wiegman. “For the instructors, management, and support staff to hear those words makes everyone very proud to work at the Paul Hall Center.” Members of the ACE review team included Dr. Clay Warren, Depew professor of communications, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.; Dr. Dori Finley, professor of nutrition and hospitality management, East Carolina University; Dr. Robert Dawkins, American Military University; Dr. Polly Buchanan, associate dean and coordinator of technology, Eastern Michigan University; Warren Whitley, battalion chief/deputy fire marshal, Prince William County, Va.; Dr. James R. Sherrard, professor/chairman, engineering technology, Three Rivers Community College, Norwich, Conn.; Dr. Frank Warnakulasuriya, senior lecturer and lead department head, marine engineering technology, Texas Agriculture and Mechanical University; and Dr. Malcolm Allen, career and technology division, Community College of Baltimore County. The following courses were reevaluated and approved: Galley Familiarization, Galley Operations, Certified Chief Cook, Advanced Galley Operations, Certified Chief Steward, Basic Fire Fighting (35 hours), First Aid/CPR (21 hours), Basic/Advanced Fire Fighting Combined (46 hours), Water Survival (60 hours), Tankerman Assistant Cargo (63 hours), Basic Safety Training STCW (40 hours), Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA), Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), Bridge Resource Management (Limited) (26 hours), and Welding (105 hours). The newly approved courses are Pumpman (70 hours), Basic Meteorology (40 hours), Magnetic and Gyro Compasses (20 hours), Terrestrial and Coastal Navigation (80 hours), Cargo Handling (Operational Level) (66 hours), Ship Construction and Basic Stability (40 hours), Emergency Procedures (Operational Level) (21 hours), Search and Rescue (Operational Level) (16 hours), Electronic Navigation (40 hours), Basic Shiphandling and Steering Control System (40 hours), and Watchkeeping (Operational Level) (80 hours). The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., offers the most U.S. Coast Guardapproved courses of any maritime school in the nation. The center features top-notch training from experienced instructors and state-of-theart equipment and facilities. The school offers courses for mariners sailing in the deck, engine and steward departments. Below is a quick look at one of those classes. For more information about the center and its courses, contact the Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; call (301) 994-0010; or visit the Paul Hall Center section of www.seafarers.org. Course dates are listed on page 21 of this issue of the LOG and also are carried on the web site. Steward Department Course Spotlight Certified Chief Cook—This course consists of six twoweek, stand-alone modules totaling 12 weeks. This structure allows eligible upgraders to enroll at the start of any module. The objective of the Certified Chief Cook Course (FSM 203) is to provide steward department personnel with an understanding and knowledge of sanitation, nutrition, and the preparation and service of soups, sauces, meats, poultry, and seafood. Prerequisites: Galley Operations and 180 days’ sea time School Opens Keystone Conference Center Ready for the ceremonial ribbon cutting are (from left) SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel, Paul Hall Center VP Don Nolan, SIU President Michael Sacco, Keystone Shipping Executive VP Phil Fisher, Paul Hall Center Trustee Tony Naccarato and Seafarers Plans Administrator Maggie Bowen. 8 Seafarers LOG The Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education received an upgrade May 21 with the formal opening of the Keystone Conference Center – a nicely equipped, state-ofthe-art meeting room located in the Paul Hall Memorial Library. As noted on a plaque just outside the room, the Keystone Conference Center would not have been possible without a very generous contribution from the P.W.J. Fisher & Family Charitable Fund, an endeavor led by Keystone Shipping Executive VP Phillip W.J. Fisher. Suzanne Fisher (photo at left), wife of Phil Fisher, helps formally open the new conference room. The room (above) features the latest media for presentations and a tranquil view of the lake outside the library. July 2008 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:11 AM Page 9 Chamber of Shipping Honors SIU-Contracted Companies A number of Seafarers-contracted companies received recognition June 5 in Houston as the Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) conducted its annual safety awards luncheon. The CSA represents 31 U.S.-based companies that own, operate or charter oceangoing tankers, containerships and other merchant vessels engaged in both the domestic and international trades. The CSA also represents other entities that maintain a commercial interest in the operation of such oceangoing vessels. Among the honors presented last month were the Jones F. Devlin awards, which were given to companies that have operated ships for at least two years without a mariner involved in a lost-time injury. Recipients included Alaska Tanker Company; Crescent Towing; Crowley Maritime Corporation; Crowley Petroleum Services; E.N. Bisso & Son, Inc.; American Overseas Marine; Horizon Lines; Interocean American Shipping Corporation; American Roll-on-Roll-off Carrier; Sea Star Line; Totem Ocean Trailer Express; Keystone Shipping; Maersk Line, Limited; Ocean Retired Seafarer Foley’s Book Illustrates Plight of Lighthouses To highlight the troubles of the nation’s lighthouses, retired Great Lakes Seafarer John Foley has published a picture book titled, “Shine On Lighthouses.” According to the author, who sailed with the SIU for 18 years, “This book touches on the beginning and the growth of lighthouses, to the shape they are in today. A colorful storyline brings to life some of our best-known lighthouses from around the country and how they converge on our nation’s capital for a rally to support the lighthouses that are now on in need of rebuilding.” The book is intended for third-to fifth-grade students and all lighthouse enthusiasts. According to Foley, “Many lighthouses have played a vital role in the history of our country. We as Americans need to play a vital role to keep our lighthouses from becoming extinct.” The glossy book or a hardcover version may be purchased online at www.xlibris.com by clicking on the bookstore link and searching using the book’s title and author’s name. Shipholdings; OSG Ship Management; Seabulk Tankers; Seabulk Towing; and U.S. Shipping Partners. Individual SIU-crewed vessels receiving honors included the Horizon Falcon, Brenton Reef, Green Bay, Santa Cruz, USNS Lawrence Gianella, Overseas Long Beach and R.J. Pfeiffer. Joseph Cox, CSA president, said the awards program’s growth since inception in the mid-1950s is a credit to “the professionalism of our seafarers and the dedication of shore-based company personnel to safe operation.” He added, “CSA’s involvement in safety is longstanding. We continue to represent the industry, domestically and internationally, on safety issues encompassing every facet of ship operations. It is therefore only fitting that an industry so focused on safety, publicly recognizes the skills and dedication of the women and men who are responsible for actions in keeping with the highest traditions of the sea – aid to those in peril.” More than 240 people attended the awards luncheon, including representatives of the SIU. Photos from the Wilson OMU Sherwin Frank submitted the snapshot at right of a recent voyage aboard the SS Wilson, operated by Sealift, Inc. The vessel itself is shown above in a U.S. Navy file photo. Frank described a happily uneventful trip in which the Seafarers-crewed vessel delivered grain overseas – although, the Wilson was delayed near Mozambique when another vessel became stuck in a channel. Pictured in the group photo (left to right) are Chief Steward Arturo Rodriguez, Frank, and Unlicensed Apprentices Ashley Carmichael and Travis Odom. SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SIU PACIFIC DISTRICT PENSION PLAN Notice/Reminder SEAFARERS APPEALS BOARD ACTION #435 Effective March 1, 2007, Seafarers Appeals Board Action #435 amended the shipping rules to mandate seamen permanently employed must complete the specialty course for their specific rating in order to retain their permanent position. Specialty courses required for the ratings of Chief Electrician, QMED Electrician, QMED/Electrician relief, Electrician, and Engine Maintenance/ Electrician Relief are affected by this Action as follows. 1. The specialty courses required for the ratings of Chief Electrician, QMED Electrician, QMED/Electrician Relief, Electrician, and Engine Maintenance/Electrician Relief shall be defined as Marine Electrical Maintenance and Refrigerator Container Advancement Maintenance Specialty Course. 2. Effective March 1, 2007, seamen awarded any of the above mentioned positions must have successfully completed (at any time) these specialty courses in order to be considered in compliance with this Rule. 3. Seamen currently employed in any of the above mentioned ratings in a permanent capacity shall be required to have successfully completed the specialty courses identified above by July 1, 2009 in order to retain their permanent assignment, provided such courses are offered. July 2008 This is a summary of the annual report for SIU Pacific District Pension Plan, 94-6061923 for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2007. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement Benefits under the plan are provided by the Trust. Plan expenses were $10,037,089. These expenses included $994,954 in administrative expenses and $9,042,135 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 2,927 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $130,306,177 as of July 31, 2007, compared to $130,406,267 as of August 1, 2006. During the plan year the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $100,090. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets that is, the difference between the value of the Plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had total income of $9,936,999, including employer contributions of $35,386, losses of $2,206,746 from the sale of assets, earnings from investments of $12,105,614 and other income of $2,745. Minimum Funding Standards An actuary’s statement shows that enough money was contributed to the plan to keep it funded in accordance with the minimum funding standards of ERISA. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report. ■ An accountant’s report; ■ Financial information and information on payments to service providers; ■ Assets held for investment; ■ Transactions in excess of 5% of plan assets; and ■ Actuarial information regarding the funding of the plan. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of SIU Pacific District Pension Plan, who is the administrator, 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco CA 94107, (415) 764-4990. The charge to cover copying costs will be $17.25 for the full annual report, or $0.25 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan, 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107 and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, DC, or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: Public Disclosure Room, Room N1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20210. Seafarers LOG 9 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:11 AM Page 10 Rep. Thompson Displeased with TWIC Delays Seafarer’s Experience Points out Additional Considerations when Applying for Credential The Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program made another unwanted headline last month as the chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security strongly questioned the 66 percent failure rate of the machines being used to produce the new cards. Meanwhile, an SIU member from the northeast had an unsettling post-enrollment experience which, while likely to be satisfactorily resolved, points out some considerations for mariners as they secure their TWICs before the federally mandated deadline of April 15, 2009. U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the committee, wrote to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Michael Chertoff on June 10. Thompson noted, “It has come to my attention that eight of the 12 machines used to make TWIC cards have been returned to the manufacturers for repairs and system upgrades. Due to this machinery malfunction, the previous one-day time frame for card production has increased to a 10-day time period. It is my understanding that card production will not return to normal operational capacity for several weeks. “At this juncture,” he continued, “it is difficult to determine which is more astonishing – the fact that the facility producing these cards is experiencing a 66 percent machine failure rate or the fact that this machine failure rate has resulted in a tenfold increase in the card production schedule. As you know, over one million men and women are required to obtain TWICs prior to the April 15, 2009 deadline. Needless to say, every production delay increased the likelihood that this deadline will not be met. It would be both unfortunate and unfair if the necessary activities of these employees and their respective employers are hampered due to avoidable delay in card production.” Thompson went on to ask Chertoff several questions about the machines, the status of their repair, the contract to produce the cards, and related issues. The aforementioned case of the SIU member unfolded as follows. The Seafarer enrolled for his TWIC and then caught a ship shortly thereafter. A port call allowed the member to briefly return home and pick up his mail – whereupon he discovered a letter from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) requesting additional documentation to support his application, due within 60 days. The TSA communication is called an Initial Determination of Security Threat Assessment (IDTA) letter. That letter explained the additional documentation that was required and also alerted the member that his options included filing an appeal on the initial determination itself; requesting an extension of the 60-day window identified by the agency; or seeking a waiver. Since he was quickly returning to the ship, the member requested an extension. However, as asked by the Seafarer in a communication to SIU headquarters, what if he hadn’t returned home before the 60 days had expired? In that case, according to the IDTA letter, his application would have been rejected and “you will not be permitted to obtain a TWIC card.” Fortunately, according to a DHS employee who handles TWIC appeals and waiver and extension requests, the final TWIC rule allows for applicants (under reasonable circumstances) to get an extension even after the 60 days have expired. The DHS representative told the Seafarers LOG that the agency is very willing to work cooperatively with mariners and is sympathetic to scenarios like the one described here. It’s also worth noting that the workers at the enrollment centers (technically called “trusted agents”) are supposed to verify that each applicant has submitted all required paperwork before forwarding the applications for approval. So, in this case, the trusted agent should have notified the SIU member immediately that another piece of documentation was needed. The union recommends that when Seafarers enroll for their TWICs, they should ask the trusted agents to examine the application and confirm that nothing is missing. Seafarers also should keep in mind that even if they receive IDTA letters after the 60-day window (because, for example, they were at sea for three months), that doesn’t preclude them from seeking an extension. Seafarers should check with their port agents and/or utilize the TSA contact information that follows for the latest information on the TWIC program, including the “TWIC Quarterly Deployment Plan,” which is a list of cities where TWIC enrollment centers are or will be located. Updates also periodically appear on the SIU web site (www.seafarers.org, normally in the “Heard at Headquarters” section). The TSA TWIC web site now includes a link where individuals may check the status of their card and/or schedule a time to pick it up. For More Information ■ On the web: www.tsa.gov/twic ■ By phone: TWIC Program Help Desk, 1-866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-347-8942) ■ By email: credentialing@dhs.gov Step-By-Step Instructions ■ Pre-Enroll - This can save time at the enrollment center itself. To pre-enroll, individuals must first register for an ID starting at https://twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/T WICWebApp/ Applicants will need to supply basic information including their name, date of birth and country of birth. ■ Gather Documentation - As part of the TWIC application process, individual applicants must supply documentation verifying their identity. A list of acceptable documents was printed on page 4 of the January edition of the Seafarers LOG and is available on the TSA’s TWIC web site. ■ Enroll - Applicants may enroll at any of the agency’s enrollment centers, at which time they must pay the TWIC fee of $132.50 (or the reduced fee of $105.25, if applying for a TWIC that expires in conjunction with a merchant mariner document). Applicants will provide fingerprints and be photographed as well as provide personal information. ■ Pick up TWIC - Applicants must return to the same enrollment center to pick up their credential. They will be notified by email or phone (as specified during enrollment) when the card is ready. The individual TWIC will be activated, and the card-holder will select a corresponding PIN number. Seafarers and company officials are pictured at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center, site of last month’s Maersk Line, Limited safety “boot camp.” SIU Maersk Crews Complete Safety ‘Boot Camp’ at SIU-Affiliated School In an ongoing effort to improve safety, health and the environment, SIU-contracted Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) has established a “Drive to Zero” program, as reported in the June issue of the LOG. This endeavor is a hands-on initiative aimed at assisting employees, from mariners to management, in focusing on safety, communication and cooperation aimed at maximizing workplace wellbeing. An integral step in Drive to Zero occurred when MLL partnered with the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education to provide unlicensed mariners a two-day safety course called “Safety Boot Camps.” The agenda typically focuses on leadership and effective communication as well as more tech- nical topics such as job safety analysis and prevention of electric shocks. A two-day boot camp took place at the Paul Hall Center on June 3-4. Participants said the agenda was very appropriate and the content heightened their understanding of Maersk’s safety values. SIU members successfully completing the session were as follows, with their most recent vessels, respectively, listed after each name: AB Joemar Abagat (Intrepid), AB Jonathan Brown (Altair), Bosun William Card (Performance), Steward Earl Castain (Algol), AB Angel Centeno (Observation Island), Steward Javier Deloreyes (Pomeroy), Bosun Robert Hall (Bonnyman), Steward Michele Hopper (Victorious), Electrician Herbert Hyde (Alliance St. Louis), Bosun Mustafa Malik (Impeccable), AB Patrick McCarthy (Anderson), Bosun Haywood Pettway (Able), AB Paul Pitcher Jr. (Victorious), Electrician Chester Preston (Observation Island), Bosun Edwin Rivera (Carter), Electrician Alan Rogers (Algol), Steward Donna Taylor (Pride), Bosun Wayne Venison (Bellatrix), Steward Glenn Williams (Performance) and Steward James Zavatsky (Victorious). Boot camps are open to SIU mariners sailing aboard MLL’s government and commercial vessels with an MLL work history of at least three years. Any mariner interested in attending one of these boot camps may email kpretto@mllnet.com. The next boot camp at Piney Point is slated for August 1213. SIU Electrician Earns Safety Kudos Aboard Maersk-Operated Pomeroy Tim Chestnut, an SIU member and Maersk electrician aboard the U.S. Military Sealift Command’s USNS Pomeroy, recently received recognition for his excellence in maintaining MSC-mandated maintenance standards aboard ship using a system called Shipboard Automated Maintenance Management (SAMM). That system is an important tool used aboard MSC vessels for preventive maintenance. SAMM is an automated system for documenting accomplishment of onboard maintenance tasks and for configuration control. SAMM uses the latest technologies in database and application software to bring together (in a single integrated 10 Seafarers LOG environment) the advanced tools needed by a ship’s crew to maintain the shipboard machinery in the highest state of readiness. Besides tools for maintenance scheduling and machinery history record keeping, SAMM integrates machinery vibration monitoring, used lube oil analysis, electronic watchkeeping data collection, and diesel engine combustion analysis into a single program. In a letter of recognition, Pomeroy Chief Engineer Thomas Vanderbilt wrote that while Chestnut was using the SAMM system, “During a check of one of the cargo hold fan motor controllers, Mr. Chestnut observed one of the main leads to the start contactor showing signs of overheating. The lead and contactor were changed out and the controller tested. If left unattended, this controller could have caused a major fire in this group control center. These preventative maintenance procedures are exactly the design of the SAMM program and for your positive attitude you are being recognized by USNS Pomeroy and Maersk Line, Limited.” See Page 9 for a reprint of SAB concerning specialty courses for engine department mariners July 2008 �49311_p01_24X:9311p0 6/30/2008 2:18 PM Page 11 USS Announces 2008 AOTOS Honorees The United Seamen’s Service (USS) 2008 Admiral of the Ocean Sea Awards will be presented to James A. Capo, chairman and CEO of U.S. Maritime Alliance, Ltd., and Michael D. Garvey, a founding partner and past chairman of Saltchuk Resources, Inc., USS announced in late May. A special AOTOS award will be presented to General Norton Schwartz, commander of the United States Transportation Command. The awards are scheduled to be presented Nov. 7 in New York City. John Bowers, chairman of the USS AOTOS Committee and president emeritus of the International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO, made the announcement on National Maritime Day: May 22, 2008. “We have an impressive group of honorees this year,” said Bowers. “Jim Capo has been a friend and colleague across the negotiating table for many years and his leadership skills command respect by all who know him.” Bowers continued, “As one of the founders of Saltchuk, Mr. Garvey has helped to build one of America’s leading maritime shipping organizations, including Totem Ocean Trailer Express and Sea Star Line, that continues to employ many U.S. seafarers. General Schwartz has led TRANSCOM through a difficult time with amazing operational results and he deserves a very special recognition.” Bowers noted that the recipients were selected by more than 150 international transportation industry and government leaders “who understand the challenges and issues that confront United States shipping and the American seafarer and who recognize the honorees’ leadership in this area.” All proceeds from the AOTOS event benefit USS community services abroad for the U.S. Merchant Marine and those of other free world countries. The recipients will share the evening with a group of American seafarers who will be honored for specific acts of bravery at sea. Since the formation of the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) in 1996, Capo has served as a lead negotiator on behalf of management interests during coast-wide master contract negotiations with U.S. maritime labor unions and as chief negotiator of the current six-year master contract. Prior to his role as chairman/CEO, Capo served as president. As a formal alliance of carriers, stevedores and port associations in the East Coast and Gulf Coast regions, USMX’s mission is to preserve and protect the interests of the management groups in labor relations issues concerning containerization and James Capo Michael Garvey General Norton Schwartz automation in the longshore and related maritime fields. Capo has led this mission in a determined yet balanced manner that has earned him respect from the entire industry. Since founding Saltchuk in 1982, Garvey has helped grow the organization’s family of businesses to over 20 independent operating companies. These include Sea Star Line, Totem Ocean Trailer Express, American Shipping Group, Interocean American Shipping, Foss Maritime Company and American Cargo Transport. Through his leadership, Garvey has helped to foster the Saltchuk mission to create a work environment where people would want their families to work. In addition to being a founding partner and chairman of Saltchuk, Garvey is a founding partner of Garvey, Schubert & Barer, a multi-service law firm with offices in Seattle, Washington, D.C., Portland, Ore., and New York. His public service includes the Foundation Board of the University of Washington, Zion Preparatory Academy Foundation and PeaceHealth. As commander of TRANSCOM, General Schwartz oversees the single management organization for global air, land and sea transportation for the entire U.S. Department of Defense. He leads an organization with $10 billion in annual revenue, 100-plus ships, several hundred aircraft, ocean terminal operators, and manages programs providing access to the entire commercial transportation industry for additional capability. He is a strong supporter of the U.S. Merchant Marine, promoting and championing the programs that help ensure jobs for mariners (including the Maritime Security Program) and retention of a strong and viable U.S.-flag fleet. The USS, a non-profit agency established in 1942, operates centers in eight foreign ports in Europe, Asia, Africa and in the Indian Ocean, and also provides seagoing libraries to American vessels through its affiliate, the American Merchant Marine Library Association. Congratulations to Seafarer’s Son The Angus R. Cooper (photo at left), the GEN Oglethorp and the Florida (photo above) are among the tugs in the Crescent fleet. Looking in on Crescent Towing SIU Assistant Vice President Contracts Archie Ware and Port of Jacksonville Safety Director Karl Leiter recently visited with SIU members and company officials at Savannah, Gabased and union-contracted Crescent Towing. They sent the photos appearing in this space for publication in the Seafarers LOG. The boatmen above are crew members aboard SIU-contracted tugs belonging to Crescent Towing Co. in Savannah, Ga. Pictured (in no particular order) are Derek Dragon, James Howe, Jesse Schumpert, Mike Crouch, David Watford and Dustin Schaaf. July 2008 SIU Asst. VP Contracts Archie Ware (above, right) chatted with AB Kelly Stanford (left in same photo), while Jacksonville Safety Director Karl Leiter (left in photo at left) met with W. Hays Clark, assistant port manager in Savannah, Ga. Jacksonvile Safety Director Karl Leiter (above, second from right) discussed safety issues with union members during his recent visit to Savannah, Ga. Pictured above (in no particular order) are Christoper Siles, Travis Morgan, James Howe, Banjamin Murphy and Randy Sikes. SIU Atlantic Coast VP Joseph Soresi (right) congratulates FOWT John Wozunk on the news that Wozunk’s son, Christopher, recently was awarded a scholarship through the annual program run by the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan. As reported last month, Christopher Wozunk is a graduate of Highland Regional High School in New Jersey and plans to continue his education at Drexel University. Inland member John Wozunk works for Crowley. Share your ideas for news and feature items for publication in the Seafarers LOG by calling (301) 899-0675. Simply ask the operator for the Communications Department. E-mailed items may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org Seafarers LOG 11 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:12 AM Page 12 National Maritime Day Ceremonies Reflect U Washington, D.C. Events also Pa American mariners past and present were honored May 22 in Washington, D.C., during that city’s traditional National Maritime Day ceremonies. Seafarers International Union President Michael Sacco led an SIU delegation that included Executive Vice President Augie Tellez and students from the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. SIU of Canada President Roman Gralewicz and Executive Vice President Michel Desjardins also attended the ceremonies, along with hundreds of other guests and dignitaries. The events (in order) included an observance at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial sponsored by the U.S. Maritime Administration; a luncheon hosted by the Propeller Club of Washington and the Kings Point Alumni Association; and a ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard conducted by the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC). Featured speakers at the respective events were as follows: at the MarAd ceremony, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters and Rhode Island State Senator Leonidas Raptakis; at the Propeller Club luncheon (which also took place at the Navy Yard), U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton; and at the MSC ceremony, General Norton Schwartz, commander, U.S. Transportation Command. Always Ready Peters recalled the long history of the U.S. Merchant Marine, in particular pointing out its “central role” in defending America during the War of 1812. “America’s story could not be to the many, many sacrifices and cont of merchant mariners,” she stated. “ early ships brought the settlers, pos and goods that helped build the nat the ground up. Their spirit of enterp staked out a place for the United St global commerce that continues as of American prosperity to this day. valor has ensured that our troops ha supplies and equipment they need – how far from America’s shores they to defend our freedom and way of l “From the War of 1812, to the Libe of World War II, to today’s global w ror, every time our nation’s military called to protect U.S. interests, Ame merchant mariners sailed alongside behind,” Peters continued. “These s brave the natural dangers of the sea as the perils of war, so that our figh have the food, fuel, ammunition, an to get the job done and return home She noted that many mariners ha the ultimate sacrifice in defense of try, and specifically pointed out tha Merchant Marine in World War II s casualty rate second only to that of Marine Corps. (More than 1,200 SI bers gave their lives in World War I Addressing the merchant marine ve the audience, she said, “On behalf o President Bush, Vice President Che grateful nation, I want to extend a s welcome to you all and to express o appreciation for your service and yo fice.” Peters further pointed out that th Unlicensed Apprentice Jeremy Paschke rings “eight bells” as part of the MarAd observance. National Maritime Day, 2008 A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America On National Maritime Day, America honors our highly skilled mariners who sail the high seas, support those on the front lines of the war on terror, and promote commerce around the world. Since 1775, the United States Merchant Marine has served our country, helping America become a great maritime power. During the Second World War, courageous mariners were among those who suffered greatly – hundreds of ships were lost to enemy action, and many mariners made the ultimate sacrifice. We pay tribute to these heroes who answered the call to serve when our Nation needed them most. Today, our merchant mariners continue to protect our homeland, including by supporting our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. In times of peace and war, these brave patriots help keep our Nation safe and strengthen our economy. By transporting American goods across the oceans, merchant mariners facilitate commerce and advance trade. These Americans honor the noble traditions of seafarers and enrich our country’s maritime heritage. In recognition of the importance of the U.S. Merchant Marine, the Congress, by joint resolution approved on May 20, 1933, as amended, has designated May 22 of each year as “National Maritime Day,” and has authorized and requested that the President issue an annual proclamation calling for its appropriate observance. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 22, 2008, as National Maritime Day. I call upon the people of the United States to mark this observance by honoring the service of merchant mariners and by displaying the flag of the United States at their homes and in their communities. I also request that all ships sailing under the American flag dress ship on that day. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second. GEORGE W. BUSH 12 Seafarers LOG General Norton Schwartz Commander U.S. TRANSCOM Sean Connaughton U.S. Maritime Administrator Rear Adm. Robert Commande Military Sealift Co The FDR Memorial was the site of the Maritime Administration’s National Maritime Day eve July 2008 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:12 AM Page 13 U.S. Merchant Marine’s Ongoing Importance Pay Tribute to Mariners’ Proud, Vital History be told without contributions ted. “Their , possessions, e nation from nterprise ed States in s as a mainstay day. And their ps have the eed – no matter they must go y of life. Liberty ships bal war on terlitary has been America’s gside or close ese seafarers e sea, as well fighting forces n, and supplies home safely.” rs have made e of our count that the U.S. r II suffered a at of the U.S. 00 SIU memWar II.) ne veterans in half of Cheney, and a d a special ress our deep nd your sacriat the vast obert Reilly Jr. mander ft Command y event. majority of cargo moved to support our troops now in the Middle East travels aboard U.S.-flag commercial vessels. She concluded, “Thankfully, in every generation, America has been blessed with men and women willing to face the difficulties of life at sea in order to safeguard our national security and promote our economic prosperity. Today is no exception… As Theodore Roosevelt said in his final message to Congress, ‘To the spread of our trade in peace and the defense of our flag in war a great and prosperous merchant marine is indispensable.’ Those words ring as true today as they did a century earlier. So, as we commemorate Maritime Day 2008, I join Americans everywhere in saluting you for your indispensable service.” Raptakis credited American seamen for always answering the call to duty. “In every military conflict and time of challenge, the U.S. Merchant Marine has been there,” he said. “The U.S. Merchant Marine plays a vital role today as it did 75 years ago (when National Maritime Day first was declared by Congress), whether keeping the seas safe for commerce or defending our shores from terrorism.” He added, “I’m pleased to honor all of our merchant mariners. All of you are what FDR called the crucial, decisive factor in our ability to remain a free people.” Opportunities for Growth Connaughton, who sailed in both the merchant marine and U.S. Coast Guard, touched on the nation’s maritime history and thanked mariners for their dedicated service. He then focused on modern-day challenges and opportunities facing the industry. “Marine transportation is the critical link in today’s economy and will be into the future as 95 percent of America’s trade is moved by ship,” he said. “This means steadily growing cargo volumes for ships, barges, ports and the labor, shipyards and service industries that support them. With such a large nationalinternational market as this, America and Americans are in a unique position to be strong and robust competitors and to reap the economic benefits from the increased demand for transportation. “The U.S. maritime industry should be and must be a major participant our international trade,” Connaughton continued. “Not only for purely economic reasons. We need to have the capacity to move the trade essential to our economy in times of peace and national emergency. To talk about the benefits of the global economy and to ignore the vulnerabilities in the transportation system necessary to make it work is to invite potential disaster.” He listed numerous objectives that would benefit the industry as a whole, including promoting U.S. ship and barge building and repair facilities; advancing a highly skilled maritime workforce; making better use of the nation’s ports and marine highways; freeing the industry of regulatory and tax burdens that inhibit competitiveness; and promoting the use of American mariners and managers “in every aspect of transportation operations.” Connaughton called for cooperation from throughout the industry to “make these goals a reality. Existing industry partnerships must be revitalized. Strong new ones must be formed that will support, not inhibit, a robust maritime industry. All parties, including federal, state and local governments, ports, shipyards, labor, carriers, shippers, operators and ultimately, consumers must recognize that the marine industry is critical to the economic future of the United States and their future wellbeing.” ‘Heritage of Service’ In his welcoming remarks, Rear Admiral Robert Reilly Jr., MSC commander, acknowledged the Paul Hall Center apprentices and said they “represent the future.” He described the merchant marine as “a crucial part of our prosperity and security – an unbroken circle of heroes. Their service has never left any doubt that they’ll deliver.” Schwartz called SIU President Sacco “a great friend, a great mentor,” and recognized some others in the crowd. He talked about the merchant marine of World War II and reminded everyone that victory in that conflict “was far from a foregone conclusion.” He paid tribute to civilian mariners’ “heritage of service and accomplishment, often under extreme pressure. That is what we honor today. It is an understatement to say we count on you.” Schwartz said that today’s mariners “are the people who ensure that the promises we’ve made to our service men and women are and always will be promises kept.” He also said the U.S. Merchant Marine is “the linchpin of our wartime and peacetime sealift capability” and the “backbone of our ability to project sea power wherever and whenever needed.” The general pledged his continued support to the industry and said of U.S. mariners, “Their labor is priceless.” Also at the heart of the ceremony was the placing of three wreaths to commemorate the sacrifices that generations of mariners have made in service to the nation. The solemn occasion drew to a close with a 21-gun salute by a seven-person firing party positioned on the Anacostia River waterfront just outside Navy Yard’s Cold War Museum. Following the ceremony, the wreaths were transferred to the U.S. Merchant Marine bronze relief sculpture on the East Wall of the Navy Memorial in Washington. SIU President Michael Sacco (left) and Executive VP Augie Tellez (right) greet AB Robert Hayes prior to the MSC ceremony. Hayes most recently sailed aboard the USNS Seay. July 2008 Mary Peters U.S. Transportation Secretary Rhode Island State Senator Leonidas Raptakis Hanafi Rustandi (second from right), president of the Indonesian Seafarers Union and coordinator for Indonesia for the International Transport Workers’ Federation, took in the ceremony hosted by MarAd. Pictured with him are (from left) SIU of Canada Executive VP Michel Desjardins and President Roman Gralewicz, and SIU President Michael Sacco. Unlicensed Apprentice Rickey Yancey represents mariners during MSC’s service. Seafarers LOG 13 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:12 AM Page 14 OMU Adam Hansen (right in photo at top right) carries the wreath presented during a May 17 remembrance ceremony for American merchant mariners aboard the Jeremiah O’Brien in San Francisco. California Ceremonies Honor American Merchant Mariners The SIU recently participated in National Maritime Day ceremonies in California. Pictured above are four Seafarers who attended the observance and memorial service May 22 at the American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial in San Pedro, Calif.: GUDE Jason Stutes and ABs Rick Barnhart, Ruben Manalansan and R.J. Sagadraca. On May 17, Seafarers and other union members took part in the remembrance aboard the Jeremiah O’Brien in San Francisco. Pictured aboard the World War II-era ship are (from left) OMU Adam Hansen, 1st Assistant Engineer Steve Converse, Chief Engineer Bob Cheramie, Port Engineer Tim Tralongo and SIU Patrolman Greg Stone. SEAFARERS HEALTH AND BENEFITS PLAN — COBRA NOTICE Are You Receiving All Your Important Mail? To help ensure that each active SIU member and pensioner receives the Seafarers LOG—as well as other important mail—monthly, correct home addresses must be on file with the union. Those who recently have moved or feel that they are not getting their union mail, should use the form at right to update their home addresses. An individual’s home address is his/her permanent address. Unless otherwise specified, this is where all official union documents will be sent. Individuals receiving more than one copy of the LOG, those who have changed their address and those whose names or addresses are misprinted or incomplete, should fill out the form and send it to: Seafarers International Union, Address Correction Dept., 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Corrections via e-mail should be sent to kclements@seafarers.org 14 Seafarers LOG HOME ADDRESS FORM (Please Print) Name: ____________________________________________________________ Phone No.: ________________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Social Security No.: ________ / ________ / ________ Book No.: _________ Active SIU Pensioner Other ________________________ This will be my permanent address for all official union mailings. This address should remain in the union file unless otherwise changed by me personally. 7/08 Under federal law, a participant and his or her dependents have the right to elect to continue their Plan coverage in the event that they lose their eligibility. This right is granted by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, better known as “COBRA.” The COBRA law allows a participant and his or her dependents to temporarily extend their benefits at group rates in certain circumstances where coverage under the Plan would otherwise end. A participant and his or her dependents have a right to choose this continuation coverage if they lose their Plan coverage because the participant failed to meet the Plan’s seatime requirements. In addition, a participant and his or her dependents may have the right to choose continuation coverage if the participant becomes a pensioner ineligible for medical benefits. The participant’s dependents may also elect continuation coverage if they lose coverage under the Plan as the result of the participant’s (1) death; (2) divorce; or (3) Medicare eligibility. A child can also elect COBRA if as the result of his or her age, he or she is no longer a dependent under the Plan rules. If a member and his or her dependents feel that they may qualify, or if they would like more information concerning these rights, they should contact the Plan office at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Since there are important deadlines that apply to COBRA, please contact the Plan as soon as possible to receive a full explanation of the participant’s rights and his or her dependents’ rights. July 2008 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:12 AM Page 15 Inland Career Opportunities – Immediate Job Openings The SIU has immediate openings in the inland division. Interested individuals who possess either a 1,600-ton master’s or mate’s license (with near coastal or ocean endorsements) along with an Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (OICNW) STCW certificate; or a designated duty engineer (DDE) 5,000 hp or greater license are encouraged to contact Bart Rogers at the union’s manpower office at (301) 994-0010, extension 5317 for additional information. In Texas, the SIU has immediate openings aboard harbor tugs. Interested individuals who possess either a mate or master’s license (inland) greater than 500 GRT with either a master or mate or harbor towing endorsement, or are licensed as a chief or assistant engineer (6,000 hp or greater), or are rated as a DDE, QMED or Oiler are encouraged to contact Jim McGee or Mike Russo at the SIU hall in Houston, (713) 659-5152. August & September 2008 Membership Meetings Piney Point.....................Monday: August 4, September 8 Algonac ............................Friday: August 8, September 12 Baltimore.......................Thursday: August 7, September 11 Boston ................................Friday: August 8, September 12 Guam...........................Thursday: August 21, September 25 Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea May 15, 2008 — June 15, 2008 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Honolulu ..........................Friday: August 15, September 19 Totals Houston .........................Monday: August 11, September 15 Port Jacksonville...................Thursday: August 7, September 11 Joliet............................Thursday: August 14, September 18 Mobile.....................Wednesday: August 13, September 17 New Orleans .................Tuesday: August 12, September 16 New York ..........................Tuesday: August 5, September 9 Norfolk..........................Thursday: August 7, September 11 Oakland .......................Thursday: August 14, September 18 Philadelphia................Wednesday: August 6, September 10 Port Everglades ...........Thursday: August 14, September 18 San Juan ........................Thursday: August 7, September 11 St. Louis ...........................Friday: August 15, September 19 Tacoma.............................Friday: August 22, September 26 Wilmington........................Monday: August 18, September 22 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SIU PACIFIC DISTRICT SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS FUND, INC This is a summary of the annual report of the SIU Pacific District Supplemental Benefits Fund, Inc., EIN 94-1431246 for the year ended July 31, 2007. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Benefits under the Plan are provided by the SIU Pacific District Supplemental Benefits Fund, Inc., a Trust Fund. Basic Financial Statement The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan was $677,570 as of July 31, 2007, compared to $996,980 as of August 1, 2006. During the plan year the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $319,410. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets acquired during the year. During the plan year, the plan had total income of $7,361,938, including employer contributions of $7,253,946, gains of $12,756 from the sale of assets, earnings from investments of $94,883 and other income of $353. Plan expenses were $7,681,348. These expenses included $465,281 in administrative expenses, and $7,216,067 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report. ■ An accountant’s report; ■ Financial information and information on payments to service providers; ■ Assets held for investment; and ■ Transactions in excess of 5% of plan assets. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of SIU Pacific District Supplemental Benefits Fund, Inc., at 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107, telephone number (415) 764-4990. The charge to cover copying costs will be $10.25 for the full annual report, or $0.25 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and the accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and the accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan at 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107, and at the U. S. Department of Labor in Washington, DC, or to obtain a copy from the U. S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to Public Disclosure Room, Room N1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N. W., Washington, D.C. 20210. July 2008 Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals Trip Reliefs **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C DECK DEPARTMENT 1 2 4 14 1 7 34 39 0 12 17 42 9 32 5 0 2 4 41 21 1 6 6 9 9 7 41 21 4 7 9 21 22 14 4 13 4 5 32 16 1 0 0 2 2 0 4 3 1 0 0 3 3 2 5 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 5 10 1 9 38 31 1 8 12 29 9 25 2 1 6 1 24 21 0 3 5 12 3 9 25 3 0 6 2 26 13 10 5 12 3 4 22 12 1 1 0 2 1 2 1 1 0 0 2 2 3 0 2 0 1 0 3 2 0 0 3 13 6 2 27 14 0 6 9 23 4 14 1 1 2 0 17 8 3 2 8 20 2 15 63 55 1 21 22 82 17 36 7 1 7 4 67 42 9 7 6 22 11 15 66 48 7 14 15 47 35 18 4 7 15 6 49 30 3 0 0 7 2 1 8 6 3 0 1 5 7 3 4 0 1 1 8 9 287 251 32 233 185 24 144 475 431 69 0 0 5 9 0 7 25 14 1 10 6 18 13 12 1 2 1 0 12 8 4 2 3 10 3 6 11 18 0 6 2 9 15 10 5 2 6 5 12 8 0 0 1 0 2 2 1 2 0 1 0 2 3 1 1 0 0 0 4 2 144 137 22 ENGINE DEPARTMENT Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 0 2 6 0 3 13 9 0 5 5 9 7 10 1 1 3 0 9 8 0 0 6 4 1 2 7 14 0 3 2 6 9 7 2 0 4 1 11 7 0 0 1 1 3 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 3 0 2 12 7 0 2 2 7 3 5 3 0 4 0 9 3 0 0 1 4 0 19 29 29 1 13 11 34 16 11 3 3 3 2 23 16 6 5 10 7 6 9 25 34 1 7 6 19 24 14 7 4 6 7 21 15 1 0 2 2 2 3 1 2 1 2 0 6 5 4 0 0 1 0 5 8 91 86 15 65 228 237 46 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 0 0 2 8 3 11 23 18 0 8 10 23 6 16 2 6 3 1 24 18 1 0 2 6 1 5 4 4 0 8 2 9 19 4 0 0 1 1 5 7 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 182 79 7 Port 1 0 0 4 1 10 21 16 0 2 3 15 4 22 1 1 3 0 19 11 1 0 0 5 0 3 6 5 0 1 4 5 13 1 1 0 0 2 6 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 7 0 1 11 11 0 1 3 8 4 7 1 0 2 1 10 8 1 0 7 12 5 14 30 27 0 11 13 39 9 33 4 8 5 4 28 40 3 2 4 11 2 5 13 12 0 11 5 12 19 8 0 0 2 1 9 9 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 134 58 4 75 290 128 13 ENTRY DEPARTMENT Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington 1 0 0 1 0 0 4 2 0 0 1 7 0 9 0 11 0 0 5 2 2 0 2 6 1 6 16 12 0 4 6 31 13 15 1 11 3 2 15 7 2 0 0 9 1 4 6 13 0 1 2 5 10 8 0 21 2 1 4 7 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 1 0 0 0 6 0 3 0 0 0 0 7 2 1 0 0 2 0 3 12 10 0 2 1 11 6 15 1 9 2 0 5 5 0 0 0 2 0 1 5 2 0 1 0 0 5 10 0 15 0 0 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 8 5 0 1 2 11 0 10 0 1 0 0 4 3 6 3 7 10 3 10 32 30 0 6 10 60 27 29 2 5 4 2 32 21 6 0 1 14 2 20 15 33 2 0 5 19 20 21 1 6 3 3 11 20 Totals 33 153 96 26 85 48 0 48 299 199 646 620 157 484 414 91 284 1041 1095 327 Totals All Departments Seafarers LOG 15 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/30/2008 12:01 PM Page 16 Seafarers International Union Directory Procedure For Obtaining SIU Absentee Ballots Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 The Arthur M. Huddell is one of the more than 2,700 Liberty ships built during WWII. Vintage Liberty Ship Plots Its Final Course for Greece World War II-Era Vessel Arthur M. Huddell Could Be Destined to Become Museum The last Liberty ship in the U.S. Maritime Administration’s fleet, the Arthur M. Huddell, soon will be on its way to Greece, thanks to a recent agreement between that nation’s government and MarAd. The vessel is expected to be used as a museum. “It is great to be able to save a bit of history from both our nations,” said U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton. “This ship is a symbol of the friendship as well as mutual maritime interests linking Greece and the United States.” American shipyards built 2,751 Liberty ships during World War II, in the largest shipbuilding effort in history. Liberty ships crewed by merchant mariners carried troops and military cargo all over the world. The building and sailing of the Liberty ships, and their successors, the Victory ships, were overseen by the U.S. Maritime Commission and the War Shipping Agency, both predecessor agencies of today’s Maritime Administration. After World War II, Greek shipowners purchased many Liberty ships to build up their fleet. Two other Liberty ships formerly in the Maritime Administration’s National Defense Reserve Fleet, the John W. Brown and the Jeremiah O’Brien, are currently operating as museum ships. While other redesigned and repurposed Liberty ships remain in service, none remain in service in the form they had in World War II. Nonetheless, their use was once so common that the term “Libertysize cargo,” meaning 10,000 tons, may still be heard in the shipping business. Elections for the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are scheduled for later this year. As in past SIU election years, a comprehensive guide will be published in the Seafarers LOG prior to the balloting. In the case of members eligible to vote who believe they will be at sea during the Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2008 voting period, absentee ballots will be available. The SIU constitution ensures that members who are eligible to vote and who find themselves in this situation may vote. Procedures are established in the SIU constitution to safeguard the secret ballot election, including the absentee ballot process. Here is the procedure to follow when requesting an absentee ballot: 1. Make the request in writing to the SIU office of the secretary-treasurer, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. 2. Include in the request the correct address where the absentee ballot should be mailed. 3. Send the request for an absentee ballot by registered or certified mail. 4. The registered or certified mail envelope must be postmarked no later than midnight, Nov. 15, 2008 and must be received at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 no later than Nov. 25, 2008. 5. The secretary-treasurer, after confirming eligibility, will send by registered mail, return receipt requested, to the address designated in the request, a ballot, together with an envelope marked “Ballot” and a mailing envelope no later than Nov. 30, 2008. 6. Upon receiving the ballot and envelope, vote by marking the ballot. After voting the ballot, place the ballot in the envelope marked “Ballot.” Do not write on the “Ballot” envelope. 7. Place the envelope marked “Ballot” in the mailing envelope which is imprinted with the mailing address of the bank depository where all ballots are sent. 8. Sign the mailing envelope on the first line of the upper left-hand corner. Print name and book number on the second line. The mailing envelope is selfaddressed and stamped. 9. The mailing envelope must be postmarked no later than midnight, Dec. 31, 2008 and received by the bank depository no later than Jan. 5, 2009. PIC-FROM-THE PAST NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG The photo above, taken in 1971 and sent to the LOG by an unknown source, shows two merchant vessels navigating the Siagon River near Siagon, the Republic of Vietnam. The vessel on the left is the SS Raphael Semmes and the one on the right is the SS Seatrain Puerto Rico. The Semmes is headed up river to off-load its cargo while the Puerto Rico is headed down river en route to the open sea. Seafarers who sailed on the Siagon River during those days in support of our troops during the Vietnam War will recall that the waterway contained numerous sharp zig-zags and extremely sticky bends which kept masters on their toes. Swift currents also tested their nerves on a continuing basis. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with other Seafarers LOG readers, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. High-resolution digital images may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org July 2008 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:12 AM Page 17 Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. Welcome Ashore DEEP SEA CARLOS BONEFONT Brother Carlos Bonefont, 66, was born in Puerto Rico. He joined the union in 1960 while in the port of New York. Brother Bonefont first shipped aboard the Evelyn. The engine department member upgraded his skills on three occasions at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Brother Bonefont’s last vessel was the Horizon Hawaii. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. RAYFIELD CRAWFORD Brother Rayfield Crawford, 65, became an SIU member in 1967. He initially sailed on the Chatham. Brother Crawford was born in Maryland and worked in the steward department. He enhanced his seafaring abilities often at the Piney Point school. Brother Crawford’s most recent voyage was aboard the USNS Wright. He makes his home in Baltimore. aboard the Richard G. Matthiesen. Brother Jones enhanced his seafaring abilities on numerous occasions at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point. He calls Jacksonville home. WILLIAM LOWRY JR. Brother William Lowry Jr., 67, was born in Maryland. He began his seafaring career in 1966 in the port of New York. Brother Lowry’s first trip was on the Penn Transport. He worked in the deck department and upgraded often at the Piney Point school. Brother Lowry was last employed aboard the Maersk Carolina. He settled in York, Pa. CARL THOMPSON Brother Carl Thompson, 65, joined the union in 1960. He initially shipped on the Ogden Challenger. Brother Thompson was a member of the deck department. He was born in Alabama. Brother Thompson’s final trip to sea was aboard the Seabulk Power. He lives in Mobile, Ala. ROBERT TRAINOR LOUIS DIAZ Brother Louis Diaz, 66, signed on with the MC&S (Marine Cooks & Stewards) in 1978. His earliest trip to sea was on the Santa Mercedes, where he shipped as a member of the steward department. Brother Diaz is a native of Rockwood, Texas. His final voyage was aboard an APL ship. Brother Diaz frequently took advantage of educational opportunities offered at the Seafarers-affiliated school in Piney Point. He is a resident of Artesia, Calif. ERDWIN FUENTES Brother Erdwin Fuentes, 65, donned the SIU colors in 1973 in the port of New Orleans. He originally shipped on the Erna Elizabeth. Brother Fuentes was born in Mexico and worked in the engine department. In 1981 and 1983, Brother Fuentes attended classes at the maritime training center in Piney Point. He last sailed aboard the Robert E. Lee. Brother Fuentes resides in New Orleans. RAYMOND JONES Brother Raymond Jones, 60, first went to sea in 1969 from the port of Jacksonville, Fla. His initial trip was on an Alcoa Steamship Company vessel. Brother Jones was born in Florida and sailed in the steward department. He most recently sailed July 2008 Brother Robert Trainor, 60, signed on with the SIU in 1970. He originally sailed with Bay Tankers Inc. as a member of the deck department. Brother Trainor was a frequent upgrader at the maritime training center in Piney Point. He resides in Reno, Nev. MICHAEL WILLIS Brother Michael Willis, 58, became a Seafarer in 1967. The Seattle native worked in the deck department. Brother Willis’ first ship was the Alice Brown; his last was the Great Land. He enhanced his seafaring abilities on numerous occasions at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Willis makes his home in Rosburg, Wash. INLAND WAYNE BERRY Boatman Wayne Berry, 52, began sailing with the union in 1987. He was primarily employed with Crowley Towing & Transportation of Wilmington. Boatman Berry was born in California and shipped in the deck department. He visited the Piney Point school in 2001 and 2002 to upgrade his skills. Boatman Berry is a resident of Phoenix, Ariz. CLYDE EVANS Boatman Clyde Evans, 65, joined the SIU in 1980 while in Piney Point. His earliest trip to sea was with American Towing & Transportation. Boatman Evans was born in Maryland. He last worked in the engine department of a Penn Maritime vessel. Boatman Evans calls Tangier, Va., home. LOWELL JONES Boatman Lowell Jones, 62, was born in Florida. He became an SIU member in 1965. Boatman Jones first sailed aboard a Coyle Lines Inc. vessel. The deck department member was born in Florida. On three occasions, Boatman Jones upgraded his seafaring abilities at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point. Before his retirement, he worked with G&H Towing Company. Boatman Jones continues to live in his native state. resides in Leland, N.C. WILLIAM PRIVETTE Boatman William Privette, 55, donned the SIU colors in 1971. He initially shipped with Victory Carriers Inc. as a member of the deck department. Boatman Privette frequently took advantage of educational opportunities offered at the Seafarers-affiliated school. He was born in San Diego. Boatman Privette most recently sailed aboard a vessel operated by Crowley Towing & Transportation of Wilmington. He settled in Elmira, Ore. GREAT LAKES ANDREW EGRESSY WILLIAM PHILLIPS Boatman William Phillips, 62, joined the union in 1973. He originally shipped on a Stone Towing Line vessel. Boatman Phillips was a member of the deck department. His final trip was with Cape Fear Towing. Boatman Phillips Brother Andrew Egressy, 70, signed on with the union in 1999 while in Detroit. His first ship was the Sam Laud; his last was the St. Mary’s Challenger. Brother Egressy was born in Concord, N.Y., and worked in the engine department. He enhanced his seafaring abilities in 2002 at the Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1959 Seafarers on the cement carrier Florida State were caught in the crossfire stirred by an attempted revolt in the Dominican Republic, but all escaped unhurt. The SIUmanned ship was strafed by planes and stopped by gunboats several times off the Dominican coast before returning to Port Everglades, Fla. The latest incidents occurred a few hours before an alleged “invasion force” in two armed launches was stopped on the coast by Dominican government forces. The “invaders” had reportedly been based in Cuba. SIU-affiliated school. Brother Egressy makes his home in East Concord, N.Y. CHARLES NEIGEBAUER Brother Charles Neigebauer, 65, was born in Michigan. He began his seafaring career in 1969. Brother Neigebauer initially shipped with American Steamship Company as a member of the deck department. His last trip to sea was on the St. Clair. Brother Neigebauer is a resident of Sterling Heights, Mich. MICHAEL SCHAFF Brother Michael Schaff, 55, joined the SIU in 1971. He originally sailed on an American Steamship Company vessel. Brother Schaff worked in both the engine and deck departments. His most recent trip was aboard the Walter J. McCarthy. Brother Schaff continues to reside in his native state of Wisconsin. to let them leave the ship. After three weeks of food and water rationing, the crew was finally released and flown home. 1980 For more than two weeks, 185 Indochinese boatpeople lived a nightmare adrift in the South China Sea. The mostly Vietnamese men, women and babies had tried to flag down 120 passing ships. But none would stop to aid them. The nightmare ended for the refugees when the SIU-crewed LNG Virgo, working in tandem with the Navy tanker USNS Sealift Antarctic, pulled the boatpeople to safety. Relieved and grateful to the ships’ crews, many of the refugees knelt and kissed the deck. The boatpeople were unaware that the ships’ crews had something to celebrate as well. They performed the rescue in the finest tradition of their country the day before the Fourth of July. This Month In SIU History 1967 Isolated for 21 days and nights aboard the SIU-contracted tanker Observer in the Suez Canal, 39 seafarers were caught in lines of gunfire from the Arab-Israeli War and witnessed at close range the combat of the two opposing armies. The Observer was India-bound with a cargo of grain and about to clear the Suez Canal when the Middle East war exploded and the canal was blocked with debris of sunken ships, preventing passage. Seafarers aboard the Observer report there was almost constant gunfire day and night that would light up the night sky. They also report Arab and Israeli low-flying dogfights during which two planes were downed. Back home, the SIU and Marine Carriers, the ship’s operator, were working to have the crew flown home only to have efforts thwarted by the United Arab Republic that refused 1994 SIU members in the Port of San Juan, P.R., helped pull a grounded oil tanker to safety without spilling any of the 13 million gallons of fuel oil the runaway-flag vessel was carrying. Seafarers aboard tugs operated by Crowley Maritime moved the Greekflagged, Liberian-owned Mantinia safely into Guayanilla Bay. The 749-foot ship had been grounded in sand. Other SIU members were standing by with oil containment booms and skimming equipment in case of a spill. SIU tankermen were also standing by in case the load needed to be lightened. Seafarers LOG 17 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:13 AM Page 18 Final Departures DEEP SEA MIGUEL AGUIRE Pensioner Miguel Aguire, 85, passed away March 3. Brother Aguire joined the union in 1967. He first sailed aboard the Milwaukee Clipper. Brother Aguire was born in Mexico and shipped in the steward department. His final voyage was on the Venture. In 1987, Brother Aguire started collecting his retirement compensation. He resided in Spicewood, Texas. PERRY BOYD JR Brother Perry Boyd Jr., 54, died Feb. 14. He began sailing with the Seafarers in 1990. Brother Boyd initially shipped aboard the Arecibo. He was born in Louisiana and worked in the engine department. Brother Boyd’s last trip was on the USNS Bellatrix. He continued to live in his native state. ROBERT BRIGHT Pensioner Robert Bright, 74, passed away March 10. He donned the SIU colors in 1959. Brother Bright first sailed on the John B. Waterman; his last vessel was the Cape Ray. He was born in Virginia and worked in the steward department. Brother Bright went on pension in 1997. He was a resident of Norfolk, Va. MICHAEL BRUCK Brother Michael Bruck, 46, died Feb. 10. He joined the Seafarers in 1999 in the port of Wilmington, Calif. Brother Bruck’s earliest voyage was aboard the Jeb Stuart. He was born in Suchumi, Russia, and shipped in the steward department. Brother Bruck was last employed on the Global Patriot. He made his home in Mentone, Calif. RICHARD BRUMAGE Pensioner Richard Brumage, 79, passed away Feb. 11. Brother Brumage became an SIU member in 1973 while in Honolulu. He originally sailed aboard the Santa Mariana as a member of the steward department. Brother Brumage was born in Waynesburg, Pa. His final trip to sea was on the Courier. Brother Brumage retired in 1994 and settled in Clarkesville, Pa. ERNEST BRYAN Pensioner Ernest Bryan, 79, died Feb. 8. He started his seafaring profession in 1951 in the port of New York. Brother Bryan was born in Freeport, Texas. The deck department member initially shipped aboard an American Dredging Company vessel. 18 Seafarers LOG Brother Bryan’s last journey was on the Overseas Alice. He began receiving his pension in 1993. Brother Bryan called Seguin, Texas, home. ALFREDO CANITES Pensioner Alfredo Canites, 73, passed away Feb. 20. Brother Canites was born in the Philippines. He launched his career with the MC&S (Marine Cooks & Stewards) in 1980 while in the port of San Francisco. Brother Canites’ first voyage was aboard the Santa Magdalena. Before retiring in 2001, he sailed on the Lihue. Brother Canites made his home in San Francisco. EGON CHRISTENSEN Pensioner Egon Christensen, 79, died Feb. 13. Brother Christensen signed on with the SIU in 1964, initially shipping aboard an ISCO Inc. vessel. He was a born in Denmark and worked in the deck department. Brother Christensen’s final trip to sea was on the Endurance. He became a pensioner in 1987 and resided in Santa Rosa, Calif. GREGORY FULLER Brother Gregory Fuller, 58, passed away Feb. 7. He donned the SIU colors in 1970 while in the port of New York. Brother Fuller originally sailed aboard the Trans Champ. The engine department member most recently shipped on the Capricorn. Brother Fuller lived in California. JESUS GARCIA Pensioner Jesus Garcia, 90, died Feb. 11. Brother Garcia began sailing with the Seafarers in 1948 in the port of New York. His earliest voyage was aboard the Jefferson City Victory. Brother Garcia was a Texas native. He sailed as a member of the engine department. Brother Garcia’s last ship was the Borinquen. He was a resident of Norwood, N.J., and went on pension in 1981. YUNG HO Pensioner Yung Ho, 87, passed away Feb. 17. Brother Ho was born in China. He launched his SIU career in 1951 in the port of New York. Brother Ho first sailed in the steward department of the Steel Apprentice. His final trip to sea was on the Innovator. Brother Ho retired in 1982 and called San Francisco home. PATRICK KERNS Brother Patrick Kerns, 43, died Feb. 5. He joined the union in 1990 while in the port of Seattle. Brother Kerns’ first voyage was aboard the Sealift Arctic. He was born in Seattle. Brother Kerns last worked on the Global Patriot. Brother Kerns sailed in the deck department. He settled in Bellevue, Wash. JAMES LONG Pensioner James Long, 64, passed away Feb. 26. Brother Long became an SIU member in 1969, initially sailing aboard the Sea Ohio. He was born in West Chester, Pa., and shipped in the engine department. Brother Long’s most recent trip to sea was on the Horizon Anchorage. He started collecting his retirement compensation in 2006 and continued to live in Pennsylvania. DONALD MCFARLAND Pensioner Donald McFarland, 79, died Feb. 14. Brother McFarland began shipping with the Seafarers in 1972. The deck department member was born in Washington State. Brother McFarland originally sailed aboard the Eagle Voyage. His final journey was on the Horizon Trader. Brother McFarland became a pensioner in 1994 and made his home in Lynnwood, Wash. ROBERT MUNROE Pensioner Robert Munroe, 67, passed away Feb. 8. Brother Munroe donned the SIU colors in 1961. His first ship was the Cantigny; his last was the Taurus. Brother Munroe was born in Ludlow, Mass., and worked as a member of the deck department. He went on pension in 1995 and resided in Springfield, Mass. VERBON NASH Pensioner Verbon Nash, 83, passed away Feb. 3. Brother Nash joined the union in 1944. He initially shipped with Alcoa Steamship Company as a deck department member. Brother Nash was born in Mississippi. His final journey was aboard the Montpelier Victory. In 1983, Brother Nash retired and settled in Alabama. JIMMIE RUSSELL Pensioner Jimmie Russell, 70, died March 3. Brother Russell signed on with the Seafarers in 1967. His earliest trip to sea was aboard the Del Alba. Brother Russell sailed in the steward department. He was most recently employed on the Horizon Producer. Brother Russell was born in Birmingham, Ala., but called San Antonio, Texas, home. He began receiving his pension in 1996. FRANK STRATES Pensioner Frank Strates, 90, died March 8. Brother Strates started his seafaring career in 1961. His first voyage was on a Colonial Steamship Company vessel. Brother Strates was born in Greece. The engine department member most recently sailed aboard the Horizon Producer. Brother Strates became a pensioner in 1982 and made his home in Deltona, Fla. BERTRAND WRIGHT Pensioner Bertrand Wright, 71, passed away Feb. 17. Brother Wright became a Seafarer in 1958, initially shipping with Waterman Steamship Corporation. He was born in Alabama and worked in the steward department. Before his retirement in 1998, Brother Wright sailed on the Cape Jacob. He continued to live in his native state. INLAND EDWARD HATTAWAY Pensioner Edward Hattaway, 82, died Feb. 13. Boatman Hattaway donned the SIU colors in 1956 in the port of New York. He was originally employed aboard an Interocean American Shipping vessel. Boatman Hattaway was born in Georgia. He last worked in the deck department of a vessel operated by Crowley Towing & Transportation of Jacksonville. Boatman Hattaway went on pension in 1991 and resided in Twin City, Ga. MILES IRELAND Boatman Miles Ireland, 60, passed away April 23. He was born in Lowland, N.C. Boatman Miles joined the union in 1972. He first sailed on a Plymouth Towing Company vessel. Boatman Ireland shipped in the deck department. His final trip took place aboard the Russell B. Murray. Boatman Ireland was a Leland, N.C., resident. SAMUEL MORMANDO Pensioner Samuel Mormando, 74, died Feb. 28. Boatman Mormando started sailing with the SIU in 1973 from the port of Norfolk, Va. The New Jersey native primarily worked with McAllister Towing of Virginia. Boatman Mormando made his home in Virginia. He began receiving compensation for his retirement in 1995. ED MORRIS Pensioner Ed Morris, 79, passed away Feb. 1. Boatman Morris signed on with the Seafarers in 1962. He mainly sailed on vessels operated by G&H Towing Company. Boatman Morris was born in Altus, Okla., and shipped in the engine department. In 1991, he started collecting his pension. Boatman Morris settled in Corpus Christi, Texas. GREAT LAKES JOHN ANTICH Pensioner John Antich, 79, died Feb. 10. Brother Antich began his seafaring profession in 1962. He was born in Chicago. Brother Antich primarily worked with Great Lakes Towing Company as a member of the deck department. He retired in 1991 and called Plainfield, Ill., home. MICHAEL KORNMEIER Pensioner Michael Kornmeier, 62, passed away March 2. Brother Kornmeier became a union member in 1967 while in Detroit. His earliest trip to sea was aboard an American Steamship Company vessel. Brother Kornmeier resided in his native state of Ohio. Prior to his retirement in 2001, he sailed with Great Lakes Towing Company. MOHAMED OBAID Pensioner Mohamed Obaid, 67, died Feb. 8. Brother Obaid joined the SIU in 1970. His first vessel was the Otto Reiss; his last was the Sam Laud. Brother Obaid was born in Arabia and sailed in the engine department. He went on pension in 1992 and lived in Hamtramck, Mich. RICHARD ROUSSIN Pensioner Richard Roussin, 54, passed away Feb. 1. Brother Roussin was born in Michigan. He donned the SIU colors in 1972. Brother Roussin’s first voyage was on the Ben Calvin. The deck department member’s final trip to sea was aboard the Buffalo. Brother Roussin was a resident of Oakland, Wisc. He became a pensioner in 2005. July 2008 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:13 AM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings ALLIANCE NORFOLK (Maersk Line Limited), April 6 – Chairman Albert C. Williams, Secretary Luis A. Caballero, Educational Director Edley M. Foster. Chairman encouraged crew members to take advantage of Union Plus benefits and gave them advice when going for physical exams. Secretary asked members not to use towels as rags and try to keep linen in good condition. Educational director urged Seafarers to enhance skills at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion was made concerning requirements for running for office. Crew requested refrigerators in rooms. Steward department was thanked for a job well done and great service. CHARGER (Maersk Line Limited), April 20 – Chairman Robert Pagan Jr., Secretary Louis Nicoud, Educational Director Edgardo S. Barrios, Engine Delegate Yahya A. Mohamed, Steward Delegate Jimmy L. Williams. Chairman announced payoff April 23 upon arrival in Los Angeles. He asked all crew members to separate trash and keep laundry room/public areas clean. Secretary requested that mariners ensure that exterior doors are locked in port at all times. Educational director suggested that crew check out upgrading courses available at Piney Point school. Treasurer reported $700 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendations were made to increase vacation and pension benefits. A vote of thanks was given to the steward department for keeping ship clean and for good food. Next ports: Los Angeles, Okinawa, Yokohama, and Kolbe, Japan. CLEVELAND (Sealift Inc.), April 12 – Chairman Fareed A. Khan, Secretary Denis W. Burke, Deck Delegate Richard Johnson, Engine Delegate Greg Davis, Steward Delegate Rocky D. Dupraw. Chairman reported best crew to sail with in recent memory. Secretary asked crew to sougee staterooms prior to arrival and payoff in Houston. He also reminded crew to wipe off work boots prior to entering house. Steward department is to provide clean linen and toiletries. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew members expressed gratitude to steward department for keeping ship clean and painting galley decks and bulkheads. Next ports: Panama, Houston, Beirut and Libya. GALENA BAY (OSG Ship Management), April 2 – Chairman Elkanah B. Ladia, Secretary Fausta D. Aranda, Educational Director Stanley M. Sporna, Steward Delegate Frederick L. Saffo. Chairman discussed the importance of participating in shipboard meetings. Secretary asked Seafarers to help keep TV room clean and return dirty dishes to the galley. Educational director urged crew to upgrade when possible at the SIU-affiliated school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion July 2008 The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships’ minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. With Seafarers Aboard the Keystone Texas Clearly, these guys (above) are serious about reading the Seafarers LOG. Pictured in the crew mess after a meeting are (from left) Chief Cook Orlando Suazo, GUDE Fabian Palacios, Chief Steward Roderick Oree and Recertified Bosun Edward McLean. AB Chris Pope (above, right) stands watch while the vessel is docked in Tampa. In photo at immediate right, AB Dragan Petrovic rigs boxes that will be lifted aboard the ship. Chief Cook Orlando Suazo (photo at far right) prepares tempting ribs for dinner. These photos were submitted to the Seafarers LOG by SIU Ft. Lauderdale Safety Director Kevin Marchand. was made to give pensioners cost of living raises. Next port: Tampa, Fla. HORIZON TACOMA (Horizon Lines), April 6 – Chairman Joseph Artis, Secretary Lincoln E. Pinn Jr., Educational Director Shawn L. Clark, Steward Delegate Jioia Deleon. Chairman stated payoff would take place upon arrival in Tacoma. He urged members to keep dues current and support SPAD (Seafarers Political Activity Donation). Educational director encouraged crew to take advantage of upgrading and training offered in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Questions were asked regarding workmen’s compensation. Next port: Tacoma. INDIANA HARBOR (American Steamship Company), April 20 – Chairman Timothy H. Burke, Educational Director Daryl W. Overby, Deck Delegate Robert R. Hedine. Chairman advised mariners to keep necessary seafaring documents up-to-date. Educational director recommended everyone attend classes at the Paul Hall Center to enhance job skills. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew requested further information pertaining to 401(k) plan, SPAD T-shirts and changes to medical plan. INTREPID (Maersk Line Limited), April 8 – Chairman Ahmed A. Mihakel, Secretary Michael J. Gramer, Educational Director Elwyn L. Ford. Bosun announced payoff in Long Beach, Calif., on April 12 after patrolman arrives. He thanked members for a safe voyage and reminded them to take personal trash to the incinerator room. Secretary reported that new reefers for crew mess will arrive on the West Coast. Educational director reiterated the importance of checking document expiration dates. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendation was made to lower sea time requirements in order to qualify for medical benefits. Seafarers requested new furniture for crew lounge. Next ports: Long Beach, Calif., Oakland, Calif., Dutch Harbor, Alaska and Yokohoma, Japan. JOHN J. BOLAND (American Steamship Company), April 13 – Chairman Paul S. Gohs, Secretary Khaled M. Alasaadi, Educational Director Donald R. Jaegle, Steward Delegate Khaled M. Alasaadi. Chairman read and posted information in ship’s packet. He encouraged members to continue contributing to SPAD and purchase MDLs. He reminded everyone to enroll for TWIC as soon as possible. Educational director noted that information regarding upgrading classes offered at the Seafarers-affiliated school was posted in the rec room. Treasurer reported $2,100 in satellite TV fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Several safety reminders were discussed. Mariners were reminded to wear proper gloves when line handling and if unsure of procedures to ask experienced crew members. Next port: Conneaut, Ohio. MAERSK CAROLINA (Maersk Line Limited), April 20 – Chairman Brian K. Fountain, Secretary Osvaldo Ramos, Educational Director Kevin M. Cooper, Deck Delegate Mario Ordonez. Chairman stated payoff to take place on April 28 in Newark, N.J. He thanked crew for another safe trip and reminded those departing vessel to clean rooms and turn keys in. Secretary expressed gratitude for help keeping ship clean. Educational director urged everyone to check expiration dates on seafaring documents and upgrade skills at the Paul Hall Center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestions were made pertaining to vacation, medical and pension benefits. Crew members would like new mattresses. Next ports: Newark, N.J., Norfolk, Va., Charleston, S.C., and Algeciras, Spain. SAM LAUD (American Steamship Company), April 2 – Chairman Scott E. Krajniak, Secretary Darlene M. Weymouth, Educational Director Timothy Orban, Deck Delegate Kevin R. Stehlik, Engine Delegate Timothy Orban. Chairman discussed chain of command and the importance of following it. He encouraged crew members to support SPAD and stressed how their donations benefit their way of life. Secretary encouraged mariners to participate in 401(k) plan. Educational director informed members that forms were available in rec room cabinet. He also advised them to register at their local union hall within 72 hours of departing vessel. Deck delegate talked about the importance of safety while performing their duties. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next port: Cleveland. SEABULK ENERGY (Seabulk Tanker), April 6 – Chairman Ronald L. Paradise, Secretary Loicy M. Jones, Educational Director Wendell M. Wilmoth, Steward Delegate Kenneth L. McHellen. Bosun thanked ABs for work done on deck and painting the stairs. He congratulated the crew on working well together. Secretary expressed gratitude for help keeping ship clean. Educational director urged crew to upgrade when possible at the Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made for four more satellite boxes for the rest of crew. ST. CLAIR (American Steamship Company), April 7 – Chairman Joel A. Lechel, Secretary Kathryn S. Hansen, Educational Director Terrance A. Pyrlik, Deck Delegate Joseph B. Hance, Engine Delegate Bryan D. Clark, Steward Delegate James R. Beaudry. Chairman thanked crew for all the help bringing ship out of layup and getting her going. He talked about internal department working relationships and how it benefits everyone aboard when they work together. Members were urged to contribute the SPAD. Educational director recommended upgrading at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. No beefs or disputed OT reported. It was noted that additional safety gear had arrived and was available for all. Crew was asked to wash dirty clothes in washer in the engine room. Vote of thanks was given to steward department for a super clean galley and great meals. Next ports: Two Harbors, Minn., and Indiana Harbor, Ind. Seafarers LOG 19 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:13 AM Page 20 Letters to the Editor Editor’s Note: The Seafarers LOG reserves the right to edit letters for grammar as well as space provisions without changing the writer’s intent. The LOG welcomes letters from members, pensioners, their families and shipmates and will publish them on a timely basis. Australian Ceremony Honors U.S. Mariners On May 9, 2008, at the Battle of the Coral Sea memorial service – which is conducted every year by the Australian American Association – I had the great and proud honor to lay a floral wreath on behalf of both Mr. A.J. Wichita, president of the American Merchant Marine Veterans and also Mr. Ian Allison, cochairman of the Just Compensation Committee. This was done in memory of all U.S. Merchant Mariners who gave their lives in World War II for our tomorrow. The ceremony took place at the Fremantle War Memorial. It included remarks by the governor of Western Australia (Dr. Ken Michael) and messages from both Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and President Bush. As noted in the printed program, the Battle of the Coral Sea was fought May 5-8, 1942. Australia was a key to Japanese war plans in the Pacific, because it was a base for land, air and sea operations against them. The Japanese High Command reached out to capture Port Moresby; confronting them in the Coral Sea was an allied naval task force that included the aircraft carriers USS Lexington and USS Yorktown with cruisers USS Chicago, HMAS Hobart, Flag Ship HMAS Australia and destroyer escorts. At great loss, the advancing Japanese naval The letter writer (second from right) is pictured with U.S. Navy personnel at the ceremony. Helman constructed this wreath and laid it along with others that were utilized for the annual remembrance of those mariners who made the ultimate sacrifice. strike force was stopped. This battle set the scene for the decisive defeat of the Japanese navy by the U.S. at the Battle of Midway shortly after. As a merchant seaman who served from 1939-45 on allied merchant ships and specifically on four U.S.-flag ships in 1944 and 1945, I met and sailed with so many U.S. shipmates. We had fun times and also sad times. May God bless America, may God bless Australia, and may we always be allied shipmates. John E. Helman Hamilton Hill, Western Australia Recalling Sacrifices Of WWII Mariners I am the son of a U.S. Merchant Mariner who sailed during World War II, and I am also a military veteran of Vietnam. I’m writing this letter to honor the job performed during WWII by the mariners of our country. They served honorably and took on losses due to enemy fire with little or not protection, yet they never stopped or complained of the danger involved. Instead, they showed a “must do” attitude to deliver supplies in spite of the dangers. I speak of this because I can remember my father describing voyages and the cargo they carried. They had a strong desire to move that cargo to the men in the field, who were so desperate to bring victory to our country. Dad was too young to volunteer in the military like his brothers, so he became a mariner to do what he could do for his country. Dad emphasized that his shipmates had the same attitude and were proud of what they were doing, in spite of the losses they took on. What my father may not have realized was that he had instilled his standards into me, and I also wanted to serve this country. How can anyone not give these men their due? They not only served abroad but they also brought back to this country much-needed supplies from overseas. The efforts of the U.S. Merchant Marine were twofold: take care of our men abroad and take care of the needs of our country from abroad. That is a mission even we as soldiers could not top, as some of these men made the ultimate sacrifice without receiving recognition of the importance of their mission during a critical time. I hope that these comments are not taken as disrespectful to our armed forces, but only as factual as this writer sees them concerning our “unarmed forces,” the U.S. Merchant Marine. Anibal Colon Menendez Kansas City, Missouri Fighting the treacherous foe Heave Ho! My lads, Heave Ho! Let the sea roll high or low We can cross any ocean, sail any river Give us the goods and we’ll deliver Damn the submarine! We’re the men of the Merchant Marine! This is the official song of the U.S. Maritime Service, written in 1943 by Jack Lawrence. It would be nice to put this in the LOG around National Maritime Day each year. Bruce E. Knight Chesapeake, Virginia Sharing Rediscovered Poems I recently came across a number of my old poems that were published years ago in the NMU Pilot and wanted to share them with the membership and my fellow retirees. Here is one from 1983: The Lookout The moon is up over the ocean And I can see for miles by its light Don’t Forget Our Song I sometimes wonder why we never hear a song about the U.S. Merchant Marine. It would be especially fitting to hear such a song on National Maritime Day. When I went to Sheepshead Bay, N.Y., for maritime training in 1944, they taught us a song. But, since leaving the school, not one time have I heard that song again. Anyway, the verse and chorus went like this: Give us the oil, give us the gas Give us the shells, give us the guns We’ll be the ones to see them thru Give us the tanks, give us the planes Give us the parts, give us a ship Give us a hip hoo-ray! And we’ll be on our way Heave Ho! My Lads, Heave Ho! It’s a long, long way to go It’s a long, long pull with our hatches full Braving the wind, braving the sea The horizon is not blinking With other ships this night And the sky is clear but changing With the clouds that dwell up there While the stars all tell their ancient stories Of times when gods walked down here And the sea, she tells me stories, too Of her many victories And how she beat many men Who sailed against her pleas “The ships that lost were careless, Their crews not fit for me “But of all the crew I’d blame the most, ’Twas the lookout – if you please” Retired AB Harold Brown Orlando, Florida Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. 20 Seafarers LOG PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. July 2008 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:13 AM Page 21 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the next few months of 2008. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Marine Refrigeration Technician July 21 August 29 Pumpman August 11 August 22 Welding September 8 October 6 November 3 December 6 September 26 October 23 November 21 December 19 Safety Specialty Courses Advanced Fire Fighting (must have basic fire fighting) August 2 August 8 Basic Fire Fighting/STCW July 21 July 25 Fast Rescue Boat July 14 August 18 September 8 July 18 August 22 September 12 Medical Care Provider July 14 September 8 July 18 September 12 Tanker Assistant (DL) September 22 November 10 September 6 October 3 November 21 September 12 Start Date Date of Completion August 18 September 29 November 10 September 12 October 23 December 5 Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) (must have radar unlimited) October 6 November 17 October 10 November 21 Celestial Navigation October 20 November 24 November 14 December 19 GMDSS September 1 September 12 Lifeboatman/Water Survival August 4 September 15 October 27 August 15 September 26 November 7 Radar September 22 November 3 October 3 November 14 Radar Renewal (one day) October 27 December 8 October 27 December 8 Academic Department Courses Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman (STOS) August 25 October 20 September 5 October 31 General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. Bosun Recertification Course October 14 November 3 Course Able Seaman Tankerman (PIC) Barge Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes start every other Monday. The most recent class began June 23. Steward Recertification Course July 14 August 4 August 18 September 8 Online “Distance Learning” Courses Engine Upgrading Courses Advanced Container Maintenance (Refer) September 1 November 10 September 26 December 5 Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations (BAPO) September 15 November 10 October 10 December 5 Firemen/Watertender/Oiler (FOWT) August 18 October 13 September 12 November 6 Junior Engineer August 30 October 24 Machinist July 21 August 8 Marine Electrician October 27 December 19 UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Date of Birth ______________________ Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____ Department ___________ E-mail ____________________________ Yes No With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twenty-five (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. COURSE BEGIN DATE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. U.S. Citizen: In addition to the foregoing courses, the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education currently is offering the following internet-based courses: Environmental Awareness; Hazardous Material Control and Management; Hearing Conservation; Heat Stress Management; Shipboard Pest Management; Respiratory Protection, and Shipboard Water Sanitation. The courses are free to mariners covered by SIU contracts. To register, complete the regular upgrading application located on the bottom left portion of this page, and mail it to: Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075. Applicants will receive user account information from the center via e-mail. They are therefore urged to provide their e-mail addresses in the space provided on the application. Applicants should also include the word “online” when listing the courses they wish to take. Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Yes Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ July 2008 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 7/08 Seafarers LOG 21 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:13 AM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Computer Classes Four Seafarers, each of whom was undergoing upgrade training at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., recently completed computer courses. The four joined instructor Rich Prucha (center in photos above and below) to pose with the certificates they earned for their accomplishments. Displaying their certificates in photo above are Joseph Yamson (left) and Roberto Silva. Dawn Johnson and Sergey Kurchenko show off their credentials in photo below. Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 702 – Unlicensed apprentices from Class 702 recently graduated from the water survival course. Those graduating from the course (above, in alphabetical order) were Jeremy Birchfield, Dustin Brantley, David Burciage, Daryl Corbett, Jack Corn, James East, Kevin England, Darrell Goggins, William Gosse, Richard Howard, Brian Jackson, James Jackson, Jorge Lanas Jr., Hezikiah Lawe, Robin Majette, John Menley, Teresa Robin, Ignacio Santos, Keith Scott, Mark Turner, Timothy Van Pelt II, Oshema Watson, Michael Washington, Jovan Williams and Igor Yakunkov. Marine Engineer – Eight mariners on May 23 graduated from this course. Completing the course (above, in alphabetical order) were Keithley Andrew, Nicholas Collins, Roger Dillinger Jr., Daniel Gaffney, Joseph Letang, Douglas Lowry, Wade Rudolph and Michael Voda. Their instructor, Jay Henderson, is third from left, seated. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Welding - The following individuals (in alphabetical order) graduated from this course May 23: Gary Hirsch, Anthony Pace, Jerome Dooms, Vadym Gutara, Dana Wilks, Roger Nesbeth and Angelo Schiraldi. Buzzy Andrews, their instructor, is standing third from left. Fast Rescue Boat - Three upgraders on May 16 graduated from this course. They are William Smith (seated), Paul Starvish (back row, second from left) and Michael Freeman. Their, instructor, Stan Beck, is standing at left. Tank Ship Familiarization DL – Two classes of Phase III apprentices on May 9 completed this 63-hour course. Those completing the course (in alphabetical order) were Scott Accardi, Jeffrey Amestoy, Tristin Brand, Aaron Chiusano, DeMorris Duggins, Wilson Franks, Kabir Garcia, Kyle Gibson, Tonya Gist, Brandy Griffin, Tsawang Gyurme, Austen Hess, Spencer Hiruko, Gabriel Izquierdo, Enchantress Johnson, Kenneth LeDeoux, Larry Locke, Cintron Maldonado, Tony Martin, Matthew Martinson, Daniel McDougald, Mark Merenda, Frederick Nyarko, Algernon Ramseur, Christopher Shivalier, Steven Sidler and Frank Smith. 22 Seafarers LOG July 2008 �49311_p01_24:9311p0 6/27/2008 11:13 AM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes STCW (Hawaii) – The students shown in the top left photo recently completed this course at the Seafarers Training Center at Barber’s Point, Hawaii. Graduating from the class (in alphabetical order) were Oscar Awa, Phillip Barretto, Guillermo Tluzek, Sharitta Givens, Mary Galdwell, Tony Hayes, Darrel Nelson, Leslie Parks, Erin Peacy, Nathan Penoyer, Whitney Pyles, Shane Riley, Neyshalee Pomales, Berny Travilla, Jose Torres, Brett Wisniewski and Krista Young. STCW (Hawaii) – The following students (above right, in no particular order) on May 19 completed this course at the Seafarers Training Center in Hawaii: Jorge Arais, Jane Birkinbine, Alaina Brown, Andrew Drummond, Morgan Erickson-Davis, Wendell Fugate, Daniel Huang, Peter Kraska, James Lobdell, Shea Miller, Jeffrey Orchard, John Putegnat, Francis Smith and Joseph Sullivan STCW (Hawaii) – Eight students recently completed the STCW course at the Barbers Point, Hawaiibased Seafarers Training Center. Completing the course (photo at left, in no particular order) were Laura McFadden, Adam Landis, Kathleen Warwick, Molly Ulka, Ashlee Thelen, Lauren Borkowski, Samantha Webster and Jeremy Denton. Radar (G&H Towing) – Three G&H Towing Boatmen on May 23 completed this course. Those graduating (above, starting second from left) were Michael Shanks, Terry Hale and Bryan Albrecht. The class instructor, Stacey Harris, is at left. FOWT – The following upgraders (above, in alphabetical order) on May 16 completed this course: Ben Anderson, Glen Arnold, Gavin Benckert, Christopher Carrier, Ortiz Castillio, Brandon Fields, Thomas Jones, Damien Lae, Jesse Lewis, James McEntire, Robert Puckett, Cornelius Smith, John Szeibert, David Turley, Jason Young and Frank Zoumakpe. Their instructor, Tim Achorn, is third from right. STCW – The following upgraders (above, from left to right) on May 16 completed this course: Kirk Moffett, Seddik Ali, Jeff Van Slanbrock, Ali Sailar, Avis Hawkins and Carl Robinson. Also completing the course, but not pictured were William Grow and Mustafa Malik. Important Notice Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. July 2008 Water Survival - Nine upgraders completed this course May 23. Graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Desmond Baptiste, Shanita Daniel, Raphael Dewberry, Curtrina Duck, Anthony Kpodovia, Wilfredo Lansangan, Sandy Santiago, Christopher Sikes and Karen Suzuki. Bernabe Pelingon, their instructor, is standing far right. Seafarers LOG 23 �49311_p01_24X:9311p0 6/30/2008 2:19 PM Page 24 Volume 70, Number 7 July 2008 Mariners Need TWIC by April 15, 2009 - Page 10 With the Fourth Arm of Defense in Norfolk The photos on this page recently were submitted by personnel from the SIU hall in Norfolk, Va. The pictures include SIU members aboard the USNS Gordon. The Gordon is a government-owned large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship, abbreviated as LMSR. The ship is operated by SIU-contracted Interocean American Shipping Co. and is named after Army Master Sergeant Gary Gordon who received the Medal of Honor posthumously. He died in service in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993. The Gordon was activated in early May in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. JE Hashiem Pittman QMED Antoine Rainey Wiper Ruden Perez, QMED Edward Galbis, SA Eduardo Merigliano SA Nina Phelps (left), Chief Cook Martha Williams Recertified Steward Rod Bright (left) and SA Eduardo Merigliano AB Tim Kacer AB Augustin Manzo-Sandoval, Recertified Steward Rod Bright OS Jonathon Walker, 3rd Mate Adena Kenny, Chief Mate Al White Pictured from left to right, ACU Dave Parker, SA John Canson, Chief Cook “Fats” Belcher, AB Lou Colbert and SA Bebe Eason fire up the grills. Among those enjoying a recent cookout at the Norfolk hall were SIU VP Government Services Kermett Mangram (third from right, holding water bottle), SIU Government Services Division Representative Maurice Cokes (standing third from left) and Seafarers Wiper Rick Langley, AB Mike Warren, ACU Dave Parker, AB Elmo Davis, AB Laurentis Colbert, AB Bennie Spencer and Chief Cook William Belcher. Clockwise from lower left, Bosun Marc Marcus prepares to position cargo aboard the USNS Gordon using a forklift while AB Pete Hokenson and Recertified Steward Rod Bright take a short break on the vessel’s deck. Chief Storekeeper Renee Clayton discusses stores delivery issues with “Joe the truck driver” while Oiler Carmelo Collazo, AB Mike Sykes and QMED Emilio Ordaniel receive their full SIU books during a membership meeting. Once each of the crew members had completed their duties and each assigned task successfully had been accomplished, the large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off Gordon takes to the open seas. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 2008 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES SEAFARERS’ SAFETY TRAINING PROVES VITAL IN CHEMICAL TRADER EMERGENCY INCIDENT NASSCO DELIVERS USNS PEARY TO MSC ALAKAI JOINS SIU-CONTRACTED FLEET NEGOTIATING TEAMS SECURE GOOD CONTRACTS IN ‘TOUGH TIMES’ REPORT OUTLINES STEPS TO BOOST U.S.-FLAG FLEET ITF INSPECTORS HONE STRATEGIES FOR ADVANCING MARINERS’ RIGHTS SIU-CREWED SODERMAN ASSISTS IN MILITARY EXERCISE CIVMARS TOW DECOMMISSIONED SUBMARINE ACE APPROVES PAUL HALL CENTER COURSES CHAMBER OF SHIPPING HONORS SIU-CONTRACTED COMPANIES RETIRED SEAFARER FOLEY’S BOOK ILLUSTRATES PLIGHT OF LIGHTHOUSES REP. THOMPSON DISPLEASED WITH TWIC DELAYS SIU MAERSK CREWS COMPLETE SAFETY ‘BOOT CAMP’ AT SIU-AFFILIATED SCHOOL SIU ELECTRICIAN EARNS SAFETY KUDOS ABOARD MAERSK-OPERATED POMEROY USS ANNOUNCES 2008 AOTOS HONOREES NATIONAL MARITIME DAY CEREMONIES REFLECT U.S. MERCANT MARINE’S ONGOING IMPORTANCE VINTAGE LIBERTY SHIP PLOTS ITS FINAL COURSE FOR GREECE WORLD WAR II-ERA VESSEL ARTHUR M. HUDDELL COULD BE DESTINED TO BECOME MUSEUM Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 07/01/2008 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. 70, No. 7 2008 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/78fce78894b08b9921a4dfdae81936de.pdf 539e80f0754d0cca829d539d2e74349d PDF Text Text 48717_v3:January 08 5/22/2008 8:25 PM Page 1 Volume 70, Number 6 June 2008 Car Carrier Independence II Joins SIU-Contracted Fleet U.S. TRANSCOM Commander Cites Vessel’s Military Usefulness SIU members and officials took part in a naming ceremony May 8 in Baltimore, celebrating the addition of the Independence II to the Seafarers-contracted fleet. Altogether, hundreds of people were on hand to mark the occasion with the host and vessel operator, American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier. Pictured clockwise from upper left are the ship; General Norton Schwartz (center), commander, U.S. Transportation Command, greeting Bosun Carl Pedersen as SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez (right) looks on; (from left) SIU Patrolman Joe Baselice, SIU President Michael Sacco, AB ElSayed Mohamed, SIU VP Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi and SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel; and students from the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center along with Gen. Schwartz, SIU officials and AMO President Tom Bethel (back row, center). Page 3. 3 Seafarers-Crewed Vessels Offload Marine Corps Cargo For Annual Military Exercise Three SIU-crewed ships recently helped with preparations for an annual military exercise overseas. The prepositioning vessels USNS 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez and USNS 1st Lt. Harry L. Martin as well as the Great Land each played a role in supporting American forces readying for “Cobra Gold” – a yearly drill designed to promote regional stability and security throughout Southeast Asia. At right, the Lopez conducts an at-sea offload of Marine Corps cargo May 2 off the coast of Thailand. Page 6. TWIC Updates/New Deadline Pages 2, 10 SHBP Scholarship Winners Pages 2, 7 �48717_v3:January 08 5/22/2008 8:37 PM Page 2 TWIC Deadline Changes to April ’09; Mariners Still Urged to Apply ASAP President’s Report Continuing Efforts to Enact EFCA Our union is fully on board with the “million-member mobilization,” a recently launched grassroots effort led by the AFL-CIO in support of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). In the weeks and months ahead, Seafarers will have a chance to place their signatures on postcards calling on the new U.S. president and Congress to enact the EFCA. Those signatures along with many others from fellow trade unionists and supporters will be delivered by the labor federation after the November elections. The cards themselves will be available soon at the union halls. Michael Sacco There’s a way to participate in the signature drive via the internet, too, at the following web address: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/efca_card_support As noted on the postcards, the EFCA will enable employees to form unions when a majority signs authorization cards. It will strengthen penalties for companies that coerce or intimidate workers trying to form unions and bargain. Also, it will establish mediation and binding arbitration when the employer and workers cannot agree on a first contract. The message to the new president and Congress reads as follows: “I urge you to enact the Employee Free Choice Act immediately. This crucial legislation will protect workers’ freedom to choose a union and bargain, without management intimidation. Allowing more workers to freely join unions and bargain with their employers will help rebuild the middle class by expanding health care, improving retirement security and raising the standard of living for America’s working families. My bargaining rights are worth working for and voting for!” That point about rebuilding the middle class is especially important and accurate. If you’re familiar with the labor movement’s history in this country, you may recall that the creation of the American middle class happened only after the passage of a law in 1935 (the National Labor Relations Act, also known as the Wagner Act) which protected the ability of workers to form unions and bargain collectively. Unfortunately, over time, those protections have been terribly eroded. We’ve reached the point where the system for forming and joining unions in this country is flat-out broken. As I’ve said before, this is old news to many who have participated in organizing campaigns in recent years, but many if not most Americans may not realize just how badly some workers are treated by management when they try to join a union. The AFL-CIO has documented a staggering number of cases in which employees suffer through nasty, long campaigns of company intimidation, surveillance, threats and even firings. Some who fight through it and actually manage to join a union have trouble securing a first contract because management stalls and stalls, with no repercussions. All because the employees try to exercise what is supposed to be their legal right to join a union. It’s time to stop those unjust actions from happening. It’s time to restore fairness to the process – time to once again give workers a genuine opportunity to decide for themselves when it comes to union representation. There is reason for optimism among those of us supporting the EFCA. The bill passed in the House of Representatives in 2007 and has bipartisan majority support in the Senate. Clearly, there is strong support for labor law reform in both the U.S. House and Senate. Yet it remains a battle. That’s ironic in many ways, because unions are associated with higher productivity, lower employee turnover, improved workplace communications and a better-trained work force. A recent compilation of more than 70 independent studies on unions and productivity supports those claims. So do the reallife experiences of rank-and-file union members across the country. The bottom line is that workers are supposed to have the right to bargain collectively for higher wages, better benefits and a better life for themselves and their families. With that in mind, the SIU joins with our fellow unions under the AFL-CIO umbrella and with the federation itself in pledging to fight to enact the Employee Free Choice Act until it becomes law. Volume 70, Number 6 The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on May 2 announced that the deadline for Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) compliance by mariners has been bumped back to April 15, 2009. Even though the compliance date has changed, Seafarers are encouraged to enroll for their TWIC well before the new April 15, 2009 date. The original deadline was Sept. 25, 2008. In announcing the change, the DHS reported, “The sevenmonth extension is a direct result of collaboration with port officials and industry, and realigns the enrollment period with the original intent of the TWIC final rule. TWIC was established in the Maritime Transportation Security Act and the SAFE Port Act to serve as an identification program for all Coast Guard credentialed mariners and personnel requiring unescorted access to secure areas within a port.” Reacting to the announcement, U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, stated, “The TWIC program is an essential component in protecting our nation from potential terror threats, and we must ensure that its implementation is conducted in the most efficient and effective manner. In light of the reported problems in the TWIC rollout thus far, I applaud the decision of DHS to extend the deadline for enrollment. When workers must pay to enroll in a program necessary for them to do their jobs and provide for their families, they have the right to expect reliable, efficient service with little to no interruption to their schedules. “It is my hope that this extended deadline will be supplemented by the provisions included in the Coast Guard Authorization Act to help improve the TWIC program. This legislation passed in the House by an overwhelming majority, and I encourage my colleagues in the Senate to quickly act on this legislation to enact these common-sense provisions into law.” Estimates vary on the number of workers who eventually will be required to carry a TWIC, but that figure generally is expected to top 1.2 million. At the time the DHS announced the extension, roughly 260,000 people had enrolled for the card, but fewer than 90,000 TWICs had actually been activated. At press time for this issue of the LOG, more than 100 TWIC “fixed enrollment cen- See Page 10 for a list of TWIC enrollment centers & additional information. ters” had opened, and dozens of mobile enrollment centers also had set up shop. Based on informal feedback from Seafarers and SIU officials who have applied for a TWIC, the experience is inconsistent. Some individuals reported a practically seamless process with minimal waiting times, while some said they eventually received their TWIC, but not before very long delays. Others had it worse, noting their cards weren’t available for pickup even after they received notification to go to a particular enrollment center and get the document. Partly with those experiences in mind, Seafarers again are encouraged to enroll for the TWIC as soon as possible. Committee Selects Seven Individuals To Receive 4-Year, $20K Scholarshps The Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP) for more than half a century has awarded scholarships to deserving Seafarers, their spouses and dependents. That tradition continued May 2 in Portland, Ore., when the SHBP Scholarship Selection Committee selected seven individuals—one active Seafarer and six dependents—as scholarship recipients for the upcoming school year. The recipients each will receive an award of $20,000 to pursue their educational goals at four-year institutions of higher learning of their respective choices. In total, the 2008 scholarship recipients will receive $140,000 from the SHBP. This year’s winners are: AB Peter R. Hokenson; Brittany Redding, daughter of Chief Steward Dennis Redding; Christopher Wozunk, son of FOWT John Wozunk; Benjamin Wilmoth, son of QE Wendell Wilmoth; Albert Balatico, son of AB Albert Balatico; Xiao Xiao Li, daughter of SA Meili Seegers; and Sidney Kirk, daughter of AB Robert Kirk. The scholarship recipients were selected by a panel of dis- tinguished professional educators: Dr. Keith Schlender, Medical University of Ohio; Dr. Gayle Olson, University of New Orleans (retired); Dr. Trevor Carpenter, Charles County Community College (retired); Dr. Michael Glaser, St. Mary’s College; Dr. Henry Toutain, dean of students, Gastavus Adolphus College; and Dr. Charles Lyons, American Association of Colleges and Universities (retired). See Page 7 for brief biographical backgrounds and educational goals on each of the above college-bound students. June 2008 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 207909998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2008 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG The 2008 SHBP Scholarship Selection Committee on May 2 in Portland, Ore., selected seven individuals as recipients of $20,000 scholarships. Following the selections, they joined SIU Plans Administrator Maggie Bowen (right in photo above) and SIU Deputy Plans Administrator Kitty Eno (left) for this photo. Committee members (from left) were Dr. Keith Schlender, Medical University of Ohio; Dr. Gayle Olson, University of New Orleans (retired); Dr. Trevor Carpenter, Charles County Community College (retired); Dr. Michael Glaser, St. Mary’s College; Dr. Henry Toutain, dean of students, Gastavus Adolphus College; and Dr. Charles Lyons, American Association of Colleges and Universities (retired). June 2008 �48717_v3:January 08 5/22/2008 8:41 PM SIU President Michael Sacco Page 3 Gen. Norton Schwartz, Commander, U.S. Transportation Command Susan Tellez, wife of SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez (left), served as the vessel’s sponsor. Pictured from left to right before the event are SIU VP Joseph Soresi, Patrolman Joe Baselice, AB El-Sayed Mohamed, Baltimore Port Agent Dennis Metz and AB Tom Bray. Independence II Joins Seafarers Fleet Ceremony Highlights Industry’s Contribution to Defense Seafarers and SIU officials participated in a naming ceremony May 8 in Baltimore as the car carrier Independence II formally joined the union’s contracted fleet. SIU President Michael Sacco Raymond Ebeling President & CEO, American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier OMU Rene Gil Jr. and General Norton Schwartz, commander, U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), were the featured speakers. Susan Tellez, wife of SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez, served as the vessel’s sponsor. Raymond Ebeling, president and CEO of the ship’s operating company, American Roll-On Roll-Off Carrier (ARC), was the master of ceremonies. While the speakers had kind words for the vessel itself, most of their respective remarks focused on the overall role of the U.S. Merchant Marine in supporting America’s military. For instance, the Independence II, though privately operated, is part of a program called the Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA). That program gives the Department of Defense access to commercial shipping and intermodal facilities during contingencies. Schwartz called the newly reflagged ship an important addition to the nation’s “arsenal of democracy.” He also described the U.S. Maritime Security Program (related to VISA) as “indispensible.” The TRANSCOM commander drew a parallel between a celebrated milestone for the U.S. and Allied forces in World War II (which occurred May 8, the day of the naming ceremony) and America’s current efforts in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom – efforts consistently supported by American mariners and U.S.-flag ships. He said that the Independence II can aid in those missions, and noted that if citizens from the World War II era saw the ship and the ceremony, “They would appreci- Independence II Oilers (from the left) Rene Gil Jr., Anthony Dellorusso, Jonathan Duncan and 1st Assistant Kevin O’Donnell June 2008 ate the significance and, more probably, they’d understand there is still work to be done…. ARC and others move America in the right direction.” Ebeling said his company “is very pleased to be able to continue expanding the U.S.-flag fleet.” He pointed out that Americanflag ships support our armed forces, citing recent deliveries of the relatively new mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs) as one example. Ebeling declared that privately owned U.S.-flag ships are “a solid investment” for the country and that depending on foreign-flag vessels “would be an unreliable option for the government.” He credited Sacco with promoting cooperative efforts throughout the industry and said that Mrs. Tellez’s sponsorship of the vessel would serve as “a continual reminder of the importance of the strong partnership with our friends in organized labor.” Sacco focused most of his comments on the strong performance and historic reliability of American mariners. “If you look at the makeup of American crews, I think five things really stand out,” he said. “First, they are reliable – the most reliable crews in the world. By any measure, whether the statistics come from MSC or MarAd or somewhere else, our crews are second-to-none when it comes to safe, on-time deliveries. “Second, they are well-trained. No disrespect to our foreign competition, but I’d stack the American seafarer against anyone in the world in terms of qualifications and training. “Third, they are patriotic,” he continued. “This has literally been Steward/Baker Robert Owens SIU VP Contracts George Tricker (right) chats with unlicensed apprentices from the Paul Hall Center prior to the naming ceremony. proven for centuries, dating back to Revolutionary times, and it’s certainly evident today in Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. “Fourth, they are resilient. It takes a special person to make a living going to sea. It’s hard enough just to secure your documents and papers nowadays, to say nothing of the actual work aboard the ship. It involves sacrifice and dedication, and our people do it every day. “And fifth, they are politically active. I’m especially proud of the voluntary political donations and activities put forth by members of my union, the SIU. But that’s characteristic of American maritime labor as a whole. Rankand-file U.S. mariners understand that their political actions and political support help create and sustain programs like the MSP program. Their support helps make events like this one possible.” He added, “I would argue that now, more than any time since World War II, this country absolutely must maintain a viable supply of U.S. mariners. That’s part of the significance of this ceremony – new tonnage under the American flag helps maintain that manpower pool…. We need a strong U.S. Merchant Marine so that our armed forces have no doubt whatsoever that their ammunition and other supplies will be there, on time, every time, safely and securely delivered by fellow citizens who are more than willing to sail into harm’s way for them. “We need a strong U.S. Merchant Marine because it’s good business, it is good common sense and it has served America well since the very first days of our nation’s history.” Bosun Carl Pedersen noted that the SIU crew and licensed personnel from the American Maritime Officers climbed the gangway to the Independence II overseas – the reflagging took place in Germany. He said the vessel, built in 1994, “is all good. It’s a nice ship, but we’ve been doing a lot of work with everyday duties.” Pedersen said the ship’s regular run will include stops in Northern Europe and along the U.S. East Coast. The ship can sail at up to 18 knots and is 653 feet long. Bosun Carl Pedersen Seafarers LOG 3 �48717_v3:January 08 5/22/2008 8:53 PM Page 4 Hospital Ship Begins Mission USNS Mercy Starts 4-Month Humanitarian Deployment Members of the SIU Government Services Division joined with officers and military and medical personnel last month aboard the USNS Mercy as the hospital ship set sail on a four-month humanitarian mission. The Mercy departed San Diego May 1, signaling the start of “Pacific Partnership 2008” – a humanitarian and civic-assistance mission to the Republic of the Philippines, Vietnam, the Federated States of Micronesia, TimorLeste and Papua New Guinea. According to the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC), Pacific Partnership is a mission that will take medical, dental, veterinary, engineering and civic assistance to Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific to build on relationships that have been developed during previous similar missions, such as the 2004 tsunami relief efforts and the Mercy’s 2006 deployment. “Mercy is a fully operational, completely modern hospital that can go anywhere in the world, wherever and when- In this 2006 Navy file photo, an Australian Army Black Hawk helicopter from B Squadron 5th Aviation Regiment lands aboard the USNS Mercy. The Mercy was anchored off the Australian coast providing humanitarian, medical and civic assistance to Dili residents. Tugboats assigned to Naval Station Pearl Harbor assist the Seafarers-crewed MSC hospital ship USNS Mercy last month as the vessel maneuvers into Pearl Harbor. The ship was en route for a humanitarian mission to the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia supporting Pacific Partnership 2008. ever there is a need,” said the ship’s civil service master, Capt. Robert Wiley. “Every time we take this ship out, we get smarter about how to use it. We’ll be doing things this time that we didn’t even think were possible a few years ago.” Throughout the 2008 Pacific Partnership mission, the 894-foot-long Mercy will serve as a platform from which U.S. and foreign militaries and nongovernmental organizations will coordinate and carry out humanitarian and civic activities in each country. The mission will include personnel from MSC and other parts of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Public Health Service. As the agency noted, civil service mariners (CIVMARS) embarked for the deployment are responsible for the Mercy’s navigation, propulsion and engineering services. Because of the Mercy’s size, it will not be able to pull pierside in any of the countries, so CIVMARS will also operate two 33-foot utility boats that will be used to ferry patients and mission personnel between ship and shore. The operation of these small boats, which can carry more than twice as many passengers as the Mercy’s two embarked helicopters, will greatly increase the number of people who will benefit from the mission, according to MSC. The USNS Mercy is one of two U.S. Navy hospital ships owned and operated by MSC. Last summer, the Mercy’s sister ship, the USNS Comfort (also crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division), deployed on a similar four-month humanitarian mission that treated more than 98,000 people in 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries. “We are very fortunate as a military and civilian staff and crew to be assisted in our mission by gracious host nations and significantly contributing partner nations,” said Command Master Chief Mike Smith. “It is with great pride that we set sail, knowing that we will not be going at this alone, through selfless acts of friendship and relationships forged during previous deployments.” Majestic May Sell Delta Queen Crew Member Voices Displeasure with Company Majestic America Line was back in the news last month, taking another swipe at the SIU even as one of its mariner employees told a reporter that he believes the company won’t listen to feedback from the crew. In separate news reports in early May, Ambassadors International, Majestic’s parent company, indicated it may sell some or all of Majestic America Line’s assets, possibly as soon as this year. Those assets include the riverboats Delta Queen, Mississippi Queen and American Queen, which had been crewed by SIU members prior to the vessels being sold in 2006. According to a report based on the parent company’s most recent earnings call, Joe Ueberroth, chairman, president and CEO of Ambassadors said new buyers would have a “fresh start” with the riverboats and “will not have the ire of the Seafarers International Union.” The latter comment apparently is in reference to unsubstantiated claims that the union helped block a waiver which would allow the Delta Queen to continue sailing next year. (The union issued a statement concerning this matter in December 2007.) Meanwhile, in an article in the Kentucky newspaper Ledger Independent, an engineer from the Delta Queen said it has been anything but smooth sailing from the crew’s perspective. “Everybody is unhappy with the company,” Robbie Taylor told the publication. “They mess up travel costs and don’t take care of things they say they will…. It’s a wild goose chase to find out who you can talk to, and when you do they don’t get it done…. Morale is low. Nobody cares and nobody wants to listen to what the crew has to say.” In the same article, Taylor contended that some crew members recently have been let go because of their earnings, to meet corporate cuts. Paul Hall Center’s Online Courses Receive High Marks The union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education’s web-based “distance learning” program for mariners is receiving high marks despite being a newcomer to the institution’s training curriculum. A long-planned program to benefit employees working under SIU agreements and the union’s contracted operating companies, the on-line training regiment in late March was launched by the center’s vocational staff which among others includes Dale M. Rausch. Besides being a full-time instructor, Rausch doubles as the center’s distance learning administrator. Currently, the program offers on-line courses in: Environmental Awareness; Hazardous Material Control and Management; Hearing Conservation; Heat Stress Management; Shipboard Pest Management; Respiratory Protection; and Shipboard Water Sanitation. These initial courses are designed by Paul Hall Center instructors and tailored to address the annual refresher training of vessel safety management systems and prepare students for resident coursework at the center. Representatives from the center’s vocation staff are in ongoing consultations with operators to gain insights on and suggestions for other online courses. So far, according to Rausch five SIU members have enrolled for the web-based courses and a hefty percentage of the center’s instructors have actually taken and completed the courses. AB Edward Gavagan of Tampa, Fla., has completed two of the courses and is already registered for a third. “This program is still in the opening stages, but I can see it going [a long way] toward keeping us informed and upgraded in our work fields,” he said. A former member of the National Maritime Union, Gavagan has upgraded on several occasions while attending courses in-residence at the Paul Hall Center. He most recently sailed aboard the SIU-contracted Delaware Trader, a Keystone vessel. Electrician James McEntire is another Seafarer who has taken advantage of the distance learning program. McEntire hails from Electrician James McEntire (left) goes online to at the union-affiliated Honolulu and is a former Army reserve offiPaul Hall Center for Maritime Education and Training to examine one cer. He joined the SIU in 2006 following a of the center’s distance learning courses. Providing guidance is tour in Iraq and is a graduate of the center’s Instructor Dale Rausch, who serves as the Piney Point, Md.-based unlicensed apprentice program. center’s distance learning administrator. McEntire is one of five “I think it’s a great program with a lot to Seafarers who have enrolled in the center’s web-based upgrading offer,” shared McEntire, who currently is courses. 4 Seafarers LOG upgrading at the center in FOWT. “I have taken a number of the on-line courses and found that the programs on which they are based are very user friendly. Although there are a few system issues to overcome, going on-line and taking the courses is still well worth a person’s time and energy. “I’m trying to get everyone that I know who sails to get involved in the distance learning program,” McEntire concluded. As previously reported in the LOG, the program came about following a recommendation of the center’s Deep Sea and Inland Advisory Board. It provides mariners the opportunity to receive recommended or required professional training while serving at sea aboard a vessel, while ashore at home, or during any other time when they are away from the ship. All that is required to take advantage of this offering is a personal computer, or laptop with internet capability. The training is designed to be self-paced. The courses are kept as brief as possible so that they can be completed within one or two sittings. A reasonable deadline has been established for overall course completion. “Distance learning is the wave of the future because it is convenient for students,” explained Rausch. He mentioned that those taking the courses can start coursework, walk away and resume use later. The courses are free to mariners covered by SIU contracts. To register, complete the regular upgrading application found on page 20 of this issue of the LOG and mail it to: Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075. Applicants will receive user account information from the center via e-mail, so be sure to write your e-mail address on the form in the space provided. In addition, be sure to include the word “online” when listing the course(s) you desire on the application. June 2008 �48717_v3:January 08 5/22/2008 8:55 PM Page 5 The Swift (left in photo above), during a sea-basing exercise off the coast of Monrovia, Liberia, sits beside a floating platform ready to receive vehicles from its stern ramp. The Seafarers-contracted HSV Swift (photo at right) will be operated by Sealift, Inc. (U.S. Navy Photos) Seafarers to Sail on Aptly Named ‘Swift’ The Military Sealift Command (MSC) early last month announced that SIU-contracted Sealift, Inc. has been awarded a contract to operate the HSV Swift, a prepositioning ship. HSV stands for high-speed vessel – the Swift can sail at 42 knots. Sealift, based in Oyster Bay, N.Y., won a one-year contract that contains four options. If exercised, those options would total approximately four more years in addition to the original 12-month agreement. The Swift is 331 feet long and has a beam of 87 feet. According to MSC, the vessel has an 11-foot draft and a displacement of more than 1,400 short tons. SIU-Crewed Westward Venture Fires Warning Shots in Gulf For the second time in recent months, small boats approached an SIU-crewed, MSC-contracted vessel and received warning shots. The Westward Venture on April 24 was shipping cargo to Kuwait via the Persian Gulf when the ship attempted to make bridge-to-bridge contact to warn the fast boats they were too close. The Westward Venture then blew its whistle and fired flares before a Navy security team fired warning shots. The boats came as close as 100 yards. After the warning shots, bridgeto-bridge communication was established with someone claiming to be the Iranian coast guard. The boats then moved on. In late March, a similar incident took place involving the Global Patriot near the Suez Canal. In that case, warning shots were fired by military security personnel at small fast boats and one passenger was inadvertently killed. As noted in a news account of the Global Patriot episode, U.S. Navy ships “have been on high alert in the region since Iran captured 15 British sailors and marines in the Persian Gulf a year ago, holding them hostage for two weeks.” Labor Briefs AFSCME Wins Historic 1st Contracts An Oklahoma state law championed by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) continues to pay dividends as 700 workers of the cities of Enid and Lawton recently won their first union contracts. These victories follow on the heels of a similar signing involving the city of Moore and its employees. All three contracts involve improvements in wages and benefits. According to a spokesperson for AFSCME, these developments would not have been possible had not the Oklahoma state legislature approved a law requiring cities of more than 35,000 to recognize nonuniformed workers’ unions. The statute, which was challenged by several cities in the state, was declared unconstitutional in 2005 by Oklahoma’s highest court. AFSCME appealed. As a result, the high court reversed itself in March 2006. Boilermakers Play Key Role In Developing New Welding Rod Boilermakers employed at Hobart Brothers in Birmingham, Ala., played a key role in the development of a new alloywelding rod that will lead to productivity gains in the power generation industry. The main innovation comes in the size of the new rod. At 12 inches, it is two inches shorter than the standard 14-inch rod now in use. As noted by the Boilermakers’ union on its web site, “The shorter length allows the welder to burn the rod without bending it to reach restrictive areas. Too often, when a rod is bent, part of the rod is June 2008 discarded, leading to waste.” Moreover, the welding rod that members of Boilermakers L-108 worked on “lets a welder work in tight spots with less rod waste.” According to the product manager for Hobart Brothers, the new rod offers low spatter and X-ray clear welds. It is also easy to burn, so even the newest apprentice can produce journeyman-level results. Study: Union Members Earn More Being a union member significantly augments wages for lower-paid workers, a study released last month by the Center for Economic and Policy Research shows. Union membership boosted the wages of workers on the bottom rung of the wage ladder (in the 10th percentile) by 20.6 percent, from 2003 to 2007. For a worker at the 20th percentile, whose earnings were exceeded by the top 80 percent, the boost from being a union member was 18.9 percent, and for the typical worker at the 30th percentile, it was 16.8 percent. The report, “The Union Advantage for Low-Wage Workers,” also analyzed the impact of unionization on low-wage workers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, finding that it had a magnifying impact in each. “For millions of workers who work hard and take home less to show for it, being part of a union that provides a say on the job is all the more important,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “This study proves that for workers on the bottom rungs of the pay scale, bargaining power is the best, and often only, means to gain a leg up to the middle class.” The company noted that the ship will be operated worldwide in support of U.S. Fleet Forces Command and the war on terrorism. The vessel also will be used for “emerging operational concepts such as sea-basing and the Global Fleet Station,” the latter of which is a military operation directed by U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command. Recertified Bosun Saves Life of Trapped Shipmate Editor’s note: The following article about Recertified Bosun Scott Heginbotham was compiled from a letter of commendation by the captain of M/V Liberty Star. Heginbotham could not be reached at sea. On the morning of March 13, 2008, Recertified Bosun Scott Heginbotham reacted quickly and efficiently in saving the life of a fellow mariner aboard the Liberty Star. The vessel, operated by Liberty Maritime Corporation, was being serviced by a subcontractor at Kiran shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey. Heginbotham was near the CO2 compartment on the ship as a subcontractor began to service the bank of CO2 bottles. The subcontractor inadvertently created a series of potentially deadly events that started with the discharge of stored CO2 gas into the engine room. When the incident started, Heginbotham quickly realized the first engineer and a cadet were in the engine room. “This is when all of your training kicked in and your professionalism shined,” said the Liberty Star’s Captain Clancy Faucheux Jr., about the Paul Hall Center-trained bosun. “You proceeded to your assigned emergency station, stopping to report the situation via radio to myself. Fully understanding the nature of the emergency, you donned your SCBA and returned to enter the engine room. Without hesitation, you entered the engine room, which was hazy due to the CO2 venting, found the 1A/E and it was your prompt action of placing an Emergency Escape Breathing Apparatus on him and giving him chest compressions that saved his life that morning.” The captain went on to say to Heginbotham, “Your actions are of the finest standards of the U.S. Merchant Marine and reaffirm the fact that you are of the highest caliber of professional seafarer. It is truly a pleasure to serve with you.” The Liberty Star sometimes is used by NASA to recover the solid rocket boosters on space shuttles. Union Salutes Retiring AMSEA Executive SIU officials joined other guests in honoring Captain Peter J. Lawrence at an April 25 event in Quincy, Mass. Lawrence is retiring as president of SIU-contracted American Overseas Marine (AMSEA). Pictured from left to right are SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez, Lawrence, AMSEA Accounting Associate Sue Mei and SIU VP Contracts George Tricker. Both SIU officials described Lawrence as a true ally of the U.S. Merchant Marine. Thomas W. Merrell has been promoted to succeed Lawrence. He previously served as AMSEA’s vice president of marine operations. Seafarers LOG 5 �48717_v3:January 08 5/23/2008 2:31 AM Page 6 SIU Ships Offload Cargo For ‘Cobra Gold’ Three Seafarers-crewed vessels recently assisted in preparations for a yearly military exercise overseas. The prepositioning ships USNS 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez and USNS 1st Lt. Harry L. Martin as well as the Great Land each played a role in supporting American forces prepping for “Cobra Gold” – an annual drill designed to promote regional stability and security throughout Southeast Asia. The Lopez (operated by AMSEA) and Martin (Keystone) in late April completed the at-sea offload of more than 350 pieces of equipment and supplies belonging to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) in Thailand. The cargo included wheeled and tracked vehicles, ammunition and supplies. Those two vessels arrived off the coast of Chuk Samet, Thailand, on April 27. Anchored about three miles from shore, the Lopez and Martin offloaded a total of 16 pieces of lighterage – a type of barge used to move cargo from ship to shore. Six pieces of this lighterage were pieced together to form a 180-foot by 63-foot floating platform called a roll-on/roll-off discharge facility, which was placed at the end of Lopez’s stern ramp. Offload operations began April 28 as rolling stock was driven down the Lopez’s ramp onto the floating platform and then onto powered lighterage, which transported the cargo to shore. Containerized cargo was lifted onto the powered lighterage by one of the Lopez’s three shipboard cranes. Causeway sections are loaded from the SIU-crewed Baldomero Lopez on May 5 during exercise Freedom Banner 08. Freedom Banner 08 is a Maritime Prepositioning Force exercise conducted in Thailand to provide equipment used by the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade in support of exercise Cobra Gold. Described by the U.S. Military Sealift Command as “a complex operation,” this offload involved multiple Navy and Marine Corps commands including MSC, the 3rd MEF, Naval Beach Group One, Navy Cargo Handling Battalion One and Amphibious Construction Battalion One. The ability to offload cargo at sea is necessary when operating in areas where port facilities are either nonexistent or too damaged or primitive for ships to pull pierside. Columnist Credits SIU Steward Departments, Paul Hall Center SIU steward departments and the union’s affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education received credit from a writer in the May edition of Professional Mariner magazine. Capt. Kelly Sweeney, a licensed mariner who sailed with the SIU from 1983-85, is a regular columnist for Professional Mariner. His offering in the May issue was typically candid as he made the case captured by the story’s headline: “Cooks need training just like any other on-board position.” Sweeney related various experiences concerning food sanitation – not only aboard ships and tugs, but dating back to his first job in high school, at a local restaurant. Suffice to say the results have been mixed. “Thankfully, many U.S. companies, and the maritime unions, care about the quality of prepared food served on board their vessels,” Sweeney wrote. “I’ve sailed on 12 ships manned by sailors from the Seafarers International Union and have never seen or heard of any foodrelated illnesses on them. Just to apprentice in the galley of an SIUcontracted ship, 40 hours of classes on sanitation and galley operations are required. To become a chief steward, 33 weeks of classes and two years of experience are needed.” Not all of Sweeney’s other encounters have been pleasant. He described one voyage on an oceanographic ship when numerous crew members (himself included) and some of the scientists were stricken with food poisoning. In the immediate aftermath, Sweeney discovered what he described as very unsanitary conditions in the galley. Another time, he signed on aboard 6 Seafarers LOG an oceangoing tug with no steward department personnel. Sweeney again found unsanitary settings – in this case, the deckhand who handled all the cooking was doing so in dirty clothes covered with grease, rust chips and paint specks. “There’s a disturbing trend among certain tug and supply boat operators that I think is even worse than having an untrained cook on board – and that’s having no cook at all,” Sweeney wrote. “This doubling up of shipboard positions is unprofessional in my opinion, not only because it cuts U.S. mariners out of cook’s jobs, but also because it shows that these companies don’t seem to care about the quality of the food their mariners are served.” He concluded that as in the other shipboard departments, steward department personnel should be required to demonstrate basic competency in their field before actually performing the work aboard ship. The Paul Hall Center, located in Piney Point, Md., offers comprehensive training for mariners in all three departments – deck, engine and steward. The school’s steward department classes are structured in modules designed to facilitate not only learning but relative ease of scheduling for the students. Those courses include galley operations (four weeks total); certified chief cook (12 weeks); advanced galley operations (four weeks); and certified chief steward (12 weeks). Earlier this year, the St. Mary’s County (Md.) Health Department presented an award to the Paul Hall Center because of the school’s “superior compliance to food safety standards among food establishments” in the county. The Martin and Lopez are scheduled to remain in Thailand through early June to backload their prepositioned cargo, according to the agency. Prior to the arrival of the Lopez and Martin in Thailand, the SIU-crewed, MSC-chartered roll-on/roll-off ship Great Land (operated by Interocean American Shipping) offloaded more than 460 pieces of 3rd MEF cargo at Thung Prong and Chuk Samet ports April 22-24. More than 20 Navy reservists assigned to MSC are also in Thailand training in both real-world and computer-simulated sealift operations and exercises, managing port operations for as many as 15 ships in a contingency scenario. Some reserve personnel are manning a mobile sealift operations command center at Chuk Samet, a portable facility designed to operate and manage port operations in areas where port infrastructure is damaged or destroyed. Additional reserve teams were slated to arrive in mid-May to coordinate the backload of Marine Corps cargo. “What’s so valuable about this exercise is that you can walk around and shake hands at the port and really learn what others are doing,” said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Richard Coleman of Navy Reserve Expeditionary Port Unit 117. “It’s all about understanding command relationships.” Cobra Gold began May 8 and was to continue through May 21. Japan, Singapore and Indonesia were expected to join Thailand and the United States in the exercise, which included computersimulated command post and field training exercises, as well as humanitarian relief efforts. The Lopez is permanently assigned to Diego Garcia-based Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Two, while the Martin is assigned in the Guam/Saipan area with Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Three. Paul Hall Center Offers Career Advancement The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., offers the most U.S. Coast Guard-approved courses of any maritime school in the nation. The center features top-notch training from experienced instructors and stateof-the-art equipment and facilities. The school offers courses for mariners sailing in the deck, engine and steward departments. Below is a quick look at one of those classes. For more information about the center and its courses, contact the Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 206740075; call (301) 994-0010; or visit the Paul Hall Center section of www.seafarers.org. Course dates are listed on page 21 of this issue of the LOG and also are carried on the web site. Engine Department Course Spotlight Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations Applicants completing the school’s 140-hour Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations course and who present the corresponding Paul Hall Center Certificate of Training to a U.S. Coast Guard Regional Exam Center within one year of the completion of training, satisfy the examination requirements of 46 CFR 12.15-9 for the General Safety examination module, PROVIDED they have also completed either the school’s 63-hour Basic Motor Plant Operations course and/or the 70-hour Basic Steam Plant Operations course. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present individually completed “Control Sheets” for the assessments in application for STCW certification. The objective of this course is to provide students with knowledge and practical operational skills required of rated engine department watchstanders as they sail in the capacity of FOWT. This objective is accomplished through classroom lectures and shore-side auxiliary plant simulator practical exercises. Prerequisites: Successful completion of the Paul Hall Center Unlicensed Apprentice Training Program; successful completion of the unlicensed apprentice sea voyage and required sea projects; unlicensed apprentice sea voyage performance evaluations within the engine department as completed by the First Assistant Engineer of at least satisfactory or better; recommendation by the unlicensed apprentice sea voyage participating vessel’s Chief Engineer OR six months’ sea time as wiper AND STCW certification in all areas of basic safety training; successful completion of the entry-level sea voyage and auxiliary plant familiarization sea project; total USCG approved sea service or equivalent sea service in the engine room of vessels of at least six months; meet all USCG physical standards for qualified members of the engine department. Military veterans meeting the prior military sea service requirement in the engine room of vessels must meet the following entrance requirements: Prior approval to the military veterans program for ratings forming part of an engineering watch; meet all USCG physical standards for qualified members of the engine department. June 2008 �48717_v3:January 08 5/22/2008 10:49 PM Page 7 SHBP Awards $140,000 in Scholarships One SIU member and six dependents of Seafarers last month were selected by a panel of professional educators to be recipients of scholarships provided by the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP). A total of $140,000 was given in this year’s scholarship program. One Seafarer was awarded a $20,000 scholarship for study at a four-year college or university, as was each of the six dependents. Following are brief biographical sketches of each of the recipients as well as recaps of their respective educational goals. The scholarship program began in 1953. Peter Hokenson AB Peter Hokenson is the recipient of a scholarship for Seafarers. A native of Tacoma, Wash., Hokenson is a 1983 graduate of Gig Harbor High School in Gig Harbor, Wash. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma and is well-versed in the martial arts. He joined the SIU in March 1992. “After a stint at the University of Puget Sound, I decided I was not ready to wear a suit and tie and wanted to do something more adventurous,” recalled Hokenson, who most recently sailed aboard the deep sea vessel USNS Wright. “I applied to the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship and the next thing I knew I was enrolled in the trainee program at Piney Point, Md.,” he said. “Three months later, I was an ordinary seaman working aboard the USNS Wilkes out of Lisbon, Portugal, a far cry from my small hometown in Gig Harbor.” The experience he gained through the apprentice program, according to Hokenson, provided him with exactly what he was looking for – a chance to meet great people and visit interesting places while working aboard merchant ships. Hokenson has since upgraded his skills on several occasions by returning to the SIU-affiliated school. One day while working as an AB AB Peter Hokenson aboard the USNS Waters, Hokenson reflected back on the training he had received in the martial arts as well as the black belt which he had earned in 1981. He attempted to do the same Chinese splits that his instructor had taught him a few years back and discovered that surprisingly, he could still do them. “This (being able to do the challenging exercises) boosted my confidence enough to apply for the Seafarers Scholarship Program,” Hokenson shared. “I thought that the skills I learned at Piney Point, combined with my college background could possibly help me work in the educational arena, both at home and abroad.” He hopes to continue his studies at either the University of Puget Sound or St. Joseph’s University. Hokenson said he wanted to help people build an unshakable foundation that would enable them to withstand a troubled world; making it a better, safer place. For this reason, his future studies will focus on the arts, martial arts, education, music and the maritime industry. After noting that his interests in each of the foregoing areas have been boosted as a result of being a mariner, he said, “I have learned the ropes from the best in the world…. It was not a cakewalk, but still an incredibility rich life experience. I would not trade it for anything.” Brittany L. Redding Brittany L. Redding is a graduate of Attleboro High School in North Attleboro, Mass. The daughter of deep sea Chief Steward Dennis Redding (and wife, Brenda), Brittany was born in Rhode Island. She completed her secondary education with a 96.73 overall GPA and held membership in both the National Honor and the National French Honor Societies. A community activist, Brittany for the past five years captained the Relay For Life team in her neighborhood which to date has raised some $10,000 for cancer research. She served as a hospital volunteer and in 2006 was chosen to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine. In 2007, Brittany was one of five girls chosen to represent her high school during the American Legion sponsored Massachusetts Girl’s State Forum on Medicine. Redding has several years of experience as a softball and volleyball player and was an avid member of her school’s marching band. Now that her high school days are over, Redding said, she plans to pursue a career in medicine. “Pending acceptance, I hope to start school next year at Johns Hopkins University in Brittany L. Redding Baltimore studying medicine.” The fact that her father is frequently home-ported in Baltimore made Hopkins her first choice because “it’s a prime location and [the school] has a not-too-shabby reputation.” In addition to Hopkins, she also has applied for admission to the University of Pennsylvania, and New York University. “Eventually, my dreams include a career in Radiology, a house in Wellesley and a massive amount of dogs. I have known from the beginning that I would choose a career in the medical profession for two simple reasons,” she added. One is “the house in Wellesley” and the other is “because I am that person who is not satisfied with satisfying themselves. I joke about the house in Wellesley because the truth is I would take sleeping on the side of a building over that house if it meant that I was helping someone – that there was one person whose life I made better.” June 2008 Christopher J. Wozunk Christopher J. Wozunk hails from Blackwood, N.J., and is the son of FOWT John Wozunk (wife Carol). The senior Wozunk works in the inland division and most recently sailed aboard a Crowley Liner Services vessel. Born in Seoul, Korea, Christopher is a graduate of Highland Regional High School in New Jersey. While at Highland Regional, Wozunk registered an overall 3.94 GPA and held membership in the National Honor, Nation Math and National Art Societies. Included in the vast list of activities in which he participated are chess, history, math, science, world languages and renaissance clubs; cross country and winter track and the Boy Scouts. An aspiring artist who says that art is everywhere and that it’s one’s responsibility to find and embrace it for what it is— whether it is abstract or realistic—Christopher plans to continue his education at Drexel University. He said he will study architecture and art because art has had a tremendous influence in his life from childhood. Wozunk recalled that his high school art instructor always told Christopher J. Wozunk him that he could not teach him how to draw well but he could teach him how to see. “If there is one thing that he taught me, it was how to see,” Wozunk said. “Not only in what I was drawing at the time, but the world around me.” Reflecting on some of his experiences as a member of the National Art Honor Society, Christopher said that the organization was far more than just a hobby for him. “It’s a way I can express myself in a different medium. Furthermore, it provides a chance to beautify my school through my own vision.” Wozunk said he remembers seeing only blank white walls when as a freshman he walked through the halls of his high school. These once plain walls however have since been dramatically altered. “These past years, a couple of friends and I have changed that by painting murals of inspirational quotes and palaces which have given meaning and depth to the walls,” he said. “Using our imaginations and creativity, we have brought light to our school.” Benjamin A. Wilmoth Benjamin A. Wilmoth hails from Plantation, Fla. He is the son of QMED Wendell Wilmoth (wife Cynthia) who sailed most recently aboard the deep sea ship Seabulk Energy. Wilmoth graduated in the top 10 percent of his class at Plantation High School last month with a 3.7 GPA. In addition to playing on his high school soccer team, Wilmoth is an accomplished musician having played in both the marching and concert bands at his alma mater. He is an active member of his church, participates in a number of community activities and served as vice president of the computer club at Plantation High. Wilmoth is a member of the National Honor Society. “After graduating from high school, I plan to attend the University of Florida,” he said. “There, I plan to major in business-marketing, possibly with a minor in economics. After I receive my bachelor’s degree, I will begin work towards my master’s degree. Benjamin A. Wilmoth “I want to get a job as a market analyst and eventually as a market research supervisor. From there, I hope to become a market research director for a major company. I plan on moving to New York City or Chicago where the marketing job field is flourishing.” “I have been very fortunate as a teacher,” wrote one of Benjamin’s high school teachers in a letter of recommendation for the SHBP Scholarship Program. “Over the past decade, I have taught the best and brightest at my school. And I have seen over and over again what a challenging academic schedule, broad involvement in school, and a busy personal life can do to a student. Many crumble under the pressure, some orchestrate their lives with the seriousness of a conductor, and a few make the life of a college-bound student seem easy. Benjamin Wilmoth is one of the latter; he has the poise, grace, maturity and the sense of humor to handle any challenge thrown his way.” Albert B. Balatico Albert B. Balatico is a graduate of Fontainebleau High School in Mandeville, La. The son of deep sea Seafarer AB Albert V. Balatico (wife Patricia), Albert finished his secondary education with an overall GPA of 4.12. He held the office of vice president in his school’s photography, art and quiz bowl clubs and was active in the Asian-Pacific American Society. Additionally, he performed more than 100 hours of community volunteer service as a tutor and spearheaded many drives to benefit the United Nations World Hunger Organization. Balatico plans to pursue a career Albert B. Balatico in journalism and film and hopes to attend either the University of Southern California or Tulane University in Louisiana. “I believe that the freedom of speech is quintessential to not only democracy, but to the arts, traditional and contemporary,” he said of his career plans. “I would like to double major in journalism and film studies because both fields are most relevant to our society. Both have blended in so beautifully with the advent of the digital age (through, for example) social networking sites, blogs and podcasts.” Albert believes that seeking a higher education will allow him to express himself while also making a living. “I will be perfectly content living modestly and having my passion, but that is a basic expectation derived by any artist,” he said Xiao X. Li Xiao X. Li was born in the People’s Republic of China. The daughter of deep sea Chief Cook Meili Seegers (husband Steven), she is a 2006 graduate Fernandina Beach High School in Fernandina Beach, Fla. A member of the National Honor Society, she completed her secondary education with an overall GPA of 3.72 and was the treasurer of her high school’s Technology Students Association. Xiao was also an active member of her school’s Chinese American Student Association and its chapter of the American Institute of Architecture (for students). In addition to being involved in student activities, she was an active volunteer in her community, donating time to the Humane Society, Special Olympics and various beach cleanup projects. She also participated in fund raising marathons and did behind-the-scenes volunteer work in support of Super Bowl XXXIX, which was played at ALLTEL Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. After finishing high school, Li in the summer of 2006 entered Xiao X. Li Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Fla., where she took classes for two summers of study. Also in 2006, she enrolled in the University of Florida (also in Gainesville) where she has earned 45 credits toward her degree in architecture. Architecture is Li’s passion largely because of her past in China, where “the harborage of 1.3 billion people” left a lasting impression on her. “The presence of numerous multigenerational family refuges had its dominant role,” she said. “It had consisted of relatives from the great grandma on my mother’s side to younger cousins and nieces who all shared the same dwelling. “A notorious one bedroom, one bathroom apartment [which] measured a square footage of less than 500 was what my family called home. With no access to air-conditioning or heat, we were fortunate to possess a stationary portable fan. The schools were infamous for sitting fifty rowdy students into a small classroom with the only circulation being two small gaping windows.” She added, “The population of the world is increasing by the minute, yet the surface area of the Earth is not going to change. To help solve this issue, we must efficiently use the limited space we possess, allowing sustainability to become part of the project from the beginning. This scholarship will help fund my continued aspirations and commitment into my graduate studies and toward creating a better society for all.” Sidney A. Kirk Sidney A. Kirk is a recent graduate of Currituck County High School in Barco, N.C., and is the daughter of AB Robert Kirk (wife Sylvia), who sails in the deep sea division. While at Currituck County, Sidney amassed an overall 4.30 GPA and was an active participant in varsity girls’ soccer as well as the BETA, science and poetry clubs. Additionally, Sidney was a founding member of the school’s Freshman Mentor Program, Invisible Children’s Club and Honor Court. She also served as chief justice of the honor court and was a member of the school’s Quiz Bowl trivia team which advanced to the state finals in competition against other high schools. Sidney during her high school career was the recipient of numerous awards and honors including the National BETA Club Certificate (2005-2008), Certificate of AchievementDistrict Champions Quiz Bowl Team (2005-2006), Outstanding Achievement in Honors English II (2005-2006), Outstanding Achievement in Creative Writing (2004-2005) and the Presidential Physical Fitness Award (20042005). Kirk also received recognition as an all conference soccer player and was cited for academSidney A. Kirk ic achievement as a student athlete. Besides school activities, Sidney was heavily involved in community service. She volunteers as a tutor for her church’s elementary student tutoring program; participated in Operation Christmas Child, which provides gifts and subsistence boxes to less fortunate children; and gave her time in support of Corolla Wild Horse Days, an event focused on raising money to ensure the wellbeing of the Corolla wild mustang and to inform tourists about the importance of respecting wildlife. When asked about her plans for the future, Sidney had a clear-cut agenda. “I plan to attend college at UNC Chapel Hill for eight years in order to obtain my doctorate in physical therapy,” she said. “After college, I would like to work in a hospital for a few years to gain some experience. Eventually, I’ll open up my own physical therapy business practice here in Currituck or the Outer Banks.” Seafarers LOG 7 �48717_v3:January 08 5/22/2008 9:06 PM Page 8 From left, Recertified Steward Peter Schmitt displays his handiwork, while SA Eusebio Avila cleans up after breakfast. Chief Cook Clarence Mack, in the words of the man behind the lens, “hams it up for the camera.” Sealand Meteor Capt. Howell (right in photo above) on behalf of the other officers and crew, accepts a piece of art from Yasuo Watanabe of the Shimizu Port Authority. Sealand Meteor Makes Historic Port Call in Japan Some of Meteor’s crew listen to an SIU patrolman upon returning to the U.S. Pictured left to right are Recertified Bosun Stephen Kastel, AB Norman Taylor and AB Richard Volkart. Annual Statements Sent To SMPPP Participants The mailing of annual statements from the Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan (SMPPP) to Plan participants was completed in April, according to SMPPP Administrator Margaret Bowen. Based on year-end reports received from Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, SMPPP investment manager, the Plan continues to perform well despite ongoing market volatility. Interest earned on the accounts during 2007 was 5.49 percent with an annualized return since inception of 9.87 percent; the total amount in all accounts was more than $70.1 million with the addition of $14.1 million that merged from the NMU Annuity Plan. The SMPPP originated in 1996, as the SIU successfully negotiated the new benefit into the standard freightship and tanker agreements. The SMPPP subsequently has been included in other SIU contracts. Approved by the Internal Revenue Service, the SMPPP is an individual interest-earning investment account funded by a daily contribution made by an SIU-contracted company on behalf of a Seafarer who is working for that employer. SIU members may make voluntary contributions to their respective accounts through a Vacation Plan deduction or via checks sent directly to the Plan. The SMPPP is completely separate from a member’s defined benefit pension, as well as the SIU 401(k) Plan. Participants are immediately vested in their respective SMPPP accounts as soon as the first such contribution is made. Unlike the Seafarers Pension Plan, there is no minimum amount of sea time needed to receive the money from an SMPPP account. Seafarers can collect the funds from their SMPPP account when they reach retirement age, become totally and permanently disabled, or leave the industry. Widows/widowers may collect the funds in the event of their spouse’s death. 8 Seafarers LOG Editor’s note: Recertified Steward Peter Schmitt submitted this article and the accompanying photos. At approximately 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 16, the Maersk Line, Limited containership Sealand Meteor called at the Port of Shimizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is believed that the Meteor is the first U.S.-flag merchant vessel to call on that port. The officers and crew hosted a small reception in the officers’ mess to receive the dignitaries from the City of Shimizu, the Shimizu Port Authority, and the Shimizu Port Promotion Association. A short speech was given by Yasuo Watanabe of the port authority, in which he said, in part, “Today, we three parties representing local government and the port are now visiting your fine ship to say thank you for calling and we hope it will continue in the future. Shimizu Port exports freight such as motorcycles and automobile parts to North America and Europe; therefore, the enhancement of services for North America is an earnest wish for the industrial world and the inhabitants of Shizuoka Prefecture. We hope that the establishment of this sea route contributes to further development of Shimizu Port.” After the greetings, the master of the Sealand Meteor, Captain Raymond Howell, accepted on behalf of the officers and crew a beautiful piece of Japanese art titled “Shippouyaki,” depicting the port area in ancient times. He also received a plaque for the ship commemorating a visit and return to heaven of a Japanese legend. Finally, the guests presented to the ship a beautiful bouquet of local flowers. The visitors were then treated to an assortment of canapés and hors d’oeuvres prepared by Recertified Steward Peter Schmitt, Chief Cook Clarence Mack and Steward Assistant Eusebio Avila. The rest of the SIU crew aboard the Meteor included Recertified Bosun Stephen Kastel, ABs Norman Taylor, Mathew Bevak, Richard Volkart, Frederick Reich and Josefino Casugay, Chief Electrician Chris Earhart, QMED Kenyatta McNeil and DEU Editho Barraca. Bosun ‘Snake’ Williams Dies at 80 The SIU recently lost a dedicated, greatly respected member of its union family when Rowland “Snake” Williams died April 18 at his home in Baltimore. He was 80 years old. While there’s nothing poetic about yard work, there is perhaps some symbolism in the fact that Williams passed away while working around the house. (He suffered heart failure.) As was the case during his nearly 50 years sailing with the SIU (mostly as a bosun) and another 14 years helping out at the Baltimore hall, whenever Williams saw a task that needed to be done, he didn’t hesitate. Colleagues remembered Williams, who began sailing as a 15-year-old in World War II after training at Sheepshead Bay, N.Y., with genuine appreciation. They described him as businesslike but with a proverbial heart of gold when it came to helping fellow Seafarers. “He was a stand-up guy, a great union guy,” said SIU President Michael Sacco. “We worked on a lot of organizing campaigns together – he This photo from his never missed one. union book shows Whenever you Williams in his needed a volunyounger days. teer, you could always depend on Snake. He was a topflight sailor, too – a really good bosun who knew his stuff.” Williams’ career as a rank-and-file Seafarer included voyages in multiple wars and a long stint as bosun with the shore gang in Petty’s Island near Philadelphia. He retired from sailing shortly after the Persian Gulf War in 1991. His last vessel was the USNS Wright – from which his ashes are to be scattered in July. For the last 14 years, he was a familiar face at the hall in his native Baltimore and on SIU-contracted ships calling on the port. Anyone who shook his hand undoubtedly would appreciate the root of his nickname: “Snake” never meant to menace, but he had a python-like grip. “Snake always looked out for the SIU and ran the gang up in Philadelphia better than the supervisors did,” recalled SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel. “He always had a concern to help fellow members in whatever way he could, no matter the problem. He didn’t discriminate when it came to helping others. If you were an SIU member, he’d give you the shirt off his back.” Williams persevered through what must have been an extraordinarily difficult final year in which three family members died: his daughter, an adult grandson and, most recently, his wife, Doris, who passed away in February. Baltimore Port Agent Dennis Metz said Rowland “Snake” Williams (left) greets a Seafarer in early 2003 aboard the Cape Wrath in Baltimore. Williams’ strength through it all proved remarkable – Snake still pitched in at the hall six days a week – but he and others noticed a general decline after Doris died. “Calling him a friend just doesn’t do it justice,” Metz stated. “He had uncompromised integrity and was honest to a fault. It was an absolute privilege and honor to spend time with him. I learned a lot from him. As the saying goes, they don’t make them like Snake anymore.” Lisa Clark, secretary at the Baltimore hall, noted Williams had “a wonderful personality. He loved to help people. He was one-of-a-kind and will be greatly missed.” June 2008 �48717_v3:January 08 5/22/2008 9:09 PM Page 9 Maersk’s ‘Drive to Zero’ Produces Safe Results One of the reasons U.S.-flag ships and U.S. mariners stand out from some others in a worldwide crowd is concern for the safety and wellbeing of those who work on board. SIU-contracted Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) is a prime example of proactive efforts when it comes to safety, health and environmental stewardship. For instance, MLL’s “Drive to Zero” program is a hands-on initiative to assist employees (mariners and shoreside personnel alike) in focusing on safety and teamwork to make the workplace as safe as possible. As suggested by the title, its goal is to drive down unsafe and environmental incidents as close to zero as possible or eliminate them altogether. The results are quite positive. In 2007, the program helped net MLL a “Lost Time Accidents” (LTAs) rate of less than .5 per 1,000 man hours, an extremely low result by industry standards. Plus, MLL had no spills in 2007. In 2008 so far, the LTA rate is very low and there have been no spills. One of the key steps MLL took toward enhancing safety was to partner with the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education to provide unlicensed mariners a two-day safety course called “Safety Boot Camps.” According to MLL, the boot camps are integral in the company’s approach to Drive to Zero. The agenda focuses on leadership and effective communications as well as more technical topics such as job safety analysis and prevention of electric shocks. MLL says attendees have commented that they were impressed with the content. Recognizing the number of excellent performing unlicensed Seafarers that frequently sail with MLL, the company is opening attendance to SIU mariners sailing aboard Maersk’s government and commercial vessels with an MLL work history of at least three years. Any mariner interested in attending one of these Safety Boot Camps may email kpretto@mllnet.com. Safety Boot Camps are scheduled at Piney Point for early June and August 12-13. In addition to the Safety Boot Camps conducted for both officers and ratings, MLL runs monthly safety council meetings. These meetings are attended by senior management, fleet managers, labor relations personnel and Quality, Environment, Safety and Security (QESS) staff members. The primary purpose of the council is to provide frequent proactive oversight of MLL’s safety and environmental programs and Maersk Line, Limited’s SIU-contracted fleet includes the Alliance Norfolk, pictured earlier this year in Baltimore. Seafarer Benjamin Sivells (center) receives a cash award as part of Maersk’s safety efforts. Sivells, sailing aboard the Achiever, observed a mooring line in imminent danger of parting and reported it to the captain. He then assisted in making the situation safe. initiatives. This is intended to help ensure they remain effective, relevant and in alignment with the overall MLL culture. A “case study” of the previous month’s LTAs (if any) is presented by the fleet manager with specific focus and discussion on the cause. LTAs, “near miss reports” and “best practices” are shared weekly through MLL’s Quality-Gram, or Q-GRAM, communication. In 2006, MLL rolled out a new Safety Recognition Program. A cash award is given to every vessel’s entertainment account after completing a calendar quarter LTA-free. An additional $1,000 will be added to this account each time a vessel reaches 1,000 days LTA-free. Early this year MLL introduced a new program in which the masters and chief engineers may issue a $100 cash award each month to any crew member who goes out of their way to contribute to and promote the safety culture on board. As of early May, 11 mariners had received this award. To aggressively pursue the Drive to Zero initiative, MLL says it has implemented the Ship Safety Training Team program. The program consists of two trainers riding a vessel to conduct safety training while the ship is at sea. According to MLL’s General Manager of QESS Carol Berger, “MLL will continue to take actions to ensure that each and every member of our fleet feels that they have a direct influence on the safety performance of the company. Earning the trust of our mariners and making every mariner feel empowered is the only way that we are going to eliminate injuries on board our vessels.” SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker said, “Maersk’s commitment to the health and safety of seafarers exemplifies a culture of caring and respect toward employees. The company also deserves credit for doing its part to help care for the environment.” Bruch Family Celebrates Maritime Heritage Welcome Ashore, Bosun SIU VP Great Lakes Tom Orzechowski (right) congratulates Bosun Charles Neigebauer at the Algonac hall in late April as the newly retired Seafarer receives his first pension check. Brother Neigebauer joined the union in 1969. He sailed for many years with American Steamship Company, including numerous voyages aboard the St. Clair. In 2004, the company honored him with its “Mariner of the Year” award. June 2008 When Seafarer Chad Bruch (right) graduated in April from the Paul Hall Center’s unlicensed apprentice program, it signaled the continuation of the family’s maritime heritage. Chad’s grandfather (center), Capt. Dean K. Bruch, sailed aboard Waterman ships during World War II. In the years that followed, Capt. Bruch at various times sailed as a pilot, master and chief mate, including a year as master aboard an SIU-contracted riverboat. Chad’s father, Dean A. Bruch (left), also traveled to Piney Point, Md., to celebrate Chad’s successful completion of the apprentice program. Seafarers LOG 9 �48717_v3:January 08 5/22/2008 9:11 PM Page 10 New TWIC Deadline: April 15, 2009 As reported on page 2, the new deadline for U.S. mariners to obtain the government-mandated Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) is April 15, 2009. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security last month announced the revised deadline; the original cutoff date was Sept. 25, 2008. The SIU encourages members to enroll for the TWIC as soon as possible. Step-by-step instructions have been published in the last few editions of the LOG and are available on the web both This is a list of addresses for Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) enrollment centers as of mid-May, as published by the Transportation Security Administration at the following web address: http://www.tsa.gov/twic Alabama 250 North Water Street Mobile, AL 36602-4000 Alaska Suite 202 3200 Hospital Drive Juneau, AK 99801 New York 102 Smith Boulevard Albany, NY 12202-1067 Georgia 5214 Augusta Rd Garden City, GA 31408-1606 Suite 2106 3225 Old Washington Rd. Waldorf, MD 20602 Howland Hook Marine Terminal 241 Western Avenue Staten Island, NY 10303-1103 Country Inn and Suites 211 Gateway Center Blvd. Brunswick, GA 31525 Massachusetts 300 Tremont Street Unit #5 Carver, MA 02330-1758 Whitehall Ferry Terminal 4 South Street Room 210 New York, NY 10004-1940 Suite 427 5959 Shallowford Road Chattanooga, TN 37421 Boston Autoport 100 Terminal Street Charlestown, MA 02129 Suite 9 2680 Grand Island Blvd. Grand Island, NY 14072 Texas 7433 Leopard Street Corpus Christi, TX 78409 One East 2nd Street Oswego, NY 13126-1177 Ford Convention Center Tyler Room 5115 Interstate 10 South Beaumont, TX 77705 Hawaii 1347 Kapiolani Blvd. Suite 204 Honolulu, HI 96814-4512 KPD Shelikof Facility 405 Marine Way Kodiak, AK 99615 Kahului Shopping Center 65 West Kaahumanu Avenue Unit 14 Kahului, HI 96732 1830 Embarcadero Avenue Suite 104 Oakland, CA 94606-5230 301 E. Ocean Boulevard Suite 500 Long Beach, CA 90802 1931 N. Gaffey Street Suite B San Pedro, CA 90731-1265 Suite 300 13201 San Pablo Ave. Richmond, CA 94806 Suite 103 1025 W Laurel St. San Diego, CA 92101 2000 Marina Vista Dr. Martinez, CA 94553 1251 N. Rice Ave. Oxnard, CA 93030 Suite 202 500 Sansome Street San Francisco, CA 94158 Connecticut 75 Crystal Ave. New London, CT 06320 FOR MORE INFORMATION On the web: www.tsa.gov/twic ■ By phone: TWIC Program Help Desk, 1-866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-347-8942) ■ By email: credentialing@dhs.gov ■ Suite 204C 212 W. Main St. Salisbury, MD 21801 Hilo Hawaiian Hotel 71 Banyan Drive Hilo, Hawaii 96720-4601 California Oakland Maritime Support Services (OMSS) 11 Burma Road Oakland, CA 94607-1010 now includes a link where individuals may check the status of their card and/or schedule a time to pick it up. Manatee County Port Authority 13604 Reeder Road Palmetto, FL 34221 619 E Ship Creek Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 Harrigan Centennial Hall 330 Harbor Drive Sitka, AK 99835 2970 Kele Street Suite 102 Lihue, HI 96766 Illinois Dixon Building Suite 206 8741 South Greenwood Chicago, IL 60619 Three Rivers Safety Council 1615 W. Jefferson Street Suite TWIC Joliet, IL 60435-6724 TWIC Enrollment Centers Michigan Delray Mechanical 667 S. Post Street Detroit, MI 48209-3053 800 East Ellis Road Suite 122 Norton Shores, MI 49441-5622 511 Ashmun Street Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783-1960 Hampton Inn 11 Winners Way East Peoria, IL 61611 863 North Pine Road Essexville, MI 48732 Suite 153 1635 1st Street Granite City, IL 62040 430 S. Water Street Marine City, MI 48039 Indiana 200 Russell Street Suite 110 Hammond, IN 46320-1825 3602 Northgate Court Suite 37C New Albany, IN 47150-6417 Kansas Commerce Plaza 1 - 7th Floor 7300 West 110th Street Overland Park, KS 66210 Louisiana Safety Council for Louisiana Capital Area 8180 Siegen Lane Baton Rouge, LA 70810-1914 AmericInn of Silver City 120 Lincoln Ave. Ontonagon, MI 49953 396 N. State Street St. Ignace, MI 49781 Suite 105 1020 Hastings Street Traverse City, MI 49686 Suite 1 200 W. Erie Street Rogers City, MI 49779 Minnesota Suite 104 2161 University Ave. St. Paul, MN 55114 Suite 310 803 West Avenue Rochester, NY 14611 North Carolina Suite 107 5704 Oleander Drive Wilmington, NC 28403 311 Atlantic Beach Causeway Atlantic Beach, NC 28512-7359 Ohio 3100 E45th Street Suite 226 Cleveland, OH 44127-1091 Star Center One Maritime Plaza 720 Water Street Toledo, OH 43604-1883 Suites 754, 755 8044 Montgomery Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45236 401 Broadway Avenue Suite D, Office B Lorain, OH 44052-0000 4830 State Road Ashtabula, OH 44004-6214 Suite 102 444 W. Perkins Ave. Sandusky, OH 44870 Oklahoma 5350 Cimarron Road Catoosa, OK 74015-3027 Oregon Suite 100 7025 N. Lombard St. Portland, OR 97203 Tennessee 3865 Viscount Avenue Suite 2 Memphis, TN 38118-6000 3200 West End Avenue Suite 510 Nashville, TN 37203-1330 West Gulf Maritime Association 1717 Turning Basin, Suite 100 Houston, TX 77029-3003 3800 Highway 365 Suite 123 Port Arthur, TX 77642-7566 1000 Foust Road Brownsville, TX 78521 1750 FM 1432 Victoria, TX 77905-0000 Mall of the Mainland Space #1074 10000 Emmett F. Lowery Expy Texas City, TX 77590 411 West Main Street Port LaVaca, TX 77979 Brazos Mall, Suite 1039 100 Hwy 332 West Lake Jackson, TX 77566 Suite 103 6000 Broadway Galveston, TX 77551 621 W Main Street LaPorte, TX 77571 Virginia Suite F 814 Greenbrier Circle Chesapeake, VA 23320 Suite 300, Room 359 11815 Fountain Way Newport News, VA 23606 Washington 5009 Pac Hwy E Suite 17 Fife Business Park Tacoma, WA 98424-3432 1310 Port Terminal Road Duluth-Superior, MN 55802 Pennsylvania Philadelphia Regional Port 3460 North Delaware Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19134-6311 Holiday Inn 1500 Hwy 71 International Falls, MN 56649 701 North Point Drive Suite 104 Pittsburgh, PA 15233-2133 Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE) AERIE # 1 6205 Corson Avenue South Seattle, WA 98108 Room B006 34 13th Ave., NE Minneapolis, MN 55413 Suite 120-D 601 Upland Ave. Brookhaven, PA 19015 8327 Summit Park Rd Ste. D Anacortes, WA 98221 975 North America Way Miami, FL 33132-2004 LaPlace Shopping Center 1933 West Airline Hwy. LaPlace, LA 70068 Mississippi Ergon Refining 227 Industrial Drive Vicksburg, MS 39183-0000 Port of Everett Marina Marina Conference Center 404 14th Street Everett, WA 98201-1674 2604 E. 7th Ave. Tampa, FL 33605 512 Roderick Street Morgan City, LA 70380 Suite D 1223 30th Ave. Gulfport, MS 39501 Puerto Rico Primer Piso, Salon de Conferencias Ave. Santiago de los Caballeros, final Edifico Turismo, Playa Ponce, PR 00716 Port Everglades Badging Office 1030 Taylor Road Dania Beach, FL 33004-2810 Suite 550 1340 W. Tunnel Blvd. Houma, LA 70360 Habana Plaza (Rear) 3125 Riviera Dr Key West, FL 33040 Maine 236 Oxford Street, Suite 12 Portland, ME 04101-3070 Suite 303 2051 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Riviera Beach, FL 33404 163 Hildreth Street North Bangor, ME 04401 Delaware 1 Hausel Road Wilmington, DE 19801-5852 Florida 955 Tallyrand Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32206-6049 707 Mullet Road Suites 117/118 Port Canaveral, FL 32920-4519 Suites 119, 120 5323 W. Hwy 98 Panama City, FL 32401 10 at www.seafarers.org and at the Transportation Security Administration’s TWIC web site, www.tsa.gov/twic. Seafarers also are asked to occasionally visit the SIU web site and/or check with their port agents for the latest TWIC news. For instance, when the DHS announced the changed deadline, the SIU site immediately posted the news release on its home page and also distributed the information to all SIU halls. The Transportation Security Administration TWIC web site Seafarers LOG 700 W. McNeese Street Lake Charles, LA 70605-5532 Port Fourchon Harbor Police 108 A.O. Rappelet Road Port Fourchon, LA 70357-0000 170 East James Drive Suite 104 St. Rose, LA 70087-4005 Maryland 2200 Broening Hwy, Suite 220 Baltimore, MD 21224-6623 Unit B19 800 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Greenville, MS 38703 New Hampshire 30 Mirona Road Extension Suite 2 Portsmouth, NH 03801 New Jersey Northern New Jersey 89 Leuning Street, Suite G South Hackensack, NJ 07606-1345 Navy Frontier Pier (Muelle Frontier) Suite 1 408 Avenue Fernandez Juncos San Juan, PR 00908 Rhode Island 17 Virginia Ave Suite 105 Providence, RI 02905-5443 South Carolina 4600 Goer Drive, Ste 112 North Charleston, SC 29406-6500 West Virginia Tri-State Fire Academy 4200 Ohio River Rd, Huntington WV 25702 Wisconsin Chase Commerce Center 3073 South Chase Avenue Suite 620 Building 28 Floor 1 Milwaukee, WI 53207-2668 Hotel Green Bay 780 Armed Forces Drive Green Bay, WI 54304 June 2008 �48717_v4:January 08 5/23/2008 8:26 PM Page 11 Snapshots from The Port of Jacksonville The photos which appear on this page capture some of the activities in which Seafarers are involved during their daily duties aboard vessels in and around the port of Jacksonville, Fla. While these photos only depict crew members from aboard three SIUcontracted vessels, more than a few others as well as hundreds of Seafarers regularly call on the port. Watch future editions of the LOG for more Jacksonville snapshots. El Yunque Members of the El Yunque deck department take a break from their duties for this photo. Pictured are AB Manuel Rodriguez, AB Jose Canales, Bosun Luis Ramirez, GUDE Jackie Jones and AB Donley Johnson. AB Raul Colon prepares the gangway of the El Yunque for use by fellow crew members. OMU Emanuel Paul places a relief call from the El Yunque engine room (left) while Chief Steward Francis Ostendarp (above) prepares breakfast. Chief Cook Vallejo Hernandez (photo at right) slices meat for the crew’s lunch meal. SL Motivator SA Curtis Spencer (above) prepares a breakfast plate for member of the crew, while Chief Cook Frank Washington (right) puts the finishing touches on an entree at the stove top. UA Joseph Bankhead (below) cleans dishes following the breakfast meal. They are crew members aboard the SL Motivator. June 2008 Horizon Producer Members of the Horizon Producer steward department meet prior to beginning preparation of another meal. Pictured (left to right above) are UA Ronnie Rodriguez, Recertified Steward Exxl Ronquillo, SA Marin Martin and Chief Cook Carlos Sanchez. Rodriguez prepares fruit for the salad bar (photo at right), while Martin (below right) cuts butter for the condiment rack. Sanchez (below left) prepares meat which will be used for the meal’s main entree. Seafarers LOG 11 �48717_v3:January 08 5/23/2008 3:27 AM Page 12 AB Ray Harvell AB Ed Osario AB Ruben Gamboa AB Audania Bomar CC Marlon Battad The Maersk-operated and SIU-crewed MV Pvt. Franklin J. Phillips is underway during SEACAT 2 While Sailing in the South China Sea, Strait of Malacca SA Rosemary Glover AC Norma West SA Deborah Artis 12 Seafarers LOG CB Lamont Faulks SA Gamal Meawad CC Raymond Alexander Recertified Steward Tony Spain Seafarers Assist in Anti-Terro T wo SIU-crewed ships sailing in the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) fleet recently joined a multinational anti-terrorism exercise in the South China Sea and Strait of Malacca. The prepositioning ships USNS 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez (operated by Seafarers-contracted AMSEA) and MV Pvt. Franklin J. Phillips (Maersk) were the focal points of several training scenarios during the exercise called Southeast Asia Cooperation Against Terrorism (SEACAT). Naval forces from the United States, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and the Philippines participated in the annual exercise in the Malaccan Straits. The straits are notorious for piracy and terrorism activities. The Phillips and Lopez played the role of suspicious merchant vessels during the exercise, which was designed to highlight the value of sharing information in a multinational environment as well as conduct training in maritime interception operations. Combined, the Lopez and Phillips were boarded on five occasions by representatives from four Southeast Asian countries. During the training scenarios, the Lopez transited southwest from Phuket, Thailand, while the Phillips left Brunei’s capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, heading east through the South China Sea. Both ships were destined for Singapore. During the exercise the Asian navies tracked the ships and responded to simulated challenges, such as searching the ships for suspicious cargo or crew members. The exercise is designed to highlight the value of communication and cooperation between navies of different countries. The Lopez and Phillips will also be platforms for U.S. Coast Guard teams to train foreign military personnel, offering techniques for successfully boarding and searching suspicious vessels, according to MSC. Accompanying this article are photos from the Phillips submitted by AMO member Edward McDonnell. Members of the Royal B Brunei Special Forces ( Marines (photo at right) June 2008 �48717_v3:January 08 5/22/2008 9:30 PM Page 13 Bosun Bernard Baker AB James Stetter AB Joseph Leeks AB Kenneth McDaniel Recertified Bosun Fred Gongora AB Steve Castle CAT 2008 in the South China Sea. ca rrorism Exercise yal Brunei Special Forces prepare to board a suspect vessel. DEU Kendra Gardner British Royal Marines practice tactics aboard the MV Pvt. Franklin J. Phillips. QMED Rudy Cunanan ces (photo above) launch a maneuver during SEACAT 2008, while British Royal ight) hone their vessel boarding skills. June 2008 Seafarers LOG 13 �48717_v3:January 08 5/22/2008 9:42 PM Page 14 Crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division, the USNS Kanawha (left, shown in a file photo from 2007, alongside the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz) recently assisted in a rescue in the Gulf of Aden. (U.S. Navy Photos) CIVMARS Assist in Gulf of Aden Rescue Members of the SIU Government Services Division on May 4 assisted the crew of a vessel in distress in the Gulf of Aden, according to the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC). The SIU CIVMARS who took part in the rescue were sailing aboard the MSC fleet replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha. The agency reported that the Dunia, a 49-foot dhow with a crew of 10, experienced a serious engine problem, leaving it unable to operate at sea. The Kanawha, which was nearby, responded. Kanawha engineers went aboard the dhow to troubleshoot the prob- lem. Once they determined repairs would need to be completed ashore, Combined Task Force 150 sent their nearest ship, the USS Shoup, to tow the dhow toward Yemeni territorial waters, close to Al Mukalla, where a tugboat was waiting to bring the small boat pierside. The dhow arrived in Yemeni territorial waters May 6. The Kanawha and the Shoup also provided the dhow’s crew with food, water and medical support during the two days. “The crew of the Kanawha responded in the finest tradition of the merchant marine to come to the aid of mariners in need,” said Capt. James Dolan, the ship’s civil service master. “Many of the crew volunteered to man the rescue boats that delivered food and water to the crew of the Dunia.” Coalition forces have a longstanding tradition of helping mariners in distress by providing medical assistance, engineering assistance as well as search and rescue, noted MSC. SEAFARERS HEALTH AND BENEFITS PLAN — COBRA NOTICE The guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup tows the 49-foot dhow Dunia after the boat experienced engine problems Are You Receiving All Your Important Mail? To help ensure that each active SIU member and pensioner receives the Seafarers LOG—as well as other important mail—monthly, correct home addresses must be on file with the union. Those who recently have moved or feel that they are not getting their union mail, should use the form at right to update their home addresses. An individual’s home address is his/her permanent address. Unless otherwise specified, this is where all official union documents will be sent. Individuals receiving more than one copy of the LOG, those who have changed their address and those whose names or addresses are misprinted or incomplete, should fill out the form and send it to: Seafarers International Union, Address Correction Dept., 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Corrections via e-mail should be sent to kclements@seafarers.org 14 Seafarers LOG HOME ADDRESS FORM (Please Print) Name: ______________________________________________________ Phone No.: __________________________________________________ Address: ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ Social Security No.: ________ / ________ / ________ Book No.: _______ Active SIU Pensioner Other ________________ This will be my permanent address for all official union mailings. This address should remain in the union file unless otherwise changed by me personally. 6/08 Under federal law, a participant and his or her dependents have the right to elect to continue their Plan coverage in the event that they lose their eligibility. This right is granted by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, better known as “COBRA.” The COBRA law allows a participant and his or her dependents to temporarily extend their benefits at group rates in certain circumstances where coverage under the Plan would otherwise end. A participant and his or her dependents have a right to choose this continuation coverage if they lose their Plan coverage because the participant failed to meet the Plan’s seatime requirements. In addition, a participant and his or her dependents may have the right to choose continuation coverage if the participant becomes a pensioner ineligible for medical benefits. The participant’s dependents may also elect continuation coverage if they lose coverage under the Plan as the result of the participant’s (1) death; (2) divorce; or (3) Medicare eligibility. A child can also elect COBRA if as the result of his or her age, he or she is no longer a dependent under the Plan rules. If a member and his or her dependents feel that they may qualify, or if they would like more information concerning these rights, they should contact the Plan office at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Since there are important deadlines that apply to COBRA, please contact the Plan as soon as possible to receive a full explanation of the participant’s rights and his or her dependents’ rights. June 2008 �48717_v3:January 08 5/22/2008 9:43 PM Page 15 Important Notice Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea Accessing CIGNA Network Information Seafarers Plans officials report that some rank-and-file Seafarers and their dependents have experienced difficulties locating and accessing providers for their CIGNA health care benefits, but it’s not because of the network itself. At last month’s membership meetings, the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP) administrator’s report included a reminder that Seafarers who want to locate providers in the CIGNA network should log on to the web site that is listed on the back of their CIGNA identification cards. That web site is: www.cigna.com/SA-PPO2 Seafarers should note that the second-to-last letter in the CIGNA web address is the capital letter “O” rather than a zero, and the web address is case-sensitive. “It is important that you use this exact web site because we participate in the ‘Shared Administration’ section of CIGNA’s network,” said Maggie Bowen, SHBP administrator. “If you log on to the myCIGNA.com web site, you are not viewing the correct providers for the Shared Administration network.” Bowen said Seafarers also may call 1-800-768-4695 to locate providers in their areas. She noted that the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan also participates in the Shared Administration section of CIGNA’s dental network. To obtain information on dental providers, members should either log on to: www.cignadentalnetworksolutions.com or call a special toll-free phone number. To obtain this designated number, members are asked to contact the Seafarers Claims Department at 1-800-252-4674. Local port agents also can provide the number. Personals Dolores Marcell would like Rex O’Conner to contact her as soon as possible at (718) 874-8476. Viola Yeager, please contact Amanda Lesh at (573) 673-1507. Retired Chief Cook Ms. Suzanne Van Schoor is asked to contact Derrick Crummy. He can be reached at (206) 774-3905 or (206) 679-6209 (cell). Crummy can also be contacted via his e-mail: Lepuffer@yahoo.com. April 16, 2008—May 15, 2008 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals 6 3 5 18 5 15 33 29 2 8 10 31 18 9 3 6 9 3 31 20 1 1 1 5 0 1 4 5 1 0 3 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 6 5 253 264 38 0 0 4 3 0 12 15 23 0 5 8 17 9 6 1 1 1 1 11 9 1 2 6 5 1 5 18 20 0 3 3 8 17 3 2 2 3 2 10 14 0 0 2 3 2 0 2 1 1 1 0 3 4 2 0 0 1 1 1 3 Joliet ...................................Thursday: July 17, August 14 Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Mobile..............................Wednesday: July 16, August 13 Port Piney Point.............................Monday: July 7, August 4 Algonac ...................................Friday: July 11, August 8 Baltimore..............................Thursday: July 10, August 7 Boston .......................................Friday: July 11, August 8 Guam ...................................Thursday: July 24, August 21 Honolulu..................................Friday: July 18, August 15 Houston .................................Monday: July 14, August 11 Jacksonville ..........................Thursday: July 10, August 7 New Orleans.........................Tuesday: July 15, August 12 New York .................................Tuesday: July 8, August 5 Norfolk .................................Thursday: July 10, August 7 Oakland ..............................Thursday: July 17, August 14 Philadelphia.........................Wednesday: July 9, August 6 Port Everglades ...................Thursday: July 17, August 14 San Juan ................................Thursday: July 10, August 7 St. Louis ...................................Friday: July 18, August 15 Tacoma .....................................Friday: July 25, August 22 Wilmington.................................Monday: July 21, August 18 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. June 2008 Totals Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals All Departments **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C 1 0 1 17 3 5 29 28 0 7 13 9 15 16 1 0 9 2 23 26 205 0 3 7 10 0 6 22 22 1 3 10 17 14 4 3 7 11 4 23 18 185 0 0 2 0 2 1 4 2 0 0 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 16 0 1 1 7 0 1 21 21 0 2 9 10 5 6 1 2 7 1 16 14 2 2 10 16 2 19 72 49 2 19 23 82 22 36 4 3 11 2 58 46 8 5 7 30 8 19 63 44 5 13 9 60 32 19 5 7 13 8 50 32 5 2 0 9 2 3 8 9 3 2 4 7 6 3 4 0 2 2 13 11 125 481 437 95 0 0 0 3 0 2 7 5 1 1 1 3 3 2 0 0 4 0 6 6 1 0 1 9 0 16 21 23 0 12 11 31 11 11 3 2 4 2 27 19 2 3 10 11 5 8 26 31 2 6 6 24 22 12 6 4 8 3 26 15 1 0 2 4 3 1 2 3 1 1 0 7 7 4 1 0 1 2 5 8 ENGINE DEPARTMENT 126 125 27 Port July & August 2008 Membership Meetings Trip Reliefs DECK DEPARTMENT 0 0 6 7 2 12 42 26 1 12 10 30 13 17 2 3 9 1 31 29 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 0 3 8 0 8 19 17 0 2 7 8 5 5 0 0 4 0 9 11 106 1 1 2 4 1 2 12 15 0 3 3 2 9 6 1 0 3 1 6 8 80 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 7 43 204 230 53 0 0 1 3 0 1 7 7 0 0 1 6 2 4 0 0 2 0 4 3 2 0 5 9 4 16 33 26 0 6 6 37 7 40 3 4 5 3 28 38 3 2 2 10 1 4 14 15 1 8 7 11 15 8 2 0 2 2 13 10 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 2 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 0 0 4 8 0 15 15 10 0 3 4 11 6 24 3 4 2 0 12 21 142 2 1 3 9 0 3 10 8 0 2 4 6 10 4 0 0 2 1 5 5 75 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 0 0 8 0 15 17 14 0 1 3 12 11 13 2 1 1 0 7 13 118 0 1 2 4 0 2 7 6 0 0 2 6 9 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 44 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 41 272 130 13 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 0 0 1 0 0 4 4 3 0 1 1 5 0 3 0 0 1 0 3 4 2 2 3 3 2 8 20 14 0 4 2 26 15 18 0 8 3 0 10 9 3 0 0 4 1 9 11 11 0 1 2 5 8 13 2 6 0 2 6 6 0 0 1 0 0 2 4 2 0 0 3 2 0 4 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 1 2 2 1 2 17 12 0 3 3 14 12 8 0 8 1 0 9 9 0 0 1 0 0 4 3 4 0 2 0 1 7 1 0 14 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 10 6 0 1 2 13 0 6 0 1 0 0 7 4 7 4 5 8 3 11 31 29 0 9 10 58 28 33 2 6 4 0 29 20 8 0 0 12 1 22 16 28 2 1 4 25 22 25 2 0 1 2 17 23 30 149 90 22 104 40 0 55 297 211 551 613 161 451 413 67 209 1012 1094 372 Seafarers LOG 15 �48717_v4:January 08 5/23/2008 8:35 PM Page 16 Seafarers International Union Directory Snapshots from the Santurce Hall Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters The photos appearing on this page show rankand-file Seafarers at various times when they stopped by the union hall in Santurce, P.R. They were shot and submitted for publication in the LOG by Port Agent Amancio Crespo. Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services AB Juan Ayala René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 AB Enrique Defendini displays the tankerman-PIC certificate he recently earned at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 Seafarers gather at the hall to discuss details of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. AB Xavier Alfaro holds his TWIC. HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 Bosun Noel Otero stops by the hall after completing a voyage aboard the Horizon Producer. Chief Steward Daniel Herrera and his wife, Amariliz, affectionately pose with their daughter, Danieliz. Bosun Abel Vasquez and son, Azael NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG Chief Cook Adalberto Colon OMU Jose Medrano (right) receives his A book from Port Agent Crespo. Recertified Bosun Eric Perez (left), Chief Steward Daniel Herrera PICS-FROM-THE-PAST The photos at right were sent to the LOG by Phil “Flags” Retter of Clearwater, Fla. Both depict the stack of the SS Russell A. Alger as it appeared shortly after the morning hours of New Year’s Day in 1945, during the Battle of the Bulge in Antwerp, Belgium. During the early morning hours of that day, a Navy gun crew aboard the vessel spotted and shot down a German Messerschmitt. Before the day ended, the vessel’s stack was painted with a gunner logo, swastika and ME 109 (shown in the upper left portion of the photo at immediate right). Retter was on the vesel at the time and part of the gun crew credited with downing the enemy aircraft. The individual shown in the photo at far right is Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Carmen Feola. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with other Seafarers LOG readers, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. High-resolution digital images may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org June 2008 �48717_v3:January 08 5/22/2008 9:57 PM Page 17 Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. Welcome Ashore DEEP SEA PAUL BURCKHARD, JR Brother Paul Burckhard, Jr., 65, was born in Tacoma, Wash. He joined the SIU in 1970 while in the port of Seattle. Brother Burckhard initially sailed on the Topa Topa as a member of the engine department. He was a frequent upgrader at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Brother Burckhard’s final trip to sea was aboard the El Faro. He is a resident of Lakewood, Wash. ROBERT JOHNSON Brother Robert Johnson, 58, signed on with the union in 1969 in the port of New York. His first ship was the Boston; his last the USNS Fisher. Brother Johnson was born in Staten Island, N.Y. The deck department member enhanced his seafaring abilities on three occasions at the Piney Point school. Brother Johnson lives in St. Augustine, Fla. JOHN SOKOLIK Brother John Sokolik, 65, became a Seafarer in 1986 while in the port of Seattle. Brother Sokolik originally shipped on the USNS Silas Bent. He most recently sailed aboard the Lightning. In 2000 and 2004, Brother Sokolik, who sailed in the deck department, attended classes at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. The California native now calls Nampa, Idaho, home. GERALD VAN EPPS Brother Gerald Van Epps, 64, joined the SIU in 1967. His earliest trip to sea was on a Seatrain Lines vessel, where he shipped as a member of the engine department. Brother Van Epps visited the Piney Point school in 1973 to upgrade his June 2008 skills. His final voyage was aboard the Patriot. Brother Van Epps resides in Surprise, Ariz. INLAND JAMES ADAWAY Boatman James Adaway, 55, was born in Texas. He signed on with the SIU in 1978 while in the port of Jacksonville, Fla. Boatman Adaway mainly shipped with Crowley Towing & Transportation of Jacksonville. The deck department member enhanced his skills in 2004 at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Boatman Adaway calls Lumberton, Texas home. BRUNO KALMETA Boatman Bruno Kalmeta, 55, donned the SIU colors in 1984 in the port of Wilmington, Calif. Boatman Kalmeta frequently took advantage of educational opportunities offered at the Seafarers-affiliated school. He was primarily employed on Crowley Towing & Transportation of Wilmington vessels. Boatman Kalmeta was born in Yugoslavia but now makes his home in San Pedro, Calif. LOUIS LORTZ, JR. Boatman Louis Lortz Jr., 62, first went to sea in 1973 from the port of Baltimore. He mostly sailed aboard vessels operated by Moran Towing of Maryland. Boatman Lortz worked in the deck department. In 1985, he attended classes at the Paul Hall Center. Boatman Lortz continues to live in his native state of Maryland. WILSON YANSON Boatman Wilson Yanson, 53, became an SIU member in 1975. He initially shipped with Hudson Waterways Corporation as a member of the deck department. Boatman Yanson frequently upgraded his seafaring abilities at the SIUaffiliated school in Piney Point, Md. He was born in Florida. Boatman Yanson most recently sailed aboard the Liberty Island. He is a resident of Panama City Beach, Fla. GREAT LAKES THOMAS PALMER Brother Thomas Palmer, 70, joined the SIU in 1971 in the port of Detroit. He was born in Cleveland. Brother Palmer’s first ship was the Detroit Edison; his last the St. Clair. The deck department member took advantage of educational opportunities available at the Piney Point school in 1980 and 2003. Brother Palmer continues to call Ohio home. GERALD RIFENBARK Brother Gerald Rifenbark, 65, was born in Michigan. He first went to sea in 1988 from Detroit. Brother Rifenbark initially sailed on the Paul H. Townsend as a member of the steward department. In 2004, he enhanced his skills at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Rifenbark’s final voyage was aboard the Susan Hannah. He resides in Interlochen, Mich. MOHAMED SAADI Brother Mohamed Saadi, 62, signed on with the union in 1973 while in Detroit. He originally shipped with Great Lakes Associates. Brother Saadi was born in Arabia. He attended classes on two occasions at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Saadi, who sailed in the steward department, last worked on the American Spirit. He makes his home in Dearborn, Mich. Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers Log. 1945 Three SIU seamen who risked their lives to save their comrades were recently the recipients of service awards. Paul Irwin Valentine, 2nd cook and baker, and Ensign George E. Baker, onetime OS, were awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal. Only 113 of these citations have been made since the beginning of the war. Fireman William A. Sullivan received the Meritorious Service Medal, one of 11 thus far awarded. Editor’s note: The following brother and sister, both former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust, recently went on pension. JOANN HICKS Sister Joann Hicks, 71, joined the NMU in 1979, initially shipping from Port Arthur, Texas. She was born in Houston and sailed as a member of the steward department. Sister Hicks first worked on the Pilgrim. Her last vessel was the Delaware Trader. CHARLES PATTERSON Brother Charles Patterson, 58, became an NMU member in 1970 while in the port of Houston. The steward department member was born in Texas. Brother Patterson’s final voyage was aboard the USNS Fisher. the world, died on June 22, 1980 at the age of 65. Brother Paul Hall, whose legendary battles emblazon the SIU’s history with a deep tradition of victory, succumbed after an eight-month fight against cancer. It’s one of the few battles he ever lost. Announcement of his death sent shock waves throughout the American labor movement and the world maritime industry. Union headquarters was flooded with letters and telegrams from the ships at sea and from around the nation. They expressed deep sorrow and regret for the passing of one of the giants of American labor. They also vividly showed the tremendous amount of respect and admiration Paul Hall earned in his lifelong struggle to constantly improve the lives of American seamen. This Month In SIU His tor y 1967 Addressing nearly 300 delegates during the opening ceremony of the SIUNA convention, House Minority Leader Rep. Gerald Ford said of the U.S. Merchant Marine, “We lack both the ships and manpower to respond adequately to continuing international crisis.” Ford pointed out that the crises in the Middle East and in Vietnam show the need for a strong, efficient U.S. Merchant Marine – American-built, American-crewed ships – capable of handling our worldwide military logistic needs. 1980 Paul Hall, the man who built our union with brawn and brains from a struggling organization of 500 seamen into the number one maritime union in 1991 Sixty-five SIU members were part of a contingent of civilian mariners who on June 8 marched down the streets of Washington, D.C. and past President George Bush in the National Victory Celebration Parade to honor Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm veterans. The military invited civilian mariners to participate because of the major role they played in getting materiel to the troops, marking the first time they were invited to march in a parade. An estimated 200,000 parade viewers were on hand. Seafarers LOG 17 �48717_v3:January 08 5/22/2008 9:59 PM Page 18 Final Departures DEEP SEA MILTON ARMSTEAD Pensioner Milton Armstead, 72, passed away Feb. 5. Brother Armstead joined the SIU in 1964 while in the port of New Orleans. He first sailed on the Tam Guilden as a member of the steward department. Brother Armstead was born in New Orleans. His final trip to sea was aboard the Pioneer Contractor. Brother Armstead went on pension in 1988 and made his home in Houston. EDGAR ARMSTRONG Pensioner Edgar Armstrong, 83, died Jan. 23. Brother Armstrong became a union member in 1951 in the port of Baltimore. He initially shipped on the Calmar; his last vessel was the Developer. Brother Armstrong worked in the engine department. He was born in Maryland but called Vernon Hill, Va., home. Brother Armstrong started collecting his retirement stipends in 1986. LAUREN BRYANT Pensioner Lauren Bryant, 79, passed away Jan. 21. Brother Bryant began sailing with the Seafarers in 1958 from the port of Wilmington, Calif. His first voyage was aboard the Alcoa Explorer. Brother Bryant was born in Kansas and shipped in the engine department. His most recent trip was on the Tacoma. Brother Bryant retired in 1993. He resided in Washington State. DOUGLAS BURCH Brother Douglas Burch, 52, died Jan. 19. He signed on with the union in 1978 in the port of Wilmington, Calif. Brother Burch’s earliest trip to sea was aboard the Santa Mariana. The Alabamaborn mariner worked in the steward department. Brother Burch’s final ship was the Manulani. He settled in Los Angeles. STEVEN COKER Pensioner Steven Coker, 83, passed away Jan. 11. Brother Coker donned the SIU colors in 1951. He initially sailed on a Doric Shipping Corporation vessel. Brother Coker was born in North Carolina. He was a member of the deck department. Brother Coker last went to sea aboard the Cape Fear. In 1989, he began receiving his retirement compensation. Brother Coker lived in Tarboro, N.C. MICHAEL DIANGELO Brother Michael DiAngelo, 36, died Sept. 4, 2007. He was born in Baltimore. Brother DiAngelo joined the Seafarers in 1989 while 18 Seafarers LOG in Piney Point, Md. His first voyage was on the LNG Libra. Brother DiAngelo most recently shipped in the engine department of the Humacao. He made his home in Pasadena, Md. HARRY KAUFMAN Pensioner Harry Kaufman, 89, passed away Jan. 9. Brother Kaufman became an SIU member in 1951 in the port of New York. The New York native worked in the deck department. Brother Kaufman’s first ship was the Wild Ranger; his last the Patriot. He went on pension in 1983 and called Pahrump, Nev., home. JOHN KNOTT Brother John Knott, 59, died Dec. 3. He donned the SIU colors in 1991 in Piney Point, Md. Brother Knott originally sailed aboard the Cape John. He was a member of the engine department. Brother Knott was born in Maryland. His final trip to sea was on the Sgt. William R. Button. Brother Knott was a resident of Leonardtown, Md. FELIPE LUGO Pensioner Felipe Lugo, 91, passed away Jan. 7. Brother Lugo began sailing with the Seafarers in 1945; his earliest journey was aboard a Bloomfield Steamship Company vessel. He was a member of the steward department. Prior to his retirement, Brother Lugo was employed on the Arecibo. He became a pensioner in 1981 and resided in Puerto Rico. RICKEY MASON Brother Rickey Mason, 33, died Feb. 26. He joined the union in 1995 while in the port of Norfolk, Va. Brother Mason initially sailed aboard the USNS Loyal. He was born in Norfolk and worked in the steward department. Brother Mason’s most recent ship was the Marilyn. He still lived in his native city. NICK PALOUMBIS Pensioner Nick Paloumbis, 81, passed away Jan. 29. Brother Paloumbis was born in Greece. He originally shipped with Victory Carriers Inc. Brother Paloumbis sailed in the engine department. His last voyage was aboard the Adventurer. Brother Paloumbis retired in 1991. He continued to make his home in Greece. ANGEL PASSAPERA JEREMY VAUGHAN Pensioner Angel Passapera, 89, died Jan. 29. Brother Passapera, who was born in Puerto Rico, started his seafaring profession in 1944. Brother Passapera first sailed in the inland division on an Edgewater Terminal Corporation vessel. Before his retirement in 1981, he worked aboard the Horizon Mayaguez. Brother Passapera, who sailed in the deck department, called Puerto Rico home. Brother Jeremy Vaughan, 36, passed away Jan. 28. He joined the Seafarers in 2001 in Piney Point, Md. Brother Vaughan originally shipped on the USNS Victorious. He was a member of the engine department. Brother Vaughan’s final trip to sea was aboard the Overseas Maremar. He was born in California but called Weymouth, Mass., home. NEWTON RADER Pensioner Newton Rader, 69, passed away Jan. 29. Brother Rader joined the MC&S (Marine Cooks & Stewards) in 1961 while in the port of San Francisco. His earliest trip to sea was on the Maui. Brother Rader shipped in the steward department. His final journey was aboard the President Grant. Brother Rader settled in Los Angeles. He began collecting his pension in 1999. ROGER SULLIVAN Pensioner Roger Sullivan, 78, died Jan. 20. Brother Sullivan initially sailed with the union in 1951 on the Pan Atlantic. The deck department member was born in Georgia. Brother Sullivan’s last ship was the Bayamon. He lived in Baltimore and went on pension in 1995. ROBERT THOMAS Brother Robert Thomas, 46, passed away Jan. 2. He became an SIU member in 2001. Brother Thomas was born in Pennsylvania. His first voyage was on the Cape Domingo. Brother Thomas most recently worked aboard the Sagamore as a member of the steward department. He was a resident of Savannah, Ga. EDWARD TRESNICK Pensioner Edward Tresnick, 79, died Jan. 11. Brother Tresnick donned the SIU colors in 1948. His first ship was the Robin Hood; his last the Horizon Consumer. Brother Tresnick was born in Allison, Pa., and sailed in the steward department. He retired in 1990 and made his home in Streetsboro, Ohio. THEODORE WALLACE Brother Theodore Wallace, 80, died Jan. 13. He began sailing with the SIU in 1991 from the port of Philadelphia. Brother Wallace was initially employed on the Maj. Bernard F. Fisher. The New York-born mariner shipped in the engine department. Brother Wallace most recently worked aboard the Integrity. He resided in Baltimore, Md. DAWN WILLIAMS Sister Dawn Williams, 52, passed away May 13, 2007. She became a Seafarer in 1997 while in the port of Baltimore. Sister Williams’ earliest voyage was on the Global Mariner. The deck department member was born in Maryland. Sister Williams’ last trip to sea was aboard the Cape Wrath. She lived in Pasadena, Md. INLAND AMERICUS BELL Pensioner Americus Bell, 71, died Jan. 4. Boatman Bell was an Alabama native. He joined the union in 1990 in the port of Mobile, Ala. Boatman Bell was first employed aboard the USNS Chauvenet. He worked in the steward department. Prior to his retirement in 2007, Boatman Bell sailed on the Delta Mariner. He called Mobile home. NATHAN FIDINGER Boatman Nathan Fidinger, 51, passed away Feb. 5. He started his SIU career in 1999 while in the port of Wilmington, Calif. Boatman Fidinger originally shipped in the deep sea division aboard the USNS Watson. He was born in New York and worked in the steward department. Boatman Fidinger’s final trip to sea was on an Intrepid Personnel & Provisioning vessel. He was a California resident. JAMES LUPTON Mathews joined the union in 1978. His earliest trip was with Marine Oil Service Inc. Boatman Mathews was born in Currituck, N.C. His most recent voyage was on a McAllister Towing of Virginia vessel. Boatman Mathews went on pension in 2001 and settled in Grandy, N.C. BILLY PEPPERS Pensioner Billy Peppers, 64, died Jan. 9. Boatman Peppers joined the union in 1977. His first ship was the Seabulk Tanker. Boatman Peppers was born in Arkansas. His final trip to sea was aboard a Higman Barge Lines vessel. Boatman Peppers made his home in Beaumont, Texas. He started receiving his retirement compensation in 2005. GEORGE WOODS Boatman George Woods, 48, passed away Jan. 27. He was born in Texas. Boatman Woods became an SIU member in 1976 in the port of Houston. He primarily sailed on vessels operated by G&H Towing Company. Boatman Woods was a resident of Freeport, Texas. GREAT LAKES CARL HARDEE Brother Carl Hardee, 79, died Jan. 29. He signed on with the union in 1978 in the port of Algonac, Mich. Brother Hardee mainly worked with Luedtke Engineering Company during his seafaring career. He was born in South Carolina but called Leland, N.C., home. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust have passed away. Name Abbington, James Calderon, Wenceslao Carey, Frederick King, Jose Neel, Walter Jr. Santos, Renato Souffront, Luisa Washington, Franklin Age 68 87 75 83 79 87 88 79 DOD Jan. 4 Dec. 6 Dec. 10 Dec. 2 Dec. 3 Dec. 11 Dec. 7 Dec. 7 Pensioner James Lupton, 69, died Dec. 1. Boatman Lupton donned the SIU colors in 1970. He was first employed aboard an IBC Company vessel. Boatman Lupton sailed in the deck department. He last shipped with Mariner Towing. Boatman Lupton retired in 2000 and called Oriental, N.C., home. CHARLES MATHEWS Pensioner Charles Mathews, 70, passed away Feb. 28. Boatman June 2008 �48717_v4:January 08 5/23/2008 8:42 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings ALASKAN EXPLORER (Alaska Tanker Company), March 11 – Chairman Anthony J. Sabatini, Secretary John F. Huyett, Educational Director Detricke R. Kelly, Deck Delegate Dennis Caballero, Steward Delegate David Vaughn. Chairman asked for suggestions as to how safety award money should be spent. He noted that a new washer is to be ordered to replace the broken one. He also discussed upcoming deadline for TWIC cards and reviewed the process to obtain one. Secretary talked about safety award and reminded crew members that they were still in competition for another award which will be announced in the next few days. Educational director urged Seafarers to watch training videos and take advantage of educational opportunities available at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew noted their TVs had become loose and broken during rough weather; arrangements to be made to purchase new ones. Next ports: Richmond, Benicia and San Francisco, Calif. AMERICAN TERN (Osprey), March 9 – Chairman Hernando M. Bansuelo, Secretary John S. Greubel, Steward Delegate David A. Brown III. Chairman reported payoff to take place in Port Hueneme, Calif., on March 12. He requested status of wage increases and encouraged mariners to contribute to SPAD (Seafarers Political Activity Donation). Secretary stated that stores would be reviewed upon arrival in Port Hueneme. Educational director urged crew to upgrade when possible at the Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Members would like transformers for every room and installation of non-skid adhesive in showers. Requests were also made for more movies and a treadmill for the gym. Next port: Port Hueneme, Calif. CHARGER (Maersk Line, Limited), March 14 – Chairman Robert Pagan Jr., Secretary Raymond S. Garcia, Educational Director Richard A. Huffman, Deck Delegate Raymond P. Vicari, Engine Delegate Yahya A. Mohamed, Steward Delegate Curtis W. Williams. Bosun reminded members to clean their rooms before departing vessel and leave keys on desk in room. Secretary reported smooth sailing. Educational director reminded Seafarers to enhance skills at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Concerns were raised pertaining to room temperatures. Crew discussed proper disposal of trash. Next port: Los Angeles. COMMITMENT (Maersk Line, Limited), March 30 – Chairman Edward J. O’Conner, Secretary Stephanie L. Sizemore, Educational Director Dennis R. Baker, Deck Delegate Edwin Ortega, Steward Delegate Justino Martinez. Chairman noted good trip with no injuries. He discussed TWIC program and supplied crew with copies and details about applying for TWIC card. Sanitary inspection to take place prior to payoff in Elizabeth, N.J. Secretary expressed gratitude to crew members for helping keep ship clean with a special thanks to SA Justino Martinez and Wiper Wadeea Alnasafi for outstanding work. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Educational director surveyed interest in new Seafarers 401(k) plan and talked about the difference between traditional and Roth IRA contribution. Letter received from headquarters was read and discussed. Suggestion was made to lower seatime requirements for medical benefits and lower retirement age. It was reported that a new phone was installed in the crew mess. Bosun thanked steward department for good food and for keeping the cookie jar well supplied. Next ports: Elizabeth, N.J., Charleston, S.C., and Houston. GLOBAL SENTINEL (Transoceanic Cable Ship Company), March 12 – Chairman Joseph J. Olsen, Secretary Shawn R. Fujiwara, Educational Director Lothar Wick, Deck Delegate Terrence X. Carmody. Chairman reported smooth voyage and asked crew to leave rooms clean when getting off vessel. He informed members that ship was getting an updated server and new computers which will offer access to the internet. He encouraged everyone to enroll for the TWIC and reminded The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships’ minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. With Seafarers Aboard the Seabulk Challenge The SIU-crewed Seabulk Challenge recently made a stop in Piney Point, Md., home of the Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. SIU Piney Point Port Agent Pat Vandegrift met with crew members and submitted these photos. Pictured left to right are (seated) AB German Guevarra, UA Christopher Gonseth, Recertified Bosun Harold Sebring, SA Ernest Britt, AB Jack Gainers, (standing) AB David Harvey, AB Jose Baltazar, OMU Larry Guerrero, 2nd Pumpman Naveed Khalid and UA Hubert Davis. After meeting with the unlicensed crew, Port Agent Pat Vandegrift (right) is joined by AB Richard Crutchfield (left) and Recertified Bosun Harold Sebring for this photo. them the card must be picked up at the same office where the individual applied. Secretary provided update on steward department personnel. All aboard were reminded that any injury requiring more than basic first aid is subject to drug and alcohol testing. Educational director urged mariners to attend classes at the Paul Hall Center. Crew was reminded to keep all necessary seafaring documents current. Treasurer stated $4,800 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made concerning Procedure for SIU Absentee Ballots Elections for the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are scheduled for later this year. As in past SIU election years, a comprehensive guide will be published in the Seafarers LOG prior to the balloting. In the case of members eligible to vote who believe they will be at sea during the Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, 2008 voting period, absentee ballots will be available. The SIU constitution ensures that members who are eligible to vote and who find themselves in this situation may vote. Procedures are established in the SIU constitution to safeguard the secret ballot election, including the absentee ballot process. Here is the procedure to follow when requesting an absentee ballot: 1. Make the request in writing to the SIU office of the secretary-treasurer, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. 2. Include in the request the correct address where the absentee ballot should be mailed. 3. Send the request for an absentee ballot by registered or certified mail. 4. The registered or certified mail envelope must be June 2008 postmarked no later than midnight, Nov. 15, 2008 and must be received at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 no later than Nov. 25, 2008. 5. The secretary-treasurer, after confirming eligibility, will send by registered mail, return receipt requested, to the address designated in the request, a ballot, together with an envelope marked “Ballot” and a mailing envelope no later than Nov. 30, 2008. 6. Upon receiving the ballot and envelope, vote by marking the ballot. After voting the ballot, place the ballot in the envelope marked “Ballot.” Do not write on the “Ballot” envelope. 7. Place the envelope marked “Ballot” in the mailing envelope which is imprinted with the mailing address of the bank depository where all ballots are sent. 8. Sign the mailing envelope on the first line of the upper left-hand corner. Print name and book number on the second line. The mailing envelope is selfaddressed and stamped. 9. The mailing envelope must be postmarked no later than midnight, Dec. 31, 2008 and received by the bank depository no later than Jan. 5, 2009. Shown in the galley are (from left) Chief Steward Tim Dowd, Chief Cook Heath Bryan, SA Ernest Britt and UA Hubert Dennis. information about job descriptions of GVA and (when applicable) third cook. New mattresses are being ordered for crew. Concerns were voiced about food budget and stores. HORIZON TIGER (Horizon Lines), March 31 – Chairman Mark S. Lance, Secretary Terry L. Allen, Educational Director Charles L. Wharton, Engine Delegate Prentiss R. Smith. Chairman announced payoff upon arrival on April 5 in Tacoma, Wash. He urged members to look into 401(k) plan. Secretary asked crew when using the small washer to not use a lot of soap, or it will not operate properly. Mariners departing vessel were asked to leave room clean for next member. Educational director stated that all rooms should have a transformer; if not, he needs to be informed. Treasurer noted $540 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew discussed seatime requirements to maintain benefits and suggested reducing the minimum number to 120 days. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash. and Oakland, Calif. INTREPID (Maersk Line, Limited), March 6 – Chairman Abdulla R. Alwaseem, Secretary James E. Harper, Engine Delegate Andrew J. Linares. Crew noted no resolution concerning issues with furniture in crew mess and crew lounge. Chairman stated payoff to take place on March 8 in Long Beach, Calif. He recommended upgrading at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. Secretary suggested all members invest in the new SIU 401(k) Plan. Treasurer reported $3,500 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew would like direct deposit for vacation checks and lump-sum buyout for eligible members. Crew requested clarification on certain work rules for steward department. Next port: Long Beach, Calif. OVERSEAS LUXMAR (OSG Ship Management), March 26 – Chairman Charles H. Foley, Secretary Lovie L. Perez, Educational Director William Pough, Deck Delegate Timothy P. Kauble, Engine Delegate Oscar Ruiz, Steward Delegate Luis Gonzalez. Chairman talked to captain about travel pay to Portugal and was told it should be in the March payoff. He reported a new microwave has been ordered and is expected to be delivered in Houston. Union officials should be arriving aboard the ship in Port Everglades, Fla., to discuss matter involving lack of water. Mariners were asked to keep better track of their OT. No beefs or disputed OT reported. It was noted that lockers on deck have no lights, chief cook needs a new lock on his door and showers surge hot water. Next port: Port Everglades, Fla. Seafarers LOG 19 �48717_v3:January 08 5/22/2008 10:02 PM Page 20 SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SIU PACIFIC DISTRICT SEAFARERS MEDICAL CENTER FUND This is a summary of the annual report of the SIU Pacific District Seafarers Medical Center Fund, EIN 94-2430964 for the year ended June 30, 2007. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Benefits under the Plan are provided by the SIU Pacific District Seafarers Medical Center Fund, a trust fund. Basic Financial Statement The value of Plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the Plan, was $(134,986) as of June 30, 2007, compared to $(291,971) as of July 1, 2006. During the Plan year, the Plan experienced an increase in its net assets of $156,985. During the Plan year, the plan had a total income of $649,792 including employer contributions of $478,577, earnings from investments of $133 and other income of $171,082. Plan expenses were $492,807. These expenses included $397,016 in administrative expenses and $95,791 in benefits paid to or for participants and beneficiaries. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report. 1. An accountant report; 2. Financial information and information on payments to service providers; and 3. Assets held for investment. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of the SIU Pacific District Seafarers Medical Center Fund, 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107; telephone (415) 392-3611. The charge to cover copying costs will be $2.75 for the full annual report, or $.25 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the Plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the Plan and the accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the Plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the Plan administrator, these two statements and the accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the Plan, at 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107, and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of coping costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to Public Disclosure Room, Room N1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20210. ANNUAL FUNDING NOTICE FOR NMU PENSION PLAN Introduction This notice, which federal law requires all multiemployer plans to send annually includes important information about the funding level of the NMU Pension Plan, Plan # 001, Federal ID # 13-6592643. This notice also includes information about rules governing insolvent plans and benefit payment guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal agency. This notice is for the plan year beginning January 1, 2007 and ending December 31, 2007 (2007). Plan’s Funding Level The Plan’s “funded current liability percentage” for the Plan Year was 131.48%. In general, the higher the percentage, the better funded the plan. The funded current liability percentage, however, is not indicative of how well a plan will be funded in the future or if it terminates. Whether this percentage will increase or decrease over time depends on a number of factors, including how the plan’s investments perform, what assumptions the plan makes about rates of return, whether employer contributions to the fund increase or decline, and whether benefit payments from the fund increase or decline. Plan’s Financial Information The market value of the Plan’s assets of January 1, 2007 was $282,684,901. The total amount of benefit payments for the Plan Year was $23,112,227. The ratio of assets to benefit payments is 12.2. This ratio suggests that the Plan’s assets could provide for approximately 12 years of benefit payments in annual amounts equal to what was paid out in the Plan Year. However, the ratio does not take into account future changes in total benefit payments or plan assets. Rules Governing Insolvent Plans Federal Law has a number of special rules that apply to financially troubled multiemployer plans. Under so-called “plan reorganization rules,” a plan with adverse financial experience may need to increase required contributions and may, under certain circumstances, reduce benefits that are not eligible for the PBGC’S guarantee (generally, benefits that have been in effect for less than 60 months). If a plan is in reorganization status, it must provide notification that the plan is in reorganization status and that, if contributions are not increased, accrued benefits under the plan may be reduced or an excise tax may be imposed (or both). The law requires the plan to furnish this notification to each contributing employer and the labor organization. Despite the special plan reorganization rules a plan in reorganization nevertheless could become insolvent. A plan is insolvent for a plan year if its available financial resources are not sufficient to pay benefits when due for the plan year. An insolvent plan must reduce benefit payments to the highest level that can be paid from the plan’s available financial resources. If such resources are not enough to pay benefits at a level specified by law (see Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC, below), the plan must apply to the PBGC for financial assistance. The PBGC, by law, will loan the plan the amount necessary to pay benefits at the guaranteed level. Reduced benefits may be restored if the plan’s financial condition improves. A plan that becomes insolvent must provide prompt notification of the insolvency to participants and beneficiaries, contributing employers, labor unions representing participants, and PBGC. In addition, participants and beneficiaries also must receive information regarding whether, and how, their benefits will be reduced or affected as a result of the insolvency, including loss of a lump sum option. This information will be provided for each year the plan is insolvent. Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC The maximum benefit that the PBGC guarantees is set by law. Only vested benefits are guaranteed. Specifically, the PBGC guarantees a monthly benefit payment equal to 100 percent of the first $11 of the Plan’s monthly benefit accrual rate, plus 75 percent of the next $33 of the accrual rate, times each year of credited service. The PBGC’s maximum guaran- tee, therefore, is $35.75 per month times a participant’s years of credited service. Example 1: If a participant with 10 years of credited service has an accrued monthly benefit of $500, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the PBGC guarantee would be determined by dividing the monthly benefit by the participant’s years of service ($500/10), which equals $50. The guaranteed amount for $50 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $24.75 (.75 x $33), or $35.75. thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit is $357.50 ($35.75 x 10). Example 2: If the participant in Example 1 has an accrued monthly benefit of $200, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the guarantee would be $20 (or $200/10). The guaranteed amount for a $20 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $6.75 (.75 x$9), or $17.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit would be $177.50 ($17.75 x 10). In calculating a person’s monthly payment, the PBGC will disregard any benefit increases that were made under the plan within 60 months before the earlier of the plan’s termination or insolvency. Similarly, the PBGC does not guarantee pre-retirement death benefits to a spouse or beneficiary (e.g., a qualified pre-retirement annuity) if the participant dies after the plan terminates, benefits above the normal retirement benefit, disability benefits not in pay status, or non-pension benefits, such as health insurance, life insurance, death benefits, vacation pay, or severance pay. Where to Get More Information For more information about this notice, you may write Miriam Bove at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 or call at 718-499-6600 ext. 242. For more information about the PBGC and multiemployer benefit guarantees, go to PBGC’s website, www.pbgc.gov, or call PBGC toll-free at 1800-400-7242 (TTY/TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll free at 1800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 1-800-400-7272). Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. 20 Seafarers LOG PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. June 2008 �48717_v4x:January 08 5/27/2008 1:10 PM Page 21 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the next few months of 2008. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Course Start Date Date of Completion Marine Electrician October 27 December 19 Marine Refrigeration Technician July 21 September 29 August 29 November 6 Pumpman August 11 August 22 Welding July 7 September 1 October 6 November 3 December 1 July 25 September 19 October 23 November 21 December 19 Safety Specialty Courses Deck Upgrading Courses Advanced Fire Fighting (must have basic fire fighting) June 30 July 11 Basic Safety Training/Basic Fire Fighting June 16 June 23 July 21 June 20 June 27 July 25 Fast Rescue Boat June 16 July 14 August 18 September 8 June 20 July 18 August 22 September 12 Government Vessels (Week 1) June 23 June 27 November 14 December 19 Medical Care Provider July 14 September 8 July 18 September 12 September 1 September 12 Tanker Assistant (DL) Lifeboatman/Water Survival June 23 August 4 September 15 October 27 July 4 August 15 September 26 November 7 June 30 August 25 September 22 October 20 November 10 July 11 September 5 October 3 October 31 November 21 Radar September 22 November 3 October 3 November 14 Radar Renewal (one day) June 23 October 27 December 8 June 23 October 27 December 8 August 4 August 25 September 29 October 20 November 24 August 15 September 5 October 10 October 31 December 5 October 14 November 3 Start Date Date of Completion July 7 August 18 September 29 November 10 August 1 September 12 October 23 December 5 June 16 October 6 November 17 June 20 October 10 November 21 Celestial Navigation October 20 November 24 GMDSS Course Able Seaman Automated Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) (must have radar unlimited) Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman (STOS) Bosun Recertification Course Engine Upgrading Courses Advanced Container Maintenance (Refer) September 1 November 10 September 26 December 5 Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations (BAPO) July 21 September 15 November 10 August 15 October 10 December 5 Fireman/Watertender/Oiler (FOWT) June 16 August 18 October 13 July 11 September 12 November 6 Junior Engineer July 7 August 29 Machinist July 7 July 21 July 25 August 8 UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Date of Birth ______________________ Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____ Department ___________ E-mail ____________________________ Yes No Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes start every other Monday. The most recent class began May 26. Steward Recertification Course July 14 August 4 Aug. 18 Sept. 8 Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be selfstudy. Online “Distance Learning” Courses In addition to the foregoing courses, the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education currently is offering the following internet-based courses: Environmental Awareness; Hazardous Material Control and Management; Hearing Conservation; Heat Stress Management; Shipboard Pest Management; Respiratory Protection, and Shipboard Water Sanitation. The courses are free to mariners covered by SIU contracts. To register, complete the regular upgrading application located on the bottom left portion of this page, and mail it to: Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075. Applicants will receive user account information from the center via e-mail. They are therefore urged to provide their e-mail addresses in the space provided on the application. Applicants should also include the word “online” when listing the courses they wish to take. With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and fifty (150) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. COURSE BEGIN DATE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. U.S. Citizen: Steward Upgrading Courses Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Yes Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ June 2008 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 6/08 Seafarers LOG 21 �48717_v4:January 08 5/23/2008 8:46 PM Page 22 Paul Hall Cent er Classes Chief Cook - The following upgraders recently graduated from this course. Graduating (above, from left) were Edna Jones, Peter Schuetz, Alejandro Nejia, Dawn Johnson, Terrance Sawyer and Leslie McGirt. Their instructor, John Dobson, is second from right in dark shirt. Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 701 – Unlicensed apprentices from Class 701 recently graduated from the water survival course. Those graduating from the course (above in alphabetical order) were Ryan Bernal, David Brady, Tony Brinkley, Victor Chevalier, Mitchell Childress, John Curran, Jedrek Funkhouser, Marcus Gramby, Jonathan Johnson, Joseph Loureiro, LaToya Lunford, Matthew Martel, Cory Mulligan, Lazaro Rivera, Ronnie Rodriguez, Keith Rogers, Nelson Velez, Charles Wagner, John Wahl, Nicole Walton and Enoch Winrod. Their instructor, Tom Truitt, is at far right. (Note: Not all are pictured.) STOS - The following upgraders (in alphabetical order) on May 9 completed this course: Seddik Ali, Joselito Beof, Curtrina Duck, Matthew Hojna, Marc Kretzera and Sandy Santiago. Their instructor, Stan Beck, is far right. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Welding - The following individuals (above, in alphabetical order) graduated from this class on April 25: Sterling Cox, Norman Hook, Billie Marshall, David McRoy Jr., Travis Moody, Montree Nakwichet, Rodney Payne and Velez Enrique. Their instructor, Buzzy Andrews, is standing fourth from left. (Note: Not all are pictured.) ARPA – Eight upgraders on April 18 completed this 32-hour course. Those graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were Mark Kane, Todd Keith, Kevin Kirk, W. Tyson Little, Chris Mahannan, Gil Pruitt, William Ray and Christopher Vincenzo. Stacey Harris, their instructor, is at far right. Advance Firefighting - The following Express Marine boatmen (photo above, in alphabetical order) on May 2 completed this course: David Goodwin, Sherwood Lewis Jr., Clifton Potter Jr., Russell Shores, Stephen Stockwell, Timothy Thomas and Jonathan West Sr. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Tankship Familiarization DL - Sixteen upgraders (photo at left) on April 4 completed their requirements for graduation from this course. Those graduating (in alphabetical order) were Dennis Adjetey, Glenn Agustin, Eric Bridges, Jon Bumgarner, Barry Burns, William Coronacion, Cirico Geonanga Jr., Russell Hayden, Kathleen Kemp, Arnedo Parades, Michael Proveaux, Rolando Salamat, Wilson Trayvilla, Mariette Wright, Joseph Yamson and Cecil Yearwood. Jim Shaffer, their instructor, is standing, far left. 22 Seafarers LOG June 2008 �48717_v4:January 08 5/23/2008 8:49 PM Page 23 Paul Hall Cent er Classes Water Survival - The following individuals (in alphabetical order) completed this 60-hour course April 11: Paulino Amaya, Terence Bennett, Marcelino Cayabyab, James Copeland, Tash Ismail, Mohammad Khan, Joseph Kranjnik, Nabil Mali, Spencer Reed, Carl Robinson and Jamal Sailan. Bernabe Pelingon, their instructor, is standing, far right. Pumpman - Two upgraders completed this course on April 18. They were (above, in alphabetical order) Dennis Adjetey and Alfonzo Davis. Their instructor, Jim Shaffer, is standing. STCW - The following upgraders (above, in alphabetical order) on April 11 completed this course: Khaled Ahmed, Dan Hanlon, Michael Kelley, Randy Knipfer, Howard Randle, Terri Sales, Peter Schultz and Jason Smith. Tankerman PIC Barge - The Crowley Towing boatmen above completed this class April 11. Graduating (in alphabetical order) were David Brown, Nathanial Burkes, Bradley Cunningham, Brian Deedler, Brian Evans, Jeff Johnson, Steve Kearney, Chris Maibaum, Edgar Melendez, Meg Noonan, Dennis Spear, Matthew Tanner, Tommy Thompson, Jeremy Tyler, Greg Wall and Paul Warner. Also completing the course was ASTI Instructor Forrest McGee (standing third from left in second row). Mitch Oakley, the class instructor, is next to Mcgee, in light, collared shirt. Tankerman Pic Barge - Twenty-four upgraders on April 25 graduated from this course. Completing the curriculum (in alphabetical order) were Rigoberto Beata, Eric Bridges, Timothy Cox, Chad Cunningham, Enrique Defendini, Christopher Dickens, Cleveland Foy, Frank Guido, Kenric Henry, Gary Hirsch, James Knute, Marc Kretzer, Sergey Kurchenko, Anthony McNeil, Romualdo Medina, Stephen Morris, Darrin Murray, Victor Nunez, Anthony Pace, Gil Quinines, Angelo Schiraldi, Paul Stardish, David Turinski and Michael Willis. Their instructor, Mitch Oakley, is pictured at far right, front row. June 2008 Seafarers LOG 23 �48717_v4:January 08 5/23/2008 8:54 PM Page 24 Volume 70, Number 6 June 2008 TWIC Deadline Changed to April 15, 2009 - Pages 2, 10 Seabulk Trader Overseas Luxmar The Seabulk Trader (bottom left) recently called on the Port of Ft. Lauderdale. Crew members included Chief Steward James Harris and Chief Cook David Coggio (top left photo). The crew also consisted of (photo above, in alphabetical order) Bosun Bobby Coleman, GUDE Moriah Collier, AB Geoffrey Hall, AB Carson Jordan, SA David Marquez and AB Melvin Smalls. Scenes From In & Around The Port Of Ft. Lauderdale The Port of Ft. Lauderdale is the scene of almost non-stop activity in the maritime industry. Rank-and-file SIU members on a daily basis enter and exit the port while doing their jobs aboard union-contracted vessels. The photos appearing on this page--shot and submitted for publication in the Seafarers LOG by Ft. Lauderdale Safety Rep. Kevin Marchand--capture some of that activity. It’s business as usual aboard the Overseas Luxmar. Clockwise from top left Chief Cook Luis Gonzales cleans the grill in the ship galley following a meal while Bosun Winfred Itima, AB Jose Calix and SA Justo Flores conduct a meeting in the dining area. Calix (above right) operates one of the ship’s loading cranes while AB Nelson Montoya (above left) survey’s the vessel deck. Overseas New York Tug Columbia The Overseas New York (above) enters Port Everglades during its maiden voyage. The New York is the newest vessel in the OSG America tanker fleet. OS Carlos Zelaya (left in the inset photo above) and AB Bruce Godfrey meet on the deck of the Tug Columbia. Both are tankermen aboard the vessel. Sea Venture The USS Transport-operated Sea Venture (photo at right) enters Port Everglades, Fla. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 June 2008 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES TWIC DEADLINE CHANGES TO APRIL ’09; MARINERS STILL URGED TO APPLY ASAP COMMITTEE SELECTS SEVEN INDIVIDUALS TO RECEIVE 4-YEAR, $20K SCHOLARSHIPS INDEPENDENCE II JOINS SEAFARERS FLEET HOSPITAL SHIP BEGINS MISSION USNS MERCY STARTS 40MONTH HUMANITARIAN DEPLOYMENT MAJESTIC MAY SELL DELTA QUEEN PAUL HALL CENTER’S ONLINE COURSES RECEIVE HIGH MARKS SEAFARERS TO SAIL ON APTLY NAMED ‘SWIFT’ SIU-CREWED WESTWARD VENTURE FIRES WARNING SHOTS IN GULF RECERTIFIED BOSUN SAVES LIFE OF TRAPPED SHIPMATE SIU SHIPS OFFLOAD CARGO FOR ‘COBRA GOLD’ COLUMNISTS CREDITS SIU STEWARD DEPARTMENTS, PAUL HALL CENTER SEALAND METEOR MAKES HISTORIC PORT CALL IN JAPAN ANNUAL STATEMENTS SENT TO SMPPP PARTICIPANTS BOSUN ‘SNAKE’ WILLIAMS DIES AT 80 MAERSK’S ‘DRIVE TO ZERO’ PRODUCES SAFE RESULTS SEAFARERS ASSIST IN ANTITERRORISM EXERCISE CIVMARS ASSIST IN GULF OF ADEN RESCUE Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 06/01/2008 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. 70, No. 6 2008 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/c8df30f5998dfbaf9259e3c21a5b0d3a.pdf 662a5338be0dcb00a4ccb570b6430c87 PDF Text Text 47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:18 AM Page 1 Volume 70, Number 5 May 2008 4th OSG Tanker Delivered Additional Construction Continues At Aker Philadelphia Shipyard The Seafarers-contracted tanker Overseas New York (above), built at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, was delivered April 11. SIU-contracted OSG America will operate the new tanker as well as the others in the yard’s current build program. Three more tankers are under construction at Aker Philadelphia, including the two pictured at left. Page 3. Government Services Division Welcomes New T-AKE Ship U.S. Navy Photo The dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Amelia Earhart (left) is launched April 6 during a nighttime christening at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. The ship is the sixth vessel in the Navy’s new T-AKE series. It will be crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division and, like others in the program, will deliver vital cargo to Navy ships at sea, allowing them to remain under way, on station and combat-ready for extended periods. Page 4. Mariners Need TWIC by Sept. 25 The federally mandated deadline for U.S. mariners to obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) is Sept. 25, 2008. At left, Seafarer Marqualis Matthews enrolls for the credential at the designated office in La Plata, Md. For a list of enrollment centers and other information concerning the TWIC program, see pages 12-13. Stewards Reflect on Union, School The SIU’s newest recertified stewards (left) graduated April 7 from their class in Piney Point, Md. During the monthly membership meeting, the Seafarers shared insightful views on the SIU and its affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. Pictured from left to right are Roderick Clay, Robert Easley, Grady Ingram, Charles Brooks, James Cameron, Josue Iglesia Jr. and Hazel Johnson Jr. Page 7. Safety Milestone for ATC Page 6 Another Honor for Horizon Falcon Page 9 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:18 AM Page 2 President’s Report Honoring U.S. Mariners This month, our industry looks forward to National Maritime Day on May 22. It’s a day of appropriate recognition for the U.S. Merchant Marine, first approved by Congress 75 years ago. Some of the Maritime Day observances in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere at times have focused on the U.S. Merchant Marine’s vital, heroic role in World War II. Those ceremonies are deeply appreciated and quite fitting. But, National Maritime Day is about the whole history of the nation’s mariners, right up to present day. After all, the original Michael Sacco Congressional resolution establishing the day was enacted in 1933, some eight years before America entered WWII. The overall sentiment of Maritime Day was captured quite well in the opening lines of the 2007 presidential proclamation: “America has a proud maritime history, and the United States Merchant Marine has played a vital role in helping meet our country’s economic and national security needs. On National Maritime Day, we honor merchant mariners for their dedication to promoting commerce and protecting our freedom.” Today’s Seafarers are proudly upholding the traditions of “promoting and protecting” the United States of America. For example, SIU members recently helped our armed forces achieve a milestone with deliveries of MRAPs, a relatively new military vehicle that is literally a lifesaver for our troops who are serving in harm’s way. Seafarers have answered the call from the very first moments of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, just as we did in World War II, when more than 1,200 of our members made the ultimate sacrifice. Away from the spotlight, SIU members steadily continue getting the job done in the commercial sector, sailing aboard tankers, containerships, tugboats and other vessels that contribute to the nation’s economy and economic security. This month also marks the annual convention of the American Merchant Marine Veterans, an organization mostly composed of mariners who sailed in World War II, but one that enthusiastically welcomes today’s mariners, too. The SIU in recent years has supported the AMMV’s push to enact legislation calling for compensation to World War II mariners or their surviving spouses. We will continue supporting the bill, titled The Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act. To our brothers and sisters in the AMMV, many of whom sailed SIU, I say, “Don’t give up the fight.” As you know, it took more than 40 years to secure veterans’ status for the WWII mariner. The numbers have thinned, but this is a group that’s not easily deterred. The bottom line is that recognizing the U.S. Merchant Marine of World War II at National Maritime Day ceremonies is heartwarming and proper. It certainly would be no less appropriate to show our country’s gratitude by enacting the Belated Thank You bill. From the Heart On occasion, Seafarers may have heard me say that in many ways I view the SIU as a big family, rather than just a union. I don’t care if it sounds corny because the sentiment comes straight from the heart. That feeling was reinforced last month when I heard the graduation speeches of the seven SIU members who just completed recertification at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. They come from different backgrounds, and their individual stories have unique elements. But, the common thread is that they found a home in the SIU – and they have wisely taken advantage of the career opportunities here to make a good living and provide for their families. In the long run, that’s what the SIU is all about. We are proud to be part of America’s fourth arm of defense. We are proud to represent the world’s best-trained crews. We are proud of our contracts and our productive, respectful relationships with other unions and other entities from throughout the maritime industry, whether we’re talking about labor, management, government or the military. We most definitely are proud of our affiliated school in Piney Point. But first and foremost, we are about jobs and job security – and, by extension, helping SIU members and their families live the American dream. Volume 70, Number 5 SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel (right) presents Maritime Union of Australia General Secretary Paddy Crumlin (left) with an honorary SIU book as well as a ship’s wheel commemorating the 10th anniversary of a key event in MUA history. SIU QMED Mike Fay (center), son of the late SIU Executive Vice President John Fay, a close ally of the MUA, takes part in the presentation Secretary-Treasurer Carries Solidarity Message to MUA SIU’s Heindel also Emphasizes Grassroots Political Action SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel last month discussed the importance of solidarity and grassroots political action when he addressed the Maritime Union of Australia’s national conference in Sydney. Heindel, who addressed the approximately 450 delegates, guests and MUA officers attending the week-long event, also presented an honorary SIU book and ship’s wheel to MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin, the union’s top official. Officers from several other international unions also spoke at the convention, including representatives from the International Longshoremen’s Association; International Longshore and Warehouse Union; Britain-based National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT); South African Transport and Allied Workers Union; Australian Workers’ Union; Maritime Union of New Zealand; All Japan Seamen’s Union; and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (based in Australia). Speakers from various labor federations including the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) – on which Heindel serves as first vice chair of the Seafarers’ Section – also spoke at the conference, which took place April 7-11. The convention occurred during the 10th anniversary of the Patrick dispute, a difficult but crucial and historic triumph for the MUA. That fight involved the attempted firings and forcible removal from the workplace of some 2,000 union dockworkers. Much of the conference focused on organizing and political action, with emphasis on how unions and labor federations from around the world can best work together in order to promote and protect workers’ rights. During his address on April 8, Heindel commended Crumlin and the entire MUA for the union’s overall practical approach, whatever the task. He noted that although the most effective methods for achieving gains on the waterfront or aboard ship have changed over many decades, unions must remain diligent at all times. “In the maritime industry, whether seagoing or stevedoring, nothing can be taken for granted,” Heindel said. “We have to fight on a daily basis to protect our memberships and their interests. Our unions have always had to fight – we took to the streets for higher wages, the eight-hour work day, health care, and the list goes on and on…. “The bottom line is that in much the same way that national government affects our members, international treaties, international laws and their application at the state level profoundly impacts not only the rank-and-file but the unions themselves. So do the policies and agreements we’re able to forge through the ITF, ILO and the IMO, among others.” He discussed U.S. maritime laws and what it takes to maintain support for those initiatives, including the U.S. Maritime Security Program and Jones Act. Heindel concluded, “Grassroots political action and solidarity are vital to both our organizations, not just locally or even nationally but internationally as well. I believe that our involvement in the ITF is nothing short of critical to our success and future, and just like the SIU needs to be in Washington with our eyes and ears open, our unions had better be in the international arena, too, representing the interests of our memberships. Being there might not assure victory, but being absent would ensure very undesirable results.” May 2008 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 207909998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2008 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. Delegates and guests show support for one of the speakers. 2 Seafarers LOG May 2008 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:18 AM Page 3 Construction continues on Hull 009, another component of the tanker program. The Overseas New York is the fourth in a series of Seafarers-contracted double-hulled tankers delivered by Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. Tanker Overseas New York Delivered Keel Laying Takes Place for 10th Vessel Built at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard The tanker program at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard is progressing in timely and efficient fashion, including the delivery last month of the Overseas New York – the fourth Seafarers-contracted ship in a series of 12 scheduled for completion by early 2011. As previously reported, the program also features an “option agreement” for up to 13 additional doublehulled product tankers, meaning the total could reach 25 ships. The 600-foot-long Overseas New York was christened April 7 and delivered four days later. According to the shipyard, the newest ship, like the others in the program, will be leased for charter in the Jones Act market to SIU-contracted OSG America. “The Overseas New York and the other tankers that have already been delivered signify good news not just for the SIU but for the American maritime industry as a whole,” said SIU President Michael Sacco. “When you see new, quality tonnage entering the domestic fleet, it represents shipboard and shore-side jobs and a boost to the economy.” Aker Philadelphia Shipyard President Dave Meehan stated, “Completion of this vessel is very significant, and not just because it is delivered on the very day we promised our investors three years ago. We have made the task of successfully building ships here in Philadelphia routine and expected. Still, we can never lose sight of the hard work and challenges overcome by the men and women who built this vessel. The Overseas New York is going to be a valuable addition to Aker American Shipping’s modern fleet of tankers.” A week before the christening, the shipyard conduct- ed a keel-laying ceremony for the sixth Veteran Class MT46 tanker (a ship scheduled for completion next year). As part of the ceremony, coins were placed under the keel block, recreating a longstanding shipbuilding tradition whereby special coins are hidden in the keel section of a vessel as a permanent symbol of good fortune and safe travels. That particular ship is the tenth constructed by the yard since 2000. Besides the other tankers already built (Overseas Los Angeles, Overseas Houston and Overseas Long Beach) or currently under construction, Aker Philadelphia also built four containerships for Seafarerscontracted Matson. Each tanker weights approximately 46,000 deadweight tons and is capable of transporting the equivalent of 14 million gallons of liquid product. NY Waterway Crews Approve 3-Year Pact Seafarers employed by NY Waterway have approved a new three-year contract that boosts wages and includes other gains. Members ratified the agreement while aboard the boat Bravest, with more than 75 percent of the votes in favor of the new contract. More than 100 Seafarers work at NY Waterway, a passenger ferry service that operates in New York and New Jersey. The SIU’s negotiating team consisted of Atlantic Coast Vice President Joseph Soresi, Patrolman Joseph Baselice, Captain George Sullivan and Deckhand George Schumpp. Negotiations were reasonably smooth and took place over a six-month period. “The process was a great experi- ence,” stated Sullivan. “Members, the union and the company all worked well together in the process.” “It’s clearly a good contract,” Soresi said. “We didn’t lose a single job, and there is no increase in members’ out-of-pocket expenses for health care premiums for all three years. In this day and age, we all know how significant health care costs can be…. This is a mutually beneficial contract for the members and the company.” In addition to wage increases in each year of the agreement, the contract also returns members to the Seafarers Pension and Plan and allows, for the first time, participation in the separate Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan. The union also secured an extra holiday (Presidents’ Day) for the crews. Seafarers aboard NY Waterway vessels transport tens of thousands of passengers each day, most of them commuters. The crews perhaps are best known for their heroic roles in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when they evacuated upwards of 160,000 people from Manhattan. A few of the NY Waterway boats operated into the pre-dawn hours of the next day, providing help for emergency crews. Several SIU members rescued people who had fallen from piers into the water, most likely because of terrible visibility. Members of the SIU negotiating team included (from left) Deckhand Delegate George Schumpp, Captain Delegate George Sullivan and SIU Patrolman Joe Baselice. Also serving on the committee was SIU VP Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi. May 2008 U.S. Navy Photo Seafarers have delivered many MRAPs to U.S. troops. In this mid-January photo, the vehicles are ready for offload from the SIU-crewed USNS Pililaau in Kuwait. SIU Crews Contribute To MRAP Milestone The U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) last month announced a milestone in which SIU crews have played a key part. Namely, as of April 5, more than 5,000 mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles have been delivered to American troops in harm’s way. Many of the MRAPs have been delivered by SIUcrewed ships. “This is truly an achievement of all the military and commercial partners in this venture,” said Gen. Norton Schwartz, commander of TRANSCOM. “These lifesaving vehicles are proving their value every day in protecting our warfighters and keeping them safe.” In announcing the milestone, TRANSCOM reported, “An earlier turning point occurred in late March. The number of vehicles delivered by sea exceeded the number airlifted to the area of operations. U.S. Transportation Command officials project that by the end of June, all MRAP vehicles will be shipped by sea.” The agency further noted, “The Army’s Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command scheduled ocean carrier deliveries by sea and handled port operations. The Navy’s Military Sealift Command delivered vehicles with its fast sealift ships and large, medium-speed, roll-on, roll off vessels as well as chartered commercial ships.” Seafarers LOG 3 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:18 AM Page 4 Membership Receives President’s Pre-Balloting Report SIU President Michael Sacco has issued the pre-balloting report to the membership announcing general elections for the union’s officers will take place this year. The release of this report is called for in Article X, Section 1(e) of the SIU constitution. The report lists the various offices that will appear on the ballot. Voting will begin Nov. 1 and continue through Dec. 31. Those elected will serve a four-year term from 2009 through 2012. A total 25 positions from president to port agent will appear on the ballot. In presenting the report, Sacco noted he has worked with the union’s executive board and port officials to appraise the needs of the SIU for the next four years and beyond, while considering changes that have occurred in the industry. Printed here is the full text of the 2008 pre-balloting report. May 5, 2008 Pursuant to Article X, section 1(e) of our constitution, I am submitting at this regular May membership meeting of this election year, my pre-balloting report. The balloting for our General Election of Officers for the term 2009-2012 will commence on November 1, 2008 and continue through December 31, 2008. The election will be conducted under the provisions of our constitution, as amended and effective December 15, 2006, and such other voting procedures as our secretary-treasurer may direct. I have, in consultation with our executive board and port representatives, made a careful appraisal of the needs of this union, its membership and its currently existing constitutional ports. We have carefully considered the changes that have taken place in the maritime industry over the last few years, with a view toward meeting the ever-changing demands. It is my recommendation, in accordance with our constitution, that the following offices be placed on the ballot in the 2008 General Election of Officers for the term 2009-2012: 1 President 1 Executive Vice President 1 Secretary-Treasurer 1 Vice President in Charge of Contracts and Contract Enforcement 1 Vice President in Charge of the Atlantic Coast 1 Vice President in Charge of the Gulf Coast 1 Vice President in Charge of the Southern Region, Great Lakes, and Inland Waters 1 Vice President in Charge of the West Coast 1 Vice President in Charge of Government Services and Fishing Industries 1 Assistant Vice President in Charge of Contracts and Contract Enforcement 1 Assistant Vice President in Charge of the Atlantic Coast 1 Assistant Vice President in Charge of the Gulf Coast 1 Assistant Vice President in Charge of the Southern Region, Great Lakes and Inland Waters 1 Assistant Vice President in Charge of the West Coast 1 Assistant Vice President in Charge of Government Services and Fishing Industries 10 Port Agents There shall be one (1) port agent in each of the ten (10) constitutional ports; namely: New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Mobile, New Orleans, Houston, Algonac, Oakland, St. Louis and Piney Point. In accordance with the above-mentioned Article X, Section 1(e) of our constitution, I am required to recommend a bank, a bonded warehouse, regular office thereof, or any similar depository, to which the ballots are to be mailed, no later than the first regular meeting in October of this year. I will make such a recommendation to the membership before such deadline. As provided for in Article XIII, Section 1, nominations open July 15, 2008 and close August 15, 2008. The foregoing constitutes your president’s pre-balloting report and, subject to my further recommendation as to the depository to be made hereafter, I recommend its adoption. Fraternally submitted, Michael Sacco President Majestic Cruise Boat Evacuated Because of Engine Room Fire SIU President Meets with West Coast Boatmen SIU President Michael Sacco (right) last month had an informal meeting with Crowley boatmen from the West Coast who were upgrading at the Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. Topics covered during the wide-ranging discussion on April 17 included the importance of grassroots political action; the Jones Act’s significance to the maritime industry; and training opportunities and credentialing requirements for mariners. Participants also discussed the U.S. Maritime Security Program and other key maritime initiatives. The Paul Hall Center offers dozens of U.S. Coast Guard-approved courses and has been in operation since 1967. The Majestic America Line passenger vessel Queen of the West was towed ashore and evacuated April 8 in Maryhill, Wash., following an engine room fire, according to newspaper accounts and a U.S. Coast Guard press release. The agency reported that the cause of the fire remains under investigation. In its news release, the Coast Guard noted, “The Queen of the West was beached in a controlled manner in the vicinity of Maryhill State Park, where the passengers were offloaded safely over the vessel’s bow ramp. The 124 passengers were transported by bus to Skamania Lodge, Ore. One crew member became wet while fighting the fire, and was taken to a local hospital after exhibiting signs of hypothermia. Three of the crew members were checked and released on scene for smoke inhalation.” Klickitat County (Wash.) emergency services personnel managed the disembarkation and processing of passengers. The Washington Department of Ecology organized precautionary shoreline protection operations along the river to address the risk of any oil pollution from the disabled vessel. Built in 1995, the Queen of the West is 230 feet long and has a maximum capacity of 142 passengers. The Associated Press described the fire as “the latest in a series of mishaps that have befallen cruise ships. A sister ship, Empress of the North, ran aground in March 2006 and was stuck for two days on a Columbia River sandbar near Washougal, Wash. A year later, the same ship ran aground in Alaska.” The Empress of the North also is operated by Majestic. Sixth T-AKE Joins MSC Fleet, CIVMARS Net More Jobs U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command Christens USNS Amelia Earhart During Ceremony at NASSCO Shipyard New tonnage and additional jobs for Seafarers took center stage April 4 in California when the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) launched the USNS Amelia Earhart. The newest ship in the Navy’s Lewis and Clark class of dry cargo/ammunition ships (T-AKE), the 698-foot vessel was launched during a nighttime ceremony at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. According to MSC, the ship slid into the water for the first time with red, white and blue streamers flowing from its bow and fireworks lighting the sky. Owned and operated by MSC, the USNS Earhart now is part of the command’s Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force and will be crewed by civil service mariners from the SIU’s Government Services Division. In addition to Seafarers and licensed mariners, the vessel also will be manned by a military detachment of 11 U.S. Navy sailors to provide supply coordination. Among the nearly 1,000 people present during the christening ceremony 4 Seafarers LOG were U.S. Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.), MSC Commander Rear Adm. Robert Reilly Jr., and Logistics Group Western Pacific Commander Rear Adm. Nora Tyson. Davis delivered the ceremony’s principal address while Earhart’s niece, Amy Kleppner, served as ship’s sponsor. The launching ceremony included the time-honored Navy tradition of the sponsor breaking a bottle of champagne across the bow to formally christen the ship. Designated T-AKE 6, USNS Earhart is the sixth ship in the Navy’s new T-AKE class. These ships deliver ammunition, provisions, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to the Navy’s carrier strike groups at sea and other naval forces worldwide, allowing them to stay at sea, on station and combat ready for extended periods of time. The Earhart’s primary mission will be to deliver food, ammunition, fuel and other provisions to combat ships. Like the other ships in the T-AKE class, the Earhart will have a sailing speed of 20 knots. “Being able to refuel at sea is essen- tial to our Navy’s ability to be forward deployed and remain strong in our global endeavors,” said Davis. “Today we bring this ship to life, and I look forward to the day we welcome her to the fleet.” The vessel is named in honor of aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, who was the first woman to be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. She received the award after completing a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Earhart disappeared in 1937 over the central Pacific Ocean during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe. Since May 2005, six vessels—the USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE 1), USNS Sacagawea (T-AKE 2), USNS Alan Shepard (T-AKE 3), USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE 4), USNS Robert E. Peary (T-AKE 5) and now the USNS Amelia Earhart (T-AKE 6)— have been delivered to MSC and crewed up by CIVMARS. The seventh ship of the class, the USNS Carl Brashear (T-AKE 7), currently is under construction at the San Diego shipyard. Keel laying for USNS Wally Schirra, the eighth dry cargo-ammunition ship in the T-AKE program, took place in San Diego on April 14. Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter recently named the ship in honor of the late Navy captain and original NASA pioneer. The Schirra is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the third quarter of 2009. NASSCO on April 21 began construction of the ninth ship of the Lewis and Clark class. The ship will be named later and is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the first quarter of 2010. The T-AKE ship incorporates international marine technologies and commercial ship-design features, including an integrated electric-drive propulsion system to minimize operating costs over its projected 40-year service life. NASSCO has contracts to build 11 T-AKE ships. The Navy has options to build three additional ships for a total class of 14 vessels. May 2008 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:18 AM Page 5 Detained in port for being unseaworthy, the Lady Belinda (above and lower right) also had low stores and a crew which hadn’t been paid for four months. Crew members are happy to receive their back pay, thanks to efforts by the ITF and the Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union. SMOU President Robin Foo (toward the left, wearing a light, collared shirt and looking directly at the camera) is pictured with the mariners, standing behind the two who are kneeling. ITF, Singapore Union Assist Stranded Crew Federation Helps Secure $102,000 in Back Pay The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and its affiliated Singapore Maritime Officers’ Union (SMOU) recently secured back wages and assisted with repatriation for mariners who had been stranded aboard a runawayflag ship since early January. According to the federation, a crew of 22 mariners from the Greek-owned, North Korean-flagged MV Lady Belinda received $102,000 in back pay on April 5 in Singapore. Most of the seamen, all Indian nationals, had submitted requests to leave the vessel upon receiving their salaries, citing the ship’s unseaworthy condition. The stricken bulk carrier, fully laden with iron ore, became immobilized on Jan. 5 in the northern stretch of the Malacca Straits and had arrived under tow in Singapore on Jan. 14. The vessel had since been detained by the authorities for not being seaworthy. The crew had sought the help of the SMOU to recover up to four months of wages. SMOU President Capt. Robin Foo said that he was appalled at the condition of the vessel, which had a visible hole at its stern just above the water line, and at the food and water provisions for the crew, which were running low. “It is really distressing to see that seafarers are still being unscrupulously exploited, and the unsafe working conditions on board the unseaworthy vessel is a cause for concern for the industry,” he said. He added, “We are thankful for the assistance by the various seafaring welfare organizations, especially the International Transport Workers’ Federation and the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), who have helped with the humanitarian welfare of the seafarers and have assisted us with the wage recovery for the crew.” The vessel’s chief officer, G. Ramanamurthy, expressed his relief and thanked the ITF and SMOU. “When food provisions were critical, especially during the Easter weekend, SMOU came on board with food,” he said. “When we needed to contact our families, calling cards were provided and most importantly they helped us get our hard-earned wages. I will now go back to my family and will look out for a better vessel to work on board for my next voyage.” Junior Engineer Sheikh Yakub Umar added, “We never believed we could get our money back, but the ITF and SMOU have made it possible. I’m glad that the ordeal has almost come to an end.” Capt. Foo noted, “We’re very happy for the seafarers and it is very heartwarming as a unionist to see the joy on the faces of the seafarers who have finally received wages that they have been owed for many months and that they have worked very hard for.” He pointed out that there was still some unfinished business. “As the vessel is still unsafe and unseaworthy, we are now working to ensure that the vessel owner and the employers pay for the full repatriation of the seafarers on board and that they will continue to pay all additional wages incurred until the crew sign off the vessel and are repatriated.” The ITF is a global federation of 681 transport trade unions (including the SIU) which collectively represent 4.5 million workers in 148 countries. SIU SecretaryTreasurer David Heindel is first vice chair of the ITF Seafarers’ Section. A runaway-flag or so-called flag-ofconvenience (FOC) ship is one that flies the flag of a country other than the country of ownership. According to the ITF, “FOCs provide a means of avoiding labor regulation in the country of ownership, and become a vehicle for paying low wages and forcing long hours of work and unsafe working conditions. Since FOC Steelmaker Calls for More Lakes Dredging So Nation Can Reinvest in American Jobs America’s largest integrated steelmaker has urged lawmakers to increase dredging on the Great Lakes as a way to reinvest in and retain quality jobs in America. Daniel J. Cornillie, an official at ArcelorMittal USA, Indiana Harbor, noted that because of the dredging crisis, it now takes a vessel that supplies iron ore to Indiana Harbor six trips to deliver what it did in five 20 years ago. “This math is being repeated across the U.S.flag Lakes fleet that delivered over 100 million tons last year. The constraint is the draft available, and the culprit is deferred dredging in the context of low Lake levels. With the current Great Lakes fleet at full utilization, this is forcing cargo to other modes of transportation at a multiple of fuel consumption.” May 2008 Cornillie, speaking before the 13th annual informational briefing for the Great Lakes delegation in Washington hosted by the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, stressed that Great Lakes shipping “links the iron ore and stone from the north with the coal to the south. These are steelmaking’s primary inputs. It requires approximately 26 million tons per year of Lake-delivered raw materials to sustain ArcelorMittal’s production and jobs at its U.S. Lakes mills. That is approximately 3,000 tons of material per hour, 24/7. Without Great Lakes shipping to deliver these materials, these mills would not be here.” Decades of inadequate funding for dredging have produced a backlog of 18 million cubic yards of sediment that must be removed system-wide, accord- ing to the task force. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates it will cost more than $230 million to restore the Great Lakes navigation system to project dimensions. Cornillie, manager of marine and raw materials logistics for ArcelorMittal, noted that the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, which pays for dredging using taxes collected on waterborne commerce, has a surplus of more than $4 billion, and the cost of allowing vessels to again carry full loads “would be less than that recently spent on reconfiguring one freeway intersection south of Chicago.” He also focused on the environmental benefits of Great Lakes shipping. “In the current and future environment of energy conservation and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the marine mode stands apart. ships have no real nationality, they are beyond the reach of any single national seafarers’ trade union. “The ITF has therefore been obliged to take on internationally the role traditionally exercised by national trade unions – to organize and negotiate on behalf of FOC crews. For 50 years the ITF, through its affiliated seafarers’ and dockers’ unions, has been waging a vigorous campaign against shipowners who abandon the flag of their own country in search of the cheapest possible crews and the lowest possible training and safety standards for their ships.” Lakes ships use only one-third to one-fifth of a horsepower per ton. If this ratio held true on the highway, you could move a semi with a lawnmower engine.” Cornillie further highlighted the employment potential that will result from increased dredging. “After years of industry rationalization, the average age of employees in these mills is in the 50s. Over the next 10 years this workforce will retire, opening jobs for today’s youth. This turnover has already started to a significant degree, and will accelerate – if we reinvest in the Lakes transportation system that enabled this job creation in the first place.” At the briefing, the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force (to which the SIU is affiliated) also presented its Great Lakes Legislator of the Year Award to Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio). Rep. Tubbs Jones represents the east side of Cleveland, Ohio. The city is home to an ArcelorMittal mill that is also suffering from the dredging crisis. The Great Lakes Maritime Task Force was founded in Toledo, Ohio, in 1992 to promote domestic and international Great Lakes shipping. It is the largest coalition to ever speak for the Great Lakes shipping community and draws its membership from both labor and management representing U.S.-flag vessel operators, shipboard and longshore unions, port authorities, terminal operators, cargo shippers, shipyards and other Great Lakes interests. In addition to restoring adequate funding for dredging of Great Lakes ports and waterways, its goals include construction of a second Poe-sized lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; preserving the domestic steelmaking infrastructure; and protecting the nation’s cabotage laws. Seafarers LOG 5 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:19 AM Page 6 Marine Highway Initiative Shows Waterways’ Importance The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which contains provisions establishing a formal marine highway program within the federal government, was signed into law in December 2007. Under the law, marine highway or “short sea” trans- portation refers to the carriage by vessel of cargo in containers, loaded on the vessel by cranes or by means of wheeled technology. Specifically, the law requires the establishment of a program and the designation of transportation projects to miti- The Seafarers-crewed ATC fleet includes the Alaskan Explorer, pictured in Los Angeles. Alaska Tanker Company Safely Reaches Milestone How’s this for a winning streak? SIU-contracted Alaska Tanker Company (ATC) recently reached what’s believed to be an unsurpassed safety milestone: more than six calendar years and 12 million man hours without a lost-time injury. In a communication dated March 30, ATC President and CEO Anil Mathur noted that the company also has not had “a single drop of crude oil spilled to sea in over five years. Since our inception in 1999, we have transported well over a billion barrels of crude oil out of Valdez, Alaska.” Others have noticed ATC’s outstanding safety record as the years pass. The Alaska State Legislature honored the company in 2006. Two years earlier, the U.S. Coast Guard did the same. ATC’s fleet includes four Seafarers-crewed vessels: the ATC President and CEO Anil Mathur, pictured in 2007 at the Maritime Trades Department executive board meeting, recently credited the SIU for significant contributions to the company’s outstanding safety record. 6 Seafarers LOG Alaska Class tankers Alaskan Legend, Alaskan Frontier, Alaskan Explorer and Alaskan Navigator. Those ships transport Alaskan North Slope crude oil from Valdez, Alaska, to refineries in Washington State, California and Hawaii. Many of the company’s mariners have undergone safety training at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center, located in Piney Point, Md. Mathur, in his recent missive, was characteristically quick in sharing credit for ATC’s latest achievements. “This remarkable performance by the ATC employees, ship and shore, has been enabled by our union leadership (SIU and MEBA), our contractors, our client BP Alaska, our owners, our external stakeholders and our regulators,” he said. “Meaningful and lasting results at this level require a supportive environment. I am very grateful to each of these entities.” He also conveyed a pragmatic view of what lies ahead, even while expressing profound appreciation for the “quality and thought that ATC employees put into their work that produces these extraordinary results.” Recognizing that safe operations are an unending goal, he added, “Each task we perform in ATC presents hazards that must be overcome anew in order to do the job safely, regardless of how many times we’ve completed that same job safely in the past. Overcoming the next challenge does not create a panacea where no other challenges can exist. As we continue to improve our operations and our performance, it is clear to me that our journey towards flawless operations has essentially no finish line.” gate landside congestion. The program will encourage the development and expansion of vessels, shippers, port and landside infrastructure, and marine transportation strategies by state and local governments. Water transportation routes will be designated as extensions of the surface transportation system to focus public and private efforts to use the waterways to relieve landside congestion along coastal corridors. A project may be so designated if it offers a waterborne alternative to available landside transportation services using vessels and provides transportation services for passengers, freight or both. A federal board has been established to identify and seek solutions to impediments hindering effective use of short sea transportation and to promote the marine highway initiative. Members of the board include representatives from the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other federal, state, and local governmental entities as well as private sector entities. The board has one year to provide a report on the initiative. As research continues the U.S. Maritime Administration has released some important statistics about waterways use that highlight the need for support of this vital mode of transportation. They include the following: Waterways Offer Value ■ The inland waterways system includes 12,000 miles of commercially navigable channels and 240 lock sites, moving commerce in 38 states from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, to east and west coasts. ■ About 624 million tons of cargo transits the inland waterways a year. That’s a volume equal to 14 percent of all intercity freight at a value of $70 billion annually. ■ These waterways transport more than 60 percent of the nation’s grain exports, 22 percent of domestic petroleum and petroleum products and 20 percent of the coal used in electrical generation. ■ One 15-barge tow of dry cargo can carry as much as two unit trains and as much as 1,050 tractor trailer trucks. ■ One barge has the liquid cargo capacity of 46 railcars and 144 tractor trailers. ■ Barges can move one ton of cargo 576 miles for the same amount of fuel it takes a rail car to carry the same amount of cargo 413 miles and a truck to haul it 155 miles. Congestion Alleviated The annual traffic on America’s inland waterways carries the equivalent of 58 million truck trips each year. If current waterways traffic was diverted to the roads, heavy truck traffic would nearly double and create severe traffic jams, especially in inner cities. If the current waterways freight was diverted to rail, the tonnage carried by the rail system would increase nearly 25 percent and would heavily burden Eastern U.S. railroads that are already operating to capacity. Good Investment The study shows it would be cheaper and more efficient to invest in the marine cargo transportation system than highways and railroads. Diversion of waterways freight to highways would require the addition of two inches of asphalt to the thickness of the pavement of 126,000 lanemiles of intercity interstates. An example of increased rail infrastructure costs comes from railroad operator CSX. If coal shipments were diverted from the Ohio River onto rail, CSX calculates it would need 156 new locomotives and 5,616 new coal cars at an estimated cost of $581 million. This doesn’t include the cost of other additional equipment and increased rail congestion. Dual Benefits The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that inland towing generates much less airborne emissions than railroads and diesel trucks. Also, safety-related statistics for all modes of freight transportation show, on a rateper-ton-mile basis, that there is one fatality in the inland marine sector for every 22.7 fatalities in the rail sector and 155 fatalities in the rail sector. There is one injury in the inland marine sector for every 125.2 in the rail and 2,171.5 in the highway sector. Moreover, overall spill rates in all sectors are considered low with the inland marine sector the lowest. Spill rates for barges are 3.6 gallons per million ton-miles. Railcars came in with 3.86 gallons per ton-miles and trucks were at 6.06 gallons spilled per tonmile. Union Joins in Honoring Bob Magee SIU officials were on hand April 12 at the Broward County (Fla.) Convention Center to join in honoring Robert P. “Bob” Magee Jr., a highly respected philanthropist who is chairman, president and CEO of American Shipping Group. The event was the annual International Golden Compass Award dinner, benefiting Seafarers’ House at Port Everglades. Pictured from left to right are SIU President Michael Sacco, Magee and SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez. A former mariner, the honoree has dedicated his entire career to the American maritime industry. Seafarers’ House at Port Everglades is a multi-faith endeavor among religious, labor, business and civic leaders with a mission “to improve the lives of seafarers and their families through multi-faith service.” May 2008 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/28/2008 6:07 AM Page 7 Stewards Appreciate Big Picture and Fine Details Seven Seafarers Successfully Complete Recertification in Piney Point Sharing heartwarming stories and practical advice, seven SIU members last month addressed fellow Seafarers, unlicensed apprentices and union officials as they graduated from the steward recertification class at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. The graduates received certificates and gave brief remarks April 7 at the membership meeting which took place at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Completing the three-week course were (in the order in which they spoke at the meeting) Josue Luis Iglesia Jr., Bob Easley, James Cameron, Roderick Clay, Grady Ingram, Charles Brooks and Hazel Johnson Jr. Recertification is the top curriculum available to steward-department mariners at the Paul Hall Center. The course, like most others there, features both practical training and classroom instruction. Topics include detailed refreshers in safety (including fire fighting, first aid and CPR) along with sanitary conditions and computer training. Class members also study communication and nutrition. Also, the training includes meetings with representatives from different departments within the union and the Seafarers Plans as well as a trip to AFLCIO headquarters (including the offices of the Maritime Trades Department). Without exception, each component is designed to help stewards do the best jobs possible as they sign on aboard their next vessels. In keeping with graduation-day tradition, the stewards touched on different aspects of their experiences in the union and at the school. They also encouraged the trainees to make the most of their maritime career opportunities. The following comments combine parts of the graduation speeches with information specifically provided to the Seafarers LOG by the stewards. Iglesia graduated from the trainee program in 1992 and now sails from Jacksonville, Fla. He credited the SIU with timely and important help not only from a career standpoint but with life in general. “The union and the training school saved my life,” Iglesia noted. “When I was 18 years old I was headed down the wrong path. The SIU saved me from the streets and showed me I could make something of myself and provide a good life for my family.” A frequent upgrader, he added that he always learns new things at the Paul Hall Center, and his most recent course proved no exception. “It’s a great experience every time I come to the school,” Iglesia stated. “This class will help not only me but my staff in the galley when it comes to safety and sanitation.” Graduates from the steward recertification course are pictured along with family members and SIU and school officials after the April membership meeting in Piney Point, Md. Addressing the apprentices, he concluded, “Listen and learn to work together. At sea, work hard and never be afraid to ask questions. You can have a great career.” Easley, who sails from Tacoma, Wash., said the Paul Hall Center instructors are second-to-none and described the class as “packed with lots of good information. This is the finest maritime academy in the United States.” He thanked SIU President Michael Sacco “and others who have sacrificed so much for the betterment of the SIU.” Speaking to the trainees, he said, “Don’t take your opportunities for granted. It’s up to you to use these tools for success.” Cameron has been with the union since joining in 1990 in Norfolk, Va. “I thank God for blessing me with this opportunity to be the best chief steward I can be, and to be an asset rather than a liability to this union,” he declared. “I know this course will help me do a better job aboard the ship. It was very interesting and a good learning experience.” He advised the apprentices to “study hard and learn to work together. At sea, listen and do the right thing.” Clay, who sails from both Wilmington, Calif., and Honolulu, commended the school staff and instructors. He said the campus “looks great and makes for a good study environment.” Since joining the SIU 10 years ago, “I’ve been many places and it has been great,” he said. “This union improved my life – enabled me to take care of my family, be a homeowner and put my kids in Refreshers in safety training, including fire fighting, are part of the recertification course. May 2008 good schools. “I’ve worked in other jobs, but this organization has really come through,” he added. “This is a place with integrity and people who care. You don’t see a lot of that elsewhere in the world.” A football fan, Ingram (whose home port is Jacksonville) said that for him, completing recertification felt like the equivalent of “being the number one draft pick in the NFL. This is a lifetime dream.” He said a couple of subjects proved particularly interesting during the course: ServSafe, which focuses on different aspects of safety in the galley, and leadership skills. “ServSafe taught here at the center is very educational, informative and on the cutting edge. The leadership class gives me different insights into where I need to focus in order to be a more complete and effective leader,” he said. Sharing how the SIU helped him achieve success, he noted, “I would like to thank the SIU for giving me an opportunity when no one else would. My career as a seaman has been fruitful. The training center is a beautiful place to achieve goals – it is our thing, our home away from home. “To the trainees, don’t let anyone deter you.” Brooks, who sails from Norfolk, said that in addition to learning more about his profession, “I now have a better understanding of the inner workings of the union and the hard work that goes into keeping union members working. I have a lot of respect for the people working hard for the members and I thank our union leaders, starting with Mike Sacco, the SIU’s heart and soul. Because of the union I am able to work and support my family and have a good life.” He said the apprentices are facing “a beautiful opportunity. If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.” A 30-year Seafarer who sails from Philadelphia and New York, Johnson wrapped up the presentations with a mix of humor and seriousness. After claiming to have sailed on Noah’s Ark, he thanked a number of officials who recommended him for the class or otherwise have helped him along the way, including Vice President Government Services Kermett Mangram, Assistant Vice President Contracts Archie Ware, Philadelphia Port Agent Joe Mieluchowski, New York Safety Director Jack Sheehan and Philadelphia Patrolman Robert Wisler. Johnson also noted with pride that he comes from a family of Seafarers – his father, uncle, brother, sister, nephew, niece and two cousins all either sailed SIU or still are members of the union. “I’ve been around the world several times,” he stated. “This union helps me provide for my family. There are a lot of people in other industries who are out of work these days. We’re not.” He told the apprentices, “When you go out there on a ship, you’re ‘market ready.’ Ask questions and don’t come aboard thinking you already know everything.” Class members brush up on their computer skills. Seafarers LOG 7 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:19 AM Page 8 Seafarer’s Dedication to Safety Leaves Lasting Legacy The U.S. Coast Guard dubbed him a hero for being a man of honor, respect and devotion to duty. His brother said, “Every day, he fought for the guys in the merchant marine, probably because he came up through the hawsepipe like so many mariners. He left us all a legacy that made our lives better.” Domenic Calicchio, once an SIU member, is today considered posthumously one of the Coast Guard’s unsung heroes. That’s because he stuck to the principles he formed during a career that started as an ordinary seaman during World War II when he was 16 years old. Later, Calicchio rose to the rank of captain in the Coast Guard Reserve while also sailing as a ship’s master, including voyages with United States Lines. Recently, the U.S. Coast Guard’s Marine Inspection and Investigation office named one of its top excellence awards after him. “Dom saw me and our brother Michael come up through the hawsepipe,” said Alfred Calicchio, “and he wanted to do the same thing and help our nation in World War II.” Brother Alfred explained that all three brothers eventually rose to ship’s master during their careers. Domenic Calicchio sailed as a merchant mariner for 23 years, some of them with the SIU. He is believed to have been the first merchant mariner to be commissioned as a lieutenant into the Coast Guard through the Public Law 219 officer procurement program. In 1968 he accepted a commission as an active duty lieutenant commander because he believed he could use his seafaring experience in the marine safety field by championing the safety of crews and passengers. Calicchio’s adherence to strict safety requirements brought muchneeded attention to lifeboat capacities and the failure of some cruise ships at the time to have enough lifeboats for all passengers. Championing safety for crews aboard deep sea vessels, Calicchio served on a review board that investigated and led to the indictment of the owner of the M/V Marine Electric, which sank in 1983. The Marine Electric was an NMU-crewed T-2 bulk cargo carrier built for World War II. The T-2s were notorious for splitting hulls due to metal fatigue, especially as the ships got older and began to rust. The Marine Electric saga proved tragic to say the least. On Feb. 12, 1983, 31 crew members aboard the vessel—21 of whom were members of the NMU—paid the ultimate sacrifice when their vessel capsized and sank in frigid waters off the Virginia coast. Only three of the vessel’s 34 crew members escaped with their lives. Drowning resulting from hypothermia was determined to be the cause of death for all who perished. Then a 39-year-old vessel, the Marine Electric was loaded with 27,000 tons of coal. Departing from Norfolk, Va., the ship was en route to the New England Power Plant at Brayton Point, Mass., when it encountered heavy seas, rolled over and was swallowed up by the Atlantic Ocean about 30 miles east of Chincoteague, Va. The case was a landmark event in U. S. marine safety because it led to safety standards for older vessels, such as the T-2s, and led indirectly to the scrapping of about 70 vessels unable to meet those standards. It also spurred regulations requiring the adoption of survival suits on board vessels navigating in cold water climates. Lastly, the tremendous loss of life in the Marine Electric disaster focused attention on Coast Guard rescue swimmers and boosted support for that fledgling program. “Dom helped found the Coast Guard’s swimmer’s program, like what you see in the Kevin Costner Seafarers & International House Salutes AMO President Seafarer Domenic Calicchio is sworn into the Coast Guard as a lieutenant in the late 1960s. movie ‘The Guardian,’ said Alfred. “The modern-day program has saved thousands of lives and that’s what Dom was passionate about – the safety of his fellow seafarers.” Calicchio is also credited for spearheading special training programs for Coast Guard inspectors. “It was Dom rising through the hawsepipe that taught him respect for his fellow seafarers,” concluded Alfred. “He was one of them. He knew what their daily lives were like and he knew about their challenges. He knew safety and conditions had to improve and he did something about it.” Advancing Your Career Via the Paul Hall Center The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., offers the most U.S. Coast Guardapproved courses of any maritime school in the nation. The center features top-notch training from experienced instructors and stateof-the-art equipment and facilities. The school offers courses for mariners sailing in the deck, engine and steward departments. Below is a quick look at one of those classes. For more information about the center and its courses, contact the Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; call (301) 994-0010; or visit the Paul Hall Center section of www.seafarers.org. Course dates are listed on page 21 of this issue of the LOG and also are carried on the web site. American Maritime Officers President Tom Bethel (center) was honored April 10 in New York by the Seafarers & International House, a faith-based mission for mariners. SIU President Michael Sacco (left) and SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez (right) joined in congratulating Bethel as well as fellow honoree Peter Schaerf, who serves as chairman of the trade association New York Maritime, Inc. The event was the eighth annual “Setting the Course” awards banquet. Notice: SCAM ALERT Beware of Phony ‘Sweepstake’ April 9, 2008 The purpose of this notice from the Seafarers International Union is to caution and help protect individuals from being victimized by recent scams designed to steal money. The union’s legal department is working with the FBI and with Canadian authorities to put a stop to these attempted rip-offs, and is very encouraged by the rapid progress to date. SIU members and their families should be assured that the assets of the Seafarers Plans are fully protected – the bank is wise to the scams, as are Plans officials and the union’s legal department. However, that does not help the innocent victims who have fallen for this deception. One of the scams involves someone using altered, bogus checks that supposedly are from the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan. A letter accompanying the check – purported to come from a Canadian-based company called ORIENT Financial Inc. – tells the recipient that he or she has won a “sweepstake sponsored by a group of multi-national companies in North America.” Individuals are instructed to call a certain telephone number, deposit the check and wire funds to cover taxes. The thievery itself involves the wired funds – no money is taken from the real Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan, but individuals who fall for the scam lose their own money. The other scam is an attempt to steal money directly from the Seafarers Pension Plan. In this case, orders for wire transfers are sent to the bank – complete with multiple forged signatures. Again, both the Plan and the bank caught on immediately. This notice was sent to the union halls and posted on the SIU web site in order to help alert both the membership and the general public. The union will continue working with the FBI and Canadian authorities to catch the thieves. Meanwhile, if anyone asks you about a sweepstakes being run by an organization sounding like the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan, please ask them contact the SIU legal department at headquarters immediately. Similarly, if you receive a letter like the one described above, please contact the SIU legal department. The headquarters phone number is (301) 899-0675. 8 Seafarers LOG Safety Course Spotlight STCW Basic Safety Training – Applicants completing the school’s 40-hour Basic Safety Training course and presenting the corresponding Paul Hall Center Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center satisfy: (1) the Personal Survival training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-1 of the Seafarers’ Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(1);—AND— (2) the Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table AVI/1-2 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);—AND—(3) the Elementary First Aid training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-3 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(3);— AND—(4) the Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-4 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(4). Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites May 2008 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:19 AM Page 9 SIU Asst. VP Chester Wheeler (center, in sunglasses) chats with students before one of the shipboard tours. OMU Adam Hansen makes a point as STOS Ryanne Wheeler (left) and a student observe. Seafarers, Officers, Officials Promote Maritime in Calif. Seafarers, officers, officials and students move through a wheelhouse. Students at two California high schools last month went beyond their normal curriculums and learned firsthand about the U.S. Merchant Marine, thanks to the joint efforts of the SIU, the American Maritime Officers (AMO), school administrators and teachers, and two SIU-contracted companies. With indispensable participation from rank-and-file Seafarers and AMO members, 18 students toured the SIU hall in Oakland, Calif., and then visited three nearby vessels: the Grand Canyon State, Gem State (both operated by Pacific Gulf Marine) and Cape Mohican (Ocean Ships, Inc.). The students and teachers are from Loconoma Valley High School of Middletown, Calif., and Lower Lake High School of Lower Lake, Calif. Aboard the ships on April 10, mariners conducted department-specific tours and answered plenty of questions from the enthusiastic students. Among those leading tours and supplying information were Chief Steward Sam Harris, STOS Ryanne Wheeler, OMU Adam Hansen, SIU Assistant Vice President Government Services Chester Wheeler, SIU Representative Kathy Chester, AMO National Executive Board member Capt. Dan Shea, Chief Mate Chris Sharik, 1st Assistant Engineer (and SIU hawsepiper) Fred Reyes and Port Engineer Dave Coleman. Also contributing to the day’s success were SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel, SIU Vice President West Coast Nick Marrone and Katherine Glenn, secretary at the Oakland hall. SIU of Canada Reports Major Horizon Falcon Receives Organizing Victory at McKeil Additional Recognition The SIU of Canada recently reported that the Canadian Industrial Relations Board has granted union certification to employees on the McKeil vessel Kathryn Spirit. In the March edition of its newspaper, The Canadian Sailor, the SIU of Canada noted, “After a successful organizing drive, which saw the majority of employees sign SIU pledge cards, negotiations for a first collective agreement are set to begin. With word of the unionization of the McKeil vessel Kathryn Spirit spreading among employees, the SIU has received numerous calls from McKeil crews employed on tugs and barges. “These employees are very interested in hearing how joining the SIU can benefit them as seafarers. It seems the ice has been broken with the Kathryn Spirit and McKeil employees are now prepared to join the SIU and be represented by Canada’s largest and strongest maritime union. “SIU organizers will be contacting all employees working for McKeil over the next month and we urge you to follow suit with your fellow seafarers on the Kathryn Spirit and join the ranks of the Seafarers International Union of Canada. Together we are stronger.” In that same issue, SIU of Canada President Roman Gralewicz reported that another company, Great Lakes Feeder Lines, is now under contract with the union. The company “operates modern multi-purpose vessels crewed by the SIU under the Canadian flag.” SIU of Canada President Roman Gralewicz Share your ideas for news and feature items for publication in the Seafarers LOG by calling (301) 899-0675. Simply ask the operator for the Communications Department. Emailed items may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org May 2008 The Horizon Falcon and Horizon Lines last month were honored for a rescue involving the SIU-crewed ship that took place last summer. The company, ship and crew on April 2 received the AMVERAssisted Rescue at Sea Award “for the extraordinary courage and seamanship of the Horizon Falcon crew,” according to Horizon Lines. AMVER Program Director Captain Christopher Hall presented the award to Horizon Falcon Captain Tom McDorr at the 2008 Lloyd’s List London Awards. McDorr and the crew of the Horizon Falcon, one of the vessels in the Horizon Lines fleet, courageously assisted in the rescue of Chinese crew members of the Panamanian–flagged ship Hai Tong No. 7 after it sank in typhoon-heavy seas 300 nautical miles northwest of Guam last July. More than 450 guests from the international maritime community attended the London dinner. Kyle Hurst, Market Manager of Inmarsat, a leading provider of global mobile satellite communications, sponsored the AMVER award. The keynote speaker was former UK Shipping Minister Stephen Ladyman, who stressed the importance of public awareness of the maritime industry. “We are honored by this prestigious award and grateful to Captain McDorr and the crew of the Horizon Falcon for their efforts. They responded immediately to U.S. Coast Guard’s distress call and displayed incredible bravery during the rescue,” said Don Watters, Horizon Lines senior superintendent OTS – fleet operations. The Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue System (AMVER), sponsored by the U.S. Coast Guard, is a unique, computer-based voluntary global ship reporting system used worldwide by search and rescue authorities to arrange for assistance to persons in distress at sea. Horizon Lines has participated in AMVER since the rescue system’s establishment in 1958, and all 21 of the company’s vessels are enrolled. Earlier this year, crew members and officers from the Horizon Falcon received the American Merchant Marine Seamanship trophy, sponsored by the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. SIU members sailing aboard the Horizon Falcon during the rescue included Recertified Bosun Steven Bush, ABs Ahmed Almuflihi, John Dacuag, Jennifer Souci, Stanley Parker, Jack Kem, Earl Sparkes and Jerry Gonzaga, Electrician Ursel Barber, QMEDs Husain Ali and Gustavo Osorio, Recertified Steward Philip Lau and SA Milagros Clark. Seafarers LOG 9 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:19 AM Page 10 In And Around The Port of Fort Lauderdale As is the case with all SIU ports, a flurry of activity involving rank-and-file members and union-crewed vessels takes place on a daily basis in the Port of Fort Lauderdale. The photos on this page captured some of those occurrences. They were taken and submitted for publication the the LOG by Ft. Lauderdale Safety Director Kevin Marchand. A number of SIU members and guests recently visited the Ft. Lauderdale union hall for various job-related matters. Included were (clockwise from left) Bosun Moise Ramos, SA Fernando Domenicale and others; the Beckford Brothers (Sammy is above center and Alecy is at right. The third brother at left is not yet an SIU member); AB Edward Sosa and friends surf the web while GUDE Jhon Moreno, former SIU official Jack John and Steward Matry Buck meet for a chat. The Penn tug Tersea is tied up in Port Everglades, Fla. between jobs. Taking advantage of the downtime to pose for a photo are crew members AB Paul Starvish, AB Frank Mahr and Mate Edward Whitfield (right). Port Agent Kenny Moore (left in photo at left), USS Transport Asst. Personnel Manager Lynette Pagean, USST Personnel Manager Jack Kraft and Safety Director Kevin Marchand join for a photo following a recent business meeting while AB Dionsino Batiz takes his oath (photo at right) after receiving his A Book from Port Agent Moore. In photos below and left, union members await their respective opportunities to sign in at a monthly union meeting. Port Agent Moore (seated in photo below, right) completes some paperwork while members sign in. AB Charles Bigham (inset in photo at left) makes repairs and adjustments on equipment aboard the OSG tug Navigator while the vessel is conducting off-loading operations in Port Everglades. In photo at right, crew members from the Seabulk Trader take a pause from their duties to pose for this photo. Pictured are AB Melvin Smalls, QE Eron Hall, Recertified Bosun Bob Coleman, Chief Cook David Coggio and Pumpman Donald McBride. 10 Seafarers LOG May 2008 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:19 AM Page 11 At Sea And Ashore With the SIU OPERATION DEEP FREEZE – The April LOG featured detailed coverage of Operation Deep Freeze, the annual resupply mission to Antarctica. Here are two more photos from the USNS Lawrence Gianella, one of two SIU-crewed ships involved in the mission. Above (from left), AB James Hall, Third Mate Tim Beaugard and QMED Jimmy Summers all are graduates of the Paul Hall Center’s unlicensed apprentice program (classes 611, 614 and 616, respectively). Below, AB Stag Rye presents the ship’s mascot with his book. No word on whether the bird is current on its dues. NEWS FROM THE USNS ALGOL – Following a recent mission in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Captain Mike Ryan (above, left) presents QMED Jerome Culbreth with a Maersk Line, Limited safety award for his efforts in extinguishing a feed pump fire. Culbreth, FOWT Junius Williams and 2AE Steve Converse together put out the fire “expeditiously,” the captain noted. The latter two mariners also received safety awards but weren’t present for the photo opportunity. HELPING OTHERS IN PORT ARTHUR – These photos show the new seamen’s center in Port Arthur, Texas (photo directly above), and the Savannah House (inset above, right), a home for seniors, also in Port Arthur. The seamen’s center, with key support from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), is scheduled to open this spring. It is on the same site and is a replica of the railway station that once occupied the space. The Savannah House has 20 apartments, 10 of which are designated for retired mariners. Father Sinclair Oubre (left inset above and right in inset above, with ITF Inspector Shwe Aung) is a vital supporter of both facilities. In addition to sailing with the SIU, Fr. Oubre is president of the Apostleship of the Sea of the United States. KUDOS ABOARD USNS ALGOL – Captain Mike Ryan (sixth from left, partially crouching) called the mariners aboard the USNS Algol “the best SIU crew that I have ever sailed with.” Those Seafarers recently received the U.S. Merchant Marine Expeditionary Medal from the Maritime Administration for their work in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Ryan, a former Seafarer and graduate of the Paul Hall Center trainee program, noted, “It was a difficult, high-paced trip with no port time. Everyone acted very professionally. It did not take long for all to join the safety culture that Maersk (the vessel operator) nurtures on board its vessels.” Pictured from left to right aboard the Algol are Badilini Abdallah, Daryl Thomas, Jerome Culbreth, Charles Frisella, Ricardo Alonso, Ryan, Mariano Martinez, Luis Nunez, Byran Fletcher, Paul Riley, Manny Limon, Charles Palmer, Kenny Banks, Earl Kendrick, Chris Paul, Roberto Avila, Sabrina Long, Victor Martinez, Rene Turcios and Terrence Ford. SOLIDARITY IN HONOLULU – SIU members join the Hawaii Ports Maritime Council’s demonstration in support of workers at the Pacific Beach Hotel on April 3 in Honolulu. The workers had voted to join ILWU Local 142, but the employer has fought their free choice by firing rank-and-file union leadership and refusing to bargain with the union, among other ploys. As a result, the AFL-CIO endorsed a boycott of the hotel’s owner, HTH Corporation. The boycott is also being honored by the Japanese labor federation RENGO. Pictured from the left are SIU Honolulu Port Agent Neil Dietz, QMED Dan Fowers, GUDE Anthony Kpodovia and GUDE Noel Wong. WELL-EARNED RECOGNITION FOR USNS LARAMIE, YUKON, GRASP – Members of the SIU Government Services Division earlier this year won the U.S. Military Sealift Command’s Food Service Excellence Award for exceptional efforts in food preparation. The annual award went to the fleet replenishment oilers USNS Laramie and USNS Yukon and the rescue and salvage ship USNS Grasp. Some of the recipients are pictured above. An awards presentation was scheduled to take place last month in Denver. In announcing the award, MSC noted, “The exceptional efforts of MSC’s food service personnel are essential in keeping morale, health, and quality of life at peak levels for the more than 5,000 civil service mariners working around the world to ensure MSC’s mission success.” May 2008 Seafarers LOG 11 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:19 AM Page 12 TWIC Enrollment Centers This is a list of addresses for Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) enrollment centers as of mid-April, as published by the Transportation Security Administration at the following web address: http://www.tsa.gov/twic When visiting that site, there are different ways to access the most recently updated list of enrollment centers. There is a link near the top of the home page; there’s also one within the TWIC “FAQ.” As they become available, additional addresses will be published in the LOG and faxed to the union halls. The TSA is expected to announce the locations of more enrollment centers in the weeks and months ahead. Seafarers should note that while the LOG is publishing an updated list of enrollment centers each month, there are differences from issue to issue besides simply adding new addresses. A number of previously published addresses have been modified or replaced by the TSA, for example (everything from a different suite number in the same building to an outright new facility replacing a previously announced one). Alabama 250 North Water Street Mobile, AL 36602-4000 Delaware 1 Hausel Road Wilmington, DE 19801-5852 Florida 955 Tallyrand Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32206-6049 707 Mullet Road Suites 117/118 Port Canaveral, FL 32920-4519 975 North America Way Miami, FL 33132-2004 2604 E. 7th Ave. Tampa, FL 33605 Port Everglades Badging Office 1030 Taylor Road Dania Beach, FL 33004-2810 Habana Plaza (Rear) 3125 Riviera Dr Key West, FL 33040 Suite 303 2051 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Riviera Beach, FL 33404 Suites 119, 120 5323 W. Hwy 98 Panama City, FL 32401 2604 E. 7th Ave. Tampa, FL 33605 Georgia 5214 Augusta Rd Garden City, GA 31408-1606 Country Inn and Suites 211 Gateway Center Blvd. Brunswick, GA 31525 Alaska Suite 102 3200 Hospital Drive Juneau, AK 99801 619 E Ship Creek Ave. Anchorage, AK 99501 California Oakland Maritime Support Services (OMSS) 11 Burma Road Oakland, CA 94607-1010 1830 Embarcadero Avenue Suite 104 Oakland, CA 94606-5230 301 E. Ocean Boulevard Suite 500 Long Beach, CA 90802 1931 N. Gaffey Street Suite B San Pedro, CA 90731-1265 Hilo Hawaiian Hotel 71 Banyan Drive Hilo, Hawaii 96720-4601 Kahului Shopping Center 65 West Kaahumanu Avenue Unit 14 Kahului, HI 96732 2970 Kele Street Suite 102 Lihue, HI 96766 Illinois Dixon Building Suite 206 8741 South Greenwood Chicago, IL 60619 Suite 300 13201 San Pablo Ave. Richmond, CA 94806 Three Rivers Safety Council 1615 W. Jefferson Street Suite TWIC Joliet, IL 60435-6724 Suite 103 1025 W Laurel St. San Diego, CA 92101 Hampton Inn 11 Winners Way East Peoria, IL 61611 2000 Marina Vista Dr. Martinez, CA 94553 Suite 153 1635 W. First Street Granite City, IL 62040 Residence Inn - River Ridge 2101 W. Vineyard Ave. Oxnard, CA 93036 Connecticut 75 Crystal Ave. New London, CT 06320 12 Hawaii 1347 Kapiolani Blvd. Suite 204 Honolulu, HI 96814-4512 Seafarers LOG Indiana 200 Russell Street Suite 110 Hammond, IN 46320-1825 3602 Northgate Court Suite 37C New Albany, IN 47150-6417 Louisiana Safety Council for Louisiana Capital Area 8180 Siegen Lane Baton Rouge, LA 70810-1914 700 W. McNeese Street Lake Charles, LA 70605-5532 Port Fourchon Harbor Police 108 A.O. Rappelet Road Port Fourchon, LA 70357-0000 170 East James Drive Suite 104 St. Rose, LA 70087-4005 LaPlace Shopping Center 1933 West Airline Hwy. LaPlace, LA 70068 Maine 236 Oxford Street, Suite 12 Portland, ME 04101-3070 163 Hildreth Street North Bangor, ME 04401 Maryland 2200 Broening Hwy, Suite 220 Baltimore, MD 21224-6623 Suite 204C 212 W. Main St. Salisbury, MD 21801 Suite 2106 3225 Old Washington Rd. Waldorf, MD 20602 Massachusetts 28 Damrell St., Suite 104 Boston, MA 02127-2775 300 Tremont Street Unit #5 Carver, MA 02330-1758 Michigan Delray Mechanical 667 S. Post Street Detroit, MI 48209-3053 800 East Ellis Road Suite 122 Norton Shores, MI 49441-5622 511 Ashmun Street Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783-1960 863 North Pine Road Essexville, MI 48732 430 S. Water Street Marine City, MI 48039 AmericInn of Silver City 120 Lincoln Ave. Ontonagon, MI 49953 Mariners Need TWIC The following information, available on the U.S. Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) web site, covers the steps necessary to acquire a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). This information has been sent to all SIU halls and has been published in the last few editions of the Seafarers LOG. The deadline for U.S. mariners to obtain a TWIC is Sept. 25, 2008. Therefore, the union urges Seafarers to apply for the new card, which eventually will be required of all U.S. mariners who need unescorted access to secure areas of U.S. ports and vessels. The requirement comes from a federal law called the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. Seafarers should check with their port agents and/or utilize the TSA contact information that follows for the latest information on the TWIC program, including the “TWIC Quarterly Deployment Plan,” which is a list of cities where TWIC enrollment centers are or will be located. Updates also periodically appear on the SIU web site (www.seafarers.org, normally in the “Heard at Headquarters” section). Seafarers are advised that although pre-enrollment for the TWIC is optional, both the agency and the first individual SIU members who have applied for the card strongly recommend it. According to a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security, as of April 17: ■ 93 TWIC enrollment centers were operational ■ More than 64,000 TWIC cards had been activated ■ More than 230,000 individuals had enrolled for a TWIC The TSA TWIC web site now includes a link where individuals may check the status of their card and/or schedule a time to pick it up. FOR MORE INFORMATION On the web: www.tsa.gov/twic By phone: TWIC Program Help Desk, 1-866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-347-8942) By email: credentialing@dhs.gov STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS ■ Pre-Enroll This can save time at the enrollment center itself. To pre-enroll, individuals must first register for an ID starting at https://twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/TWICWebApp/ 396 N. State Street St. Ignace, MI 49781 of do ed TS as tim ap m vid tia wh ho TW oc TW Suite 105 1020 Hastings Street Traverse City, MI 49686 Minnesota Suite 104 2161 University Ave. St. Paul, MN 55114 1310 Port Terminal Road Duluth, MN 55802 Holiday Inn 1500 Hwy 71 International Falls, MN 56649 Th for (Continued on next page) May 2008 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:19 AM Page 13 TWIC Enrollment Centers (Continued from Page 12) 4830 State Road Ashtabula, OH 44004-6214 Minnesota Room B006 34 13th Ave., NE Minneapolis, MN 55413 Mississippi Ergon Refining 227 Industrial Drive Vicksburg, MS 39183-0000 Suite D 1223 30th Ave. Gulfport, MS 39501 New Hampshire 30 Mirona Road Portsmouth, NH 03801 New Jersey Northern New Jersey 89 Leuning Street, Suite G South Hackensack, NJ 07606-1345 IC by Sept. 25, 2008 New York 102 Smith Boulevard Albany, NY 12202-1067 Howland Hook Marine Terminal 241 Western Avenue Staten Island, NY 10303-1103 Whitehall Ferry Terminal 4 South Street Room 210 New York, NY 10004-1940 Suite 9 2680 Grand Island Blvd. Grand Island, NY 14072 One East 2nd Street Oswego, NY 13126-1177 Applicants will need to supply basic information including their name, date of birth and country of birth. ■ Gather Documentation As part of the TWIC application process, individual applicants must supply documentation verifying their identity. A list of acceptable documents was printed on page 4 of the January edition of the Seafarers LOG and is available on the TSA’s TWIC web site. A valid merchant mariner document/z-card is acceptable, as is an unexpired passport. ■ Enroll Applicants may enroll at any of the agency’s enrollment centers, at which time they must pay the TWIC fee of $132.50 (or the reduced fee of $105.25, if applying for a TWIC that expires in conjunction with a merchant mariner document). Applicants will provide fingerprints and be photographed as well as provide personal information. ■ Pick up TWIC Applicants must return to the same enrollment center to pick up their credential. They will be notified by email or phone (as specified during enrollment) when the card is ready. The individual TWIC will be activated, and the cardholder will select a corresponding PIN number. Note: Seafarers are urged to check the expiration date on their individual TWIC before leaving the enrollment center. The union has been notified of occasional mistakes concerning the expiration dates. For instance, at least one TWIC was issued with a misprint indicating the card already had expired. The five photos in this spread show Seafarers and unlicensed apprentices enrolling for the TWIC last month in La Plata, Md. May 2008 North Carolina Suite 107 5704 Oleander Drive Wilmington, NC 28403 311 Atlantic Beach Causeway Atlantic Beach, NC 28512-7359 Ohio 3100 E45th Street Suite 226 Cleveland, OH 44127-1091 Star Center One Maritime Plaza 720 Water Street Toledo, OH 43604-1883 Suites 754, 755 8044 Montgomery Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45236 401 Broadway Avenue Suite D, Office B Lorain, OH 44052-0000 Suite 102 444 W. Perkins Ave. Sandusky, OH 44870 Oklahoma 5350 Cimarron Road Catoosa, OK 74015-3027 Oregon Suite 100 7025 N. Lombard St. Portland, OR 97203 Pennsylvania Philadelphia Regional Port 3460 North Delaware Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19134-6311 701 North Point Drive Suite 104 Pittsburgh, PA 15233-2133 Puerto Rico Primer Piso, Salon de Conferencias Ave. Santiago de los Caballeros, final Edifico Turismo, Playa Ponce, PR 00716 3800 Highway 365 Suite 123 Port Arthur, TX 77642-7566 1000 Foust Road Brownsville, TX 78521 1750 FM 1432 Victoria, TX 77905-0000 301 Highway 146 N. Texas City, TX 77590-6630 411 West Main Street Port LaVaca, TX 77979 Brazos Mall 100 Hwy 332 West Lake Jackson, TX 77566 Suite 103 6000 Broadway Galveston, TX 77551 621 W Main Street LaPorte, TX 77571 Virginia Suite F 814 Greenbrier Circle Chesapeake, VA 23320 Navy Frontier Base, Suite 1 408 Avenue Fernandez Juncos San Juan, PR 00908 Suite 300, Room 359 11815 Fountain Way Newport News, VA 23606 Rhode Island 17 Virginia Ave Suite 105 Providence, RI 02905-5443 Washington 5009 Pac Hwy E Suite 17 Fife Business Park Tacoma, WA 98424-3432 South Carolina 4600 Goer Drive, Ste 112 North Charleston, SC 29406-6500 Tennessee 3865 Viscount Avenue Suite 2 Memphis, TN 38118-6000 3200 West End Avenue Suite 510 Nashville, TN 37203-1330 Suite 427 5959 Shallowford Road Chattanooga, TN 37421 Texas 7433 Leopard Street Corpus Christi, TX 78409 Ford Convention Center Tyler Room 5115 Interstate 10 South Beaumont, TX 77705 West Gulf Maritime Association 1717 Turning Basin, Suite 100 Houston, TX 77029-3003 Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE) AERIE # 1 6205 Corson Avenue South Seattle, WA 98108 8327 Summit Park Rd Ste. D Anacortes, WA 98221 Port of Everett Marina Marina Conference Center 404 14th Street Everett, WA 98201-1674 West Virginia Tri-State Fire Academy 4200 Ohio River Rd, Huntington WV 25702 Wisconsin Chase Commerce Center 3073 South Chase Avenue Suite 620 Building 28 Floor 1 Milwaukee, WI 53207-2668 Hotel Green Bay 780 Armed Forces Drive Green Bay, WI 54304 TWIC Briefing in J’Ville During the April membership meeting in Jacksonville, Fla., Don Mooers of the U.S. Coast Guard (standing in photo at left) discussed various credentialing requirements including the TWIC process. More than 100 Seafarers attended the meeting – some are pictured above. Seafarers LOG 13 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:19 AM Page 14 Shipboard Memories from WWII Mariner Legere Like most young men during World War II, SIU member Joseph Legere wanted to serve his country. And, like many at his time, he chose to go to sea. The Second World War and the sea beckoned Legere at age 16 when he began his maritime training in St. Petersburg, Fla. Armed with his credentials as an oiler, Legere began his war service on the Liberty ship S.S. Carleton Ellis in January 1945, just months before the ending days of the last great Atlantic convoy push to help end Germany’s hold on Europe. On his first voyage Legere quickly learned to improvise, adapt and overcome. “The Ellis made a coastwise run to Corpus Christi, Texas, loaded with Navy special bunker C,” explained Legere about the fuel oil used at the time. “We would travel unescorted to New York and then connected with a convoy headed to the Mediterranean. Our job was to refuel Navy escort ships underway at sea. “We weren’t equipped to do that,” exclaimed Legere. “Liberty ships were designed to carry cargo, not fuel. The Ellis was fitted with tanks in its cargo holds with small hatches that protruded up deckside. The Navy put gun crews on board and supplied us with many lengths of quick-connect hoses. The bosun had to use deckhands to operate cargo winches to hoist hoses up and cargo booms to hoist the hoses over the side, keeping them out of the water. We had to improvise, but made it work. “The biggest problem,” said Legere, “was the faster Navy escorts had to slow down to our convoy speed and come alongside very close because our booms didn’t extend very far out. But, our guys did a good job and no escort ran out of Legere learned many lessons aboard the African Planet. fuel, nor did any of them come in contact with us. “We came close once, however. We usually refueled in the mornings when the seas were calmer. But, one afternoon, a destroyer came alongside. While our two ships were synchroniz- An early passport photo of Joseph Legere says he still misses going to sea. Joseph Legere ing speed, we’d send over a shot After the war Legere continued as a line and then they’d pull over a hawser and then lengths of hose were connected mariner and says he continued to grow in life. “At 18 I pulled picket duty for the for the ship-to-ship transfer. Everything union in Baltimore,” he explained. “I was going well and we were steadily learned a lot about unions and what we pumping. Then I noticed the destroyer were fighting for.” was falling behind and its stern was Legere commented that he also got moving very close to our stern. All of a an education as an oiler onboard the S.S. sudden I saw light gray smoke pouring African Planet. “I learned about differout of the destroyer’s two stacks and its ent people and cultures on our runs to bow surged up just like I’d seen on Africa and through the Suez Canal.” speed boats on lakes at home. It then Legere later went to work for the hauled out of there, taking hoses and Florida Power and Light Company but leaving our booms swinging and dancsaid all he wanted to do is return to the ing a jig all over the place with hoses sea. So, he shipped out of Baltimore on trailing in the sea gushing Bunker C. the S.S. Edith. Aboard the Edith, on his “Our bosun was shaking his fist at 25th birthday, he received a draft notice the destroyer and yelling ‘blessings’ from the Army to fight in the Korean aplenty, but could you really blame that Navy captain? The destroyer’s stern was War. After his induction he was sent to Germany. “I was there 15 months and loaded with depth charges and moving I’ve never been colder in my life.” in close to our 18-foot-diameter screw.” After his tour in the Army and after Legere explained that the Ellis contraveling around the world Legere came tinued most of it voyages unescorted, but the crew remained dedicated to duty to shore for the last time, working various jobs. Now 80 years old and living despite the dangers. “We were running with a full load unescorted to Liverpool, in Hendersonville, N.C., he says he’d still go back to sea if he could. “It’s England, where we found out the last where I grew up,” explained Legere. American cargo ship was sunk by a “It’s how I’ve been able to see the German submarine off the coast of world and meet so many interesting Rhode Island before the war ended,” he people. It’s how I got to know so many remembered. “The S.S. Black Point was running unescorted and lost 11 seafarers good people in the union. It really is a brotherhood – a brotherhood of the in the attack. The Navy later found the sea.” sub and sank it.” Former SIU Member’s Film Takes Look At Modern Day Piracy in Malacca Straits Former SIU member Michael Rawlins has produced a documentary about modern-day piracy titled “Porampo: Pirates of the Malacca Straits” that is available on DVD via the web site www.porampo.com. In the production, Rawlins travels throughout Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia seeking to contact sources that will lead him to a gang of porampo, the Indonesian word for pirate. Along the way he interviews police, fishing villagers and ship’s crews, all leading to an actual pirate raid attempt at night filmed in infrared light. Rawlins, who currently sails with the American Maritime Officers, describes the film as his personal calling. “At sea we would get these pyreps – piracy reports,” said Rawlins. “They were full of stories SEAFARERS HEALTH AND BENEFITS PLAN — COBRA NOTICE about crew members who were robbed, beaten and killed in areas we went to. And, they’re expected to defend themselves with what, a charged fire hose versus an AK-47? So, I said, ‘Someone needs to look into this and it might as well be me.’” Rawlins sailed with the SIU from 1991-2000 and is a graduate of Paul Hall Center trainee class 465. Are You Receiving All Your Important Mail? To help ensure that each active SIU member and pensioner receives the Seafarers LOG—as well as other important mail—monthly, correct home addresses must be on file with the union. Those who recently have moved or feel that they are not getting their union mail, should use the form at right to update their home addresses. An individual’s home address is his/her permanent address. Unless otherwise specified, this is where all official union documents will be sent. Individuals receiving more than one copy of the LOG, those who have changed their address and those whose names or addresses are misprinted or incomplete, should fill out the form and send it to: Seafarers International Union, Address Correction Dept., 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Corrections via e-mail should be sent to kclements@seafarers.org 14 Seafarers LOG HOME ADDRESS FORM (Please Print) Name: ____________________________________________________________ Phone No.: ________________________________________________________ Address: __________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Social Security No.: ________ / ________ / ________ Book No.: _________ Active SIU Pensioner Other ________________________ This will be my permanent address for all official union mailings. This address should remain in the union file unless otherwise changed by me personally. 5/08 Under federal law, a participant and his or her dependents have the right to elect to continue their Plan coverage in the event that they lose their eligibility. This right is granted by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, better known as “COBRA.” The COBRA law allows a participant and his or her dependents to temporarily extend their benefits at group rates in certain circumstances where coverage under the Plan would otherwise end. A participant and his or her dependents have a right to choose this continuation coverage if they lose their Plan coverage because the participant failed to meet the Plan’s seatime requirements. In addition, a participant and his or her dependents may have the right to choose continuation coverage if the participant becomes a pensioner ineligible for medical benefits. The participant’s dependents may also elect continuation coverage if they lose coverage under the Plan as the result of the participant’s (1) death; (2) divorce; or (3) Medicare eligibility. A child can also elect COBRA if as the result of his or her age, he or she is no longer a dependent under the Plan rules. If a member and his or her dependents feel that they may qualify, or if they would like more information concerning these rights, they should contact the Plan office at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Since there are important deadlines that apply to COBRA, please contact the Plan as soon as possible to receive a full explanation of the participant’s rights and his or her dependents’ rights. May 2008 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:19 AM Page 15 NOTICE Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea PBGC Verifies Compliance In NMU Pension Plan Merger As required by law, the Seafarers Pension Plan submitted mandatory documentation to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) concerning the merger of the National Maritime Union Pension Plan into the Seafarers Pension Plan. In correspondence dated April 9, 2008, the PBGC approved the documentation and verified that the merger complies with the appropriate federal requirements. Specifically, the merger complies with section 4231(b) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), as amended, and with 29 Code of Federation Regulations (CFR) Part 4231 (the PBGC’s regulation on mergers and transfers involving multiemployer plans). The PBGC’s chief insurance program officer noted, “On the basis of the material submitted, the PBGC has determined that the merger complies with the requirements of section 4231 of ERISA and 29 CFR 4231. Therefore, under section 4231(c) of ERISA, the merger is deemed not to constitute a violation of section 406(a) and (b)(2) of ERISA. Furthermore, in accordance with section 4231.8(f) of 29 CFR Part 4231, the PBGC waives the 120-day notice requirement as of the date of this letter.” A notice concerning the merger was mailed to NMU Pension Plan participants in December 2007 and also was published in the January 2008 issue of the Seafarers LOG. Personals John Carr is attempting to locate Tom Taylor who once shipped out of San Francisco. Taylor, as well as any other Seafarer who sailed with Carr, is asked to contact him at (410) 775-0580. Dorothy Byers is the widow of former Seafarer James “Jim” Byers. She would like for anyone who sailed with her husband from 1952-1976 to contact her at (425) 5305944. June & July 2008 Membership Meetings March 15, 2008 — April 15, 2008 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals Joliet ........................................Thursday: June 12, July 17 Mobile...................................Wednesday: June 11, July 16 Port Piney Point...................................Monday: June 2, July 7 Algonac .........................................Friday: June 6, July 11 Baltimore...................................Thursday: June 5, July 10 Boston .............................................Friday: June 6, July 11 Guam .......................................Thursday: June 19, July 24 Honolulu.......................................Friday: June 13, July 18 Houston .......................................Monday: June 9, July 14 Jacksonville ...............................Thursday: June 5, July 10 New Orleans..............................Tuesday: June 10, July 15 New York ......................................Tuesday: June 3, July 8 Norfolk ......................................Thursday: June 5, July 10 Oakland ...................................Thursday: June 12, July 17 Philadelphia..............................Wednesday: June 4, July 9 Port Everglades .......................Thursday: June 12, July 17 San Juan ....................................Thursday: June 5, July 10 St. Louis .......................................Friday: June 13, July 18 Tacoma .........................................Friday: June 20, July 25 Wilmington......................................Monday: June 16, July 21 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. May 2008 Totals **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C DECK DEPARTMENT 5 4 5 12 2 7 42 26 3 8 9 33 22 13 7 21 13 3 33 19 1 1 0 2 4 2 4 3 2 0 1 6 5 1 1 0 2 1 2 4 0 0 3 8 2 7 40 21 1 9 12 38 14 23 6 2 2 0 33 25 3 4 1 4 5 3 34 14 0 9 6 19 10 10 5 17 3 3 19 20 1 0 0 0 1 1 3 1 0 0 1 2 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 3 0 1 26 13 0 5 7 10 6 6 3 0 0 2 20 15 5 2 6 29 3 15 68 57 1 20 28 67 22 35 3 0 15 4 61 52 4 10 10 33 6 17 58 49 5 11 15 56 32 17 5 11 18 10 49 35 5 2 2 7 4 4 7 9 3 3 2 10 9 4 4 0 2 2 9 10 303 287 42 247 189 15 120 494 451 98 1 0 2 12 1 2 19 15 1 6 7 11 8 6 2 2 4 1 14 12 2 2 5 7 6 3 7 19 1 6 4 12 10 11 2 2 4 1 13 7 1 0 0 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 0 0 1 3 5 127 123 21 ENGINE DEPARTMENT Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs 3 0 6 18 3 8 39 34 2 8 15 48 14 23 4 2 7 1 37 31 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 0 4 5 2 4 13 13 1 6 3 13 9 7 1 1 2 0 10 9 0 2 0 4 3 3 4 9 1 5 2 5 10 3 1 1 1 3 11 4 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 3 0 2 7 10 1 1 2 1 4 0 0 0 3 0 8 3 1 0 0 18 0 12 24 22 0 9 12 26 10 12 3 2 6 1 29 23 2 2 7 13 5 4 24 34 2 8 6 21 15 16 6 2 9 3 23 12 1 0 0 3 1 1 2 3 0 0 0 8 5 3 1 0 0 2 4 8 103 72 10 45 210 214 42 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 1 0 1 4 4 10 22 24 1 2 5 28 4 20 1 1 2 4 15 21 2 2 1 3 1 0 7 8 1 3 2 5 9 3 3 1 2 0 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 170 63 6 0 0 0 5 3 7 27 16 2 5 3 21 2 20 1 1 2 1 15 15 2 0 0 4 2 4 2 4 0 1 0 5 5 1 1 1 1 1 6 7 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 2 13 6 0 0 1 8 2 6 0 0 1 0 8 4 2 0 1 11 6 22 33 33 0 5 5 40 12 31 2 4 4 3 26 38 1 2 1 9 4 6 16 15 1 8 4 14 16 6 3 1 3 2 10 8 1 0 0 2 0 0 2 1 1 0 2 1 2 0 1 0 0 2 0 2 146 47 11 54 278 130 17 ENTRY DEPARTMENT Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 3 0 0 3 12 0 5 0 1 0 0 4 1 3 2 4 4 1 3 20 21 0 6 9 28 17 15 2 8 1 0 18 18 1 0 1 5 0 13 8 17 0 2 2 11 10 12 0 18 1 0 4 12 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 1 7 0 5 0 0 1 0 4 3 2 1 0 3 2 3 11 10 0 5 2 17 7 8 1 4 0 0 8 4 0 0 0 5 1 1 4 4 0 0 3 1 2 5 1 32 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 10 9 0 0 3 13 0 7 0 1 0 0 6 3 5 6 4 10 4 11 37 34 1 8 12 61 26 27 3 8 4 0 32 30 9 0 1 15 2 25 12 26 2 3 3 22 32 20 1 4 3 2 17 21 Totals 39 180 117 26 88 61 0 58 323 220 639 653 186 522 396 97 229 1040 1118 377 Totals All Departments Seafarers LOG 15 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:19 AM Seafarers International Union Directory Page 16 Seafarers on MSC Missions Save Lives Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 USNS Seay, USNS Sacagawea Perform Rescues at Sea Seafarers on two U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) ships recently helped save a total of 14 lives during separate rescues. One rescue involved the USNS Seay, while the other included the USNS Sacagawea, crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division. On Feb. 9, the Seay (a large, mediumspeed, roll-on/roll off ship, abbreviated as LMSR) was notified by the Tarifa (Spain) Rescue Coordination Center that a small craft in their vicinity had issued a distress signal and needed assistance. With 12-foot seas and winds blowing up to 30 knots, the ship’s crew and officers began the search. Twelve minutes later, they spotted the 25-foot wooden fishing vessel and its four passengers – three adults and one child. For the next hour, the Seay maneuvered to shield the vessel from high winds until a rescue craft from the Tarifa Rescue Coordination Center arrived to pick up the fishing vessel’s passengers. “The crew performed flawlessly,” said Capt. Tom Madden, the ship’s master. “Seay succeeded in the tradition of the sea, aiding fellow seamen in distress.” The following day, the Seay arrived in port in Rota, Spain, to load helicopters and equipment used by the U.S. Army’s 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade in Afghanistan. The equipment is being redeployed to the United States. More recently, Seafarers aboard the dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Sacagawea rescued 10 Iraqi citizens from a sinking 250-foot coastal tanker in the Central Arabian on Feb. 22. The Navy’s Bahrain-based maritime liaison office issued an alert that the North Korean-flagged vessel MV Nadi was sinking and that her crew needed assistance. The Nadi, which was actively flooding, had been operating without power for a week and its crew members were suffering from dehydration and exhaustion. The Sacagawea, which was conducting logistics operations in the area, arrived to help shortly after the distress call was issued. Aircraft from the USS Truman’s Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 7 picked up the seamen and delivered them to the Sacagawea, where they were examined by medical officers. “Sacagawea’s crew provided shower facilities, laundered the rescued crew’s clothing and provided meals,” said Sacagawea master Capt. George McCarthy. “Many crew members also generously donated clothing, outerwear and shoes. MV Nadi’s captain thanked the Sacagawea’s crew for ‘giving us back our lives.’” The Iraqi mariners were transferred to the UK’s Royal Fleet Auxiliary landing dock ship Cardigan Bay and then transferred to the Iraqi Navy for further transport to their country of origin. The Seafarers-crewed USNS Sacagawea (above) and USNS Seay (below) recently upheld the finest traditions of the “Brotherhood of the Sea,” mobilizing for separate rescue operations. PIC-FROM-THE PAST NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG The photo above, taken in 1956 and sent to the LOG by Brien McMahon of Memphis, Tenn., shows a portion of the U.S. Reserve Fleet tied up in the Hudson River at Stony Point which is located in Tompkins Cove, N.Y. Although no Seafarers are shown, the photo does capture more than a few Liberty Ships. Many Seafarers served on these types of vessels while delivering the goods overseas to troops during World War II. McMahon hopes that the photo brings back some memories to any former Seafarers out there that sailed on this class of vessel. Anyone wanting to share their memories may e-mail him at bmon108@aol.com. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with other Seafarers LOG readers, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. High-resolution digital images may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org May 2008 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:19 AM Page 17 Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. Welcome Ashore Brother John Alberti, 67, was born in New Jersey. He joined the union in 1961 while in the port of New York. Brother Alberti first shipped aboard the COE Victory. The engine department member enhanced his seafaring abilities often at the Piney Point school. Brother Alberti’s last vessel was the Elizabeth. He continues to live in New Jersey. Bluefield, W. Va., and shipped in the deck department. Brother Lewis most recently sailed aboard the Cape Island. He enhanced his seafaring abilities on three occasions at the SIU-affiliated school. Brother Lewis calls Belfair, Wash., home. DAVID CARPENTER CLAUDE LEYCOCK Brother David Carpenter, 65, became an SIU member in 1987. He initially sailed on the USNS Chauvenet. Brother Carpenter was born in California and worked in the deck department. He upgraded his skills on three occasions at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Brother Carpenter’s most recent voyage was aboard the Rhode Island. He makes his home in Mariposa, Calif. Brother Claude Leycock, 69, was born in the Virgin Islands. He began his seafaring career in 1976 in the port of New York. Brother Leycock’s first trip was on the Overseas Joyce. He worked in the deck department. Brother Leycock was last employed aboard the Indian Ocean. He settled in Arverne, N.Y. DEEP SEA JOHN ALBERTI LARRY CROES Brother Larry Croes, 59, signed on with the union in 1967. His earliest trip to sea was on the Overseas Progress, where he shipped as a member of the engine department. Brother Croes is a native of Long Branch, N.J. His final voyage was aboard the 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez. Brother Croes frequently took advantage of educational opportunities offered at the Seafarers-affiliated school. He is a resident of Mineral, Va. ERNEST GIBSON Brother Ernest Gibson, 66, donned the SIU colors in 1964 in the port of Houston. He originally shipped on a Hudson Waterways Corporation vessel. Brother Gibson was born in Livingston, Texas, and worked in the engine department. In 1997 and 2000, Brother Gibson attended classes at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. He last sailed aboard the Pride. Brother Gibson resides in Moscow, Texas. JAMES LEWIS Brother James Lewis, 62, first went to sea in 1966 on the Sea Georgia. He was born in May 2008 JOSEPH MELE Brother Joseph Mele, 56, joined the union in 1969 in the port of Jacksonville, Fla. He initially shipped on the Longview Victory. Brother Mele was a member of the deck department. He was born in New Jersey. Brother Mele upgraded often at the Piney Point school. His final trip to sea was aboard the Horizon Hawaii. Brother Mele lives in Santurce, P.R. FRANCISCO MONSIBAIS JR Brother Francisco Monsibais Jr., 72, signed on with the SIU in 1962. He originally sailed with Consolidated Mariners Inc. as a member of the steward department. Brother Monsibais was a frequent upgrader at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. He continues to reside in his native state of Texas. JAMES ROBERTS Brother James Roberts, 67, joined the SIU in 1959 in the port of Jacksonville, Fla. The Florida native worked in the engine department. Brother Roberts’ first ship was the Monarch of the Sea; his last was the El Yunque. In 2001 and 2004, he took classes at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Roberts makes his home in Jacksonville. GREAT LAKES JOHN CHURCH Brother John Church, 65, began sailing with the SIU in 1969. He was originally employed with Bob-Lo Island. Brother Church was born in North Carolina and shipped in the deck department. His most recent trip to sea was on the St. Clair. Brother Church visited the Piney Point school in 2002 to upgrade his skills. He is a resident of Lenoir, N.C. JOHN CLARK JR. Brother John Clark Jr., 58, joined the union in 1971. His earliest trip to sea was aboard a Great Lakes Associates vessel. Brother Clark was born in Minnesota. He last worked in the deck department of the Walter J. McCarthy. Brother Clark calls Duluth, Minn., home. Reprinted from Seafarers Log. past ANTHONY KOWALSKI Brother Anthony Kowalski, 62, joined the union in 1970 in Detroit. He mainly shipped on vessels operated by American Steamship Company such as the Ben Calvin and the Sam Laud. Brother Kowalski was a member of the deck department. He enhanced his seafaring abilities in 2002 at the SIU-affiliated school. Brother Kowalski continues to live in his native state of Michigan. JERRY NOWAK Brother Jerry Nowak, 60, was born in Neillsville, Wis. He became an SIU member in 1967. Brother Nowak first sailed on the American Sea Ocean. In 2003, he attended classes at the Seafarers-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Before his retirement, Brother Nowak last shipped aboard the John Boland. He resides in Lafollette, Tenn. issues of the 1946 At the instigation of the SIU, representatives of all AFL maritime unions on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts met in New York on May 20. A resolution was adopted calling on the AFL Executive Council to establish a Maritime Trades Department within the American Federation of Labor. The purpose of this move was to ensure that unions allied in the marine industry would have the same kind of representation within the AFL as do the Building Trades Department and the Metal Trades Department. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust recently went on pension. JUAN MAMARIL Brother Juan Mamaril, 65, joined the NMU in 1991. His first voyage was on the Green Wave. Brother Mamaril was born in the Philippines and worked as a member of the steward department. He most recently sailed aboard the Cape Edmont. EDWARD PERRY Brother Edward Perry, 66, became an NMU member in 1980 initially shipping from the port of Philadelphia. The steward department member’s first ship was the Texaco New York; his last was the Sea Isle City. Brother Perry was born in Trinidad, W.I. industry-wide plan that guarantees all Seafarers two weeks of paid leave for each 12 months of service. The agreement will assure Seafarers the opportunity to collect their vacations on the basis of the time worked regardless of how many companies they are employed by throughout the year. 1963 The SIU-manned New Yorker was on a regular run to San Juan when it came across a floundering sailboat piled with 24 men, women and children, all refugees from Cuba. Crew members quickly went aft and got a line to the small boat to pull it amidships. A pilot ladder and safety line were then dropped to the refugees. All passengers were safely brought on board; were treated for minor injuries; and were fed, clothed and escorted to San Juan where they were turned over to a Cuban refugee relief organization. This Month In SIU His tor y 1950 The resourcefulness of SIU crew members aboard the SS Puerto Rico helped save the life of a passenger stricken at sea with acute appendicitis. Four hundred miles into a voyage from New York to San Juan, it was deemed a passenger needed emergency surgery, but the SS Puerto Rico’s medical department did not have the surgical instruments or operating facilities to conduct the procedure. That’s when the crew swung into action, fashioning an operating room on board and contacting the Coast Guard which in turn air-dropped the necessary equipment. The ship’s surgeon conducted the operation and the passenger lived to tell a lifelong tale that was no sea story. 1951 Another precedent was established in maritime when the SIU’s Atlantic and Gulf District won from a majority of its contracted operators an agreement to a revolutionary, 1982 The SIU-contracted Crescent Towing and Salvage Co. of New Orleans recently christened a completely rebuilt and refurbished 4,000 hp tugboat, the John G. Amato. The 112-foot by 26.5-foot wide repowered tug brings the Crescent Towing fleet up to 24 boats. The John G. Amato is capable of moving large ocean-going vessels when the Mississippi River at the port is dredged to a 55-foot depth. She was originally built for the U.S. Coast Guard and named the Ojibway, and was decommissioned in October 1981. Seafarers LOG 17 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:19 AM Page 18 Final Departures DEEP SEA pension in 2004 and resided in Seattle. HOWARD ALBERSON Pensioner Howard Alberson, 65, passed away Dec. 23. Brother Alberson joined the union in 1961. He originally worked with CSX Lines aboard the Fairland. Brother Alberson was born in New York and shipped in the deck department. His final voyage was on the Long Lines. In 1997, Brother Alberson started collecting his retirement compensation. He resided in Sahuarita, Ariz. ROBERT ALEXANDER Brother Robert Alexander, 71, died Aug. 2. He began sailing with the Seafarers in 1990 from the port of New York. Brother Alexander initially shipped aboard the USNS Bold. He was born in Bronx, N.Y., and worked in the deck department. Brother Alexander’s last trip to sea was on the Equality State. He was a resident of Nyack, N.Y. WILLIAM GUERNSEY Pensioner William Guernsey, 81, passed away Nov. 4. Brother Guernsey joined the union in 1948 in New York. He initially shipped aboard the Yorkmar as a member of the deck department. Brother Guernsey was born in Michigan. His final trip to sea was on the Edward A. Carter Jr. Brother Guernsey settled in Canada and began receiving his retirement compensation in 1991. IVAN INGRAM Brother Ivan Ingram, 53, died Oct. 13. He joined the Seafarers in 1991 in the port of San Francisco. Brother Ingram’s first voyage was aboard the USNS Worthy. He was born in Memphis, Tenn., and sailed in the deck department. Brother Ingram was last employed on the Constellation. He made his home in Mentone, Calif. LAURO CLARK Brother Lauro Clark, 61, passed away Oct. 25. He donned the SIU colors in 1988. Brother Clark first sailed on the USNS Harkness; his last vessel was the USNS Chesapeake. He was born in Alabama and worked in the deck department. Brother Clark lived in Berkeley, Calif. CLARENCE DAWSON Pensioner Clarence Dawson, 86, died Dec. 4. Brother Dawson was born in Chicago. He launched his career with the MC&S (Marine Cooks & Stewards) in 1961 while in the port of San Francisco. Brother Dawson became a pensioner in 1979 and made his home in Queens Village, N.Y. MICHAEL DELANY Pensioner Michael Delany, 68, passed away Dec. 31. Brother Delany joined the SIU in 1962. He originally shipped aboard the Antinous as a member of the deck department. Brother Delany was born in New York but called Tampa, Fla., home. Before retiring in 1998, he sailed on the Performance. CHARLES GOOCH Pensioner Charles Gooch, 72, died Nov. 29. Brother Gooch became an SIU member in 1978. His first voyage was aboard the Delta Peru. Brother Gooch was born in the Philippines. The steward department member most recently worked on the Horizon Tacoma. Brother Gooch went on 18 Seafarers LOG DEMTRIOS KYRIAKOS Pensioner Demtrios Kyriakos, 77, died Dec. 8. Brother Kyriakos donned the SIU colors in 1951 while in the port of New York. He originally shipped aboard a Mayflower Steamship Corporation vessel. Brother Kyriakos was born in Greece. The deck department member most recently sailed on the Nuevo San Juan. Brother Kyriakos retired in 1991 and lived in New Orleans. TIMOTHY LOGAN Brother Timothy Logan, 51, passed away Dec. 13. He became a Seafarer in 1998 while in the port of Baltimore. Brother Logan was born in Darby, Pa., and worked in the engine department. He initially shipped aboard a Crowley Liner Services vessel. Brother Logan last sailed on the USNS Altair. He was a resident of Atlantic City, N.J. LLOYD MARSH Brother Lloyd Marsh, 64, died Nov. 19. He was born in Puerto Rico. Brother Marsh launched his SIU career in 1971 in the port of Detroit. He first sailed in the engine department of an American Steamship Company vessel. Brother Marsh most recently worked aboard the USNS Watkins. He resided in Onaway, Mich. ROBERT O’ROURKE Pensioner Robert O’Rourke, 78, passed away Nov. 21. Brother O’Rourke began shipping with the Seafarers in 1951 in the port of New York. The deck department member was born in California. Brother O’Rourke originally sailed on a Waterman Steamship vessel. His final trip to sea was aboard the Overseas Valdez. Brother O’Rourke became a pensioner in 1996 and settled in Salem, Ore. WILLIAM ROCHE Pensioner William Roche, 84, died Oct. 10. Brother Roche joined the union in 1949 while in the port of New York. His first voyage was on the Cape Saunders. Brother Roche was born in Newfoundland, Canada. He last worked aboard the Horizon Mayaguez. He sailed in the deck department. Brother Roche retired in 1983. He called Mobile, Ala., home. LUIS SANTIAGO Pensioner Luis Santiago, 70, passed away Nov. 25. Brother Santiago became an SIU member in 1956, initially sailing on the Del Sud. The Puerto Rican-born mariner shipped in the engine department. Brother Santiago most recently worked aboard the Horizon Producer. He went on pension in 2005 and continued to live in Puerto Rico. Williams donned the SIU colors in 1968. His first ship was the Steel Navigator; his last the Overseas Alice. Brother Williams was born in Virginia and sailed in the engine department. He retired in 2002. Brother Williams called Brooklyn, N.Y., home. THEODORE WILLIAMS Pensioner Theodore Williams, 77, died Dec. 6. Brother Williams became a Seafarer in 1959. He was originally employed aboard the Seagarden. Brother Williams sailed in the deck department. His final trip to sea was on the Patriot. Brother Williams went on pension in 1992 and lived in Silver Springs, Nev. SHINICHI YOICHI Pensioner Shinichi Yoichi, 74, passed away Nov. 18. Brother Yoichi joined the union in 1971. He first sailed aboard the Overseas Ulla. He was born in the Philippines and worked as a member of the deck department. Before his retirement in 2005, Brother Yoichi shipped on the Falcon Lady. He resided in Portland, Ore. INLAND KWAN SIU Pensioner Kwan Siu, 70, died Dec. 29. Brother Siu was born in China. He started his seafaring profession in 1974 in the port of San Francisco. Brother Siu’s earliest trip to sea was on the Santa Mercedes. He worked in the steward department. Brother Siu’s final journey was aboard the Oakland. He went on pension in 2000 and made his home in San Francisco. JAMES TUTWILER Pensioner James Tutwiler, 79, died Dec. 10. Brother Tutwiler joined the union in 1944. Among others, he sailed on vessels operated by Waterman, Alcoa, Calmar Steamship, and A.H. Bull Line. He was born in Asheville, N.C., and shipped in the deck department. Brother Tutwiler most recently worked on the Liberty Sun. He became a pensioner in 1988. Brother Tutwiler was a resident of Shrewsbury, Pa. GEORGE WILLIAMS Pensioner George Williams, 70, passed away Oct. 5. Brother TERRY LAPCZYNSKI Brother Terry Lapczynski, 49, died Oct. 8. He joined the union in 1977 while in the port of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Brother Lapczynski’s first ship was the Steel T. Crapo; his last the Paul H. Townsend. He was born in Michigan and sailed in both the deck and engine departments. Brother Lapczynski resided in Alpena, Mich. JAMES MCHARG Pensioner James McHarg, 84, passed away Dec. 16. Brother McHarg started his seafaring career in 1957 in the port of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He mainly shipped with Inland Lakes Management Inc. His most recent trip took place on the Steel Crapo. Brother McHarg worked in the engine department. He retired in 1986 and lived in his native state of Michigan. JERRY BOYCE Pensioner Jerry Boyce, 71, died Nov. 19. Boatman Boyce initially sailed with the SIU in 1953 in the deep sea division. His first trip to sea was aboard the Southern States. Boatman Boyce was born in Virginia and worked in the engine department. He most recently shipped with Crowley Towing & Transportation of Wilmington. Boatman Boyce retired in 1998 and made his home in Wilmington, Calif. WILLIE SMITH Pensioner Willie Smith, 82, passed away Dec. 13. Brother Smith began sailing with the Seafarers in 1966. His original voyage was on the Vantage Progress. Brother Smith shipped as a member of the steward department. His last ship was the Stuyvesant. Brother Smith was born in Alabama but called Los Angeles home. He started collecting his pension in 1990. became an SIU member in 1966 while in Detroit. Brother Erickson’s earliest trip to sea was on the Reiss Brothers. The deck department member last worked aboard an Inland Lakes Management vessel. Brother Erickson began receiving his pension in 1996. He continued to call Michigan home. EMERITO RIVERA Pensioner Emerito Rivera, 71, passed away Oct. 5. Boatman Rivera donned the SIU colors in 1976. The Puerto Rico native primarily shipped on vessels operated by Crowley Towing & Transportation of San Juan. Boatman Rivera started collecting compensation for his retirement in 1998. He continued to live in Puerto Rico. WILLIAM STEVENS Pensioner William Stevens, 72, died Nov. 3. Boatman Stevens joined the Seafarers in 1962 while in Mobile, Ala. He originally worked with Dravo Basic Materials Company. Boatman Stevens was born in Mississippi. His final journey was aboard the Martin Marietta. Boatman Stevens was a resident of Franklin, La. He went on pension in 1997. GREAT LAKES ANTHONY ERICKSON Pensioner Anthony Erickson, 73, passed away Dec. 28. Brother Erickson was born in Alpena, Mich. He DAVID SAXON Brother David Saxon, 64, died Oct. 14. He began sailing with the SIU in 1990 while in the port of Mobile, Ala. Brother Saxon originally shipped in the deep sea division aboard the USNS Kane. He was born in Michigan and worked as a member of the deck department. Brother Saxon’s final voyage was on the American Mariner. ALVIN WOBSER Pensioner Alvin Wobser, 94, passed away Oct. 30. Brother Wobser was born in Venice, Ohio. He joined the SIU in 1960. Brother Wobser primarily sailed aboard vessels operated by American Steamship Company. He sailed in the engine department. Brother Wobser went on pension in 1978 and called Castalia, Ohio, home. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust have passed away. Name Age DOD Bozek, Edward Castro, John Ciula, Kenneth Dorcich, John Finn, Hilka Henry, George Jackson, Edgar Legore, Franklin Leonard, Robert Love, William Lovelle, Arthur Marshall, Byron Mathews, Joseph Mixon, Millard Nicholson, Lloyd Odegard, Richard Pechuekonis, Frank Ritchey, Donald Simpson, Claibon Templeton, James 80 88 60 84 86 80 88 74 81 84 86 89 96 83 86 69 80 80 76 82 Nov. 6 Nov. 10 Nov. 7 Nov. 13 Nov. 11 Nov. 19 Nov. 4 Nov. 7 Nov. 30 Nov. 5 Nov. 24 Nov. 13 Nov. 8 Nov 1 Nov. 30 Nov. 14 Nov. 24 Nov. 18 Nov. 2 Nov. 24 May 2008 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:20 AM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings Aboard the ITB New York The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships’ minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. CHEMICAL TRADER (Intrepid Personnel & Provision), Feb. 28 – Chairman Raymond A. Tate, Secretary Josue L. Iglesia, Educational Director Troy D. Banks, Deck Delegate Francis C. Johnson, Engine Delegate Wilbert J. Miles, Steward Delegate Jimmy Cordova. Chairman announced payoff March 1 in Lake Charles, La. He explained that without the TWIC card you will not be able to sail after Sept. 25. It was suggested that members go online to preenroll. Secretary thanked all aboard vessel for their help straightening up before meals. Educational director advised crewmembers to take advantage of educational opportunities available at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Treasurer reported $900 in the ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew thanked the steward department for always preparing good food and keeping messhall clean. Next ports: Lake Charles, La., and Tampa, Fla. FREEPORT (USS Transport), Feb. 16 – Chairman Timothy D. Koebel, Secretary Bruce D. Mesger, Educational Director Gerry Davis, Deck Delegate Ed Guerrero. Bosun led a discussion on the 401(k) plan and procedures for obtaining a TWIC card. Patrolman is expected to come aboard in Philadelphia. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendation was made to increase health benefits. Next ports: Philadelphia, Pa., Groton, Conn., Providence, R.I. HARRIETTE (Sealift Inc.), Feb. 24 – Chairman Sean M. Ryan, Secretary George Quinn, Deck Delegate Melecio A. Sison, Engine Delegate Spencer L. Reed, Steward Delegate Jabr A. Matari. Chairman reported that the vessel would be going to Tampa, Fla., shipyard for repair work and that payoff would take place on March 5. Secretary encouraged mariners to read the January Seafarers LOG to get information on TWIC. No beefs or disputed OT reported. New 401(k) plan was discussed. Crew asked for company to install juice machines in both messhalls. Vote of thanks to the galley gang. Next port: Houston. HORIZON EAGLE (Horizon Lines), April 9 – Chairman Daniel W. Seagle, Secretary Rang V. Nguyen, Educational Director John Conn, Deck Delegate Matthew J. Jenness, Engine Delegate Gebar Ogbe, Steward Delegate Mercurian Abuan. Chairman reported smooth voyage and said payoff is scheduled for April 10. He reminded crew to separate plastics and also asked them not to delete someone else’s files from the computer. Secretary thanked crew for cooperative efforts in keeping ship clean. Educational director urged members to upgrade at Piney Point. He May 2008 reminded everyone that mariner deadline for TWIC is Sept. 25. He noted the Seafarers 401(k) Plan is now available. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew reported need for heaters. Next port: Oakland, Calif. HORIZON PRODUCER (Horizon Lines), March 23 – Chairman James K. Walker, Secretary Exxl C. Ronquillo, Educational Director Angel S. Hernandez, Deck Delegate Luis Roebuck, Engine Delegate Cleofe B. Castro. Bosun announced payoff March 23 and reminded crew to clean rooms before departing vessel. Secretary urged all members to contribute to SPAD (Seafarers Political Activity Donation) and upgrade whenever possible at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Educational director encouraged mariners to keep up-to-date on the latest TWIC information and get their cards ASAP. Treasurer reported $3,100 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made for a new printer in crew lounge. Steward department was thanked for excellent meals. HORIZON TIGER (Horizon Lines), Feb. 24 – Chairman Mark S. Lance, Secretary Terry L. Allen, Educational Director Michael W. Peck, Deck Delegate James E. Murphy. Chairman thanked members for a safe trip and informed them payoff would take place in Tacoma, Wash., on Feb. 29. He said results from the water testing had come back and the water was fine. Secretary reported they would no longer be ordering bottled water, however it will be available from the slop chest. Gym equipment to arrive in Oakland, Calif. Educational director advised Seafarers to apply for TWIC cards soon and informed them there is an office close to the Oakland terminal. Treasurer noted $500 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew was asked to separate trash before taking it to the garbage room. Thanks given to steward department for their hard work during voyage. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash., and Oakland, Calif. HORIZON TRADER (Horizon Lines), March 26 – Chairman Amante Gumiran, Secretary K. Dougherty, Educational Director R. Frett, Deck Delegate L. Alvarez, Engine Delegate V. Sapp, Steward Delegate L. Griffin. It was reported that problem with room keys has been resolved. Also, satellite will be installed. Chairman said ship is due to arrive in Jacksonville, Fla., on March 28 and that payoff will take place at sea prior to arrival. He stated one crew member had a concern about noise but it will be addressed by port agent or patrolman. Educational director recommended upgrading at Paul Hall Center. He advised members to allow plenty of time for document renewal and noted predictions that The SIU-crewed ITB New York (above) performs a docking manuever in Port Everglades, Fla. Crew members (top inset, from left to right) Recertified Steward Milton Yournett, Recertified Bosun Calvin Miles, AB Victor Cooper and AB Jose Castillio pause from their duties for a group photo in the vessel galley while Pumpman Ronald Day (second inset) does the same on the vessel’s deck. ACU Alfrancis Bauzon (photo at left) checks to make sure that a deep fryer in the galley is in proper working order. the wait time for TWIC issuance will only become longer as the deadline approaches. Vessel has $985 in crew fund and $1,000 in satellite TV fund. No disputed OT reported. Crew discussed issues with long-term parking in Jacksonville and related transportation concerns. They requested water fountains/dispensers for the main deck and engine room. New dryer is on order. Crew requested new computer so they can check email. Crew thanked Unlicensed Apprentices McNeil and Boyd for job well done. Next ports: Jacksonville; San Juan, P.R.; Elizabeth, N.J. HOUSTON (USCS Transport), March 5 – Chairman John R. Lamprecht, Secretary Robert E. Wilcox, Educational Director Ronald Gordon, Engine Delegate Thaddeus L. Kilgore, Steward Delegate Marco Gueara. Chairman asked crew members to be conscience of their work and take care of ship’s equipment and tools. He reminded deck gang to be aware of line tension in port. Secretary expressed gratitude to fellow shipmates for helping keep pantry and messhall clean. He asked crew to clean lint filters on the dryer to prevent fires and so the dryer will work more efficiently. Steward expressed concern about food budget and noted costs are up, including higher delivery fees. Educational director urged members to keep all necessary seafaring documents current. He recommended pre-enrolling for TWIC card to save time and urged crew to check out upgrading opportunities at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Mariners would like to look into getting a computer with e-mail access in the crew lounge. It was also reported that TV in crew lounge needed to be replaced. Thanks to steward department for a job well done. Next port: St. Charles, La. MAERSK GEORGIA (Maersk Line Limited), March 9 – Chairman James L. Joyce, Secretary Kristin L. Kruse. Chairman stressed the importance of applying for TWIC cards early and reminded crew that the dead line is September 25. He also encouraged everyone to donate to SPAD, which in turn helps defend Seafarers’ jobs. Secretary asked mariners to separate trash. Educational director urged crew to vote in the presidential election in November; ask for an absentee ballot if at sea. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendation was made to lower out-of-pocket expenses for medical benefits. Clarification was requested on payment of transportation costs while going to and from doctors and/or dentists in the U.S. Seafarers would like new washers and dryers. Next port: New York. MAERSK NEVADA (Maersk Line Limited), March 2 – Chairman Scott E. Snodgrass, Secretary Franco A. Pizzuto, Educational Director Glenn A. Snow, Deck Delegate Mark Butler, Engine Delegate Edwin Feliciano, Steward Delegate Pedro R. Castillo. Chairman reported room inspections will take place on March 3. Reliefs will be given a ship tour March 8. Secretary thanked everybody for their cooperation during trip. Educational director stated bosun will post memo explaining how to apply for TWIC document. Beef reported in deck department; it will be discussed with patrolman in Houston. No disputed OT. Members were reminded that new contract went into effect January 26. They were also advised to check pay stubs before signing off. MAERSK RHODE ISLAND (Maersk Line Limited), March 7 – Chairman Daniel Laitinen Jr., Secretary Army J. Leake, Educational Director Christopher J. Kirchhofer, Deck Delegate Morgan E. Piper, Engine Delegate Matthew D. Wright, Steward Delegate Bienvenido C. Badillo. Chairman reported a smooth safe voyage and thanked all aboard vessel for their help making it that way. Educational director encouraged mariners to enhance their seafaring abilities at the Paul Hall Center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next port: Osan, Korea. SEABULK ARCTIC (Seabulk), March 28 – Chairman Juan Tizon Jr., Secretary Alan W. Bartley, Educational Director Jonathan E. Driggers, Deck Delegate Cristopher Sanchez, Engine Delegate Majed O. Alsharif, Steward Delegate Manuel Daguio. Chairman noted vessel will discharge cargo in Port Angeles, Wash., and then proceed to Point Wells. He gave vote of thanks to steward department for job well done. Secretary thanked crew for helping keep mess hall clean. Educational director reminded everyone to check expiration dates on documents, renew early, and apply for TWIC. He encouraged upgrading at Paul Hall Center. Deck and steward delegates reported disputed OT. Crew reported new washer/dryer combo is needed. Next port: Anacortes, Wash. Seafarers LOG 19 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:20 AM Page 20 Letters to the Editor Editor’s Note: The Seafarers LOG reserves the right to edit letters for grammar as well as space provisions without changing the writer’s intent. The LOG welcomes letters from members, pensioners, their families and shipmates and will publish them on a timely basis. Remembering Man’s Best Friend “Shadow” (pictured below), friend and companion for many years to the mariners at the Seafarers Addictions Rehabilitation Center, passed away March 4, 2008, after a brief illness. She’ll be remembered for the love and happiness she brought to everyone. SARC Staff Valley Lee, Maryland in the NMU Pilot and wanted to share them with the membership and my fellow retirees. Here is one from 1986: The Bosun He threw the line Then snapped it tight And a bowline knot appeared His eyes shot sparks that didn’t burn And his smile looked like a sneer With a leap he landed far away (It was then I rubbed my eyes) And what I thought was just a man Had grown beyond that size I looked again, and he was gone To heights I dare not say For if I did who would believe me So let us leave it lay He painted the mast All by himself Before I could blink twice Then lowered his tools And followed them down And still his clothes looked nice He gathered us all Who’d seen him work And said while looking stern “If you should want this bosun’s job, Step up and take your turn.” Retired AB Harold Brown Orlando, Florida ‘World’s Best-Kept Secret’ Sharing Poems from the Past I recently came across a number of my old poems that were published years ago The U.S. Merchant Marine of World War II was the world’s best-kept secret. What most people didn’t know was that not one person was drafted into the ser- vice of the U.S. Merchant Marine. There were many who could not meet the physical requirements to enter the armed forces. There were many who were too young or too old for the military. Any of those mariners could have left the sea at any time to return home to the safe and good life instead of choosing to sail in the war zones for their country. Many people also don’t know that the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II lost more men, percentage-wise, as a result of enemy attacks than any of the armed services with the exception of the U.S. Marine Corps. The War Shipping Administration records substantiate 731 American merchant ships were sunk; more than 6,700 mariners died or went missing in action; and untold thousands were wounded or permanently crippled. More than 6,000 U.S. mariners were taken prisoner by the enemy. People also may not realize that the supposedly high pay merchant seamen received was prorated according to the type of cargo being carried and the degree of danger of the war zone they sailed in. Their pay stopped if their ship was sunk and didn’t resume until they signed aboard another vessel. Seamen also had to purchase their own clothing and supplies. When the war was over, mariners returned home without any of the benefits enjoyed by their counterparts from the armed services. It wasn’t until 1988 that the merchant marine became eligible for a limited amount of veterans’ benefits. But by that time, the average age of mariners who’d sailed during the war was such that the only viable benefit was the grave marker. A grief-stricken mother or wife who is heartbroken weeps just as hard over the death of their merchant marine son or husband as if he had been killed serving his country in one of the armed forces. Author Felix Riesenberg in his book “Sea War” writes, “Into the seaports came exhausted unnerved men, oilsmeared and half-naked. Many wore dirty bandages over horrible burns. All showed the strain of a wretched experience. But old men with a lifetime of sea service, together with teenage boys on their first trips, showed a common defiance…. Their answer to the stock reporter’s question was, ‘Hell yes, I’m shipping out again!’” Another writer described the merchant marine as the silent service during WWII, with no banner headlines of glorious victories, and no combat awards to speak of. But the lives of the GIs in the foxhole and the pilots in the cockpit depended on the food, equipment and munitions and gasoline the merchant marine carried through the submarineand raider-infested waters, he noted. U.S. Merchant Seamen were marked men in thankless jobs. But their heroic service contributed significantly to America’s victory at sea. General Douglas MacArthur said, “I hold no branch in higher esteem than the merchant marine services.” I spent three years in the merchant marine. I made 10 trips overseas. Three of the trips were on the tanker Lake Erie. We carried 130 octane gasoline to England. Do you know what it is to be hit by a torpedo? All hell breaks loose. Milam Herchek, age 83 Yoakum, Texas Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. 20 Seafarers LOG PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. May 2008 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:20 AM Page 21 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the next few months of 2008. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Course Start Date Date of Completion Basic Fire Fighting/STCW June 23 June 27 Fast Rescue Boat May 12 June 16 May 16 June 20 Government Vessels (Week 1) May 19 June 23 May 23 June 27 Medical Care Provider May 19 May 23 Tankerman Familiarization/Assistant Cargo (DL) June 2 (must have basic fire fighting) June 13 Steward Upgrading Courses Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. Able Seaman May 26 June 20 Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes start every other Monday. The most recent class began April 28. Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) (must have radar unlimited) June 16 June 20 21-Hour Bridge Resource Management (1,600 tons or less) (includes First Aid/CPR) (must have valid radar unlimited certificate) May 12 Celestial Navigation June 2 June 27 Lifeboatman/Water Survival May 12 June 23 May 23 July 4 Radar June 2 June 13 Radar Renewal (one day) June 23 June 23 Bosun Recertification Course May 12 October 14 June 2 November 3 Steward Recertification Course July 14 Aug. 18 August 4 Sept. 8 May 16 Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be selfstudy. Online “Distance Learning” Courses Engine Upgrading Courses Advanced Container Maintenance (Refer) June 2 June 27 Basic Auxiliary Plant Ops May 19 June 13 FOWT June 16 July 11 Junior Engineer July 7 August 29 Welding May 5 June 2 May 23 June 20 Safety Specialty Courses Advanced Fire Fighting (must have basic fire fighting) May 5 June 30 May 16 July 11 Basic Fire Fighting/STCW May 12 May 26 June 16 May 16 May 30 June 20 UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Date of Birth ______________________ Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____ Department ___________ E-mail ____________________________ Yes No Important Notice To Students Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so that arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and fifty (150) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. COURSE BEGIN DATE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. U.S. Citizen: In addition to the foregoing courses, the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education currently is offering the following internet-based courses: Environmental Awareness; Hazardous Material Control and Management; Hearing Conservation; Heat Stress Management; Shipboard Pest Management; Respiratory Protection, and Shipboard Water Sanitation. The courses are free to mariners covered by SIU contracts. To register, complete the regular upgrading application located on the bottom left portion of this page, and mail it to: Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075. Applicants will receive user account information from the center via e-mail. They are therefore urged to provide their e-mail addresses in the space provided on the application. Applicants should also include the word “online” when listing the courses they wish to take. Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Yes Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ May 2008 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 5/08 Seafarers LOG 21 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/28/2008 6:13 AM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Computer Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 700 – Unlicensed apprentices from Class 700 recently graduated from the water survival course. Those graduating from the course (above in alphabetical order) were Stephen Amthauer, Dwayne Ahkvaluk, Joseph Bankhead, Virgil Beasley, Keithan Bland, Tyesha Boyd, Adam Brubeck-Galloway, Ashley Carmichael, Vanessa Catron, William Hood, Kenneth LeDeoux, Larry Locke Jr., Jasper McNeil, Mark Merenda, John Monaco, Jimmie Moore Jr., James Norman, Robert Orloff III, Thomas Quinlan Jr., Rondell Richardson, Enrique Rodriguez, Walker Rose, John Saling, and William Wickerd. (Note: Not all are pictured) Government Vessels – The above Phase III unlicensed apprentices on March 17 graduated from this course. Completing their respective requirements (in alphabetical order) were Robert Brackbill, Chad Bruch, Satchel Caffy, Jacqueline Calhoun, Kevin Copeland, Robert Day, Brooke English, Sean Fitzgerald, Jason Fountaine, Nicholas Gustafson, Ryan Kinser, Jose Layz, Demetrius Madison, Jonathan McNeil, Steven Pyle, Scott Rosseel, Patrick Shaw, Anthony Snoeyebos, Caleb Swanson and Jacob Zitnick. Stan Beck, their instructor, is not pictured. Radar Observer - The following individuals (above in alphabetical order) recently completed this five-day course: John Frey, Mark Kane, Keveon Kidd, Tyson Little, WIlliam Ray, Chris Vincenzo and Regina Ewing. Their instructor, Stacey Harris, is at far left. (Note: Not all are pictured.) 22 Seafarers LOG Six students recently completed a series of computer training classes at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. After receiving their certificates for completion of their respective classes—which among others included Excel 2002 and Windows XP Operating System—they posed with their instructor Rick Prucha for these photos. Students completing the various courses were (photo above, from left) Christian Cordova, Doug Lowry, Travis Moody and Rodney Martin-Payne. Other graduates included Roger Dillinger Jr. (photo at left) and Paa Kwakye, who is pictured at right in the photograph below. Prucha is third from left in the photo above, right in the photo at left and left in the photo below. In addition to conducting classes in computer training, Prucha also teaches academic courses. Important Notice Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so that arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. Welding - The following individuals (in alphabetical order) graduated from this course March 21: Lawrence Cormier, Daniel Gaffney, Ted Gonzales, Nat Lamb and Dennis Rivard. Their instructor, Buzzy Andrews, is at far left. May 2008 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:20 AM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes FOWT – The following upgraders (above, in alphabetical order) on March 21 completed this course: Heaven Bautista, Christopher Caporale, Christian Cordova, William Cotea, Dante DeMcCutac, Tyrone Ellis, Vincent Figuenick, Timothy Foster, Fred Green, Dwight Hunt, Tom Loughead, Billie Marshall, Wilbert Martinez, Travis Moody, Montree Nakwichet, Cameron Newberry Jeffrey Nicholson, Rodney Payne, Ronaldo Quinones, Enrique Velez, Martin Watson and Robbie Wills. Their instructor, Tim Achorn, is standing far left in the second row. Medical Care Provider – Ten individuals on March 28 completed this course. They were (above in alphabetical order) Jeffrey Fields, John Frey, Kevin Gailing, Adam Hansen, Kevin Johnson, Keyon Kidd, Joseph Krajnik, W. Tyson Little, Spencer Reed and Jome Zerna. Class instructor Mark Cates is standing at far left. Advanced Container Maintenance – The above upgraders on March 28 completed requirements for graduation from this course. Completing the course (in alphabetical order) were Wendell Brown, James Meyers, Sammy Montana, John Osburn and Franic Quebedeaux. Their instructor, Calvin Beale, is third from left. Basic Firefighting – The above upgraders on March 21 completed this course. Those graduating (in alphabetical order) were William Coronacion, Cirico Geonanga Jr., Emilio Gonzales, Russell Hayden, Matthew Hogan, Arnedo Paredes, Michael Proveaux, Roberto Silva, Neil Sullivan, Wilson Trayvilla and Tecumseh Williams. The class instructor, Mark Cates, is at far right. Machinist — Two individuals on April 4 completed this course. They are (above in alphabetical order) Michael Brown and Alfonzo Davis. Steve Harver, their instructor, is pictured at far left. Holiday Observance Everyone should be advised that SIU Headquarters in Camp Springs, Md., and all union hiring halls will be closed Monday, May 26 for the observance of Memorial Day. Unless an emergency arises, normal business hours will resume Tuesday, May 27. May 2008 Able Seaman – The upgraders in the photo above (in alphabetical order) on March 28 completed this course: Ali Ahmed, Adiener Alfaro, Paul Amato, Larry Bradley, Pedro DeJesus, Quince Harrington, Daniel Irizarry, Nick Johnston, Randolph Knipfer, James Knute, David McRoy Jr., Gil Quinones, Howard Randle, Pedro Rivers-Riestra, Iker Urruchi, Ryanne Wheeler and Benjamin Wright. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is second from left. Seafarers LOG 23 �47850_p01_24_x:January 08 4/27/2008 6:20 AM Page 24 Volume 70, Number 5 May 2008 TWIC Updates, Enrollment Centers & Much More - Pages 12-13 SA Sisto Arturo Deanda UA Chad Bruch grinds a padeye for welding. Working in the engine room QMED Al Hickman Phase II Aboard the Liberty Sun Segment of Apprentice Program May be Ultimate Hands-On Training Recertified Steward Joe Birke Editor’s note: Thanks to Unlicensed Apprentice Chad Bruch for supplying the photos accompanying this story. The photos were taken last fall and winter aboard the Liberty Sun during a voyage overseas. One of the most favorably reviewed components of the unlicensed apprentice program at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is “Phase II,” a 90-day shipboard stint in which each trainee rotates through the three shipboard departments aboard a U.S.-flag vessel. AB E. Castro, UA Marcos Ramos (above) work on the deck of the Liberty Sun while at sea. The photo below was taken from aboard the vessel while she was docked in Haifa, Israel. Phase II provides both a true test and true taste of shipboard life. Graduates and Paul Hall Center instructors have pointed to Phase II as a big factor in boosting retention rates among unlicensed mariners. According to the latest statistics compiled by the school, more than 75 percent of students who graduate from the program still are sailing four years later – a significant improvement compared to the years before 1997, when the trainee program was restructured. A number of SIU-contracted companies participate in Phase II of the unlicensed apprentice program. They include: Sealift, Inc., 3PSC, Alaska Tanker Company, Allied Towing, AMSEA, American Steamship, Crowley, E-Ships, Hannah Marine, Horizon Lines, Interocean American Shipping, Keystone, Liberty Maritime, Maersk, NCL America, Ocean Ships, Overseas Shipholding Group and Pacific Gulf Marine. The overall program entirely consists of U.S. Coast Guardapproved courses, many of them blending classroom instruction with practical training. The first and third phases take place at the Paul Hall Center campus in Piney Point, Md. While the shipboard training has proven successful, Phase I, at the school itself, lays the foundation for becoming a mariner. This phase also lasts three months and includes the following training: vessel familiarization; STCW basic safety training (BST); basic fire fighting; first aid; water Sign near grain elevator at Gate 5 survival; vessel operations; and social responsibilities. During Phase III, students begin to specialize their training. Deck personnel head to courses titled (respectively) specially trained ordinary seaman and tankship familiarization/dangerous liquids, while engine department mariners enroll in the basic auxiliary plant operations class. Those who choose the steward department take four weeks of upgrader-level galley operations. Completion of Phase III is considered official graduation, but the school doesn’t abandon students after that point. What is considered Phase IV consists of an additional four months’ sea service, followed by the appropriate upgrading course (able seaman, for instance). For additional information about the program, call tollfree at 1-877-235-3275 or visit the Paul Hall Center section of the web site www.seafarers.org. AB Cliff Favorite (front) and GUDE Modesto Ordonez prepare to open hatches. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 May 2008 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES SECRETARY-TREASURER CARRIES SOLIDARITY MESSAGE TO MUA SIU’S HEINDEL ALSO EMPHASIZES GRASSROOTS POLITICAL ACTION TANKER OVERSEAS NEW YORK DELIVERED NY WATERWAY CREWS APPROVE 3-YEAR PACT SIU CREWS CONTRIBUTE TO MRAP MILESTONE MEMBERSHIP RECEIVES PRESIDENT’S PRE-BALLOTING REPORT MAJESTIC CRUISE BOAT EVACUATED BECAUSE OF ENGINE ROOM FIRE SIXTH T-AKE JOINS MSC FLEET, CIVMARS NET MORE JOBS U.S. NAVY’S MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND CHRISTENS USNS AMELIA EARHART DURING CEREMONY AT NASSCO SHIPYARD ITF, SINGAPORE UNION ASSIST STRANDED CREW STEELMAKER CALLS FOR MORE LAKES DREDGING SO NATION CAN REINVEST IN AMERICAN JOBS MARINE HIGHWAY INITIATIVE SHOWS WATERWAYS’ IMPORTANCE ALASKA TANKER COMPANY SAFELY REACHES MILESTONE SEAFARERS DEDICATION TO SAFETY LEAVES LASTING LEGACY SEAFARERS, OFFICERS, OFFICIALS PROMOTE MARITIME IN CALIF. SIU OF CANADA REPORTS MAJOR ORGANIZING VICTORY AT MCKEIL HORIZON FALCON RECEIVES ADDITIONAL RECOGNITION SHIPBOARD MEMORIES FROM WWII MARINER LEGERE FORMER SIU MEMBER’S FILM TAKES LOOK AT MODERN DAY PIRACY IN MALACCA STRAITS SEAFARERS ON MSC MISSIONS SAVE LIVES USNS SEAY, USNS SACAGAWEA PERFORM RESCUES AT SEA PHASE II ABOARD THE LIBERTY SUN Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 05/01/08 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. 70, No. 5 2008 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/7f0546a50ddcb536e814d79f599fe4bc.pdf 4ef2a6d50e170bdee04ed2f163de5bf1 PDF Text Text 47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:21 AM Page 1 Volume 70, Number 4 April 2008 “You deliver and we know we can count on you…. You are that fourth arm of Department of Defense and you are critical to this nation.” —Major General Kathleen Gainey, Commander, U.S. Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command Guest speakers at the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department executive board meeting in late February near San Diego – including Major General Gainey, right – stressed the U.S. Merchant Marine’s vital role in national and economic security. They also emphasized the effective, professional partnerships that exist throughout many segments of the maritime industry. Pictured at the meeting, counterclockwise beginning with the group photo of people applauding, are (front, from left) SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez, ILA President Richard Hughes, MEBA President Don Keefe and GMP President John Ryan; Crowley Maritime Corporation CEO Thomas Crowley; MTD and SIU President Michael Sacco with Vice Admiral Ann Rondeau, deputy commander, United States Transportation Command (TRANSCOM); and SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel (left) with Maritime Union of Australia National Secretary Paddy Crumlin. Coverage begins with President Sacco’s column on page 2 and continues on pages 3, 11, 12, 13 and 14. Crowley Boatmen Approve Contract, Welcome New ATB Crowley will take delivery of by the end of 2010. The vessels christened were the 9,280 hp tug Integrity and barge 650-4. Pages 3, 4. Last month brought good news on multiple fronts for Seafarers working at Crowley. SIU members employed by the company approved a new fouryear contract calling for wage increases and other gains. The agreement covers approximately 200 SIU members based (respectively) in Philadelphia, Pa., Jacksonville, Fla., Lake Charles, La., and Wilmington, Calif., including the five members pictured at right, aboard the tug Defender. Also, on March 19 in Charleston, S.C., the company christened the fourth of 10 new 185,000-barrel Articulated Tug-Barge (ATB) tank vessels that List of TWIC Enrollment Centers Page 8 Operation Deep Freeze ’08 Page 24 �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:21 AM Page 2 SIU Ships Support Satellite Interception President’s Report Saluting Seafarers’ Support Even while the details still were being sorted out late last month, an incident involving the SIU-crewed Global Patriot near the Suez Canal provided a jolting reminder that the war against terrorism truly is a different kind of war. As some Seafarers may already know, military security team members aboard the Global Patriot – a vessel operating under charter to the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command – fired warning shots at Michael Sacco a small boat approaching the ship as it prepared to transit the canal on March 24. The incident was still under investigation as this edition of the LOG went to press. However, the Navy reported that several “warning steps” were taken as three small boats approached. Those steps included use of a signal flare and communication from a native Arabic speaker aboard the Global Patriot who advised the boats to turn away. Despite those warnings, one of the boats continued to approach the ship and received two sets of what were intended as warning shots. One Egyptian man inadvertently was killed as a result. There were conflicting reports about whether other occupants of the boat had been injured. However it plays out, it’s almost impossible to read or hear about this story and not think of the terrorist attack on the USS Cole, which happened in Yemen in the year 2000. I’ll bet the Cole was very much on the minds of Global Patriot crew members and security team members last month as those boats approached. Were the boats simply trying to get near the Global Patriot so they could try to sell cigarettes and other products (a common scene in those waters)? Why didn’t the one boat turn back after first being warned? On the Cole, 17 sailors died and dozens more were injured after a suicide attack launched by a small boat that initially appeared friendly. Without in any way minimizing the unintended loss of life, is it hard for anyone to understand why no one on the Global Patriot would want to take any unnecessary chances? In the SIU, we’re proud of our 70-year record of supporting America’s armed forces. That remains true today as we deliver the goods in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. The Global Patriot saga reminds us that our union brothers and sisters constantly answer the nation’s call and willingly assume the risks that go with the territory. As always, I salute your dedication. In the case of the Global Patriot I share in the deep relief of knowing no one aboard was harmed, while at the same time offering condolences to the Egyptian man’s family. MTD Meeting Revisited Appreciation for U.S. mariners was very evident at the recent meeting of the Maritime Trades Department executive board, as reported throughout this edition. If you’re new to the SIU or otherwise unfamiliar with the MTD, I encourage you to take the time and read about the meeting. Check out what some of our nation’s military leaders say about sealift and American mariners. Take a look at the comments from high-ranking representatives of various other segments of the maritime industry and the labor movement. You’ll see that while there’s never a shortage of challenges, we have a bright future as part of the U.S. Merchant Marine. Volume 70, Number 4 April 2008 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 207909998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2008 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG Seafarers, including members of the SIU Government Services Division, recently helped make history in an event that resembled something out of Star Wars. Three SIU-crewed military support ships assisted in the U.S. Navy’s interception and shoot-down of a 5,000-pound, non-functioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite over the Pacific Ocean. The U.S. Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) SIU-crewed missile range instrumentation ship USNS Observation Island provided telemetry information. The ship, which can monitor objects in space, tracked the satellite and collected data on it both before and after the missile launch. The guided missile cruiser USS Lake Erie, positioned west of Hawaii, launched the SM-3 missile to intercept the satellite on Feb. 20. A second Seafarers-crewed MSC ship, the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Guadalupe, mobilized from San Diego to support the mission. Instead of conducting a two-week repair period, the ship was given short-notice tasking and got under way with enough fuel to replenish the other vessels involved in the operation, according to the agency. Hours after the interception, the Guadalupe provided about 50,000 gallons of fuel to the Lake Erie and 45,000 gallons to the guided missile destroyer USS Decatur. Three MSC fleet ocean tugs were standing by to recover debris. Later, it became known that the SIU-crewed SBX-1 – a unique combination of an advanced X-Band radar mounted aboard an oceangoing, semi-submersible platform – also aided in the mission. “I’m proud that our MSC ships were able to support the intercept on such short notice,” said Capt. David Kiehl, commander of MSC’s Sealift Logistics Command Pacific. In late January, the U.S. government notified other nations that the satellite was unresponsive and would make an uncontrolled reentry in late February or early March. The decision was made to bring down the satellite because of the likelihood U.S. Navy Photos Above, a modified tactical Standard Missile-3 (SM3) launches from the U.S. Navy cruiser USS Lake Erie, successfully impacting a non-functioning National Reconnaissance Office satellite approximately 133 nautical miles over the Pacific Ocean. A closer view of the missile is shown in the photo at left. that the satellite could release hydrazine fuel upon impact, possibly in populated areas. The Navy modified three SM-3 missiles to strike the satellite. According to the Defense Department, the satellite was travelling at more than 17,000 mph and approximately 133 miles above Earth when it was struck. Committee members are pictured with Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel (second from left) and Asst. VP Ambrose Cucinotta (far right, standing) after wrapping up their work last month at headquarters. Financial Committee Approves Union’s Records Each year, in accordance with the SIU Constitution, rank-and-file Seafarers are elected by their fellow members to serve on a financial committee. The group is tasked with examining the union’s finances for the prior calendar year and then formally reporting its findings to the SIU secretary-treasurer. Subsequently, the committee’s report is read in all ports at the union’s monthly membership meetings and presented for membership approval. Last month, eight Seafarers fulfilled this constitutional mandate by reviewing the SIU’s financial records for the year 2007. The committee found those records in good order. Serving on the committee were Seafarers Christopher Nardone (chairman), William Bunch, John Frey, David James, Paa Kwakye, Clay Poore, Rodger Taylor and Tommy Hampton. In its report, the committee wrote, “Representatives of the certified public accounting firm who periodically audit the union’s books and records explained their auditing procedures for the checking of the secretary-treasurer’s financial report of the union’s records. They further discussed with us the overall financial operation of the union. In addition, the secretary-treasurer worked with the committee and made himself and the records of his office available to the committee.” The committee also noted, “We find that the headquarters of the union is taking all steps possible to safeguard union funds and to see that the disbursements of the union are in accordance with the authority delegated to them and that, at the same time, there is a striving effort to increase day-to-day efficiency of our operation…. All records used in connection with the union’s financial operations were reviewed fully.” The committee worked at SIU headquarters during the first full week of March. Article X, Section 14-c of the SIU Constitution spells out the duties of the annual financial committee as well as rules and procedures for electing the committee. April 2008 �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:21 AM Page 3 MTD Unions Credited as Valued Partners Highly Regarded Speakers Stress Support for U.S.-Flag Shipping “Partnership” is a word that surfaced time after time during the most recent meeting of the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department’s executive board, as guest speakers from different segments of the industry expressed appreciation for the important work performed by unions and their rank-and-file members. MTD President Michael Sacco, who also serves as president of the SIU, said he has received exceptionally positive feedback about the meeting, which took place Feb. 28-29 in the San Diego suburb of Coronado, Calif. A number of attendees observed that the guest speakers’ respective comments went far beyond courtesies. Instead, representatives from the military, the administration, Congress, the private sector and the labor movement not only detailed the vital roles played by the MTD and its affiliated unions, but also voiced genuine thanks for their reliable, often patriotic performance. The MTD consists of 24 international unions (including the SIU) and 19 port maritime councils in the United States and Canada representing more than five million working men and women. In order of appearance, the following people addressed the executive board on Feb. 28: Thomas Barrett, deputy secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation; Vice Admiral Ann Rondeau, deputy commander, United States Transportation Command (TRANSCOM); Sean Connaughton, U.S. maritime administrator; Gen. Ken Wykle (USA ret.), president, Executive board members and guests focus on a message about the importance of U.S.-flag shipping. National Defense Transportation Command; Fred Harris, president, National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO); and Paddy Crumlin, national secretary, Maritime Union of Australia. A day later, the following individuals spoke to the board: Major General Kathleen Gainey, commander, U.S. Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command; Thomas Crowley, CEO, Crowley Maritime Corp.; Admiral Thad Allen, and SIU President Michael Sacco discusses the induscommandant, U.S. Coast MTD try’s progress. Guard; Richard Trumka, AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer; and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie gram, port security, the Employee Free Choice Act, and the Re-Empowerment of (D-Hawaii). The board approved a number of state- Skilled and Professional Employees and ments, which reflect much of the meet- Construction Tradeworkers (RESPECT) ing’s content. Those resolutions covered Act. During his opening remarks, Sacco topics including cargo preference, support for the troops, the Title XI shipbuilding recapped some of the industry highlights program, LNG shipping to the U.S., the and challenges since the prior year’s meetneed for an industrial policy, U.S. Naval ings. He also welcomed two new board shipbuilding, grassroots political action, members: ILA President Richard Hughes and health care. Also adopted were state- and MEBA President Don Keefe. ments on the U.S. Maritime Security Program (MSP), cabotage laws including See pages 11-14 for full covthe Jones Act, the Transportation Worker erage of the MTD meeting. Identification Credential (TWIC) pro- Crowley Seafarers Approve 4-Year Contract Agreement Increases Wages, Maintains Benefits, Nets Other Gains The quality of life for members working aboard Crowley tugs and barges and at facilities in Philadelphia, Pa., Jacksonville, Fla., Lake Charles, La., and Wilmington, Calif., just improved as Seafarers overwhelmingly ratified a new four-year contract with Crowley Towing and Transportation. Negotiated with substantial input from the membership, the new contract calls for annual wage increases and also maintains medical and pension benefits. It protects SIU jobs – not a single one was lost. The wage increases, like the contract itself, are retroactive to July 1, 2007. In addition to maintaining medical benefits at the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan’s top level (Core Plus) and securing extra contributions to the Seafarers Pension Plan, the pact introduces the new employee-funded SIU 401(k) Plan to members employed by Crowley. Overall, the contract covers approximately 200 members. Significantly, the contract solidifies transportation reimbursements for Seafarers. “Many challenges needed to be overcome during the course of this negotiation,” explained SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker. “But with the help of the membership, elected delegates and SIU officials who served on the negotiating committee, the union successfully secured a fouryear agreement that delivers wage increases that have exceeded any Crowley agreement in the last decade.” Member discussions, contract development and negotiations were conducted by a team of 11 in union halls but mostly on boats. The group included officials and rank-and-file members, spearheaded by Tricker who was assisted primarily by SIU Assistant Vice President Contracts Archie Ware and Wilmington Port Agent John Cox. See page 9 for additional photos of Crowley Seafarers April 2008 Bargaining committee member and rank-and-file participant Todd Smith said, “We went to the negotiations armed with questionnaires of items the members wanted. Company and union negotiators worked well together and hashed out the best package I’ve seen in a long time. Pay raises each year of the contract and especially reimbursement of travel expenses were important. We have a lot of people who travel from all parts of the country and reimbursement will save a lot of us some real money. Folks have to think long-term. A lot of people don’t have what we have – a pension, health care and security.” Also serving on the union’s negotiating team were Seafarers Kyle Sweep, Roger Stewart, Craig Perry, David Lytle, Jake Jarrell, Nicholas Conway and Steve Mitchell. SIU boatmen are pictured on the Monitor. Members of the Crowley contract bargaining teams and SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel (seated, center), who dropped in for a short presentation, are pictured in Piney Point, Md. Standing left to right are Unlicensed Delegate (from Philadelphia) Todd Smith, Crowley Representative Jim Gillen, Unlicensed Delegate (Jacksonville) Kyle Sweep, Crowley Representative John Ara, Licensed Delegate (Los Angeles/Long Beach) Roger Stewart, Unlicensed Delegate (Los Angeles/Long Beach) Craig Perry, Wilmington Port Agent John Cox, Unlicensed Delegate (Lake Charles) David Lytle, Crowley Representative Jim Penny and SIU Asst. VP Archie Ware. Front row, left to right: SIU VP George Tricker, Heindel and Tony Naccarato of Crowley. Seafarers LOG 3 �47469_2x:January 08 4/1/2008 4:20 PM Page 4 Crowley’s ATB Integrity features the most modern equipment and technology. Crowley Christens Another ATB Seafarers and SIU officials were on hand March 19 in Charleston, S.C., as Crowley Maritime Corporation christened the articulated tug-barge (ATB) Integrity. SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker and SIU Assistant Vice President Contracts Archie Ware represented the union at the ceremony along with rank-and-file Seafarers. The new ATB consists of the 9,280 hp tugboat and the barge 650-4, collectively called the Integrity. It is the fourth of 10 new 185,000-barrel ATB tank vessels that the company expects to receive by the end of 2010. During ceremonies conducted at the Charleston Cruise Terminal on Concord Street, Marcia Bartholme, wife of Rocky Smith, Crowley senior vice president and general manager, Pacific/Alaska region, christened the 135-foot tug Integrity, while Barbara Baldwin, wife of Bob Baldwin, regional director, BP Shipping USA, christened the 587-foot barge 650-4. According to the company, Crowley’s petroleum service is chartering the VT Halter Marine-built ATB from Crowley’s technical services group, and operating it for BP under a time-charter agreement. Crowley already has four 155,000-barrel ATBs and three 185,000-barrel ATBs operating and has announced plans to build three larger 750-series (330,000-barrel capacity) ATBs for delivery by the middle of 2013. Once all vessels are received, the fleet will stand at 17. “The ceremony was very well done and the entire experience was understandably upbeat,” said Tricker. “Whenever we see new, state-of-the-art tonnage entering the SIU-contracted fleet, it’s natural to feel excited.” Captain Buddy Davis described the Intergrity as “the finest piece of equipment afloat. They didn’t cut any corners _ everything is state-of-the-art. Every system has a backup.” He also said the new ATB is “laid out with all the creature comforts. Crowley’s a very good company. They care about their people and they care about their equipment, and it shows.” An ATB has an articulated, or hinged, connection system between the tug and barge, which allows movement in one axis or plane in the critical area of fore and aft pitch. Crowley and VT Halter Marine jointly designed the newest ATB tank vessel. The barge 650-4 was built at Halter’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., and the Integrity at its shipyard, in Moss Point, Miss. The new ATBs feature the latest systems technology and double-hull construction for maximum safety and reliability. Not only does the unit have the capability of transporting refined products, but it can also carry heated cargoes and “easy” chemicals, which require special arrangements of vents, stripping systems, pump components and tank coatings above those normally required for product carriers. All of Crowley’s ATBs are built under the ABS SafeHull program for environmental protection. According to the company, this program puts the vessel design through an exhaustive review to identify structural loads and strengthen the vessel structure. The 650-Class barges are 27,000 deadweight tons, 587 feet in length, 74 feet in breadth and 40 feet in depth. The fully loaded draft is 30 feet. There is an electric cargo pump in each of the 14 cargo tanks to assure maximum cargo integrity and segregation flexibility; two anchor windlasses and associated equipment to enable the vessel to accommodate offshore mooring operations; and a vacuum system with three retention tanks to easily handle cargo changes. There is also a nitrogen generator and vapor collection system for maximum safety. A layer of nitrogen covers products in the tanks to make the atmosphere too lean for combustion. An enhanced mooring system features 1,000-foot Spectra-type lines on split drums with a high-speed recovery rate of 100 feet per minute. The tugs meet all SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) and ABS criteria, and have a foam capable fire monitor; twin fuel-efficient heavy fuel oil engines; a noise reduction package; and other upgrades to increase crew comfort. The communication and navigation equipment is among the most technologically advanced in the industry today, the company noted. The new tug Integrity is pictured from fore and aft. Crowley President and CEO Tom Crowley (fourth from left among those standing) joins Seafarers and SIU officials at the christening. Also among those pictured are SIU VP Contracts George Tricker (next to Tom Crowley) and SIU Assistant VP Contracts Archie Ware (front row, left). Government Study: Economic Impact Of U.S.-Flag Cruise Ships Runs Deep For backers of the U.S.-flag cruise industry, the timing undoubtedly seemed sadly ironic. Around the same time NCL America announced the upcoming departure of the Pride of Aloha from its American-flag fleet, a government study revealed the enormous economic boost that even a single U.S. cruise ship gives to the islands. The upshot: In a calendar year, one American-flag cruise ship home-ported in Hawaii creates 3.5 times as many shore-side jobs and has 3.5 times the economic impact as the total foreign-flag fleet sailing to Hawaii. The study was put together by Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT). It shows that one U.S.-flag, NCL America ship creates more than 5,000 jobs and accounts for a “total economic output impact” of $542 million per year (with the latter figure includ- 4 Seafarers LOG ing, among other things, costs of fuel and food as well as spending by passengers and crew members). By comparison, the entire foreign-flag fleet that calls on Hawaii accounts for roughly one-third the numbers of jobs and spending, according to the study. Both the study and the Pride of Aloha announcement in mid-February occurred against the backdrop of efforts to modify federal regulations in order to level the playing field for U.S.-flag operators that are or would be competing with foreign-flag outfits in the deep-sea cruise industry. The Pride of Aloha is scheduled to reflag in May. (Crew members will be offered jobs on the SIU-contracted Pride of America.) Earlier this year, the Pride of Hawaii also left NCL America’s U.S.-flag fleet. In both cases, the company cited a steep increase in the amount of foreign-flag competition entering the Hawaiian market from the West Coast as a key factor. Foreign cruise ship capacity between those locations has increased by 500 percent in the last five years, according to news reports. Commenting on the reflagging of two ships, an economics and finance professor at Hawaii Pacific University told The Honolulu Advertiser, “It isn’t good news. One is bad, two is twice as bad.” The newspaper also quoted a local business owner (surely representative of others) who said the reduction in U.S.-flag cruise ships sailing to Hawaii will cause “a real vacuum. We’ve been in business 14 years and we’ve gone through many stages of the economy, but we find that the (NCL America) cruise ships have really overwhelmingly improved our local economy,” said Marie Aguilar, president of the Kailua Village Merchants Association and owner of the Eclectic Craftsman in Kona, according to The Honolulu Advertiser. April 2008 �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:21 AM Page 5 Labor Leaders Spell out Strategy For ‘Economy That Works for All’ During its meeting in San Diego in early March, the AFL-CIO executive council passed a number of statements designed to help set the labor federation’s agenda for the months ahead. One of those resolutions, focusing on U.S. workers and the economy, appears below. The council is headed by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. SIU President Michael Sacco has served on the board since 1991. AFL-CIO Executive Council Statement We may be seeing the end of the first economic expansion since the Second World War in which average family incomes have not recovered their pre-recession levels. A bursting housing bubble last summer and the resulting crisis in the U.S. sub-prime mortgage market have triggered a full–blown credit crisis, which now seems to be dragging the American economy into recession and slowing economic growth globally. Economic growth slowed sharply toward the end of 2007 and the economy began to shed jobs early this year. The unemployment rate rose to 4.9 percent in January but would be 6.7 percent if labor force participation were close to pre-recession levels. Even at the peak of a recovery, median family income, adjusted for inflation, was lower in 2005 than in the previous year and economic anxiety was unusually high due to the threat of job loss, the volatility of family incomes, rising health care costs and the continued erosion of pensions. Even before the recent economic slowdown, working families were struggling to maintain their living standards by working longer hours and more jobs, by sending more family members to work and by borrowing against the equity in their homes. In terms of jobs, wages, health care and pensions, the recovery from the 2001 recession has been the weakest of any recovery since the Second World War, weaker even than the jobless recovery of the early 1990s. Debt-financed consumer spending has provided what momentum the economy has shown over the past seven years. Stagnant wages and incomes left consumers borrowing against the expected rise in the value of their homes to maintain their families’ living standards. Household savings fell below 1 percent, levels not seen since the worst years of the Great Depression. The truth is, as weak and unbalanced as the current recovery has been, America’s workers are suffering what is now a generation-long stagnation of wages and rising economic insecurity. The misguided domestic and international economic policies of the past three decades have produced an unbalanced economy that has seriously reduced the role of government in guiding the economy and radically shifted bargaining power from workers to their employers. These policies have benefited our wealthiest families as never before, but working families have been left behind. Corporations are earning record profits and CEOs, on average, are now earning 364 times what workers earn. Productivity has increased 67 percent since 1980, but wages have barely budged. Average family incomes are only 15 percent higher today than they were three decades ago, and only because families are working harder and sending more members into the workforce. Only the top 10 percent of families have seen their income rise at or above the rate of productivity growth. As a result, incomes and wealth are more unequally distributed in America than in any other developed country and are more unequal today than at any time since the 1920s. The American Dream is fading for millions of working families. The bursting of the housing bubble and resetting interest rates on sub-prime mortgages threaten the homes of hundreds of thousands of America’s working families. The credit crisis and financial market turmoil threaten the pensions and savings of millions. And the resulting pull-back of consumer spending and business investment now threatens the jobs of millions more. Housing prices already have fallen 10 percent and may fall another 10 to 20 percent over the next two years, leaving 10 million families with negative equity in their homes, causing more than 2 million foreclosures and destroying trillions of dollars of household wealth. This massive loss of wealth likely will undermine consumer spending and business investment. The Federal Reserve moved aggressively to lower interest rates by over 2 percentage points and is signaling more cuts to come. Congress also passed a $168 billion fiscal stimulus package featuring a tax rebate for families and tax cuts for business. While these steps are helpful in mitigating some of the worst effects of the slowdown, they are insufficient to avert recession, nor do they deal with the fundamental economic imbalances at the root of the current economic crisis…. Working families need, and we demand, additional measures to keep families in their homes by enacting a moratorium on foreclosures and a second stimulus package to extend unemployment insurance, expand the food stamp program and bolster federal aid to states and cities to prevent further cutbacks of vital public services. We should also front-load public investment to maintain our schools and repair crumbling bridges and deteriorating highways. Spending that puts people to work on projects we desperately need is more likely to stimulate the domestic economy than tax cuts that may be saved or spent largely on imported consumer goods. But even these expanded stimulus measures do not address the fundamental imbalances at the root of the current economic slowdown. In addition, we need a bold national economic recovery program to change the policies that produced the imbalances that are now driving the economy into what may become a serious recession. First, we must restore the competitiveness of the United States in global markets to balance our trade with the rest of the world. Currently we must borrow nearly $800 billion a year to pay for the things we consume as a nation that we no longer produce. We have lost 3.3 million good manufacturing jobs since 2000, many the result of our imbalanced trade. Moreover, China and other Asian trading partners are manipulating their currencies to maintain their competitive advantages. The huge trade surpluses of these countries have produced a global savings glut which is fueling asset price inflation in the in the United States. The demand for U.S assets from these countries has fed the unsustainable housing bubble on which our fragile growth has depended over the past seven years. To restore the competitiveness of the American economy, we must change our trade, tax and exchange rate policies to level the playing field for domestic producers. Domestically, we must also greatly expand public investment in the education and training of America’s workers, as well as the information, communication and transportation infrastructure so essential for a competitive American economy. We must also adopt a national strategy to rebuild American manufacturing. We must have national health care reform to level the competitive field for domestic manufacturers. And we must have an approach to climate change focused on domestic investment in new technologies to produce a more environmentally sustainable economy, lessen our dependence on foreign oil and produce good manufacturing jobs. Second, we must have a more robust and coordinated monetary and fiscal policy focused on maximum sustainable growth and full employment. We cannot continue to depend on consumer spending financed by asset bubbles to power the U.S. economy. The Federal Reserve and Treasury are mandated by Congress to maintain rapid growth and full employment but they have largely abandoned this mission to serve other purposes…. Third, we must have transparent and more effective financial regulation in the mortgage and credit markets. The failure of regulators to ensure secure mortgage markets and sound financial markets has fostered speculation in both. The promotion of irresponsible mortgages has put millions of working families into homes they cannot now afford. And the financial services industry has engineered these fragile mortgages into exotic securities that we were told would disperse risk to those best able to bear it. Instead, these complex securities have concentrated the risk in the hands of those least able to understand it. The deregulation of financial markets and the financial engineering that produce mountains of unsupportable debt have allowed finance to dominate the real economy, produced turmoil in our capital markets and undermined the stability of the real economy in which our members live and work. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney We must restore effective regulation to ensure transparency and accountability of mortgage lenders, investment banks, hedge funds, private equity and sovereign wealth funds. Fourth, we must restore a fair tax system capable of financing the key public investments necessary for a competitive U.S. economy. The United States is plagued by rapidly rising inequality and a public sector so impoverished we are unable to fund vital infrastructure improvements, educate our children, or deal with the challenge of energy and the environment. At the heart of these problems is a tax system that treats the upper middle class and billionaires the same in terms of marginal income tax rates. We need a truly progressive tax system, one that looks to the superrich to pay their fair share. Fifth, and most important, we must restore a balance of power between workers and their employers to allow workers to share in the prosperity that they help create. We must enact meaningful minimum employment standards, including a minimum wage indexed to one-half the median wage. We must also pass the Employee Free Choice Act to restore the freedom of workers to organize and bargain collectively. And we must extend collective bargaining rights to millions of publicsector workers denied these fundamental rights. America’s workers are the most productive workers in the world. And they work longer hours than workers in any other developed country. America is still the richest country in history. There is no reason that we cannot have a strong and internationally competitive American economy whose prosperity is broadly shared. Economic issues—stagnating living standards, rising economic anxiety and growing inequality—have risen to the top of the nation’s agenda and are the leading concern of America’s voters this year. To win the trust of the American people, candidates for office must show they know and care about the real economic anxieties of America’s working families. Most of all, they must bring forward credible economic policies to produce an Economy That Works for All. Rep. Gene Taylor to Receive ‘Salute to Congress’ Award U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor (DMiss.), a longtime backer of the U.S. Merchant Marine, will receive the prestigious Salute to Congress Award later this month. The award’s sponsor, the International Propeller Club of the United States, said Taylor “is being honored for his consistent and strong support of the United States maritime industry.” The 24th annual Salute to Congress dinner will take place April 29 in Bethesda, Md. Hundreds of attendees are expected, including representatives of maritime labor and other segments of the industry, executive branch officials and other congressmen. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee, Taylor is the Chairman April 2008 of the Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces. He also sits on the Readiness Subcommittee. On the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, he serves on both the Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee and the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee. In addition, Taylor, a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, serves as co-chair of the following Congressional member organizations: Shipbuilding Caucus, National Guard and Reserve Caucus, and Coast Guard Caucus. During a National Maritime Day ceremony last May in Washington, D.C., Taylor was a featured speaker. Among other points, he stated it is time for America to demonstrate that it truly values the maritime industry by supporting it. U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) “If we’re really serious about homeland security, we must control our waterways, we must control the Jones Act,” Taylor said. He added that the nation should invest in its shipyards and pointed out the historically proven dangers of exclusively relying on other nations to build and transport material. He said that in order to honor the mariners of World War II, America must commit to the industry’s future. “We have to recognize that 95 percent of everything going to the Middle East (for Operation Iraqi Freedom) goes by sea. In the future it’ll be the same way.” The Propeller Club is a grassroots, non-profit organization with members across the country and around the world. The organization is self-described as being “dedicated to the enhancement and wellbeing of all interests of the maritime community on a national and international basis. The Propeller Club aggressively promotes the maritime industry through many of its programs and partnering with other similar organizations. Our goal is to educate legislators and the public as to the importance and necessity of all waterborne commerce…. The membership comprises a cross section of the maritime industry throughout the United States and in many cities overseas.” Recent recipients of the Salute to Congress Award include U.S. Senator John Warner (R-Va.) in 2007 and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) in 2006. Seafarers LOG 5 �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:21 AM Page 6 Seafarers aboard the Horizon Tiger celebrated New Years at sea with a barbecue. In photo at left, meal preparation was in the capable hands of (from the left) SA Munasser Omer, Chief Cook Sal Ahmed and SB Terry Allen. In photo below, Ahmed joins lst Engineer Michael Dumcha who landed this Mahimahi during an anchor near mainland China. According to Ahmed, the fish was a welcomed addition to the feast which included steak. SIU Patrolman Sam Spain (left) presents GUDE James Burke with his first pension check in the Port of Norfolk. Burke last sailed aboard the Flickertail State. At Sea and Ashore With SIU Members AB Brian Gaunt shows off the 40-inch Cobia while his vessel was at anchor off the Texas Coast near Port Aransas, Texas. Gaunt sails aboard the Chemical Trader. OS Rolando Dinouz (above left) and AB Larry Dizon send greetings to their brothers and sisters from aboard the Pride of Aloha. The SIU-contracted criuse vessel was somewhere near Fanning Island when these photos were taken. SIU officials serviced the Patriot recenty while the car carring vessel was was tied up in Bayonne, N.J. In photo above, (from the left) QMED Lee Weygandt, Bosun Chris Sykes and OMU James Tolan Jr., huddle to share their views after reading the Seafarers LOG. Chief Steward Edward Usmauy (photo at right) prepares a meal for his Patriot shipmates. SIU Patrolman Michael Russo, (photo at left, standing fourth from right in dark shirt) recently met with the crew of the Chemical Pioneer while the vessel was in the Port of Houston. Among other topics, Russo spoke to them about SPAD. To show their support for the program, crew members posed for this photo with a SPAD poster. In photo at right, (from the left) Bosun Abdul Hassan, AB Ignatius Muzich and relieving Bosun James Joyce are all smiles after reading the January 2008 LOG. The mariners sail aboard the Maersk Georgia. 6 Seafarers LOG April 2008 �47469_2x:January 08 4/1/2008 4:21 PM Page 7 Advancing Your Career Via the Paul Hall Center The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., offers the most U.S. Coast Guardapproved courses of any maritime school in the nation. The center features top-notch training from experienced instructors and state-ofthe-art equipment and facilities. The school offers courses for mariners sailing in the deck, engine and steward departments. Below is a quick look at one of those classes. For more information about the center and its courses, contact the Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; call (301) 994-0010; or visit the Paul Hall Center section of www.seafarers.org. Course dates are listed on page 21 of this issue of the LOG and also are carried on the web site. Deck Department Course Spotlight Ratings Forming Part of a Navigational Watch/Able Seaman – Applicants completing the school’s four-week Ratings Forming Part of a Navigational Watch/Able Seaman program satisfy: (1) the training, seagoing service, and assessment requirements of 46 CFR 12.05-3(c) and Section A-II/4 of the STCW Code, Mandatory Minimum Requirements for Certification of Ratings Forming Part of a Navigational Watch;—AND—(2) if presented WITHIN ONE YEAR of the completion of training, the written examination requirements of 46 CFR 12.05-9 for the “Deck General & Navigation General” and “Deck Safety & Rules of the Road” exam modules for any Able Seaman endorsement and the practical (knot tying) examination requirements of 46 CFR 12.05-9 for any Able Seaman endorsement PROVIDED that all other requirements of 46 CFR Subpart 12.05, including sea service, are also met. The course consists of hands-on training and classroom work covering deck seamanship, rules of the road, marlinespike seamanship, helmsmanship, cargo handling, safety, fire fighting, emergency procedures, first aid, anchoring, and mooring, and aids to navigation. Prerequisites: Sea service, Water Survival (Lifeboatman), STOS. Special: 12 months’ service on deck, 2 months’ sea service under the supervision of the Master, the OIC of the navigational watch, or qualified ratings (STCW). Limited: 18 months’ service on deck, 2 months’ sea service under the supervision of the Master, OIC, or qualified ratings. New Seafarer Sheppard Found Direction Through Unlicensed Apprentice Program Henry Sheppard rose from tough times, chose a career at sea and is sailing toward a promising profession, thanks to his own drive and to opportunities presented by the SIU and its affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. Like many if not most 18-year-olds, Sheppard reached a point when he needed to choose his life’s path. Though he didn’t have some of the advantages enjoyed by others his age, he was motivated. His introduction to the Paul Hall Center’s unlicensed apprentice program proved an excellent match – Sheppard recently graduated from the school and shipped out as a wiper. At age 15, Sheppard went into foster care in Seattle. “When I was 17, I was placed in Mary O’Donnell’s home and have been with her since,” said Sheppard. He said that O’Donnell is so loving and caring, he doesn’t consider her “foster Mom, she’s Mom.” What Sheppard needed in his life was a humanitarian with a heart of gold, and one found him. “Henry was placed in a foster home with at-risk youths,” said O’Donnell. “Some of the kids were going through detox and had been in and out of detention. Henry is a great student with lots of drive. I couldn’t let this very special boy stay in that situation.” According to O’Donnell, she worked with social services to have Sheppard moved into her foster home. When he graduated from high school, Sheppard went to community college. But, according to O’Donnell, “Henry’s the type of person who likes to pay his own way through life and was ready to make a decision.” “I wanted a rewarding career now without spending a lot of time in class right away and owing money later to pay for it,” explained Sheppard. “I wanted to make my way now and also have time for education. My brother is in the Air Force and I looked at that, but it wasn’t for me.” Sheppard said he considered many other options until Rich Berkowitz, director of Pacific Coast Operations for the Transportation Institute in Seattle heard about him and showed him a video about the apprentice program and the union. “SIU looked straightforward to me and looked like it would give me a rewarding career with no false advertising,” Sheppard noted. O’Donnell added that Sheppard liked the relatively flexible work schedule enjoyed by mariners because it would enable him to make money and still have time to take college courses. She also said Sheppard liked the idea of being able to work his way from the bottom up. “The apprentice program looked good so I started on my unlicensed apprenticeship at the Paul Hall Center for my first 12 weeks,” said Sheppard. He noted he was so excited about starting his career and receiving training at the SIU-affiliated school, based in Piney Point, Md., he kept a diary of his experiences. “Overall I feel that this program is very well-suit- ed to its intended purpose of preparing trainees for shipboard life. There is nothing you do or learn here that doesn’t directly apply to living and working on an ocean-going vessel. The rules are a bit tedious at times, but are intended to weed out those who wouldn’t be able to handle life on a ship. If you can’t handle the three months you spend at Piney Point (for the first phase of training), the odds are pretty good you wouldn’t last long in a union that requires you to ship Seafarer Henry Sheppard credits the union and its affiliated school with providing straightforward opportunities to rewarding careers at sea. for a [certain minimum amount of time in order to accumulate seniority]. The staff at the school is really concerned with helping out trainees as much as possible and helping them be the best they can be.” Sheppard described the first phase of the program as “a lot of hard work, but also very gratifying because I know that I am working toward a greater goal and what I hope to be a gainful career as a mariner.” “I think he will upgrade at the school every chance he gets,” said O’Donnell. “The Paul Hall Center was perfect for him and I think I would be for other foster kids.” After Sheppard finished the first segment of his apprentice training, he was assigned to serve on the Cleveland, a bulk cargo ship. His mission: humanitarian aid to Africa. “I never thought I’d be on a humanitarian aid mission but it was great to give something back and move forward in my career,” exclaimed Sheppard. “It’s very rewarding… I’m glad I found out about the SIU. I was looking for a career in which you get out of it what you put into it.” “Henry is very excited and his level of self-confidence has grown tremendously. He talks a great deal to his friends about his new life and loves the camaraderie onboard ships,” said O’Donnell. “It looks like a perfect life for not only kids who grew up in foster care but everyone looking to make a difference in their lives.” Sheppard concluded, “All of the help I’ve received from brothers in my union has given me direction and put me on to a great career.” Horizon Kodiak Crew Teams Up to Construct Shipboard Fitness Room Exercise may be little more than an annually unfulfilled resolution for some, but no one needs to sell the benefits of physical fitness to Seafarers aboard the Horizon Kodiak. SIU members and officers aboard the vessel already know the many plusses associated with working out – so much so that they recently pitched in to build a nicely equipped shipboard gym. The workout room is a welcome addition. April 2008 Horizon Kodiak Recertified Steward Brian Burchette (who also has a background as a personal trainer) pointed out that staying in shape is particularly important for mariners “especially with the rigors at sea that we endure on a daily basis. Also, with the newly added pre-employment physicals that Horizon Lines and other companies now utilize, I believe it is imperative that we as Seafarers make a concerted effort to better ourselves. “As we are all aware, unlike a land job, there is no sick leave when on a vessel,” he continued. “You are either fit for duty or not fit for duty. For the most part, keeping ourselves healthy and fit goes handin-hand with being able to provide for our families.” With that in mind, Burchette approached the vessel’s captain and brain- stormed about the feasibility of building an exercise room. Eventually the idea was approved, and everyone aboard did their part to convert a store room into a gym, complete with free weights, a weight machine and a treadmill. Burchette said the new furnishings aren’t being wasted. “As they said in the movie Field of Dreams, ‘If you build it, they will come!’” Only when posing for a LOG photo do Seafarers remain still in the Horizon Kodiak’s exercise room. Pictured from left to right are Bosun Garry Walker, GSU Mike Linus, Recertified Steward Brian Burchette, AB Anwar Alsharif, AB Kareem Ahmed, DEU Mohamed Aboubaker, Chief Cook Tammy Bingisser (seated), Electrician Alfonso Bombita Jr. and QMED Dan Thomas. AB Mark Pesola is taking the photo. Seafarers LOG 7 �47469_2x:January 08 4/1/2008 4:21 PM Page 8 Mariners Need TWIC by Sept. 25, 2008 The following information, available on the U.S. Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) web site, covers the steps necessary to acquire a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). This information has been sent to all SIU halls and will be repeated in upcoming issues of the Seafarers LOG. The deadline for U.S. mariners to obtain a TWIC is Sept. 25, 2008. Therefore, the union urges Seafarers to apply for the new card, which eventually will be required of all U.S. mariners who need unescorted access to secure areas of U.S. ports and vessels. The requirement comes from a federal law called the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. Seafarers should check with their port agents and/or utilize the TSA conThis is a list of addresses for Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) enrollment centers as of late March, as published by the Transportation Security Administration at the following web address: http:// www.tsa.gov/twic When visiting that site, there are different ways to access the most recently updated list of enrollment centers. There is a link near the top of the home page; there’s also one within the TWIC “FAQ.” As they become available, additional addresses will be published in the LOG and faxed to the union halls. The TSA is expected to announce the locations of many more enrollment centers in the weeks and months ahead. Seafarers should note that while the LOG is publishing an updated list of enrollment centers each month, there are differences from issue to issue besides simply adding new addresses. A number of previously published addresses have been modified or replaced by the TSA, for example (everything from a different suite number in the same building to an outright new facility replacing a previously announced one). Alabama 250 North Water Street Mobile, AL 36602-4000 California Oakland Maritime Support Services (OMSS) 11 Burma Road Oakland, CA 94607-1010 1830 Embarcadero Avenue Suite 104 Oakland, CA 94606-5230 301 E. Ocean Boulevard Suite 500 Long Beach, CA 90802 1931 N. Gaffey Street Suite B San Pedro, CA 90731-1265 Suite 300 13201 San Pablo Ave. Richmond, CA 94806 Suite 103 1025 W Laurel St. San Diego, CA 92101 2000 Marina Vista Dr. Martinez, CA 94553 Connecticut 75 Crystal Ave. New London, CT 06320 Delaware 1 Hausel Road Wilmington, DE 19801-5852 8 Seafarers LOG tact information that follows for the latest information on the TWIC program, including the “TWIC Quarterly Deployment Plan,” which is a list of cities where TWIC enrollment centers are or will be located. Updates also periodically appear on the SIU web site (www.seafarers.org, normally in the “Heard at Headquarters” section). Seafarers are advised that although pre-enrollment for the TWIC is optional, both the agency and the first individual SIU members who have applied for the card strongly recommend it. FOR MORE INFORMATION On the web: www.tsa.gov/twic By phone: TWIC Program Help Desk, 1-866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-3478942) By email: credentialing@dhs.gov Florida 955 Tallyrand Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32206-6049 707 Mullet Road Suites 117/118 Port Canaveral, FL 32920-4519 975 North America Way Miami, FL 33132-2004 2604 E. 7th Ave. Tampa, FL 33605 Port Everglades Badging Office 1030 Taylor Road Dania Beach, FL 33004-2810 Habana Plaza (Rear) 3125 Riviera Dr Key West, FL 33040 Suite 303 2051 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Riviera Beach, FL 33404 Suites 119, 120 5323 W. Hwy 98 Panama City, FL 32401 Georgia 5214 Augusta Rd Garden City, GA 31408-1606 Country Inn and Suites 211 Gateway Center Blvd. Brunswick, GA 31525 Hawaii 1347 Kapiolani Blvd. Suite 204 Honolulu, HI 96814-4512 Hilo Hawaiian Hotel 71 Banyan Drive Hilo, Hawaii 96720-4601 Kahului Shopping Center 65 West Kaahumanu Avenue Unit 14 Kahului, HI 96732 970 Kele Street Suite 102 Lihue, HI 96766 Illinois Dixon Building Suite 206 8741 South Greenwood Chicago, IL 60619 Three Rivers Safety Council 1615 W. Jefferson Street Suite TWIC Joliet, IL 60435-6724 Hampton Inn 11 Winners Way East Peoria, IL 61611 Suite 153 1635 W. First Street Granite City, IL 62040 Indiana 200 Russell Street Suite 110 Hammond, IN 46320-1825 3602 Northgate Court Suite 37C New Albany, IN 47150-6417 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS Pre-Enroll This can save time at the enrollment center itself. To pre-enroll, individuals must first register for an ID starting at https://twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/TWIC WebApp/ Applicants will need to supply basic information including their name, date of birth and country of birth. Gather Documentation As part of the TWIC application process, individual applicants must supply documentation verifying their identity. A list of acceptable documents was printed on page 4 of the January edition of the Seafarers LOG and is available on the TSA’s TWIC web site. A valid merchant mariner document/z-card is acceptable, as is an unexpired passport. 700 W. McNeese Street Lake Charles, LA 70605-5532 Port Fourchon Harbor Police 108 A.O. Rappelet Road Port Fourchon, LA 70357-0000 170 James Drive East Suite 104 St. Rose, LA 70087-4005 LaPlace Shopping Center 1933 West Airline Hwy. LaPlace, LA 70068 Maine 236 Oxford Street, Suite 12 Portland, ME 04101-3070 163 Hildreth Street North Bangor, ME 04401 TWIC Enrollment Centers Maryland 2200 Broening Hwy, Suite 220 Baltimore, MD 21224-6623 Suite 204C 212 W. Main St. Salisbury, MD 21801 Enroll Applicants may enroll at any of the agency’s enrollment centers, at which time they must pay the TWIC fee of $132.50 (or the reduced fee of $105.25, if applying for a TWIC that expires in conjunction with a merchant mariner document). Applicants will provide fingerprints and be photographed as well as provide personal information. Pick up TWIC Applicants must return to the same enrollment center to pick up their credential. They will be notified by email or phone (as specified during enrollment) when the card is ready. The individual TWIC will be activated, and the card-holder will select a corresponding PIN number. Holiday Inn 1500 Hwy 71 International Falls, MN 56649 Room B006 34 13th Ave., NE Minneapolis, MN 55413 Mississippi Ergon Refining 227 Industrial Drive Vicksburg, MS 39183-0000 Suite D 1223 30th Ave. Gulfport, MS 39501 New Jersey Northern New Jersey / Bergen County 89 Leuning Street Suite G South Hackensack, NJ 07606-1345 New York 102 Smith Boulevard Albany, NY 12202-1067 Howland Hook Marine Terminal 241 Western Avenue Staten Island, NY 10303-1103 Whitehall Ferry Terminal 4 South Street Room 210 New York, NY 10004-1940 Rhode Island 17 Virginia Ave Suite 105 Providence, RI 02905-5443 South Carolina 4600 Goer Drive, Ste 112 North Charleston, SC 29406-6500 Tennessee 3865 Viscount Avenue Suite 2 Memphis, TN 38118-6000 3200 West End Avenue Suite 510 Nashville, TN 37203-1330 Texas 7433 Leopard Street Corpus Christi, TX 78409 Ford Convention Center Tyler Room 5155 IH-10 South Beaumont, TX 77705-4213 West Gulf Maritime Association 1717 Turning Basin Houston, TX 77029-3003 3800 Highway 365 Suite 123 Port Arthur, TX 77642-7566 1000 Foust Road Brownsville, TX 78521 Suite 9 2680 Grand Island Blvd. Grand Island, NY 14072 1750 FM 1432 Victoria, TX 77905-0000 Suite 2106 3225 Old Washington Rd. Waldorf, MD 20602 One East 2nd Street Oswego, NY 13126-1177 301 Highway 146 N. Texas City, TX 77590-6630 Massachusetts 28 Damrell St. Suite 104 Boston, MA 02127-2775 North Carolina Suite 107 5704 Oleander Drive Wilmington, NC 28403 411 West Main Street Port LaVaca, TX 77979 300 Tremont Street Unit #5 Carver, MA 02330-1758 311 Atlantic Beach Causeway Atlantic Beach, NC 28512-7359 Michigan Delray Mechanical 667 S. Post Street Detroit, MI 48209-3053 800 East Ellis Road Suite 122 Norton Shores, MI 49441-5622 511 Ashmun Street Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783-1960 863 North Pine Road Essexville, MI 48732 430 S. Water Street Marine City, MI 48039 AmericInn of Silver City 120 Lincoln Ave. Ontonagon, MI 49953 396 N. State Street St. Ignace, MI 49781 Suite 105 1020 Hastings Street Traverse City, MI 49686 Louisiana Safety Council for Louisiana Capital Area Minnesota Suite 104 2161 University Ave. St. Paul, MN 55114 8180 Siegen Lane Baton Rouge, LA 70810-1914 1310 Port Terminal Road Duluth, MN 55802 Virginia Suite F 814 Greenbrier Circle Chesapeake, VA 23320 Ohio 3100 E45th Street Suite 226 Cleveland, OH 44127-1091 Suite 300, Room 359 11815 Fountain Way Newport News, VA 23606 Star Center One Maritime Plaza 720 Water Street Toledo, OH 43604-1883 Washington 5009 Pac Hwy E Suite 17 Fife Business Park Tacoma, WA 98424-3432 Suites 754, 755 8044 Montgomery Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45236 Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE) AERIE # 1 6205 Corson Avenue South Seattle, WA 98108 401 Broadway Avenue Suite D, Office B Lorain, OH 44052-0000 4830 State Road Ashtabula, OH 44004-6214 Oklahoma 5350 Cimarron Road Catoosa, OK 74015-3027 Oregon Suite 100 7025 N. Lombard St. Portland, OR 97203 8327 Summit Park Rd Ste. D Anacortes, WA 98221 Port of Everett Marina Marina Conference Center 404 14th Street Everett, WA 98201-1674 West Virginia Tri-State Fire Academy 4200 Ohio River Rd, Huntington WV 25702 Pennsylvania Philadelphia Regional Port 3460 North Delaware Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19134-6311 Wisconsin Chase Commerce Center 3073 South Chase Avenue Suite 620 Building 28 Floor 1 Milwaukee, WI 53207-2668 701 North Point Drive Suite 104 Pittsburgh, PA 15233-2133 Hotel Green Bay 780 Armed Forces Drive Green Bay, WI 54304 April 2008 �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:21 AM Page 9 Seafarers from the tug Ensign and SIU Patrolman Ashley Nelson (second from left) SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker (standing) discusses negotiations with crew members from the Pioneer and the Centurion. Crowley Boatmen Approve Contract The Crowley Sentinel reaches its dock after a trip back to Florida from Puerto Rico. As reported on page 3, Seafarers employed by Crowley recently approved a new four-year contract calling for wage increases and other improvements while maintaining medical benefits. Some of the approximately 200 Seafarers covered by the pact are pictured on this page along with SIU officials. Chief Mate Robert Venable (above) aboard the Crowley Sentinel Chief Engineer Willie Pettwa (left) makes his way upward from the engine room. SIU VP Contracts George Tricker (third from left) gets member input aboard the Crowley Sentinel. Crew members of the tug Sea Breeze SIU-Crewed USNS Gilliland Loads U.S. Army Equipment The Seafarers-contracted USNS Gilliland loaded more than 150,000 square feet of U.S. Army equipment March 15-18 in Antwerp, Belgium, according to the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC). The Gilliland is a large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll- April 2008 Crowley Patriarch crew members are pictured with SIU Jacksonville Safety Director Karl Leiter (far right). off vessel, abbreviated as LMSR. MSC reported that the materiel – trucks, trailers, tanks and other combat support equipment – belongs to the U.S. Army’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. The Gilliland is delivering the cargo to the Middle East to be used in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Since Sept. 11, 2001, MSC ships (many crewed by SIU members) have delivered more than 101 million square feet of equipment in support of Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom. That is enough cargo to fill a line of railroad cars stretching more than 2,400 miles from Washington, D.C., to Las Vegas, Nev., according to MSC. “Serving the men and women deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan by getting their equipment to them on time is one of our key missions here at Sealift Logistics Command Europe,” said Capt. Nicholas Holman, commander of that branch. “These soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen depend on MSC to deliver the tools they need to do their job promoting freedom and democracy in the Middle East and around the globe.” The Gilliland is one of 19 civilian-crewed LMSRs belonging to MSC and is ideally suited to carry oversized military equipment. At 954 feet long, the ship has 380,000 square feet of cargo-carrying capacity, equivalent to almost eight football fields. The Gilliland is named after Korean War Medal of Honor recipient Corporal Charles L. Gilliland who sacrificed his life to cover the withdrawal of his unit from enemy fire on April 25, 1951, near Tongmang-ni, Korea. Seafarers LOG 9 �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:22 AM Page 10 Servicing SIUCrewed Vessels In The Port of Tampa Coast Range Editor’s Note: SIU Safety Representative Kevin Marchand earlier this year spent nearly a week servicing Seafarers-contracted vessels as they called on the Port of Tampa. The photos on this page show some of the rank-and-file members in their work environments. Overseas Philadelphia Members of the Coast Range crew off-load equipment from the vessel’s deck (above) while Recertified Bosun Marvin Zimbro (left in inset at left) and AB Travis Stringer II enjoy lunch. Chief Cook Bernard Butts (inset, above right) takes a break from his duties in the galley. Sulphur Enterprise Bosun Michael Brewley (left) and Recertified Steward Justo Lacayo meet in the galley of the Overseas Philadelphia. Members of the Sulphur Enterprise crew gather after a shipboard meeting. Pictured are Bosun Joseph White, AB William Ray Jr., DEU Carl Turner, AB Zsuzsanna Balla, Chief Cook Audrey Brown and SA Nelson Bernardez. Chemical Trader AB Shelby Rankin (above, left) stands watch on the Chemical Trader while DEU Jose Encarnacion (above, right) gives the thumbs up. Chief Cook Jimmy Cordova (below, left) and Steward Exxl Ronquillo take a break in the dining area. ITB Mobile Tug Enterprise Ordinary Seaman /Cook Carlos Taylor (left) and AB Bradley Thomas send greetings from aboard the Tug Enterprise. Steward Virgilio Donghit (left in left photo above) and UA Kenneth LeDeoux complete some paperwork in the galley of the ITB Mobile while shipmates AB Dionicio Mejia (left in photo at left) and GUDE Montree Nakwichet stand cargo watch. In photo above, Bosun Timothy Jackson (left) and AB James McCormick return to the vessel after going ashore. Sea Venture Keystone Texas Members of the Sea Venture crew gather on deck following their meeting with the SIU rep. Pictured (from the left) are Bosun Thomas Mincey, AB George Saltz and AB Courtney Denley. OSG Tug Honour Ordinary Seaman/Cook Michael Hufana (left) and AB Kelly Marsh reported to the stern of the OSG Tug Honour following their union meeting. 10 Seafarers LOG Keystone Texas Bosun Edward McClean runs a stores crane (above) while Steward Roderick Oree (inset above, left) and Chief Cook Elizer Saintvil (inset above, right) prepare to put away stores. AB Eddie Ebanks stands cargo watch (inset at right). April 2008 �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:22 AM Page 11 MTD Executive Board Meeting Military Leaders Powerfully Declare Support for U.S. Mariners, U.S. Ships With rank-and-file Seafarers in the audience, two key military leaders who addressed the MTD executive board meeting Feb. 28-29 near San Diego left no doubt about the high esteem in which they hold the U.S. Merchant Marine. Major General Kathleen Gainey, commander, U.S. Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, and Vice Admiral Ann Rondeau, deputy commander, United States Transportation Command (TRANSCOM), each offered powerful words of support and appreciation for the reliability of U.S. mariners. They also made it abundantly clear that America’s national security is best-served by maintaining a strong American-flag fleet with American crews. Two dozen or so SIU members (including members of the union’s Government Services Division) were guests at the meetings, which altogether drew more than 200 people per day. Speaking not only about mariners but also other members of unions affiliated with the MTD, Gainey stated, “You are critical to our nation. All of us in uniform appreciate you in the maritime trades.” She noted the long history of America’s civilian mariners, literally dating to the country’s earliest days. “The merchant marine has always been there beside us,” Gainey said. “You have always been there when we needed you, and you have always delivered. It doesn’t matter whether it was in harm’s way or whether it was in peace. You’ve always been there. Your partnership has never faltered. Your willingness to be there was never conditional. You’ve always delivered and been there for our service members around the world. There’s no amount of thanks that I could give you, because I’m here to tell you, having deployed twice, I know how critical it is that we get that equipment and those MTD and SIU President Michael Sacco welcomes Maj. Gen. Kathleen Gainey. “The history of the Maritime Trades Department for us is really important. It’s part of what we are as a nation... This is important to us in uniform. Why is that? Because you produce results.” --Vice Admiral Ann Rondeau, Deputy Commander, U.S. TRANSCOM supplies on time. You deliver and we know we can count on you.” Gainey said it is important that all segments of the maritime industry “keep the dialogue open on the key issues: port security, strategic sealift, rebuilding our ports … and ensuring that we keep a strong, strong maritime force with American-flag carriers.” She mentioned the relatively new program in which protective vehicles known as MRAPS are being delivered (often by Seafarers-contracted ships) to U.S. troops overseas. Pointing out the efficiency of sealift, she noted that some of the decisionmakers originally advocated airlift for the new military vehicles. “If it was your son or daughter (waiting for delivery), you, too, would have wanted it there the fastest way possible,” Gainey said. “We were able to show them we can deliver” quickly by ship, and those deliveries have reinforced the value of American-flag vessels supporting our troops. Gainey repeatedly referred to the effective “partnership” between the military and the commercial sector. She said deliveries to the warfighter have “significantly improved” because of that partnership, adding that “performance statistics” bear out the speed and reliability of American-flag ships. “We in U.S. TRANSCOM are fully committed to the commercial-first policy,” Gainey declared. “If we don’t, then we will not have the maritime fleet Board members and guests show appreciation for remarks by one of the speakers. April 2008 that we need to support this nation when we would even go to a larger-scale war. You are the backbone and we know that. We always try to utilize the liner service as the first option to meet the required delivery date for our warfighter. And we’re looking to even expand that business…. It’s all about leveraging the strength that you have and the partnerships you have with other organizations. Partnership is what is going to make us strong, keep us strong, and make sure that this nation is free.” She concluded that when she was researching the MTD prior to the meetings, she was very impressed by “how critical you are to the defense of this nation … the value of an organization that brings together all of these specialties. You are that fourth arm of Department of Defense and you are critical to this nation, and this is what makes America great.” Rondeau credited MTD and SIU President Michael Sacco as “a man of his word” who “is a guy that is helping move things forward” for the U.S. maritime industry. She noted that she comes from a union family – a background the helps her appreciate the importance of the MTD. The department’s history and current efforts are “important to us in uniform,” she said. “Why is that? Because you produce results.” Rondeau shared a number of statistics reflecting the large amount of military cargo transported in recent years aboard Vice Admiral Ann Rondeau says U.S. mariners “truly have answered the nation’s call.” U.S.-flag commercial ships as well as civilian-crewed Military Sealift Command vessels. “You truly have answered the nation’s call,” she said. She twice referred to the March edition of the Seafarers LOG – once expressing her agreement with a letter extolling union membership, and then pointing out a quote from SIU Recertified Bosun David James. The bosun, who has sailed on multiple voyages for Operation Iraqi Freedom, recently said, “SIU members are here to support the troops.” After sharing that quote with the audience, Rondeau recalled a scene from just a few days earlier, when 1,000 or so troops in Iraq had gathered to watch a movie. In accordance with protocol, the National Anthem was played before the show – but problems with the sound system kept interrupting. She estimated that if something similar were to happen in a private theater in the U.S. filled with 18-to-22-year-olds, “you’re going to get at the very best some laughter and at the worst some profanity like you haven’t heard in a while. But (back in Iraq) the room was dead quiet on the third time of them trying to run the recoding of the National Anthem. At that point, one voice starts, another voice starts, and (soon) 1,000 soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen sang ‘the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air…’ and they sang to the end. “These are people who have been there for a year or two. So I would say to David James, SIU or MTD union members who are here to support the troops: Those men and women are worth your investment. They’re worth what you give them and you give them a lot, because together we’re not just involved – we are committed.” Seafarers LOG 11 �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:22 AM Page 12 Fro Sho U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie Maritime Union of Australia National Secretary Paddy Crumlin (left) addresses the board as MTD President Michael Sacco listens. AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka Grassroots Action, November Elections Crucial for America’s Working Families Guest speakers at the most recent meeting of the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department’s executive board urged labor officials and rank-and-file members alike to elect pro-worker candidates in November. U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (DHawaii), AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka and Maritime Union of Australia National Secretary Paddy Crumlin each noted the importance – and effectiveness – of grassroots political action when it comes to empowering working families. Both Abercrombie and Trumka pointed to the erosion of U.S. workers’ rights and stated that the best way to start rectifying that decades-long trend is by supporting pro-worker candidates. Abercrombie said it’s a plain fact that the majority party sets the agenda in Congress. Therefore, he said, working families must elect and support – and hold accountable – representatives who will look out for their interests. “We’ve got to put American workers back in the center of the political agenda,” said Abercrombie. “Every single vote counts, and the difference in whether or not the working people in this country are going to come back to the center of the agenda is going to be whether labor turns out in this election and sees to it that the Electoral College goes the right way.” The congressman noted he recently read a biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Abercrombie said that during World War II and the years that immediately followed, there was strong support for the working class at all levels of government. He said the nation clearly would be best served by returning to that standard. He reviewed the day’s newspaper headlines and explained how the weakening economy hurts working families. Illustrating corporate greed and the weakening of workers’ rights, he mentioned a recent contract negotiation in which newspaper reporters were asked by the company to a accept only a one percent wage increase in conjunction with health care cuts, despite soaring company profits. “If the United States is going to be strong in the world, we have to be strong ourselves,” Abercrombie said. “We have to have a sound economy. We have to have workers that understand not only that prosperity depends on them, but that productivity is going to stay with them when they earn it by their productivity. “The most productive and important thing we can do right now is organize,” he concluded. “Let’s get this movement organized for November so there’s no question in anybody’s mind that America is back. When America’s workers are in charge, America is back. Trumka presented a startling series of statistics showing the enormous (and still growing) income gap in America. He cautioned that this isn’t a new develop- ment, but rather one that dates back to the 1970s. “Our economy was failing working families long before there was a housing crisis and mortgage crisis and a stock market crisis,” Trumka said. “These crises are in fact the direct result of imbalances in our economy that already existed. That has been propelled by neoliberal economic policies that have been grinding down working families for the last 30 years. “Why is it so hard for so many workers to make a decent living in the richest country in history at its most rich point in time?” he continued. “We work more hours than any other developed country, but massive job loss has created widespread economic insecurity. The U.S. economy generates more than 13 trillion dollars a year in income but health care and retirement benefits are vanishing. For the last 30 years wages have been going down and it’s meant longer working hours, higher consumer debt, and a greater reliance on home equities just so that families could keep up with their bills. It doesn’t have to be this way because the economy is not like the weather. The economy is a set of rules; those rules are made by people we elect. Those rules decide winners and they decide losers and it’s up to us to elect people that start adopting rules that make all of us winners.” As he showed the board data reflecting the struggles of working families, Trumka emphasized, “The policies that have been adopted over the last 30 years have two things in common: They shift power from workers to employers and they create fewer jobs. The increased power of employers has allowed them to outsource our work and deregulate our industries. They privatize our government, they deny wage increases, and they walk away from their obligations to provide health care and retirement security for employees.” Among the statistics he shared: Since 1973, household income for richest Americans has increased anywhere from 353 percent to more than 500 percent. By comparison, the poorest Americans’ wages have gone up only three percent; for those squarely in the middle range of earnings, the increase has been 23 percent. “What you’re seeing is where we used to grow together as a nation, right now we’re growing apart economically, socially and politically,” Trumka said. “The productivity-wage relationship was the foundation of the social contract negotiated between labor and employers after World War II. Today the imbalance of power has ruptured that relationship and the social contract with America’s workers is being shredded.” Trumka concluded by saying the labor movement must be at the forefront of efforts to “change the direction of our country…. None of it is possible, though, See Working Families, Page 14 A wide meeting v American challenge Offerin were (in o the U.S. D Administr president, Harris, pr (NASSCO Corporati Guard. Barrett that a stro economic “We ar you are su Referri Barrett ou own d the marit ue to grow Connau remarkabl core marit regulation Security P training an He exp also know year conta program w “Even finally hav wise laws to our tran He add important thorization that they l transporta sibilities… ‘Nuts & Bolts’ of MTD The AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department consists of 24 international unions (including the SIU) and 19 port maritime councils in the United States and Canada representing more than five million working men and women. The MTD executive board met Feb. 28-29 near San Diego, where board members and guests tackled many vital issues facing the maritime industry and all working families. The articles on pages 11-14 are based on remarks and policy statements presented at the meetings. These photos show some of the board members and SIU VP Dean Corgey (left), SIU VP Nick Marrone guests. Rank-and-file Seafarers and officials 12 Seafarers LOG MEBA President Don Keefe Maersk VP Ed Hanley (left), SIU VP George Tricker SIU of Canada President Roman Gralewicz (right), Executive VP Michel Desjardins Boilermakers VP Warren Fairley ILA President Richard Hughes CWA VP Ralph Maley U.S. R SIU As Port Ag GMP President John Ryan April 2008 R �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:23 AM Page 13 rom Many Perspectives, Maritime Industry hows Great Promise, Faces Key Challenges wide array of guest speakers at the MTD executive board ing voiced support, enthusiasm and appreciation for the rican maritime industry while not glossing over the many enges faced by its different components. ffering perspectives from various segments of the industry (in order of appearance) Thomas Barrett, deputy secretary of U.S. Department of Transportation; U.S. Maritime inistrator Sean Connaughton; General Ken Wykle (USA ret.), dent, National Defense Transportation Association; Fred s, president, National Steel and Shipbuilding Company SSCO); Thomas Crowley, CEO, Crowley Maritime oration; and Admiral Thad Allen, commandant, U.S. Coast d. arrett reaffirmed the Department of Transportation’s belief a strong U.S. Merchant Marine is essential to the defense and omic development of the nation. We are committed to supporting American-flag shipping…. If are successful, America will be successful,” he stated. eferring to President Bush’s strong support for the Jones Act, ett outlined the DOT’s vision for the future and expressed his own admiration for the men and women of the U.S. Merchant Marine. Noting that he had served 35 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, Barrett added, “You can’t spend as long a time in the Coast Guard as I did without building an enduring and very deep respect for American mariners. I see it (the contributions they make to American society) every day.” According to Barrett, America’s defense and economic health depends on its maritime industry. The nation’s network of waterways moves 2.2 billion tons of domestic and foreign cargo. Ninety-five percent of our international trade moves by water. International trade will double within the next 20 years. Barrett said the DOT believes America’s economy depends on enhancing systems performance, particularly maritime element. “I don’t think that the economy can contingrow without making seaways more efficient,” he observed. onnaughton noted that the maritime industry has made rkable progress over the past year and gave strong support to maritime programs moving forward. Those initiatives and ations include the Jones Act, cargo preference, the Maritime rity Program, port modernization, shipbuilding, maritime ng and LNG development. e expressed optimism about the marine highway initiative, known as short sea shipping. The energy bill signed late last contains provisions establishing a formal marine highway ram within the federal government. Even though this is something that we’ve been pushing, now, y having statutory recognition about the fact that the coastlaws, coastwise vessels and trades are something that’s vital r transportation system” is key, Connaughton said. e added, “There was one sentence in that law that really is rtant for us as we look forward to a new transportation reauzation bill and funding. For the first time we see in legislation hey look for the waterways as part of our national service portation system. That opens up an enormous amount of posties…. We’re very, very close to several new operations and I think that we’re going to be able to make this all happen and see projects, see (new) jobs and see congestion being relieved because of this new marine highway program.” Wykle also emphasized the abundant possibilities for greater utilization of domestic waterborne transportation. He cited several studies that show the United States is facing a transportation crisis and urged the federal government and the private sector to enter into an historic partnership to better use America’s abundant water resources. The NDTA’s stated mission is “to foster a strong and an efficient global transportation and distribution system.” For years, it has been arguing that the federal government has been promoting air, rail and highways, but not water-based transportation. According to Wykle, there have been two major transportation revolutions since the founding of the nation—the development of transcontinental railways in the 19th century and the rise of the interstate highway system, which was devised in the 1950s. However, the highway system is “old and decaying. Demand is increasing.” Moreover, investment is not keeping pace. Wykle believes that America needs a third transportation revolution. It needs to make greater use of its oceans, lakes and inland waterways. Unlike highways and rails, waterways do not have to be built; they already exist. He said that waterborne transportation is inherently more efficient, cost-effective and environmentally friendly than most other modes of transportation. The most serious challenge in achieving this third revolution is getting out the word, he added. Government officials, labor unions, grassroots organizations and maritime companies need to educate the American public about what’s at stake, Wykle said. “We need to create a (new) generation of U.S.-manned coastal ships,” he stated. “We need to reestablish the United States as a competitive ship builder and create thousands of new family-wage jobs.” Harris is a former licensed mariner who sailed with a number of SIU members. He noted that NASSCO’s parent company, General Dynamics, has “tens of thousands of union workers.” The San Diego-based shipyard, which employs 4,700 people, carries great relevance for the SIU. NASSCO currently is constructing T-AKE ships for the U.S. Navy (vessels that are being crewed up by members of the union’s Government Services Division) as well as commercial tankers for Seafarers-contracted U.S. Shipping. Previously, the yard built vessels for SIU-contracted TOTE and Alaska Tanker Company, respectively. Years ago, it also built the CIVMAR-crewed hospital ships USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort. Harris said the T-AKE vessels are “great ships for the U.S. government. They are multi-capable ships. They carry fuel oil, ammunition and bombs, dry cargo, frozen stores…. We have 11 under contract.” He pointed out, however, that two more of those vessels recently were removed from the federal budget. “We need to work hard – and I would ask for you to work with us – to make sure these ships are put back in” the budget, he told the board. Harris praised the shipyard workers, noting they are doing a great job with quality and turnaround time. “I’m proud of them and this is the best shipyard I’ve ever worked in,” he said. “I can’t tell you enough about the people in the shipyard and what they’ve contributed – not only with the work they do, but the spirit and the culture that they bring.” He needs more of them, though. Harris said that he anticipates growth at the yard and wants to hire hundreds more employees. He concluded by vowing to work with Congress “for as long as See Perspectives, Page 14 S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (center) with U Asst. VP Bryan Powell (left) and SIU ort Agent Joe Vincenzo nt TCU President Robert Scardelletti April 2008 DOT Deputy Secretary Thomas Barrett U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton General Ken Wykle (USA ret.), president, NDTA Novelty Workers President Mark Spano Crowley Maritime Corp. CEO Thomas Crowley USCG Commandant Admiral Thad Allen NASSCO President Fred Harris Seafarers LOG 13 �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:23 AM Page 14 MTD Executive Board Meeting Guest Speakers Voice Political Action Vital Perspectives on Future For Working Families Of Maritime Transportation Continued from Page 13 Continued from Page 12 I’m able, to support the U.S. maritime industry – both in supporting U.S. seafarers at sea and in building U.S. ships.” Crowley described the excellent cooperation that exists not only within his company but among its contracted unions, including the SIU. He gave special credit to MTD and SIU President Michael Sacco, calling him a mentor “and even more importantly, demonstrating unparalleled leadership in our industry with a passion that’s matched by no one.” He added, “Our longstanding relationships with labor have evolved into strategic partnerships based on mutual understanding and respect. We’ve seen how, working together, we can accomplish much more than working alone or against each other. We are all part of the Crowley team.” Crowley said the company continues its unwavering commitment to safety while also contributing to the renewal and growth of the Jones Act fleet. In the last decade, they’ve built 26 manned and 12 unmanned vessels. Currently under contract for construction are 22 additional vessels (11 manned, 11 unmanned). However, he also voiced concern about ensuring adequate shipboard manpower in the years ahead. He discussed the company’s wide-ranging recruiting efforts and complimented the unlicensed apprentice program run by the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. He said that dwindling entry-level positions are taking a toll on the industry. “We need to work with our union partners to develop flexible ways to expand this capacity and pipeline…. I think it’s critical that we reduce barriers to entry. We need to improve and modernize the U.S. Coast Guard’s licensing requirements.” Allen addressed those requirements along with maritime security and the myriad challenges it presents. He said he is an agent of change within the agency and noted he and other Coast Guard leaders are taking an honest look at how to improve all facets of the operation. “We know we’re getting better. We know we’re not where we need to be,” Allen said. “You have my personal assurance that we will attend to this and make it better, and make it the class act that we want to provide you and that you deserve. “Unless we can change to become a more flexible and agile organization, we’re going to risk something that we don’t want to have happen, and that’s the great good will in this country for the Coast Guard.” The commandant said the agency is working with port captains regarding the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. He mentioned an upcoming meeting with the port captains and declared, “Sooner or later, we have to come back and tell the industry, are we on track to meet the date, and are we prepared to do something about the date if we are not on track?” Allen also discussed what he called an “archaic rulemaking process” that affects the industry; he’s got a task force looking into possible improvements. He said he plans to continue dealing with all segments of the industry in a very open manner. unless we do our job in this election and take back control of our government and our elected officials for working families.” Crumlin, whose position with the MUA is equivalent to that of a union president in the U.S., also serves as an official with the International Transport Workers’ Federation – a global organization consisting of nearly 700 transport unions. He focused on a U.S. maritime law (the Jones Act) as an example of why political action is so important for workers. He noted that all segments of the U.S. maritime industry repeatedly have united to stand up for the Jones Act when it has been attacked by so-called free traders whose apparent motivation has nothing to do with security or working families and everything to do with making a quick buck. The law stipulates that cargo moving between U.S. domestic ports must be transported on vessels that are built, owned, flagged and crewed American. It is widely recognized as a regulation which bolsters national and economic security. It also helps preserve tens of thousands of jobs, if not more. Without grassroots support, its status would be in question, at the very least. “The Jones Act really is the global benchmark for maritime cabotage,” Crumlin said. “It underpins all of the regulations and the [protection] of labor but also the national interest in regards to not only labor standards but security, economic development, the ability to develop a genuine economy in the interests of working men and women. The Jones Act really does lead the way, and it’s bipartisan. That’s a very important message.” He credited MTD President Michael Sacco and others for demonstrating the soundness of working with those who support the industry, regardless of political affiliations. “Political cycles come and go. Our industry must remain,” Crumlin observed. He recounted problems faced by Australian workers because of weak or unenforced cabotage laws. However, he noted, the old government regime in that country has been voted out of office, which bodes well for the future. Crumlin wrapped up his comments by stating that bilateral trade agreements remain very important to workers around the world. “We have some big challenges to be able to translate the protection of our own national industries and the development of proper standards and safe minimum manning requirements elsewhere in the world,” he said. “This is where the ITF comes in. For example, we recently developed a consolidated maritime convention that extends protection to mariners who otherwise never would have had it. We had strong U.S. support. That is a remarkable achievement, and it could not have happened without U.S. intervention – and the U.S. intervention could not have been achieved without the strength and the solidarity and the determination of the AFL-CIO and all the labor leaders in this room.” SIU CIVMARS Help Recover 2 Downed U.S. Air Force Jets The U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) on March 24 reported that the rescue and salvage ship USNS Grasp – manned by members of the SIU Government Services Division – had completed recovery operations for two U.S. Air Force F-15C fighter jets in the Gulf of Mexico. According to MSC, the jets crashed mid-air over the Gulf approximately 50 miles from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Feb. 20. Recovery efforts began March 1 when the Grasp arrived in the vicinity of the crash site to locate the wreckage, and ended March 22 when the last recoverable debris from the second aircraft was lifted onto the ship’s weather deck. Salvage operations, which could normally have been conducted within a week, were delayed by severe weather conditions that twice sent the ship back to port. The first aircraft was recovered March 12 from a depth of 177 feet and the second aircraft was recovered March 22 from a depth of 185 feet. More that half of each aircraft was salvaged including their engines, data collecting devices (flight recorders) and main computers. These items are vital to the Air Force’s investigation to determine the cause of 14 Seafarers LOG the crash. The salvage operations were conducted jointly by the Grasp’s crew of 28 civil service mariners and 20 sailors from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two, based at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va. MDSU Two is not permanently assigned to the Grasp, which also carries a detachment of three sailors to per- form communications functions. Since the exact position of the wreckage was unknown, the ship’s civilian crew worked in cooperation with sailors of MDSU Two to locate the debris by combining the vessel’s navigational information with data obtained from the dive unit’s locating equipment. Upon arrival at each site, the Grasp’s merchant Crew members aboard the USNS Grasp use the ship’s 40-ton boom to lift the engine of an Air Force F-15C fighter jet from the ocean floor as part of salvage operations that ended late last month in the Gulf of Mexico (U.S. Navy Photo). mariners anchored the ship directly above the wreckage and the divers submerged to prepare the debris for recovery. The Grasp’s 40-ton boom then lifted the wreckage out of the water using a cable that was attached by the divers. “This recovery operation was extremely difficult,” said the Grasp’s civilian master, Capt. Jose Delfaus. “The wreckage was scattered across a wide area and the divers had to overcome dangerous depths and diving conditions. Some of the wreckage was so entangled that it took several dives to complete the mission.” Four Air Force personnel, including a civilian wreckage photographer, were aboard the Grasp during the salvage operations to conduct the initial research and data analysis about the crash. The mid-air collision claimed the life of one of the two pilots. The jets were assigned to the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base. The USNS Grasp is one of MSC’s four 255-foot salvage and recovery ships that can deploy rapidly to recover objects from the sea, tow stranded vessels and provide fire fighting assistance. April 2008 �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:23 AM Page 15 NMU Pension, Annuity & 401(K) Plans Trustee, Administration and Summary of Material Modifications for the Year 2007 The Board of Trustees Co-chairmen Employer Trustees Thomas Murphy Marine Personnel & Provisioning, Inc. 1083 N. Collier Blvd, PMB #387 Marco Island, FL 34145 (941) 393-0435 Union Trustees David Heindel Secretary-Treasurer Seafarers International Union of N.A. AGLIWD/NMU 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 Amendments & Other Items NMU Pension Plan, Annuity Plan and 401(k) Plan: During 2007, the Board of Trustees adopted several amendments of significant importance to the membership and the Plans. Generally the amendments: 1. Resolution to merge the NMU Annuity Plan and the SIU Money Purchase Plan effective October 1, 2007. 2. Provides an additional hardship provision to individuals who have suffered damage to their principal residence due to Hurricane Katrina to facilitate the repairs. 3. Provides for a 75% Participant & Spouse Pension Option. 4. Resolution to merge the SIU 401(k) Plan into the Seafarers 401(k) Plan effective January 15, 2008. The Board of Trustees also adopted the following Merger Agreements: 1. NMU Annuity Plan into the Seafarers Money Purchase Plan effective October 1, 2007. 2. SIU 401(k) Plan into the Seafarers 401(k) Plan effective January 15, 2008. 3. NMU Pension Plan into the Seafarers Pension Plan effective January 1, 2008. Administrator Miriam Bove NMU Benefit Plans 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 A LOS QUE HABLAN ESPANOL Esta noticia contiene informacion importante sobre sus derechos como marinero bajo los planes del Plan NMU Pension, Annuity, 401(k). Si tuviera usted dificultades para comprender alguna parte de esta noticia se la explicara la misma en espanol. Esta ayuda podra recibirla en persona en la oficina principal del Plan, ubicada en el numero 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Las cartas en espanol deberan ser dirigidas a la oficina del Plan de Maryland. Las llamadas telefonicas para solicitar ayuda en espanol deberan tambien ser hechas a la oficina del Plan en Maryland, cuyo numero de telefono es: 1301-899-0675. Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea February 13, 2008 — March 15, 2008 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals Joliet .........................Thursday: May 15, June 12 Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Mobile..................Wednesday: May 14, June 11 Port Piney Point.......................Monday: May 5, June 2 Algonac ..................................Friday: May 9, June 6 Baltimore.......................Thursday: May 8, June 5 Boston ............................Friday: May 9, June 6 Guam ...........................Thursday: May 22, June 19 Honolulu.......................Friday: May 16, June 13 Houston .......................Monday: May 12, June 9 Jacksonville .................Thursday: May 8, June 5 Totals Tacoma ...........................Friday: May 23, June 20 Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Wilmington..................Monday: May 19, June 16 Totals New Orleans...................Tuesday: May 13, June 10 New York ...........................Tuesday: May 6, June 3 Norfolk ............................Thursday: May 8, June 5 Oakland .........................Thursday: May 15, June 12 Philadelphia................ Wednesday: May 7, June 4 Port Everglades .............Thursday: May 15, June 12 San Juan .........................Thursday: May 8, June 5 St. Louis ..........................Friday: May 16, June 13 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. April 2008 Totals All Departments **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C DECK DEPARTMENT 2 10 3 20 3 12 27 20 3 11 13 29 16 9 3 7 9 3 24 24 1 1 2 4 1 2 7 4 0 2 1 6 8 2 0 0 0 0 6 6 0 0 4 9 1 5 32 13 2 7 10 33 10 14 3 0 3 2 22 25 0 2 1 4 2 1 14 10 4 3 8 10 9 10 2 7 3 1 12 11 0 0 0 1 1 0 4 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 5 0 5 19 17 0 2 2 15 4 8 1 0 6 0 6 11 3 0 8 18 1 11 63 45 1 22 22 67 6 39 4 1 15 1 56 59 4 10 7 23 9 16 46 32 0 15 12 51 17 15 3 6 16 7 34 45 3 1 3 7 4 3 5 5 1 3 2 8 11 4 2 0 1 0 6 7 254 238 49 228 132 17 98 507 431 84 0 0 3 4 1 5 14 15 0 5 8 19 15 11 3 1 1 1 16 10 0 3 5 10 1 2 14 18 0 5 6 9 11 5 1 1 3 4 13 11 0 0 0 2 1 0 4 2 0 0 0 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 132 122 19 ENGINE DEPARTMENT Port May & June 2008 Trip Reliefs 3 0 7 10 1 9 39 22 0 12 12 40 12 20 1 1 7 2 30 29 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 0 2 5 2 5 16 12 0 5 10 10 5 9 2 0 0 0 7 6 0 1 3 4 3 1 5 12 0 2 3 7 3 5 0 0 0 2 12 9 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 2 0 4 8 5 0 3 5 4 5 4 1 0 2 1 6 5 0 0 6 12 0 13 20 22 0 8 9 30 16 10 6 3 8 1 22 16 2 4 6 11 3 2 13 27 1 8 4 13 17 9 1 2 5 6 18 15 0 0 1 3 2 0 3 2 0 1 0 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 96 72 9 57 202 165 25 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 1 0 0 6 2 13 22 19 0 9 4 23 8 22 1 4 3 0 17 27 0 0 2 11 5 5 11 9 0 2 2 10 9 5 0 1 2 0 9 8 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 181 91 9 1 0 2 5 1 7 14 15 0 3 8 20 5 15 3 1 1 0 12 26 1 0 1 5 1 2 8 5 0 1 5 5 11 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 4 0 1 8 5 0 2 2 9 2 8 0 0 1 0 12 6 1 0 1 6 2 14 32 22 0 10 4 33 10 39 2 4 4 1 28 31 1 0 2 11 4 6 11 15 0 4 3 12 13 7 1 1 3 0 11 14 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 139 49 6 62 244 119 11 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 2 0 0 0 0 5 3 6 0 0 1 4 0 4 0 0 0 0 3 4 1 3 1 6 2 6 21 14 1 3 6 26 4 14 1 7 2 1 16 12 3 0 0 10 4 6 3 6 0 1 2 4 12 14 1 24 24 2 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 1 0 0 2 5 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 10 8 0 2 5 10 1 8 0 8 1 2 4 6 0 0 0 2 0 1 5 2 0 0 0 1 5 2 0 20 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 6 7 0 1 2 8 2 5 0 0 0 0 6 5 2 7 1 7 4 8 33 27 1 6 4 40 20 17 1 2 4 1 21 18 4 0 1 9 5 9 3 11 1 2 3 12 18 18 1 25 3 2 9 8 32 149 103 15 70 40 0 48 224 144 608 611 181 448 309 70 229 940 883 251 Seafarers LOG 15 �47469_2x:January 08 4/1/2008 4:21 PM Page 16 Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 The new SPAD T-shirt (modeled above) features the SIU logo on the front pocket and artwork on the back (shown at right). The Shirts are in the Mail – Really Newly Designed SPAD T-Shirts Being Sent Beginning this Month Starting this month, SIU members who contribute to the voluntary Seafarers Political Activity Donation (SPAD) fund will receive a SPAD T-shirt by complet- ing a very brief form available at the union halls. Here’s how it works: Any member who donates to SPAD when they file for a vacation check (and who wants one of the shirts) will be given a form asking for basic information including the applicant’s name, shipping address and shirt size. The port agent then will submit that form along with the vacation application. Shirts will be mailed from the union’s headquarters building, located in Camp Springs, Md. There is a limit of one shirt per member. Shirts will be mailed until the supply runs out (anticipated to happen around mid-year). Seafarers are advised to check with their port agents for additional information. HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 Happy Birthday, Bosun! Captain J.E. Belcourt, master of the SIU-crewed MV Green Point, recently submitted this photo in recognition of Bosun Richard Dobbyn’s 70th birthday. “Bosun Dobbyn has been a true asset on this good ship, and we appreciate all he has done,” noted Belcourt. Standing left to right are Chief Cook Julio Lobo, Belcourt, Deck Maintenance Cordero and Dobbyn. JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG PIC-FROM-THE-PAST Submitted by retired Seafarer Charles Slick of King George, Va., this photo is of himself (second from left in back row) and some of his shipmates aboard the SS Stoney Creek. The photo was taken in 1950 as the vessel was traveling from Baltimore to South America to pick up oil. According to Slick, oil at that time was selling for $18 per barrell. Others in the photo include John Breene (right in front row), Jack Tomen (left in back row) and Frank Bonna. The identity of the mariner shown second from left is not known. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with other Seafarers LOG readers, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. High-resolution digital images may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org April 2008 �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:23 AM Page 17 Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA Brother Pierson calls Denham Springs, La., home. JAMES BURKE Brother James Burke, 67, became an SIU member in 1967. He initially sailed aboard the Neva West. Brother Burke was born in Virginia and worked in the engine department. He upgraded his skills in 2001 at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Brother Burke’s most recent voyage was on the Flickertail State. He makes his home in Virginia Beach. ANDREW LOPEZ Brother Andrew Lopez, 60, was born in Houston. He joined the union in 1966. Brother Lopez first shipped aboard the Globe Traveler. The engine department member enhanced his seafaring abilities often at the Piney Point school. Brother Lopez’s last vessel was the Commitment. He continues to live in the state of Texas. MOHAMED MOFLEHI Brother Mohamed Moflehi, 66, embarked on his career with the Marine Cooks & Stewards (MC&S) in 1980 while in the port of San Francisco. Brother Moflehi originally sailed on the Santa Lucia as a member of the steward department. He is a native of Yemen and upgraded frequently at the Seafarersaffiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Brother Moflehi’s last voyage was aboard the President Truman. He is still a resident of Yemen. EDWARD MURRAY Brother Edward Murray, 65, first went to sea in 1964 on the USNS Potomac. He was born in Pennsylvania and shipped in the engine department. Brother Murray last worked aboard the Overseas Ohio. He lives in Little Egg Harbor, N.J. LUCIEN PIERSON Brother Lucien Pierson, 70, donned the SIU colors in 1990. His first ship was the Equality State; his last the Westward Venture. Brother Pierson was born in Gonzales, La. He attended the SIU-affiliated school on four occasions. April 2008 STEVEN SUN Brother Steven Sun, 70, signed on with the union in 1972 while in the port of San Francisco. His earliest trip to sea was on the President McKinley. Brother Sun is a native of China. He most recently sailed aboard the Lurline as a member of the steward department. Brother Sun enhanced his skills often at the maritime training center in Piney Point. He resides in Salinas, Calif. JAY THOMAS Brother Jay Thomas, 54, joined the union ranks in 1969. His maiden voyage was with Intercontinental Carriers. Brother Thomas frequently took advantage of educational opportunities offered at the Paul Hall Center. His final voyage was aboard the El Morro. Brother Thomas makes his home in Jacksonville, Fla. BRUCE WRIGHT Brother Bruce Wright, 63, joined the SIU in 1961. The engine department member was born in Vallejo, Calif. Brother Wright originally shipped on the Steel Record. He upgraded on numerous occasions at the union-affiliated school. Brother Wright last worked aboard the Alaskan Frontier. He is a resident of San Francisco. SHAIF YAFAIE Brother Shaif Yafaie, 65, became a Seafarer in 1965. His initial trip to sea was on the SS Rambam. Brother Yafaie was born in Arabia and sailed in the engine department. His last voyage was aboard the Charleston. Brother Yafaie settled in Brooklyn, N.Y. INLAND PETER BRYANT born in Maine. He joined the SIU ranks in 1974. Boatman Bryant shipped primarily on Mariner Towing vessels during his seafaring career. He makes his home in Westbrook, Maine. LOREN HAYES Boatman Loren Hayes, 62, started his SIU profession in 1992. The Florida native worked mainly aboard vessels operated by G&H Towing Company. In 2001, Boatman Hayes enhanced his skills at the Piney Point school. He lives in Freeport, Texas. attended classes at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Brother Barber most recently shipped aboard the Buffalo. He resides in Brunswick, Maine. RICHARD BOCKERT Brother Richard Bockert, 71, began sailing with the SIU in 1970. His first vessel was the Steel Age; his last the Walter J. McCarthy. Brother Bockert was a member of the deck department. He upgraded his seafaring abilities on three occasions at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Bockert lives in his native state of Iowa. Editor’s note: The following brothers, former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust, also recently went on pension. WALTER DARENSBOURG Brother Walter Darensbourg, 65, became an NMU member in 1997 while in the port of New Orleans. His initial voyage was on the Zoella Lykes. Brother Darensbourg shipped in the steward department. He is a native of Louisiana. Brother Darensbourg’s final trip to sea was aboard the Lykes Motivator. JAMES VON HAESLER Brother James Von Haesler, 62, was born in San Francisco. He donned the NMU colors in 1983, originally sailing from the port of San Francisco. Brother Von Haesler’s first ship was the Mallory Lykes. Brother Von Haesler was a member of the engine department. His last voyage was aboard the Cleveland. PERRY YARBER GREAT LAKES LAWRENCE CHAPMAN DAVID BARBER Brother David Barber, 56, donned the union colors in 1969. He originally worked on the American Ocean as a member of the deck department. Brother Barber was born in Flint, Mich. He frequently Brother Lawrence Chapman, 63, joined the NMU ranks in 1964 in the port of New York. He first sailed on the Ocean Evelyn as a member of the steward department. Brother Chapman was born in Mobile, Ala. He most recently worked aboard the Cape Kennedy. Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers Log. 1945 A Japanese suicide plane, which hit smack in number 3 hold, could not stop the SIU men on the SS Kyle V. Johnson from participating in the invasion of Luzon. A number of soldiers and the steward were killed, and a hole torn in the side, but after an emergency patch was made in the side of the vessel, it was able to continue in the convoy. The ship was given credit for shooting down six Japanese planes, with the members of the crew helping man the guns. The crew was commended by the Army officers and General MacArthur for their splendid behavior and action during and after the attack. Brother Perry Yarber, 58, began his NMU career in 1965. He initially shipped from the port of Jacksonville, Fla. Brother Yarber’s earliest voyage was on the Hess Petrol. He worked in both the steward and deck departments. Brother Yarber was born in Florida. His last ship was the Keystone Texas. vived after being in the weather for 44 hours. They were being approached by sharks when they were spotted by the ship’s bosun. A smooth-running rescue followed and the men were quickly brought aboard. 1978 The latest in what has become a grim history of flag-of-convenience tanker wrecks involves the 233,000 dwt Amoco Cadiz. The foreigncrewed ship, registered under the Liberian flag, went aground off the coast of France. Despite efforts to minimize pollution, several days later the Cadiz broke in two and spilled her entire load of 68 million gallons of crude oil into the ocean. This Month In SIU His tor y 1956 SIU crewmembers of the Steel Advocate who took part in a dramatic rescue of two fliers from shark-infested Pacific waters were awarded a special blue pennant for “meritorious rescue operations” by the National Security Council. The rescue took place about 1,100 miles west of Hawaii. A commercial cargo plane went down with five men, but only two sur- 1999 The SIU-crewed USNS Gordon was prepositioned and anchored when crew members spotted two United Arab Emirates fisherman waving and clinging to a mostly submerged 12-foot boat in high wind and choppy seas. Reacting quickly, the Gordon launched an inflatable boat and saved the two men. The rescue lasted only 28 minutes. Rear Admiral Gordon Holder, commander of Military Sealift Command, described the rescue as “a perfect example of seamanship in the finest tradition.” Boatman Peter Bryant, 65, was Seafarers LOG 17 �47469_2x:January 08 4/1/2008 4:21 PM Page 18 Final Departures DEEP SEA JUAN BARRERA Pensioner Juan Barrera, 58, died Nov. 11. Brother Barrera began sailing with the Seafarers in 1980. He initially worked in the inland division aboard Moran Towing of Texas vessels. Brother Barrera was born in Catarina, Texas and shipped in the deck department. His final trip to sea was on the Maersk Alaska. Brother Barrera was a resident of Naples, Fla. He retired in 1996. JAMES BOONE Pensioner James Boone, 78, passed away Nov. 17. Brother Boone became an SIU member in 1947. His maiden voyage was aboard the Alcoa Roamer. Brother Boone was born in Maryland. The engine department member most recently sailed on the Bayamon. Brother Boone went on pension in 1984 and called Parkville, Md., home. MACK BRENDLE Pensioner Mack Brendle, 79, died Nov. 9. Brother Brendle joined the union in 1951. He originally worked with Delta Steamship Lines. Brother Brendle was born in Bastrop, La. and shipped in the deck department. His final journey was with Michigan Tankers Inc. In 1979, Brother Brendle started collecting his retirement compensation. He resided in Monroe, La. DELPHINE CHICA Pensioner Delphine Chica, 74, passed away Nov. 30. Brother Chica was born in Hawaii. He launched his career with the MC&S (Marine Cooks & Stewards) in 1979 while in the port of San Francisco. Brother Chicas’ first ship was the Manukai; his last the Lurline. He became a pensioner in 1989 and made his home in Pearl City, Hawaii. VIRGIL DOWD Pensioner Virgil Dowd, 81, died Nov. 25. Brother Dowd donned the SIU colors in 1961. His initial trip to sea was with Tankers & Tramps Corporation. Brother Dowd was born in Jefferson, Iowa. The deck department member most recently sailed aboard the Westward Venture. Brother Dowd retired in 1997 and lived in King County, Wash. MARTIN KIMMEL Pensioner Martin Kimmel, 72, passed away Nov. 20. Brother Kimmel joined the union in 18 Seafarers LOG 1969. His maiden voyage was on the Beaugard. Brother Kimmel worked in the engine department. Prior to his retirement in 1996, the New York native sailed aboard the Edward A. Carter Jr. Brother Kimmel called Brooklyn, N.Y. home. JAMES KIRCHNER Pensioner James Kirchner, 81, died Oct. 18. Brother Kirchner was born in Jerseyville, Fla. He became an SIU member in 1944. Brother Kirchner’s earliest trip to sea was on the Achilles. His last ship was the Cape Clear. Brother Kirchner went on pension in 1990. He was a resident of Liberty, Texas. LESTER LARKIN Pensioner Lester Larkin, 87, passed away July 12. Brother Larkin joined the SIU ranks in 1940. The engine department member was born in Lockport, Nova Scotia. Brother Larkin sailed aboard the Alcoa Puritan, Steel Admiral and the Steel Advocate, among other vessels. He became a pensioner in 1968 and settled in Woburn, Mass. CECIL MARTIN Pensioner Cecil Martin, 83, died Nov. 15. Brother Martin launched his seafaring profession in 1950. His maiden voyage was on an Alcoa Steamship Company vessel. Brother Martin worked in the steward department. His final trip was aboard the Eugene A. Obregon. Brother Martin lived in his native state of Alabama. He began receiving his retirement stipends in 1986. WILLIAM MORRIS Pensioner William Morris, 81, passed away Nov. 22. Brother Morris joined the SIU in 1951 in the port of New York. He originally sailed with Interocean American Shipping Corporation as a member of the deck department. Brother Morris was born in New York but called Dundalk, Md., home. Before retiring in 1991, he shipped on an American Overseas Marine Corporation vessel. ROLAND MUIR Pensioner Roland Muir, 80, died Nov. 12. Brother Muir joined the union in 1953. His maiden voyage was on the Steel Record. Brother Muir was born in Maryland and shipped in the engine department. He was last employed on the Inger. Brother Muir made his home in Kinsale, Va. He went on pension in 1983. JOHN PIERCE Pensioner John Pierce, 79, passed away Nov. 12. Brother Pierce donned the SIU colors in 1952. He initially sailed aboard the Marymar; his last vessel was the USNS Wright. Brother Pierce was born in Philadelphia, Pa. and worked in the deck department. He resided in Drexel Hill, Pa. Brother Pierce started collecting compensation for his retirement in 1988. KENNETH RILEY Pensioner Kenneth Riley, 72, died Nov. 4. Brother Riley joined the Seafarers in 1967. His first voyage was with Victory Carriers Inc. Brother Riley was born in Jersey City, N.J. He shipped as a member of the deck department. Brother Riley’s final trip to sea was on the Quality. He was a resident of Jacksonville, Fla. Brother Riley retired in 1998. NAPOLEON RIVAS Pensioner Napoleon Rivas, 85, passed away Nov. 7. Brother Rivas became an SIU member in 1963. He was originally employed aboard an Elie Shipping Company vessel. Brother Rivas sailed in the engine department. His last ship was the Overseas Arctic. Brother Rivas went on pension in 1987 and lived in Edinburg, Texas. JOHN WILLS Brother John Wills, 47, died Nov. 23. He was born in California. Brother Wills launched his seafaring career in 1987, initially shipping on the Patriot. His most recent trip was aboard the Innovator. Brother Wills called Coarsegold, Calif., home. died Nov. 19. Boatman Blazevich joined the union in 1981. He primarily sailed with Crowley Towing & Transportation of Wilmington, Calif., as a member of the steward department. Boatman Blazevich was born in Bosnia. He went on pension in 1990. Boatman Blazevich lived in San Pedro, Calif. PATSY FRANGO Pensioner Patsy Frango, 83, passed away Nov. 4. Boatman Frango joined the Seafarers in 1942 while in the port of Norfolk, Va. He originally shipped in the deep sea division aboard the Atlantic Water. Boatman Frango was born in Virginia. He most recently sailed with Moran Towing of Virginia. Boatman Frango started receiving compensation for his retirement in 1988. He settled in Virginia Beach, Va. JOHN ROSSER Pensioner John Rosser, 48, died Nov. 5. Boatman Rosser donned the SIU colors in 1977. He was born in New Orleans and sailed in the deck department. For the duration of his career, Boatman Rosser sailed on vessels operated by Crescent Towing & Salvage of New Orleans. He was a resident of Harvey, La. Boatman Rosser retired in 2006. CHARLES TUCKER Pensioner Charles Tucker, 74, passed away Oct. 4. Boatman Tucker was born in Alabama. He became an SIU member in 1951 while in the port of Mobile. Boatman Tucker initially shipped with ISCO Inc. He worked in the deck department. Boatman Tucker last sailed with Crescent Towing & Salvage of Mobile. He went on pension in 1998 and called Chickasaw, Ala., home. JOHN ANDERSON Pensioner Joseph Zeloy, 81, passed away Nov. 25. Brother Zeloy began sailing with the SIU in 1951. His first voyage was with Alcoa Steamship Company. Brother Zeloy worked in the deck department. He was born in Mississippi. Brother Zeloy’s final ship was the Flickertail State. He made his home in Gulfport, Miss. Brother Zeloy became a pensioner in 1988. Brother John Anderson, 54, died Nov. 21. He first went to sea in 1979 from the port of Algonac, Mich. Brother Anderson originally shipped aboard the St. Mary’s Challenger. The deck department member’s final vessel was the Adam E. Cornelius. He was born in England and resided in Toledo, Ohio. RUDOLF BLAZEVICH Pensioner Rudolf Blazevich, 82, Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust have passed away. Name Age DOD Averella, Louis 80 Sept. 18 Blalock, Barry 88 Sept. 20 Bolden, Frederick 85 Sept. 20 Brennan, Hugh 82 Oct. 16 Bush, Ray 84 Sept. 15 Callaghan, Hugh 83 Sept. 28 Canyon, Willie 81 Oct. 26 Castillo, Hector 94 Sept. 3 Cuffie, Charlie 79 Sept. 22 Dooley, Henry 86 Sept. 24 Ellard, Edward 82 Oct. 3 Evans, Mabel 92 Oct. 21 Felder, Willie 89 Sept. 15 Franklin, Charles 81 Sept. 5 Frazier, Dewey 81 Oct. 17 Frenchwood, Don 65 Sept. 3 Garcis, Romualdo 82 Oct. 1 Gilbert, Joseph 74 Oct. 18 Gillespie, Thomas 79 Oct. 3 Graves, William 89 Oct. 26 Harrelson, George 84 Sept. 2 Higgins, Clarence 81 Sept. 2 Holland, Robert 87 Oct. 19 Jaks, Vernon 82 Sept. 11 Janahi, Anwar 74 Sept. 20 Lester, John 80 Sept. 30 Lieberman, Hyman 82 Sept. 18 Limardo, Carlos 83 Oct. 7 Mandahar, Margaret 62 Oct. 25 Okkonen, Kalevi 76 Sept. 10 Primitive, Morales 86 Sept. 6 Scott, Milton 88 Sept. 12 Spencer, Earl 93 Sept. 14 Tant, James 77 Sept. 21 Utosh, William 78 Oct. 12 Vega, Ismael 82 Oct. 17 Walters, William 84 Oct. 21 Watson, Edward 79 Sept. 4 Wilson, Preston 80 Sept. 21 Attention Seafarers: GREAT LAKES JOSEPH ZELOY INLAND His earliest trip to sea was with American Steamship Company. Brother Lapczynski was born in Alpena, Mich. He was a member of the deck department. Brother Lapczynski most recently sailed aboard the Alpena. He started collecting his retirement compensation in 1993. Brother Lapczynski continued to live in Michigan. FRANK LAPCZYNSKI Pensioner Frank Lapczynski, 79, passed away Nov. 15. Brother Lapczynski joined the SIU in 1963 in the port of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The Seafarers Political Action Donation (SPAD) Helps Us Help You April 2008 �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:23 AM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings A Show of Loyalty Towards the SIU The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships’ minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department.Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. COMMITMENT (Maersk Line, Limited), Feb. 21 – Chairman Edward J. O’Connor Jr., Secretary Stanley J. Krystosiak, Educational Director Brian J. Sengelaub. Chairman announced payoff on February 24 in Newark, N.J. He thanked crew members for keeping all areas in good order. Secretary reported a smooth, safe voyage and expressed his gratitude for help keeping ship clean. Educational director reminded mariners that the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., is there for them to take advantage of and encouraged them to upgrade whenever possible. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendation was made to lower sea time requirements in order to qualify for benefits. COURAGE (Interocean American Shipping), Feb. 14 – Chairman Philip T. Parisi, Secretary Danta F. Slack, Educational Director William C. Knox, Steward Delegate Sharman Harper. Chairman led a discussion on possible safety issues at sea. Educational director reiterated the importance of upgrading skills for the maritime industry. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward delegate requested clarification of working hours for steward department. President’s report from the January 2008 Seafarers LOG was read and discussed. List of requests was posted for crew purchases. ERIC G. GIBSON (APL Maritime), Feb. 10 – Chairman Joshua A. Mensah, Secretary Rocel C. Alvarez, Educational Director Douglas S. Foley. Chairman reported smooth voyage. Educational director reminded mariners to get TWIC card before September 2008. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Engine delegate stated ladder policy for reefer plug-in needs to be in writing. Crew would like a juice machine in galley. Members discussed concerns over shore passes not being issued in Bombay, India. Next ports: Jebel Ali, Fujairah, UAE, Karachi, Pakistan, and Bombay, India. HORIZON CHALLENGER (Horizon Lines), Feb. 14 – Chairman Antonio M. Mercado, Secretary Mark A. Flores, Educational Director Neil A. Warren. Chairman thanked all departments for safe sailing and for their help in keeping ship clean. Secretary asked departing crew to strip beds and clean rooms for next mariner. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion was made to increase pension benefits. Crew requested additional information on 401K plan. Steward department was thanked for a job well done. Next port: Houston, Texas. HORIZON KODIAK (Horizon Lines), Feb. 6 – Chairman Garry D. Walker, Secretary Brian Burchett, Educational Director Alfonso D. Bombita Jr., Deck Delegate Daniel P. Lovely, Engine Delegate Ralph D. Thomas, Steward Delegate Michael C. Linus. Chairman expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to sail with this group of skilled mariners. He reminded crew members to make sure dues were paid on time to prevent any lapses in medical coverage. Secretary thanked crew for their assistance in helping get the gym up and running. Educational director advised Seafarers to enhance skills at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. Treasurer reported $70 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Bosun read and posted e-mail in crew lounge regarding 401K plan. Vote of thanks was given to Vern Poulson and his gang for all their assistance. Next port: Tacoma, Wash. HORIZON NAVIGATOR (Horizon Lines), Feb. 17 – Chairman Frank P. Hedge, Secretary Daniel Herrera, Educational Director Benny A. Orosco,Deck Delegate Wilfredo G. Caidoy, Engine Delegate Albert U. Dulig, Steward Delegate Marcus R. Rowe. Bosun thanked crew for a safe and productive voyage. He reminded crew to separate trash, plastic and recyclables. Mariners were asked to secure belongings due to rough weather. Secretary advised Seafarers to keep dues paid up and to get a TWIC card ASAP as the deadline is September 25, 2008. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Treasurer noted $1,300 in ship’s fund. Steward department was thanked for excellent meals. Share your ideas for news and feature items for publication in the Seafarers LOG by calling (301) 899-0675. Simply ask the operator for the Communications Department. Emailed items may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org. April 2008 A large contingent of rank-and-file Seafarers employed at Crowley Liner Service’s Petty’s Island N.J. Terminal (above) on Feb. 22 put their loyalty toward the SIU on display by holding a luncheon to celebrate the union’s 70th birthday. As noted on the cake (right) which the mariners purchased for their celebration, the SIU originally was chartered in 1938. Crowley’s SIU-crewed triple-deck RO/RO vessels offer weekly barge services between the Port of Philadelphia and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Request was made for a microwave in crew mess. Next ports: San Juan, P.R., Jacksonville, Fla., and Elizabeth, N.J. HORIZON SPIRIT (Horizon Lines), Feb. 10 – Chairman Howard W. Gibbs, Secretary Jill M. Prescott, Educational Director Christopher Devonish. Chairman urged seamen to give themselves plenty of time to get TWIC card. Educational director encouraged crew to enhance seafaring abilities at the unionaffiliated school in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion was made to reduce requirements for retirement and increase benefit amounts. Vote of thanks was given to the steward department for keeping ship clean and excellent food preparation. HORIZON TRADER (Horizon Lines), Feb. 10 – Chairman Amante V. Gumiran, Secretary Kevin M. Dougherty, Educational Director Thomas M. Flynn, Deck Delegate Luis F. Alvarez, Steward Delegate Larry L. Griffin. Chairman announced payoff on February 15 upon arrival in Jacksonville, Fla. He complimented the crew on their great response to the unscheduled fire drill. Educational director suggested mariners upgrade their skills at the Paul Hall Center. Treasurer reported approximately $985 in crew fund and $1,000 in satellite TV fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request was made to have the port of Jacksonville van transport crew members to the main gate as the current system is dangerous and inconvenient. Crew would like clarification pertaining to family emergency leave policy. Concerns were raised over the fact that some crew members still do not have keys to their cabins after several weeks aboard vessel. Crew asked for satellite radio, a new universal remote control and Region 8 DVD player for lounge. Steward department was thanked for preparing great meals. Next ports: Jacksonville, Fla., San Juan, P.R., and Elizabeth, N.J. ITB PHILADELPHIA (USS Transport), Feb. 24 – Chairman Michael A. Eaton, Secretary Dana A. Paradise, Educational Director Willie J. Franks, Deck Delegate Christopher W. Jenson, Engine Delegate Tino Guity, Steward Delegate Farid Zaharan. Bosun stated payoff to take place in Bayonne, N.J., on February 29. He also said he would inquire about contract and retroactive pay. Secretary encouraged all hands to help keep ship clean. Educational director urged crew to take advantage of opportunities available at the SIU-affiliated school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next port: Bayonne, N.J. MAERSK MISSOURI (Maersk Line Limited), Feb. 10 – Chairman Oliver M. Balico, Secretary Billy Gigante, Educational Director Hiawatha J. Williams, Deck Delegate Paul I. Castillo, Steward Delegate Brian T. McEleney. Chairman reported good voyage and crew. He announced payoff in Elizabeth, N.J., on February 12 and went over ship’s itinerary. Educational director advised members to make sure documents were up-to-date. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next ports: Norfolk, Va., Charleston, S.C., and Port Tangier, Morocco. MAERSK OHIO (Maersk Line Limited), Feb. 10 – Chairman Thomas P. Flanagan, Secretary Robert J. Bostick, Educational Director Stephen J. Dillon Jr., Steward Delegate Robert J. Bostick. Chairman reported payoff would take place in New York on February 18 and reminded those departing vessel to leave fresh linen for reliefs. He also encouraged mariners to take advantage of new 401K plan. Educational director urged crew to check out what the Piney Point school has to offer and keep all necessary seafaring documents current. Treasurer stated $1,000 in safety fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward department was thanked for a job well done. Bosun expressed his gratitude to all departments for their continued cooperation during voyage. Next ports: Norfolk, Va., and Charleston, S.C. SEALAND PRIDE (Maersk Line Limited), Feb. 9 – Chairman Frank Lyle Jr., Secretary Edward M. Collins, Educational Director Grant W. Schuman, Deck Delegate Reuben M. Brown. Chairman announced payoff on February 11 in Charleston, S.C. He discussed the importance of working safely and wearing proper protective equipment. He also urged members to pay dues and contribute to SPAD (Seafarers Political Activity Donation) whenever possible. Secretary thanked crew for helping keep the lounge and messroom clean. Educational director advised members to upgrade at every opportunity at the unionaffiliated school. Treasurer reported $1,500 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Mariners were reminded that TWIC cards will be required as of September 25, 2008. Next ports: Charleston, S.C., Houston and Norfolk, Va. SULPHUR ENTERPRISE (Central Gulf Lines), Feb. 4 – Chairman Joseph J. White, Secretary Darryl K. Goggins, Educational Director Glenn G. Barnes. Chairman urged crew members to check the Seafarers LOG or www.seafarers.org for the latest TWIC information. Secretary asked departing crew to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen. Educational director encouraged members to check out LNG courses available at the Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next ports: Tampa, Fla., and Galveston, Texas. USNS BRITTIN (American Overseas Marine), Feb. 7 – Chairman Greyson C. Brantley, Secretary Lawrence E. Winfield, Educational Director Antwan L. Legare, Deck Delegate Reed Algernon, Engine Delegate Milton R. Ballard, Steward Delegate Lizzie Robinson. Chairman stated that all departments were doing a great job. He requested all crew members clean their rooms prior to payoff in New Orleans on February 9. Educational director encouraged mariners to enhance seafaring abilities at the Paul Hall Center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next port: New Orleans. Seafarers LOG 19 �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:23 AM Page 20 Letters to the Editor Editor’s Note: The Seafarers LOG reserves the right to edit letters for grammar as well as space provisions without changing the writer’s intent. The LOG welcomes letters from members, pensioners, their families and shipmates and will publish them on a timely basis. Proud SIU Memories As a former member of the SIU from 1982-1997 and a graduate of Paul Hall Center trainee class 367, I have always embraced my seafaring experience with pride and honor. My spirit is often tormented with the desire to return to shipping. Although I’ve gone through many positive evolutions, my core foundation of the man I’ve become today stems from my seagoing family and the great men and women I had the privilege to know and respect during my time sailing the various seas and oceans. I bring this up in order to say: I am a proud American and I am truly proud of the honorable service the SIU provides, not only for this nation but the worldwide community. I continue to read the Seafarers LOG and am always amazed at how this great union with such vision continues to deliver for the military, the economic community and humanitarian interests. The SIU does so in a professional manner that is unrivaled. Yes, I am proud to have had my start and my foundation in the Seafarers International Union, and for that I thank you. May God bless you all! Terrance Reed R-1312 Call for Grassroots Support Please let your readers know that a bill is under consideration in Congress that would provide a monthly payment to U.S. mariners who sailed during World War II. I didn’t know about it until a friend told me. This legislation – the Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act – passed the House of Representatives on July 30, 2007, and is now under consideration in the Senate. It’s worth a try to keep checking on it and to keep asking for support. Bruce E. Knight Chesapeake, Virginia Thanks to Port Agent All of us who’ve had the distinct pleasure of having SIU Wilmington, Calif. Port Agent John Cox assist us in any way will understand his decision to “re-join” the industry. But (and that’s a big but) he will be sorely missed. Why? His dedication to his assignments and fellow shipmates, and his going beyond the call of duty. So many times, Mr. Cox’s creativity in assisting us has led the majority of all seamen who have come into association with John to consider him an STES – Specially Trained Extraordinary Shipmate! And, more importantly, a great friend. Aloha, mate, and Godspeed on your new career. AB S.A. Gardner California Carrying the Message This is why members of the maritime community belong with the American Merchant Marine Veterans (AMMV). We have successful battle experience with Congress in gaining recognition and winning against a cold legislature. We are pushing ahead to assure that our younger generation of mariners are given equal respect for their service as all uniformed service members deserve. We will continue to publicize in the American media historical events, emphasizing the dedicated service our brave members gave in the past along with those serving today. Precious few citizens know what you do, why you do it and it what it means for them. They are in the dark and we want to enlighten them. Mariners deserve recognition as the sixth uniformed service providing support for all U.S. armed services. They serve with dedication in peace and wartime as all soldiers and sailors do. Mariners have been doing this continually for our country since 1775, serving George Washington and at every conflict, war and invasion since. The U.S. Merchant Marine flag is increasingly being honored at all national events where service flags are flown, including parades, patriotic events and national cemeteries – because we keep pushing. The U.S. Merchant Marine Medallion will be found in more VA hospitals, parks and public squares around the country because we keep pushing. The dedicated merchant mariner, who served, suffered and died in these wars needs to be remembered for indispensible service. Meanwhile, we continually remind Congress we deliver the goods for military action. During the past four years, merchant mariners, their families and friends have flooded Congress with hundreds of thousands of letters, faxes and phone calls in behalf of merchant marine legislation. Congress knows who we are, and we do not want to let them forget! To strengthen this endeavor of recognizing mariners – and to benefit from it – you are invited to become a part of our history by joining the AMMV now. By sharing in our ambition for full recognition of today’s U.S. Merchant Marine, you will receive our quarterly magazine as well as the monthly email report on current events. A nominal $20 annual membership fee entitles you to the above plus full recognition at all AMMV events. Contact AMMV headquarters at the number listed below for applications and “get acquainted” kits. A.J. Wichita AMMV National President Cape Coral, Florida (239) 549-1010 SEAFARERS HEALTH AND BENEFITS PLAN — COBRA NOTICE Under federal law, a participant and his or her dependents have the right to elect to continue their Plan coverage in the event that they lose their eligibility. This right is granted by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, better known as “COBRA.” The COBRA law allows a participant and his or her dependents to temporarily extend their benefits at group rates in certain circumstances where coverage under the Plan would otherwise end. A participant and his or her dependents have a right to choose this continuation coverage if they lose their Plan coverage because the participant failed to meet the Plan’s seatime requirements. In addition, a participant and his or her dependents may have the right to choose continuation coverage if the participant becomes a pensioner ineligible for medical benefits. The participant’s dependents may also elect continuation coverage if they lose coverage under the Plan as the result of the participant’s (1) death; (2) divorce; or (3) Medicare eligibility. A child can also elect COBRA if as the result of his or her age, he or she is no longer a dependent under the Plan rules. If a member and his or her dependents feel that they may qualify, or if they would like more information concerning these rights, they should contact the Plan office at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Since there are important deadlines that apply to COBRA, please contact the Plan as soon as possible to receive a full explanation of the participant’s rights and his or her dependents’ rights. Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. 20 Seafarers LOG If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. April 2008 �47469_2x:January 08 4/1/2008 4:21 PM Page 21 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE Course Welding The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the first few months of 2008. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman April 14 May 26 May 9 June 20 Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) (must have radar unlimited) April 14 June 16 April 18 June 20 21-Hour Bridge Resource Management (1,600 tons or less) (includes First Aid/CPR) (must have valid radar unlimited certificate) May 12 May 16 Celestial Navigation June 2 June 27 GMDSS April 21 May 2 Lifeboatman/Water Survival May 12 June 23 May 23 July 4 March 31 June 2 April 11 June 13 April 21 June 23 April 21 June 23 Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman April 28 May 9 Bosun Recertification Course May 12 October 14 June 2 November 3 Date of Completion May 5 June 2 May 23 June 20 Safety Specialty Courses Advanced Fire Fighting (must have basic fire fighting) May 5 June 30 May 16 July 11 Basic Fire Fighting April 14 June 16 April 18 June 20 Basic Safety Training/STCW April 7 May 12 May 26 June 30 April 11 May 16 May 30 July 4 Fast Rescue Boat May 12 June 16 May 16 June 20 Government Vessels (Week 1) May 19 June 23 May 23 June 27 Medical Care Provider May 19 May 23 Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Tankerman Familiarization/Assistant Cargo (DL) June 2 (must have basic firefighting) June 13 Tankerman (PIC) Barge (must have basic firefighting) April 25 April 21 Steward Upgrading Courses Radar Radar Renewal (one day) Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes start every other Monday. The most recent class began March 31. Steward Recertification Course August 18 September 8 Academic Department Courses Engine Upgrading Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be selfstudy. Advanced Container Maintenance (Refer) June 2 June 27 Online “Distance Learning” Courses Basic Auxiliary Plant Ops May 19 June 13 FOWT April 21 June 16 May 16 July 11 Junior Engineer July 7 August 29 Marine Refrigeration Technician April 21 May 30 Pumpman April 7 April 18 Welding April 7 April 25 In addition to the foregoing courses, the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education currently is offering the following internet-based courses: Environmental Awareness; Hazardous Material Control and Management; Hearing Conservation; Heat Stress Management; Shipboard Pest Management; Respiratory Protection, and Shipboard Water Sanitation. The courses are free to mariners covered by SIU contracts. To register, complete the regular upgrading application located on the bottom left portion of this page, and mail it to: Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075. Applicants will receive user account information from the center via e-mail. They are therefore urged to provide their e-mail addresses in the space provided on the application. Applicants should also include the word “online” when listing the courses they wish to take. UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Date of Birth ______________________ Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____ Department ___________ E-mail ____________________________ Yes No COURSE BEGIN DATE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. U.S. Citizen: With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and fifty (150) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Yes Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ April 2008 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 4/08 Seafarers LOG 21 �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:23 AM Page 22 Paul Hall Cent er Classes Water Survival —Graduating from the course on Feb. 22 (in no particular order) were: Paa Kwakye, Ali Nabil, Randy Knipfer, Roberto Silva, Adiener Alfaro, Pedro DeJesus, Howard Randle and Larry Bradley. Their instructor, Stan Beck, is far right. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 699 – Unlicensed apprentices from Class 699 recently graduated from the water survival course. Those graduating from the course (above in alphabetical order) were Michael Anderson, Meghan Blocker, William Chamberlain, Daniel Cortez, Hubert Dennis, Louise Digman, Jack Forde, Tonya Gist, Austen Hess, Enchantress Johnson, Joshua Johnson, Matthew Martinson, Algernon Ramseur, Christopher Shivalier, Richard Vega and Pamela Wilson. Welding – The following individuals (in alphabetical order) graduated from this course on Feb. 22: Carmelo Collazo, Kevin Niemiec, Vincent Figuenick and Ed Majesky. Their instructor, Buzzy Andrews, is at far left. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Academic, Computer Classes Two students recently completed academic and computer training classes at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. After receiving their certificates for completion of the classes, they posed with their respective instructors. Tanya Bradley (above, center) poses with Rick Prucha and Peggy Densford after completing courses in Mathematics 101 and History 102. Jake Wheeler (below, left) poses with Prucha after finishing training in Windows XP and Excel 2002. Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations – The following individuals (above in alphabetical order) on Feb. 22 completed the basic auxiliary plant operations course: Rachel Alarcon, John Albritton, Haeven Bautista, Ja’Quaral Carroll, James Fells, Abraham Goldberg, Creg Gumanas, Rupert Henry, Sean Keaton, Anthony Irizarry, Joel Jones, Ted Lampke, Christopher Landry, Denise Mendoza, Jeffrey Nicholson, Augustin Paulin, Marcos Ramos, Terry Taylor, Martin Watson, DeAndre Whitley, Pavis Whitley, Robbie Willis and Edwin Arroyo. Their instructor, Tim Achorn, is standing at far left. (Note: Not all are pictured.) AB – The following individuals (in alphabetical order) on Feb. 15 received their certificates for completion of the able seaman course. Completing the class (above in alphabetical order) were Nicasio Arzu, Diego Barbosa, Patrick Brill, Charles Brown, Lawrence Cormier, Arthur Doherty, Cleveland Foy, Paa Dwakye, Edmund Livings, Joel Marcano, Walter Nodora, Garrett Phillips, Jumar Rapuet, Terrance Shinn, Daryl Spicer, Stefra Strauser, David Vandecar, Teena Werner, Jake Wheeler and Melody White. Their instructors were Barnabe Peligon and Stan Beck. Beck is at far right. 22 Seafarers LOG April 2008 �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:23 AM Page 23 Paul Hall Cent er Classes STCW—(GREAT LAKES-A) The following boatmen (in alphabetical order) from Great Lakes Towing graduated from this course on Feb. 15: Omar Al Asaadi, Abrahem Ali, Ahmed Al Shahloor, Ali Altalheem, Ali Aizawkari, David Andrews, James Beaudry, Michael Cushman, James Davidson, Brian DeMeritt, Jeffery Eckhart, Ali Elmadari, Frank Farnam, Craig Fizhugh, Ahmed Ganah, Sabbah Ghaleb, Albert Hamiel, Jeff Hester, Donald Jaegle and Jeffery Johnson. SIU Port Agent Chad Partridge is kneeling in front row, second from the left. STCW — (GREAT LAKES-B) The above boatmen (in alphabetical order) from Great Lakes Towing on Feb. 15 completed this course: Yehia Kaid, Franklin Kosiboski, Scott Krajniak, Mike Lafcille, Darren Lahale, Charles Lesley, Daniel Lind, Doyle Ling, Mark MacRury, Waleed Mohsin, James Norick, Andrew Nowak, Salem Omer, Daryl Overby, David Rivera, Walter Sipper, Paul Smetana, James Smith, Steven Werda and Mussa Yahya. SIU Port Agent Chad Partridge is standing third from left in the front row. Advanced Fire Fighting – These G&H Towing boatmen on Feb. 15 graduated from the advanced fire fighting course. Members of the class (above in alphabetical order) were Dennis Mariveles, Santos Reyes Jr., Brian Saba, Britt Saha, Jesse Sendejas, Jason Shead, Jeffrey Vanderburg, Gary Watkins Jr., Nathan West and Steve Williams. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Advanced Fire Fighting - The following individuals (in alphabetical order) on Jan. 25 completed this course: Tawrence Abrams, John Benson, Donald Byrd, Kevin Carraby, Alshea Dixon, Arnaldo Fernandez, Vincent Figuenick, Tesfaye Gebregziabher, Pedro Santiago, Scott Sevret, Edward Shamburger, Gary Torres and Barry Williams Jr. Their instructor, Tom Cessna, is at far left. Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot attend should inform the admissions department immediately so that arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. April 2008 Junior Engineering – Receiving certificates for their completion of the junior engineer course on Feb. 29 (above, in no particular order) were Dario Dizon, Timothy Johnson II, Carlo Johnson, Michael Johnson, Michael Jones, Theodore Gonzales, Martin Hamilton, Sandra Baker Neigebauer, Drew Barth, Michael Lais, Miguel Abad and Dennis Rivard. Their instructor, Jay Henderson, is far right. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Seafarers LOG 23 �47469x:January 08 3/31/2008 10:23 AM Page 24 Volume 70, Number 4 April 2008 TWIC Reminders, Enrollment Centers Page 8 AB Michael Ratigan (right) and Petty Officer 3rd Class Cynthia Casillas, USN, monitor a cargo offload from the American Tern Feb. 8 at the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station in Antarctica. The American Tern (right) and icebreaker Oden SIU Ships Deliver in ‘Deep Freeze’ Seafarers Contribute to Success of Yearly Resupply Mission to Antarctica Two SIU-crewed vessels recently delivered vital cargo in Operation Deep Freeze, the annual resupply mission to the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station in Antarctica. The ice-strengthened tanker Lawrence H. Gianella (operated by Ocean Ships, Inc.) and the dry cargo ship MV American Tern (Osprey Ship Management) did their respective parts to help ensure the operation’s success. The mission itself was overseen by the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC). According to the agency, the American Tern delivered a year’s worth of equipment and stores. The ship arrived Feb. 8 and, as soon as its brow dropped, 59 U.S. Navy Sailors from a cargo-handling battalion began working around the clock to offload 12 million pounds of equipment and supplies for the 1,500 researchers and support personnel who work on the continent each year. The vessel departed Feb. 12. Earlier, the Gianella arrived at McMurdo’s ice pier Jan. 28 and delivered nearly six million gallons of fuel to power the station’s generators, vehicles, helicopters and research boats before departing Feb. 3. “The pack ice was very thick this year and never opened completely until late February,” noted Captain Robert Lee, master of the Gianella, who forwarded the photos accompanying this article. “Also, the Southern Ocean storms where active as usual, serving up 30-foot seas almost daily. The conditions were harsh, but the AMO-SIU crew members were up to the task. Some appeared a bit green around the gills coming through the storm belt of the Southern Sea, but that’s expected in the roughest ocean of the world. None complained and all continued to do their job in a very professional manner.” He added, “Upon arriving at McMurdo Station, the hectic schedule of discharging cargo, refueling other vessels, cleaning tanks, loading storm ballast and giving ship tours to scientist and local workers all happened efficiently and without incident…. It was a job well done indeed.” “Without the cargo delivered by our ships each year, McMurdo would not be able to function,” said Rick Appling of MSC’s Sealift Logistics Command Pacific. Utilizing Seafarers-contracted vessels, MSC delivers more than 70 percent of the dry cargo and 100 percent of fuel that is taken to the continent each year. Equally important, however, is the cargo that MSC takes off of the continent, the agency pointed out. This year nearly five million pounds of items ranging from precious ice core samples to all the waste that McMurdo Station has accumulated over the past year were loaded onto the American Tern before it departed. On its last day in port, the American Tern successfully transferred fuel to the Swedish icebreaker Oden, which arrived in the area in advance of the two MSC ships and broke a channel through about 18 miles of ice that blocked the ships’ access to McMurdo. SIU members sailing aboard the American Tern during the mission included the following: Bosun Hernando Bansuelo, AB Vincent Hamm, AB Jack Jackson, AB Michael Ratigan, AB Erick Toledo-Colon, AB Chris Wilson, DEU Ali Zaidan, OMU Daniel Amesbury, OMU Jose Deoferio, OMU Joshua McDaniel, Steward/Baker John Gruebel, Chief Cook David Brown and SA Charles Mitchell. The Seafarers-crewed Gianella discharges cargo and refuels the research vessel Nathaniel Palmer. Sailing aboard the Gianella were Bosun Trevorous Ellison, AB Stag Rye, AB Yves Goiset, AB James Hall, AB Clifton Doonis, DEU Victor Stewart, Pumpman Darrell McDonald, QMED Lamar Parker, QMED James Summers, Steward/Baker Mary Brayman, Chief Cook Alfonsa Eligio, GSU Regina Miguel, GSU Ali Salim and Unlicensed Apprentice Christopher Shivalier. Sights near the station include penguins and orca. Seafarers and officers are pictured aboard the Lawrence Gianella. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 April 2008 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES SIU SHIPS SUPPORT SATELLITE INTERCEPTION FINANCIAL COMMITTEE APPROVES UNION’S RECORDS MTD UNIONS CREDITED AS VALUED PARTNERS HIGHLY REGARDED SPEAKERS STRESS SUPPORT FOR U.S.-FLAG SHIPPING CROWLEY SEAFARERS APPROVE 4-YEAR CONTRACT CROWLEY CHRISTENS ANOTHER ATB GOVERNMENT STUDY: ECONOMIC IMPACT OF U.S.-FLAG CRUISE SHIPS RUNS DEEP LABOR LEADERS SPELL OUT STRATEGY FOR ‘ECONOMY THAT WORKS FOR ALL’ REP. GENE TAYLOR TO RECEIVE ‘SALUTE TO CONGRESS’ AWARD NEW SEAFARER SHEPPARD FOUND DIRECTION THROUGH UNLICENSED APPRENTICE PROGRAM HORIZON KODIAK CREW TEAMS UP TO CONSTRUCT SHIPBOARD FITNESS ROOM MARINERS NEED TWIC BY SEPT. 25, 2008 SIU-CREWED USNS GILLILAND LOADS U.S. ARMY EQUIPMENT SERVICING SIU-CREWED VESSELS IN THE PORT OF TAMPA MILITARY LEADERS POWERFULLY DECLARE SUPPORT FOR U.S. MARINERS, U.S. SHIPS GRASSROOTS ACTION, NOVEMBER ELECTIONS CRUCIAL FOR AMERICA’S WORKING FAMILIES FROM MANY PERSPECTIVES, MARITIME INDUSTRY KNOWS GREAT PROMISE, FACES KEY CHALLENGES GUEST SPEAKERS VOICE PERSPECTIVES ON FUTURE OF MARITIME TRANSPORTATION SIU CIVMARS HELP RECOVER 2 DOWNED U.S. AIR FORCE JETS SIU SHIPS DELIVER IN ‘DEEP FREEZE’ SEAFARERS CONTRIBUTE TO SUCCESS OF YEARLY RESUPPLY MISSION TO ANTARCTICA Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 04/01/2008 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. 70, No. 4 2008 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/dff8b41c901f530a1b80185ecaceac7e.pdf 63ec953b65fc878655b88a73fde0c5aa PDF Text Text 46674_p01_20_2x:6674p0 2/21/2008 5:30 PM Page 1 Volume 70, Number 3 March 2008 MSP Gains Newer Tonnage As SIU Fleet Grows by 2 Alliance Norfolk, Alliance St. Louis Raise America’s Stars and Stripes The SIU-contracted fleet recently grew by two ships as Maersk Line, Limited added the Alliance St. Louis (above, left) and Alliance Norfolk (above, right) to its group of vessels enrolled in the U.S. Maritime Security Program (MSP). Two other SIUcontracted Maersk ships (the Maersk Nebraska and Maersk Nevada) rotated out of the MSP fleet, but they remain in the company’s commercial service and still are crewed by Seafarers. The Alliance Norfolk and Alliance St. Louis are car carriers. At left, the Norwegian flag is taken down from the Alliance St. Louis and replaced by the Stars and Stripes while the vessel was in Baltimore. Page 3. Always Ready to Deliver Seafarers Continue Embracing Role as Nation’s ‘Fourth Arm of Defense’ Delivering the goods for U.S. troops wherever and whenever needed remains a vital part of the jobs performed by SIU members. So say Seafarers themselves, including Recertified Bosun Rick James (right in photo below) and AB Mrimri Farah, pictured in late January aboard the Cape Washington. Seafarers aboard the USNS Mendonca (left) and Cape Wrath also recently discussed their commitment to supporting our troops. Pages 10-11. Union Membership Increases PHC Distance Learning Page 2 Page 6 �46674_p01_20:6674p0 2/19/2008 7:33 AM Page 2 Union Membership Increases President’s Report Protecting Workers’ Freedom Statistics don’t always tell the whole story, but the recently released numbers on union membership in the U.S. are encouraging. The labor movement made big gains in 2007, attracting more than 300,000 new members. As reported elsewhere on this page, that’s the biggest increase going all the way back to 1979. All things considered, I think this is great news not just for unions but for all working families. The growth also is a tribute both to the value of union representation and the resilience of workers and organizers taking part in the campaigns. Michael Sacco It’s easy to see the advantages of joining a union. As Seafarers know, union members have a real voice in the workplace. They have the protection of a collective bargaining agreement. Year after year, government data shows that union members are far more likely to earn more money and have better benefits than unrepresented workers. Meanwhile, private studies consistently show that most people across the country support unions. They also reflect the fact that the majority of unrepresented workers say they would join a union if presented with the opportunity. Unfortunately, in far too many cases, workers don’t really get a fair shot at exercising their right to join a union. That’s why the AFL-CIO (to which the SIU is affiliated) has pushed so hard for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) – legislation that would restore fairness to the National Labor Relations Board process. The spin from anti-worker factions is that the EFCA somehow would deprive employees of their rights when it came time to vote on whether or not to join a union. Brothers and sisters, talk about a smokescreen. The truth is that in most modern-day organizing campaigns, workers – and unions – already are fighting an uphill battle all the way. Not because unions don’t have a lot to offer, but rather because the employers pull out all the stops to keep the union out, often including breaking the law. This isn’t news to anyone who’s been involved in a tough campaign in recent years, but it may surprise others. Companies routinely harass and intimidate pro-union workers during the weeks leading up to a vote. In many documented cases, pro-union workers are unjustly fired. Businesses often spend more to hire union-busting attorneys to cloud the real issues and confuse workers about unions than it would take to pay a fair wage with good benefits. Even if a majority of workers votes for representation, some companies stall and stall during negotiations for a first contract, while at the same time still attempting to disregard the workers’ choice by getting rid of the union. How can they get away with those actions? The enforcement of certain labor laws protecting workers in organizing drives is weak or nonexistent. Appeals processes take too long. Even for the most enthusiastic union advocate, it can be a very tough fight. I think it’s un-American to treat workers that way. Employees deserve the chance to freely exercise their right to join (or not join) a union. The law already says so, but reality says something different. The SIU remains committed along with our fellow unions throughout the AFL-CIO in supporting the Employee Free Choice Act. There is solid backing for the legislation in both houses of Congress. There is legitimate hope that this bill will become law. When it does, the yearly report on union membership will be even better than the current one. And that’ll be good news not just for unions, but for all workers. Middle-class families are finding it harder and harder to maintain their living standards, much less get ahead. Workers’ wages are stagnating or falling. Economic inequality in this country is rising to alarming levels. And health insurance and retirement security are increasingly beyond the reach of middle-class families. Our country cannot afford to continue on this course. At the same time, every day more people are coming to understand that the ability of workers to form and join unions is what laid the foundation for the explosive growth of the American middle class in the post-World War II period. Every day, more people appreciate the role of collective bargaining in promoting broadly shared economic growth and prosperity, higher wages, better jobs, better and more extensive health care coverage, retirement security, and dignity and respect for workers on the job. Volume 70, Number 3 March 2008 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 207909998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2008 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG Union membership in the United States increased by 311,000 to 15.7 million in 2007, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – marking the largest single-year increase in union membership since 1979. Overall union density increased slightly from 12.0 percent to 12.1 percent last year, reversing a trend of decline in recent years. “Today’s numbers show working people are pushing to form and join unions in order to improve their lives, despite record levels of resistance from employers,” AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said when the government data became available in late January. “They know that a union card is the single best ticket into the middle class, especially in today’s economy.” Private sector union membership grew by 133,000 and density grew to 7.5 percent in 2007, the first time private sector density grew since 1979. In construction alone, more than 96,000 members were added last year, bumping union density in that industry to 13.9 percent from 13.0 percent in 2006. The largest increase in union membership was in health services, where unions added 142,000 members, a 0.9 percent increase in density from 2006 to 7.9 percent. Union membership among women grew again in 2007, continuing a trend in recent years. More than 201,000 women joined unions in 2007, nearly twice the number of men. Women now account for 44 percent of all union members, a new high. The advantages of having a union on the job were clear in 2007, according to the labor federation. Last year, median weekly pay for union members was $863 while those who were not represented by unions had median weekly earnings of $663. “Our unions have been working hard over the last 10 years to build their strategic capacity to help workers join unions, even in this hostile legal environment where workers’ right to organize has been all but eliminated,” Sweeney added. “The fact that our unions have been able to grow despite a slowing economy and a decline in the public sector is a good sign. As we’ve built political support and held elected officials who oppose workers’ rights accountable, more working people have been able to exercise their choice to join unions.” There have been a number of important victories for workers who wanted a union on the job. Those victories include 40,000 childcare workers in Michigan joining the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the United Auto Workers (UAW). More than 40,000 communications workers joined the Communications Workers of America in the last two years, including more than 20,000 at Cingular (now AT&T Wireless). Last year, 50,000 childcare workers in New York joined AFSCME and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). In addition, 6,000 casino dealers in New Jersey and Connecticut joined the UAW and 3,000 administrative staff from Rutgers University joined the AFT and Communications Workers of America. The manufacturing sector continues to be hard hit due to an overall decline caused in part by trade deals like NAFTA that have shipped millions of American jobs overseas. Manufacturing employment dropped by 287,000 and union membership dropped by 93,000. Union density in manufacturing declined from 11.7 percent to 11.3 percent. The growth in union membership comes at a time when workers say they want and need unions more than ever. More than half of all workers – 60 million – say they would join a union tomorrow if given the chance, according to independent research by Peter Hart Research Associates. “It’s no accident that the vast majority of workers who formed unions last year did so outside the broken National Labor Relations Board process,” Sweeney said. “All workers deserve a free and fair chance to form a union. It’s time for Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act to reform our nation’s broken labor laws and help rebuild our ailing middle class.” Under NLRB Direction, Majestic Posts Non-Interference Notice In an agreement sanctioned by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Majestic America Line in late 2007 was compelled to post a notice to employees aboard the formerly SIU-contracted passenger riverboat American Queen promising that the company wouldn’t interfere with crew members’ rights to choose union representation. In other words, under a government-supervised settlement, the company said it would follow the law. Majestic also agreed to reinstate a former employee who had been unjustly fired because of pro-union activities. The NLRB signed off on the agreement Nov. 7, 2007. It read in part, “The Charged Party will post immediately in conspicuous places in and about its vessel, including all places where notices to employees are customarily posted, and maintain for 60 consecutive days from the date of the posting, copies of the attached Notice (and versions in other languages as deemed appropriate by the Regional Director) made a part hereof, said notices to be signed by a responsible official of the Charged Party and the date of actual posting to be shown thereon.” The bulk of the notice itself read as follows. The name of a Majestic employee whom the union assisted in safeguarding his workplace rights appeared in the original notice but is omitted here as a courtesy: NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES - FEDERAL LAW GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO: ■ Form, join or assist a union; ■ Choose representatives to bargain with us on your behalf; ■ Act together with other employees for your benefit and protection; ■ Choose not to engage in any of these protected activities. (Editor’s note: The company agreed to the following items, which appear in the notice.) WE WILL NOT interfere with, restrain or coerce you in regards to the exercise of these rights, more specifically WE WILL NOT discharge or otherwise discriminate against you for supporting or engaging in activities on behalf of the Seafarers International Union, Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO (Union) or any other labor organization. WE WILL NOT in any like or related manner interfere with, restrain, or coerce you in the exercise of your rights as guaranteed by Section 7 of the Act. WE WILL offer full re-employment to [name of employee] in his former position without prejudice to his seniority or any other rights previously enjoyed. WE WILL pay [name of employee] wages and other benefits he may have lost because we discharged him. WE WILL, within 14 days from the date of the Settlement Agreement, remove from our files any reference to the discharge of [name of employee] in March 2007, and WE WILL within three days of the removal, notify [name] in writing that this has been done and that WE WILL not use the discharge against him in any way. March 2008 �46674_p01_20:6674p0 2/19/2008 7:34 AM Page 3 The Alliance Norfolk (above) and sister ship Alliance St. Louis signify more jobs for the SIU and greater RO/RO capability available to the U.S. Department of Defense. Seafarers Crew Up 2 New Maersk Ships RO/ROs Alliance Norfolk, Alliance St. Louis Join MSP Fleet Call it a win-win development. The SIU recently added two vessels to its fleet, while the U.S. Maritime Security Program (MSP) gained newer tonnage. Beginning in late January, Seafarers crewed up the car carriers Alliance Norfolk (in New York) and Alliance St. Louis (in Baltimore). Both vessels now are operated by SIU-contracted Maersk Line, Limited. The ships initially had sailed for Hoegh Autoliners under the Norwegian flag, but now sail under the Stars and Stripes. The Alliance Norfolk (built in 2007) and Alliance St. Louis (2005) are basically identical, each measuring approximately 650 long with a beam of about 104 feet. They were constructed by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME). They replaced the containerships Maersk Nevada and Maersk Nebraska (both built in 1985) in the MSP fleet, but those vessels remain in the company’s commercial service, normally transporting grain. Ed Hanley, Maersk Line, Limited vice president of labor relations, commended SIU members for “displaying outstanding professionalism and teamwork during the reflaggings. Their dedication to duty and ‘can do’ attitude overcame the many obstacles associated with taking over new vessels, which allowed for a smooth integration under the U.S. flag. The company and U.S. Coast Guard officials on site were impressed with the readiness of the crew and their emphasis on safety and security.” The U.S. Maritime Administration describes the Maritime Security Program as “a fundamental element of the U. S. maritime transportation system, providing an active, privately owned, U.S.-flag, and U.S.crewed liner fleet in international trade that is available to support Department of Defense sustainment in a contingency.” The MSP was established by the Maritime Security Act of 1996. The program helps maintain a pool of well-trained American seafarers who are available to crew the ships of both the U.S. government-owned strategic sealift fleet as well as the U.S. commercial fleet, both in peace and war. Bipartisan support from Congress as well as the administrations of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton crafted and guided the original legislation to its ultimate passage in 1996. That measure provided funding for 47 militarily useful U.S.-flag commercial vessels over a 10-year period. In return, the companies participating in the program made sure their intermodal facilities were available to the U.S. armed forces in time of war or national emergency. Because the MSP proved its value during operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, efforts were launched in 2002 to extend and expand the MSP before its expiration in 2005. A year later, Congress passed and President George W. Bush signed legislation to enhance the MSP with 10 more years and 13 more vessels. During those grassroots efforts to secure a new MSP, a report by the highly respected National Defense Transportation Association stated that the United States military would be that the MSP has become a pillar of the nation’s strategic sealift and global response capability, providing mariners, vessels and intermodal systems to support the military in such missions as Iraq and Afghanistan. The Alliance St. Louis reflagged under the Stars and Stripes Feb. 4 in Baltimore. Chief Cook Vincent Chavez prepares a meal aboard the Alliance St. Louis. Some of the folks on hand for the reflagging of the Alliance St. Louis included (not in order) AB Celestino Daluz, Oiler Eli Young, AB Joseph Ayeo, Oiler Andy Iliscupidez, DMAC Malachi Tannis, Outgoing Bosun Richardo C. Ballelos Jr., Incoming Bosun Roy Tyler, Steward Rudolph Daniels, Maersk General Manager Carol Berger, Maersk General Manager James Denoncourt and SIU Baltimore Port Agent Dennis Metz. March 2008 unable to deploy and sustain its forces worldwide without using privately owned, U.S.-flagged commercial vessels. The study by the Maritime Policy Working Group of the NDTA’s Military Sealift Committee demonstrated Crew members safely and busily continue readying the Alliance St. Louis for its first official voyage under the American flag. Seafarers LOG 3 �46674_p01_20_2x:6674p0 2/21/2008 5:31 PM Page 4 Defense Bill Provision Signals CIVMAR Win Mariners Retain Rights as Saga Concludes SIU VP Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi (second from right) represents the union during a recent ceremony honoring the Horizon Falcon. Also pictured at the ceremony are (from left) Capt. Eric Wallischeck of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy; Wally Becker, senior vessel superintendent at Horizon Lines; and Capt. Tim Brown, president of the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots. Wallischeck is presenting the American Merchant Marine Seamanship Trophy. SIU-Crewed Horizon Falcon Honored For ‘Brave Actions’ in 2007 Rescue In recognition of their efforts during an at-sea res- ed the vessel through rough seas filled with floating cue that took place last year, crew members and offi- logs to attempt to locate and rescue survivors. A cers from the Seafarers-contracted Horizon Falcon lifeboat with four mariners aboard was dispatched were honored Jan. 26 at a luncheon hosted by the U.S. despite high winds and 24-foot swells. One Chinese Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y. survivor was pulled from the water, but as the lifeboat SIU members sailing aboard the Horizon Falcon was being recovered by the Horizon Falcon, a large during the rescue included Recertified Bosun Steven swell nearly swamped the craft while damaging its Bush, ABs Ahmed Almuflihi, John Dacuag, motor. The lifeboat was ordered abandoned, but its Jennifer Souci, Stanley Parker, Jack Kem, Earl crew and the survivor climbed to safety up the conSparkes and Jerry Gonzaga, Electrician Ursel tainership’s 40-foot pilot ladder. Barber, QMEDs Husain Ali and Gustavo Osorio, A second Chinese seaman was spotted in the water Recertified Steward Philip Lau and SA Milagros near the containership. AB Dacuag harnessed himself Clark. to the pilot ladder and, using a grappling hook, The captain and crew received the American snagged and rescued the man. Merchant Marine Seamanship Trophy for their skillThe Horizon Falcon, by now joined by a Navy P3 ful action in rescuing two mariners from stormy seas. Orion aircraft and another merchant ship, continued “Captain Tom McDorr and the crew of Horizon the search for survivors, but no others were located. Falcon, owned by Horizon Lines, Inc., displayed The containership was eventually directed to resume superior seamanship its voyage. The rescued last year when they Chinese seamen were saved the lives of two delivered to Yantian, Chinese sailors whose where representatives vessel sank in the North of the Chinese governPacific,” the academy ment expressed their noted when announcing thanks to the captain the award. and crew of the On July 12, 2007, the Horizon ship. containership Horizon “The determined Falcon was en route efforts and the profesfrom Guam to Yantian, sional and brave China when it received actions of the captain The Horizon Falcon a message from the U.S. and crew of Horizon Coast Guard to divert Falcon, under most difcourse and come to the aid of a vessel, the bulk carri- ficult conditions, undoubtedly prevented the further er Hai Tong No. 7 carrying a cargo of logs. loss of human life in the sinking of Hai Tong No. 7,” The storm surge of Typhoon Man-Yi had caused the academy noted. the Hai Tong No. 7’s cargo to shift. The vessel The trophy itself, an ornate sterling silver cup, is on foundered and its Chinese crew had already been in permanent display at the American Merchant Marine the water for two days before any ship reached the Museum on the academy’s Long Island campus. scene. Recipients are presented with a plaque representing The Horizon Falcon arrived first. McDorr navigat- the trophy. Following a successful four-year effort by dozens of unions and supporters, members of the SIU Government Services Division are among the workers buoyed by the late-January signing of a Defense bill that includes provisions protecting their rights to union representation. The legislation signed by President Bush exempts blue-collar Defense Department employees from the National Security Personnel System (NSPS) and also calls for certain protections for workers who operate under the NSPS. CIVMARS and other bluecollar DOD workers will keep their collective bargaining rights as well as retain rights to appeal major disciplinary actions. The same holds true for privately employed civilian mariners sailing aboard U.S. Military Sealift Command and U.S. Maritime Administration vessels (though it wasn’t certain those mariners eventually would have ended up in the NSPS). “There are not many wins in our history bigger than this “. . . I am proud that I one,” said John Gage, presi- fought against the National dent of the American Security Personnel System in Federation of Government 2003, and that I was part of Employees. The NSPS applies to the leadership of the House approximately 110,000 Armed Services Committee in Defense employees who 2007 that wrote the language aren’t covered by collective to restore the rights of so bargaining agreements. many Americans.” U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrom---U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie bie noted, “After four years of lawsuits and back and forth federal court decisions, Congress has finally restored the basic rights of hard-working government employees to bargain collectively over the terms and conditions of their work, and to have in place an independent appeals process to handle disciplinary actions. The new law exempts bluecollar Defense employees from the NSPS, and ensures that employees who are in the NSPS and perform at satisfactory levels receive annual raises and locality adjustments and have an opportunity to earn performance-based raises and bonuses. “This language in the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, now Public Law 110-181, affirms the existence of the social contract between employer and employee; affirms the value and dignity of an honest day’s work; and affirms this nation’s core belief in fundamental justice. I am proud that I fought against the National Security Personnel System in 2003, and that I was part of the leadership of the House Armed Services Committee in 2007 that wrote the language to restore the rights of U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie so many Americans.” Coast Guard Says No Injuries, No Pollution In McCarthy Mishap No injuries and no pollution were very good words to hear from the U.S. Coast Guard about the stern submergence of the M/V Walter J. McCarthy Jr. in Superior, Wis., on January 14. The 1,000-foot McCarthy struck a submerged object while backing into winter dockage when the object punctured the stern, causing flooding in the engine rooms. The vessel’s stern settled to the bottom at 20 feet of water, covering the ship’s four diesel engines. According to the Coast Guard, the 4 Seafarers LOG crew closed the two engine rooms’ watertight doors and evacuated the flooding areas. That same week, workers pumped water from the ship’s ballast tanks that brought the ship’s stern up in the water, leaving five feet of water in the engine rooms. Workers then installed a coffer dam over the hole in the ship’s bottom, and oil and water were pumped into trucks on the dock to be taken away and treated. According to American Steamship Company, both engine rooms have been steam cleaned at press time and engines are being evaluated for repairs. The company also stated that the holes are sealed, which helps ensure there will be no pollution and that repairs can be made inside while also alleviating the need for drydock. Company officials said repairs could take months, especially given the freezing temperatures at the site. “It’s a very unfortunate event, but things like this happen. When vessels make dock, this is the most hazardous part of their journey,” Adolph Ojard, the executive director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, told an NBC television affiliate in Duluth. Lt. Aaron Gross, Coast Guard chief of port operations for the Marine Safety Unit in Duluth, told reporters the object that punctured the McCarthy’s hull could have been ice or a concrete piling. The McCarthy transports coal from Superior to Detroit Edison’s St. Claire and Monroe, Mich., power plants. March 2008 �46674_p01_20_2x:6674p0 2/21/2008 5:32 PM Page 5 TWIC Hearing Reveals Mixed Results Enrollment Continues for Federally Mandated Credential Displaying posters that are part of the joint effort are (from left) ITF General Secretary David Cockroft, ISF Secretary Natalie Shaw, ISF/ICS Secretary General Tony Mason and ITF Seafarers’ Section Secretary Jon Whitlow. The photo was taken Feb. 1 at a news conference in London. International Groups Announce Joint Effort to Protect Mariners The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), the International Shipping Federation (ISF) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) have joined forces in a new initiative to help protect seafarers involved in maritime accidents. The three organizations, which represent maritime employers and trade unions worldwide, announced Feb. 1 in London that they have united to support and promote the IMO and ILO Guidelines on the Fair Treatment of Seafarers In The Event Of A Maritime Accident. As part of the campaign the three organizations are distributing posters (supported by web sites and leaflets) worldwide to show seafarers how the guidelines can help protect them. They are also encouraging their members - national shipowners’ associations belonging to the ISF and ICS, and seafarers’ unions affiliated to the ITF - to approach their governments in order to promote the guidelines and to monitor how effectively they are being implemented. ISF/ICS Secretary General Tony Mason explained, “As responsible employers, we believe its is very important that the IMO/ILO Guidelines, which represent the internationally accepted minimum standard for the fair treatment of seafarers by investigating authorities, are indeed implemented in practice by governments. Seafarers must be treated with dignity and respect, and given access to independent legal representation in situations where they may be interviewed or held following an accident at sea.” ITF General Secretary David Cockroft remarked, “The knee-jerk scapegoating of seafarers following accidents at sea is a growing concern to us all. In recent years the response of too many national authorities has been to reach for the handcuffs first and find out what actually happened last. “Incidents like these prove how vital the guidelines are. I’m proud to say that the ITF and ISF in their capacity as ILO ‘social partners,’ with support from ICS and other industry organizations, helped to develop these guidelines, which were the product of tripartite negotiations with governments prior to their agreement by IMO and ILO.” Speaking at a press conference to launch the joint effort, the two men displayed the “Maritime Accidents. Seafarers – Be Aware!” posters that the organizations are distributing for use on ships, in seafarers’ missions and in other locations around the world. These can also be downloaded from either www.marisec.org/fairtreatment or www.itfglobal.org/fairtreatment, where the IMO/ILO Guidelines also appear in full. Meanwhile the three organizations sent a letter to the secretary-general of the IMO and the director-general of the ILO that reads in part, “As you are both well aware, the treatment by national authorities of seafarers unfortunate enough to be involved in maritime casualties or pollution incidents is an extremely important issue for the shipping industry, especially in the light of recent high profile cases around the world, where masters and crews have been detained by investigating authorities, apparently without adherence to proper due legal process. It was, of course, such incidents that led to the adoption by governments of the IMO/ILO Fair Treatment Guidelines, in order to address the key responsibilities of detaining states as well as those of the vessel’s flag state and the seafarers’ country of residence. “It is therefore very important that the IMO/ILO Guidelines, which represent the internationally accepted minimum standard for the treatment of seafarers by investigating authorities, are implemented by governments, and we are now actively promoting the IMO/ILO Guidelines throughout the industry…. We are sure that IMO and ILO will welcome this campaign by the industry’s social partners and our objective of ensuring that these important IMO/ILO Guidelines are indeed implemented in practice.” The House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation on Jan. 23 conducted a review hearing on enrollment progress of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program. During the hearing, committee chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) pointed out that as of January 11, 49 of 147 planned TWIC enrollment centers had been opened and that approximately 109,000 preenrollments had been initiated. Additionally, almost 50,000 enrollments had been completed and roughly 12,000 TWIC cards had been distributed to workers in the maritime community. Rep. Cummings and chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), whose committee oversees Cummings’, expressed concerns about the process. “For example,” explained Rep. Cummings, “TSA [Transportation Security Administration] originally estimated that 750,000 individuals in the maritime community would enroll in the TWIC program but now estimates that at least one million individuals will need TWIC cards.” Rep. Cummings also commented that extensive wait times have been experienced by some who are picking up and activating their TWIC cards. He did mention that the contracted company running the program, Lockheed Martin, allows individuals to make appointments to pick up cards and to complete the enrollment process. Rep. Oberstar stated, “I am concerned about mariners who live in remote areas will have to drive hundreds of miles – twice – once to apply for a TWIC card and again to pick it up.” “According to reports from the first 90 days of TWIC enrollment,” said Rep. Cummings, “workers enrolling in the program have experienced severe deficiencies in customer service, ranging from dysfunctional computers and loss of worker data to delays of up to five hours. One station expected to serve over 30,000 people was staffed with only one employee, while another station closed for the day when its printer ran out of toner. “Additionally, while a deadline for enrollment has been established for mariners, the Coast Guard has yet to announce the dates when ports must begin using the credentials. There has also been no clearly established outline distinguishing which maritime vessels must install the machine to read the TWIC cards or set deadlines for land facilities to install the readers,” Rep. Cummings continued. It is unclear whether Lockheed Martin will be able to deliver reliably functioning TWIC readers to all designated locations by the Sept. 25, 2008 TWIC enrollment deadline for mariners. Rep. Oberstar said, “Until TWIC Elijah Cummings card reader technology is available and the rule is pro- Chairman, House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime mulgated, the TWIC will be Transportation used as a flash pass. Although this offers some layer of security, the card is not worker is less than 11 minutes. Concerning the TWIC card serving the intended service.” During the testimony stage readers, Fanguy stated that the of the hearing, representatives TSA has begun a pilot test profrom the Coast Guard, TSA, gram to determine the effecLockheed Martin and the tiveness of the readers and the Maryland Department of biometric data embedded on Transportation addressed some TWIC cards. During his testimony, Coast of these concerns and provided more insight into TWIC Guard Director of Inspections and Compliance Rear Admiral progress. John Porcari, Maryland’s Brian Salerno underscored the secretary of transportation, progress made on TWIC that noted, “There have been some Fanguy mentioned. Admiral instances of enrollees having to Salerno emphasized the Coast make multiple visits to the Guard’s efforts in soliciting Baltimore enrollment site comments from various parts of because of TSA computers the industry and agency offices. Focusing on the TWIC cards being down and because of information previously submit- and the readers, the admiral ted for enrollment being lost on said, “The Coast Guard is in the TSA servers. Slow enrollment process of procuring handheld can be attributed to any number biometric readers which will of issues: cost of the card; pay- enable verification of identity ment arrangements by public and validity of credentials durand private institutions; and ing our vessel and facility reluctance of individuals inspections and spot checks. because of concerns about dis- We are also on track to develop qualifying background crite- the system necessary to allow newly hired employees to work ria.” TSA’s TWIC Program while they await issuance of Director Maurine Fanguy said TWIC.” A major concern in the that enrollment centers have opened on schedule. She industry and Congress is a declared that the average TWIC surge in enrollments that can enrollment time for a port occur as the Sept. 25, 2008 TWIC deadline approaches. Lockheed Martin Transportation and Security Solutions business unit President Judith Marks addressed the concern of the committee with the company’s plan. “We will focus first and foremost on use of mobile enrollment work stations that can be taken directly to stakeholder facilities. This provides an additional level of convenience for the individual workers … by minimizing lines at fixed facilities and easing the burden on major employers. In addition to use of mobile units, we have developed a national surge plan that will allow for U.S. Rep. James Oberstar (second from left), chairman of the House rapid expansion of capacity at Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, is pictured during a any of the 147 port locations.” hearing. March 2008 Seafarers LOG 5 �46674_p01_20:6674p0 2/19/2008 7:36 AM Page 6 Advancing Your Career Via the Paul Hall Center The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., offers the most U.S. Coast Guardapproved courses of any maritime school in the nation. The center features top-notch training from experienced instructors and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities. The school offers courses for mariners sailing in the deck, engine and steward departments. Below is a quick look at one of those classes. For more information about the center and its courses, contact the Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; call (301) 9940010; or visit the Paul Hall Center section of www.seafarers.org. Course dates are listed on page 17 of this issue of the LOG and also are carried on the web site. Steward Department Course Spotlight Galley Operations -The course consists of two 2-week modules (totaling four weeks). Each module is 35 hours with additional time participating in the school’s galley operations. This course provides the student with understanding of the basic baking knowledge and skills potentially required of a member of the steward department. Prerequisites: Paul Hall Center unlicensed apprentice program and 240 days’ sea time OR 365 days’ sea time as an SA. A student at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md., glances at the Paul Hall Center’s initial online course offerings. PHC Offers Online Courses A long-planned program to benefit employees working under SIU agreements and the union’s contracted operating companies is coming to a computer near you. The union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is offering web-based “distance learning” for mariners. The program comes after a recommendation of the center’s Deep Sea and Inland Advisory Board and is currently in its infancy but initially offers online courses for: Environmental Awareness; Hazardous Material Control and Management; Hearing Conservation; Heat Stress Management; Shipboard Pest Management; Respiratory Protection; and Shipboard Water Sanitation. Internet-based online training provides mariners the opportunity to receive recommended or required professional training while serving at sea aboard a vessel, while ashore at home, or during any other time when they are away from the ship. All that is required is a personal computer, or laptop with internet capability. The training is designed to be self-paced. The courses are kept as brief as possible so that they can be completed within one or two sittings. A reasonable deadline has been estab- lished for overall course completion. “Distance learning is the wave of the future because it is convenient for students,” explained Paul Hall Center instructor Dale Rausch. He mentioned that those taking the courses can start coursework, walk away and resume use later. These initial courses are designed by Paul Hall Center instructors and tailored to address the annual refresher training of vessel safety management systems and prepare students for resident coursework at the center. The center is approaching operators for suggestions on other online courses to make available. The courses are free to mariners covered by SIU contracts. To register, complete the regular upgrading application found on page 17 of this issue of the LOG and mail it to: Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075. Applicants will receive user account information from the center via e-mail, so be sure to write your e-mail address on the form in the space provided. In addition, be sure to include the word “online” when listing the course(s) you desire on the application. SIU-affiliated School Earns County’s ‘Gold Star’ Center Gains Recognition for Superior Compliance to Food Safety Standards The St. Mary’s County (Md.) Health Department recently praised the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education because of the school’s “superior compliance to food safety standards among food establishments” in the county. The school received a certificate as part of a new program launched by the county to spotlight excellence in food service. “Gold Star” certificates were presented to the Paul Hall Center and to other facilities “who met the challenge of achieving superior standards for the 2007 calendar year,” according to the department. Based on data from the county, it’s clear that the certificates were awarded only to those facilities that truly demonstrate excellence. Approximately 50 food establishments received the recognition – which equates to only about 12 percent of the more than 400 places that were eligible. Located in Piney Point, Md., the Paul Hall Center offers entry training and numerous upgrading classes for merchant mariners. While vocational training is the school’s main focus, food service also is vitally important on a campus which typically houses hundreds of students at any given time, not to mention the instructors and staff. In fact, in some cases the training and food service are intertwined – several of the schools curriculums cover steward department functions. “This award reflects the hard work of 6 Seafarers LOG the trainees involved in daily sanitation classes and practices throughout their first month at the school,” noted Paul Hall Center Executive Chef John Hetmanski. “Of course, it also reflects well on our steward department upgraders. The chief cook program, for instance, is a practical application of these sanitation principles.” Hetmanski added, “In the bigger picture, it’s important to note that Paul Hall Center students transfer the food sanitation principles to the ships as they go to sea.” Daryl Calvano, Environmental Health Division director at the health department, commented, “The Gold Star program recognizes the conscientious efforts of food establishments, and alerts the public to restaurants that have demonstrated exceptional attention to public health safety and sanitation. We are really pleased by the leadership of these establishments who stepped up and met the standards during the inspection period. These establishments deserve to be recognized as having achieved the ‘high honor roll’ for sanitation.” Alan Shick, food program supervisor for the county, said the program came about as a direct result of public interest. “Public inquiries about our inspection work in food services have become much more numerous in the past few years,” he stated. “Both the food establishment and the public win when high standards are achieved, rewarded and made known.” The requirements to earn the Gold Star include no critical violations and no “temperature violations” cited during an inspection. All violations noted by an inspector must be corrected with 30 days (verified by follow-up inspection), and there must be no confirmed unsafe food handling complaints. At least one food service worker must have completed a recognized and approved food service sanitation and safety class with the last two years. Steward department courses available at the Paul Hall Center include galley operations, certified chief cook, advanced galley operations, certified chief steward and steward recertification. Paul Hall Center Executive Chef John Hetmanski (center) displays the school’s award following a presentation by (left) Dr. William B. Icenhower, St. Mary’s County (Md.) health officer, and Daryl Calvano, director of the St. Mary’s County Health Department’s Environmental Health Services Division. March 2008 �46674_p01_20_2x:6674p0 2/21/2008 5:32 PM Page 7 Vessel Master, Crew Praise Efforts of SIU Steward Recertified Steward Hugh E. “Bucky” Wildermuth epitomizes the true meaning of what it is to be a good shipmate, according to those with whom he sails. Not only does he perform all of his assigned tasks in a safe and timely fashion, he also goes above and beyond the call of duty in the process they point out. Wildermuth consistently has demonstrated this brand of dedication since he donned the SIU colors back in 1991. And, not surprisingly, his extra efforts have not gone unnoticed. Over the years, Wildermuth has been the recipient of accolades from his fellow unlicensed crew members, officers whom he has sailed under for the past decade as well as company officials who operate the vessels on which he has worked. The Indiana-born steward’s positive actions really hit the mark in early January however when he parlayed them into being nominated to receive a cash award. Wildermuth currently sails aboard the Maersk Virginia, one of four SIU-contracted Maersk Line, Limited (MLL) Panamax G-Class vessels which are enrolled in the U.S. Maritime Security Program providing liner service between the U.S. East Coast and ports in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Indian Subcontinent. During a voyage late last year, the Virginia’s oven went on the blink while underway and was of no use to Wildermuth or his fellow steward department shipmates. “On most ships, this would mean deep-fried or boiled food [for the crew] until the oven was repaired,” wrote Shaun Hughes, master of the Virginia, in correspondence to MLL officials about Wildermuth’s dedication. “…Bucky has taken up the slack by using the barbecue to prepare an assortment of foods like roasts, turkey, enchiladas, lasagna, biscuits, cookies and many other items. This sometimes means standing outside in cold wind to get a meal prepared. Not usual for a ship’s steward.” Apparently, the elements were no match for Wildermuth’s sense of devotion to duty and responsibility to his fellow crew members. Not only did he prepare meals under less than ideal conditions, he also made Christmas extra special for his shipmates. “On Christmas morning, every crew member had a stocking on his door filled with candies, gloves, socks and other items which Bucky has shopped for in port on his own time,” Captain Hughes wrote. The captain also pointed out that Wildermuth regularly prepares favorite meals as well as birthday cakes for his shipmates. On every trip to sea aboard the Virginia, “Bucky strips and Recertified Steward Hugh E. Wildermuth, left, chats with Chief Cook Richard Worobey aboard the SIU-crewed Maersk Virginia. The vessel recently tied up in the Port of New York. waxes the decks and ladders in the accommodation during the middle of the night, so as not to be a disruption,” Captain Hughes said. “He does it out of pride in his work.” Captain Hughes said he could go on and on about the praises Wildermuth has received for his hard work and dedication, but he feared he might fail to mention some since they are so numerous. “To those of us who work with him, he simply represents what a good shipmate is and what quality is al about,” the captain concluded. Seafarers Rally With South Jersey Health Care Nurses SIU VP Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi, second from right in bottom right photo; Port of Philadelphia Patrolman Robert Wisler, left in same same photo; Port of Philadelphia Port Agent Joe Mieluchowski, seventh from right in same photo behind woman wearing dark shirt, and Port of New York Patrolman Joe Baselice, not pictured, joined rankand-file Seafarers Nov. 14 who stood in solidarity with the Registered Nurses of South Jersey Healthcare (SJH) during a rally. Some 50 Seafarers turned out for the event, which organizers billed as an effort to draw attention to the unfair fashion in which the SJH registered nurses had been treated by company administrators and the board of directors during the quest to obtain their first ever labor contract. That effort started nearly two years ago on July 26, 2006 when the group voted for union representation. As it turned out, the rally achieved its purpose and then some. During the proceedings, it was announced that the nurses’ negotiators some 23 hours earlier had reached a tentative agreement for the health care professionals’ first labor accord. The nurses are affiliated with the Health Professionals and Allied Employees, AFT/AFL-CIO. March 2008 Seafarers LOG 7 �46674_p01_20_2x:6674p0 2/21/2008 5:32 PM Page 8 Mariners Need TWIC by Sept. 25, 2008 The following information, available on the U.S. Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) web site, covers the steps necessary to acquire a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). This information has been sent to all SIU halls and will be repeated in upcoming issues of the Seafarers LOG. The deadline for U.S. mariners to obtain a TWIC is Sept. 25, 2008. Therefore, the union urges Seafarers to apply for the new card, which eventually will be required of all U.S. mariners who need unescorted access to secure areas of U.S. ports and vessels. The requirement comes from a federal law called the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. Seafarers should check with their port agents and/or utilize the TSA con- TWIC Enrollment Centers This is a list of addresses for Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) enrollment centers as of mid-February, as published by the Transportation Security Administration at the following web address: http://www.tsa.gov/twic When visiting that site, there are different ways to access the most recently updated list of enrollment centers. There is a link near the top of the home page; there’s also one within the TWIC “FAQ.” As they become available, additional addresses will be published in the LOG and faxed to the union halls. The TSA is expected to announce the locations of many more enrollment centers in the weeks and months ahead. Alabama 250 North Water Street Mobile, AL 36602-4000 California Oakland Maritime Support Services (OMSS) 11 Burma Road Oakland, CA 94607-1010 1830 Embarcadero Avenue Suite 104 Oakland, CA 94606-5230 301 E. Ocean Boulevard, Suite 500 Long Beach, CA 90802 1931 N. Gaffey Street, Suite B San Pedro, CA 90731-1265 13201 San Pablo Ave., Suite 300 Richmond, CA 94806 Delaware 1 Hausel Road Wilmington, DE 19801-5852 Florida 955 Tallyrand Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32206-6049 707 Mullet Road, Suites 117/118 Port Canaveral, FL 32920-4519 975 North America Way Miami, FL 33132-2004 2604 E. 7th Ave. Tampa, FL 33605 8 Seafarers LOG tact information that follows for the latest information on the TWIC program, including the “TWIC Quarterly Deployment Plan,” which is a list of cities where TWIC enrollment centers are or will be located. Updates also regularly appear on the SIU web site (www.seafarers.org, normally in the “Heard at Headquarters” section). Seafarers are advised that although pre-enrollment for the TWIC is optional, both the agency and the first individual SIU members who have applied for the card strongly recommend it. FOR MORE INFORMATION On the web: www.tsa.gov/twic By phone: TWIC Program Help Desk, 1-866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-3478942) By email: credentialing@dhs.gov Port Everglades Badging Office 1030 Taylor Road Dania Beach, FL 33004-2810 Georgia 5214 Augusta Rd Garden City, GA 31408-1606 Georgia Power Plant McManus 1 Crispen Island Drive Brunswick, GA 31523 Hawaii 1347 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 204 Honolulu, HI 96814-4512 Hilo Hawaiian Hotel 71 Banyan Drive Hilo, Hawaii 96720-4601 Kahului Shopping Center 65 West Kaahumanu Avenue Unit 14 Kahului, HI 96732 970 Kele Street, Suite 102 Lihue, HI 96766 Illinois 8741 South Greenwood Dixon Building Chicago, IL 60619-7061 Three Rivers Safety Council 1615 W. Jefferson Street Suite TWIC Joliet, IL 60435-6724 111 W. Washington Street, Suite 346 East Peoria, IL 61611-2532 Indiana 200 Russell Stree Suite 110 Hammond, IN 46320-1825 3602 Northgate Court Suite 37C New Albany, IN 47150-6417 Louisiana Safety Council for Louisiana Capital Area 8180 Siegen Lane Baton Rouge, LA 70810-1914 700 W. McNeese Street Lake Charles, LA 70605-5532 Port Fourchon Harbor Police 108 A.O. Rappelet Road Port Fourchon, LA 70357-0000 170 James Drive East, Suite 104 St. Rose, LA 70087-4005 LaPlace Shopping Center 1933 West Airline Hwy. LaPlace, LA 70068 STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS ■ Pre-Enroll This can save time at the enrollment center itself. To pre-enroll, individuals must first register for an ID starting at https://twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/TWIC WebApp/ Applicants will need to supply basic information including their name, date of birth and country of birth. ■ Gather Documentation As part of the TWIC application process, individual applicants must supply documentation verifying their identity. A list of acceptable documents was printed on page 4 of the January edition of the Seafarers LOG and is available on the TSA’s TWIC web site. A valid merchant mariner document/z-card is acceptable, as is an unexpired passport. Maine 235 Oxford Street Suite 12 Portland, ME 04101-3070 Maryland 2200 Broening Hwy, Suite 220 Baltimore, MD 21224-6623 213 W. Main Street Suite 204C Salisbury, MD 21801-4871 3195 Old Washington Road Suite 2106 Waldorf, Md. 20602-3201 Massachusetts 28 Damrell St., Suite 104 Boston, MA 02127-2775 300 Tremont Street, Unit #5 Carver, MA 02330-1758 Michigan Delray Mechanical 667 S. Post Street Detroit, MI 48209-3053 916 River Street Ontonagon, MI 49953-1622 800 East Ellis Road, Suite 122 Norton Shores, MI 49441-5622 511 Ashmun Street Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783-1960 Minnesota 34 13th Avenue, NE Minneapolis, MN 55413-1002 2161 University Avenue St. Paul, MN 55114-1300 1310 Port Terminal Road Duluth, MN 55802 3214 2nd Avenue East International Falls, MN 56649-8955 Mississippi Ergon Refining 227 Industrial Drive Vicksburg, MS 39183-0000 New Jersey Northern New Jersey / Bergen County 89 Leuning Street Suite G South Hackensack, NJ 07606-1345 ■ Enroll Applicants may enroll at any of the agency’s enrollment centers, at which time they must pay the TWIC fee of $132.50 (or the reduced fee of $105.25, if applying for a TWIC that expires in conjunction with a merchant mariner document). Applicants will provide fingerprints and be photographed as well as provide personal information. ■ Pick up TWIC Applicants must return to the same enrollment center to pick up their credential. They will be notified by email or phone (as specified during enrollment) when the card is ready. The individual TWIC will be activated, and the card-holder will select a corresponding PIN number. Staten Island, NY 10303-1103 Whitehall Ferry Terminal 4 South Street, Room 210 New York, NY 10004-1940 2680 Grand Island Boulevard Suite 1 Grand Island, NY 14072 One East 2nd Street Oswego, NY 13126-1177 North Carolina 5704 Oleander Drive Suite 102 Wilmington, NC 28403-4761 311 Atlantic Beach Causeway A Atlantic Beach, NC 28512-7359 Ohio 3100 E45th Street, Suite 226 Cleveland, OH 44127-1091 Star Center One Maritime Plaza 720 Water Street Toledo, OH 43604-1883 Suites 754, 755 8044 Montgomery Rd. Cincinnati, OH 45236 401 Broadway Avenue Suite D, Office B Lorain, OH 44052-0000 4830 State Road Ashtabula, OH 44004-6214 Oklahoma 5350 Cimarron Road Catoosa, OK 74015-3027 Oregon 621 SW Morrison Street Portland, OR 97205 Pennsylvania Philadelphia Regional Port 3460 North Delaware Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19134-6311 701 North Point Drive, Suite 104 Pittsburgh, PA 15233-2133 Rhode Island 17 Virginia Ave Suite 105 Providence, RI 02905-5443 Suite 2 Memphis, TN 38118-6000 3200 West End Avenue Suite 510 Nashville, TN 37203-1330 Texas 7433 Leopard Street Corpus Christi, TX 78409 Ford Convention Center Tyler Room 5155 IH-10 South Beaumont, TX 77705-4213 West Gulf Maritime Association 1717 Turning Basin Houston, TX 77029-3003 3800 Highway 365 Suite 123 Port Arthur, TX 77642-7566 1000 Foust Road Brownsville, TX 78521 1750 FM 1432 Victoria, TX 77905-0000 301 Highway 146 N. Texas City, TX 77590-6630 Virginia 814 Greenbrier Circle, Suite F Chesapeake, VA 23320 Washington 5009 Pac Hwy E Suite 17 Fife Business Park Tacoma, WA 98424-3432 Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE) AERIE # 1 6205 Corson Avenue South Seattle, WA 98108 8327 Summit Park Rd., Ste. D Anacortes, WA 98221 Port of Everett Marina Marina Conference Center 404 14th Street Everett, WA 98201-1674 West Virginia Tri-State Fire Academy 4200 Ohio River Rd. Huntington WV 25702 New York 102 Smith Boulevard Albany, NY 12202-1067 South Carolina 4600 Goer Drive, Ste 112 North Charleston, SC 29406-6500 Wisconsin Chase Commerce Center 3073 South Chase Avenue Suite 620 Building 28 Floor 1 Milwaukee, WI 53207-2668 Howland Hook Marine Terminal 241 Western Avenue Tennessee 3865 Viscount Avenue 425 South Military Avenue Green Bay, WI 54303-2271 March 2008 �46674_p01_20:6674p0 2/19/2008 8:06 AM Page 9 Welcome Ashore in Ft. Lauderdale Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea January 16, 2007 — February 15, 2008 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Picking up their first pension checks, respectively, at the union hall in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. are newly retired Seafarers Recertified Bosun Carmine Bova (top photo, left, with Port Agent Kenny Moore) and Oiler Pedro Gago (bottom photo, left, with Safety Director Kevin Marchand). Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Personal Pedro V. Ramos and David K. Seeman Please contact Robert H. Mulligan by phone at (781) 331-0691 or (617) 460-1547, or by email at bob.mulligan@comcast.net Totals April & May 2008 Piney Point ...........Monday: April 7, May 5 Algonac ................Friday: April 11, May 9 Baltimore..............Thursday: April 10, May 8 Boston ..................Friday: April 11, May 9 Guam ....................Thursday: April 24, May 22 Honolulu...............Friday: April 18, May 16 Houston ................Monday: April 14, May 12 Jacksonville ..........Thursday: April 10, May 8 Joliet .....................Thursday: April 17, May 15 Totals Mobile ..................Wednesday: April 16, May 14 New Orleans.........Tuesday: April 15, May 13 DECK DEPARTMENT 1 1 2 4 2 2 6 4 0 2 1 5 7 3 0 0 0 0 3 6 0 0 4 9 1 6 37 18 2 8 15 35 10 14 3 0 5 2 34 25 0 2 1 4 2 2 17 13 5 3 9 11 12 11 2 7 3 1 16 11 0 0 0 1 1 0 4 4 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 3 3 0 1 19 9 0 0 2 16 4 7 0 0 1 0 21 11 3 0 7 19 1 14 73 51 1 24 26 87 24 42 4 1 17 1 53 59 8 10 8 27 10 16 48 41 1 18 14 56 27 18 3 6 19 9 47 45 3 2 3 8 6 3 5 7 1 4 5 7 10 6 3 0 1 0 3 7 254 238 49 228 132 17 98 507 431 84 0 0 3 4 1 4 13 14 0 6 8 19 13 11 3 1 1 1 14 12 1 4 4 10 1 2 14 15 0 5 4 9 8 4 1 1 4 3 13 10 0 0 0 2 1 0 3 2 0 0 0 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 5 2 7 18 13 0 6 10 14 6 10 2 0 0 0 8 7 0 1 3 4 3 1 5 14 0 2 3 7 4 6 0 0 2 2 11 8 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 10 0 1 1 6 1 3 0 0 1 1 7 7 0 0 8 13 0 11 18 22 0 10 12 35 14 16 6 3 10 2 24 18 2 6 6 16 3 3 14 29 2 10 2 19 15 7 2 3 6 5 22 17 0 0 1 3 2 1 4 2 0 1 0 4 5 1 0 0 0 0 4 3 128 113 19 110 76 10 44 222 189 31 1 0 0 5 2 12 22 18 0 9 5 23 8 20 1 3 3 0 20 25 0 0 2 10 5 5 10 9 0 2 3 9 7 5 0 1 2 0 8 8 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 177 86 10 New York .............Tuesday: April 8, May 6 Norfolk .................Thursday: April 10, May 8 Oakland ................Thursday: April 17, May 15 Philadelphia..........Wednesday: April 9, May 7 Port Everglades ....Thursday: April 17, May 15 San Juan ...............Thursday: April 10, May 8 St. Louis ...............Friday: April 18, May 16 Tacoma .................Friday: April 25, May 23 Wilmington.............Monday: April 21, May 19 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. March 2008 ENGINE DEPARTMENT STEWARD DEPARTMENT Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals All Departments **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C 3 10 2 19 3 11 25 19 3 10 13 26 14 10 2 7 9 3 25 24 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs 2 0 6 10 1 8 37 22 0 11 11 39 13 18 1 1 8 2 35 29 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 1 0 2 6 1 9 16 16 0 3 12 20 5 20 4 1 1 0 12 26 1 0 1 7 1 2 8 6 0 2 5 4 10 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 5 8 0 2 5 8 1 10 1 0 1 0 5 12 1 0 1 7 3 16 38 27 0 10 5 38 14 39 2 4 4 1 33 37 1 0 1 11 4 8 11 16 0 3 5 12 14 6 1 1 3 1 11 14 2 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 2 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 155 53 6 62 280 123 16 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 3 0 0 0 0 5 3 5 0 0 1 4 0 5 0 0 0 0 3 5 3 3 1 5 2 6 22 14 1 4 6 28 5 15 1 6 4 1 17 13 4 0 0 11 4 6 2 7 0 2 2 5 12 14 1 27 3 2 6 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 5 2 0 0 2 5 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 2 12 9 0 2 5 11 2 10 0 8 1 2 5 6 0 0 0 2 0 1 5 4 0 0 0 1 7 4 0 18 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 7 6 0 1 3 10 2 6 0 0 0 0 8 7 6 7 2 8 4 9 38 36 1 11 4 55 29 22 1 5 5 1 29 25 6 0 1 16 6 13 9 16 1 3 5 23 30 21 1 34 3 2 15 13 34 157 112 21 80 45 0 56 298 218 593 594 190 514 341 78 204 1,065 1,041 349 Seafarers LOG 9 �46674_p01_20_2x:6674p0 2/21/2008 5:34 PM Page 10 SEAFA Answer Nation’s Call for M SIU members who have sailed on missions supporting U.S. and allied forces in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom stand ready to mobilize again whenever their nation calls. That message surfaced time after time during casual shipboard interviews that took place in late January aboard three Seafarers-contracted vessels in Baltimore (the Cape Washington, Cape Wrath and USNS Mendonca). Members stated that in their respective experiences aboard ship, individual opinions about the war in Iraq are as varied as what one probably would find in most other workplaces. To a man, however, they emphasized that there is nothing short of unanimous commitment to delivering the goods – on time, efficiently, wherever and whenever needed. Recertified Bosun David James has made a dozen trips to the Middle East aboard SIU-crewed military support ships since OIF began, including one voyage that spanned more than six months. “We know we’re America’s fourth arm of defense,” James stated. “SIU members are here to support the troops, period. As mariners, I think we all understand that we’re vital to national security.” He and other Seafarers mentioned that there are some obvious things that distinguish the OIF/OEF missions from a regular cargo run. They include the materiel itself, the multiple checkpoints heading into port and the military security teams that normally board the ships at some point along the way. “SIU members are here to support the troops.” --- Bosun David James Shipboard discussions are different, too. “The war is always a topic when you’re headed to Iraq, and the conversation gets more in-depth as you take on the security team and get closer,” said Recertified Steward Bob Mensching. Recertified Bosun Rick James said that even while vessels such as the Washington, Wrath and Mendonca remain in reduced operating status between activations, mariners talk about possible upcoming duties. “At our safety meetings, it’s a daily topic – availability, the war, our readiness,” he said. “Each person has different political views, but we all know we’re a vital part of supporting the armed forces. We look forward to bringing the troops home when the job is done.” Electrician Eric Mentzer pointed out that there is plenty of interaction between the crew and the security teams on many voyages. “A lot of people on the ships become friends with them,” he said. “The last two teams in particular were really cool guys. They’ve got families at home just like we do.” “Everybody gets to know each other. These are tight quarters,” said QMED George Murphy. QMED Bob Oppel has made four voyages in support of the current military operations, with the first two lasting a combined nine months. “The first couple of trips, everyone was gung ho,” he recalled. “Since then it has seemed more routine, although everyone’s just as focused on doing their job. It’s a more serious atmosphere (than a commercial run) and definitely a little different.” AB Mrimri Farah described the delivery of materiel to U.S. troops abroad as “very important,” and added that he is proud to have helped transport humvees and other cargo “that were badly needed at the time. Our guys in Iraq were very happy to see those.” Pictured are QM Mentzer The Seafarers-crewed Cape Washington Recertifie USNS M QMED George Murphy Cape Washington Chief Steward McKinley Jones Cape Wrath A sign aboard the Cape Wrath reflects the consistently safe jobs performed by SIU members and officers. GUDE Rose Winer Cape Wrath Seafarers help keep the Cape Washingt engine room running smoothly. The Cape Wrath, seen from the Cape Washington’s stern ramp 10 Seafarers LOG March 2008 �46674_p01_20_2x:6674p0 2/21/2008 5:34 PM Page 11 FARERS or Military Support Missions Pictured from left to right on the Cape Washington are QMED George Murphy, Electrician Eric Mentzer and GUDE Michael Alghafeili. Recertified Steward Bob Mensching USNS Mendonca Storekeeper Ted Hilles USNS Mendonca OS William Thomas USNS Mendonca Recertified Bosun David James USNS Mendonca Electrician Eric Mentzer Cape Washington QMED Bob Oppel Cape Wrath e Cape Washington’s oothly. AB Al Barnett Cape Wrath March 2008 AB William Howell USNS Mendonca Recertified Bosun Rick James, AB Mrimri Farah Cape Washington Seafarers LOG 11 �46674_p01_20_2x:6674p0 2/21/2008 5:35 PM Page 12 Seafarer Went Toe-to-Toe with Legendary Sugar Ray Robinson DATELINE: CINCINNATI, OHIO, MARCH 29, 1955 (SIU Wire Service) – A young able seaman, Johnny Lombardo, stood toe-to-toe with the former middleweight champion of the world, Sugar Ray Robinson, losing a 10-round split decision to the exchamp. Trading punch after punch against some of the quickest hands known to boxing, the young Seafarer clearly had the crowd on his side due to his impressive turnout against the ex-champ who was in the middle of a career comeback. Looking like a block of stone with fists of iron, Lombardo stepped into the ring against Robinson with one knockout of contender Joe Rindone and a thrashing of Garth Panther already to his credit. Despite a flurry of rights and lefts staggering Robinson, the judges handed down the split decision. The verdict was greeted with booing by the fans at the Cincinnati Gardens mainly because Lombardo put up such a terrific fight against the former champion. Even sportswriters from around the nation think Lombardo was robbed. Meet Fighter and AB Johnny Lombardo While the above news flash is a rewrite of newspaper articles of the time, the event and story of SIU Retiree Seafarer Johnny Lombardo (middle) is pictured during the pre-fight weigh-in with Sugar Ray Robinson (right). Johnny Lombardo are true. He’s known to his friends as a soft-hearted but hard-nosed kind of guy. According to Lombardo, while boxing was a passion, the sea was his love. Like most kids during the Depression, he lived in a poor family. His mother being the sole source of income, young Johnny took a job in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. Then, a tragic event took place that would shape his life forever. “I was so angry about the bombing of Pearl Harbor, I joined the Navy when I was 15,” said Lombardo. World War II began his 15-month combat tour. It was in the Navy where he got his certification as a ship’s machine gunner. “I loved that job so much, I slept at the base of my 20mm gun when I could,” he laughed. Lombardo’s sleeping SIU member Johnny Lombardo (right) squared off with Sugar Ray Robinson. arrangements paid off in the made a name for himself in the ring standing strong early morning of the D-Day invasion of Normandy. against some big boxing names at the time such as “I didn’t have too far to run when they called the ship Rocky Castellani, Phil “Wildcat” Kim and others. to battle stations. All hell broke loose as a Nazi Junkers At age 26, he got his big shot. “Sugar Ray Robinson JU-88 strafed the deck. As the plane circled the ship, I was trying to regain his title and my name came up as his spun around as it was bearing down on me and let loose opponent. When my manager told me, I said, ‘I’m going on him,” Lombardo recalled. He said that everything to beat this guy but I know the judges are going to steal happened so quickly he didn’t know if he was the only the fight from me,’” exclaimed Lombardo. “This was my one to fire on the plane. “The whole ship got credit for big shot and I thought it was a good way for a poor boy downing the plane, but I know I got a piece if him.” When asked how he felt during the heated battle, he said, to make a name for himself.” Then came fight night. “When the first round started, “I was too young to be scared!” As the ship was decorated for the battle, the Navy dis- Robinson starting talking to me. He said things like, ‘Why don’t you lay down and we’ll just get this over covered Lombardo’s real age. The Navy shortly diswith? What was I doing wasting my time in the ring?’ charged him. Well, I hauled off and hit him in the jaw! Undaunted, Lombardo quickly took action. “I joined “During the fight we each almost knocked each other the Army!” he said. “I still wanted to fight, but the Army out,” said Lombardo. “But, to tell you the truth, he was sent me to Italy where the war was pretty much over.” so fast, I didn’t see his punches! He wasn’t washed up Lombardo still had the fighting spirit when the Army like everyone was saying. But, I did get my shot.” shipped him home. “We had boxing matches on board A few months later, Lombardo hung up his gloves. “I during that long cross-Atlantic trip. A buddy of mine, always loved the sea. So I quit boxing, went to the New Sonny Wayman, convinced me to box and they gave me York port agent’s office and signed on to be a seafarer. I the biggest, toughest, best boxer on the ship and I worked mainly on tankers, but would have done anything knocked him out in the third round,” Lombardo rememto be at sea.” bered. When, they got home, Wayman got Lombardo a The 79-year-old Lombardo is retired in Las Vegas and few matches and his boxing career started to move. is still full of energy. “I’d sign on for sea duty today if Lombardo didn’t consider himself a great boxer. “I they’d take me,” he said. “Our union brothers are the think I was ranked 40th before I fought Sugar Ray greatest people in the world.” Robinson,” said Lombardo. But, Lombardo had already Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU 12 Seafarers LOG halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. March 2008 �46674_p01_20:6674p0 2/19/2008 7:38 AM Page 13 Seafarers International Union Directory Welcome Ashore Michael Sacco, President Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services DEEP SEA René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 March 2008 CIFUENTES GAGO Brother Cifuentes Gago, 63, joined the SIU in 1970. He initially sailed on the Amerigo as a member of the engine department. Brother Gago was born in Zamora, Spain. He attended classes on three occasions at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Brother Gago’s final voyage was aboard the Motivator. He makes his home in Port St. Lucie, Fla. RICHARD HECKMAN Brother Richard Heckman, 65, became a Seafarer in 1959. His earliest trip to sea was on the Navigator. Brother Heckman shipped in the engine department. He last worked aboard the Guayama. Brother Heckman is a resident of Rio Grande, P.R. with Berg Towing Company. He enhanced his skills often at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. Boatman Carter was most recently employed on an Express Marine Inc. vessel. He makes his home in Smyrna, Del. ALEX GOLDEN Boatman Alex Golden, 63, first went to sea in 1973 with Allied Towing. Boatman Golden was born in North Carolina and shipped in the engine department. His last voyage was aboard a Steuart Transportation Company vessel. Boatman Golden settled in Harkers Island, N.C. THOMAS HUMPHRY Brother Joseph Jenkins Jr., 67, donned the SIU colors in 1987. His maiden voyage was on the USNS Wilkes where he sailed as a member of the engine department. In 2000 and 2002, Brother Jenkins took advantage of the educational opportunities available at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Prior to his retirement, he went to sea aboard the PFC Dewayne Williams. Brother Jenkins calls Lake Stevens, Wash. home. Boatman Thomas Humphry, 68, started working with the SIU in 1972 from the port of San Francisco. In 2000, he upgraded his skills at the Piney Point school. Boatman Humphry began his career sailing in the deep sea division aboard a States Steamship Company vessel. He primarily shipped as a member of the steward department on a Crowley Towing & Transportation Company vessel. Boatman Humphry is a resident of Compton, Calif. JAMES T. MARTIN JAMES S. MARTIN Brother James T. Martin, 57, began shipping with the Seafarers in 1972. The deck department member upgraded numerous times at the Piney Point school. Brother Martin was born in Pennsylvania. His first ship was the Sea Carol; his last was the USNS Petersburg. Brother Martin lives in Bacliff, Texas. Boatman James S. Martin, 52, joined the union in 1975 while attending classes in Piney Point, JOSEPH JENKINS JR. WILLIAM PAYNE Brother William Payne, 67, embarked on his seafaring career in 1990 while in the port of Jacksonville, Fla. He originally shipped on the Lawrence Gianella. Brother Payne was born in Virginia and worked in the engine department. He was a frequent upgrader at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Payne resides in Jacksonville, Fla. INLAND WILLIAM CARTER Boatman William Carter, 66, is a North Carolina native. He became an SIU member in 1966. Boatman Carter initially sailed Md. He enhanced his seafaring abilities frequently at the Paul Hall Center. Boatman Martin was born in California and worked in the engine department. His final trip to sea was with Crowley Towing & Transportation of Wilmington. DWIGHT PIERCE Boatman Dwight Pierce, 62, launched his seafaring profession in 1972. He was employed with Dixie Carriers for the duration of his career. Boatman Pierce calls Collinsville, Miss. home. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust, recently went on pension. LAWRENCE CHAPMAN Brother Lawrence Chapman, 63, joined the NMU ranks in 1968 in the port of New York. He first sailed on the Ocean Evelyn as a member of the steward department. Brother Chapman was born in Mobile, Ala. He most recently worked aboard the Cape Knox. JAMES DILLON Brother James Dillon, 63, donned Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1945 SIU members in New York threw a celebration for five fellow SIU members who returned home after being held prisoner by Nazi Germany. All of the repatriated brothers had stories of privation and hardships to tell. Three of them, Ralph Piehet, William Weaver and Rufus Stough, were torpedoed on the Sturgis in February 1943. The other two, Paul Petro and John F. Monteverde, were sunk on the SS Honomu on July 5, 1942. All were prisoners since their capture, living on German subs, prison ships and in German prison camps. his NMU colors in 1967 while in the port of New Orleans. He initially shipped on the Texaco Montana. Brother Dillon was born in Tylertown, Miss. His final voyage was aboard the Philadelphia Express. Brother Dillon sailed in the steward department. WAYNE LOBO Brother Wayne Lobo, 64, was born in New Bedford, Mass. He became an NMU member in 1984. Brother Lobo worked in the engine department. Both his first and last voyages were on board the Authority. JAMES STANFORD Brother James Stanford, 55, began sailing with the NMU in 1978. He originally worked on the David D. Irwin. Brother Stanford was a member of the steward department. He is a native of Galveston, Texas. Brother Stanford’s last ship was the Chelsea. cials. The settlement amounted to some $1,500 in extra pay to be split among the crewmembers involved. 1963 The SIU-manned Floridian became the first American merchant ship fired on by Cuban MIG jets about 50 miles north of Cuba. The jets circled the ship for 20 minutes before firing. The attack came in the same waters between Cuba and Florida where MIGs attacked an American shrimp boat earlier in the year. This Month In SIU History 1958 The return of representatives on Robin Line ships is producing dividends in overtime payments for SIU members aboard the vessels. SIU patrolmen who covered the payoff of the Robin Kirk in New York secured payment of 764 hours of disputed overtime for the crew, under the SIU contract, following a six-hour beef session with company offi- 1991 Calling the sealift industry “the bedrock of America’s defense transportation system,” the head of the U.S. Transportation Command, Air Force General Hansford T. Johnson, gave high praise to the men and women crewing the U.S.-flag ships that carried soldiers, tanks, ammunition and other military materiel to support Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, during a Maritime Trades Department meeting. “America’s maritime industry is the lifeline for America’s armed forces serving in Southeast Asia,” he said. Seafarers LOG 13 �46674_p01_20:6674p0 2/19/2008 8:36 AM Page 14 Final Departures DEEP SEA BENJAMIN BUCK Pensioner Benjamin Buck, 79, passed away Sept. 9. Brother Buck became a union member in 1951, initially sailing from the port of Baltimore aboard the Santore. He was born in Mayesville, S.C. and shipped in the deck department. Brother Buck’s final excursion was on CSX Lines’ Seattle. He retired in 1984 and made his home in Bedford, Pa. EDUVIGIS DEJESUS Pensioner Eduvigis DeJesus, 88, died Oct. 10. Brother DeJesus joined the SIU in 1951 while in the port of Philadelphia. He was first employed aboard the Emilia as a member of the engine department. Brother DeJesus was born in Fajardo, P.R. His last trip to sea was on the Houston. Brother DeJesus started collecting his pension in 1975 and continued to live in Puerto Rico. KELLEY GRAHAM Pensioner Kelley Graham, 68, passed away Sept. 19. Brother Graham embarked on his seafaring career in 1964. The engine department member originally shipped on the Topa Topa. Brother Graham was born in Odessa, Texas. His last voyage was on the Liberty Star. Brother Graham went on pension in 2001 and called Livingston, Texas, home. ROGER LINASAN union in 1974. His first voyage was on CSX Lines’ Jacksonville. Brother Martin was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and shipped as a member of the engine department. His final trip was aboard the Elizabeth. Brother Martin became a pensioner in 2005 and settled in Hazlet, N.J. AURELIO MARTINEZ Pensioner Aurelio Martinez, 86, passed away Sept. 4. Brother Martinez was born in Florida. He started sailing with the Seafarers in 1952. Brother Martinez was first employed with A.H. Bull Steamship Company. The steward department member’s last voyage was on the Cove Ranger. Brother Martinez was a resident of Cambridge, Md., and retired in 1981. ANIBAL MATOS Brother Anibal Matos, 50, died Oct. 19. He joined the SIU ranks in 1979 while in Piney Point, Md. Brother Matos was born in San Juan, P.R., and shipped in the deck department. His last journey was aboard the Horizon Producer. Brother Matos continued to live in Puerto Rico. TEDDY MCDUFFIE Pensioner Teddy McDuffie, 63, passed away Sept. 12. Brother McDuffie became a union member in 1965. His earliest trip to sea was aboard the Fairwind. Brother McDuffie was born in Alabama and shipped in the deck department. He went on pension in 1990 and called Mobile, Ala., home. MICHAEL MCERLEAN Brother Michael McErlean, 33, died Sept. 17. He donned the SIU colors in 2000 while in Piney Point, Md. Brother McErlean initially sailed on the USNS Dahl. The deck department member was born in Dayton, Ohio. Brother McErlean most recently worked aboard the Louis J. Hauge Jr. He was a resident of Leonardtown, Md. Brother Roger Linasan, 59, died Oct. 17. He began sailing with the Marine Cooks & Stewards (MC&S) in 1970 from the port of San Francisco. Brother Linasan was a native of the Philippines and he worked in the steward department. His most recent voyage was aboard the Manulani. Brother Linasan lived in Las Vegas, Nev. Pensioner William Miles, 80, passed away Sept. 25. Brother Miles joined the MC&S in 1953 while in the port of San Francisco. His first ship was the President Kennedy; his last was the Lurline. Brother Miles shipped in the steward department. He started collecting his retirement compensation in 1992 and continued to reside in his native state of Georgia. LEON LOHMAN LUIS MIRANDA Pensioner Leon Lohman, 67, passed away Sept. 13. Brother Lohman donned the SIU colors in 1977 while in the port of New Orleans. His first ship was the Manhattan; his last the Aquarius. Brother Lohman was born in Louisiana. He sailed in the deck department. Brother Lohman began receiving his pension in 2005 and resided in Violet, La. Pensioner Luis Miranda, 95, died Sept. 23. Brother Miranda was born in Ponce, P.R. He joined the SIU in 1942. Brother Miranda originally worked on a vessel operated by Waterman Steamship Corporation as a member of the deck department. He retired in 1978 and settled in Miami, Fla. ROBERT MARTIN Pensioner Robert Martin, 56, died Oct. 22. Brother Martin joined the 14 Seafarers LOG WILLIAM MILES GEORGE O’BERRY ALBERT WESTBROOK BRYAN FERNIZ Pensioner George O’Berry, 79, passed away Sept. 25. Brother O’Berry embarked on his seafaring career in 1946. His first voyage was aboard the De Soto. Brother O’Berry was born in Florida and sailed in the steward department. His final trip to sea was on the Del Valle. Brother O’Berry became a pensioner in 1983. He was a resident of Philadelphia, Miss. Pensioner Albert Westbrook, 82, died Oct. 5. Brother Westbrook began shipping with the union in 1966, initially from the port of San Francisco. His first ship was the Los Angeles; his last was the Horizon Trader. Brother Westbrook was a Texas native and sailed as a member of the steward department. He became a pensioner in 1996 and resided in San Francisco. Boatman Bryan Ferniz, 46, passed away Oct. 2. The Louisiana-born mariner became an SIU member in 1981. During his seafaring career, Boatman Ferniz sailed on vessels operated by Crescent Towing & Savage Company. He was a resident of New Orleans. MICHAEL OKUTANI Pensioner Michael Okutani, 87, died Oct. 24. Brother Okutani joined the union in 1953 while in the port of San Francisco. During his seafaring career, he sailed aboard vessels operated by American Ship Management to include the President Taft and the Chief Gadao. Brother Okutani worked in the steward department. He was born in Hawaii but called Newberg, Ore., home. Brother Okutani went on pension in 1985. OLE POULSEN Pensioner Ole Poulsen, 74, passed away Oct. 4. Brother Poulsen joined the union in 1961. His maiden voyage was on a Colonial Steamship Company vessel. Brother Poulsen was a member of the engine department. He most recently sailed on the Tacoma. Brother Poulsen made his home in Seattle and began receiving his pension in 1997. JACK WINLEY Pensioner Jack Winley, 78, passed away Sept. 24. Brother Winley launched his seafaring career in 1947. The Michiganborn mariner’s earliest trip to sea was aboard the Steel Chemist. Brother Winley worked in the deck department. His final voyage was aboard the Ultra Max. Brother Winley went on pension in 1984 and settled in Myrtle Beach, S.C. JOHN WOLFE Pensioner John Wolfe, 55, died Oct. 10. Brother Wolfe donned the SIU colors in 1968. He originally shipped in the deck department of the Steel Artisan. Brother Wolfe was born in Elizabeth, N.J. He most recently sailed on the Horizon Hawaii. Brother Wolfe retired in 2007 and continued to live in his native state. INLAND JOHN TOBIN LORENZO BEVERLY Pensioner John Tobin, 89, died Oct. 27. Brother Tobin became an SIU member in 1952. His first voyage was aboard the Sea Georgia. Brother Tobin was born in Surry, N.C., and shipped in the engine department. His last voyage was on the Boston. Brother Tobin retired in 1981 and lived in Mount Airy, N.C. Pensioner Lorenzo Beverly, 79, passed away Sept. 20. Boatman Beverly was born in Florida. The steward department member joined the union in 1972. Boatman Beverly was initially employed aboard a Transit Oil Corporation vessel. Prior to his retirement in 1993, he sailed with Maritrans Operating Company. Boatman Beverly called Norfolk, Va., home. DAVID VAN NATTER Brother David Van Natter, 56, passed away Aug. 2. He joined the SIU ranks in 1967 while in the port of Norfolk, Va. Brother Van Natter, who was born in Virginia, initially sailed on a Rye Marine Corporation vessel. He worked in the engine department. Brother Van Natter’s final trip was aboard the Resolve. He was a resident of Cheriton, Va. BENJAMIN BOLLI SR. Boatman Benjamin Bolli Sr., 52, died Sept. 19. He joined the union in 1974 in Philadelphia. Boatman Bolli first shipped with IBC Company. He was born in New Jersey. Boatman Bolli’s final voyage was aboard an Interstate Oil Transportation Company vessel. He made his home in Galloway, N.J. MORRIS FORREST Pensioner Morris Forrest, 83, died Oct. 19. Boatman Forrest started his SIU career in 1965, joining the union in Norfolk, Va. His first vessel was operated by Moore’s Towing Lines. Boatman Forrest was born in Mathews, Va. His last SIU shipboard job was aboard an Allied Transportation vessel. Boatman Forrest retired in 1989 and resided in Millsboro, Del. WALTER GRIMES Pensioner Walter Grimes, 78, passed away Sept. 11. Boatman Grimes joined the union in 1963. His first SIU-contracted job was on an Ellis Towing & Transportation Company vessel. Boatman Grimes was the born in Marquez, Texas. The deck department member’s final trip to sea was with Higman Barge Lines. Boatman Grimes became a pensioner in 1990 and settled in Orange, Texas. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust have passed away. Name Abner, Clarence Aldafari, Mohamed Apson, Bernard Blair, John Blanco, Martin Brackins, Frazier Burgess, William Burrell, Charles Calderon, Pablo Choy, Cheng Coleman, John Creason, Thomas Dunlavey, Jack Eubanks, Haywood Falinski, Jozef Faulcon, Earlie Fortes, Joseph Frei, Lyn Gandara, Joseph Hebner, Kermit Jenkins, William Sr. Johnson, Orville Jones, Carl Kelly, Marvin King, Clinton Lamb, Clarence Lara, Francisco Lawrence, Eric Littlefield, Louis Lopez, Alejandro Martin, Richard Millet, Frank Moody, Willard Morgan, Gard Morris, Versie Nieves, Heliodoro Ocasio, William Olivo, Ramon Parkins, Edmund Ricci, Anthony Sakellariou, Antonios Sarvis, Juan Serrao, Gregory Shafer, George Vasquez, David Webb, Jack Wielb, Stanley Age 90 83 86 72 82 90 84 81 92 93 72 81 80 77 95 90 77 64 54 79 92 77 68 69 88 78 90 85 76 90 82 81 75 73 85 72 84 81 92 79 85 87 92 82 79 76 87 DOD Aug. 16 July 10 Aug. 1 July 5 Aug. 7 July 5 July 10 Aug. 14 Aug. 16 July 23 Aug. 20 Aug. 28 July 25 July 4 Aug. 14 Aug. 28 July 29 July 14 Aug. 30 Aug. 27 July 7 Aug. 31 Aug. 30 Aug. 20 Aug. 12 July 15 July 15 July 22 July 8 Aug. 10 July 14 Aug. 28 Aug. 17 July 14 Aug. 27 July 18 Aug. 3 Aug. 19 Aug. 8 July 18 Aug. 18 Aug. 23 July 12 Aug. 12 July 1 July 20 July 31 March 2008 �46674_p01_20:6674p0 2/19/2008 7:38 AM Page 15 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings Snapshots from Overseas Houston The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. CLEVELAND (Sealift Inc.), Dec. 30 — Chairman Fareed A. Khan, Secretary Cynthia L. Caster, Engine Delegate Mahmoud F. Khalil, Steward Delegate Bridgett L. McIntosh. Chairman reported a good, hard-working crew. He urged them to check zcard expiration dates and to keep paperwork updated. They were also advised to look into educational opportunities available at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Secretary asked Seafarers to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen for next member. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward department was thanked for their hard work and great food. Next ports: Houston; Alexandria, Egypt; and Djibouti, Ethiopia. COMET (Maersk Line, Limited), Dec. 16 — Chairman Rudy A. Santos, Secretary Patricia J. Geras, Educational Director James P. Meyers, Deck Delegate Kleber J. Ureta. Chairman stated payoff to take place Dec. 22 in Los Angeles. He reminded crew to clean rooms before departing vessel. Educational director encouraged Seafarers to upgrade skills at the union-affiliated school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew members would like fans in rooms, new radio and DVD player to be fixed. COMMITMENT (Maersk Line, Limited), Dec. 30 — Chairman Ion Irimia, Secretary Stanley J. Krystosiak, Educational Director Brian J. Sengelaub, Deck Delegate Korron Richardson. Chairman reported crew worked well together. Educational director urged members to stay up-to-date on TWIC information and reminded them to watch their surroundings to help avoid accidents. No beefs or disputed OT reported. It was noted that a new dryer had been ordered for crew laundry. Vote of thanks was given to the steward department. LIBERTY EAGLE (Liberty Maritime), Dec. 9 — Chairman Juan M. Rivas, Secretary Tyler N. Laffitte, Educational Director Bruce M. Korte. Chairman requested that everyone leave cabins clean for next mariner. Educational director recommended that all Seafarers check expiration dates on all necessary sailing documents. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestions were made pertaining to medical benefits. New washer and dryer were requested for crew laundry along with fans for crew rooms. Mariners thanked steward department for the Thanksgiving feast they prepared. LIBERTY GRACE (Liberty Maritime), Dec. 2 — Chairman Kenneth A. Abrahamson, Secretary Edgardo G. Ombac, Educational Director John R. Parkhurst. Chairman announced payoff in Portland, Ore., on Dec. 10. He advised members to have their rooms clean and also have Aboard the Sealand Motivator Pictured aboard the Sealand Motivator are (top photo, from left) Stewards Chris Sykes and Max Hassell El and (bottom photo) Recertified Steward Judi Chester along with SIU Norfolk, Va., Port Agent Georg Kenny, who noted that he and Chester formerly worked together aboard LNG ships. March 2008 Efficiently getting the job done aboard the OSG tanker Overseas Houston are Recertified Steward Ekow Doffoh (above, setting up the dessert table) and Chief Cook Hazel Johnson. union books ready for patrolman. Secretary stated that fresh linen would be issued for departing crew. Treasurer reported $400 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew members inquired about getting direct deposit for vacation benefit checks. Crew expressed gratitude to the steward department for excellent food. It was noted that the voyage was long but the company was great. Next ports: Portland, Ore., and Bangladesh. LIGHTNING (Maersk Line, Limited), Dec. 16 — Chairman Romeo L. Lugtu, Secretary Ernest Polk, Educational Director Mark Campbell, Engine Delegate Peter E. Sternberg. Bosun reported smooth sailing during voyage. Secretary thanked members for help keeping ship clean. Educational director urged crew to check out what the Piney Point school has to offer. Treasurer noted $3,401 in the ship’s fund; money will be used to purchase a flat-screen TV for crew messhall. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew would like more comfortable chairs. Steward department was thanked for good meals and a clean ship. MAERSK OHIO (Maersk Line, Limited), Dec. 27 — Chairman Thomas P. Flanagan, Secretary Robert J. Bostick, Educational Director Louis A. Santiago. Chairman thanked crew members for working well together, especially since they were still working out all the kinks in the vessel. Secretary stated that the foodorder issue has been resolved with Maersk port steward. Educational director encouraged mariners to take advantage of opportunities available at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. He also urged them to keep credentials current. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew members sent their prayers to family and friends of Brother Johnny Kemper, who recently passed away. Next ports: Charleston, S.C. and Norfolk, Va. OVERSEAS DILIGENCE (OSG Ship Management), Dec. 27 — Chairman Reginald A. Watkins, Secretary Mary L. Smith, Educational Director James L. McDaniel, Engine Delegate Alton P. Hickman Jr. Chairman reported patrolman to come aboard in Mississippi. Secretary stated that the chief cook would be departing the vessel in the next port; she thanked him for great food especially at Christmas. Educational director advised Seafarers to enhance skills at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Clarification was requested about how to withdraw money from the SMPPP (Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan). Recommendations were made regarding medical and dental benefits. Next port: Pascagoula, Miss. WESTWARD VENTURE (Interocean American Shipping), Dec. 16 — Chairman Donnie W. Collins, Secretary Catherine M. Hays, Educational Director Lowell R. Lemm, Deck Delegate Michael Duggan, Engine Delegate Gregory H. Holsey Jr., Steward Delegate Peter Hernandez. Chairman stated safety issue regarding paint would be brought up with patrolman in Beaumont, Texas. Secretary asked seamen to place dirty linen in bags ASAP and stated that new linen package would be placed outside door for arriving crew. Treasurer reported $490 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. It was noted that a new TV antenna would be installed along with a new computer for crew e-mail. The computer will be placed in the crew lounge. Next port: Beaumont, Texas. WILSON (Sealift Inc.), Dec. 27 — Chairman Paul C. Sharo, Secretary Arturo A. Rodriguez. Chairman reported safe voyage and announced payoff on Jan. 2 in Houston. Secretary thanked all members for helping keep ship clean. Departing crew members were asked to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen for reliefs. Educational director encouraged mariners to enhance seafaring abilities whenever possible at the Paul Hall Center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Bosun thanked steward department for a job well done. HONOR (Interocean American Shipping), Jan. 6 — Chairman Billy G. Hill Sr., Deck Delegate Wilbert Pantin, Steward Delegate Sean M. Sullivan. Chairman expressed his gratitude to steward department for excellent holiday meals. He stated that trip to the Middle East went smoothly. Crew was informed of pay raise which took place on Jan. 1. Secretary advised members to keep up-to-date on TWIC information by reading the Seafarers LOG. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next ports: Beaumont, Texas; Houston; Jacksonville, Fla.; Charleston, S.C., and Baltimore, Md. RHODE ISLAND (Maersk Line, Limited), Jan. 2 — Chairman Daniel Laitinen Jr., Secretary Gregory G. Keene, Educational Director Marcelino V. Cayabyab, Deck Delegate Lawrence Dahalhouse, Engine Delegate Matthew D. Wright, Steward Delegate Lucic Zlatko. Chairman reminded crew to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) when at work. Secretary suggested mariners check out what Piney Point has to offer and also advised them to keep documents current. Educational director discussed latest TWIC information. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next port: Guam. Splicing Wire Aboard Coast Range Recertified Bosun Marvin Zimbro is behind the camera as fellow members of the deck gang take a momentary break from splicing wire aboard the tanker Coast Range. Pictured from left are ABs Travis Stringer, Joseph Merriweather, Rick Wiemer and Michael Cousin and Unlicensed Apprentice Gavin Benckert. Seafarers LOG 15 �46674_p01_20_2x:6674p0 2/21/2008 5:35 PM Page 16 Letters to the Editor Editor’s note: The Seafarers LOG reserves the right to edit letters for grammar as well as space provisions without changing the writer’s intent. The LOG welcomes letters from members, pensioners, their families and shipmates and will publish them on a timely basis. Inviting Seafarers To Join AMMV The American Merchant Marine Veterans (AMMV) is a nonprofit organization. It was formed more than 25 years ago as a way to gain recognition for what the men of the American Merchant Marine have accomplished for our country in war and peace. Initially, the AMMV was composed almost entirely of men who served in the United States Merchant Marine during World War II. Many of our original members were sailing the high seas before the war. (Included in the present membership are both licensed and unlicensed seamen.) At the end of World War II in 1945, there were almost 260,000 men serving our merchant fleet that consisted of more than 5,000 ships. Never again will the world see such a fleet of ships, nor such a group of men who sailed them. This is history. This is our proud history. The AMMV is an active spokesman for merchant marine-related issues. We invite all active or retired men and women of the SIU – whether you sail deep sea, inland or Great Lakes – to become members of the American Merchant Marine Veterans. Also eligible for membership are members of any uniformed United States Armed Service with a DD214. Purposes of the AMMV include the following: Preserving a spirit of comradeship among U.S. Merchant Marine veterans and fellow seamen who served in the merchant fleets of nations allied with the United States; Perpetuating the memory of our dead, assisting their widows and helping comrades where possible. The merchant marine is listed among the services in the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. This was a result of organizational efforts. Publicizing the services of the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and now in the Gulf Wars. The organization has successfully gained veterans’ recognition for seamen in war-time service and continues promoting the need to recognize civilians who serve in military operations through legislative actions and news media. Reminding our nation that it must maintain a modern and strong merchant marine as it is a national military and economic necessity. Membership in the American Merchant Marine Veterans provides opportunity to participate in memorial events across the country, celebrating not only National Maritime Day and the role of the merchant marine throughout our country’s history, but enjoying the nostalgia of sailing again on selected preserved merchant ships of the World War II era. Membership offers opportunities to meet fellow mariners and to help preserve individuals’ history of time at sea. It’s also worth mentioning that no group of men is closer to merchant seamen than members of the United States Naval Armed Guard, many of whom are active members of the AMMV. More information about the AMMV 16 Seafarers LOG and how to join may be obtained by contacting any of the individuals listed below. The membership fee is small; the opportunity to enrich your legacy of sea service through membership is great. The American Merchant Marine Veterans is an organization that works to keep our rich history before the public – to tell the story of life on the seas – and to try to ensure our rightful place in the economic and military history of our country. You can help keep America strong. Come, join us and be part of the AMMV. Donald Trimbath Chairman, Government Affairs AMMV Auburn, California Contacts: New England and Eastern U.S. – Larry Brooks (508) 295-8257 Mid-Atlantic and Central U.S. – Robert Downey (412) 466-0250 and Clarence Newcomer (717) 665-3085 Western U.S. – Frank Mendez (925) 689-2686 Unionism and Responsibility After nearly 40 years in the SIU and on the verge of retirement, I thought it about time that I put in writing my thoughts on being a member of a labor union and what it may mean to others who are just starting out. The very word, union, denotes being unified for and in a common cause – a fraternal brotherhood, in which men and women are protected and not taken advantage of by big business and corporations. The early history of union organization is marked by conflict but also by remaining united. The SIU in particular remained strong, and today is recognized not only in America but around the world as a model of a fraternal labor organization. During these past 40 years, I have seen many changes in the leadership of this union and the way it negotiates with the industry. We negotiate in strength, respect, and for the common good of both the companies and the membership with no fear of intimidation on either side. This is a style of management that should be carried down to the shipboard committees of our representatives. Some members may look on the tasks of ships’ chairman and department delegates as something to avoid, because it could bring problems they don’t want to deal with (or on the other extreme they see it as just “easy hours”). However, it is these positions on the ships that set the tone of morale and confidence in the union as a whole. They carry responsibility towards their fellow members on board. The motto of this union is “Brotherhood of the Sea.” This is exactly what the shipboard committees must be: a brotherhood. If there is a problem, they are there to address the issue itself without broadcasting it or letting personalities get in the way. Committee members must be consistent in their dealings with fellow members, as fairness and respect are hallmarks of the SIU. This respect should also be carried over to members of other unions. As I look forward to retirement I also look forward to seeing my union continuing on its course of fair and impartial leadership, both on the national level and the shipboard level. That course will take the SIU into the 21st century with dignity and respect for ourselves and our fellow members. Christopher E. Brady Kudos to Steward I would like to take a minute to recognize and give thanks to one of our employees for a job well done. Recertified Steward Pedro Mena has been aboard the ITB Baltimore since mid-May. (This note was written in early October 2007.) Pedro has been here for all phases of operations in preparing and taking the vessel to Veracruz…. The steward’s main job is to provide good quality meals. The steward’s performance has a big impact on ship’s morale. Under normal operations it can be a tough task to try to please everyone’s appetite and keep the crew happy. These past four months have not been normal operations from the viewpoint of the steward department. We have been in a foreign port, in extremely hot weather conditions, and there have been extra personnel on board. Given the circumstances in which we have continued to work, Pedro has done an excellent job of keeping the ship’s crew, contractors, ABS and U.S. Coast Guard personnel well-fed. He has consistently provided good quality and healthy meals throughout the entire shipyard period. Pedro has had to take extra time to deal with the local ship’s chandler and ensuring we are getting quality meats and vegetables. He has been very careful to inspect all the meats before we take delivery. Several times he sent back food items that were not acceptable. When we talk and think safety on board, we sometimes might overlook the importance of proper food preparation. Yet, Pedro at times has had to take extra precautions in how he was preparing the meats (for example, soaking them in lemon, vinegar and salts to help kill any bacteria before cooking)…. All of the senior officers on board have been through shipyard periods in which there was not a steward or cook on board. During this time, you were left to cook for yourselves or rely upon local commissary-type meals. Everyone on board the Baltimore has commented on how nice it has been to keep the steward on board and for the quality of meals we have been provided. These quality meals have been provided because of a lot of extra hard work and preparation by Mr. Pedro Mena. Throughout this entire time, he has displayed a positive attitude. This is the kind of effort and dedication to a job that, as master of the vessel, you love to see and appreciate. Thank you, Pedro, for your hard work and a job well done. Capt. Ross Mollnow ITB Baltimore Push for ‘Belated Thank You’ I would like to thank all members of the SIU for their great help in writing and telephoning U.S. representatives to support H.R. 23, the Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act. The bill passed in July 2007. It is now in the U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Please call this toll-free number to the Capitol and ask for the office of the chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee: (800) 614-2803. You will speak with one of his aides. Ask them to have the chairman release the bill so it can go to the Senate floor to be voted on. We have 57 co-sponsors for the bill, S 961. Again, I thank all SIU members for your effort and time. May you have calm seas and happy voyages. Richard Wiggins Kansas City, Missouri Shipboard Memories During the Korean War, I was serving as second assistant engineer on the SS African Rainbow, a post-war-built C3 cargo ship. The ship was owned by Farrell Lines and operated on the South and East African run. However, at the time of this incident, she was chartered to the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) branch of the U.S. Navy. Eventually, our travels took us to Wonson, North Korea. As second assistant engineer, the boilers, feed pumps and associated equipment were my responsibilities. It was determined that one of the standby reciprocating feed pumps needed a line on the water end. Alas, we had no hydraulic jack. Also in port was the USS Fox, a destroyer escort. So, we went aboard the Fox, which was supplying power ashore. The engineering officer was very kind and understanding about our plight, but he was concerned about getting his jack returned in case one of our ships had to leave suddenly. He asked if one of his men could go with the jack and we readily agreed. The SS African Rainbow had six two-person staterooms and a beautiful officers’ and passengers’ dining room. So we put the young sailor in one of the plush staterooms and he ate with us in the dining room. Had he been able to spend the time with us, I am sure he would have re-enlisted! Another courtesy extended to us by the USS Fox was our mail. We had no way of getting our mail from the agent in Pusan. Fox’s mailman would pick it up and deliver it to us. Once again, thank you, U.S. Navy! Eli Rantanes Clinton, Ohio (The writer sailed at various times with the MFOW, MEBA and AMO) Honoring Dad and Other Mariners My Dad was one of those unsung heroes of the NMU. He was in the trenches during those early days in the 1930s. He retired in the early 1970s and passed away shortly thereafter. His contribution to the World War II effort was beyond expectations. I even wrote a poem while I was still in grammar school praising him and his fellow brave NMU members. The lines are still vivid in my memories: Who are these men in the U.S. Merchant Marine? Who are these men from 60 to 16? They are the men who are delivering supplies To our fighting men and to our Allies Yet they receive little credit But someday they will all be Honored with medals of merit! Bernard Saslawsky Oceanside, California March 2008 �46674_p01_20_2x:6674p0 2/21/2008 5:36 PM Page 17 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the first few months of 2008. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Deck Upgrading Courses Start Date Date of Completion April 14 May 26 May 9 June 20 Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (must have radar unlimited) April 14 June 16 April 18 June 20 21-Hour Bridge Resource Management (1,600 tons or less) (includes First Aid/CPR) (must have valid radar unlimited certificate) May 12 May 16 Celestial Navigation June 2 June 27 GMDSS April 21 May 2 Lifeboatman/Water Survival March 31 May 12 June 23 April 11 May 23 July 4 Radar March 31 June 2 April 11 June 13 Radar Renewal (one day) April 21 June 23 April 21 June 23 Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman April 28 May 9 Bosun Recertification Course May 12 October 14 June 2 November 3 Course Able Seaman Course Start Date Date of Completion Marine Electrician March 31 May 23 Pumpman April 7 April 18 Welding April 7 May 5 June 2 April 25 May 23 June 20 Safety Specialty Courses Advanced Fire Fighting (must have basic fire fighting) March 10 May 5 June 30 March 21 May 16 July 11 Basic Fire Fighting March 17 April 14 June 16 March 21 April 18 June 20 Basic Safety Training/STCW March 24 April 7 May 12 May 26 June 30 March 28 April 11 May 16 May 30 July 4 Fast Rescue Boat May 12 June 16 May 16 June 20 Government Vessels (Week 1) March 31 May 19 June 23 April 4 May 23 June 27 Medical Care Provider March 24 May 19 March 28 May 23 Tankerman Familiarization/Assistant Cargo (DL) March 24 (must have basic firefighting) June 2 April 4 June 13 Tankerman (PIC) Barge (must have basic firefighting) April 25 April 21 Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes start every other Monday. The most recent class began March 3. Engine Upgrading Courses Advanced Container Maintenance (Refer) March 3 March 28 Basic Auxiliary Plant Ops March 24 May 19 April 18 June 13 FOWT April 21 June 16 May 16 July 11 Junior Engineer July 7 August 29 Machinist March 17 April 4 Steward Recertification Course March 17 August 18 April 7 September 8 Academic Department Courses UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address ______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Date of Birth ______________________ General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be selfstudy. With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and fifty (150) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. COURSE BEGIN DATE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Seniority _____ Department ___________ E-mail ____________________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ U.S. Citizen: ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Yes No Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: __________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Yes Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? No If yes, class # _________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? Yes No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ March 2008 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 3/08 Seafarers LOG 17 �46674_p01_20x:6674p0 2/20/2008 6:40 AM Page 18 Paul Hall Center Classes STCW - The following individuals (above, in no particular order) com- pleted the STCW class Jan. 25 at the Seafarers Training Center at Barbers Point, Hawaii: Alisha Fox, Christine Hellebrand, Jessica McMillion, Jose Garcia, Leila Wander, Cami Hostetler, Diane Brady, Shawn Turman, Frederick Schroder, and Victoria Esquibel. Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class – Unlicensed apprentices from Class 698 recently graduated from the water survival course. Those graduating from the course (above, in alphabetical order) were: Jeffrey Amestoy, Tristan Brand, Satchel Caffy, Robert Day Jr., DeMorris Duggins, Winston Franks, Kabir Garcia, Kyle Gibson, Tsawang Gyurme, Spencer Hiruko, Allaina Lampke, Tony Martin, Daniel McDougald, Johnathan McNeil, Frederick Nyarko, Steven Sidler, Troy Smith, William Thompson, Richard Vega, Bernard Wade II and Sean Wilson. STCW - Completing this course Jan. 12 in Hawaii, above in no partic- ular order were: Mustafa Lobut, Connie Matlock, Zarifa Holloway, Danielle Barnes, Vincent Davis, Bruce Allen, David Ritter, Kristina Shoemaker, Kristen Blom, Trisha Fincher, Jessica Knoph, Gino Montesi, Andreas Goerres, Hugo Suarez, Eric Smith and Brent Dennis. STCW - Twenty individuals graduated from this course Jan. 19 at the Seafarers Training Center in Hawaii. They were, above, in no particular order, Calvin Lodge, Dindo Guaresma, Derek Holl, Daniel Brandum, Mark Lancaster, Christina Snipes, Christopher Barnett, Michael Alequin, Genet Woldemichael, Jennifer Salazar, Robert Dominy, Eric Sagoe, Kent Barrow, Noel Newcom, Matthew Young, Sara Kannegieter, Lori Hubit, Lindsey Graham, David Larkin and Rachel Browder (Note: Not all are pictured.) Medical Care Provider - Eight individuals completed the medical care provider course on Feb. 1. Graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Tawrence Abrams, John Benson, Alshea Dixon, Arnaldo Fernandez, Vincent Figuenick, James Morrison, James Tyson and Barry Williams Jr. Tankerman Assistant – Two classes of Phase III apprentices on Jan. 18 graduated from the tankerman assistant course. Completing the class (above, in alphabetical order) were: Rachel Alarcon, John Albritton, Chris Baum, Jonathan Bennett, Rasheen Breathwaite, Fraya Brown, Matthew Brown, Staley Chancellor, Kevin Copeland, Bobby Dickson, Richard Grushkin, Creg Gumanas, Thomas Halliburton Jr., Santaz Harper, Veronica Hernandez, Anthony Irizarry, Yakan Israel, Joel Jones, Emmanuel Korsah, Theodore Lampke, Christopher Landry, Eileen Mendiola, Denise Mendoza, Aman Mohamed, Fadel Mohamed, Edward Newbegin, Marcos Ramos, William Redinger, Jason Redmon, Cieara Rogers, Andrew Thompson II, Daniel Thompson and Barich Zoran. 18 Seafarers LOG March 2008 �46674_p01_20x:6674p0 2/20/2008 6:40 AM Page 19 Paul Hall Center Classes STCW (Express Marine) – Twenty boatmen from Express Marine on Jan. 11 completed this course. Graduating (above, in alphabetical order) were: Leslie Anderson, Eric Bankhead, David Callis, Mark Faust, Ronnie Fulcher, George Greggs, Robert Greggs, David Harris, Greg Havens, Tommy Horton, William Hundell, Parran Keane, Albert Keech, Ronald Meadows, Herbert O’Neal, Lewis O’Neal, Robert Perusse, Gil Pruitt, Artie Schwendeman and Oswald Smithwick. Company Rep. Keith Kirkeide is standing second from left in the back row. Various Classes (Express Marine) – Completing various classes on Jan. 11 were the above STCW (Great Lakes) boatmen from Express Marine. Pictured in alphabetical order are: Eddie Gardner, David Goodwin, Philip Inman, Riley Johnson, Garnett Leary, Sherwood Lewis, Melvin Pendleton, Todd Potter, Clifton Potter, Rob Press, Billy Sawyer, Russel Shores, Timothy Thomas, Larry Tribby, Jesse Voliva and Johnathan West. Company Rep. Keith Kirkeide is standing fifth from right in the back row. STCW - Eighteen individuals completed this class Jan. 19 in Hawaii. They are (above, in no par- ticular order): Sara Seta, Victor Flint, Jeremiah Weise, Josh Lindell, Ryan Smith, Robert Bacaycay, Rasmeithida Chhay, Ryan Kerr, Kevin Kerr, Caleb Wood, Amy Ingram, Jason Fowler, Stacey Eckstein, Genesis Penunuri, Orbelina Zelada, Keith Jackson, Keisha White and Brian Lombard. Completing this class Jan. 11 were these individuals from Great Lakes Towing shown above. Pictured (in alphabetical order) are: Lawrence Dudek, Jerald Galletta, Walter Harris, Sherwood Johnson, Hussein Qassim, Amy Shunkwiler, James Shupert and Leonard Thomas. Stan Beck, right, was their instructor. STCW - Completing this class Jan 12 in Hawaii (above, in no particular order) were: Jose Nunez Ortiz, Roberto Guerra, Gabriele Pena, Adam Valdez, Sean Igoe, Tabitha Maner, Sabrina David, Brett Steinmann, Brandy Alston, Lawrence Hickman III, Robert Martin, Michael Ashline, Ivonne Perez, Michael Sands and Amber Elliott. Computer Class Graduates Three students recently completed computer training classes at the Paul Hall Center. The trio joined Instructor Rick Prucha (center in photo at left, and left in photo at right) to pose with the certificates they earned for their respective accomplishments. Displaying their certificates in photo at left are David Brewster, left, and Devalence Smiley. Leslie McGirt shows off her certificates in photo at right. March 2008 Seafarers LOG 19 �46674_p01_20:6674p0 2/19/2008 7:33 AM Page 20 Volume 70, Number 3 March 2008 TWIC Reminders, Enrollment Centers -Page 8 The galley gang (from left): Ricky Williams, Instructor Chef Bob Baumgarten, Devalence Smiley, Rene Gil and Robinson Eromosele The bakery gang (from left): Tereza Padelopoulou, Michael Henry, Adobea Boateng, Darlene Steede, Instructor Ed White, Robinson Eromosele and Chris Hale Students Sharpen Skills at School Seafarer Seibel Shares Photos from Recent Steward Dept. Course Seafarer John Seibel recently submitted these photos of fellow students (and himself) participating in the certified chief cook course at the unionaffiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, located in Piney Point, Md. The photos were taken in October and November 2007. Seibel gave top marks to the teachers and facilities alike – and to the other upgraders, too. “They really have great instructors at the school. You can’t say enough about them,” Seibel stated. “Honestly, it’s one of my favorite places. It’s nice and peaceful. You learn a lot and you meet nice people.” Chef Instructor Robert Johnson displays some of his culinary talent. Amy Atterberry works on sauce for a lab project. John Nunez is pictured in the culinary lab. Rene Gil (left) and Devalence Smiley trim beef for stew. Ricky Williams, Amy Shunkwiler and Bob Baumgarten A couple of trainees serve up lunch. Upgraders take a quick break for this photo. Tanya Bradley and James Abilad whip up some chili in the culinary lab. Two unlicensed apprentices step up for galley duty. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 March 2008 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES UNION MEMBERSHIP INCREASES UNDER NLRB DIRECTION, MAJESTIC POSTS NON-INTERFERENCE NOTICE SEAFARERS CREW UP 2 NEW MAERSK SHIPS RO/ROS ALLIANCE NORFOLK, ALLIANCE ST. LOUIS JOIN MSP FLEET DEFENSE BILL PROVISION SIGNALS CIVMAR WIN SIU-CREWED HORIZON FALCON HONORED FOR ‘BRAVE ACTIONS’ IN 2007 RESCUE COAST GUARD SAYS NO INJURIES, NO POLLUTION IN MCCARTHY MISHAP TWIC HEARNG REVEALS MIX RESULTS INTERNATIONAL GROUPS ANNOUNCE JOIN EFFORT TO PROTECT MARINERS PHC OFFERS ONLINE COURSES SIU-AFFILIATED SCHOOL EARNS COUNTY’S ‘GOLD STAR’ VESSEL MASTER, CREW PRAISE EFFORTS OF SIU STEWARD SEAFARERES ANSWERS NATIONS CALL FOR MILITARY SUPPORT MISSIONS SEAFARER WENT TOE-TO-TOE WITH LEGENDARY SUGAR RAY ROBINSON Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 03/01/2008 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. 70, No. 3 2008 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/f072b433e515fb4da33ab4a2a59b3092.pdf 59ab19b15d9742b03809930cd501a1cb PDF Text Text 46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:56 PM Page 1 Volume 70, Number 2 February 2008 Rescue at Sea USNS Arctic CIVMARS Help Save 7 Members of the SIU Government Services Division sailing aboard the USNS Arctic recently helped rescue seven foreign mariners who had been drifting in a raft for two days in the central Arabian Gulf. From left, one of the USNS Arctic’s MH-60S helicopters safely lifts one of the stranded mariners; the USNS Arctic sails through rough seas, as pictured from aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Harry S Truman; and some of the survivors are welcomed aboard ship. Page 2. (U.S. Navy Photos) H o s p i t a l S h i p U S N S C o m fo r t Returns After Successful Mission Seafarers Deliver More MRAPs For U.S. Troops SIU members continued their mission as part of America’s fourth arm of defense when the Seafarers-crewed USNS Pililaau recently delivered the largest load of life-saving “MRAP” vehicles to date to U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. One of the mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles is pictured driving up the Pililaau’s stern ramp in Charleston, S.C. Page 8. SIU CIVMARS aboard the USNS Comfort last year helped complete a successful fourth-month humanitarian mission that saw the hospital ship deliver much-needed care in Latin America and the Caribbean. Above, OS Bobby D’Angelo power washes the vessel’s deck. More photos and a recap of the mission appear on page 24. Byrd Joins Gov’t Services Fleet List of TWIC Enrollment Centers Page 3 Page 4 Tax Tips Pages 12-13 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:56 PM Page 2 President’s Report U.S. Shipbuilding Remains Vital Every industry sees its share of ups and downs, and American commercial shipbuilding is no exception. As we move further into the New Year, I’m happy to note that things are on an upswing at several domestic yards. Challenges always remain, but the tanker construction programs in Philadelphia and San Diego, along with ATBs being delivered from other yards, clearly are positive developments for our industry and our nation. It seems to me the value in maintaining a strong commercial shipbuilding capability is, at the very Michael Sacco least, good common sense. Doing so maintains family-wage jobs and protects U.S. national and economic security by helping prevent too much reliance on other countries. The rationale in some ways is the same as what we know to be true of the U.S. Merchant Marine: As a nation, we simply cannot afford to be without the reliable manpower or the industrial capabilities found in the maritime industry – particularly in the post-9/11 world. Naturally, this belief isn’t confined to the commercial side. Since our country’s earliest days, naval power has been a key part of a strong defense strategy. We’ve heard the idea summarized time and time again. “America is a maritime nation.” “America is an island nation.” However it’s expressed, the bottom line is the same: Important strategic interests will be put at risk if U.S. naval power is allowed to fall below a certain level. Undoubtedly with that in mind, years ago, Congress and the Reagan administration undertook a buildup for the U.S. Navy. By 1987, the fleet reached slightly more than 560 vessels. In that year alone, 17 replacement vessels were built. But ever since then, the annual build rate has declined sharply. For instance, in 2006, only four new vessels were built. Not surprisingly, the U.S. Navy has fallen below 300 vessels. Unless some corrective action is taken soon, the United States fleet will soon fall below 200 vessels. As Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.), a former secretary of the Navy and Marine officer, put it last month, “Simply stated, we are decommissioning Navy ships faster than we are building them. It’s imperative that we reverse this steady slide in shipbuilding.” The decline of the U.S. Navy is not happening in a vacuum. Again to cite just one example for comparison’s sake, China has been investing heavily in its naval fleet. In certain areas, most notably submarines, it already has overtaken the U.S. The technological advantage that the U.S. once enjoyed is steadily shrinking, too. For years, the SIU – often working through the AFL-CIO’s Maritime Trades Department – has fought this trend. In addition to the obvious strategic benefits, increased naval construction in U.S. shipyards generates hundreds of thousands middle-class jobs for American workers. These jobs in turn generate badly needed tax revenues and benefits that some U.S. workers would not otherwise enjoy. There is a core of lawmakers in both the House and Senate who recognize the danger of allowing the U.S. Navy to fall below a certain fleet level. A “Sense of the Congress” resolution was introduced in the 109th Congress calling for a 375-vessel naval fleet. Also in the 109th Congress, the Chief of Naval Operations unveiled a plan to stabilize the fleet at a 313-vessel level. Last year in the first session of the 110th Congress, the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee took the lead on this matter. It issued a report stressing that U.S. shipbuilding is “desperately in need of stability.” The subcommittee concluded that the only way to achieve that is by increasing production. While Congress failed to make headway on many funding bills last year, one that it did pass (H.R. 3222), approved $16 billion for the procurement of nine naval vessels. That is five above the administration’s original budget request. The additional ships include an amphibious transport dock ship, three combat force logistics ships and enough money to begin work on a second attack class submarine. This is an important step in the right direction, and I applaud Congress for increasing the build rate. It’s a movement that must continue in the years ahead, because maintaining both a viable naval and commercial shipbuilding capacity clearly is in the best interests of our great nation. Volume 70, Number 2 February 2008 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 207909998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2008 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG The USNS Arctic’s two MH-60S helicopters deploy for the rescue mission. CIVMARS Rescue UAE Mariners SIU CIVMARS aboard the U.S. Military Sealift Command fast combat support ship USNS Arctic (T AOE 8) helped rescue seven United Arab Emirates mariners adrift in a raft for two days in the central Arabian Gulf. The rescue took place Dec. 23. While conducting replenishment at sea with the Nimitz-class nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), the Arctic received a bridge-to-bridge radio call from the British-flagged cargo vessel MV British Courage requesting assistance rescuing the stranded mariners, who were floating approximately three miles ahead of the Truman. The ships performed an emergency breakaway, and the Arctic dispatched two MH-60S helicopters to the scene. The Arctic put one rescue swimmer in the water who recovered the four Pakistanis and three Indian mariners. The helicopter crews took the mariners to the Truman for medical treatment, food and water. All were in good condition. The mariners had been transporting cargo from Dubai when their boat sailed into rough seas and broke its keel. When the vessel started taking on too much water to remain afloat, the mariners abandoned ship into a life raft where they remained for two days before the rescue. Members Show Strong Interest In New Seafarers 401(k) Plan Membership response to the new Seafarers 401(k) Plan has been plentiful and positive, according to Seafarers Plans Administrator Maggie Bowen. “We have received encouraging feedback from eligible members and we are optimistic that a large cross-section of the membership will participate in the Seafarers 401(k) Plan and enjoy all the benefits it offers,” Bowen noted. Based on initial feedback, the Seafarers Plans in conjunction with the SIU team of financial advisors at Smith Barney put together a summary of some of the most frequently asked questions about the new plan, as follows: What is the contribution limit for 2008? The contribution limit for 2008 is $15,500 (or $20,500 if you are 50 or older). You may make your contributions as traditional pre-tax contributions, Roth after-tax contributions or a combination of both. However, the total amount of contributions (pre-tax + Roth) can not exceed the dollar limits referenced in this paragraph. What is the difference between a traditional 401(k) contribution and a Roth 401(k) contribution? A traditional 401(k) contribution reduces your current income for tax purposes (“pre-tax”). Your contributions and investment earnings grow tax deferred. In the future, when you receive distributions from the Plan, those distributions will be taxable as ordinary income. A Roth contribution does not reduce your current income for tax purposes (“after-tax”). Your contributions and investment earnings grow tax deferred. In the future, when you receive “qualified” distributions from the Plan (meaning you are at least 59 ½ years old and commenced Roth 401(k) participation at least 5 years earlier), your distributions will be received free of federal income tax. If you think your tax bracket in retirement may be higher than your tax bracket while you’re working, you may be a good candidate to make Roth 401(k) contributions. Who is eligible for the Plan and what is the process for enrolling in the Plan? You are eligible to participate if you are working under the standard freightship or standard tanker agreements as well as many other SIU contracts. (Please check with your port agent to see if your company participates.) As contracts are renegotiated in 2008, additional SIU members will become eligible to participate. Everyone who is eligible should have received an enrollment kit. The kit includes a DVD introducing the Seafarers 401(k) Plan, which we encourage everyone to watch. Also in the kit are the enrollment forms. There are three simple forms you must complete. ■ Enrollment Form - This form asks for your personal information such as name, address and date of birth. This is also the form where you specify the percentage of your pay you wish to contribute pre-tax, and / or the percentage you wish to make as an after-tax Roth contribution. Please note that any time you change employers, you must complete a new enrollment form. ■ Investment Election Form - You may put together your own portfolio by picking a combination of funds from the 20 available investment options. Or, you may simply choose from one of four risk-based model portfolios (conservative, moderate, moderate aggressive or aggressive). ■ Beneficiary Election Form - Note that if you are married and wish to designate someone other than your spouse as beneficiary, your spouse must consent in writing, and that consent must be notarized. Once you have completed and signed these forms, please return them to your ship’s captain. The captain will then forward the forms to your employer’s HR department for further processing. Also please note that the aforementioned forms (and other information) are available in the “Member Benefits and Resources” section of the SIU web site, www.seafarers.org. How can I get additional investment guidance and/or financial planning assistance? Call Smith Barney at 800-421-5127. Larry Goldstock, vice president and financial planning specialist at Smith Barney, described the Seafarers 401(k) Plan as “a potentially great way to accumulate a portion of the personal savings that may be needed to fund a financially secure retirement. Our approach to investing is based on our time-tested way of doing business. We offer our clients intelligent counsel based on our research, intellect and hard work. It’s an approach that has helped our clients work toward their financial goals since Smith Barney was established over a century ago.” February 2008 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:56 PM Page 3 4th ‘Lewis and Clark’ Ship Delivered to MSC USNS Byrd to Join Gov’t Services Fleet The U.S. Military Sealift Command last month accepted delivery of the dry/cargo ammunition ship USNS Richard E. Byrd in San Diego. The ship, to be crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division, was built by General Dynamics NASSCO. The USNS Byrd, designated T-AKE 4, is the fourth in the Lewis and Clark class of underway replenishment ships which deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to the Navy’s underway carrier and expeditionary strike groups, allowing them to stay at sea for extended periods of time. MSC took delivery of the vessel on Jan. 8. The agency noted that the T-AKEs will replace some of the older vessels in the Kilauea and Sirius classes, respectively. The former are ammunition ships while the latter are combat stores vessels. MSC further reported that the USNS Byrd was scheduled for a short “shakedown cruise” in late January, during which crew members were to test “a range of shipboard operations including a mock ammunition transfer that will use shipboard cranes to lift dummy ordnance onto Byrd’s deck from barges. This is the first such test ever done aboard a TAKE.” The 689-foot USNS Byrd is expected to deploy on its first operational mission this summer. The first ship of the class, the USNS Lewis and Clark, recently completed a deployment in the Persian Gulf. The USNS Lewis and Clark was replaced in theater by the second ship of the class, the USNS Sacagawea. NTSB: 1st-Tripper Was on Watch When Majestic Boat Grounded The Associated Press has reported that the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) preliminary report on the May 14, 2007 grounding of Majestic America Line’s sternwheeler riverboat, the Empress of the North, off the coast of Alaska shows there was a new employee – who had received no training aboard the vessel and was unfamiliar with the waters being traversed – on watch at the time the ship hit a submerged portion of a charted rock. The ship grounded 25 miles southwest of Juneau when it was on its second day of a seven-day cruise, forcing the evacuation of 206 passengers. After the grounding, the vessel apparently drifted into the vicinity of Hanus Reef. Some passengers had minor injuries. While the NTSB preliminary report drew no conclusions, it cited that Marino Cattiotti was assigned a four-hour watch from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. because another navigator fell ill. According to the AP, Cattiotti told NTSB investigators that he recently graduated from the California Maritime Academy and was unfamiliar with the waters, received no training on that ship and had not participated in any drills aboard the vessel. The AP reported that the NTSB interviewed six instructors of Cattiotti’s where he earned a bachelor’s degree in marine transportation. The instructors reportedly told the NTSB they believe “in general, placing a recent graduate of the school with no watch experience outside of a training environment, at night, in pilotage waters, in an unfamiliar vessel, without additional preparation and/or supervision, was imprudent.” It could be months before the NTSB releases a full final report, but it has made available a few more details about the grounding when it stated that the crew was apparently trying to complete a turn, and failed, when the ship “raked across a rocky shoal.” The NTSB is expected to report later as to why the event occurred. According to Seattle Times, the Majestic America Line ship has run into trouble since its launch in 2003. Here are the details the paper cites: — Oct. 22, 2003: Hits a navigation lock at the Ice Harbor dam on the Snake River near Pasco. The lock was closed to all traffic for two days and remained closed to recreational boats for about five weeks, when it was repaired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. — Nov. 27, 2003: Develops steering problems on the Columbia River near The Dalles, Ore., and runs aground. A passenger and two crew members suffer minor injuries. The ship works free on its own power and ties up at a barge dock. — Feb. 25, 2006: Fails a sanitation test by inspectors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. — Mid-March, 2006: 26 passengers and seven crew members get sick with vomiting and diarrhea during a five-day Columbia River cruise. — March 24, 2006: Runs aground on a sandbar near Washougal, Wash., as it tries to avoid a barge. Nearly 200 passengers are evacuated. Crews pump 20,000 gallons of diesel fuel from the vessel to make it easier to refloat, and two tug boats free it. — May 14, 2007: Begins taking on water after it runs aground off the Alaska coast, forcing the evacuation of more than 200 passengers before it is able to move again with a Coast Guard escort. February 2008 The USNS Byrd is designed to support U.S. Navy missions. NASSCO Starts Construction on 2nd Tanker for U.S. Shipping Partners Construction on the second ship in a new class of Seafarers-contracted product carriers (PC-1) began Jan. 22 at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. The double-hulled vessel is being built for U.S. Shipping Partners and is scheduled to be delivered in early 2009. It is one of nine such tankers scheduled to be constructed at NASSCO. The build program itself includes options for five additional ships. Each PC-1 ship will be 600 feet long, displace about 49,000 deadweight tons and have a cargo capacity of 331,000 barrels. The ships are based on a design of DSEC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering of Okpo, Korea. As reported earlier in the LOG, NASSCO began construction of the first tanker in the series in August. U.S. Shipping Partners previously announced that the ship will be named Golden State, the state nickname of California. General Dynamics NASSCO employs more than 4,600 people and is the only major ship construction yard on the West Coast of the United States. In addition to the PC-1 program, the San Diego shipyard has contracts to build nine T-AKE class dry cargo-ammunition ships for the U.S. Navy (vessels that will be crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division), and an agreement to build up to five additional ships. U.S. Shipping Partners’ current fleet includes the ITF Baltimore, ITB Groton, ITB Jacksonville, ITB Mobile, ITB New York, ITB Philadelphia, SS Chemical Pioneer, MV Houston, MV Charleston, MV Sea Venture and ATB Freeport. Aker Philadelphia Shipyard Reports Continued Progress For SIU-Contracted Tanker Program In early January, steel cutting began on the next tanker being built at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard (Hull 011). The first three vessels in the initial series of 12 double-hulled, environmentally friendly tankers were delivered last year, and start of production on Hull 011 brings the number of ships currently under construction at the yard to four. The ship is scheduled for completion in 2009. According to the shipyard, consistent with the build method for all vessels in the Veteran class series, the first steel plates cut for this ship will The Overseas Houston is the first in a series of SIUcontracted tankers being built in Philadelphia. The vessel is one of three such ships already in operation. be used in construction of the engine room of the 46,000 deadweight ton (dwt) product tanker. Upon completion, the initial 12 tankers will be owned by Aker American Shipping and bareboat chartered to SIU-contracted Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc (OSG). As previously reported, Aker American Shipping in late November announced it has entered into an “option agreement” with the shipyard to build up to 13 more product tankers at a total contract value of $1.3 billion. With this agreement, Aker American Shipping stated that the company aims to expand its fleet from 12 to 25 state-of-the-art vessels. APL Balboa Re-Flagging Means More SIU Jobs SIU mariners will soon crew the APL Balboa, a containership that is being reflagged into APL Maritime Ltd.’s U.S.-registered fleet. The Balboa has been operating in APL Maritime’s international fleet under Singapore registery but will now fly the U.S. flag. The 397-foot ship is scheduled to operate in a commercial feeder service in the Arabian Gulf. The re-flagging of the Balboa represents new U.S. tonnage and U.S. jobs available to SIU members. The move follows 2007 trends of adding new tonnage under the U.S. flag by companies such as APL Maritime and Maersk. Seafarers LOG 3 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:56 PM Page 4 Mariners Need TWIC by Sept. 25, 2008 The following information, available on the U.S. Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) web site, covers the steps necessary to acquire a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). This information has been sent to all SIU halls and will be repeated (in various forms) in upcoming issues of the Seafarers LOG. The deadline for U.S. mariners to obtain a TWIC is Sept. 25, 2008. Therefore, the union urges Seafarers to apply for the new card, which eventually will be required of all U.S. mariners who need unescorted access to secure areas of U.S. ports and vessels. Seafarers should check with their port agents and/or utilize the TSA contact information that follows for the latest information on the TWIC program, including the “TWIC Quarterly Deployment Plan,” which is a list of cities where TWIC enrollment centers are or will be located. Updates also regularly appear on the SIU web site (www.seafarers.org, normally in the “Heard at Headquarters” section). Regular updates are anticipated. Seafarers are advised that although preenrollment for the TWIC is optional, both the agency and the first individual SIU members who have applied for the card strongly recommend it. To pre-enroll, individuals must first register for an ID starting at https://twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/TWICWebApp/ FOR MORE INFORMATION On the web: www.tsa.gov/twic By phone: TWIC Program Help Desk, 1866-DHS-TWIC (1-866-347-8942) By email: credentialing@dhs.gov ENROLLMENT TSA states that applicants must apply at a TWIC enrollment center and that TSA will be expanding the number of centers and also providing mobile enrollment centers. The enrollment process consists of the following components: optional pre-enrollment, in-person enrollment, security threat assessment and notification of the results, and issuance of the TWIC to the applicant. Applicants may pre-enroll online to enter all of the biographic information required for the threat assessment and make an appointment at the enrollment center to complete the process (although appointments are not required). Then, applicants must visit the enrollment center where they will pay the enrollment fee, complete a TWIC Application Disclosure Form, provide biographic information and a complete set of fingerprints, and sit for a digital photograph. The applicant must bring identity verification documents to enrollment and in the case of aliens, immigration documents that verify their immigration status, so that the documents can be scanned into the electronic enrollment record. What documentation is required? Applicants must provide the appropriate TWIC Enrollment Centers The following is a list of addresses for Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) enrollment centers as of mid-January, as published by the Transportation Security Administration at the following web address:http://www.tsa.gov/what_we _do/layers/twic/twic_faqs.shtm When visiting that link, scroll down for the current list of enrollment centers. As they become available, additional addresses will be published in the LOG and faxed to the union halls. The TSA is expected to announce the locations of many more enrollment centers in the weeks and months ahead. To open a copy of the “TWIC Quarterly Deployment Plan” – in PDF format – go to: http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/twicquarterlydeploymentschedule_1_11_08.pdf Alabama 250 North Water Street Mobile, AL 36602-4000 California Oakland Maritime Support Services (OMSS) 11 Burma Road Oakland, CA 94607-1010 1830 Embarcadero Avenue Suite 104 Oakland, CA 94606-5230 301 E. Ocean Boulevard Suite 500 Long Beach, CA 90802 1931 N. Gaffey Street Suite B San Pedro, CA 90731-1265 Delaware 1 Hausel Road Wilmington, DE 19801-5852 4 Seafarers LOG Florida 955 Tallyrand Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32206-6049 707 Mullet Road Suites 117/118 Port Canaveral, FL 32920-4519 975 North America Way Miami, FL 33132-2004 Georgia 5214 Augusta Rd Garden City, GA 31408-1606 Georgia Power Plant McManus 1 Crispen Island Drive Brunswick, GA 31523 Hawaii 1347 Kapiolani Blvd. Suite 204 Honolulu, HI 96814-4512 Hilo Hawaiian Hotel 71 Banyan Drive Hilo, HI 96720-4601 Kahului Shopping Center 65 West Kaahumanu Avenue Unit 14 Kahului, HI 96732 970 Kele Street Suite 102 Lihue, HI 96766 Illinois 8741 South Greenwood Dixon Building Chicago, IL 60619-7061 Three Rivers Safety Council 1615 W. Jefferson Street Suite TWIC Joliet, IL 60435-6724 111 W. Washington Street Suite 346 East Peoria, IL 61611-2532 documents in order to verify their identity. A complete list of such documents was published in the January LOG and is available at www.tsa.gov/twic. A valid merchant mariner document meets the requirement. COSTS AND PAYMENT The fee for a TWIC will be $132.50 and it is valid for five years. Workers with current, comparable background checks may pay a reduced fee of $105.25. If workers are eligible to pay the lower price, their TWIC will expire 5 years from the date of the comparable credential. The cost of a replacement TWIC, if the original is lost, stolen or damaged is $60. What are the methods of payment? Payment must be made with credit card (Visa or MasterCard only), money order, or certified/cashier’s check. Checks should be made payable to Lockheed Martin. An additional option has been provided through the use of company purchased pre-paid debit cards. For companies choosing to use the prepaid option, the website is http://www.twiccard.com. In all cases, payment will be made at the enrollment center at the beginning of the enrollment process. What is the fee for a replacement card? The card replacement fee (for lost, stolen, or damaged TWICs) is $60. SECURITY ASSESSMENT What does this assessment consist of? The assessment includes checks against criminal history records, terrorist watch lists, and immigration status. If no adverse information is disclosed, TSA typically completes a security threat assessment in less than ten days. However, processing time increases for an applicant with a criminal history or other disqualifying information, and is further lengthened if the applicant initiates an appeal or waiver. This security threat assessment is the same for those applying for, transferring, or renewing a HAZMAT endorsement (HME) on their state-issued commercial drivers licenses (CDL). WAIVERS AND APPEALS Is there going to be an appeals and waivers process? Yes. Applicants who are denied a TWIC will be notified of the reason for denial and instructed on how to apply for an appeal or waiver. All applicants have the opportunity to appeal a disqualification, and may apply to TSA for a waiver if disqualified for certain crimes, or if they are aliens in Temporary Protected Status. Applicants who seek a waiver and are denied may seek review by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Indiana 200 Russell Street Suite 110 Hammond, IN 46320-1825 Mississippi Ergon Refining 227 Industrial Drive Vicksburg, MS 39183-0000 Rhode Island 17 Virginia Ave Suite 105 Providence, RI 02905-5443 Louisiana Safety Council for Louisiana Capital Area 8180 Siegen Lane Baton Rouge, LA 70810-1914 New Jersey Northern New Jersey / Bergen County 89 Leuning Street, Suite G South Hackensack, NJ 076061345 South Carolina 4600 Goer Drive, Ste 112 North Charleston, SC 29406-6500 700 W. McNeese Street Lake Charles, LA 70605-5532 Port Fourchon Harbor Police 108 A.O. Rappelet Road Port Fourchon, LA 70357-0000 170 James Drive East Suite 104 St. Rose, LA 70087-4005 Maryland 2200 Broening Hwy Suite 220 Baltimore, MD 21224-6623 213 W. Main Street Suite 204C Salisbury, MD 21801-4871 Massachusetts 28 Damrell St. Suite 104 Boston, MA 02127-2775 300 Tremont Street Unit #5 Carver, MA 02330-1758 Michigan Delray Mechanical 667 S. Post Street Detroit, MI 48209-3053 New York 102 Smith Boulevard Albany, NY 12202-1067 Howland Hook Marine Terminal 241 Western Avenue Staten Island, NY 10303-1103 Whitehall Ferry Terminal 4 South Street Room 210 New York, NY 10004-1940 2680 Grand Island Boulevard Suite 1 Grand Island, NY 14072 North Carolina Suite 102 5704 Oleander Drive Wilmington, NC 28403-4761 311 Atlantic Beach Causeway A Atlantic Beach, NC 28512-7359 Ohio 3100 E45th Street Suite 226 Cleveland, OH 44127-1091 916 River Street Ontonagon, MI 49953-1622 Star Center One Maritime Plaza 720 Water Street Toledo, OH 43604-1883 800 East Ellis Road Suite 122 Norton Shores, MI 49441-5622 Oklahoma 5350 Cimarron Road Catoosa, OK 74015-3027 Minnesota 34 13th Avenue, NE Minneapolis, MN 55413-1002 Oregon 621 SW Morrison Street Portland, OR 97205 2161 University Avenue St. Paul, MN 55114-1300 1310 Port Terminal Road Duluth, MN 55802 Pennsylvania Philadelphia Regional Port 3460 North Delaware Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19134-6311 3214 2nd Avenue East International Falls, MN 566498955 701 North Point Drive Suite 104 Pittsburgh, PA 15233-2133 Tennessee 3865 Viscount Avenue, Suite 2 Memphis, TN 38118-6000 Texas 7433 Leopard Street Corpus Christi, TX 78409 Ford Convention Center Tyler Room 5155 IH-10 South Beaumont, TX 77705-4213 West Gulf Maritime Association 1717 Turning Basin Houston, TX 77029-3003 3800 Highway 365 Suite 123 Port Arthur, TX 77642-7566 1000 Foust Road Brownsville, TX 78521 1750 FM 1432 Victoria, TX 77905-0000 301 Highway 146 N. Texas City, TX 77590-6630 Washington 5009 Pac Hwy E Suite 17 Fife Business Park Tacoma, WA 98424-3432 Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE) AERIE # 1 6205 Corson Avenue South Seattle, WA 98108 West Virginia Tri-State Fire Academy 4200 Ohio River Rd, Huntington WV 25702 Wisconsin Chase Commerce Center 3073 South Chase Avenue Suite 620 Building 28 Floor 1 Milwaukee, WI 53207-2668 425 South Military Avenue Green Bay, WI 54303-2271 February 2008 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:56 PM Page 5 Legislation Establishes Marine Highway Program On Dec. 19, President Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which contains provisions establishing a formal marine highway program within the federal government. Under the new law, marine highway or “short sea” transportation refers to the carriage by vessel of cargo in containers, loaded on the vessel by cranes or by means of wheeled technology. Of particular significance to the SIU and the rest of the maritime community are provisions contained in the bill promoting short sea shipping initiatives as an instrument to alleviate landbased cargo and passenger transport congestion. Specifically, the Department of Transportation is charged with the development of a short sea transportation program and the designation of selected projects to document the potential advantages of utilizing marine highway alternatives. Such projects would include the use of short sea shipping routes to accommodate federally owned or generated cargo movements and programs to further cooperation between local, state, regional and federal transportation entities to foster marine highway operations. Additionally, operators would be able to access the Capital Construction Fund for financing the construction of vessels to be deployed in contiguous short sea shipping ventures. The union believes that the outlook for marine highway or short sea shipping is very positive and deserves the attention of the maritime and environmental communities. According to a governmentissued news release, a report on the marine highway transportation program must be submitted to Congress within one year. “It will include a description of the activities conducted under the program, and any recommendations for further legislative or administrative action that are considered appropriate.” U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton, testifying last year before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, pointed out, “By 2020, every major U.S. container port is expected to double the volume of cargo it must process, with East Coast ports tripling in volume and some West Coast ports quadrupling in volume. The United States is expected to import 30 million containers in 2010 and 40 million in 2020. The domestic tonnage of freight carried by all U.S. systems will increase by 67 percent, while international trade is expected to at least double. Presently, this domestic freight is carried almost exclusively by road or rail – coastal shipping handles only two percent of our domestic freight, even though coastal counties hold more than half of the nation’s population…. “Clearly, the nation’s marine highway can help mitigate this congestion,” he continued. “The world’s waterways are an infinite system, and our marine highways have infinite capacity. Unlike rail and roads, there are no fixed infrastructure costs to develop transportation routes, and ships can carry more cargo per dollar than any other method of transport. The full scope of America’s marine highway – a system that includes not only our coastal waters, but our inland waterway system and the Great Lakes – is enormous and if properly utilized and integrated, can help us expand our way out of the crises before us.” Sean Connaughton U.S. Maritime Administrator Administration Report ITF Week of Action a Success Efforts Bring Results for Crews in India, Sri Lanka Cites Vital Role of U.S. Merchant Marine In a report examining many aspects of the nation’s marine transportation system, the United States Maritime Administration (MarAd) strongly credits the U.S. Merchant Marine as an integral part of national security. The agency published the 47page report in late 2007. It is titled, “The Maritime Administration and the U.S. Marine Transportation System: A Vision for the 21st Century.” Besides recognizing mariners for their historic reliability and present-day importance, the report looks at maritime and the economy; the nation’s port system and marine highways; public-private partnerships in the industry; workforce development; environmental issues; the Ready Reserve Force; and successful laws and programs including cargo preference, the Jones Act, the Maritime Security Program and its related Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA), and more. Where mariners are concerned, the agency notes, “The U.S. Merchant Marine has been an integral part of America’s defense establishment since the founding of the nation…. Since then, time and again the men, women and vessels of the merchant marine have supported America’s armed forces in periods of war and national emergency. Thousands of American mariners have died, been wounded or taken prisoner during those conflicts…. “Those who would do great harm to the United States, its people and interests pose a real danger. Safeguarding freedom and security involves a global commitment. The U.S. Merchant Marine has had and will continue to take a leading February 2008 role in that struggle in times of peace as well as war and national emergency.” The report goes on to point out that U.S. national defense has relied heavily on the U.S. commercial sector for more than two centuries, and continues doing so today. “This includes using ships as naval auxiliaries, vessels to transport military personnel and supplies and trained seafarers for naval service. “...The United States simply cannot respond to conflicts or emergencies overseas without sealift. It is figuratively and literally a lifeline to U.S. armed forces and their missions.” ---MarAd Report, 2007 For the maritime transportation system today, defense mobilization still equates to having a strong industrial base as well as sufficient U.S. commercial ships and civilian crews available to meet defense sealift requirements…. The United States simply cannot respond to conflicts or emergencies overseas without sealift. It is figuratively and literally a lifeline to U.S. armed forces and their missions. This is being proven once again during the current Global War on Terrorism…. “It is also essential that the active commercial U.S.-flag fleet and its intermodal systems are available to serve the United States’ military and economic needs.” The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) in early January took a week-long action against the so-called flagof-convenience (FOC) system in Indian and Sri Lankan ports. During the successful week of action, more than 100 inspections were carried out on board FOC vessels, also known as runaway-flag ships. The inspections were instrumental in yielding concrete results including the securing of more than $1 million in back pay claims and signing new ITF agreements, which help ensure fair wages and working conditions for mariners. The federation’s efforts weren’t confined to a single week. After the mobilization’s scheduled conclusion, the ITF team in Chennai stayed on board the Panamanianflagged Global Flora in an attempt to persuade its Japanese owners to sign an ITF agreement with the Japanese Seafarers’ Union (JSU). Members of the dockers union in Chennai are also standing firm in the face of the managers’ delaying tactics; they are determined to secure the Filipino seafarers on board a respectable wage. The action continued at press time for the LOG. In Mumbai, the ITF inspector on board the Maltese-flagged, Norwegian-owned and Korean-managed Samho Jewelry discovered that the Croatian, Russian, Polish and Burmese crew members were being paid less than the minimum ITF wage rates. However, following the action, the owner agreed to sign an ITF agreement with the Korean Seafarers’ Union; the agreement will cover not only mariners on board the Samho Jewelry, but also those on another of its vessels, the Samho Heron. Prospects of an ITF agreement for mariners on the Panamanian-flagged Rabbana also seem bright, the federation reported. Inspections of the Panamanian-flagged, Sri Lankan-owned Windsor Ruby, which also took place in Mumbai, revealed that crew members were being paid much less than stipulated by the ITF agreement that the owners had signed. The Sri Lankan mariners had been afraid to speak out, but the ITF inspectors’ prompt action led to an agreement by the owner to settle their back pay claim for two months’ wages, amounting to around $24,000. Mahendra Sharma, deputy regional secretary of the ITF Asia Pacific regional office, said the week of action “was a resounding success and we are very happy with the out- comes. Apart from signing new agreements and claiming back pay wages, action by ITF inspectors has led to the signing of ITF agreements by unions in the beneficial ownership countries. Certainly credit is due for this to dockers’ and seafarers’ unions in India and Sri Lanka.” The ITF is a global federation of 681 transport trade unions (including the SIU) which collectively represent 4.5 million workers in 148 countries. SIU SecretaryTreasurer David Heindel is first vice chair of the ITF Seafarers’ Section. A runaway-flag or FOC ship is one that flies the flag of a country other than the country of ownership. According to the ITF, “FOCs provide a means of avoiding labor regulation in the country of ownership, and become a vehicle for paying low wages and forcing long hours of work and unsafe working conditions. Since FOC ships have no real nationality, they are beyond the reach of any single national seafarers’ trade union. “The ITF has therefore been obliged to take on internationally the role traditionally exercised by national trade unions – to organize and negotiate on behalf of FOC crews. For 50 years the ITF, through its affiliated seafarers’ and dockers’ unions, has been waging a vigorous campaign against shipowners who abandon the flag of their own country in search of the cheapest possible crews and the lowest possible training and safety standards for their ships.” The federation further notes that while the political component of the FOC campaign “has not so far succeeded in preventing a constant growth in ships using FOC registers, the industrial campaign has succeeded in enforcing decent minimum wages and conditions on board nearly 5,000 FOC ships. In addition, the ITF has become the standardbearer for exploited and mistreated seafarers, irrespective of nationality or trade union membership, throughout the world. Every year millions of dollars are recovered by the ITF and its affiliated unions in back pay and in compensation for death or injury on behalf of seafarers who have nowhere else to turn.” Compliance with ITF-recognized agreements is monitored by a network of more than 100 ITF inspectors in ports throughout the world. The contracts themselves stem from policies developed by ITF maritime affiliates over many years. Those policies seek to establish minimum acceptable standards applicable to seafarers serving on FOC vessels. Seafarers LOG 5 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:56 PM Page 6 Deck department members (left to right) OS Philip Forman, OS Anthony Clemons, AB Miles Janecka, AB Christopher Johnson and Bosun Adrian Jones Pictured from left to right are QMED Antuan Barnes, QMED Jim Barker, Electrician Ralph Garner and Wiper George Lavender. The USNS Pomeroy arrives at Gwangyang, South Korea. USNS Pomeroy is MSC’s ‘New Kid on the Block’ in Pacific Captain Commends Crew for Hard Work, Safe Operations Editor’s note: USNS Pomeroy Captain Mike F. Finnigan wrote the following story and submitted the accompanying photos. The vessel, operated by Maersk Line Limited, is a large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship, abbreviated as LMSR. The USNS Pomeroy has just started its new deployment with the U.S. Military Sealift Command’s Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Three in the Guam/Saipan operations area. At the start of the deployment the Pomeroy completed its load-out in Charleston, S.C., and made stops in Busan and Gwangyang, South Korea in addition to Sasebo, Japan. The USNS Pomeroy completed one lift for MSC and the United States Marine Corps by repositioning cargo from Gwangyang to Okinawa at the start of the new deployment. We are the new kids on the block and we are looking forward to joining the rest of the MPSRON 3 Squadron, who have been on station for many years. The squadron is made up of 10 vessels total: the MV PFC James Anderson Jr., MV 1ST LT Alex Bonnyman, MV MAJ Bernard F. Fisher, MV CPL Louis J. Hauge Jr., SS Cape Jacob, USNS 1ST LT Jack Lummus, USNS 1ST LT Harry L. Martin, SS MAJ Stephen W. Pless, USNS PFC Ralph E. Pomeroy, and VADM K.R. Wheeler. The crew of the USNS Pomeroy had the chance to meet the commodore of MPSRON 3, Captain Ulysses O. Zalamea, and the staff of MPSRON 3 while in Korea. This was a great opportunity for the commodore to come aboard and meet the crew on a routine workday. I want to thank the crew for their hard work getting the vessel ready for deployment. The vessel also just completed its U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection and ABS Annual Inspections while in Korea. The AMO officers and the SIU mariners and the MPSRON 3 staff take pride in their job each and every day to make sure the vessel is “mission ready.” You can see a direct result of all the training the crew attends at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center and the AMO Star Center by the condition of the vessel. I would like to relay to all the training instructors that all their hard work and training efforts do pay off, and the crew AB King Scott shares many of the skills they learned from you all each day. The vessel also works with a strong safety culture instilled in each crew member. Maersk Line Limited’s “Safety Boot Camp” program with the SIU and Continued on next page Storekeeper Chris Maye Steward department members SA Paul Patrick, SA Paul San Nicholas, SA Simplicia Twohie, Chief Steward Milton Sivells, SA Jacqueline Sivells and SA Recuerdo Inciong. 6 Seafarers LOG The USNS Pomeroy approaches the docks in Gwangyang, South Korea. February 2008 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:56 PM Page 7 Cargo is loaded in Gwangyang. OS Anthony Clemons, AB Oliver Daily, QMED James Barker, Bosun Adrian Jones. QMED Antuan Barnes (left), Electrician Ralph Garner QMED James Barker takes a meal break. OS Philip Forman (Left) and AB Miles Janecka prep lifeboats for U.S. Coast Guard inspection. AB William Fielding (left) and a member of Securewest Security try to stay warm. Pomeroy Begins Deployment in Guam Continued from Page 6 the AMO gives the crew a chance to talk directly with senior management of Maersk Line Limited and to understand their goals toward safe operating procedures for the crew and the environment. Chief Mate William McClusky, 1st Asst. Engineer Kevin Murphy, Bosun Adrian Jones, Storekeeper Chris Maye and Chief Steward Milton Sivells along with their departments stepped up to help out with the cargo lift. With the additional 30 Super Cargo aboard the crew stayed busy with 73 (people) aboard. The ability of the vessel to help support Military Sealift Command on a short-notice cargo lift shows the determination of the crew to keep the vessel mission ready at all times. The USNS Pomeroy was on a Persian Gulf run to Kuwait for the last few years and knows that the vessel can be called upon or called forward at any time. The USNS Pomeroy crew enjoyed the stay in Korea. There is a large amount of history between the USNS Pomeroy and the Korean Peninsula. Ralph Pomeroy is a Medal of Honor recipient of the Korean War. His Medal Of Honor Citation can be found at www.msc.navy.mil The USNS Pomeroy keeps information aboard the ship about the Korean War history and a copy of the last letter that Ralph Pomeroy sent to his family dated 14 October 1952, the day before he was killed in action, along with various pictures. Pomeroy was killed while defending his company from North Korean forces. Fighting off charge after charge and mortar attack, PFC Pomeroy died after the battle turned to hand-tohand combat. Chief Steward Milton Sivells and SA Simplicia Twohie help throw a barbeque for U.S. Marines aboard the USNS Pomeroy. Chief Cook Toni Johnson helps dish up Thanksgiving dinner. February 2008 The SIU-crewed LMSR loads a military vehicle in Gwangyang for repositioning. Seafarers LOG 7 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:56 PM Page 8 SIU-Crewed USNS Pililaau Completes Largest Delivery of Life-Saving MRAPs Seafarers continued their mission as part of the nation’s fourth arm of defense when the SIU-crewed USNS Pililaau recently delivered the largest load of life-saving “MRAP” vehicles to date to U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Operated by American Overseas Marine (AMSEA) for the U.S. Military Sealift Command, the Pililaau in mid-December loaded more than 200 mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles in Charleston, S.C. and then safely transported them. Previously, other SIU-crewed ships including the Alliance New York and the SS Great Land delivered other cargoes of MRAPs to U.S. troops overseas. MRAPs are designed to protect occupants against armor-piercing roadside bombs. “Our ultimate mission is always to support the war fighter, and we take that very seriously,” said Navy Captain George Galyo, commander of MSC’s Sealift Logistics Command Atlantic, and operational commander for the recent Pililaau load. “We are going to ensure that this vital equipment is under way on time in the most efficient manner possible.” The agency described the 950-foot Pililaau – a roll-on/roll-off ship – as “ideally suited” to carry the heavily armored vehicles. The vessel has 380,000 square feet of cargo capacity – accessible by ramps between each deck that allow the MRAPs to be driven aboard. “Pililaau was designed for just such a task,” said Tom D’Agostino, director of ship operations at the Sealift Logistics Command Atlantic office in Charleston. “In one load, the Pililaau can carry what could take a month to deliver by air. Pililaau helps us put these critically needed vehicles in the war fighters’ hands at the right place, at the right time, for the right price.” Advancing Your Career Via the Paul Hall Center The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., offers the most U.S. Coast Guard-approved courses of any maritime school in the nation. The center features top-notch training from experienced instructors and state-of-theart equipment and facilities. The school offers courses for mariners sailing in the deck, engine and steward departments. Below is a quick look at one of those classes. For more information about the center and its courses, contact the Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; call (301) 994-0010; or visit the Paul Hall Center section of www.seafarers.org. Course dates are listed on page 20 of this issue of the LOG and also are carried on the web site. Engine Department Course Spotlight by acquiring their rating Fireman, Oiler and is the entry point for and Watertender transitioning military (FOWT) veterans. The U.S. Coast Guard-approved Fireman, Oiler and Watertender (FOWT) program prepares candidates to earn both the Fireman/WT and Oiler rating endorsements as well as STCW certification as a Rating Forming Part of the Engineering Watch. This course completes the unlicensed apprenticeship program for engineering students These two images show the new mineresistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles inside and out. SIU-crewed ships recently delivered several cargoes of MRAPs for American troops overseas. The Department of Defense, U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps developed the “humvees on steroids” to better shield military personnel in Iraq from today’s maiming weaponry such as improvised exploding devices and mines. According to the Army, the vehicles have raised, V-shaped underbellies that deflect the force of improvised explosive devices and other blasts from below better than other vehicles in use. (U.S. Navy Photos) 8 This eight-week program consists of three course modules: Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations (four weeks), Basic Motor Plant Operations (two weeks), and Basic Steam Plant Operations (two weeks). The program makes extensive use of computerized simulators. Students are assessed via written examinations with a primary emphasis on practical marine engineering plant operations while in a support role, as well as a practical demonstration of job-related skills. Students are required to perform those tasks associated with the performance of their job duties as a watchstander, including routine maintenance performed while on watch. Honoring Newly Retired Captain Unlicensed Apprentice Baum Earns Diploma SIU Captain William F. Carter (seated in photo) retired from Express Marine, Inc. in early November. He received a Chelsea ship’s clock with a brass plate expressing the company’s gratitude for his many years of service. Dick Walling (left), owner of Express Marine, presented the clock to Brother Carter, who for the last five years commanded the tug Consort, operating in the northeast. Christopher L. Baum (second from left), a member of Unlicensed Apprentice Class No. 693, recently earned his high school diploma through the program run by the Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. Presenting him with the diploma and congratulating him at the January membership meeting in Piney Point, Md. are (from left) SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez, Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel and VP Contracts George Tricker. Seafarers LOG February 2008 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:56 PM Page 9 Human resources personnel from Maersk Line Limited were among the special guests who attended the December 21 Christmas luncheon in the port of Norfolk, Va. Pictured above (from left) are Robert Lambourne, dispatcher; Jeff Londonsky, port captain; and HR Director Dennis Houghton (fourth from left). Joining them are Norfolk Port Agent Georg Kenny (third from left) and SIU VP Government Services Division Kermett Mangram. Norfolk Port Agent Georg Kenny welcomes Ed Hanvey to the holiday festivities in the port of Norfolk. Hanvey is vice president of labor relations for Maersk Line Limited. Holidays With Seafarers Officials, Members, VIPs Gather for Christmas Luncheon at Port of Norfolk Maurice Cokes (left), SIU Government Services representative, poses with STOS Cliff Page prior to the start of the Christmas luncheon. VP Government Services Division Kermett Mangram, center, chats with Recertified Bosun Tony Maben (left) and ABG Donald Hood prior to the start of the luncheon. GUDE Harold Langley (above) and Sam Glickman (below) partake of the main course while other SIU members and guests make their way through the serving line (photo below at left). Langley sails aboard the USNS Regulus while Glickman is a longtime friend and neighbor to employees at the port of Norfolk. Compliments to the Chef A great time was had by all who attended the annual Christmas luncheon at the port of Norfolk. In photo above (from left), ABGs John Carr and Dino Marchions and CME Butch Vane (right) are all smiles after consuming a delicious meal complete with all of the trimmings. With them is Marchions’ mother, Dorothy (third from left). In photo at right, SA Michelle Woodley poses with VP Government Services Division Kermett Mangram. February 2008 The Christmas luncheon was a huge success thanks largely to the efforts of SB Army Joe Leake who took the lead in catering the event. Leake serves as steward baker aboard the SIU-crewed Maersk Rhode Island. Seafarers LOG 9 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:56 PM Page 10 Holidays With Seafarers Port of Jacksonville Hosts Annual Thanksgiving/Christmas Event More than 300 people—SIU members, their families, retirees and guests—turned out for the Nov. 17 Thanksgiving/Christmas luncheon at the Port of Jacksonville, Fla. In photo above, guests make their way through the serving line which boasted a wide variety of food items. Chief Steward May Sims (photo at far right) was one of several SIU members who volunteered their time and skills in preparing food for the event. Port of Jacksonville maintenance man Tommy Vain (left) makes his selections from the serving line while GUDE Wade Johnson and his family (above) take a pause from their meal. Enjoying one anothers’ company as well as a great meal (photo at right, from left) are ABs Curtis Dunlap, Damon Anderson, Janaro Jackson and Roosevelt Clark. A wonderful time was had by everyone in these four photos (starting at lower left) who participated in the Thanksgiving/Christmas event at the Port of Jacksonville. Shown in the photos (clockwise, left to right) are QMEDS Rene Vazquez and Jose Vazquez; Jacksonville Safety Director Karl Leiter, Jacksonville Executive Assistant Karen Shuford and Carmen Troche. In the next photo are Laura, Kathleen, Pam and Donna from the union doctor’s office. In photo above, 3rd Cook Jamie Cayonte (left) entertains her friends. Pensioner George Vorise and his daughter Deme Vorise share a joyous moment (photo at right) prior to their meal. 10 Seafarers LOG February 2008 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:57 PM Page 11 Holidays With Seafarers Annual Christmas Dinner Attracts Huge Turnout at Port of Houston More than 125 Seafarers, retirees and members of their families on Dec. 20 converged on the union hall in the Port of Houston for the annual Christmas dinner. In photo at left, Houston Patrolman Mike Russo and Pedro Castillo comply with a guest’s entree selections on the serving line. Prior to assembling and opening up the serving line Stewards Randy Stephens, Castillo and Fernando Guity were hard at work in the union hall’s galley area (photo at right) whipping up dishes. The trio, each member a specialist in their own right, relied on their collective experiences and expertise to craft an exceptional menu. The serving lines were filled with enthusiastic guests. In photo at left, Bosun John Cain lends his assistance in order to speed the serving process along. More Photos from the Port of Jacksonville Thanksgiving/Christmas Event Enjoying the food and good company at the Jacksonville event (clockwise from photo at left) are Chief Cook Tracey Newsome, AB Curtis Dunlap, OMU Nat Lapp and their friend; (above) AB Matt Arnold and his daughter, AB Jay Thomas and Recertified Steward Theodore Quammie; Wilmer Leiter and his friend; Jacksonville Patrolman Ashley Johnson and (photo at immediate right) Pensioner Leon Butler (center) and his wife, Elizabeth, and Karen Shuford, port of Jacksonville executive secretary. In addition to those pictured on this page and Page 10, a large contingent of guests from Coastal Maritime and Crowley also attended. February 2008 Seafarers LOG 11 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:57 PM Page 12 WHAT’S NEW FOR 2007? Following are some of the changes that will take effect in 2007, along with changes that remain in effect from 2006 from the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the 2005 Energy Tax Incentive Act, the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, and other tax law changes. While the vast majority of taxpayers can file as usual, about 13.5 million taxpayers who file any of five tax forms affected by recent tax law changes related to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) will have to wait until Feb. 11, 2008, to file their returns. The affected forms are: Form 8863 (Education Credits), Form 5695 (Residential Energy Credits), Schedule 2 of the Form 1040A (Child and Dependent Care Expenses for Form 1040A filers), Form 8396 (Mortgage interest credit) and Form 8859 (District of Columbia First Time Home Buyer Credit). Standard Mileage Rates - The 2007 rate for business use of your vehicle is 48.5 cents a mile. The 2007 rate for use of your vehicle to get medical care or to move is 20 cents a mile. The 2007 rate for charitable services is 14 cents a mile. Exemption - The amount you can deduct for each exemption has increased from $3,300 in 2006 to $3,400 in 2007. You lose all or part of the benefit of your exemptions if your adjusted gross income is above a certain amount. The amount at which the phase-out begins depends on your filing status. For 2007, the phase-out begins at: $234,600 for married people filing jointly and qualified widow(er) with dependent children, $195,500 for a head of household, $156,400 for single taxpayers; and $117,300 for married persons filing separately. Direct deposit of refunds - If you choose direct deposit of your refund, you may be able to split the refund into two or three accounts. Kiddie Tax - The limit on the so-called kiddie tax remains unchanged at $850 in 2007, but the cutoff age was raised from 14 to 18, effective in 2006. This means children under age 18 will pay no income tax on the first $850 of unearned income, such as capital gains or interest from a savings account, and will be taxed at their own rate (most likely 10%) on the next $850 (5% for long-term capital gains). Unearned income over $1,700 is taxed at the parents’ rate. Children 18 and older continue to pay tax at their own rate. For tax year 2008, the kiddie tax will apply not only to children under the age of 18 at the close of the tax year but to any children who continue to qualify to be claimed as a dependent and who are not contributing more than 50 % of their own support. Tax Credit for Hybrid Vehicles - In 2007, a credit is available for hybrid vehicles. The credit has two components—one based on the vehicle’s fuel economy and the other based on the estimated lifetime fuel savings. But you have to act fast. This credit will be phased out once the combined total of qualifying vehicles exceeds 60,000—regardless of model—sold after 2005 by the manufacturer for use in the US. Charitable Contributions - Beginning August 17, 2006, any donations of clothing and household items won’t be deductible unless the donated items are in good used or better condition. This means that the IRS may deny a deduction for any item that has minimal monetary value. However, this rule does not apply to a contribution of any single item for which a deduction of more than $500 is claimed and for which you include a qualified appraisal and Form 8283 with your tax return. Beginning in 2007, you may no longer deduct contributions made in cash or by check unless you can produce a bank record or a receipt, letter, or other written communication from the charitable organization. This should include the organization’s name and address, the date and location of the gift, and a description of property. This requirement applies to all “cash” contributions, regardless of the amount of the donation. Earned Income Credit (EIC) - The EIC is a credit for certain people who work. The credit may give you a refund even if you do not owe any tax. You may be able to take the EIC if: A child lived with you and you earned less than $37,783 ($39,783 if married filing jointly), or A child did not live with you and you earned less than $12,590 ($14,590 if married filing jointly). The maximum investment income you can have and still get the credit has increased to $2,900. Uniform Definition of a Qualifying Child - In 2005, to simplify the tax law, the definition of a ‘qualified child’ changed for taxpayers who claim a child as a dependent, elects Head of Household status, or takes the Earned Income Credit, Child Tax Credit, Child or Dependent Care Credit. To meet this new definition, the person needs to be your child, sibling (or descendent of either), adopted or foster child. The child must be under either (1) age 19; (2) under age 24 if a student, or (3) any age if permanently and totally disabled. Also, the child must be either a citizen, resident or national of the United States and must have the same principal place of abode as the taxpayer for more than one-half of the year. The child must not provide more than onehalf of his/her own support for the year. Foster Child - New rules apply to determine who is a foster child and when a foster child can be used to claim certain benefits. To claim a foster child as a qualifying child for any tax benefits, the child must be placed with a taxpayer by an authorized placement agency or by judgment, decree or other 12 Seafarers LOG order of any court of competent jurisdiction. A foster child no longer qualifies a taxpayer to use qualifying widow(er) filing status. Tuition and Fees Deductions - Taxpayers who choose to claim the tuition and fees deduction must fill out and attach new Form 8917. The resulting deduction is reported on Form 1040 Line 34 or Form 1040A Line 19. Note that many who qualify for the tuition and fees deduction may reap greater tax savings by instead claiming the Hope credit or the lifetime learning credit for a particular student. Residential and Non-Business Energy Efficient Property Credit - Credits are available on Form 5695 for any of the following improvements to your main home located in the United States in 2007 if they are new and meet certain requirements for energy efficiency. Examples include insulation material and metal roofs with pigmented coatings to reduce heat gain or loss, exterior windows and doors, and certain electric heat pump water heaters, electric heat pumps, geothermal heat pumps, central air conditioners, and natural gas, propane, or oil water heaters. Six-Month Automatic Extensions - Individuals will be able to file Form 4868 to get an automatic six-month extension of time to file. Also, almost all states have indicated they are following the IRS’s lead. Donations of Automobiles - There is a limit on the charitable contribution of used motor vehicles (with a claimed value in excess of $500) to the gross sales price received by the charity for the subsequent sale of the donated vehicle, rather than the fair market value. A charitable organization must provide the donor with Form 1098-C. Combat Pay - Some military personnel receiving combat pay get larger tax credits because of two law changes. The new law counts excludable combat pay as income when figuring the Child Tax Credit and gives the taxpayer the option of counting or ignoring combat pay when figuring the Earned Income Tax Credit. Counting combat pay as income when calculating these credits does not change the exclusion of combat pay from taxable income. Sales Tax Deduction - Taxpayers who itemize deductions will have a choice of claiming a state and local tax deduction for either sales or income taxes on their 2007 return. The IRS will provide optional tables for use in determining the deduction amount, relieving taxpayers of the need to save receipts throughout the year. Sales taxes paid on motor vehicles and boats may be added to the table amount, but only up to the amount paid at the general sales tax rate. Taxpayers will check a box on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions, to indicate whether their deduction is for sales or income taxes. Mortgage Insurance Premiums May Be Deductible Many homeowners are paying mortgage insurance premiums which are now deductible as part of the mortgage interest deduction. This deduction begins at the start of 2007 and expires at the end of 2010. Mortgage insurance provided by the Veterans Administration, the Federal Housing Administration, the Rural Housing Administration, and private mortgage insurance companies all qualify for the deduction. Debt Forgiveness - Taxpayers can exclude up to $2 million of debt forgiven on their principal residence. The limit is $1 million for a married person filing a separate return. This provision applies to debt forgiven in 2007, 2008 or 2009. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure qualifies for this relief. The Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) - is a parallel tax calculation method. Unlike the regular tax computation, the AMT disregards certain deductions, adds in certain income, and has a higher exemption amount. For 2007, the AMT exemption amount increased slightly: $44,350 for single filers, $66,250 for married people filing jointly and for qualifying widows or widowers, and $33,125 for married people filing separately. By comparison, the 2006 exemption amount for single filers was $42,500. The AMT exemption amounts are scheduled to decrease in 2008. Starting in 2007, taxpayers may receive a refundable credit for any used prior year minimum tax credit that has been carried forward from year 2003 or earlier. Additionally, new laws allow taxpayers to use most refundable personal credits to offset AMT liability. These include the dependent care, HOPE and Lifetime Learning education credits and the District of Columbia first-time homebuyer’s credit. Taxpayers should get out any carryover worksheets they have or AMT tax forms from earlier years in order to prepare their 2007 returns. TAX TIPS FOR As the LOG went to press, Congress was working on other tax law changes which may im return. Also, you may be mailing your return to a different address this year because the lope with your tax package, please use it. Otherwise, see Where HOW TO PREPARE A TAX RETURN Step 1. Get all records together. Income Records. These include any Forms W-2, W-2G and 1099. Itemized deductions and tax credits. Medical and dental payment records. Real estate and personal property tax receipts. Interest payment records for items such as a home mortgage or home equity loan. Records of payments for child care so an individual could work. Step 2. Get any forms, schedules or publications necessary to assist in filing the return. IRS Publication 17 titled “Your Federal Income Tax for Individuals” is the most comprehensive guide the agency has issued this year. Most IRS offices and many local banks, post offices and libraries have publications designed to provide individuals with information on correctly filing tax returns. Also, you may access the IRS web site at www.irs.gov for forms, instructions and publications. Step 3. Fill in the return. Step 4. Check the return to make sure it is correct. Step 5. Sign and date the return. Form 1040 is not considered a valid return unless signed. A spouse must also sign if it is a joint return. Step 6. Attach all required forms and schedules. Attach Copy B of Forms W-2, W-2G and 1099R to the front of the Form 1040. Attach all other schedules and forms behind Form 1040 in order of the attachment sequence number. If tax is owed, attach the payment to the front of Form 1040 along with Form 1040-V (original only). Write name, address, phone number, Social Security number and form number on your check or money order. Payment also can be made by credit card. You may use American Express, Discover, Visa or Master cards. To pay by credit card, call the toll-free number 1-800-2729829 or 1-888-729-1040 or visit web sites www.officialpayments.com or www.pay1040.com. There is a fee charged based on the amount you are paying. Rounding Off to Whole Dollars: Cents may be rounded off to the nearest whole dollar on the tax return and schedules. To do so, raise amounts from 50 to 99 cents to the next dollar. For example, $1.39 becomes $1 and $1.50 becomes $2. Fast Refund: Taxpayers are able to request direct deposit of their tax refunds by filling out lines 74b, 74c and 74d on their Form 1040. Line 74b is for the bank’s routing number. Line 74c indicates the type of account, and line 74d is the taxpayer’s account number at the bank. When tax returns are filed electronically, a refund will be received in about 3 weeks, or in 2 weeks if it is deposited directly into a savings or checking account. For a charge, many professional tax return preparers offer electronic filing in addition to their return preparation services. If an individual prepared his or her own return, a preparer or transmitter in their area can file the return electronically. For a list of who can file a tax return electronically in any given area, visit the IRS web site at: www.irs.gov. WHAT ARE CONSIDERED DEDUCTIONS AND CREDITS Personal Exemption Amount: The deduction for each exemption— for the individual, his or her spouse and dependents has increased to $3,400 per person. In 2007, the exemption deduction for high income taxpayers may be reduced or eliminated if their adjusted gross income exceeds certain threshold amounts. A child cannot claim an exemption on his or her return or qualify for a higher education credit if the child’s parents claim a dependency exemption for their child. Standard Deduction Has Increased: The standard deduction, or dollar amount that reduces the amount that is taxed, has increased for most people (see box on this page). Because of this increase, it may be to an individual’s benefit to take the standard deduction this year even if that person has itemized deductions in the past. Personal Interest Deductions: For 2007, personal interest cannot be deducted. Personal interest includes interest on car loans, credit cards, personal loans and tax deficiencies. Interest on Secured Loans Deductible: Interest paid on mortgages or investments is 100 percent deductible. Union Dues Deduction: Union dues, including working dues, are deductible only if they exceed 2 percent of adjusted gross income. If they do, only the portion over the 2 percent is deductible. SPAD contributions have never been deductible. Club Dues Deduction: No deduction is permitted for club dues; however, dues paid to professional or public service organizations are deductible for business reasons. Deductions Subject to 2 Percent of Adjusted Gross Income: These include investment advisory fees, trustee’s administrative fees, legal expenses that are paid to produce taxable income, unreimbursed employee expenses, safe deposit box rental and tax preparation fees. Deducting Work-Related Expenses: Expenses associated with a seaman’s work may be considered tax deductible. However, no expense can be deducted for which a seaman has been reimbursed by the employer. Travel to the union hall to register or travel to the union’s designated medical facility to take the required physical and drug tests are examples of expenses which are work-related but not reimbursed by the company. Members of the galley crew may deduct the costs of knives and other equipment they personally own but use when on a ship performing their work duties. The purchase of workrelated clothing and other gear, as long as it is truly for work and not paid for by the employer, are likely to be considered tax-deductible. Deducting Work-Related Car Expenses: Use of a personally-owned automobile in work-related travel can result in deductible expenses. Two methods can be used to compute auto- STANDARD DEDUCTION This is the standard deduction chart for most people. If a taxpayer is 65 or older or blind, there are additional standard deductions ($1,050 for a married person or “spouse” or $1,300 for an unmarried person). Note that the personal exemption deduction is $3,400. Filing Status Standard Deduction Single . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,350 Married filing joint return or qualifying widow(er) with dependent children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,700 Married filing separate return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,350 Head of household . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,850 February 2008 mob dard al co of t stan mile adde mile info oper inclu licen ciati I or th ing shou keep expe relat emp D Wh port the the outs the gene $58 com inclu if di they any T (Joh whe a fu rate whe the as a $3 a rate area exte dedu L 2007 ited $15 inco ing E able avai have adju tax have eligi tion ages prov inco fyin max Taxp $12 $42 inco qual cred $37 child the inco refu Taxp sche for t D Num Soc Indi depe thei Adm Adm usua rece C ers w a U paye tion are e amo child whe com filer �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:57 PM Page 13 R MARINERS may impact your 2007 income taxes. Please check www.irs.gov before filing your e the IRS has changed the filing location for several areas. If you received an enveWhere Do You File? on the back cover of the instructions. mobile expenses—either listing a standard mileage rate or determining actual cost. On the tax return due April 15 of this year, the IRS is accepting a standard mileage rate of 48.5 cents per mile. Parking fees and tolls can be added when using the standard mileage rate. If using actual expenses, information must be available on all operating-related costs for the vehicle, including interest, insurance, taxes, licenses, maintenance, repairs, depreciation, gas, oil, tolls and parking. In either the standard mileage rate or the actual cost method of determining car expenses, accurate records should be kept. The IRS recommends keeping a log book or diary listing all expenses related to travel. Only workrelated expenses not reimbursed by an employer can be claimed. Deducting Work-Related Meals When Traveling: Workers in transportation are allowed a special rate on the meal allowance of $52 per day in the continental U.S. and $58 per day outside the continental U.S. Otherwise the IRS standard meal allowance is generally $45. In some locations it is $58, and in Hawaii and Alaska it is computed differently. Travel expenses, including meals, can only be deducted if directly related to one’s work and if they have not been reimbursed from any other source. There has been a tax court case (Johnson v. Comm. 115 TC210[2000]) where a merchant seaman was denied a full deduction for the full M & IE rates. The court ruled that in situations where meals are provided at no cost, the incidental expense rate allowable as an itemized deduction is limited to $3 a day (in the continental U.S.) and rates ranging from $1 to $53 in other areas. In lieu of these rates, to the extent you have receipts, a higher deduction amount may be allowed. Limit on Itemized Deductions: In 2007, itemized deductions may be limited for individuals earning more than $156,400 of federal adjusted gross income (or $78,200 if married and filing separately). Earned Income Credit: A refundable earned income credit (EIC) is available to certain individuals who have earned income and meet certain adjusted gross income thresholds. For tax year 2007, an individual does not have to have a qualifying child to be eligible for this credit if certain conditions are met. Different credit percentages and phase-out percentages are provided based on the taxpayer’s income level and the number of qualifying children eligible, if any. The maximum credit allowed is as follows: Taxpayers with income less than $12,590 and no qualifying children— $428 maximum credit; taxpayers with income less than $33,241 and with 1 qualifying child—$2,853 maximum credit; taxpayers with income less than $37,783 and with 2 or more qualifying children—$4,716 maximum credit. If the earned income credit reduces the income tax liability below zero, a refund will be granted by the IRS. Taxpayers should use form 1040, schedule EIC to see if they are eligible for the credit. Dependent’s Social Security Number: Each dependent must have a Social Security number (SSN). Individuals may get a SSN for their dependent by filing Form SS-5 with their local Social Security Administration office or calling the Administration at 1-800-772-1213. It usually takes about two weeks to receive a SSN. Child Tax Credit: In 2007, taxpayers who have a qualifying child who is a U.S. citizen and for whom the taxpayer may claim a dependency exemption and who is less than 17 years old, are entitled to the child tax credit. The amount of the credit is $1,000 per child. The credit begins to phase out when modified Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) reaches $110,000 for joint filers, $75,000 for single taxpayers or February 2008 $55,000 for married taxpayers filing separately. Credit for Higher Education Tuition: Individuals may be able to take the “HOPE” credit for tuition and related expenses paid for oneself, spouse or dependents to enroll at or attend an eligible educational institution (i.e., college or graduate school or vocational training). The HOPE credit provides a maximum allowable credit of $1,650 per student for each of the first two years of postsecondary education. For qualified expenses paid after Jan. 1, 2007, taxpayers can take the “Lifetime Learning Credit,” that is a credit of 20 percent of qualified tuition expenses paid by the taxpayer for any year (after that date) the HOPE credit is not claimed. This credit is not limited to the first two years of postsecondary education. Also, no credits are available for expenses of a student in any year that tax-free distributions from an education IRA are used to pay the student’s expenses. These credits are subject to income limitations. The phase-out of the credits begins for single taxpayers when modified AGI reaches $47,000, and completely phase out when modified AGI reaches $57,000. For joint filers, the phase-out range is $94,000 to $114,000. The HOPE and Lifetime Learning Credit are not available to taxpayers married filing separately. In 2007, the Lifetime Learning Credit will be $2,000. Student Loan Interest: Taxpayers may be able to deduct up to $2,500 of interest paid for qualified education expenses for oneself, spouse or dependents. The deduction is allowed in figuring adjusted gross income. Individual Retirement Accounts: Education IRAs - Taxpayers can contribute up to $2,000 each year to an Education IRA for a person under age 18. The contribution is not deductible. Earnings on the contribution will be distributed tax-free provided that they are used to pay the beneficiary’s postsecondary education expenses. However, the exclusion is not available for any year in which the HOPE credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit is claimed. Traditional IRAs- The contribution limit to a traditional IRA in 2007 is $4,000. If a taxpayer reaches age 50 before 2007, the most that can be contributed will be $5,000. Modified Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) phase-out range increased to $52,000-$62,000 for single, head of household, and $83,000-$103,000 for married couples filing jointly or qualifying widow(er). Also, solely for the purpose of figuring the $100,000 modified AGI limit on eligibility to make qualified rollover distributions from a Traditional IRA to Roth IRA, minimum required distributions from IRAs and other qualified plans received in tax year beginning with 2006 are excluded from modified AGI. Roth IRAs - The maximum total yearly contribution that can be made by an individual to a Roth IRA is $4,000. Roth IRAs are subject to income limits. The maximum yearly contribution is phased out for single taxpayers with an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) between $99,000 and $114,000, for joint filers with an AGI between $156,000 and $166,000, and for married filing separately with an AGI between $0 and $10,000. Although the contributions are not deductible, the distributions may be tax-free depending on when and why they are made. Penalty-Free IRA Distributions - The additional 10 percent tax penalty on an early distribution from an IRA may not apply if you pay higher education expenses for yourself, spouse or your children or grandchildren. The tax penalty also may not apply if you pay expenses related to the purchase of a home by a first-time homebuyer. Only $10,000 during the individual’s lifetime may be withdrawn without a penalty for this purpose. Also, the tax penalty does not apply to distributions for an individual’s disability, medical care, or to a beneficiary after death of the individual. OTHER TAX INFORMATION Private Delivery Services: Tax returns and extensions can be mailed through private delivery services such as Airborne Express, DHL Worldwide Express, Federal Express and United Parcel Service. Forms of Payments: One can pay the Internal Revenue Service through credit cards, debit cards, charge cards, bank check or money order. WHICH RECORDS TO KEEP Keep records of income (such as receipts), deductions (for example, canceled checks) and credits shown on the tax return, as well as any worksheets used to figure them, until the statute of limitations runs out for that return, usually 3 years from the date the return was due or filed, or 2 years from the date the tax was paid, whichever is later. However, it is recommended that all records be kept for about 6 years. Some records should be kept even longer. For example, keep property records (your home, stocks) as long as they are needed to figure the basis of property. Change of Address: If an individual has changed his or her address from the one listed on that person’s last tax return, IRS Form 8822 should be filled out and filed with the agency. Death of a Taxpayer: If a taxpayer died before filing a required return for 2006, the taxpayer’s personal representative (and spouse, in the case of a joint return) must file and sign the return for that person. A personal representative can be an executor, administrator or anyone who is in charge of the taxpayer’s property. WHICH INCOME TO REPORT In addition to wages, salaries, tips, unemployment compensation, capital gains, dividend payments and other income listed on the federal tax return, the following kinds of income must be reported: Jones Act settlements for lost wages. Amounts received in place of wages from accident and health plans (including sick pay and disability pensions) if employer paid for the policy. Life insurance proceeds from a policy cashed in if the proceeds are more than the premium paid. Canceled debts State income tax refunds Rents Repayments Royalties Unemployment benefits Profits from corporations, partnerships, estates and trusts. Endowments. Original Issue Discount. Distributions from selfemployed plans. Bartering income (fair-market value of goods or services received in return for services). Tier 2 and supplemental annuities under the Railroad Retirement Act. Lump-sum distributions. Gains from the sale or exchange (including barter) of real estate, securities, coins, gold, silver, gems or other property (capital gains). Accumulation distributions from trusts. Prizes and awards (contests, raffles, lottery and gambling winnings). Earned income from sources outside the United States. Director’s fees. Fees received as an executor or administrator of an estate. Embezzled or other illegal income. WHICH INCOME NEED NOT BE REPORTED The following kinds of income do not need to be reported on the federal tax return: Benefits from government welfare programs. Act settlements for injuries, pain, suffering, and medical costs. Maintenance and Cure. Workers’ compensation benefits, insurance, damages, etc. for injury or sickness. Disability retirement payments (and other benefits) paid by the Veterans’ Administration. Child support. Gifts, money or other property inherited or willed. Dividends on veterans’ life insurance. Life insurance proceeds received because of a person’s death. Amounts received from insurance because of loss of the use of a home due to fire or other casualty to the OVERSEAS AT TAX TIME Should Seafarers find themselves overseas and seeking IRS forms or assistance, U.S. embassies and consulates are equipped to provide some taxpayerrelated services. At a minimum, IRS forms are available at all U.S. embassies and consulates located in: Berlin, Germany; Caracas, Venezuela; London, England; Mexico City, Mexico; Nassau, Bahamas; Ottawa, Canada; Paris, France; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Rome, Italy; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Sydney, Australia; Tokyo, Japan. extent the amounts were more than the cost of normal expenses while living in the home. Certain amounts received as a scholarship. FILING AN EXTENSION Taxpayers can get an automatic 6month extension if, no later than April 16, 2007, Form 4868 will be filed with the IRS. It is important to remember that a 6-month extension to file does not extend the time to pay the taxes. Form 4868, when sent in, must be accompanied by all tax monies due to the U.S. government. WHERE IS MY REFUND? In 2004, the IRS launched a new program that allows taxpayers to trace their refunds online. If taxpayer(s) have not received a refund check within 28 days from the original IRS mailing date, information can be accessed through the web site at www.irs.gov. To get the refund status, taxpayers will need to provide the information from their tax returns. You should know your Social Security Number (or IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Num ber), Filing Status (Single, Married Filing Joint Return, Married Filing Separate Return, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widow(er) and the Refund amount. (It is important to enter the refund amount exactly as it is shown on your return.) WHY SEAFARERS MUST PAY STATE INCOME TAX Federal law prohibits employers from withholding state and local taxes from the wages of mariners working aboard U.S.-flag ships. Specifically, the law [46 USCA 11108(11) ] provides that “no part of the wages due or accruing to a master, officer or any other seaman who is a member of the crew on a vessel engaged in the foreign, coastwise, intercoastal, interstate or non-contiguous trade shall be withheld pursuant to the provisions of the tax laws of any state, territory, possession or commonwealth, or a subdivision of any of them, but nothing in this section shall prohibit any such withholding of the wages of any seaman who is employed in the coastwise trade between ports in the same state if such withholding is pursuant to a voluntary agreement between such seaman and his employer.” The law, however, does not exempt seamen from paying state and local taxes. Mariners, just like any other citizens of any given state, must meet their obligations to the government of the area in which they live. Each state has a set of criteria to determine whether an individual is a resident of that state. A seaman should check with a state tax office if he or she is unsure about residency status. For example, in California during the early 1970s, a case before the California State Board of Equalization stated that a merchant seaman—despite the fact that he was on a ship for 210 days of the year—was a resident of the state for tax purposes. The board took into consideration the fact that the seaman owned a home in California and maintained a bank account in a California-based bank. Additionally, each state has established conditions under which non-residents of that state must pay a portion of state tax if such an individual earned income from a source based in that state. Many states allow a credit in the amount an individual must pay the state if that person has already paid taxes in another state. In 2000, President Clinton signed into law the bipartisan Transportation Worker Tax Fairness Act, a measure aimed at providing “equitable treatment with respect to state and local income taxes for certain individuals who perform duties on vessels.” The law, which took effect Nov. 9, 2000, stipulates that pilots and other mariners “who perform regularly assigned duties while engaged as a master, officer or crewman on a vessel operating on the navigable waters of more than one State” shall be subject to state income tax only in his or her residential state. If any questions arise regarding residency and state tax issues, mariners should telephone the taxpayer assistance office in the state in which they reside. WHERE TO GET INFORMATION General Information: 1-800-829-1040 may be called for general information. IRS staff answer questions 24 hours a day. Publications: Call 1-800-829-3676 to order current and prior year forms, instructions and publications. Walk-In Help: IRS representatives are available in many IRS offices around the country to help with tax questions that cannot be answered easily by telephone. To find the location of an IRS office, look in the phone book under “United States Government, Internal Revenue Service.” Telephone Help: The IRS is prepared to answer questions by phone. Through the agency’s taxpayer information service, publications covering all aspects of tax-filing can be ordered. The federal Tele-Tax system has recorded tax information covering about 150 topics. 1-800-829-4477 is the IRS’s automated Tele-Tax system. When calling from a touch tone phone, the number “9” will repeat the topic and the number “2” will cancel the topic. To listen to a directory of topics after the introductory message finishes, dial 123. You can also check the status of your refund. This telephone service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Personal Computer: Access the IRS’s internet web site at www.irs.gov to: download forms, instructions and publications; see answers to frequently asked tax questions; search publications on-line by topic or keyword; figure your withholding allowances using their W-4 calculator, check the status of your 2005 refund, send the IRS comments or requests for help via email; and sign up to receive local and national tax news by email. Send IRS Written Questions: Written questions regarding the tax returns can be sent directly to an IRS District Director (listed on the tax form). Include a Social Security number with the letter. Seafarers LOG 13 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:57 PM Page 14 Sailing with the SIU At Sea Aboard the Horizon Anchorage The photos appearing on this page were taken aboard the H/L Anchorage during a voyage which took place late last fall. Steward Baker Amanda Suncin cleans up a grill in Anchorage’s galley. AB Basil “Red” Stolen stands a wheel watch. ABs Jon Washburn and Shawn Strand paint side of H/L Anchorage’s house while at sea. QMED John Day (right), who also is the Anchorage’s engine delegate assists DEU Abdullah Ali in completing some documents. Chief Cook Pat Durnin prepares an entree for the dinner meal. SA Rene Caballero is hard at work in the galley of the H/L Anchorage. 14 Seafarers LOG February 2008 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:57 PM Page 15 Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea Welcome Ashore DECEMBER 16, 2007 — JANUARY 15, 2008 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Newly retired Seafarers Sal Ciciulla (top photo, center) and Stanley “Butch” Vane (below, left) recently picked up their first pension checks. Congratulating Ciciulla (who sailed as a recertified bosun) at the hall in Jacksonville, Fla. are SIU Assistant VP Contracts Archie Ware and Karen Shuford, executive assistant. Presenting a check to Vane (a crane maintenance electrician for 29 years) at the hall in Norfolk, Va. is Port Agent Georg Kenny. Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals March & April 2008 Membership Meetings Piney Point ...........Monday: March 3, April 7 Algonac ................Friday: March 7, April 11 Baltimore..............Thursday: March 6, April 10 Boston ..................Friday: March 7, April 11 Guam ....................Thursday: March 20, April 24 Honolulu...............Friday: March 14, April 18 Houston ................Monday: March 10, April 14 Totals Jacksonville ..........Thursday: March 6, April 10 Joliet .....................Thursday: March 13, April 17 DECK DEPARTMENT 2 0 1 3 5 1 3 8 1 1 1 2 5 4 2 0 1 0 4 1 2 2 2 8 1 3 29 30 0 7 7 24 10 20 7 1 6 2 14 13 2 3 5 4 3 5 22 14 3 5 6 18 15 13 4 11 7 6 26 11 0 0 1 1 1 1 4 7 0 0 1 2 3 3 0 0 2 0 4 4 0 0 6 2 0 1 16 21 0 3 1 16 7 10 3 0 3 2 10 18 3 0 8 19 2 15 77 54 3 24 31 93 26 40 7 0 18 2 59 61 7 3 10 20 9 9 43 40 4 18 14 45 29 24 5 7 16 10 47 37 3 2 1 6 6 2 5 7 1 4 4 4 5 4 3 0 0 0 6 5 280 246 46 188 183 34 119 542 397 68 0 0 3 14 0 10 13 15 1 9 4 13 6 8 2 2 6 0 16 8 3 1 6 3 4 2 1 22 1 4 2 14 18 10 1 1 2 3 16 13 0 0 1 1 1 2 0 1 0 2 0 4 2 1 0 0 1 0 3 2 0 0 3 5 2 10 11 18 1 6 5 9 7 5 2 1 2 0 11 9 3 0 3 2 1 4 8 16 1 2 1 7 15 8 5 1 4 3 11 6 0 1 0 2 0 2 3 0 0 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 5 3 0 3 3 9 1 2 0 3 5 2 3 0 5 1 4 7 0 0 6 16 1 17 27 24 0 13 13 33 13 17 6 2 9 1 21 16 3 3 5 10 5 3 10 31 2 8 4 16 16 11 1 2 5 5 30 18 0 0 1 1 1 3 3 1 1 1 0 3 4 2 0 0 0 2 4 7 130 127 21 107 101 18 56 235 188 34 1 0 2 4 1 7 17 15 0 3 3 23 7 21 2 1 2 1 11 18 2 0 0 7 0 2 8 7 0 4 1 8 13 3 3 0 2 1 2 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 139 70 8 ENGINE DEPARTMENT Mobile ..................Wednesday: March 12, April 16 New Orleans.........Tuesday: March 11, April 15 New York .............Tuesday: March 4, April 8 Norfolk .................Thursday: March 6, April 10 Oakland ................Thursday: March 13, April 17 Philadelphia..........Wednesday: March 5, April 9 Port Everglades ....Thursday: March 13, April 17 San Juan ...............Thursday: March 6, April 10 STEWARD DEPARTMENT Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington St. Louis ...............Friday: March 14, April 18 Totals Tacoma .................Friday: March 21, April 25 Totals All Departments **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C 2 2 8 7 6 7 26 25 2 6 8 28 20 15 3 12 10 8 34 17 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs 0 1 4 15 0 5 36 31 2 13 18 43 16 25 6 0 9 2 23 31 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 0 1 4 1 7 15 14 0 1 0 6 10 14 1 4 1 1 10 13 0 1 0 8 2 1 6 5 0 0 4 4 7 2 3 0 1 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 3 0 1 4 9 0 2 1 5 4 4 0 1 0 1 7 9 1 0 4 9 2 12 35 27 0 7 14 45 15 41 5 2 3 1 28 43 2 1 0 9 1 10 11 14 0 6 6 10 21 5 1 1 3 1 9 10 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 1 1 5 0 0 1 0 0 3 1 103 51 6 53 294 121 18 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 1 0 1 3 7 2 4 0 0 1 0 3 1 1 4 1 3 5 2 20 20 0 6 3 21 14 14 0 3 1 1 11 12 1 0 1 3 0 8 6 8 1 1 3 11 6 7 0 21 0 1 7 8 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 14 14 0 5 2 15 9 8 0 6 1 1 8 13 0 0 0 1 0 3 7 3 0 0 1 1 4 4 0 28 0 0 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 10 3 0 2 5 13 2 7 0 0 1 0 8 2 4 4 1 9 7 10 33 38 0 10 9 53 28 23 1 8 3 3 23 19 4 0 1 11 2 18 14 25 1 3 7 24 30 13 1 27 1 1 14 14 29 142 93 10 99 62 0 58 286 211 578 585 168 408 434 120 228 1,129 992 331 Wilmington.............Monday: March 17, April 21 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. February 2008 *“Total Registered” means the number of Seafarers who actually registered for shipping at the port. **“Registered on Beach” means the total number of Seafarers registered at the port. Seafarers LOG 15 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:57 PM Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 Page 16 Two Seafarers Memorialized During Shipboard Ceremonies Two Seafarers were commemorated by their respective shipmates last year during ceremonies aboard the Horizon Producer and Horizon Hawaii. On Oct. 24, mariners on the Producer paid their respects to the late Unlicensed Apprentice Earl R. Wood Jr., who died of natural causes a day earlier at age 35. The crew mustered on the stern, where Bill Boyce, the ship’s master, led a ceremony that included bringing the American flag to half-mast followed by an opening prayer, the reading of Psalm 93, an additional prayer, the “sentence of committal,” a moment of reflection and the sounding of the ship’s whistle for 20 seconds. The vessel was off the west coast of India. On Dec. 1, with the Hawaii en route from Jacksonville, Fla. to San Juan, Puerto Rico (approximately 39 miles north of Abaco Island, Bahamas), Capt. David D. DeCastro led a service for the late deck department SIU retiree James Millard Cheshire, who passed away Oct. 13 at age 84. Following the ceremony, Brother Cheshire’s ashes were committed to the sea in accordance with his wishes. Shipmates memorialize Earl R. Wood Jr. during a ceremony aboard the Horizon Producer. HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 Mariners aboard the Horizon Hawaii honor James Millard Cheshire and, in accordance with the late Seafarer’s wishes, commit his ashes to the sea (photo at left). PICS-FROM-THE-PAST NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 SEAFARERS HEALTH AND BENEFITS PLAN — COBRA NOTICE HEALTH CARE CONTINUATION OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG IMPORTANT NOTICE: Mrs. Aaron Higham of Kemah, Texas submitted these photos of her husband, Chief Steward A.J. Higham (right in both photos). The top photo shows Higham and two of his mates aboard a Bloomfield ship during the 40s. In photo at right, Higham poses with the late SIU President Paul Hall. The two were great friends, Mrs. Higham said. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with the LOG readership, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Under federal law, a participant and his or her dependents have the right to elect to continue their Plan coverage in the event that they lose their eligibility. This right is granted by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, better known as “COBRA.” The COBRA law allows a participant and his or her dependents to temporarily extend their benefits at group rates in certain circumstances where coverage under the Plan would otherwise end. A participant and his or her dependents have a right to choose this continuation coverage if they lose their Plan coverage because the participant failed to meet the Plan’s seatime requirements. In addition, a participant and his or her dependents may have the right to choose continuation coverage if the participant becomes a pensioner ineligible for medical benefits. The participant’s dependents may also elect continuation coverage if they lose coverage under the Plan as the result of the participant’s (1) death; (2) divorce; or (3) Medicare eligibility. A child can also elect COBRA if as the result of his or her age, he or she is no longer a dependent under the Plan rules. If a member and his or her dependents feel that they may qualify, or if they would like more information concerning these rights, they should contact the Plan office at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Since there are important deadlines that apply to COBRA, please contact the Plan as soon as possible to receive a full explanation of the participant’s rights and his or her dependents’ rights. February 2008 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:57 PM Page 17 Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA JOSE ANDICOECHEA, 64, joined the SIU in 1971. Brother Andicoechea was born in Spain. During his seafaring career he primarily sailed aboard vessels operated by A&S Transportation including the Dina Marie. He sailed in the deck department. Brother Andicoechea calls North Arlington, N.J. home. LARRY BROOKS, 65, was born in Utah. Brother Brooks became an SIU member in 1971. He initially shipped in the steward department on the Santa Magdalena. In 2000 and 2001, Brother Brooks attended classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. He most recently worked aboard the Horizon Consumer. Brother Brooks is a resident of Sacramento, Calif. VICENTE CUEVA JR., 66, embarked on his seafaring profession in 1995. Brother Cueva’s maiden voyage was on the Independence. The engine department member was born in the Philippines. Brother Cueva upgraded his skills at the Seafarers-affiliated school in 2000 and 2001. His concluding journey was aboard the Buenos Aires. Brother Cueva lives in Roselle Park, N.J. DAVID CUNNINGHAM, 56, first went to sea in 1978 from the port of San Francisco. Brother Cunningham originally sailed aboard the Santa Magdalena. He visited the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. on numerous occasions to enhance his seafaring abilities. Brother Cunningham was born in Massachusetts and worked in the steward department. His final excursion was on the Horizon Producer. Brother Cunningham makes his home in Sacramento, Calif. ERNEST DOOMS, 59, joined the SIU ranks in 1966. Brother Dooms initially shipped aboard the Sabine as a member of the February 2008 steward department. He was a frequent upgrader at the Piney Point school. Brother Dooms is an Alabama native. His concluding journey was on the Florida. Brother Dooms resides in Houston. ANASTASIOS DRAGAZIS, 65, first donned the SIU colors in 1970. Brother Dragazis’ maiden voyage was aboard the Fairland. He was born in Greece and sailed in the deck department. Brother Dragazis last shipped on the Adventurer. In 1971 and 1984, he attended classes at the Paul Hall Center to enhance his skills. Brother Dragazis calls Brooklyn, N.Y. home. CHARLES DUCHARME, 65, launched his seafaring career in 1998 in Norfolk, Va. Brother Ducharme’s earliest trip to sea was aboard the USNS Gordon. He was born in Massachusetts. Brother Ducharme shipped in both the steward and deck departments. His most recent expedition was on the USNS Watson. Brother Ducharme is a resident of Morehead City, N.C. DAVID GORDIUS, 60, became a Seafarer in 1980. Brother Gordius was originally employed aboard the St. Louis. He was a member of the engine department. Brother Gordius upgraded on three occasions at the SIU-affiliated school. His last journey was on the Horizon Consumer. Brother Gordius lives in Sea Level, N.C. AGUILIO LLORENTE, 75, began sailing with the SIU in 1989. Brother Llorente initially worked in the inland division aboard a Crowley Towing & Transportation of Jacksonville vessel. The Cuban- born mariner enhanced his skills often at the union-affiliated school. He sailed in the deck and engine departments. Brother Llorente’s concluding trip to sea was on the El Morro. He makes his home in Tampa. Fla. FRITZ MCDUFFIE, 55, embarked on his seafaring career in 1970 while in the port of New York. Brother McDuffie’s maiden voyage was aboard the Arizpa. He was a member of the deck department and upgraded frequently at the Piney Point training center. Brother McDuffie was born in Alabama. His last ship was the Maj. Stephen W. Pless. Brother McDuffie resides in Madisonville, Texas. STANLEY VANE, 49, hails from Baltimore, Md. Brother Vane joined the SIU ranks in 1978 while on one of his many trips to the Piney Point school. The engine department member originally sailed on the Monticello. His final excursion was aboard the Portsmouth. Brother Vane makes his home in Virginia Beach, Va. ADOLPHUS YOUNG, 73, first donned the SIU colors in 1976. Brother Young initially shipped on a Waterman Steamship Corporation vessel as a member of the steward department. He was born in Texas and attended classes on three occasions at the Seafarers-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Brother Young most recently worked aboard the Paul Buck. He calls Oakland, Calif., home. INLAND LARRY BOUDOIN, 60, was born in Mississippi. Boatman Boudoin started sailing with the Seafarers in 1984 on a National Marine Service vessel. Boatman Boudoin enhanced his seafaring abilities in 1967 and 1997 at the Piney Point School. He last worked on a vessel operated by Maritrans Operating Company. Boatman Boudoin settled in Harrisonburg, La. RONALD CENTANNI, 62, joined the union in 1997 in Piney Point, Md. Boatman Centanni primarily worked aboard vessels operated by Crowley Towing & Transportation of Jacksonville. He upgraded numerous times at the Paul Hall Center. Boatman Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1965 At a joint demonstration in San Juan, the SIU strongly protested attempts by the government and certain industry leaders on the island to allow foreign-flag vessels to enter the Puerto Rico trade. The SIU warned that the introduction of foreign-flag shipping into the island trade could result in the unemployment of 20,000 seamen. In response to the demonstration, Adm. John Harllee, chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, promised a “confident, determined and aggressive effort” to aid in the solving of the Puerto Rico freight rates controversy. He said that such a solution should be found without having to resort to the use of foreign-flag vessels in Puerto Rican trade. Centanni shipped in the deck department. He continues to live in his native state of Louisiana. RICHARD DONLEVY, 67, became an SIU member in 1972. Boatman Donlevy’s earliest trip to sea was with Inter Cities Navigation Corporation. In 2001 he took advantage of educational opportunities available at the Piney Point school. Boatman Donlevy was born in Wisconsin. He most recently sailed aboard a Maritrans Operating Company vessel. Boatman Donlevy is a resident of Sun City Center, Fla. GREAT LAKES GERALD TIMM, 65, launched his seafaring profession in 1978 while in the port of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Brother Timm is a Michigan native. He first shipped on the Lewis G. Harriman as a member of the engine department. Brother Timm’s final journey was aboard the E.M. Ford. He lives in Hillman, Mich. sary to operate the vessels at maximum safety and efficiency levels, the vocational staff at the unionaffiliated Harry Lundeberg School in Piney Point has developed a comprehensive LNG/LPG course of study. 1993 Marked by state-of-the-art equipment, spacious design and opportunities for more individual instruction, the new steward department lab at the Paul Hall Center opened. The lab, which represents the continuing effort to fine-tune the SIU’s shipboard feeding programs, covers 5,300 square feet and features a dining room, an amphitheater-like demonstration room, a classroom and an eight-station lab. This Month In SIU History 1974 Seafarers will crew up the SIUcontracted liquid natural gas carrier Kentown—making it the first time SIU members will be manning one of those high-technology vessels. Orders for an additional 20 LNGs are expected to be placed within the next five years. To provide the SIU crew members who will be manning these ships with the technical knowledge neces- 2000 By overwhelming majorities, SIU members and members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) approved a referendum to proceed with merging the two unions. SIU members approved the resolution with 86 percent voting in favor of full merger talks to bring NMU into the SIU. In a similar action, 93 percent of NMU members voting approved the same resolution. SIU members said they approve full merger because they see such unification as strengthening all concerned. Seafarers LOG 17 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:57 PM Page 18 Final Departures DEEP SEA RANULFO ALVAREZ Pensioner Ranulfo Alvarez, 84, died Aug. 23. Brother Alvarez joined the union in 1959 while in the port of Baltimore. His first trip to sea was aboard the Mankato Victory. Brother Alvarez sailed as a member of both the engine and deck departments. He was born in Argentina. Brother Alvarez’s final voyage was with Tyco’s Long Lines. He retired in 1987 and lived in Dundalk, Md. FRANCISCO ARAL Brother Francisco Aral, 61, passed away July 4. He started shipping with the MC&S (Marine Cooks & Stewards) in 1989 initially from the port of San Francisco. Brother Aral was born in the Philippines and worked in the steward department. His most recent excursion was aboard the Mahimahi. Brother Aral made his home in Wilmington, Calif. JAMES CARTER JR. Pensioner James Carter, 83, died Aug. 17. Brother Carter became an SIU member in 1953. He originally sailed on a Seatrade Corporation vessel in the steward department. Brother Carter was an Alabama native. His concluding journey was aboard the Sgt. Matej Kocak. Brother Carter began collecting compensation for his retirement in 1990. He was a resident of Mobile, Ala. JOHN CHERMESINO Pensioner John Chermesino, 78, passed away July 14. Brother Chermesino embarked on his seafaring career in 1952. He initially sailed on the tanker Four Lakes. Brother Chermesino was born in Boston. His last ship was the Falcon Champion. Brother Chermesino went on pension in 1990. He called Suffolk, Mass., home. JIMMIE DUFORE Pensioner Jimmie Dufore, 70, died July 7. Brother Dufore launched his SIU profession in 1961. He was born in Louisiana and worked in the deck department. Brother Dufore first went to sea aboard the Trent; his last ship was the Ultrasea. He became a pensioner in 1991 and resided in Summit, Miss. ISSAC FLETCHER Pensioner Issac Fletcher, 79, passed away Aug. 26. Brother Fletcher joined the SIU ranks in 1966. His maiden voyage was on the 18 Seafarers LOG American Victory. Brother Fletcher was born in Kentucky. The steward department member most recently sailed aboard the Marilyn. Brother Fletcher began his retirement in 1994 and settled in Wilmer, Ala. THEODORE GRAHAM Pensioner Theodore Graham, 84, died July 28. Brother Graham started sailing with the union in 1979 while in the port of Seattle. He shipped primarily with American Ship Management. His initial trip to sea was on the President Wilson. Brother Graham was born in Houston and worked in the steward department. He retired in 1987 and lived in Seattle. WILLIAM HATCHEL Pensioner William Hatchel, 69, passed away Aug. 3. Brother Hatchel, who was born in Starks, La., began his SIU profession in 1961. His first voyage was aboard the Michael where he sailed as a member of the engine department. Brother Hatchel’s last excursion was on the Horizon Tacoma. He became a pensioner in 1999. Brother Hatchel was a resident of Merryville, La. RAYMOND ITEN Pensioner Raymond Iten, 83, died July 2. Brother Iten joined the MC&S in 1972 while in the port of San Francisco. The steward department member sailed with American Ship Management Company during his seafaring career. Brother Iten’s first vessel was the President Madison; his last was the President Adams. He was born in Lake Stevens, Wash. Brother Iten went on pension in 1988 and called Kent, Wash., home. GARLAND JACKSON Pensioner Garland Jackson, 79, passed away Aug. 23. Brother Jackson was born in Texas. He initiated his seafaring profession in 1961. Brother Jackson originally sailed aboard the Cleveland as a member of the steward department. His final journey was on the Ewa. Brother Jackson retired in 1989 and resided in San Jose, Calif. ROLAN LAGAAC Brother Rolan Lagaac, 29, died Aug. 19. He first donned the SIU colors in 2005. Brother Lagaac shipped aboard the Pride of America. He worked as a member of the engine department. Brother Lagaac was born in the Philippines but made his home in Sugarland, Texas. KENNETH LINAH Pensioner Kenneth Linah, 68, passed away Aug. 24. Brother Linah embarked on his seafaring career in 1969. His maiden voyage was on the Avenger. Brother Linah was a New York native and sailed in engine department. Prior to his retirement in 1995, he shipped aboard the Quality. Brother Linah lived in Kathleen, Fla. Brother Dan Manthei, 50, died Aug. 9. He joined the SIU ranks in 1990. Brother Manthei initially sailed on the Cape Edmont. The engine department member was born in Wisconsin. Brother Manthei’s most recent expedition was aboard the Maersk Nevada. He settled in Jacksonville, Fla. Seafarers in 1946. The deck department member originally sailed with Colonial Steamship Company. Brother Smith was born in Texas. His final trip to sea was on the Manhattan. Brother Smith lived Poynot, Texas. JERRY MCLEAN HERBERT THROWER Pensioner Jerry McLean, 65, passed away July 7. Brother McLean started shipping with the Seafarers in 1962. His earliest trip to sea was on the Del Sud. Brother McLean was last employed aboard the Overseas New Orleans. He sailed in the deck department. Brother McLean resided in his native state of Tennessee. He became a pensioner in 1998. Pensioner Herbert Thrower, 63, passed away July 28. Brother Thrower initiated his SIU career in 1966 while in the port of New York. His first ship was the Montpelier Victory; his last was the Elizabeth. Brother Thrower was a member of the deck department. He was born in Alabama but made his home in Chesapeake, Va. Brother Thrower began his retirement in 2001. DAN MANTHEI JAMES MORGAN Pensioner James Morgan, 80, died Aug. 12. Brother Morgan was born in Louisiana. He began his SIU profession in 1947 while in the port of New York. Brother Morgan mainly sailed in the steward department on vessels operated by CSX Lines. He started receiving compensation for his retirement in 1986. Brother Morgan was a resident of New Orleans. FRANK O’KOORIAN Pensioner Frank O’Koorian, 83, passed away Aug. 11. Brother O’Koorian joined the union in 1951. He originally sailed with Sprague Steamship Company. Brother O’Koorian was born in New Jersey and shipped in the steward department. His final trip to sea was on the Tamara Guilden. Brother O’Koorian went on pension in 1982 and continued to make his home in his native state. GREGORY RICE Brother Gregory Rice, 51, died Aug. 9. He became an SIU member in 1981. Brother Rice’s maiden voyage was aboard the Button Guinnett. He was born in Inglewood, Calif. Brother Rice most recently sailed on the Capt. Steven L. Bennett. He settled in Honolulu. WAN SALIM Brother Wan Salim, 54, passed away July 24. Born in Indonesia, Brother Salim first donned the SIU colors in 1999 in the port of Wilmington, Calif. He initially shipped aboard the USNS Petersburg. Brother Salim worked in the deck department. His concluding journey was aboard the Jean Anne. Brother Salim called Buena Park, Calif., home. WILLIAM SMITH Pensioner William Smith, 84, died Aug. 10. Brother Smith joined the FAIA TUILEFANO Pensioner Faia Tuilefano, 75, died July 10. Brother Tuilefano started sailing with the union in 1972 from the port of San Francisco. He shipped primarily with American Ship Management as a member of the steward department. Brother Tuilefano was born in American Samoa. In 1993, he retired and settled in Daly City, Calif. INLAND ROBERT MACHLINSKI Pensioner Robert Machlinski, 73, passed away June 1. Boatman Machlinski launched his seafaring profession in 1956 in the port of Baltimore, Md. While employed with the SIU he sailed in the deck department, mostly on McAllister Towing of Baltimore vessels. Boatman Machlinski was a resident of his native state of Maryland. MURPHY MARTIN Pensioner Murphy Martin, 80, died Aug. 1. Born in Raceland, La., Boatman Martin joined the Seafarers in 1962. A member of the engine department, he spent his entire career working aboard vessels operated by Moran Towing of Texas. Boatman Martin began collecting compensation for his retirement in 1988 and resided in Bridge City, La. LEON PULLEY Pensioner Leon Pulley, 68, died July 27. Born in Philadelphia, Boatman Pulley joined the union in 1964. He originally worked with P.F. Martin Co., in the deck department. Boatman Pulley’s concluding expedition was on the American Mariner. He went on pension in 2004 and resided in Oregon. PAUL STANLEY Boatman Paul Stanley, 76, died Aug. 21. A native of Louisiana, he donned the SIU colors in 1958 and sailed in both the Deep Sea and Inland Divisions. Boatman Stanley shipped in the deck department and initially sailed aboard the CSX operated Fairchild. He was last employed on vessels operated by Crowley Towing & Transportation. Boatman Stanley made his home in Sacramento. GREAT LAKES ALI SALEH Pensioner Ali Saleh, 82, passed away July 15. Brother Saleh embarked on his SIU career in 1960 while in the port of Detroit, Mich. The engine department member was born in Yemen. Before his retirement in 1990, Brother Saleh shipped aboard the H. Lee White. He called Radaa, Albaida home. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust have passed away. Name Afanador, Juan Aponte, Miguel Bottge, Edward Brown, Lee Cruz, Antone Eglecias, Iluminada Este, Clifton Field, Warner Fontinelli, Franklin Gordon, Shermon Hagan, Ben Hernandez, Juan Hyde, Davis Kelly, Victor Lopez, Edward Madar, Paul Mahoney, Charles Malveira, Joseph Mangham, Jack Manley, Edward Matos, Ramon Mejia, Augustine Melnick, Frank Moring, William Neu, James Norman, Alex Picazo, Paul Pitcox, Harvey Ponder, George Ramos, Rafael Reed, Simmie Reese, Karl Reyes, Severo Richardson, Samuel Robertson, Harold Sanders, James Schultz, Adolfo Serrano, Ismael Snyder, Francis Solis, Vincente Sullivan, William Toro, Ramon Torres, Tomas Ventura, Louis Viera, Genaro Vigee, Wallace Ware, Jack Warycha, Theodore Webb, Austin Webster, Andrew, Jr. Woodall, George Woodson, Ocie Zuegg, Joseph Age 91 63 79 78 86 93 92 86 83 82 81 83 87 89 84 86 87 76 79 93 93 83 89 80 79 70 81 74 64 83 94 76 75 81 90 79 75 82 78 72 91 90 85 89 88 77 75 85 83 59 81 83 80 DOD June 14 June 15 June 17 June 9 June 24 June 1 June 29 June 3 June 14 June 13 June 8 May 17 April 8 June 28 May 4 April 14 May 22 May 18 June 3 April 9 May 23 June 10 May 15 June 9 April 17 June 7 April 12 April 12 April 28 May 7 April 19 May 16 April 6 April 29 June 15 April 9 May 15 April 17 May 15 June 14 May 16 June 1 May 7 May 7 May 14 April 23 June 19 April 27 April 8 June 1 April 10 June 20 April 13 SIU Headquarters and all SIU Hiring Halls will be closed Monday, Feb. 18 for the observance of Presidents’ Day. Normal Business hours will resume the following day. February 2008 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:57 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. EL MORRO (Interocean American Shipping), Nov. 28 – Chairman Robert T. Grubbs, Secretary Daniel Herrera, Educational Director Joseph A. Letang, Engine Delegate Marcus A. Pittman. Chairman reminded crew members that new eligibility rules become effective Jan. 1, along with the new 401(k) plan. Secretary stated all departments were doing an excellent job and that the ship looks great; keep up the good work. Educational director advised mariners to take advantage of educational opportunities available at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion was made to change retirement plan qualifications. Next port: Jacksonville, Fla. GREAT LAND (Interocean American Shipping), Nov. 18 – Chairman Francis C. Adams, Secretary Johnnie B. McGill Jr., Deck Delegate Ferdinand Lugo, Steward Delegate Mike A. Bubaker. Chairman thanked all SIU crew members for a safe trip and for working well together. Secretary encouraged Seafarers to upgrade skills at the union-affiliated school. No beefs; disputed OT reported in the deck department. President’s report from the Seafarers LOG was read and posted. Next port: Houston. HORIZON HAWAII (Horizon Lines), Nov. 25 – Chairman Eric J. Perez, Secretary Joseph J. Gallo Jr., Educational Director Keith I. Bitran, Deck Delegate Edgardo Martinez, Engine Delegate Carlos Bonefant, Steward Delegate Richard Jones. Chairman announced payoff in Jacksonville, Fla., on Nov. 30. Union officials will be coming aboard, so have union books and dues payments ready. He congratulated crew on passing Coast Guard and ABS inspections. Secretary expressed gratitude to the deck department for their help on the BBQ. He wished everyone a safe and happy holiday season. Vote of thanks was given to Chief Cook Jones for great meals, especially Thanksgiving dinner. Educational director urged members to check out what the Piney Point school offers. He also reminded them to keep track of all documents and when they expire. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew members sent out a special holiday greeting to Brother Carlos Sanchez, beloved cook and steward. Next ports: Jacksonville, Fla., San Juan, P.R., and Port Elizabeth, N.J. HORIZON TACOMA (Horizon Lines), Nov. 28 – Chairman Joseph Artis, Secretary Lincoln E. Pinn Jr., Educational Director Mohamed N. Alsinai, Deck Delegate Timothy L. Smith, Engine Delegate Willy P. Smith. Chairman reported payoff would take place upon arrival in Tacoma, Wash., on Nov. 28; patrolman will also be present to take care of any beefs. Educational director urged members to take advantage of upgrading and training offered in Piney Point. He also suggested they contribute to SPAD (Seafarers Political Activity Donation). No disputed OT; beefs reported in the deck department. Steward department was thanked for keeping ship clean and for a great Thanksgiving dinner. Next port: Tacoma, Wash. HOUSTON (USS Transport), Nov. 25 – Chairman John R. Lamprecht, Secretary Robert E. Wilcox Jr., Educational Director Scott S. Fuller, Engine Delegate Jeffery Fields. Chairman stated he was very pleased with crew and the amount of work that was accomplished during voyage. Secretary thanked Seafarers for their efforts in keeping laundry room and lounge clean. Educational director informed crew members that TWIC information was available in the Seafarers LOG and on the SIU web site. Members were also encouraged to keep track of document expiration dates. Deck delegate thanked deck gang for turning in overtime sheets in a timely manner. Steward delegate reminded mariners that clean linen is available upon request. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Chairman read letter from headquarters going over the importance of shipboard meetings. Copies of TWIC information received from Ft. Lauderdale patrolman were passed out. Crew discussed possibility of getting a TV for crew messhall for watching safety videos instead of members trying to pack into crew lounge. It was also reported that a dryer had been ordered for crew laundry and some showers needed to be caulked. Steward department was thanked for a great holiday menu. Next port: Richmond, Calif. ENERGY ENTERPRISE (Central Gulf Lines), Dec. 26 – Chairman Egidio J. Ferreira, Secretary Francisco L. Delgado, Educational Director Jonathan C. Wagner, Steward Delegate Fernando F. Lopes. Chairman read president’s report from the Seafarers LOG. He stressed the need to work together as one union, not against each other. “We are all SIU now – there is no more NMU and SIU.” Educational director advised mariners to enhance seafaring abilities whenever possible at the SIU-affiliated school. No disputed OT; beefs reported in the deck department. Crew thanked steward department for a wonderful Christmas spread. Members expressed the need for new mattresses, pillows and linens. Next ports: Brayton Port, Mass., and Baltimore, Md. GLOBAL SENTINEL (Transoceanic Cable Ship), Dec. 13 – Chairman Lee Hardman, Secretary Vicki L. Haggerty, Educational Director Dave D. Higdon, Deck Delegate Justin S. Beal, Engine Delegate Robert J. Haggerty, Engine Delegate Johnny Carson. Chairman went over ship’s itinerary and reminded everyone departing vessel to leave rooms clean for next mariner. Secretary reported that new juice machine had been installed in the pantry. Educational director urged mariners to upgrade skills at Paul Hall Center so they could qualify for better jobs aboard vessels. Treasurer noted $4,100 in ship’s fund. No beefs; disputed OT ...and the Sealand Charger This snapshot was taken aboard the Sealand Charger in early December in Wilmington, Calif. Seafarers sailing aboard the vessel at that time included Bosun Salvadore Lagare, ABs Dennis Hurley, Jose Tagle and William Foley, Deck Maintenances Philemon Quitoriano and Rodolfo Antonio, Chief Electrician Randy Clark, QMED Rickey Pettaway, Wiper H. Asumari, Chief Steward Raymond Garcia, Chief Cook Curtis William and GSU Saleh Saleh. February 2008 Sailing Aboard the Sealand Atlantic The three photos above were taken aboard the Sealand Atlantic during a voyage in November. Pictured in the top photo (from left) are DEU John Cooper, AB Corey Stanton and AB Mike Borders. Pictured directly above are (left photo) AB Carey Hatch and Bosun John Grosskurth. reported in deck department. ABG Tim Fogg reminded everyone to contribute to SPAD, especially during an election year. HORIZON EAGLE (Horizon Lines), Dec. 23 – Chairman Daniel W. Seagle, Secretary Travis R. Jefferson, Educational Director Greg Alvarez, Steward Delegate Ruben Q. Fiel. Chairman announced payoff in Tacoma, Wash., on Dec. 28. Secretary discussed TWIC information and reminded mariners they had until September 25, 2008 to get one. Educational director spoke about upgrading opportunities available at Piney Point to better one’s skills. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Vote of thanks was given to the steward department for excellent BBQ and food. Next port: Tacoma, Wash. PHILADELPHIA EXPRESS (Crowley Lines), Dec. 9 – Chairman Willie M. Marsh Jr., Secretary James H. Narcisse, Educational Director Quincy Wilson, Deck Delegate Wilfred H. Luckie, Engine Delegate Phillip Niles, Steward Delegate Jessie Jones. Chairman thanked crew for a safe trip. Educational director talked about TWIC card. He urged mariners to read the 5, check the SIU web site or see patrolman for more information. No beefs or disputed OT reported. AB Celso Castro was commended for his actions that helped maintain safety aboard the vessel. Next port: Houston. QUALITY (Maersk Line Limited), Dec. 7 – Chairman William M. Richards Jr., Secretary Franklyn J. Cordero, Engine Delegate David Terry Jr. Chairman reported a smooth, safe voyage. Secretary thanked all departments for helping keep ship clean. He also reminded everyone that the pre-hiring physical given by the company is good for a year. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Members were advised to read the Seafarers LOG to stay abreast of the latest information on TWIC. Seafarers departing vessel were asked to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen. USNS YANO (American Overseas Marine), Dec. 9 – Chairman John A. Mendez, Secretary Lauren J. Oram, Educational Director Jon I. Hemba. Chairman discussed the union’s position promoting use of American crews on LNG ships. Educational director urged mariners to check expiration dates on z-cards and passports and apply for TWIC cards. Treasurer reported $1,000 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Members talked about concerns with medical benefits. Request was made for internet access. Thanks to galley gang for great food. Next ports: Charleston, S.C., and Philadelphia, Pa. Share your ideas for news and feature items for publication in the Seafarers LOG by calling (301) 899-0675. Simply ask the operator for the Communications Department. E-mailed items may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org Seafarers LOG 19 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:57 PM Page 20 Letters to the Editor Editor’s note: The Seafarers LOG reserves the right to edit letters for grammar as well as space provisions without changing the writer’s intent. The LOG welcomes letters from members, pensioners, their families and shipmates and will publish them on a timely basis. New Year’s Resolution: Buy American On Thanksgiving Day, after feasting on that old bird with all the trimmings, I got to thinking of all the things that we as Americans can be thankful for. Unfortunately, there are concerns, too. Think of the recent Christmas season when all those foreign-made lights were burning here in the United States and our citizens were opening foreign-made presents that were bought at all the malls throughout America. To me, that represents the loss of jobs which will never return to America. There are very few blue-collar workers left in our country. They are no-collar workers because they’ve lost their shirt to cheap foreign labor. Brothers and sisters, the solution is to just stop buying those foreign products. The children in America are the only future that America has. Why buy defective toys for them made in China? Think about it. Retiree Edwin S. Harris St. Petersburg, Florida Thanks to Port Agent On behalf of the crew and myself, we would like to thank SIU Wilmington, Calif. Port Agent John Cox for promptly addressing a critical issue on the MV Jean Anne. The rapid response by the union continues to show the members the true embodiment of what a union should be. That is, an organization to protect workers and our rights. Again, thanks for “standing up” with us and for us. Steward/Baker Samuel Sinclair Aboard the MV Jean Anne Sharing WWII Memories During the latter part of World War II, I was serving as an oiler on the Liberty ship SS Russell A. Alger in Belgium. Shortly after lunch one day, some of the gun crew were attending to duties in the vicinity of the 20 MMs on the flying bridge. A plane appeared from the west, flying low and strafing. Our gun crew immediately manned the 20s and shot down the plane, which turned out to be a Messerschmitt 109. All the ships in the area manned all guns. At this time, a plane appeared from the east at high altitude and diving at the ships. A terrific barrage went up and the plane was shot down. However, it turned out to be a British Spitfire! No one claimed the Spitfire, although the nottoo-bright pilot was not hurt. Before the day was done, our stack was painted with a GUNNER logo, swastika and ME 109. I’m not saying the eagle was large, but if we had shot down another plane, we would have needed another stack! Two of our crew members thought our stack would bring retaliation against us, but pride overcame sheepishness, and our stack remained as the gun crew had designed it. Eli Rantanes Clinton, Ohio (The writer sailed at various times with the MFOW, MEBA and AMO) Tribute to ‘Uncle Richard’ And to all U.S. Mariners I would like to share a letter I received from our nephew, Bill Woodcock, a former Marine. It is a “Tribute to Uncle Richard,” but it could apply to all merchant mariners who have done much to keep our country safe and free – with little recognition for their efforts. “Uncle Richard” is James Richard Boone, an SIU retiree who passed away Nov. 17, 2007. You probably called him by his first name: Jim, Jimmy or Boonie, but his family called him Richard. We all miss him very much. Mrs. Betty Boone Parkville, Maryland Editor’s note: The tribute written by Mr. Woodcock follows. Brother Boone first shipped in 1945, at age 16 – he had dropped out of school to join the war effort. He was a frequent upgrader at the Seafarers-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md., where he also earned his GED. A member of the engine department, he came ashore in 1984 due to health issues. My Tribute to Uncle Richard I was 19 years old and was fortunate to be introduced to the Brockmeyer/Boone family. This was due to my beautiful wife, Kathleen, and again I was blessed to become part of such good people. My best memory is more of a personal story. I find this event highly ironic. It is a good demonstration of Richard as a person. He had always “watched my back,” but this time he really was there for me and many other Marines. It was 1969. I was in Danang, Vietnam. We were responsible for the security of Danang Air Base and the bomb dump which housed all our bombs – mainly 500 lb. and 2,000 lb. bombs. Unfortunately, someone started a fire in this bomb dump. Danang Air Base was always a major target for the NVA and Viet Cong. The air base housed A-4s, F4s, A-6A Intruders, OV-10s, and spy-photo planes. The Marble Mountain helo base also was in this area. We lost every one of our bombs. They exploded for days. There was shrapnel flying all over the Danang area for miles. Shockwaves were visible in the sky, which look like ocean waves. Everyone had to stay outside – any type of enclosure would start your ears bleeding. We had a lot of “walking wounded.” The Danang area and airbase were evacuated with the exception of a few outfits. My outfit was one of the Marine outfits to stay to hold down the fort. The 2,000 lb. bombs would build up a slow cloud of black smoke for approximately 15 minutes and then they would explode like an atomic bomb. The grounds would shake for minutes. We were being overrun in several directions. Without our bombs for aircraft, we were in serious trouble. The enemy had overrun Freedom Hill, which was only a couple miles from the airbase. A U.S. Merchant Marine ship pulled into the Danang Harbor, which looked like the Fourth of July because of the bombs exploding. This ship was loaded with new bombs, which were unloaded and taken directly to the waiting fighter/bomb aircraft. We caught the enemy in the open and took care of business. Without this merchant marine ship and Uncle Richard in the harbor, there would have been many more names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. Without the bombs, we would have been completely overrun. Thank you, Uncle Richard and your fellow U.S. Merchant Mariners from me and many other Marines! I would venture to say we have many Americans who have never heard of the merchant marine, much less what they contribute. I admire these men, including Uncle Richard. If you do not believe in faith and/or a guardian angel, this is a living testimony to a man we all love. Newly Retired Port Agent Offers more Credit, Thanks I would like to add a few thoughts to my retirement article that appeared in the January edition of the LOG. In particular, I emphasize my special admiration for SIU President Mike Sacco and the late SIU Executive Vice President Joey Sacco, as they reversed the death spiral that the American shipping industry was plagued with at the time they were selected and elected as president and executive VP. There could not have been a more critical moment for them to apply their skill and contacts and to market their vision of the solution. Without any doubt, this transformed the economic health and safety of the nation. They certainly saved my family’s future. I also still value the guidance received by the Brooklyn headquarters officials of the 1960s, especially the mentoring by George Ripoll. George was always devoted to perfection and is a unique person of great intensity. I appreciated the various roles that came my way. I’ll miss working at the craft and miss the dedicated people of Mike Sacco’s capable team – a group which certainly includes Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel. Dave has done a terrific job for the SIU affiliates and members, as well as the leadership among the world’s transportation unions. He has reinforced the solidarity that the SIU has worldwide and can pick up the phone at any moment and get things done immediately, almost anywhere in the world. We have really great people in the SIU and I am so very proud of them and our members and our contracted companies. We have a winning team, as Mike likes to say, and all of you make me feel so very proud to have been associated with you. Edd Morris Piney Point, Maryland Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. The annual financial committee will be elected during the March 3 headquarters membership meeting to review the 2007 records. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. 20 Seafarers LOG CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. February 2008 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:57 PM Page 21 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE Course Welding The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., for the first few months of 2008. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman March 3 April 14 May 26 March 28 May 9 June 20 Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (must have radar unlimited) April 14 June 16 April 18 June 20 Celestial Navigation June 2 June 27 GMDSS April 21 May 2 Lifeboatman/Water Survival February 18 March 31 May 12 February 29 April 11 May 23 Radar March 31 June 2 April 11 June 13 Radar Renewal (one day) April 21, June 23 Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman March 3 April 28 March 14 May 9 May 12 October 14 June 2 November 3 Bosun Recertification Course Engine Upgrading Courses Advanced Container Maintenance (Refer) March 3 March 28 Basic Auxiliary Plant Ops March 24 May 19 April 18 June 13 FOWT February 25 April 21 June 16 March 21 May 16 July 11 Marine Electrician March 3 March 17 March 31 March 21 April 4 May 23 Pumpman April 7 April 18 Machinist UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address ______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Date of Birth ______________________ Date of Completion March 3 April 7 May 5 June 2 March 21 April 25 May 23 June 20 Safety Specialty Courses Advanced Fire Fighting (must have basic fire fighting) March 10 May 5 June 30 March 21 May 16 July 11 Basic Fire Fighting March 17 April 14 June 16 March 21 April 18 June 20 Basic Safety Training/STCW February 25 March 24 April 7 May 12 May 26 June 30 February 29 March 28 April 11 May 16 May 30 July 4 Fast Rescue Boat May 12 June 16 May 16 June 20 Government Vessels (Week 1) February 18 March 31 May 19 June 23 February 22 April 4 May 23 June 27 Medical Care Provider March 24 May 19 March 28 May 23 Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Tankerman Familiarization/Assistant Cargo (DL) March 24 (must have basic firefighting) June 2 April 4 June 13 Tankerman (PIC) Barge (must have basic firefighting) April 25 April 21 Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations These modules start every Monday. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward These classes most recently began February 4. Steward Recertification Course March 17 August 18 April 7 September 8 Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be selfstudy. With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and fifty (150) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. COURSE BEGIN DATE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Seniority _____________________________ Department _____________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ U.S. Citizen: ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Yes No Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: __________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # _________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? Yes No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ February 2008 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 2/08 Seafarers LOG 21 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:58 PM Page 22 Paul Hall Cent er Classes Welding – Six boatmen from Crowley Maritime completed the welding class Dec. 7. Those completing the class (above, in no particular order) were Joseph Korpalski, Jordan Rapp, Nicholas Piccinich, Ryan Hayes, John Harvey and Wes Farley. Buzzy Andrews, left, was the class instructor. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class – Unlicensed apprentices from Classes 696 and 697 recently graduated from the water survival course. Those graduating from the course (above in alphabetical order) were: Jose Alcaide, George Box, Jacqueline Calhoun, Aaron Chiusano, Brooke English, Sean Fitzgerald, Jason Fountaine, Gordon Glover, Gabriel Izquierdo-Arais, Jahmal Jones, Ryan Kinser, Cory Leonard, Eddie Major Jr., Reynaldo Maldonado, Roderick McClary, Denise Mendoza, Christopher Mercado, Patrick Milton, Steven Myrick, Leslie Pratts, Steven Pyle, Scott Rosseel, Frank Smith, Anthony Snoeyenbos, William Walker, Christopher White and Jacob Zitnick. (Note: Not all are pictured.) AB – Nine mariners on Dec. 7 received certificates for their completion of the AB course. Completing the class (above, in no specific order) were Awal Syiafullah, David Weeks, Peter Dudoit III, Hussein Mohsen, Ryan McElroy, Brian Awde, Jason Devine, Clarence Lee Jr., and Christopher Hunnings. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is standing at far left. Tankerman Assistant – Eighteen mariners on Dec. 7 graduated from the tankerman assistant course. Those completing the course (above, in no specific order) were John Favero, Ronald Wilson, Quentin Scott, Marian Martin, Noland Earl, John O’Shaughnessy, Adrian Schubert, Shastri Mullahoo, Fontanos Ellison, Omar Aswad, Dan Marcus, Simon Jason, Louis Holder Jr., Rupert Henry, Roberto Avila, Robinson Eromosele, Papa Yankeh and Dario Dizon. Jim Shaffer, their instructor, is at far right. Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations – The following individuals (above, in no specific order) on Nov. 30 completed the basic auxiliary plant operations course: Montree Nakwichet, Daniel Coffey, Forfirio Amaya, Azad Davani, Andrew Cooper, David Newsome, Zachary Miano, Sean Keaton, Deandre Whitley, Ruben Haynes, Donnetta McLee, Shawn Pantschyschak, Riley LaBlanc, Cheryl Gutkowski, Kenneth Bricker, Bryan Clark, Edwin Arroyo, David Turley, Tashara Newton, Terry Taylor, Omar Izquierdo, Jon Larrinaga, Casey Shannon, Henry Sheppard and Leroy Sierra. (Note: Not all graduates, or their instructor, John Wiegman Jr. are pictured.) 22 Seafarers LOG Welding – These Crowley boatmen graduated from the welding fundamentals course Dec. 14. Members of the class (above, in no specific order) were Paul Hart Jr., Scott Smith, David Christinzio, Samuel Birth and Bill Murray. Their instructor, Buzzy Andrews, is second from the left. Advanced Refer Container Maintenance – On Dec. 21, the following individuals (above, in no specific order) graduated from the advanced refer container maintenance course: Calvin Beal, Herman Castro and Donald Christian. Beal, left, is a new member of the Paul Hall Center’s vocational staff. Jay Henderson, second from left, was the class instructor. February 2008 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:58 PM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes STCW – SIU, STCW – NCL, Dec. 7: William Adams, Eric Arellano, Nicole Backus, John Dec. 14: Damian Allen, Gerald Beaubien, Fontanos Ellison, Robinson Eromosele, John Favero, William Goeltz, Zachariah Greenwood, Martin Hochstafl, Jeffrey Lalande, Charles Lamb, Edward Leonard, Dan Marcus, John O’Shaughnessy, Charles Richardson, Steve Schwedland, Thomas Tucker, Ronald Vandercook, Edward Villanda, Ronald Wilson and Papa Yankeh. (Note: Not all are pictured.) STCW – NCL, Dec. 7: Melissa Oliver, Laura Post, Lauren Reese, Susan Regdos, Alfredo Resto Camacho, Elizabeth Rishmawy, Antonio Rivera, Carlos Rizo, Jose Rosa Solis, David Roy, Dalmo Santos Jr., Jose Seda Rodriguez, Jennifer Slade, Scott Smathers, Ashley Speller, Maxim Staroselsky, Erika Suarez Cuadrado, Theodore Talbot Jr., Orlando Torres, Shawn Watkins-Hall, Amanda White, Damian Wilkerson, Steven Winters, Steven Wintersteen and Orlando Zelayandia Jr. STCW – NCL, Dec. 7: Jeffrey Daymont, Carlos Deliz Quintana, Shane Denbo, Drew DeVine, Amada Dizon, Timothy Eng, David Fernandez, Gloria Hatcher Steele, Galvin Huss, Sherina Jefferson, Reginald Jenkins Jr., Racheal Knight, Daniel Lee, Vincent Liberto, Fabrice Lopez, Nicholas Madsen, Angelica Maldonado Castro, Juan Maisonet Santana, Philip McCoy Jr., Tahir Merchoud, Monte Moss, Thomas Mullen, Sean Myers and Tracey Naulty. (Note: Not all graduates are pictured.) Balicki, Isaiah Barbour, Lorelei Barger, Kathleen Bennett, Emily Beyers, Rakesh Bhai, Timothy Boettcher, Jeffrey Boscoe, Benita Bradford, Jon Brandstaetter, William Brown Jr., Nicholas Brunette, Jeffery Buresch, Amber Calderilla, Margaret Carlson, Santiago Canales Castaneda, Cassandra Clark, Jamie Clarke, Michael Coleman, Vega Concepcion and Kevin Dao. BST/STCW – Completing the BST class Dec. 15 at the Seafarers Training Center at Barbers Point, Hawaii (above, in no particular order) were: Taylor Stibbard, Catherine Foy, Sarah Zirkle, Loretta Darnell, Ladonna Gray, Courtney Gentile, Jennifer Aberle, Zachary Hansen, Quinn Niesing, Jesse Baxley, Jeanette Baxley, Jeremy Straley, Jessica Straley, Michael Casacci, Daniel Lyles, Mark Schustrin, Brandon Weiss and Brandon Gaylord. BST/STCW – These individuals completed the BST class Dec. 15 at the Seafarers Training Center at Barbers Point, Hawaii. They are (in no specific order) Jose Laguidano, Arnold Marquez, Jason Leonardo, Jerome Barrera, Arnel Garcia, Jesus Boncoy, Sammy Sarmiento, Manny Lising, Errol Evardone, Noel Miones, Jeron Osorio, Romarioa Esguerre, Michael Acosta, Roy Soque, Michael Tolentino, Bryan Deutsch, Arnold Umaii and Epie Benitez. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Computer Class Graduates Earn Certificates Posing with Instructor Rick Prucha (left in photos at left, right in photo at right and center in photo at far right) are students who recently completed computer classes at the Paul Hall Center. Displaying their certificates of achievement, from left, are Sandra Garcia, Ernest Frank III, and Tereza Padelopoulou. February 2008 Seafarers LOG 23 �46675_P01_24x:January 08 1/29/2008 6:58 PM Page 24 Volume 70, Number 2 February 2008 SIU Holiday Photos Seafarers Hosted Events For Members, Retirees and Guests During the Holidays — Pages 9 -11 Seafarers Provide Comfort and Joy Before Holidays Goodwill Abounds Throughout Hospital Ship’s 4-Month Humanitarian Mission CIVMARS spent four months before the end of 2007 aboard the U.S. Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort providing humanitarian assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean. Crewed by members of the union’s Government Services Division, the Comfort departed from Norfolk, Va., on June 15 and returned to its home in Baltimore, Md., on October 19. The Comfort’s crew of CIVMARS, uniformed and civilian medical personnel, and operations and support workers teamed up to provide medical assistance and relief to more than 98,000 people in 12 countries. According to MSC, as part of the Comfort’s goodwill and humanitarian mission, crew members helped make it possible for the medical personnel to provide “extensive” care including performance of more than 1,000 surgeries, issuance of 24,000 pairs of eyeglasses and 32,000 immunizations, and distribution of 122,000 pharmaceuticals – all in parts of the world that truly need the assistance. Crew members also reached out by refurbishing hospitals, providing new playground equipment, repairing plumbing in bathrooms and patching up more than 20 schools and medical facilities. They also found time to make balloon animals for sick kids in hospitals. Electronic Technician Alan Horowitz Bosun Gerald Butch (photo at left) displays a life ring he painted, while Engine Utility Michael Forner (above) takes readings in engine room. Supply Clerk Lucio Salvador Cook-Baker Stanley Drew mans the serving line for Navy personnel. Unlicensed Junior Engineer Sean Larouche reads the Seafarers LOG. A banner thanks Comfort crew members for the recent mission. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 February 2008 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES CIVMARS RESCUE UAE MARINERS MEMBERS SHOW STRONG INTEREST IN NEW SEAFARERS 401(K) PLAN 4TH ‘LEWIS AND CLARK’ SHIP DELIVERED TO MSC NASSCO STARTS CONSTRUCTION ON 2ND TANKER FOR U.S. SHIPPING PARTNERS NTSB: 1ST-TRIPPER WAS ON WATCH WHEN MAJESTIC BOAT GROUNDED AKER PHILADELPHIA SHIPYARD REPORTS CONTINUED PROGRESS FOR SIU-CONTRACTED TANKER PROGRAM APL BALBOA RE-FLAGGING MEANS MORE SIU JOBS LEGISLATION ESTABLISHES MARINE HIGHWAY PROGRAM ITF WEEK OF ACTION A SUCCESS ADMINISTRATION REPORT CITES VITAL ROLE OF U.S. MERCHANT MARINE SIU-CREWED USNS PILILAAU COMPLETES LARGEST DELIVERY OF LIFE-SAVING MRAPS TWO SEAFARERS MEMORIALIZED DURING SHIPBOARD CEREMONIES SEAFARERS PROVIDE COMFORT AND JOY BEFORE HOLIDAYS Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 02/01/2008 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. 70, No. 2 2008 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/dae75d241c663a5cd179a1b5bd2b2956.pdf fb8025326f47070940f289fdc2914c30 PDF Text Text 45525_P01_24X:January 08 12/27/2007 2:54 PM Page 1 Volume 70, Number 1 January 2008 New Tanker Delivered Aker Philadelphia Shipyard in midNovember delivered the Seafarers-contracted tanker Overseas Los Angeles (right), the third vessel in a series of new builds operated by OSG in the Jones Act trade. Later that month, Aker American Shipping announced its entry into an “option agreement” with the union-contracted shipyard to construct as many as 13 additional product tankers. The agreement means that the company aims to expand its fleet from 12 to 25 new tankers. Page 3. Overseas Los Angeles Joins SIU-Crewed Fleet; Agreement Signed for up to 13 More Vessels Paul Hall Center Course Guide Seafarers Deliver ‘MRAPs’ For U. S. Troops in Iraq The Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education offers thorough instruction for mariners whether they’re just entering the industry or upgrading their skills, including license programs. The school also features academic support including GED and college degree programs. Pictured below are students in a few of the dozens of classes offered at the Piney Point, Md. campus. Detailed course descriptions and dates are included in an eight-page section beginning on page 9. Fulfilling their ongoing mission as part of the nation’s fourth arm of defense, Seafarers aboard the Alliance New York (above) and Great Land, respectively, recently helped deliver cargoes of MineResistant, Ambush-Protected Vehicles (MRAPs) to American troops in Iraq. The vehicles are part of a new program designed to better protect our soldiers. Pages 2, 24. Membership Services Office Opens Page 2 SIU’s Year in Review Page 5 �45525_P01_24X:January 08 12/27/2007 3:01 PM Page 2 New SIU Department is ‘One-Stop Shop’ for Help President’s Report Membership Assistance is Just a Phone Call Away at 1-800-252-4674 Many Gains in 2007 By the time most Seafarers read this article, the New Year will have arrived, undoubtedly bringing with it the usual assortment of resolutions and personal goals for the next 12 months. It goes without saying that I wish all the best to our members and retirees and their families in 2008 and the years that follow. Professionally, this is the time of year when most organizations take stock of Michael Sacco their activities from the previous 12 months, as well as look ahead. For the SIU, while we’re a multi-faceted union, our first measure of success is protecting members’ job security and gaining new shipboard employment opportunities for the present and future. On that front, I’m happy to report good news in 2007. Among other gains, we saw significant progress in the new tanker construction projects in Philadelphia and San Diego. We welcomed new work in the Government Services Division, including aboard ammunition ships. We climbed the gangways when new tonnage arrived in the private sector, whether the ships were replacement vessels or outright additions. This was true not only in the deep-sea fleet but also the coastal and inland trades, where our members gained employment on new, state-ofthe-art ATBs and tugs. If you’ve read the LOG or attended membership meetings during the past year, you know that Seafarers continued delivering the goods in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Those stories may almost seem routine by now, but if so, that’s a credit to the men and women of the SIU who have been so reliable from the first moments of OIF and OEF. My hat is off to them, and I also appreciate the numerous military officers and government representatives who’ve gone out of their way to publicly acknowledge the fine work of Seafarers around the world. Similarly, it was hard to miss the fact that the SIUaffiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education last year celebrated its 40th anniversary. Without trying to recap all of the history in this limited space, I must say the school remains a source of pride and a true leader in the maritime industry. I’m sure that its namesake, the SIU’s second president, is looking down at the Piney Point campus, nodding in approval – and probably chomping down on a cigar, too. As mentioned, not all of our activities are specific to maritime. We are part of not only the overall labor movement, both domestically and internationally, but also members of our communities as a whole. That’s why we continue working closely with the International Transport Workers’ Federation and its other affiliates. It’s why we continue throwing our efforts behind grassroots activities that will benefit not only Seafarers but all working families. In particular, we will not give up the fight for affordable health care for every American. And, we will not be discouraged at temporary setbacks involving the Employee Free Choice Act – badly needed legislation that would restore fairness to the process of workers’ choosing whether or not to form a union. This is just a sampling of what we accomplished in 2007 and what we’re still working on as the calendar turns to 2008. I remain confident in our future, grateful for your support, and enthusiastic about promoting our membership at every opportunity. Volume 70, Number 1 January 2008 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 207909998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Jim Guthrie; Associate Editor, Mark Bowman; Photographer, Mike Hickey; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2008 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG As the SIU continues striving to provide enhanced services for Seafarers, effective Jan. 1, 2008, headquarters has established a new department known as the “Membership Assistance Program” (MAP). MAP aims to aid members on all Seafarers Plans matters in one centralized area. The department will be responsible for coordinating membership information such as addresses, beneficiaries, etc. MAP will also send information regarding benefits to members when they become eligible as well as requesting documents that may be missing (birth or marriage certificates, for example). These packages will include a welcome letter, summary plan description booklets, enrollment forms, beneficiary cards and more. The department will also direct calls from its toll-free number – 1-800-252-4674 – to other appropriate headquarters departments if necessary. In Seafarers may utilize a new toll-free number – 1-800-252-4674 – for assistance from union headquarters, which is based in Camp Springs, Md. essence, MAP will become a one-stop shop for most member needs related to the union and Seafarers Plans. MAP will offer a Spanishspeaking coordinator to assist Latin American members and their dependents. It will also be responsible for coordinating assistance with the claims department, pension and other departments. Again, MAP can be reached at 1-800-252-4674. Members and port personnel are encouraged to contact the department when they need information regarding benefits. Global Labor Leaders Stress Freedom to Join Unions Labor leaders from the U.S. and around the world told members of Congress Dec. 11 at a special congressional forum on Capitol Hill that restoring workers’ freedom to form and join unions in the U.S. is critical to workers’ rights around the world. The forum concluded an historic two-day conference, “Going Global: Organizing, Recognition and Union Rights,” which was sponsored by the Council of Global Unions (CGU) and hosted by the AFL-CIO at the National Labor College. “In an age of rampant global corporate outlaws, the world’s workers must forge new alliances to defend their democratic freedom to come together in unions to improve their lives,” AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said. “When workers are free to exercise their right to bargain collectively, everyone benefits. Wages increase, inequality decreases, and democracy is strengthened. And when workers’ freedom to form unions is thwarted, standards of living plummet.” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who opened the congressional forum, said workers’ freedom to join unions is a basic right that must be protected. Pelosi said global cooperation among workers and trade unions is key to bol- stering the middle class worldwide. “This historic conference is essential to protecting and strengthening the rights of workers as the world grows increasingly interdependent and national boundaries become less relevant,” Pelosi said. “Out of this forum will come the ideas and solutions that will help win collective bargaining rights and other labor protections that are essential to building vital democracies and strong middle-class communities throughout the world.” Global labor leaders echoed that theme and said when workers are truly able to exercise their freedom to join unions and bargain collectively, everyone benefits, not just the rich. “We reject an economic model that impoverishes workers while the very few get wealthy,” said Sharan Burrow, president of the International Trade Union Confederation, which represents 168 million workers worldwide. Trade union leaders discussed why respect for freedom of association and collective bargaining is crucial to the survival of human rights and democracy around the world. They urged for the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act in the United States because it is vital to the effort to achieve full organizing and bargaining rights in their own countries and with multinational companies. “Today, collective bargaining rights have expanded throughout much of the world,” said Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen. “In the United States, however, we’re going in the wrong direction. Labor law here is broken, to the point that bargaining and organizing rights in the United States are inferior to virtually every other democracy, including newly emerging democracies like South Africa, Taiwan and Brazil.” Two panels composed of labor officials and workers presented testimony to members of Congress outlining the various hurdles workers face when trying to form and join unions and bargain collectively. Senator Edward Kennedy, presiding over the first panel, “U.S. Crisis in Collective Bargaining,” focused on the badly broken labor law system in the U.S. The second panel, chaired by Rep. George Miller, “Global Organizing and Bargaining Rights,” focused on the importance of labor law reform in the U.S. to workers’ rights worldwide. Seafarers Deliver for U.S. Troops SIU members aboard Totem Ocean Trailer Express, Inc.’s (TOTE) SS Great Land recently delivered more than 100 Mine-Resistant, AmbushProtected (MRAP) vehicles from Port Charleston, S.C., to our troops in Iraq. MRAPs provide better protection for our military forces than the humvees currently in use. The delivery comes after one made by SIU members aboard the Alliance New York (see back page) but is the largest to date. The U.S.-flagged SS Great Land delivered the goods under the U.S. Maritime Security Program (MSP). SIU members on board included: Bosun Marco Galliano, ABs John Ellias, Steven Roquemore, Mott Arnold, Todd Homer and Danny Davis, QMED Barry Knowles, GUDEs Ronald Williams and Apolonio Cruz, OMUs Hector Frederick, Legarrius Jones and Manuel M a r t i n e z, Steward/Baker Antoinette Amato, Chief Cook Dionesio Moreira-Martinez and SAs Juan Martinez and Mike Bubaker. January 2008 �45525_P01_24:January 08 12/21/2007 12:40 PM Page 3 Agreement Signed for up to 13 More Tankers Seafarers-Contracted Overseas Los Angeles Delivered by Aker Philadelphia Shipyard In a potentially huge development for the Jones Act fleet, Aker American Shipping ASA in late November announced it has entered into an “option agreement” with union-contracted Aker Philadelphia Shipyard to build up to 13 product tankers at a total contract value of $1.3 billion. With this agreement, Aker American Shipping stated that the company aims to expand its fleet from 12 to 25 state-of-the-art vessels. Aker American Shipping’s fleet comprises 10 product tankers and two shuttle tankers, all of which are chartered to SIUcontracted Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) under bareboat charter agreements. OSG has already time-chartered 11 of these vessels to oil companies and refineries in the U.S. The new agreement with Aker Philadelphia Shipyard allows for a fleet expansion by an additional 13 vessels, for delivery between July 2011 and July 2015. There was no immediate word concerning charters for those vessels. However, according to the company, the ships “are of the robust, double-hull Veteran MT-46 Jones Act product tanker design; they can be easily modified to allow for deployment as shuttle tankers or chemical carriers.” That wasn’t the only big news recently announced about the tanker programs. On Nov. 16, the third tanker built at the Philadelphia Shipyard – the Overseas Los Angeles – was delivered. The occasion marked the first time in the yard’s history that three vessels were delivered in the same year. Following very successful sea trials and final testing and commissioning, the ship joins two sis- ter vessels in the Jones Act trades that were built at the same yard: the Overseas Houston and Overseas Long Beach. Each of the ships is 600 feet long and capable of carrying 330,000 barrels of petroleum products. Each vessel weighs approximately 46,000 deadweight tons. Aker American Shipping President and CEO Dave Meehan stated, “This vessel is powerful evidence of the value of series construction. Built in a shorter period of time and delivered with zero outstanding inspection comments, this vessel will serve its crew and charterers well.” Three additional tankers are currently under construction at the yard, with the next vessel scheduled for delivery in the second quarter of 2008. In all, nine further tankers are slated to be delivered by the yard through 2011. Tanker construction is ongoing at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, where the fourth vessel in the Veteran Class series (above) now has its rudder and propeller attached, with the deckhouse also set in place. Seventy Reap Gains After Two Months of Negotiations Bisso Crews Approve Contract Extension Nine tankers are on order for SIU-contracted U.S Shipping Partners. Shown above is an artist’s conception of one of the new ships. NASSCO Lays Keel of 1st Product Tanker for U.S. Shipping Partners A keel-laying ceremony took place Dec. 11 at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego, signaling progress on the first ship in a new class of Seafarers-contracted product carriers (PC-1). The double-hulled vessel is being built for U.S. Shipping Partners and is scheduled to be delivered in early 2009. It is one of nine such tankers scheduled to be constructed at NASSCO. The build program itself includes options for five additional ships. Each PC-1 ship will be 600 feet long, displace about 49,000 deadweight tons and have a cargo capacity of 331,000 barrels. The ships are based on a design of DSEC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering of Okpo, Korea. NASSCO began construction of the first tanker in the series in August. U.S. Shipping Partners previously announced that the ship will be named Golden State, the state nickname of California. General Dynamics NASSCO employs more than 4,600 people and is the only major ship construction yard on the West Coast of the United States. In addition to the PC-1 program, the San Diego shipyard has contracts to build nine T-AKE class dry cargoammunition ships for the U.S. Navy (vessels that will be crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division), and an agreement to build up to five additional ships. U.S. Shipping Partners’ current fleet includes the ITF Baltimore, ITB Groton, ITB Jacksonville, ITB Mobile, ITB New York, ITB Philadelphia, SS Chemical Pioneer, MV Houston, MV Charleston, MV Sea Venture and ATB Freeport. January 2008 SIU boatmen employed at E.N. Bisso in New Orleans recently approved a contract extension featuring significant gains. The contract covers approximately 70 members who sail as deckhands and engineers. Bisso operates 14 boats in the New Orleans area – mostly involved in ship docking along with some offshore work. What became an extension lasting through November 2010 at first was only supposed to be a wage reopener. However, as negotiations progressed over a period of about two months, both parties agreed to expand their scope. In the end, rank-andfile members overwhelmingly approved an extension calling for an across-the-board daily wage increase (retroactive to September 2007) including a boost to entry-level pay; a bonus for employees with at least 90 days of service at Bisso; an increase in the company’s matching contributions to the 401(k) plan; improvements to pension benefits; maintenance of Core Plus health benefits; and company reimbursement of up to $100 per year for safety shoes. Representing the SIU during negotiations were Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey, New Orleans Port Agent Chris Westbrook, Deckhand Delegate Matt Marchand and Engineer Delegate Robert Jordan. Voting took place aboard Bisso boats from mid- to lateOctober. The votes were nearly unanimous in favor of the contract extension. (The pact originally had been scheduled to expire in 2009.) Corgey noted, “Consistent with industry trends, the union and the company successfully negotiated a competitive compensation package that will help enable Bisso to attract and retain qualified personnel and provide a good standard of living Pictured aboard the Vera Bisso are (from left) Engineer Delegate Robert Jordan, Deckhand Delegate Matt Marchand and fellow SIU Boatmen Jared Boteler, Thad Hukins, Jeremy Smith, Chris Lambert, Mark Mayeaux and Ramon McDonald. for our members. The credit goes to the members at Bisso who showed a lot of union solidarity and brotherhood, and also to Bisso management for bargaining in good faith that allowed us to arrive at this fair agreement.” Among those approving the pact are (from left) Benjamin Snyder, Benjamin Shipp, Brandon Chauvin, Robert Jordan, Antoine Wesley, Shane Brulte and Matt Marchand. Standing in front of the Gladys B are Matt Marchand, Ricky Lacour, Dwaine Valois, Seth Mayhall, Dustin Jeansonne, Dickie Valois and Robert Jordan. Seafarers LOG 3 �45525_P01_24:January 08 12/21/2007 12:40 PM Page 4 TSA Issues Guidance For TWIC The following information, available on the U.S. Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) web site, covers the steps necessary to acquire a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). This information has been sent to all SIU halls and will be repeated (in various forms) in upcoming issues of the Seafarers LOG. As reported numerous times, the deadline for U.S. mariners to obtain a TWIC is Sept. 25, 2008. Therefore, the union urges Seafarers to apply for the new card, which eventually will be required of all U.S. mariners who need unescorted access to secure areas of U.S. ports and vessels. The requirement comes from a federal law called the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. Seafarers should check with their port agents and/or utilize the TSA contact information that follows for the latest information on the TWIC program, including the “TWIC Quarterly Deployment Plan,” which is a list of cities where TWIC enrollment centers are or will be located. Updates also regularly appear on the SIU web site (www.seafarers.org, normally in the “Heard at Headquarters” section). The program itself is very much a work in progress, so periodic if not regular updates are anticipated. Seafarers are advised that although pre-enrollment for the TWIC is optional, both the agency and the first individual SIU members who have applied for the card strongly recommend it. To pre-enroll, individuals must first register for an ID starting at https://twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/TWI CWebApp/ MERCHANT MARINERS Will these rules affect all Merchant Mariners? Yes. All credentialed U.S. merchant mariners must obtain a TWIC. This includes all persons holding a Coast Guard-issued merchant mariner’s license, merchant mariner’s document (MMD), Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Certificate, or certificate of registry (COR). With the implementation of TWIC, the Coast Guard MMD would primarily serve as proof of the bearer’s professional qualifications. The Coast Guard has drafted a supplementary proposed rule (published in the same Federal Register edition as the TWIC final rule) that proposes to combine the elements of all four current merchant mariner professional credentials into one certificate called the Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC). The Coast Guard and TSA are streamlining the process for the two credentials to reduce costs, duplication of effort, and processing time for mariners. If the MMC proposed rulemaking is finalized as currently written, the Coast Guard would begin issuing the MMC in September of 2008 and would phase in the replacement of mariner’s current credentials over a period of five years. Mariners would be issued their credential in the form of an MMC at the time they renew their current credential, or when applying for a new credential. The proposed rulemaking would not affect the validity of a mariner’s current credential. ENROLLMENT TSA states that applicants must apply at a TWIC enrollment center and that TSA will be expanding the number of centers and also providing 4 Seafarers LOG mobile enrollment centers. The enrollment process consists of the following components: optional pre-enrollment, in-person enrollment, security threat assessment and notification of the results, and issuance of the TWIC to the applicant. Applicants may pre-enroll online to enter all of the biographic information required for the threat assessment and make an appointment at the enrollment center to complete the process (although appointments are not required). Then, applicants must visit the enrollment center where they will pay the enrollment fee, complete a TWIC Application Disclosure Form, provide biographic information and a complete set of fingerprints, and sit for a digital photograph. The applicant must bring identity verification documents to enrollment and in the case of aliens, immigration documents that verify their immigration status, so that the documents can be scanned into the electronic enrollment record. (DOT) medical card Civil marriage certificate MML (Merchant Mariner License) bearing an official raised seal, or a certified copy What is the purpose of the TWIC Disclosure Form? The form, available in PDF format at: http://www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/twic _applicant_disclosure_form_2212. pdf provides additional information to the applicant on the security threat assessment process, as well as a notice on privacy and paperwork reduction. The applicant is also required to review and certify statements pertaining to eligibility for a TWIC, military service, and, once a TWIC is issued to the applicant, their responsibility to disclose information to TSA that would disqualify them from holding a TWIC. The applicant signs and dates the form, and if required, the helper/translator will also sign the form and provide contact information. Applicants are encouraged to review the TWIC Disclosure Form in order to familiarize themselves with chased pre-paid debit cards. For companies choosing to use the pre-paid option, the website is http://www.twiccard.com. In all cases, payment will be made at the enrollment center at the beginning of the enrollment process. What is the pre-paid debit card for the TWIC Program? This method of payment is a prepaid Visa® card and is intended for employers who wish to purchase TWICs for their employees. They may be purchased in bulk and are redeemable at any TWIC enrollment center. The website for additional information or purchasing them is at http://www.twiccard.com. What is the fee for a replacement card? The card replacement fee (for lost, stolen, or damaged TWICs) is $60. SECURITY ASSESSMENT What does the security threat assessment consist of? What documentation is required for The assessment includes checks a TWIC? against criminal history records, terApplicants must provide the rorist watch lists, and appropriate documents immigration status. If no in order to verify their adverse information is identity. They must disclosed, TSA typically provide one document The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has a completes a security from list A, or two from threat assessment in less list B, one of which web site –https://twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/TWICWebApp/ than ten days. However, must be a government- AboutTWIC.do – explaining the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Program and enrollment processing time increasissued photo ID: process. es for an applicant with a criminal history or other List A FOR MORE INFORMATION disqualifying informaUnexpired passOn the web: www.tsa.gov/twic tion, and is further port By phone: TWIC Program Help Desk, 1-866-DHS-TWIC lengthened if the appliUnexpired Per- (1-866-347-8942) cant initiates an appeal manent Resident card By email: credentialing@dhs.gov or waiver. This security or Unexpired Alien threat assessment is the Registration Receipt same for those applying Card with photograph it, and to complete and bring it with for, transferring, or renewing a HAZUnexpired foreign passport with them to the enrollment center. MAT endorsement (HME) on their one of the following: PRE-ENROLLMENT state-issued commercial drivers ✰ I-551 Stamp; TSA says there is a pre-enroll- licenses (CDL). ✰ Attached INS Form I-94 indicating unexpired employment autho- ment process that might help speed rization; up the process of receiving a TWIC Will the results of my threat assess✰ Unexpired Employment Auth- card at its web site: https://twicpro- ment be shared with my employer? If TSA determines that an appliorization Document (I-766); gram.tsa.dhs.gov/TWICWebApp/ cant poses an imminent threat to ✰ Unexpired Employment AuthCOSTS AND PAYMENT transportation or national security, orization Card (INS-688B); ✰ Or with one of the following The fee for a TWIC will be TSA may notify the applicant’s Unexpired Visas: E-1, E-2, E-3, H- $132.50 and it is valid for five years. employer. Generally, TSA will not 1B, H-1B1, L-1, O-1, TN, M-1, C- Workers with current, comparable provide the reasons for a disqualifica1/D, B1/OCS background checks may pay a tion to an employer. However, if TSA Free and Secure Trade (FAST) reduced fee of $105.25. If workers has reliable information concerning Card are eligible to pay the lower price, an imminent threat posed by an appliMerchant Mariner Document their TWIC will expire 5 years from cant and providing limited threat (MMD) the date of the comparable credential information to an employer, facility, (additional information is provided in vessel owner, or Coast Guard Captain List B (need two and one must be a the next question). The cost of a of the Port would minimize the risk, government-issued photo ID) replacement TWIC, if the original is then TSA would provide such information. U.S. Certificate of Citizenship lost, stolen or damaged is $60. (N-560, 561) U.S. Certificate of Naturali- If I have a comparable assessment, What if I have already completed a zation (N-550 or 570) how can I determine which fee is comparable threat assessment? A reduced fee of $105.25 will be Driver’s license or ID card more economical — the reduced fee made available for applicants who issued by a State or outlying pos- or the full, 5 year fee? session of the United States According to the TSA, it is most will not require the security threat Original or certified copy of beneficial for applicants who will use assessment. The reduced fee is availbirth certificate issued by a State, a comparable security threat assess- able for the following: applicants who hold a valid county, municipal authority, or out- ment and pay the reduced fee to do so Materials lying possession of the United within 12 months of receiving the Hazardous States bearing an official seal comparable threat assessment. After Endorsement (HME) issued after Voter’s registration card 12 months, it is more cost effective to May 31, 2005, applicants who hold a valid U.S. military ID card or U.S. pay the full fee for TSA to complete retired military ID the security threat assessment and Free and Secure Trade (FAST) U.S. military dependent’s card issue a TWIC with an expiration date card, applicants who hold a MerchConsular Report of Birth 5 years from the date of issuance. ant Mariner Document (MMD) Abroad issued after February 3, 2003, or Expired U.S. passport What are the methods of payment? applicants who hold a MerchNative American tribal docuPayment must be made with credment it card (Visa or MasterCard only), ant Marine License (MML) issued U.S. Social Security card money order, or certified/cashier’s after January 13, 2006. For those applicants seeking to U.S. Citizen card I-197 check. Checks should be made U.S. Military discharge papers payable to Lockheed Martin. An pay the reduced fee, they must preDD-214 additional option has been provided sent their HME, FAST card, MMD, Department of Transportation through the use of company pur- or MML (meeting the requirements Online TWIC Enrollment Guidelines outlined above) at the time of enrollment. WAIVERS AND APPEALS Is there going to be an appeals and waivers process? Yes. Applicants who are denied a TWIC will be notified of the reason for denial and instructed on how to apply for an appeal or waiver. All applicants have the opportunity to appeal a disqualification, and may apply to TSA for a waiver if disqualified for certain crimes, or if they are aliens in Temporary Protected Status. Applicants who seek a waiver and are denied may seek review by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Also, applicants who are disqualified due to intelligence-related issues and are denied an appeal or a waiver may seek ALJ review. How long does someone have to file an appeal or waiver? The applicant has 60 days from the time they receive a Final Determination of Threat Assessment to provide the required information to TSA for consideration. If someone is denied, can they access secure areas of a port pending the appeal/waiver process or do they have to wait for its completion? Access to these areas will depend on the owner/operator security plan and their escorting procedures, as well as the enforcement and compliance date for that particular USCG Captain of the Port zone. CARD ISSUANCE How will the cards be issued? The applicant will be notified by email or phone, as specified during enrollment, when his/her credential is available at the enrollment center. The applicant must return to the same enrollment center to pick up his/her TWIC. How long is the TWIC card good for? TWICs remain valid for five years, unless the expiration date was based on a comparable credential (FAST card, Merchant Mariner Document or Hazmat Endorsement). The expiration date is displayed on the face of the credential and TWIC holders will be responsible for renewal. For applicants who pay the reduced fee, the expiration date of their TWIC will be 5 years from the date listed on the credential associated with the comparable security threat assessment. How will I be notified to get a TWIC? Facility and vessel owners/operators are required to inform employees of their responsibility to possess a TWIC and what parts of the facility and vessel will require a TWIC for unescorted access. The intent of this requirement is for owners/operators to determine which of their employees will need a TWIC and inform those employees in enough time for them to comply with the requirements. Owners/operators are also encouraged, but not required, to provide this same information to personnel who are not facility or vessel employees, e.g. contractors, truck drivers. Coast Guard Captains of the Port will also be working with the local Area Maritime Security Committees to communicate enrollment center locations and scheduling, as well as TWIC requirements and compliance dates. January 2008 �45525_P01_24:January 08 12/21/2007 12:40 PM Page 5 2007 Year in Review Union Makes Great Strides Toward ‘Brighter Future’ Armed with the principles of the “Mapping Out a Brighter Future” motto that was unveiled during the Seafarers International Union of North America’s convention (an event that took place last September), the SIU’s Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU made great strides in 2007 to help ensure a brighter future for its members and the wellbeing of our country and industry. Brighter Future for Members, Families Throughout the year, the SIU stood arm in arm with the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department and the rest of the federation when calling for improved health and wellness for mariners, other union members and indeed all Americans. Health care is a hot-button issue and promises to be for some time to come. Seeing SIU members involved in rallies, and get-out-the-vote, email and letter-writing campaigns calling for improved and affordable health care for Americans were not uncommon sights. The SIU not only participated in this national mobilization for better and affordable health care, but also made moves in 2007 for the membership by switching its service provider for the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP) to CIGNA HealthCare. The move broadened the size of the health care network and the agreement set lower deductibles for participants and their families. The SIU also took a noteworthy step forward in helping members secure their economic futures by introducing a 401(k) savings plan that allows members to contribute before-tax income into a number of investment plans tailored to their needs. In an annual benefit aimed at improving educational opportunities for members and their families, in May, six dependents of Seafarers were chosen to receive a combined total of $120,000 in scholarships through the SHBP. The recipients have aspirations to also help brighten futures by taking classwork to eventually learn to cure diseases, for example, and help make the world a better place. More U.S.-Flagged Ships = More Jobs for U.S. Seafarers A key reference point for the “brighter future map” is this simple equation: U.S. flags equal U.S. jobs. It’s been a driving force behind the SIU’s efforts for decades, noted SIU President Michael Sacco. Last year was no exception, and the results weren’t hard to spot. Among other gains and improvements, the newer Washington Express joined the Maritime Security Program fleet, replacing the older Liberator. The third and fourth T-AKE ships (the USNS Alan Shepard and USNS Richard E. Byrd) were launched, signaling new ship- SIUNA President Michael Sacco (right) listens as U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings, addressing the SIUNA convention, discusses challenges facing the maritime industry. board employment opportunities for members of the SIU Government Services Division. SIU members manned new “duck boats” as part of New York Splash Tours. Overseas Shipholding Group took delivery of the first three tankers in the new Veteran Class series: the Overseas Houston, Overseas Long Beach and Overseas Los Angeles. OSG also ordered ATBs and additional tankers for the Jones Act fleet. The tankers are being built at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. SIU-contracted Horizons Lines added five new ships in 2007. The MSP fleet continued to grow as the containership Yorktown Express was ushered in. Express Marine added the SIUmanned tugboat Duty into service. Crowley welcomed the ATBs Gulf Reliance and Resolve into its fleet. SIU-member CIVMARS boarded the Military Sealift Command’s USNS Safeguard. Seafarers also crewed up Crowley Ship Management’s National Glory. Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. The hearing was about trends and innovations in mariner education and to assess how growing workforce shortages will affect the maritime industry as trade increases. Standing at bat for the SIU was its Executive Vice President Augie Tellez who told the panel that shipboard manpower must be addressed in the context of national security; that sealift lessons learned after the Persian Gulf War mandated the need for a strong Ready Reserve Force; and that the SIU, its contracted operators and affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education have strongly contributed to the nation’s pool of skilled and loyal U.S. citizen seafarers. Additionally, the union missed no opportunities to weigh in on the Continued on Page 21 Political Action Whether helping gather support for maritime staples such as the Jones Act, Seafarers continued delivering the goods for U.S. troops in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Above, the SIU-crewed USNS Charlton loads a Bradley fighting vehicle in Savannah, Ga. January 2008 cargo preference and the Maritime Security Program, or promoting general labor issues such as the right to form a union, the SIU stayed typically active in 2007 when it came to grassroots action as well as taking their points directly to lawmakers. When the SIU – along with other unions affiliated with the MTD – weighed in with a resolution of support for the Employee Free Choice Act, it helped bolster the cause in Congress. In 2007, favorable momentum for the bill mushroomed, and the legislation passed in the House. In the Senate, it got tied up in end-of-the-year filibusters in which numerous pieces of national legislation didn’t stand a chance of being voted on, including the Belated Thank You legislation that the House approved. It’s predicted that Congress has not seen the last of these pieces of legislation, however. The SIU’s expertise was called on in an October hearing before the House The Overseas Long Beach was one of many new vessels joining the Seafarers-contracted fleet in 2007. It’s also part of an ongoing series of new builds at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, a union facility. Seafarers LOG 5 �45525_P01_24X:January 08 12/27/2007 3:05 PM Page 6 Piney Point Port Agent Edd Morris Retires Members of the bosun recertification class who graduated in August visited SIU Headquarters in Camp Springs, Md. In photo above, they are pictured with SIU President Michael Sacco (eighth from left) and SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel (far right). Two Classes of Bosuns Complete Recertification The Seafarers International Union over the years consistently has provided unlicensed mariners with the opportunities and skills necessary to achieve success and provide for their loved ones. Eighteen bosuns took full advantage of this offering recently and parlayed it into milestones in their respective careers. Each earned prominence as a recertified bosun. The mariners, who comprised two different classes, received their graduation certificates in August, and December respectively, following their completion of the bosun recertification course—the highest level of vocational education available at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education to members of the deck department. The SIU-affiliated school is located in Piney Point, Md. During the month-long course, the 18 Seafarers learned more about the industry in which they work. By their own enthusiastic acknowledgements, each now is better equipped to assume leadership roles by taking this knowledge back to their shipmates at the hiring halls and aboard individual vessels. Those completing the class in August, and their respective home ports were: Bosuns Conrad H. Burke (New York); Riccardo Ciolino (Boston, Mass.); Roberto A. Contreras (New York); Philip Corl (Wilmington, Calif.); Richard Dobbyn (Boston); Basil D’Souza (New York); Rudolph Fraser (New York); Elkanah B. Ladia (Jacksonville, Fla.); Wilfred P. Maurice (New York); and Cecil Yearwood (New York). The December group consisted of Bosuns Egidio Ferreira (Boston); Keller Gilyard (Jacksonville); Abdul Hassan (New York); Raphael James (New York); Matthew Sagay (Houston); David Shaw (Wilmington); Roy Tyler (Jacksonville) and Samuel Uyatede (Houston). Besides making complimentary remarks about the instruction they received, the new recertified bosuns had high praise for the training center’s staff and facilities. Collectively, they lauded the SIU leadership for the fashion in which it is conducting the business of the union and keeping the best interests of its rank-and-file members on the front burner. Each of the graduates also offered words of encouragement to unlicensed apprentices and upgraders who are attending the school. They urged the apprentices to work hard, pay attention and to be good shipmates when they go to their first vessel. Upgraders were advised to continue taking advantage of their opportunities to enhance their skills at the school and to freely share their knowledge with others. The bosun recertification course blends hands-on training and classroom instruction. It also includes meetings with representatives from the Seafarers Plans and various SIU departments. Topics include fire fighting and other safety training; sealift operations; the amended STCW convention; small arms; computer skills; water survival; other international maritime conventions and more. Eight bosuns graduated from the bosun recertification class in December. In photo above, they are congratulated on their achievement by SIU VP Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi (left), SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez (fourth from left), SIU President Sacco (eighth from left), SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel (fourth from right) and SIU VP Contracts George Tricker (second from right). 6 Seafarers LOG Thailand. The travel alone might have Longtime union official Edward W. been considered arduous, but it was “Edd” Morris, who most recently nothing compared to the regular threat served as the SIU port agent in Piney stemming from the fact that when Point, Md., retired late last year folMorris serviced ships – no matter how lowing a career that began aboard discreetly – people knew or at least deep-sea ships in 1960 and saw him suspected he was carrying money to first come ashore in 1965. the crews. It would be an exaggeration to say “What people don’t realize is that Morris, 67, saw it all in the SIU – but there were individuals out there waitnot by much. He started shipping during to rob and kill us,” Morris mattering what he described as “lean times,” of-factly stated. “We had many issues took part in a number of key beefs we dealt with (usually centering on including the Robin Line organizing workers’ rights) that didn’t become campaign, and survived harrowing public knowledge.” experiences while working for the Nevertheless, his only real regret is union overseas from the late 1960s to having missed many family events mid-70s. But he also witnessed a because of travel for both the SIU and revival of sorts in U.S.-flag shipping, ITF. He often was gone for days or and in particular played his role with steadfast reliability as the SIU continu- weeks at a time, but, much like the members whom he ultimately served, ally adapted to changing times. Through it all, Morris always took a he accepted it as part of the job. Of course, part of the reason he freno-nonsense, thorough approach to his quently travelled is his makeup: detailjob, whether focusing on rank-and-file oriented, conscientious, and willing to SIU members or assisting in cases sacrifice for the good of rank-and-file involving the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), to which the SIU is affiliated. “What I enjoyed the most was being able to provide sensible counsel to members in trouble,” he recalled. “This job gave me an opportunity to help people have a better life. I think that’s what attracted a lot of us to this work – it gives us a significant chance to help others.” “Edd has been one of the most ded- Piney Point Port Agent Edd Morris (center) is congratulated on icated and loyal his retirement by (from left) Seafarers Plans Administrator Maggie Bowen, SIU President Michael Sacco, Norfolk Port union officials I’ve Agent Georg Kenny, VP Contracts George Tricker, Executive VP ever worked with,” stated SIU President Augie Tellez and Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel. The photo was taken at the November membership meeting in Piney Point, Michael Sacco. “He Md. absolutely will be missed, but I wish members and the union as a whole. him nothing but the best in a long and Morris’ positions with the SIU healthy retirement.” included work as a representative in SIU Secretary-Treasurer David New York during the mid-1970s; San Heindel said Morris had an eye for Francisco port agent from 1977-80; detail and “you always knew his appliJacksonville, Fla., port agent from cation of the contract was followed to 1980-84; various posts at the unionthe letter. He always gave his best and affiliated Paul Hall Center, including he did a great job.” port agent, from 1984-89 and again The son of a union ship-fitter, from 2001-07; and headquarters repreMorris was born in Dearborn, Mich. sentative from 1990-93. He went through the union’s old Considering his usually serious Andrew Furuseth Training School demeanor, it may surprise some that (forerunner to today’s Paul Hall Center) and sailed in the engine depart- Morris unofficially modified his first ment, with the exception of one stint in name (often affectionately pronounced by others as “E-double-D”) largely on the deck department aboard a Great a whim. He was at the San Francisco Lakes ship. hall in the 1960s when a secretary “At that time, it was a difficult “who thought it was cute” wrote his industry to get into,” he noted. “New name with an extra consonant. people – C-cards – had to stand out in “I said ‘Why not?’ and went with it the street. Jobs that were available to as a penname,” Morris remembered. C-cards were put out at different times More typically, during one of his of day, posted on a telephone pole. It last membership meetings as an active was kind of a weird time.” employee, he offered this advice to He started working for the union in Seafarers: “Have faith and trust in your 1965 in New York, and later served as union officials when things get tough the SIU representative in Yokohama, and tight. They are constantly working Japan – a position with no shortage of for your best interests, and sometimes challenges. Morris cites his good foryou have to be patient before certain tune in that he met his future wife information comes out. while working overseas from 1968-75, “Also it’s important to support but the job during those days left him SPAD. All union homes live and die constantly on the go, meeting with Seafarers in Singapore, the Philippines, with the stroke of a (legislative) pen. That’s a fact and we all know it.” Vietnam, Hong Kong, Manila and January 2008 �45525_P01_24X:January 08 12/27/2007 3:16 PM Page 7 Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums is presented with a birthday cake (a few days ahead of his actual birth date) by Recertified Steward Louella Sproul (right) and Tracey Moore, secretary at the Oakland hall. San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, SIU Asst. VP Nick Celona and San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White. Sgt. Major Dennis Dineen (USMC, Ret); Leonard Stefanelli, VP of NorthCal and member of Cow Palace board of directors; Lt. Col. Keith Canevaro, 23rd Marine Regiment; and Joey Alioto, owner of Alioto’s Restaurant. Oakland Hall Hosts Successful Thanksgiving Feast String of Well-Attended West Coast Region Events Continues Holiday tradition is alive and well at the SIU hall in Oakland, Calif., which recently hosted its 17th annual preThanksgiving feast. The event took place Nov. 20 (two days before the holiday) and attracted more than 200 guests, including a customary array of Seafarers, retirees, members of Congress, the mayor, military personnel from the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard, and other visitors from the trade union movement, local government and business community. This marked the second time the gathering has taken place at the union hall on 7th Street – a facility in which the union set up shop in the summer of 2007. Previously, it had been conducted at the old hall in San Francisco. Although the yearly get-together has become a labor of love for SIU Assistant Vice President West Coast Nick Celona, who again worked closely with the committee that organized the event, the SIU official noted that for many guests, it also has evolved into a “can’t miss” day. “It’s really gratifying to see so many people enjoying the celebration and getting into the Thanksgiving spirit,” Celona stated. “The positive feedback each year is amazing.” He added, “In particular, I want to thank all of the SIU members who stepped forward and donated their time and energy for this occasion. They did an incredible job, just as they’ve always done for this event, and they deserve tons of credit.” Also helping ensure that the traditional and plentiful Thanksgiving fare was wellreceived were Alioto’s Restaurant on Fishermen’s Wharf, and Scott’s Seafood from Jack London Square. Among the attendees were U.S. Reps. Barbara Lee and Jerry McNerney, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith, San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White and U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Craig Bone. Representatives from the 23rd Marine Regiment presented the colors. Officials and members from a wide range of unions also participated, including the Sheet Metal Workers, Carpenters, Fire Fighters, Police Officers Association, Laborers, IBEW, Plumbers, Sugar Workers, Theatrical Stage Employees, MM&P, AMO, MEBA, MFOW and Machinists. Representatives from the California Labor Federation, the Alameda County Central Labor Council and a number of union-contracted companies also took part in the festivities. Congresswoman Barbara Lee, SIU Asst. VP Celona and SIU VP West Coast Nick Marrone Superior Court Goldsmith Asst. VP Nick Celona is proud to have in attendance his wife, Denise, and mother, Grace. Bosun George Pino January 2008 California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski Judge Ernest Congressman Jerry McNerney and SIU VP West Coast Nick Marrone USCG Rear Admiral Craig Bone and Oakland Councilwoman Nancy Nadel Members of the 23rd Marine Regiment present the colors. Seafarers and guests enjoy the food and the company. Seafarers LOG 7 �45525_P01_24:January 08 12/21/2007 12:41 PM Page 8 With Seafarers Aboard the Liberty Glory These photos of Seafarers aboard the Liberty Glory were taken during a recent voyage to South Africa and Mozambique. Thanks to Third Mate Kevin Corwin for submitting them. General Utility Deck /Engine Ramon Sanchez (above, left) and Unlicensed Apprentice Fadel Mohamed are pictured in the machine shop. Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. GSU Teodoro Flores helps keep the galley clean. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: AB Thomas Walker puts the finishing touches on a davit. Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. AB Nelson Sambula paints the ship’s rail. Recertified Bosun Victor Beata touches up paint on a hatch coaming. Seafarers Scholarship Program Booklet Request Form Please send me the 2008 SIU Scholarship Program booklet which contains eligibility information, procedures for applying and a copy of the application form. Name __________________________________________________________________________ Mariner's Social Security Number __________________________________________________ Street Address __________________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip Code______________________________________________________________ ( ) Telephone Number ______________________________________________________________ This application is for: Self Dependent Mail this completed form to Scholarship Program, Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. 1/08 8 Seafarers LOG CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. January 2008 �45525_P01_24:January 08 12/21/2007 12:41 PM Page 9 Paul Hall Center School Supplement This handy version of the Paul Hall Center’s catalog is printed in the Seafarers LOG as a convenience to SIU members. Please keep it for reference. NOTE: Prerequisites for all upgrading courses in the SHLSS catalog include being at least 18 years old, holding a U.S. Merchant Marine Document, passing a physical exam, and English language proficiency. Paul Hall Center Course Guide for 2008 In 2007, the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education appropriately observed its 40th anniversary through various ceremonies, articles and keepsakes. Consistent with its proud tradition, however, the SIUaffiliated school spent far more time enhancing its curriculums than reflecting on the past. In particular, the school upgraded its facilities to include three auxiliary bridges with z-drive and conventional controls. The Paul Hall Center also upgraded the auxiliary bridges from single-channel visuals to threechannel visuals using plasma screens. The main and auxiliary bridges were further modernized with Transas 4000 software and new radars and radar emulators. Based in Piney Point, Md., the center also installed a liquefied gas cargo simulator offering comprehensive training in LG familiarization, LG specialization and LG safety. Looking ahead to 2008, the school remains focused on continuing to deliver the world’s best-trained mariners. The Paul Hall Center offers dozens of U.S. Coast Guard-approved classes, most of which empha- DECK DEPT. Ratings Forming Part of a Navigational Watch/Able Seaman Applicants completing our 4-week Ratings Forming Part of a Navigational Watch/Able Seaman program satisfy: (1) the training, seagoing service, and assessment requirements of 46 CFR 12.05-3(c) and Section A-II/4 of the STCW Code, Mandatory Minimum Requirements for Certification of Ratings Forming Part of a Navigational Watch;—AND—(2) if presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, the written examination requirements of 46 CFR 12.05-9 for the “Deck General & Navigation General” and “Deck Safety & Rules of the Road” exam modules for any Able Seaman endorsement and the practical (knot tying) examination requirements of 46 CFR 12.05-9 for any Able Seaman endorsement PROVIDED that all other requirements of 46 CFR Subpart 12.05, including sea service, are also met. The course consists of hands-on training and classroom work covering deck seamanship, rules of the road, marlinespike seamanship, helmsmanship, cargo handling, safety, fire fighting, emergency procedures, first aid, anchoring, and mooring, and aids to navigation. Prerequisites: Sea service, Water Survival (Lifeboatman), STOS Special: 12 months’ service on deck, 2 sizes hands-on training. Once again in keeping with a tradition built throughout four decades, the school offers everything from entry-level programs to upgrading classes to license preparation to academic support and more. Students also may receive college credit recommendations for successfully completing certain sanctioned courses. In recent years, the center has answered America’s heightened security needs by implementing comprehensive maritime safety and anti-terrorism training for every student who passes through the front gate. For example, the school added a small-arms range approved by the U.S. Military Sealift Command (along with accompanying curriculums) and then in early 2005 became the first facility to offer a vessel security officer course approved by the U.S. Maritime Administration. An overview of many of the courses available at Piney Point is contained in this eight-page section and also appears on the web site www.seafarers.org, in the Paul Hall Center section. Students should note that courses and class dates months’ sea service under the supervision of the Master, the OIC of the navigational watch, or qualified ratings (STCW) Limited: 18 months’ service on deck, 2 months’ sea service under the supervision of the Master, OIC, or qualified ratings Unlimited: 3 years’ deck, 2 months’ sea service under the supervision of the Master or OIC Bridge Resource Management Applicants completing our 30-hour Bridge Resource Management course satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(o) and the requirements of Section B-VIII/ 2, Part 3-1 of the STCW Code. Bridge Resource Management-Unlimited is designed for persons with significant shipping experience who hold or are seeking a U.S. Coast Guard license. This course fulfills the training requirements of effective bridge teamwork as set forth in STCW 95, A-II/1, A-II/2, and BVIII/2 and 46 CFR 10.25 and 10.209. Prerequisites: Radar Unlimited, ARPA, License of 200 Gross Tons or greater OR seeking an original third mate or limited license Bridge Resource Management (1600 Tons or less) Students who successfully complete this course will have the knowledge and experience needed to continually reassess the allocation and use of bridge resources using bridge management principles. may change due to the manpower needs of SIU-contracted companies. Therefore, Seafarers should check the latest issue of the Seafarers LOG for the most up-todate class listings. Schedules also are available on the web site, and additional course descriptions may be posted, too. The basic eligibility for SIU members who want to upgrade at Piney Point includes 150 days’ sea time in the previous year, one day of sea time in the last six months prior to the date the class starts, a copy of their z-card (front and back), a copy of the identification page of their union book, plus any other course-specific requirements. If the course mandates a U.S. Coast Guard test to acquire the endorsement, then the upgrader must meet all Coast Guard requirements prior to taking the class. Some courses have other specific requirements which are printed in bold. For more information about the Paul Hall Center or any of its courses, contact the Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075, or call (301) 994-0010. Applicants completing our 26-hour Bridge Resource Management (1600 Tons) course satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(o) and the requirements of Section B-VIII/2, Part 3-1 of the STCW Code. THIS APPROVAL IS LIMITED TO SERVICE UPON VESSELS OF NOT MORE THAN 1600 GROSS TONS (DOMESTIC). Prerequisites: Radar Unlimited, ARPA, License of 200 gross tons or greater OR in the process of getting license Celestial Navigation Applicants completing our 126-hour Celestial Navigation course with a passing grade of at least 80% satisfy the Celestial Navigation training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). In conjunction with this course, any approved instructor is authorized to sign-off for a successful demonstration on the students’ “Control Sheets” for the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-1-1A; OICNW-1-1B; OICNW-11C; OICNW-1-1D; OICNW-1-1E and OICNW-1-1F. The course covers the areas of celestial navigation required for licensing as a second or third mate unlimited and for all limited licenses. Students are instructed in latitude observations by sun and Polaris, running fixes by sun, stars, and planets, compass error by amplitude and azimuth, star identification, and care and use of the sextant. Prerequisites: ARPA, Radar Observer, Scientific calculator skill, time/speed/distance formula Electronic Chart Display Information Systems (ECDIS) Applicants completing our 35-hour Electronic Chart Display Information Systems (ECDIS) course are considered to have successfully demonstrated the competencies “Plan and Conduct a Passage and Determine Position: Thorough Knowledge of and Ability to Use ECDIS” of Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code AND “Determine Position and the Accuracy of Resultant Position Fix: Position Determination Using ECDIS With Specific Knowledge of its Operating Principles, Limitations, Sources of Error, Detection of Misrepresentation of infor- January 2008 mation and Methods of Correction to Obtain Accurate Position Fixing” of Table A-II/2 of the STCW Code. The course provides training in the basic theory and use of electronic chart display and information systems (ECDIS) for those who will be in charge of a navigational watch on vessels equipped with ECDIS. Students learn to use, update, and verify electronic chart information. The training comprises all safety-relevant aspects and aims beyond the use of operational controls. All theoretical aspects and major characteristics of ECDIS data, such as data contents, system integration, information layers, and data updating, are covered in depth. Prerequisites: General Admission requirements; ARPA certificate; Radar certificate; Terrestrial and Coastal Navigation training for license preparation; USCG-approved STCW Basic Safety Training course Electronic Navigation Any applicant who has successfully completed our 40-hour Electronic Navigation course will satisfy the Electronic Navigation training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). The practical assessments in this course will be accepted as the equivalent of the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-1-4A; OICNW1-4B;OICNW-1-4C; and OICNW-1-4D. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service Fast Rescue Boats Applicants completing our 30-hour Fast Rescue Boats course satisfy the requirements of Table A-VI/2-2 of the STCW Code, Specification of the Minimum Standard of Competence in Fast Rescue Boats. The Paul Hall Center’s Fast Rescue Boats course trains students to handle and take charge of fast rescue boats during or after launch in adverse weather and sea conditions. Students learn how to operate Continued on next page Seafarers LOG 9 �45525_P01_24X:January 08 12/27/2007 3:26 PM Page 10 include a review of cardiac and airway management, rescuer safety, body structure, examining trauma victims and medical patients, treating head and spinal injuries, burns, musculoskeletal injuries, and rescued persons. Also included are obtaining radio medical advice, administering medication, and sterilization techniques. Prerequisites: Candidates for the course must possess current certification from the American Red Cross for CPR for the Professional Rescuer or equivalent certification issued through a similar authorizing agency Course Guide Continued from Page 9 a fast rescue boat engine, use all locating devices, including communication and signaling equipment between the rescue boat and a helicopter and the ship, and how to carry out search patterns. Prerequisites: Basic Safety, Survival Craft and Rescue Boats other than fast rescue boats Fundamental Concepts of Navigation Applicants completing our 70-hour Fundamental Concepts of Navigation course and who present our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center WITHIN 5 YEARS of the completion of training, receive 20 days’ sea service credit that may be used—ONLY—for the following: (1) Any license restricted to service upon vessels of not more than 200 gross tons (domestic); OR (2) Any license restricted to service upon inland or Great Lakes waters; OR (3) Any Able Seaman endorsement PROVIDED that the applicant has at least 6 months of actual sea service that can be credited toward an Able Seaman endorsement. Topics covered in this c1ass include the use of nautical charts, calculating time, speed, and distance problems, the use of plotting instruments and compasses, dead reckoning, bearings, fixes, current sailing, piloting, and an introduction to collision regulations and rules of the road. Prerequisite: 120 days of sea time as an AB Global Maritime Distress & Safety System (GMDSS) Applicants completing our 70-hour Global Maritime Distress & Safety System (GMDSS) course with a passing grade of at least 75% satisfy the GMDSS training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(n) and Table A-IV/2 of the STCW Code. Applicants for this 70-hour course must hold a 200-ton or greater license, or show a current U.S. Coast Guard approval letter indicating they are eligible to sit for a license greater than 200 tons. The class is designed to meet the requirements set forth in Table A-IV/2 of the amended STCW convention. Topics include principles of the global marine distress and safety system communications, distress alerting and operational procedures for VHF DSC, INMARST-C, MF/HF, NAVTEX, EPIRB, SART, and VHF (SCT). The course blends classroom instruction and practical exercises. Prerequisites: 1 year experience as a member of navigational watch on the bridge of an ocean going vessel OR licensed radio officer or engineer Government Vessels This 3-week class is open to mariners sailing in any department. The course is structured as three 1-week, stand-alone modules. The modules may be taken in any order. Included in the first week are an introduction to the U.S. Military Sealift Command and military vessels, damage control, CBRD (chemical, biological, radiological defense), anti-terrorism level I and hazardous materials training. The second week features forklift operations, underway replenishment and vertical replenishment. Cargo-handling and crane operations are included in the third week. (This course is required of students attending AB or FOWT courses.) Prerequisites: No additional Magnetic and Gyro Compasses Any applicant who has successfully completed our 20-hour Magnetic and Gyro Compasses course will satisfy the Compass—Magnetic and Gyro training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on ves- 10 Seafarers LOG Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (Including Sea Service) sels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). The practical assessments in this course will be accepted as the equivalent of assessments OICNW-1-5A; OICNW-15B; OICNW-1-5C; OICNW-1-5D; and OICNW-1-5E from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service Basic Meteorology Any applicant who has successfully completed our 40-hour Meteorology (Operational Level) course will satisfy the Meteorology training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). The practical assessments conducted in this course will be accepted as the equivalent of OICNW1-7A; OICNW-1-7B; and OICNW-1-7C from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service Radar Observer (Unlimited) Applicants completing our 5-day Radar Observer (Unlimited) course, including successful demonstration of all practical assessments, satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 10.480 for an endorsement as Radar Observer (Unlimited) and the radar training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). In conjunction with this course, any approved instructor is authorized to sign-off for a successful demonstration on the students’ “Control Sheets” for the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-1-2B; OICNW-1-2C; OICNW-3-1A; OICNW-3-1B; OICNW-3-1C; OICNW-3-1D; OICNW-3-1E; OICNW-3-1F; OICNW-3-1G; OICNW-3-1H; OICNW-3-1I; OICNW-3-1J; and OICNW-31K. This course features hands-on training and classroom work, including radar theory, observation, operation and use, interpretation and plotting, advanced radar plotting, collision avoidance and navigational exercise. Students operate modern audio-visual and radar simulation gear, as well as the full shiphandling simulator, as they practice controlling and maneuvering a vessel, plotting courses and safely guiding a ship without jeopardizing the safety of other vessels. Also included are practical exercises and lectures covering inland waterway and river navigation and piloting. Prerequisites: Navigation exercises assume background in chart work and coastal navigation Radar Observer Recertification Applicants completing our 1-Day Radar Observer Recertification course satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 10.480(d) for renewal of any Radar Observer endorsement. This course does not satisfy any training or assessment requirements of the STCW Convention and STCW Code. (Navigation exercises assume background in chart work and coastal navigation.) Prerequisites: No additional Radar Observer Refresher Applicants completing our 3-Day Radar Observer Refresher course satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 10.480(d) for renewal of any Radar Observer endorsement. This course does not satisfy any training or assessment requirements of the STCW Convention and STCW Code. (Navigation exercises assume background in chart work and coastal navigation.) Prerequisite: Radar Observer ARPA Applicants completing our 32-hour Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) course, including successful demonstration of all practical assessments, satisfy the ARPA training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC) and of 46 CFR 10.205(m)(1). The practical assessments conducted in this course are equivalent to the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-3-2A; OICNW-3-2B; OICNW-3-2C; OICNW-32D; OICNW-3-2E; OICNW-3-2F; OICNW- 3-2G; OICNW-3-2H; OICNW3-2I; OICNW-3-2J; OICNW-3-2K; OICNW-3-2L; and OICNW-3- 2M. (Navigation exercises assume background in chart work and coastal navigation.) This course of instruction incorporates the use of ARPA simulation equipment to operate, observe, and use the radar plotting aids. Students gain an understanding of the limitations of the aids as well as their performance factors, sensor inputs and malfunctions and gain knowledge of tracking capabilities, processing, operational warnings, and target acquisition. Prerequisite: Radar Observer Medical Care Provider Applicants completing our 21-hour Medical Care Provider course satisfy the Medical First Aid training requirements of Section A-VI/4 and Table A-VI/4-1 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 12.13-1. This course is designed for mariners who are employed or may be employed on U.S.flag ships. It meets STCW requirements. Students successfully completing this course must take a refresher course within 5 years or provide information to the U.S. Coast Guard documenting maintenance of medical skills. Cardiopulmonary (CPR) certification must be renewed annually. Training as a Medical First Aid Provider is the second level of medical training required by STCW. Topics Applicants completing our entire 16week Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch Program, INCLUDING the 360 days of seagoing service: (1) receive 720 days’ sea service credit toward a license as Third Mate of Ocean or Near Coastal Steam or Motor Vessels of Any Gross Tons. Applicants must present evidence of not less than 1 year of qualifying seagoing service obtained AFTER enrollment in the OICNW program, including at least six months performing bridge watch-keeping duties under the supervision of the master or a qualified officer. Applicants must have previously completed our entire Unlicensed Apprentice Program, and sea service awarded for completion of the Unlicensed Apprentice Program may NOT be used to meet the service requirements for OICNW and Third Mate;— AND—(2) Satisfy the training and assessment requirements of 46 CFR 10.910 and Section AII/1 and Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code, Specification of Minimum Standard of Competence for Officers in Charge of a Navigational Watch on Ships of 500 Gross Tonnage or More, PROVIDED that they have also completed the following Coast Guard approved courses within five years of completion of the OICNW program: a) Basic Safety Training; b) Basic and Advanced Fire Fighting; c) Medical Care Provider; d) Proficiency in Survival Craft; e) Tank Ship Familiarization (Dangerous Liquids); f) Celestial Navigation (STCW); g) Radar Observer (Unlimited); h) Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA); i) Bridge Resource Management; j) Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS); and k) Visual Communications. Prerequisites: ARPA, Basic/Adv. Fire Fighting, BRM, Celestial Navigation, First Aid, GMDSS, Medical First Aid Provider, Proficiency in Survival Craft or Water Survival, Radar Observer, Tanker Familiarization, BST, sea time for 3rd Mate and OICNW Oil Spill Prevention and Containment This 1-week course consists of classroom and practical training exercises. Topics include oil types and petroleum products’ behavior on water; pollution prevention regulations; hazardous materials training; spill prevention; absorbents, suction equipment, skimmers, and their proper use; and small boat operations. Students also receive instruction in spill containment booms, boom towing configurations, and anchoring operations. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites HAZMAT Recertification This 1-day class includes a regulatory overview of Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) requirements, reviews of toxology terminology, medical monitoring instruments and techniques, sitecontrol and emergency preparedness, proper use of respiratory protection, and monitoring equipment and new technoloContinued on next page January 2008 �45525_P01_24:January 08 12/21/2007 12:41 PM Course Guide Continued from Page 10 gy. Prerequisite: 24or 40-hour Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) courses Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities Applicants completing our 4-hour Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(l)(4) and Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-4 of the Seafarers’ Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code. This course provides the unlicensed apprentice candidate with a general understanding and basic knowledge of human relationships, social skills necessary for living and working aboard operational merchant ships, and a working knowledge of issues impacting preparedness for international travel. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Personal Survival Techniques Applicants completing our 12-hour Personal Survival Techniques course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the Personal Survival training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-1 of the Seafarers’ Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(1). Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Proficiency in Survival Craft/Personal Survival Techniques (Lifeboatman) Applicants completing our 37-hour Proficiency in Survival Craft/Personal Survival Techniques course satisfy: (1) the Survival Craft training requirements of Section A-VI/2 and Table A-VI/2-1 of the STCW Code;—AND—(2) the training requirements of 46 CFR 12.10-3(a)(6) for any endorsement as Lifeboatman, PROVIDED that sea service requirements are also met;—AND—(2) if presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, the written and practical examination requirements of 46 CFR 12.10-5 for a Lifeboatman endorsement (exam module 481xx) and the written “Survival Craft” examination requirements for service on vessels not equipped with lifeboats (exam module 441xx or 706xx),—AND—(3) the Personal Survival Techniques training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-1 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(1). This course helps mariners develop the required knowledge and application skills for water survival including launch, use and recovery of survival craft, and the proper use of survival equipment. Page 11 Additionally, students learn the procedures necessary to take charge and maintain a survival craft and protect embarked personnel while on board. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Search and Rescue (Operational Level) Any applicant who has successfully completed our 16-hour Search & Rescue (Operational Level) course will satisfy the Search & Rescue training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman Applicants completing our 70-hour Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the training requirements for service as a Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman AND the training and assessment requirements of Table A-II/4 of the STCW Code, “Specification of Minimum Standard of Competence for Ratings Forming Part of a Navigational Watch,” and 46 CFR 12.05- 3(c) PROVIDED they also present evidence of at least 6 months’ sea-going service performing navigational watchkeeping functions under the supervision of the Master or officer in charge of the navigational watch. If the applicant does not present evidence of 6 months of this service, he or she satisfies the training and assessment requirements for certification as Rating Forming Part of a Navigational Watch RESTRICTED to lookout duties only. This certification is valid for 1 year and may not be renewed. This course is designed for deck trainees who need a fast track to Ratings Forming Part of the Navigational Watch. It meets the requirements of 46 CFR 12.05.3(c) and STCW Table A-II/4. Topics covered in the course include: anchoring, mooring, knot-tying, gyro and magnetic compass, wheel watch, error chain analysis and pilot interactions, helm control, rules of the road, IALA buoy systems, shipboard communication, helm watch relief and lookout watch. Prerequisites: UA Program Phases 1 and 2 Tank Barge Dangerous Liquids Applicants completing our 38-hour Tank Barge Dangerous Liquids Course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the training requirements of 46 CFR 13.309 for an endorsement as Tankerman-PIC (Barge). Prerequisites: Present evidence of service in accordance with 46 CFR 13.303. Fire Fighting may be taken simultaneously with the course Tank Ship Dangerous Liquids Applicants completing our 5-day Tank Ship Dangerous Liquids course satisfy the training requirements of 46 CFR 13.113(d) (1) (ii) (A), 13.115 (b) (1), 13.209, 13.309, 13.409 or 13.509 for any dangerous liquids tankerman endorsement. This course provides training for masters, chief engineers, officers, and any person with immediate responsibility for the loading, discharging and care in transit or handling of cargo. It comprises a specialized training program appropriate to their duties, including oil tanker safety, fire safety measure and systems, pollution prevention, operational practice and obligations under applicable laws and regulations. Prerequisites: 3 months’ seagoing service on tankers (DL) OR completion of a Tank Ship Familiarization (Dangerous Liquids) (Paul Hall Center “Tanker Assistant” course) to cover STCW Code Section A-V/1 para. 2-8. Fire fighting course in accordance with 47 CFR 13.121 Table 13.121(g) OR Paul Hall Center Basic Fire Fighting, U.S.C.G.-approved STCW Basic Safety Training course Tank Ship Dangerous Liquids (Simulator) Applicants completing our 53-hour Tank Ship Dangerous Liquids (Simulator) course satisfy the training requirements of 46 CFR 13.113(d)(1)(ii)(A), 13.115 (b)(1), 13.209, 13.309, 13.409 or 13.509 for any dangerous liquids tankerman endorsement;—AND— receive credit for: (1) two loadings and two discharges which may be applied toward satisfying the requirements of 46 CFR 13.203(b)(1);—AND—(2) one commencement of loading and one completion of loading which may be applied toward satisfying the requirements in 46 CFR 13.203(b)(2);—AND—(3) one commencement of discharge and one completion of discharge which may be applied toward satisfying the requirements in 46 CFR 13.203(b)(3). This course provides training for masters, chief engineers, officers, and any person with immediate responsibility for the loading, discharging and care in transit or handling of cargo. It comprises a specialized training program appropriate to their duties, including oil tanker safety, fire safety measure and systems, pollution prevention, operational practice and obligations under applicable laws and regulations. Prerequisites: 3 months’ seagoing service on tankers (DL) OR completion of a Tank Ship Familiarization (Dangerous Liquids) (Paul Hall Center “Tanker Assistant” course) to cover STCW Code Section A-V/1 para. 2-8. Fire fighting course in accordance with 47 CFR 13.121 Table 13.121(g) OR Paul Hall Center Basic Fire Fighting, U.S.C.G.-approved STCW Basic Safety Training course Tank Ship Familiarization (Dangerous Liquids) Applicants completing our 63-hour Tank Ship Familiarization (Dangerous Liquids) course satisfy the training requirements of 46 CFR 13.409 for an original endorsement as TankermanAssistant DL. This course meets the Code of Federal Regulation requirements for personnel not having the required sea service. The objective of this course is to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct operations on tankships. Topics include the 16-hour worker health and safety (HAZWOPER) First Responder/ Operations Level, Ship Design and Operation, Cargo Characteristics, Enclosed Space Entry, Cargo Transfer and Shipment, and Pollution Prevention, and Emergency Operations and Response. Prerequisite: Fire Fighting January 2008 Tank Ship Familiarization (Liquefied Gases) Applicants completing our 30-hour Tank Ship Familiarization (Liquefied Gases) course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy: (1) the training requirements of 46 CFR 13.409 for an original endorsement as Tankerman- Assistant (LG); —AND— (2) the tanker familiarization training requirements of paragraphs 1-7 of Section A-V/1 of the STCW Code. This course consists of a safety program designed to meet STCW requirements for those who have not served on LNG ships. The course of instruction includes LNG fire fighting, confined space awareness, LNG nomenclature, LNG ship operations, personal safety, LNG safety, hazardous material, LNG cargo tank (level indicators, temperature), LNG cargo pump (Carter pump construction and ops), inert gas generator (general flow system), nitrogen gas system, LNG vapor compressor, warm-up heater and boil-off heater. Prerequisite: Advanced Fire Fighting Vessel Security Officer This 12-hour course provides knowledge to those wishing to perform the duties and responsibilities of a Vessel Security Officer (VSO) as defined in section A/2.1.6 (and section A/12.1) of the ISPS Code with respect to the security of a ship, for implementing and maintaining a Ship Security Plan, and for liaising with the Company Security Officer (CSO) and Port Facility Security Officers (PFSOs). Successful students will be able to undertake the duties and responsibilities as Vessel Security Officer as defined in section A/12.2 of the ISPS Code. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Visual Communications (Flashing Light) Applicants completing our 1-day Visual Communications course with a minimum score of 80% will: (1) Satisfy the practical signaling examination requirements (flashing light) of 46 CFR 10.401(h) IF presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training;—AND—(2) Be considered to have successfully demonstrated the competence “Transmit and Receive Information by Visual Signaling” of Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Apprentice Mate (Steersman) The Paul Hall Center’s 103-hour Apprentice Mate (Steersman), Near Coastal course is a self-certifying course for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on uninspected towing vessels sailing under U.S. flag or registered/documented under any political subdivision in the United States. Training meets or exceeds requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(i) for original issuance or 46 CFR 10. 209(c)(iii) for renewal of a license as Apprentice Mate (Steersman) of Towing Vessels (Near Coastal and Great Lakes; — OR—(2) the examination requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(i) for original issuance or 46 CFR 10. 209(c)(iii) for renewal of a license as Master of Towing Vessels (Near Coastal and Great Lakes) provided that they also provide evidence of service in the towing industry before May 21, 2001, AND that the requirements of 46 CFR 10.464(h) are also met. After obtaining the requisite sea service and fulfilling other U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) requirements pertaining to this license, successful students will be able to take responsibility for the safety of an inspected towing vessel; be aware of Continued on next page Seafarers LOG 11 �45525_P01_24:January 08 12/21/2007 12:41 PM Page 12 Course Guide Continued from Page 11 obligations under Coast Guard regulations concerning safety and protection of passengers, crew, and the marine environment; and, be able to take the practical measures necessary to meet those obligations. Successful students will be issued a certificate of completion for an Apprentice Mate (Steersman), Near Coastal course. Prior to the scheduled class convening date, each candidate must meet the following entrance requirements: Successfully completed a USCGapproved STCW Basic Safety Training course; possess current U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; speak, read and understand the English language in accordance with 46 CFR 13.111; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.15-5; Fundamentals of Navigation OR equivalent course OR experience as determined by the instructor; valid Radar Observer Unlimited certificate; Able Seaman endorsement (any) Master 100 Tons The Paul Hall Center’s 90-hour Master 100 Tons, Near Coastal course is a selfcertifying course for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on passenger vessels sailing under U.S. flag or registered/documented under any political subdivision in the United States. Training meets or exceeds requirements of 46 CFR 10.206(i) for original license, 46 CFR 10.209(c)(iii) for renewal, and 46 CFR 209(f) for reissue. Students who present our certificate of training at a regional exam center within 1 year of the completion of training will satisfy the exam requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(i)for reissuance of a license. After obtaining the requisite sea service and fulfilling other U.S. Coast Guard requirements pertaining to this license, successful students will be able to take responsibility for the safety of an inspected passenger vessel of 100 tons and its passengers; be aware of obligations under Coast Guard regulations concerning safety and protection of passengers, crew, and the marine environment; and, be able to take the practical measures necessary to meet those obligations. Students successfully completing the course will be issued a certificate for successful completion for a Master 100 Ton, Near Coastal license. Prior to the scheduled class convening date, each candidate must meet the following entrance requirements: Successfully completed a USCG- approved STCW Basic Safety Training course; possess current U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; speak, read and understand the English language in accordance with 46 CFR 13.111; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.15-5; Fundamentals of Navigation, valid Radar Observer Unlimited certificate; Able Seaman endorsement (any) Terrestrial & Coastal Navigation Any applicant who has successfully completed our 80-hour Terrestrial & Coastal Navigation course will satisfy the Terrestrial Navigation and Coastal Navigation training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). The practical assessments conducted in this course will be accepted as the equivalent of the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table AII/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-1-2A; OICNW-1-2B; OICNW-1-2C; OICNW-12D; OICNW-1-3A; OICNW-1-3B; and OICNW-1-3C. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service Emergency Procedures (Operational Level) The Paul Hall Center’s 21-hour Emergency Procedures at the Operational Level course is designed for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.-flagged vessels. This stand-alone course is a component of the Paul Hall Center’s Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (OICNW) Program. The functional elements of this course specifically meet Function 1: Navigation at the Operational Level; Competence 1.4 Respond to Emergencies; and Knowledge, Understanding, and Proficiency 1.4.1 Precautions for Protection and Safety of Passengers of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) OICNW Model Course No. 7.03 and the requirements of USCG Policy Letter 01-02. No OICNW assessments will be conducted in this course. Successful candidates will earn a Paul Hall Center certificate of training Emergency Procedures at the Operational Level. Prior to the scheduled class convening date, each candidate must meet the following entrance requirements: Successfully completed a USCGapproved STCW Basic Safety Training course; possess current U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; speak, read and understand the English language in accordance with 46 CFR 13.111; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.15-5 Basic Cargo Handling and Stowage (Operational Level) The Paul Hall Center’s Basic Cargo Handling and Stowage course is a 40-hour course for students who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.-flag vessels as required by STCW 1995, as amended, and are licensed or intending to be licensed personnel. On successful completion of this course, students will be able to use cargo plans and tables or diagrams of stability and trim data to calculate the ship’s initial stability, drafts, and trim for any given description of cargo and other weights. They will also be able to determine whether stresses on the ship are within permitted limits by the use of stress data or calculation equipment, or software. They 12 Seafarers LOG will understand safety precaution used prior to entering enclosed or potentially contaminated spaces. Students should be able to supervise the preparation and dunnaging of holds and the operation of ships’ cargo gear and will be aware of the importance of adequately securing cargo to prevent damage to the ship or cargo. Trainees will identify dangerous goods and know that they are stowed and separated according to requirements of the IMDG Code. They will also know the hazards related to some bulk cargoes and the precautions to take during their loading, carriage, and discharge. Trainees will also have a basic knowledge of the piping and pumping arrangements of oil tankers. This course specifically addresses “Function: Cargo handling and stowage at the operational level” and “Competence: Monitor the loading, stowage, securing, care during the voyage and the unloading of cargoes” and “Knowledge Understanding and Proficiency: Cargo handling, stowage, and securing” found in Table AII/1 of the STCW Code, amended 1995. This is accomplished through classroom lecture and practical exercises. Students successfully completing this course will be awarded a Paul Hall Center Basic Cargo and Stowage at the Operational Level course certificate. Prior to the scheduled class convening date, each candidate must meet the following entrance requirements: Possess a U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD); provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 13.125; speak, read and understand the English language in accordance with 46 CFR 13.111; provide documented proof of fulfilling USCG approved sea time requirements, completion of Basic Stability course Basic Shiphandling and Steering Control Systems Any applicant who has successfully completed the 40-hour Basic Shiphandling & Steering Control Systems (Operational Level) course will satisfy the Basic Shiphandling & Steering Control Systems training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). The practical assessments in this class will be accepted as the equivalent of the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-1-6A; OICNW-1-6B; OICNW-5-1A; OICNW-51B; and OICNW-5-1C. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service Basic Stability (Operational Level) The Paul Hall Center’s 40-hour Basic Stability at the Operational Level course is intended to provide training at the basic level for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.-flag vessels. It takes into account STCW Code, Table AII/1, “Function: Controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board at the operational level,” and “Competence: Maintain seaworthiness of the ship,” and “Knowledge, understanding and proficiency, ship stability.” Upon successful completion of the course, students will have knowledge of the principal structural members of a ship and the proper names of the various parts. They will be able to use tables and diagrams of ship stability and trim data to calculate the ship’s initial stability, drafts, and trim for any given disposition of cargo and other weights. Students will be able to determine whether stresses on the ship are within the permitted limits by use of stress data. They will understand the fundamental actions to take in the event of partial loss of intact buoyancy. At course completion, successful students will receive a Paul Hall Center certificate of completion in Basic Stability at the Operational Level. This course is open to watchkeeping officers, seamen who are training to become watchkeeping officers, and those who are responsible for loading cargoes. Students will be expected to use simple graphs and basic arithmetical skills and must meet the following requirements: USCG-approved STCW Basic Safety Training course, U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; read, speak and understand the English language at a level sufficient to perform job duties; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.05-7 Ship Construction (Operational Level) The Paul Hall Center’s 40-hour Ship Construction at the Operational Level course is intended to provide training at the basic level for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.flag vessels whose responsibilities include maintaining the seaworthiness of the ship. It takes into account STCW Code Table AII/1: Function: controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board at Continued on next page January 2008 �45525_P01_24:January 08 12/21/2007 12:41 PM Course Guide Continued from Page 12 the operational level; Ship construction. Upon successful completion of the course, students will have general knowledge of the principal structural members of a ship and the proper names for the various parts. At course completion, successful students will receive a Paul Hall Center certificate of completion in Ship Construction at the Operational Level. This course is open to watchkeeping officers, seamen who are training to become watchkeeping officers, and those who are responsible for loading cargoes. Trainees will be expected to use simple graphs and basic arithmetical skills and must meet the following requirements: USCG-approved STCW Basic Safety Training course; U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; read, speak and understand the English language at a level sufficient to perform job duties; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.05-7 Watchkeeping (Operational Level) Any applicant who has successfully completed our 80-hour Watchkeeping (Operational Level) course will satisfy the Watchkeeping training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC); AND the Page 13 Bridge Resource Management training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(o) and the requirements of Section B-VIII/2, Part 3-1 of the STCW Code. The practical assessments conducted in this course will be accepted as the equivalent of assessments OICNW-21A; OICNW-2-1B, OICNW-2-1C, OICNW-2-1D, OICNW-2-1E, OICNW2-1F, OICNW-2-2A, OICNW-2-2B, OICNW-2-2C, OICNW-2-2D, OICNW2-2E, OICNW-2-2F, OICNW-2-3A, OICNW-2-3B, OICNW-2-3C, OICNW2-3D, OICNW-2-3E, OICNW-2-3F, OICNW-2-3G, AND OICNW-2-3H from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service ENGINE DEPT. Many engine department courses have prerequisites. For example, to be accepted for Advanced Refrigeration/Containers, students must have successfully completed Basic Marine Electrician and Refrigeration System Maintenance and Operations. COAST GUARD STCW CERTIFICATION COURSES Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations Applicants completing our 140-hour Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations course and who present our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, satisfy the examination requirements of 46 CFR 12.15-9 for the General Safety examination module, PROVIDED they have also completed either our 63hour Basic Motor Plant Operations course and/or our 70-hour Basic Steam Plant Operations course. Applicants who have successfully completed our course need not present individually completed “Control Sheets” for the assessments in application for STCW certification. The objective of this course is to provide students with knowledge and practical operational skills required of rated engine department watchstanders as they sail in the capacity of FOWT. This objective is accomplished through classroom lectures and shore-side auxiliary plant simulator practical exercises. Prerequisites: Same as FOWT program Fireman, Oiler & Watertender (FOWT) Applicants completing Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations and both Basic Motor Plant Operations and Basic Steam Plant Operations will meet the requirements for endorsement as FOWT. (These classes are described below as stand-alone courses.) Applicants completing Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations and either Basic Motor Plant Operations or Basic Steam Plant Operations will be eligible for an FOWT (Restricted) endorsement. Prerequisites: Successful completion of the Paul Hall Center Unlicensed Apprentice Training Program; successful completion of the unlicensed apprentice sea voyage and required sea projects; unlicensed apprentice sea voyage performance evaluations within the engine department as completed by the First Assistant Engineer of at least satisfactory or better; recommendation by the unlicensed apprentice sea voyage participating vessel’s Chief Engineer OR 6 months’ sea time as wiper AND STCW certification in all areas of basic safety training; successful completion of the entry-level sea voyage and auxiliary plant familiarization sea project; total USCG approved sea service or equivalent sea service in the engine room of vessels of at least 6 months; meet all USCG physical standards for qualified members of the engine department Military veterans meeting the prior military sea service requirement in the engine room of vessels must meet the following entrance requirements: Prior approval to the military veterans program for ratings forming part of an engineering watch; meet all USCG physical standards for qualified members of the engine department JUNIOR ENGINEER PROGRAM Applicants completing our 70-hour Basic Propulsion Systems Maintenance, 70-hour Basic Refrigeration & HVAC, 70hour Basic Electricity, and 203-hour Continued on next page ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT The Academic Department has a long history of providing support and services to students at the Paul Hall Center. Since the founding of the school in Piney Point, Md., there has been academic support for students taking vocational programs as well as for those students who require basic skills, English language skills or wish to continue their education. There are a variety of opportunities offered to all students. Specific questions about the programs can be answered or explained by contacting the Academic Department at (301) 994-0010, ext. 5411. General Education Program The GED program is open to all mariners who do not have a high school diploma. Assistance is offered to prepare students to take the test in Maryland or in their home state. Emphasis is placed on writing skills, social studies, science, interpreting literature and art, and mathematics. GED students receive individualized instruction in preparation for the test. The school for many years has successfully prepared mariners to pass the test. For many students, this is a milestone in their lives. (Prior to taking the test in Maryland, a 12-week residency is required.) Adult Basic Education The Adult Basic Education (ABE) program assists students in improving their basic language, technical vocabulary and mathematical skills. These skills help students experience greater success in both vocational and academic classes. Students who receive low scores on the January 2008 T’ABE benchmark examinations, given at the Paul Hall Center, are encouraged to enroll in this program. Students may enter these classes while attending upgrader courses or may enroll in an extended ABE course offered throughout the year. English as a Second Language The English as a Second Language course assists students in basic English and technical vocabulary skills. The purpose of the class is to give seafarers who have not learned English as their native language and who have difficulty speaking, hearing, understanding and/or writing the English language, the opportunity to gain proficiency in that language. As much as possible, instruction will be provided to give the seafarer the English language skills necessary to perform the essential tasks within the department under which he or she sails. Classes are offered throughout the year for those students requiring in-depth instruction, or students may schedule assistance during their upgrading classes. Basic Vocational Support Program The Basic Vocational Support Program assists students in improving course-specific vocational language and mathematic skills. It is designed to assist with the fundamental understanding of concepts and theoretical ideas which are the fundamentals of a given vocational course. Some of these classes are offered prior to the regularly scheduled courses to provide the student with knowledge and skills that will assist them once the class- es have begun. These courses are ideal for those students who have been away from the classroom, need basic skills or do not use English as their native language. College Program The Paul Hall Center is a degree-granting institution approved by the Maryland Higher Education Commission. Vocational courses also are approved for credit by the American Council on Education (ACE). Students may apply for college credit for many of the vocational courses that they take while upgrading at the school. In addition the center offers general education courses required for an associate’s degree. The school currently offers Associate of Applied Science degree programs in nautical science technology (deck department students) or marine engineering technology (engine department students). Both degrees offer concentrations in either the deep sea or inland sections of the maritime industry. There also is a certificate program in maritime technology with concentrations in nautical science or marine engineering. All programs are designed to provide the opportunity for mariners to earn a college degree or certificate in their occupational areas and provide a solid academic foundation in general education subjects. Students are required to have a total of 60 to 70 college hours to earn a degree. Students also may take advantage of remedial programs that help prepare them for college level courses. It is recommended that students meet with a counselor to plan a college program. Seafarers LOG 13 �45525_P01_24:January 08 12/21/2007 12:41 PM Page 14 Course Guide Continued from Page 13 Auxiliary Plant Maintenance courses, and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 12.15-9, if presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, for the General Safety, Junior Engineer, and Deck Engineer examination modules, provided they also present evidence of acquiring at least 90 days engine room service while endorsed as a QMED Oiler prior to commencing the above training. Prerequisites: Basic Safety. Recommended: Tankerman Assistant (DL), QMED-Oiler/Motor, Total USCGapproved sea or equivalent service in engine room of vessels for at least 6 months, Fireman/WT or Oiler rating Machinist Applicants completing our 102-hour Machinist course, and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 12.15- 9, if presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, for the Machinist examination module, provided they also present evidence of completing the requirements to be endorsed with a Junior Engineer rating endorsement prior to commencing the above training. This course provides mariners cognitive and practical mechanical skills in the area of general metalworking and machine tool operations. Prerequisites: STCW certification in all areas of basic safety training, USCG physical standards for QMED OR hold the USCG Oiler Rating endorsement, STCW certificate as a RFPEW, completed QMED Junior Engineer training program, and USCG Junior Engineer rating Marine Electrician Applicants completing our 280-hour Marine Electrician course, and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 12.15-9, if presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, for the Electrician examination module, provided they also present evidence of acquiring at least 90 days’ engine room service while endorsed as a QMED–Junior Engineer prior to commencing the above training. This course provides Engine Department personnel with the theoretical and practical knowledge and skills necessary to perform maintenance and repair operations on motors, generators, and controllers on board ship. Prerequisite: 6 months QMED Pumpman The Paul Hall Center’s Pumpman course is a 70-hour, 10-day course designed for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.-flag vessels. Training meets or exceeds requirements of 46 CFR Sec. 12.15-9 (c) for Pumpman. The objective of the Pumpman course is to provide engine department personnel with the theoretical and practical knowledge and the skills necessary to operate, maintain, and repair the equipment associated with the handling of liquid cargo onboard a tankship. Topics covered in the Pumpman course are Inert Gas Systems, Crude Oil Washing (COW) Systems, Vapor Recovery, and two days of assessment in the Cargo Simulator. On successful completion of this course, students will be awarded a Paul Hall Center certificate Each student must meet the following entrance requirements: Paul Hall Center Apprentice Program Phases I, II, and III, including Tanker Familiarization Dangerous Liquids (DL) training, Paul Hall Center FOWT Program, QMED Any Rating, Paul Hall Center QMED Junior Engineer Program Students taking training prior to April 4, 1997 or who did not have access to the Paul Hall Center UA program must satisfy the following requirements: STCW certification in all areas of basic safety training, successful completion of the Paul Hall Center Tanker Familiarization DL course, successful completion of the Paul Hall Center FOWT program (non-rated applicants), USCG-approved sea time and equivalent sea service in the engine room of vessels of at least 6 months, meet all USCG physical standards for qualified members of the engine department Students entering the industry before August 1, 1998 must hold either the USCG Fireman/WT or Oiler rating endorsements (rated applicants) Marine Refrigeration Technician The Paul Hall Center’s Marine Refrigeration Technician course is a 6week (210-hour) course designed for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.-flag vessels. Training meets or exceeds requirements of 46 CFR Section 12.15-9 (b) for Refrigeration Engineer. The objective of the Marine Refrigeration Technician course is to provide engine department personnel with the theoretical and practical knowledge and the skills necessary to perform maintenance and repair operations on ship’s stores plants, air conditioning plants, cargo refrigeration, ventilation and dehumidification equipment, as well as pantry refrigerators, water coolers, and ice machines. An introduction to refrigerated container units will also be presented. Successful candidates will earn a Paul Hall Center certificate of training. Each candidate must meet the following entrance requirements: Successfully completed a USCGapproved STCW Basic Safety Training course; possess current U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; speak and understand verbal orders in English; six months at sea as a Qualified Member of the Engineering Department (QMED) Junior Engineer and possess the Electrician’s endorsement or the Refrigerating Engineer’s endorsement; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.15-5 ENGINEERING SPECIALTY COURSES Diesel Engine Technology This 4-week course, leading to certification in diesel engine technology, consists of classroom instruction and handson training. Topics of instruction include diesel engine theory; two- and four-stroke cycle operating principles; and the construction, operation, maintenance, repair and troubleshooting of low-, mediumand high-speed diesel engines. Also covered are associated auxiliaries including intake and exhaust systems, lubrication and cooling systems, and fuel injection and starting systems. Students receive practical training in the operation and repair of diesel engines on board school training vessels. Prerequisites: QMED-Any Rating or equivalent inland experience Automated Cargo Operations This 6-week course of instruction in the pumpman career track includes classroom and simulator training in all facets of liquid cargo loading and discharge. The curriculum consists of cargo properties and emergency procedures, operation and maintenance of valves and pumps, loading procedures, cargo pump operations, cargo measurement, discharging procedures, ballasting procedures, tank cleaning, inert gas systems and more. Prerequisites: QMED-Any Rating Class 3 or QMED Junior Engineer/Pumpman Class 3. Recommended: Basic and Intermediate Math and Computer Basic Advanced plant maintenance must be completed for advancement to QMED Class 2 Refrigeration System Maintenance & Operations Now an elective, this 6-week class blends practical and classroom instruction leading to certification in refrigeration system maintenance and operations. Among the topics covered are theory of mechanical refrigeration, major system components, accessories, cycle controls, refrigerants and oils, and applied electricity. Standard service techniques are emphasized, such as the operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance of ships’ stores plants, air conditioning plants, cargo ventilation and dehumidifying equipment, and pantry refrigerators, water coolers, and ice machines. Hands-on shop training includes the complete fabrication of a working refrigeration system from basic system components. An introduction to refrigerated container units is also presented. Students must be certified as QMEDAny Rating or have equivalent inland experience or hold Coast Guard endorsements as refrigeration engineer and electrician in order to enroll for this course. Prerequisites: QMED-Any rating, OR Refrigeration Engineer and Electrician OR equivalent inland experience Refrigerated Containers Advanced Maintenance This 4-week course leads to certification in refrigerated containers maintenance and consists of classroom and practical shop training. The training experience enables students to assume the duties of a maintenance electrician on board ships carrying refrigerated containers. Students receive training in all phases of refrigerated container unit operation, 14 Seafarers LOG maintenance, repair, and troubleshooting. This includes the various types of engines, refrigeration, and electrical systems. The course is designed to help students develop a systematic approach to troubleshooting and maintenance procedures. Prerequisites: 6-months’ sea time as Wiper, 6 additional months’ sea time in any Engineering Department rating. Must hold a QMED-any rating endorsement, or endorsements as Refrigeration Engineer and Electrician, or possess equivalent inland experience Hydraulics The curriculum in the 4-week hydraulics course blends practical training with classroom work. Fluids, actuators, control devices, pumps, reservoirs, symbols, and hydraulic systems in marine equipment are among the subjects covered in this class. Also addressed are principles of electrical control of hydraulic systems, cargo winches, deck cranes, anchor windlasses, ships’ steering systems, ramps, fire doors, and a variety of other shipboard systems. Prerequisite: QMED-Any Rating Welding Classroom instruction and hands-on training compose this 4-week course, which features practical training in electric arc welding and cutting and oxy-acetylene brazing, welding, and cutting. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites STEWARD DEPT. Galley Operations The course consists of two 2-week modules (totaling 4 weeks). Each module is 35 hours with additional time participating in the school’s galley operations. This course provides the student with understanding of the basic baking knowledge and skills potentially required of a member of the steward department. Prerequisites: Paul Hall Center UA Program and 240 days’ sea time OR 365 days’ sea time as an SA Certified Chief Cook This course consists of six 2-week stand-alone modules totaling 12 weeks. This structure allows eligible upgraders to enroll at the start of any module. The objective of the Certified Chief Cook Course (FSM 203) is to provide steward department personnel with an understanding and knowledge of sanitation, nutrition, and the preparation and service of soups, sauces, meats, poultry, and seafood. Prerequisites: Galley Operations and 180 days’ sea time Advanced Galley Operations This course consists of four 1-week modules (totaling 4 weeks). The course provides students with a thorough grasp of the advanced baking knowledge and skills Continued on next page January 2008 �45525_P01_24:January 08 12/21/2007 12:41 PM Page 15 Course Guide Continued from Page 14 required of a member of the steward department. Prerequisites: Paul Hall Center Certified Chief Cook and 180 days’ sea time Certified Chief Steward The Certified Chief Steward course is a 12-week course for members of the steward department. The course is presented in eight modules. Each module is assessed independently of the others. Modules may be taken in 1 week increments with breaks between. This course trains stewards to take charge of a production galley, plan and prepare meals, and supervise employees in galley operations for a period of not less than 28 days. On meeting the minimum requirements for Certified Chief Steward, culinary students will be competent to take charge of a production galley. The Certified Chief Steward course stresses the competencies related to the supervision of the galley, menu planning, requisitioning of supplies, inventory control, and sanitation. Prerequisites: Advanced Galley Operations and 180 days’ sea time SAFETY CLASSES Basic Safety Training Applicants completing our 40-hour Basic Safety Training course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy: (1) the Personal Survival training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-1 of the Seafarers’ Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(1);—AND— (2) the Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-2 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);—AND—(3) the Elementary First Aid training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-3 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(3);—AND— (4) the Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-4 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(4). Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites First Aid & CPR (21-Hour) Applicants completing our 21-hour First Aid & CPR course satisfy: (1) the Basic Safety-Elementary First Aid training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table AVI/ 1-3 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(3);—AND— (2)—IF—presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the date of training, the First Aid & CPR training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(h)(1)(ii) and 10.205(h)(2)(iii) for original issuance of a license. Students in this class learn the princi- January 2008 ples and techniques of safety and basic first aid, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) according to the accepted standards of the American Red Cross. Successful students are awarded a certificate from the American Red Cross. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites First Aid (8-Hour) Applicants completing our 8-hour Elementary First Aid course and presenting our Certificate of Training at the Regional Exam Center (REC) satisfy: (1) the First Aid training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(h)(1)(ii) for original issuance of a license;—AND—(2) the Basic Safety- Elementary First Aid training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1- 3 of the Seafarers Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(3). Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Advanced Fire Fighting Applicants completing our 37-hour Advanced Fire Fighting course satisfy the Advanced Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/3 and Table A-VI/3 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);—AND—the Advanced Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(g) and 10.401(g)(1) for a license. During this course, students learn to blueprint a vessel and organize emergency squads for fire fighting. The class covers effective communication between crew members and land-based fire units, leadership roles and responsibilities, documentation of crew training, and emergency squad training. Students also learn to inspect and service personal shipboard fire extinguishing equipment before going through shipboard simulations and actual firefighting drills. Prerequisite: Basic Fire Fighting Basic Fire Fighting (16-Hour) Applicants completing our 16-hour Basic Fire Fighting course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy: (1) the Basic Safety Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-2 of the Seafarers Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);— AND—(2) the Basic Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(g) and 10.401(g)(1) for a license;—AND—(3) the Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 13.113(d)(2)(i)(A), 13.113(e)(1)(i)(A) or (B), 13.201(e), 13.301(e), 13.401(d) or 13.501(e) for any tankerman endorsement. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Basic Fire Fighting (30-Hour) Applicants completing our 30-hour Basic Fire Fighting course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy: (1) the Basic Safety Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-2 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);—AND—(2) the Basic Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(g) and 10.401(g)(1) for a license;—AND—(3) the Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 13.113(d)(2)(i)(A), 13.113(e)(1)(i)(A) or (B), 13.201(e), 13.301(e), 13.401(d) or 13.501(e) for any tankerman endorsement. The objective of this course is to familiarize the student with the chemical process of fire, its behavior and the various methods and equipment used to combat it. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Combined Basic & Advanced Fire Fighting Applicants completing our 32-hour Advanced Fire Fighting course satisfy: (1) the Advanced Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/3 and Table AVI/ 3 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);—AND—(2) the Advanced Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(g) and 10.401(g)(1) for a license. The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the fundamentals of shipboard and tank barge fire fighting. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites CRUISE SHIPS Crisis Management & Human Behavior Applicants completing our 7-hour Crisis Management & Human Behavior course satisfy: (1) the Crisis Management & Human Behavior training requirements of Table A-V/2 and Paragraph 5 of Section A-V/2 of the STCW Code for Passenger Ships Other Than Ro-Ro Passenger Ships;—AND— (2) the Passenger Safety training requirements of Paragraph 4 of Section A-V/2 of the STCW Code for Passenger Ships Other Than Ro-Ro Passenger Ships. This course is designed for any person responsible for the safety of passengers in an emergency on passenger ships. The training includes organizing the safe movement of passengers when embarking and disembarking, organizing shipboard emergency procedures, optimizing the use of resources, controlling responses to emergencies, controlling passengers and other personnel during emergency situations, and the establishing and maintaining effective com- munications. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Crowd Management Applicants completing our 4-hour Crowd Management course satisfy: (1) the Crowd Management training requirements of Paragraph 1 of Section A-V/3 of the STCW Code for Passenger Ships Other Than Ro-Ro Passenger Vessels;—AND—(2) the Safety Training requirements of Paragraph 3 of Section A-V/3 of the STCW Code for Passenger Ships Other Than Ro-Ro Passenger Vessels. This course profiles the required knowledge and applicable skills for crowd management including controlling a crowd in an emergency, locating safety and emergency equipment on board a vessel, complying with ships’ emergency procedures, effective communications during an emergency, and demonstrating the use of personal lifesaving devices. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Seafarers LOG 15 �45525_P01_24X:January 08 12/27/2007 3:32 PM Page 16 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE Engine Upgrading Courses The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. for the first few months of 2008. All programs are geared to improving the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Course Start Date Date of Completion FOWT February 25 March 21 April 21 May 16 June 16 July 11 January 7 January 25 February 4 February 22 March 3 March 21 April 7 April 25 Welding Safety Specialty Courses Deck Upgrading Courses Start Date of Course Date Completion Able Seaman January 21 February 15 March 3 March 28 April 14 May 8 May 26 June 20 April 14 April 18 June 16 June 20 Celestial Navigation January 7 February 1 Lifeboatman/Water Survival January 7 January 18 February 18 February 29 March 31 April 11 May 12 May 23 March 3 March 14 April 28 May 9 Automatic Radar Plotting Aids* (ARPA) (*must have radar unlimited) Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date of Birth ______________________ Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____________________________ Department _____________________ Yes No Completion Basic Fire Fighting March 17 March 21 April 14 April 18 June 16 June 20 January 14 January 25 March 10 March 21 June 30 July 11 February 25 February 29 (AB) March 24 March 28 (FOWT) April 7 April 11 (AB) May 12 May 16 (AB) January 28 February 1 March 24 March 28 Medical Care Provider General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twentyfive (150) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. BEGIN DATE COURSE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. U.S. Citizen: Date Academic Department Courses UPGRADING APPLICATION Lakes Member Course Basic Safety Training/STCW Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations modules start every Monday beginning January 14. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward classes start January 7. Deep Sea Member Date of Advanced Fire Fighting Steward Upgrading Courses Telephone _________________________ Start Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Yes Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ 16 Seafarers LOG SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 1/08 January 2008 �45525_P01_24X:January 08 12/27/2007 4:09 PM Page 17 Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA CARMINE BOVA, JR., 53, was born in Massachusetts. Brother Bova joined the union in 1971 while in the port of New York. He initially shipped aboard a Waterman Steamship vessel as a member of the deck department. Brother Bova upgraded his skills often at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. His final voyage was on the Seabulk Energy. Brother Bova is a resident of Jupiter, Fla. DAVID CORDERO, 59, embarked on his seafaring career in 1969. Brother Cordero’s earliest journey was aboard the Jacksonville. He was born in Puerto Rico and sailed in the deck department. Brother Cordero attended classes at the Piney Point school on numerous occasions. His last trip to sea was on the Quality. Brother Cordero lives in Isabela, P.R. JOHN EMRICH, 62, donned the SIU colors in 1968. Brother Emrich first shipped aboard the Buck Monitor. The deck department member was born in Illinois. Brother Emrich enhanced his skills on three occasions at the SIU-affiliated school. He most recently worked on the Horizon Consumer. Brother Emrich makes his home in Long Beach, Calif. ANGEL ROMAN, 65, joined the Seafarers in 1970 in the port of New York. Brother Roman’s maiden voyage was aboard the Sea San Juan. He was a frequent upgrader at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Roman’s final expedition was aboard the Achiever on which he sailed in the deck department. He resides in New York. SUZANNE SANTORA, 65, became an SIU member in 1998 in the port of Baltimore. Sister Santora originally shipped in the steward department of the Charles L. Brown. She enhanced her seafaring abili- Completes Two College Courses ties often at the Piney Point School. Sister Santora was born in Washington, DC. Her concluding journey was aboard the USNS Seay. Sister Santora calls Greenbelt, Md. home. PIC-FROM-THE-PAST IVAN ZULUAGE, 65, was born in South America. Brother Zuluage joined the MC&S (Marine Cooks & Stewards) in 1979 in the port of San Francisco. He upgraded on two occasions at the Seafarers-affiliated school. Brother Zuluage first went to sea on the Over Anchor. His most recent voyage was aboard the Manoa. Brother Zuluage lives in Medellin, Colombia. INL AND JAMES ZENOS, 59, initiated his seafaring profession in 1973. Boatman Zenos’ earliest excursion was on the Seabulk Tanker. In 1996, the deck department member enhanced his skills at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Zenos last shipped with Moran Towing of Texas. He is a resident of Port Arthur, Texas. Seafarer Brandon Maeda submitted this photo of himself (left) and fellow SIU members Dorothy Barnes and Michael Gramer aboard the old cruise ship Constitution in 1982. All three of them went on to complete steward recertification at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. Maeda said of his time aboard the “Connie” and sister ship Independence, “Those were the good, fun days.” If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with other Seafarers LOG readers, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. High-resolution digital images may be sent to webmaster@seafarers.org Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1941 In an election conducted by the National Labor Relations Board on the ships owned and operated by Robin Line (Sea Shipping Company), the SIU was the winner by an overwhelming majority. Of the 210 men who were eligible to vote, 201 actually voted, with 199 voting in favor of the SIU. There was one crew member who voted against the union and one whose ballot was declared void. This election was a direct result of the contracts being negotiated by the SIU. 1962 The first agreement of its kind in the maritime industry recently assured that a supply of fresh milk we be available for every working seaman. Development of a new process that allows dairymen to superheat milk and ultra-pasteurize it so that it can be stored in cans without refrigeration has made it possible to have a supply of canned fresh milk aboard ship at all times. Use of the new canned fresh milk is designed to do away with the problem of purchasing and handling milk in different foreign ports where facilities, supplies and quality are limited. In the future, the SIU Feeding Plan will ensure that milk is available aboard all contracted ships. This Month In SIU History Hard work and studying has paid off for Upgrader Vadym Gutara, above center, who recently completed a pair of courses—Political Science 101 and Math 102—as part of his academic requirements to enter into an associate’s degree program. With Gutara are Peggy Densford , academic instructor, and Rick Prucha, computer instructor. Gutara now has completed four college-level courses at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. January 2008 1950 The Atlantic and Gulf District of the Seafarers International Union became the first seamen’s organization on the East and Gulf coasts to win a company-financed welfare plan for its members in an agreement signed with nine steamship companies. Although Seafarers will not contribute to the welfare fund, the agreement calls for joint administration by a committee representing the union and the operators. Under terms of the contract, each operator will contribute into a common fund of 25 cents per day for each man employed aboard its vessels. 1973 One of the first U.S. ships bringing American grain to the Soviet Union will sail back with Russian oil – reportedly the first Soviet oil to be imported by the United States since the end of World War II. The Overseas Aleutian, manned by members of the Seafarers International Union and now unloading grain at the Black Sea port of Odessa, will pick up 35,000 tons of No. 2 heating oil for its return voyage, Soviet maritime sources said. The oil was bought to ease an expected shortage of heating oil this winter in the American northeast. Seafarers LOG 17 �45525_P01_24:January 08 12/21/2007 12:41 PM Page 18 Final Departures DEEP SEA JOHN ALTSTATT Pensioner John Altstatt, 83, passed away May 28. Brother Altstatt embarked on his seafaring career in 1943 while in the port of New York. He was born in Oklahoma and sailed as a member of the deck department. Brother Altstatt initially shipped aboard a Cabin Tanker vessel. Prior to his retirement in 1979, he worked for Michigan Tankers Inc. Brother Altstatt made his home in Beggs, Okla. LEONARD BAILEY Pensioner Leonard Bailey, 81, died June 16. Brother Bailey joined the union in 1945 in the port of Baltimore. His maiden voyage was on an Alcoa Steamship Company vessel. Brother Bailey last sailed aboard the Del Oro. The deck department member was born in Mississippi. Brother Bailey became a pensioner in 1984 and settled in Perkinston, Miss. BROOK BOWERS Brother Brook Bowers, 35, passed away June 6. He began sailing with the SIU in 1999 aboard the SPC 5 Eric G. Gibson. Brother Bowers was a native of Memphis, Tenn. His final expedition was on the ITB Mobile. Brother Bowers worked in the engine department. He called Fairhope, Ala., home. RICHARD CHARRION Pensioner Richard Charrion, 80, died June 15. Brother Charrion started his SIU profession in 1947, originally sailing aboard the Choctaw. He was born in Ohio and shipped in the deck department. Brother Charrion’s concluding journey was on the Mariner. He lived in Auburn, Wash., and went on pension in 1991. VINCENT CHAVEZ Pensioner Vincent Chavez, 86, passed away May 5. He became a Seafarer in 1944 while in the port of New York. Brother Chavez’s earliest trip to sea was aboard the Del Norte. He was a member of the steward department. Born in the Philippines, Brother Chavez last sailed on the Cape Edmont. He resided in Covington, Wash., and began collecting his retirement pay in 1985. WILLIAM DAWSON Pensioner William Dawson, 75, died June 16. He donned the SIU colors in 1953 in the port of New York. 18 Seafarers LOG Brother Dawson was initially employed aboard a vessel operated by A.H. Bull Steamship Company. He worked in the deck department. Brother Dawson’s final voyage was on the Cape Rise. He was a resident of Norfolk, Va. Brother Dawson retired in 1992. LUIS ESCOBAR Brother Luis Escobar, 54, passed away July 19. He joined the SIU ranks in 1989. Brother Escobar first shipped aboard the Independence as a member of the steward department. His most recent trip to sea was on the Brenton Reef. Brother Escobar made his home in Ruskin, Fla. EDWARD FORE Brother Edward Fore, 53, died June 21. He became a Seafarer in 2000 while in the port of Philadelphia. Brother Fore was born in Dillion, S.C. He initially sailed with American Overseas Marine in the engine department. Brother Fore’s concluding expedition was aboard the Freedom. He called Gresham, S.C., home. STANLEY KRIEG Pensioner Stanley Krieg, 80, passed away June 4. Brother Krieg launched his SIU career in 1955, originally sailing from the port of Seattle. The Minnesota native worked in the deck department. Brother Krieg’s first ship was the John B. Waterman; his last the Horizon Tacoma. He went on pension in 1989 and settled in the state of Washington. LEONARD LELONEK Pensioner Leonard Lelonek, 79, died May 25. Brother Lelonek initiated his seafaring profession in 1960. He was born in New York and sailed in the steward department. Brother Lelonek’s maiden voyage was on the Del Aires. Before his retirement in 1997, he shipped aboard the Endurance. Brother Lelonek lived in Gardnerville, Nev. WILLIAM OBER Pensioner William Ober, 80, passed away June 30. Brother Ober donned the SIU colors in 1965. His earliest trip to sea was on a Hudson Waterways Corporation vessel. Brother Ober was born in Baltimore. His last excursion was aboard the Tacoma. Brother Ober became a pensioner in 1988 and resided in Mountlake Terrace, Wash. LUIS RODRIGUEZ Pensioner Luis Rodriguez, 84, died May 16. Brother Rodriguez joined the union in 1951 in the port of New York. His first expedition was on the Dorothy. Brother Rodriguez was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico. His final ship was the San Pedro. Brother Rodriguez started receiving his retirement compensation in 1984. He continued to be a resident of Puerto Rico. ADOLFO SCHULTZE Pensioner Adolfo Schultze, 75, passed away May 15. Brother Schultze embarked on his seafaring career in 1991, his initial trip to sea being aboard the Senator. Born in Argentina, he worked as a member of the engine department. Brother Schultze’s concluding voyage was on the Commitment. He became a pensioner in 2004 and settled in Miami Beach, Fla. GENE SIVLEY Pensioner Gene Sivley, 70, died June 1. Brother Sivley began sailing with the SIU in 1967. His earliest journey was aboard the Over Anchor. Brother Sivley was born in Alabama and shipped in the steward department. Prior to his retirement in 2001, he was employed on the Horizon Reliance. Brother Sivley called Seattle home. JIM SPENCER Pensioner Jim Spencer, 82, passed away June 2. Brother Spencer was born in North Carolina. He joined the Seafarers in 1947 while in the port of Norfolk, Va. Brother Spencer originally sailed with Doric Shipping Trade Corporation as a member of the deck department. His last excursion was aboard the Overseas Valdez. Brother Spencer retired in 1987 and made his home in Asheboro, N.C. ALVARO VEGA Pensioner Alvaro Vega, 90, died May 26. Brother Vega became an SIU member in 1941 in the port of New York. The Puerto Rico born mariner first sailed on the Suzanne. Brother Vega worked in the engine department. His concluding voyage was aboard the New Orleans. Brother Vega went on pension in 1974 and lived in Temple Terrace, Fla. INLAND JOHN BURNELL Pensioner John Burnell, 83, passed away May 3. Boatman Burnell started his seafaring profession in 1962. He shipped primarily on vessels operated by Moran Towing of Texas. Boatman Burnell was born in Chalmette, La. In 1987, he began collecting his retirement stipends. Boatman Burnell was a resident of Grove, Texas. JOHN CIESIELSKI Pensioner John Ciesielski, 90, died May 21. Boatman Ciesielski first went to sea in 1956 while in the port of Baltimore. He initially sailed with Moran Towing of Maryland. Boatman Ciesielski was a Baltimore native. His ending journey was aboard a Charles H. Harper & Associates vessel. Boatman Ciesielski became a retiree in 1979. He resided in Hilldale, W.Va. FRANK GIBSON Pensioner Frank Gibson, 86, passed away June 13. Boatman Gibson launched his SIU career in 1965 in the port of New Orleans. For the duration of his employment, he worked aboard Dixie Carriers vessels. Boatman Gibson retired in 1992 and made his home in Louisiana. ROBERT LEIJA Boatman Robert Leija, 46, died June 17. He joined the union in 1997 while in Piney Point, Md. Boatman Leija originally shipped with Moran Towing of Texas as a member of the deck department. He was born in Houston but called Pasadena, Texas home. Boatman Leija most recently sailed on a Penn Maritime Inc. vessel. JOHN RIDLEY Pensioner John Ridley, 62, passed away June 26. Boatman Ridley became an SIU member in 1987. He was born in New Orleans and shipped in the steward department. During his SIU career, Boatman Ridley primarily worked aboard vessels operated by Red Circle Transport Company. He went on pension in 2006 and continued to live in Louisiana. RONALD WILLIAMS Pensioner Ronald Williams, 68, died June 21. Boatman Williams began sailing with Seafarers in 1972. His earliest trip to sea was on a Dravo Basic Materials company vessel. Boatman Williams was born in Anson, Texas. His final journey was with Higman Barge Lines Inc. Boatman Williams became a pensioner in 2001 and settled in Kountze, Texas. GREAT LAKES SHELDON GILBERT Pensioner Sheldon Gilbert, 79, passed away June 14. He embarked on his SIU profession in 1960 while in Detroit, Mich. Brother Gilbert was initially employed with Michigan Interstate Railway as a member of the deck department. The Michigan native last worked aboard the Indiana Harbor. Brother Gilbert was a resident of Mt. Morris Township, Mich. He started collecting his retirement pay in 1991. DONALD JAEGLE SR. Pensioner Donald Jaegle Sr., 81, died Aug. 24. Brother Jaegle joined the Seafarers in 1962. He was born in Toledo, Ohio. Brother Jaegle worked with Great Lakes Towing Company for the duration of his career. He retired in 1987 and made his home in Northwood, Ohio. CARL MARCIN Pensioner Carl Marcin, 77, passed away May 24. Brother Marcin donned the SIU colors in 1970. His first ship was the William Reiss; his last was the Kinsman Independent. Brother Marcin was born in Detroit, Mich. and sailed in the deck department. He went on pension in 1994 and called New York home. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust have passed away. Name Age DOD Actipis, Dionysios Alicia, Jose Arauz, Jaime Arizmendi, Perfecto Ayala, Pedro Balsano, Joseph Belmosa, Victor Benjamin, Herbert Berry, Donald Bonnell, Hugh Brinson, Billy Broussard, Frank Camacho, Cecilio Carlson, Alexander Christopher, Leroy Chung, Lai Cintron, Juan Da Silva, Lawrence Duckett, Thomas Duhon, Emery Flores, Genaro Gold, Manny Gordon, Franklin Head, Joseph Heard, Robert Heng, Loy 85 83 79 91 80 91 71 75 67 79 76 83 79 85 78 97 79 82 87 83 88 93 92 81 73 92 May 15 April 6 April 21 April 18 April 3 May 18 April 16 May 17 April 23 April 9 April 18 April 30 May 13 May 11 May 14 April 13 April 28 May 27 April 6 May 11 May 17 May 22 April 22 April 25 April 25 May 2 January 2008 �45525_P01_24:January 08 12/21/2007 12:41 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. ACHIEVER (Maersk Line Limited), Oct. 4—Chairman Teodulfo A. Alanano, Secretary Kenneth A. Hagan, Educational Director Michael S. Kirby, Steward Delegate John G. Reid. Chairman announced payoff Nov. 8 and explained TWIC enrollment. Educational director encouraged mariners to upgrade skills at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward department was thanked for great meals. Next ports: Charleston, S.C., Houston, and Norfolk, Va. HONOR (Interocean American Shipping), Oct. 13—Chairman Stig F. Sasse Jr., Secretary Exxl C. Ronquillo. Chairman advised members to read the Seafarers LOG to stay informed on TWIC information and changes to medical benefits. He also encouraged crew to donate to SPAD to better their future. Secretary thanked everyone for helping straighten up before meals and urged them to upgrade their skills at the Paul Hall Center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew would like new TV & DVD player because the one they have now is broken. It was noted that everyone passed sanitary room inspections. Next ports: Charleston, S.C., and Houston. GREEN LAKE (Central Gulf Lines), Oct. 14—Chairman David C. Shaw, Secretary MaryAnn Sims, Educational Director Claytain Carr, Engine Delegate Steven J. Benavides. Chairman reported good crew and thanked them for being respectful of one another. Secretary addressed an issue involving stores and shipboard food lockers. He stated that if the situation doesn’t change, boxes and food lockers will have to be locked. Educational director informed Seafarers that brochures & applications were available for upgrading at the Piney Point School. He suggested they take advantage of the opportunities that are offered to them. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Members requested a coffee machine in crew messhall. Steward department was praised for great food and service. Next ports: Portland, Ore., Benita, Calif., and Long Beach, Calif. CHARGER (Maersk Line Limited), Oct. 27—Chairman Robert Pagan Jr., Secretary Rolando M. Lopez, Educational Director Randy D. Clark, Deck Delegate Raymond P. Vicari. Bosun reminded crew to leave keys for the next person when departing vessel. He reiterated the proper waste disposal process and discussed safety procedures. Steward department was praised for a job well done. Secretary asked Seafarers to leave clean bedding for incoming crew members. Educational director urged mariners to check out educational opportunities available at the maritime training center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendations were made regarding medical plan. Next port: Long Beach, Calif. CHEMICAL TRADER (Intrepid Personnel & Provisioning), Oct. 30—Chairman Raymond A. Tate, Secretary Josue L. Iglesia, Educational Director Mark Davis. Chairman stated payoff to take place in Tampa, Fla., on Nov. 1. Secretary asked all in attendance not to use galley as a passageway. He also urged them to take advantage of opportunities available at the Piney Point School. Educational director stressed the importance of donating to SPAD (Seafarers Political Activity Donation). Treasurer reported $2,000 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion was made to reduce time required to qualify for benefits and to start a 401K plan. Vote of thanks was given to steward department for keeping house clean. Next port: Tampa, Fla. EL MORRO (Interocean American Shipping), Oct. 31—Chairman Robert T. Grubbs, Secretary Daniel Herrera, Educational Director Joseph A. Letang, Deck Delegate Cleveland N. West. Chairman thanked all departments for working well together and announced payoff Nov. 1 in Jacksonville, Fla. He also reminded crewmembers to get their TWIC cards soon. Secretary urged members to start renewal process of necessary seafaring documents early. Educational director encouraged mariners to enhance seafaring abilities when they have a chance at the union- He Exclaimed As He Sailed Out of Sight… . Recertified Bosun Tim Burke helped promote Christmas cheer aboard the Indiana Harbor when he made this recent appearance as Santa. Whether at the helm (above, left photo) or in the engine room, Santa, er, Brother Burke helped maintain safe operations and a bright outlook on the holidays. Unnamed sources tell the LOG that the real Santa had been scheduled to show up, but he couldn’t access the ship without a TWIC. January 2008 affiliated school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. President’s report was read and discussed. Next ports: Jacksonville, Fla., and San Juan, PR. MIDNIGHT SUN (Interocean American Shipping), Oct. 25— Chairman Fadel N. Saleh, Secretary Mark S. Scardino, Educational Director Christopher W. Cunningham, Deck Delegate Bakr M. Elbana, Engine Delegate Ahmed O. Sharif, Steward Delegate Nasser H. Ahmed. Bosun reminded crew to dress appropriately for changing weather and watch for ice on deck. Educational director urged members to contribute to SPAD and upgrade skills often at the SIU-affiliated school. Treasurer noted $1,600 in ship’s fund; recommendation was made to purchase a radio for crew lounge. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion was made to increase pension benefits. Request was made for a new washer and dryer in crew laundry. Steward department was thanked for a job well done. Next ports: Anchorage, Alaska, and Tacoma, Wash. ST. LOUIS EXPRESS (Marine Transport Lines), Oct. 21— Chairman Matthew T. Sagay, Secretary Christopher B. Amigable, Educational Director Daniel G. Ramirez Jr. Chairman reported payoff to take place in Houston on Oct. 31 and that patrolman would be coming aboard. He reminded Seafarers to check-off with patrolman before departing vessel. Secretary thanked fellow crew members for helping keep messhall and lounge clean. He asked them to leave fresh linen for reliefs. Educational director encouraged mariners to take the time to upgrade at the Paul Hall Center. In addition to donating to SPAD he also suggested they check document expiration dates. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Members were asked to keep music and T.V. volume turned down. Next ports: Charleston, S.C., Miami, Fla., and Houston. Servicing Ships in Diego Garcia SIU VP West Coast Nick Marrone and SIU Guam Port Agent Jeff Turkus recently serviced a number of Seafarers-crewed vessels in Diego Garcia. These two photos were taken during those travels late last year. Among other topics, the officials and crew members discussed workplace safety, new shipboard job opportunities, and the many ways that federal, state and local politics affects Seafarers’ livelihoods. The top photo was taken aboard the PFC Dewayne T. Williams (Turkus is third from left, seated, while Marrone is fourth from left). The other photo was snapped aboard the MV Franklin J. Philips which, like the Williams, is a prepositioning ship. Stanley A. Gurney, Secretary Frank J. Starling, Engine Delegate Jamal A. Ricks, Steward Delegate Lloyd R. Lawrence. Bosun urged all mariners to enhance seafaring abilities in Piney Point to increase pay potential. Secretary reported new towels and mattresses have been ordered for crew. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Signs were posted in passageways to remind crew to keep noise down while others are sleeping. Suggestions were made pertaining to medical benefits. COMMITMENT (Maersk Line Limited), Nov. 21—Chairman Edward J. O’Connor, Secretary Stanley J. Krystosiak, Educational Director Dennis R. Baker, Deck Delegate Edwin Ortega, Engine Delegate Natividad Martinez, Steward Delegate Robert P. Wagner. Chairman expressed his gratitude to crew members for a smooth, safe voyage and informed them that captain’s sanitary inspection would take place prior to arrival in Port Elizabeth, N.J. He also announced payoff on Nov. 25 in Port Elizabeth. Crew was asked to ensure all reliefs coming aboard have fresh linen and soap in their rooms. Secretary warned seamen to be careful when using soap as it is very concentrated. He thanked crew members for help keeping ship clean. Educational director advised all mariners to stay current on TWIC information since they will be a requirement in mid2008. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendations were made to increase pension benefits, reduce seatime requirements and lower retirement age. It was stated that a new freezer was needed on crew side of messhall and new microwaves should arrive in Houston. Next ports: Charleston, S.C., and Houston. HORIZON PRODUCER (Horizon Lines), Nov. 4—Chairman Roan R. Lightfoot, Secretary Alexander Banky III, Educational Director Angel S. Hernandez. Chairman stated payoff would take place in Jacksonville, Fla. on Nov. 9. He reminded crewmembers that the Seafarers LOG was the official communication from the union. He advised them to read it and stay informed. Secretary asked Seafarers to keep trash separated. Educational director urged all mariners to check document expiration dates and upgrade whenever possible. Treasurer reported $3,930 in ship’s fund; $500 of that was donated to the family of Apprentice Earl Wood to help pay for his funeral arrangements. Brother Wood died Oct. 23 from natural causes. No beefs or disputed OT reported. FREEDOM (Interocean American Shipping), Nov. 9—Chairman INTEGRITY (Interocean American Shipping), Nov. 4—Chairman Carl H. Pedersen, Secretary Thomas E. Kleine, Steward Delegate Jorge Bernardez. Chairman discussed the Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan and provided members with contact information if they wanted further information. Educational director urged crew to check out Piney Point facilities to see what they have to offer. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Members suggested having a computer available in all union halls (like in Houston) so members can check most recent contract information before joining the vessel. Request was made for new fitness equipment and to have the basketball hoop replaced. Next ports: Port Elizabeth, N.J., Baltimore and Charleston, S.C. MAERSK OHIO (Maersk Line Limited), Nov. 4—Chairman Cecil M. Yearwood, Secretary Fidelis Oliveira, Educational Director Louis A. Santiago. Bosun reported that all departments are working well together and in a safe manner. Educational director encouraged crew to upgrade at the Seafarers-affiliated school whenever possible. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Communication from headquarters was read, discussed and posted for everyone to see. Request was made for a microwave in crew messhall and for a radio in crew lounge. Crew talked about contract changes and current vacation agreement. Seafarers LOG 19 �45525_P01_24X:January 08 12/27/2007 3:38 PM Page 20 Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea Unions Rally for Tobacco Workers NOVEMBER 16 — DECEMBER 15, 2007 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals The photos above were taken in late October during a rally in Winston-Salem, N.C., supporting tobacco farm workers and their efforts to win justice on the job. Unions participating in the demonstration included the Seafarers, Bakery Workers, Machinists, Letter Carriers, Mine Workers, Postal Workers, Auto Workers, Steelworkers and Teamsters along with state and local labor organizations. More information about both the rally and the campaign may be found on the AFL-CIO web site at: http://blog.aflcio.org/2007/10/30/nc-tobacco-farm-workers-march-on-rjreynolds-for-a-voice-at-work/ Totals February & March 2008 Membership Meetings 275 4 5 6 17 3 5 30 20 4 12 8 23 18 16 4 13 6 4 25 19 242 2 1 1 6 3 3 8 2 0 2 1 2 6 0 1 0 0 1 8 6 53 Piney Point ...........Monday: February 4, March 3 Algonac ................Friday: February 8, March 7 Baltimore..............Thursday: February 7, March 6 Boston ..................Friday: February 8, March 7 Guam ....................Thursday: February 21, March 20 Honolulu...............Friday: February 15, March 14 Houston ................Monday: February 11, March 10 Jacksonville ..........Thursday: February 7, March 6 Joliet .....................Thursday: February 14, March 13 Mobile ..................Wednesday: February 13, March 12 New Orleans.........Tuesday: February 12, March 11 New York .............Tuesday: February 5, March 4 Norfolk .................Thursday: February 7, March 6 Oakland ................Thursday: February 14, March 13 Philadelphia..........Wednesday: February 6, March 5 Port Everglades ....Thursday: February 14, March 13 San Juan ...............Thursday: February 7, March 6 St. Louis ...............Friday: February 15, March 14 Tacoma .................Friday: February 22, March 21 Wilmington.............Tuesday: February 19,* Monday: March 17 (*change created by Presidents’ Day holiday) Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. 20 Seafarers LOG Totals 0 0 2 8 1 7 12 16 1 7 8 13 14 8 4 1 1 0 13 13 129 2 1 5 6 1 3 19 17 0 3 4 8 10 6 1 2 6 5 20 9 128 0 2 0 4 0 2 5 0 1 1 0 3 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 7 29 Totals Totals All Departments 2 1 7 10 3 2 23 24 0 11 15 22 11 13 0 1 6 2 26 14 193 2 0 3 12 4 1 13 11 0 7 4 11 16 7 0 5 7 3 18 14 138 0 0 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 3 0 0 0 1 2 18 0 3 0 7 0 4 25 18 1 3 12 24 9 19 3 1 5 6 24 15 5 1 8 15 2 15 62 52 1 15 21 63 24 29 5 1 9 4 60 41 4 12 10 21 5 12 44 36 7 13 17 32 23 24 8 10 13 7 41 27 2 2 0 7 5 3 11 4 1 2 3 4 10 0 2 0 0 2 9 7 179 433 366 74 0 0 2 4 0 3 10 11 0 7 2 12 4 5 1 0 3 0 10 4 78 2 1 6 4 0 2 10 5 0 2 1 8 7 5 2 1 1 1 10 5 73 0 1 0 1 1 0 2 2 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 3 2 0 4 15 9 0 2 4 9 8 4 1 0 1 0 15 6 1 0 2 9 2 14 21 23 1 12 7 19 18 11 3 2 2 1 25 17 1 1 5 8 2 4 21 29 0 7 7 11 18 8 2 1 7 7 24 10 0 1 0 5 1 2 4 2 2 1 1 5 3 4 1 0 0 2 2 8 15 83 190 173 44 0 0 0 6 0 6 16 9 0 3 1 9 9 11 0 0 0 0 12 11 0 0 5 7 5 10 31 22 0 11 7 25 17 30 2 4 2 3 29 31 0 0 0 10 1 10 11 10 0 5 5 5 16 9 2 2 4 2 12 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 3 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 0 0 2 5 4 8 18 15 2 5 5 19 12 23 2 2 1 2 18 19 162 1 0 0 6 1 6 8 6 0 5 1 2 14 4 3 1 4 0 8 6 76 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 1 0 0 3 1 12 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C ENGINE DEPARTMENT Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs DECK DEPARTMENT 4 1 4 8 2 6 34 31 1 13 16 39 15 22 4 0 8 2 36 29 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 0 0 4 2 5 9 8 2 3 4 13 5 20 0 1 3 1 7 9 96 2 0 1 8 0 2 6 6 0 3 1 8 8 2 1 1 1 0 4 5 59 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 9 93 241 111 14 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 0 0 1 0 0 6 6 3 0 1 2 8 0 3 0 0 0 0 4 1 1 2 3 6 3 6 17 14 1 3 6 26 10 12 2 18 2 4 17 15 3 0 0 5 0 12 2 18 0 2 3 8 14 7 1 28 1 0 6 7 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 1 0 0 1 3 1 3 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 1 4 3 1 4 5 6 1 2 2 10 7 6 0 10 1 1 9 3 0 0 0 2 0 3 2 5 0 1 1 2 6 2 0 17 0 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 7 2 0 1 3 10 1 4 0 0 0 0 5 0 4 3 1 7 3 6 42 20 0 4 13 43 17 15 2 14 3 3 26 22 7 1 2 9 1 19 6 22 0 2 6 18 18 12 1 20 2 1 10 11 35 168 117 20 76 46 0 38 248 168 601 614 211 387 346 88 355 902 898 300 *“Total Registered” means the number of Seafarers who actually registered for shipping at the port. **“Registered on Beach” means the total number of Seafarers registered at the port. January 2008 �45525_P01_24:January 08 12/21/2007 12:41 PM Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 January 2008 Page 21 Future Looks Bright For Union, Paul Hall Center Continued from Page 5 Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. The SIU submitted numerous comments concerning TWIC to Congress, the Department of Transportation, the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration. Initially, the union questioned the need for a new credential program for mariners when, with a few modifications, the current background check and credentialing processes could be used. Some of the current TWIC issues the SIU is watching include whether implementation deadlines can be reached, problems that are cropping up with the biometric card readers and delays that might exist at enrollment centers. There are other components of the program that the SIU is tracking and time will tell. In the meantime, Seafarers are reminded that U.S. mariners will be required to carry a TWIC by September 25, 2008. Until that date, a valid zcard/merchant mariner document meets the TWIC program requirements where mariners are concerned. Highly Trained, Skilled & Loyal Fourth Arm of Defense Seafarers have a long and proud tradition of delivering the goods for those defending our nation. As the war in Iraq continued in 2007, SIU members contin- ued to support the troops on commercial and Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force ships. From prepositioning supplies to delivering ammo, fuel, food and armored vehicles along with whatever else was needed. School’s 40th Anniversary Many of the mariners sailing aboard those military support vessels (along with other ships from throughout the Seafarerscrewed fleet) have received training and upgraded their skills at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. Last year, the school celebrated its 40th anniversary, commemorating the historic occasion in several different ways. Once a bare-bones facility, the Paul Hall Center now offers the most U.S. Coast Guard-approved courses of any maritime school in the nation. It also is the largest training facility for deep sea merchant seafarers and inland waterways boatmen in the U.S. Highlighting the center’s ever-expanding training capabilities in 2007, the school upgraded its state-of-the-art facilities to include three auxiliary bridges with z-drive and conventional controls. It also moved from single-channel visuals to three-channel visuals using plasma screens. Additionally, the center upgraded main and auxiliary bridges to Transas 4000 software and upgraded radars and radar emulators. The center stayed on the cutting edge of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry by installing an LG cargo simulator. Developed by Transas, a highly regarded company, the simulator offers comprehensive training in LG familiarization, LG specialization and LG safety. Proving itself once again as the “go to place” for expert training, the U.S. Military Sealift Command formally approved the center’s shipboard helicopter fire fighting team member course. It is believed that the school is the first private institution to receive MSC accreditation for helo fire fighting training. The class is a one-day curriculum intended primarily for merchant mariners (including CIVMARS) sailing aboard military support ships – particularly vessels equipped with flight decks. Like most other Paul Hall Center courses, this one emphasizes hands-on training. It also includes classroom instruction. The year included many other mileposts for Seafarers, including ratification of new contracts that increase wages and maintain benefits; the aforementioned SIUNA convention, during which guest speakers from Congress, the administration, the military and the domestic and international labor movements expressed strong support for SIUNA unions and the American-flag fleet; and rescues at sea in which SIU members exhibited the finest traditions of the “Brotherhood of the Sea.” Important Notice Regarding the NMU Pension Plan Merger of the NMU Pension Plan Into the Seafarers Pension Plan As you probably know, the National Maritime Union of America, (AFL-CIO) (“NMU”) merged into the Seafarers International Union AGLIWD/NMU, AFL-CIO (“SIU”) on June 4, 2001. Since that time, efforts have been made to logically consolidate the various pension and benefit funds that were sponsored by the NMU into their counterpart plans sponsored by the SIU. We are pleased to inform you that in the near future, the NMU Pension Plan will merge into the Seafarers Pension Plan (SPP). In order to facilitate the merger of the NMU Pension Plan into the SPP, it is necessary to freeze the benefits provided by the NMU Plan as of December 31, 2007. All individuals who are active participants in the NMU Plan on December 31, 2007 will begin accruing benefits in the Seafarers Pension Plan (the “SPP”) on January 1, 2008. This notice affects all current active participants in the NMU Plan. Future benefit accruals of all participants in the NMU Pension Plan (the “NMU Plan”) will cease effective December 31, 2007. Transfer of Responsibilities On January 1, 2008, the covered employees of those employers that had participated in the NMU Pension Plan will be transferred to the SPP. As of January 1, 2008, the Board of Trustees of the SPP, not the Board of Trustees of the NMU Pension Fund, will have the full responsibility over the NMU Plan. Guaranteed Benefit Accruals Under the NMU Plan As of December 31, 2007, the NMU Pension Plan provides a regular pension benefit equal to: (A) twenty-two dollars ($22) per month per Pension Credit, if at least five (5) of the last twelve (12) Pension Credits earned by the Participant were earned in a Category I Rating, or (B) eighteen dollars ($18) per month per Pension Credit if a Participant does not meet the requirement of paragraph (A) if at least five (5) of the last twelve (12) Pension Credits earned by the Participant were not earned in a Category I Rating. The NMU Plan provides an additional lump sum pension benefit to a Participant who retires with at least twenty-one (21) Pension Credits. The amount of the lump sum benefit is seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) for each of the Participant’s twenty-first (21st) through thirtieth (30th) Pension Credit if the Regular Pension is based on paragraph (A), above, or four hundred dollars ($400) for each of the Participant’s twenty-first (21st) through thirtieth (30th) Pension Credit if based on paragraph (B), above. Please refer to the Summary Plan Description for the NMU Plan for details regarding Category Ratings, how the Pension Credits are earned, and the definition of “Covered Employment.”. Under the NMU Plan amendment described in this notice, any hours of work in Covered Employment that you perform after December 31, 2007 will not count in calculating the amount of your NMU Pension benefit. Further, any compensation you earn after December 31, 2007 will not count for benefit calculation purposes under the NMU Plan. This amendment means that you will not earn any additional Pension Credits under the NMU Plan after December 31, 2007. If you terminated Covered Employment earlier than December 31, 2007, your accrual of benefits under the NMU Plan would have already ceased as of that earlier date. Only Future Benefits Are Affected Please note that the NMU Plan change described above only affects future benefit accruals for NMU Plan participants. It will not affect any benefits that you have already earned. In addition, retirement benefits currently payable to retirees will not be affected by the freezing of benefit accruals inthe NMU Plan. Participation and Start of Benefit Accruals Under the Seafarers Pension Plan Beginning January 1, 2008, if you work in a position covered by a collective bargaining agreement between your employer and the SIU, and you are not already a participant in the SPP, you will then become one. What this means is that any hour of work that you perform in Covered Employment after December 31, 2007 will count toward a pension benefit under the SPP. Based on recommendations from the Actuaries of the Plan, the Board of Trustees of the Seafarers Pension Plan will be providing you additional information regarding your future accruals under the SPP. The Summary Plan Description of the SPP contains all the information that you need regarding the pension benefits provided under the SPP, and how they are earned. A copy of this Summary Plan Description will be provided to you by the SPP Plan Office, if you have not already received one. Applying for Benefits Whether you are applying for your pension benefit earned under the NMU Plan or your benefit earned under the SPP, or both benefits, you will be required to apply to the Seafarers Pension Plan, and all benefits to which you are entitled will be payable by the Seafarers Pension Plan. The Board of Trustees of the Seafarers Pension Plan reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to amend, modify or terminate the plan of benefits (including with respect to benefit levels and eligibility requirements), at any time and for any reason, consistent with the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreement. Any such change to the SPP can only affect future benefit accruals. It will not affect any benefits that you have already earned under the NMU Plan or the SPP. Benefits already earned cannot be decreased. Should you have any questions concerning any of the information provided in this notice, you may write to the Administrator, Miriam Bove, at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 or call 718-499-6600, ext. 242. Sincerely, BOARD OF TRUSTEES NMU Pension Plan This Notice describes changes to the NMU Pension Plan, which will take effect on January 1, 2008. This summary is intended to satisfy the requirements for the issuance of a Summary of Material Modification (“SMM”) under Sections 102(a) and 104(b) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (a federal law known as “ERISA”). The notice is also provided to you pursuant to Section 4980F of the Internal Revenue Code and Section 204(h) of ERISA. You should take the time to read this notice carefully and keep it with your copy of the Summary Plan Description (“SPD”). If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact the NMU Fund Office at 635 Fourth Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11232, or by phone at (718) 499-6600 before January 1, 2008, or the Seafarers Pension Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746, or by phone at (301) 899-0675 as of January 1, 2008. This SMM and 204(h) notice is intended to provide you with an easy-to-understand description of certain changes to the NMU Plan. While every effort has been made to make this description as complete and as accurate as possible, this SMM/204(h) notice, of course, cannot contain a full restatement of the terms and provisions of the NMU Plan. If any conflict should arise between this summary and the NMU Plan, or if any point is not discussed in this notice or is only partially discussed, the terms of the NMU Plan will govern in all cases. The Board of Trustees (or its duly authorized designee) reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to amend, modify or terminate the NMU Plan, or any benefits provided under the NMU Plan, in whole or in part, at any time and for any reason, in accordance with the applicable amendment procedures. Only the Board of Trustees (or its duly authorized designee) has the exclusive right and power, in its sole and absolute discretion, to interpret the terms of the NMU Plan and decide all matters, legal and/or factual, arising thereunder. Seafarers LOG 21 �45525_P01_24X:January 08 12/27/2007 3:39 PM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes FOWT — Completing the FOWT course Nov. 2 were (above, in no specific order) Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 696 — Unlicensed apprentices from class 696 recently graduated from the water survival course. Those graduating from the course (above, in alphabetical order) were Jonathan Bennett, Chad Bruch, Jonathan Diaz, Lamar Doctor, Thomas Halliburton, Hector Hernandez-Martinez, Damonte Jones, Darrel Link, Joshua Luna, Michael Maldonado, Aman Mohamed, Fadel Mohamed, Derrick Moore, Michele Pauldo, Marcos Ramos, William Sabo, George Santiago-Cordero, Caleb Swanson, and Brian Sylvester. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Ameon Fuller, Seth Burton, Marcus Brown, Fayed Ahmed, Todd Williams, Anthony Dello Russo, Francis Brown, Victor Rios, Christopher McAfee, Joseph Jacobs, Lawrence Todd Jr., Jessie Parente, Aristeo Aquino, WInston Rankin, Scott Thomas and James Burton. Tim Achorn, their instructor, is at far right. Advanced Fire Fighting — These Crowley boatmen on Nov. 2 graduated from the advanced fire fighting course. Members of the class (above, in no specific order) were Kenneth Graybill, Paul McCool, Leo Venegas, Anthony DeCiccio, Marc Tomuschat, William Jackson and Willie Allen. Their instructor, Tom Cessna, is at left. Students who have registered for classes at the Paul Marine Electrician — On Nov. 16, the following individuals (in no specific order) completed this course: Andrew Linares, David Watkins, Christopher Eason, Randy Slue, Erik Nappier, Jess Cooper, Terrell Alston, Jerome Dooms and Andrew Van Bourg. Their instructor, Jay Henderson, is at far left. Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, but later discover—for whatever reason—that they cannot Fast Rescue Boat — Under the instruction of Stan Beck (far left) are Crowley Boatmen who completed the Nov. 2 fast rescue boat class. They are (in alphabetical order) Robert Bergmann, Mark Gaskill, Kenneth Kuehne, Amr Sonbol and Arthur Stewart. attend should inform the admissions department immediately so that arrangements can be made to have other students take their places. Tanker Familiarization/Assistant Cargo (DL) —Two classes of Phase III apprentices graduated Oct. 26 from the tankerman assistant course. Those graduating (above, in no specific order) were Edwin Arroyo, Caroline Thomas, Tashara Newston, Terry Taylor, Kenneth Bricker, Cortney Williams, Andrew Geerie, Byran Clark, Riley LeBlanc, David Newsome, Delbra Leslie, Jon Larrinaga, Casey Shannon, Daniel Giles, Weston Hines, Blaine Musk, Amer Saleh, Shawn Pantschyschak, Zachary Miano, Ben Gonzales, Dominic Tuccio, James Petite, Ladarus Clark, DeAndre Whitley, Sean Jones, Jay Aki, Maurice Beasely, Lamar Walton, Sean Keaton, Ruben Haynes, Elmer Pansho, Destinie LeBlanc, Henry Sheppard, Omar Izguierdo, Andrew Cooper, Leroy Sierra and Cheryl Gutkowski. Their instructor, Jim Shaffer, is not pictured. 22 Seafarers LOG Welding — Graduating from the welding course Nov. 15 (above, in no specific order) were Furman Watson, Franklin Rodgers, Philandae Walton, Heather Bushey, David Brewster, Richard Brewster, Richard Wright and Dario Dizon. Their instructor, Buzzy Andrews, is sixth from the left in the back. January 2008 �45525_P01_24X:January 08 12/27/2007 3:41 PM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes STCW — SIU, Nov. 2: Michael Acarello, Mohammed Ali, Abdulwahed Alsharey, William Belcher, Paul Hackney, James Hudson, William Jackson, Rickey Mason, Philip Parisi, Emilio Placides, Adrian Schubert, Daryl Spicer, Gerald Toledo, Jarrell Vick, Henry Wilmarth, Salim Yahya and Carlos Zelaya. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is not pictured. Advanced Fire Fighting—Eight G&H Towing boatmen completed the advanced fire fighting course Nov. 9. Graduating from the class (above, in no specific order) were Keith Gunning, Clinton Schussler, Blake Morgan, Luther Sarvis III, Jeffery Lobaugh, Charles Walker, Charles Hadley and Michael Batten. Their instructor, Tom Cessna, is at far left. Computer Classes A number of students recently completed various classes in the computer lab at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training & Education in Piney Point, Md. Their photos, names and descriptions of the training they received follow. Gerald Freeman (left) and Mariah Marton (right) proudly show off the certificates they earned upon their completion of computer training. Both took and passed classes in Excel 2002 for Windows XP and the Windows XP Operating System. With them is, Rick Prucha, their instructor Helo Fire Fighting — Unlicensed apprentices from Class 699 completed training in the helo fire fighting class on Oct. 24. Graduating from the course (in no specific order) were Jack Forde, Pamela Wilson, Daniel Cortez, Louise Digman, Joshua Johnson, Michael Anderson Jr., Algernon Ramseur, Meghan Blocker, Tonya Gist, RIchard Villafane, Chirstopher Shivalier, William Chamberlain, Austen Hess, Hubert Dennis, Matthew Martinson. Their instructors, Tom Cessna and Joseph Zienda, are not pictured. Harold Gerber (left) poses with Instructor Prucha after receiving a pair of certificates for his completion of training in Excel 2002 for Windows XP and the Windows XP Operating System. Noland Earl is proud of the training he received in the Windows XP Operating System. In photo at right, he joins Instructor Prucha while displaying the certificate he earned for his achievement. Bridge Team Training — The above Crowley boatmen completed the Nov. 2 class. Pictured (in alphabetical order) are: Jeremy Abel, Joel Anderson, Dominic Bailey, Darren Bates, John Bertrand, Robert Bouton, Bradley Burkart, Johnny Carraway, Michael Donahue, William Harvell, Robert Joiner, William Palmer, Dale Rausch, Sherman Sakatani, Christopher Valley and Bruce Walsh. Their instructor, Jamie Mixon, is second from the right in the back row. Pictured third from the right, back row, is John Quagliano, Crowley representative. Be advised that SIU Headquarters and all SIU Hiring Halls will be closed Monday, Feb. 18 for the observance of Presidents’ Day (unless an emergency arises). Instructor Rick Prucha, center in photo at left, poses with Meili Seegers, left, and Robert Englehart, right, shortly after the two completed a recent computer class at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. Both earned cerficiates of achievement for their completion of a class in Excel 2002 for Windows XP. Normal business hours will resume the following workday. January 2008 Seafarers LOG 23 �45525_P01_24:January 08 12/21/2007 12:42 PM Page 24 Volume 70, Number 1 January 2008 SIU SCHOLARSHIPS Seafarers Scholarship Program Booklet Request Form — Page 8 Seafarers Deliver Life-Saving Equipment to Troops in Iraq SIU Members Swing into Action as Nation’s Fourth Arm of Defense It’s no secret that warfare of the 21st Century is increasingly brutal, and personnel protection technology in a combat theater has to adapt and improvise. That’s why the Department of Defense, U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps developed the Mine-Resistant, AmbushProtected Vehicle (MRAP) to better shield military personnel in Iraq from today’s maiming weaponry such as improvised exploding devices and mines. According to the Army, the vehicles have raised, V-shaped underbellies that deflect the force of improvised explosive devices and other blasts from below better than other vehicles in use. When an order of these lifesaving vehicles was ready to be delivered en masse, the Department of Defense recently turned to reliable mariners who have supported our troops for nearly 70 years – SIU members. Called “humvees on steroids” by some, 48 MRAPs were recently transported for the first time to Kuwait for use in Iraq aboard SIU-contracted Liberty Maritime Corporation’s M/V Alliance New York. Since MRAPs are just being deployed, this was the first delivery of many to our troops in combat. The Alliance New York is a new generation single-screw rollon/roll-off PC/TC carrier capable of transporting 6,000 cars, heavy vehicles, road trailers, trucks, buses and rolling cargoes for worldwide services. The Alliance New York flies the American Flag under the U.S. Maritime Security Program (MSP). The MSP has been a key element of America’s economic and defense security since its enactment in 1996. The program – extended for another 10 years and expanded from 47 to 60 ships commencing in late 2005 – provides for U.S.-flag commercial vessels, particularly containerships and roll-on/roll-off vessels, which are available to the Department of Defense in times of war or national emergency. The Alliance New York is part of the U.S. Maritime Security Program. To show support to military members deployed in the combat theater, Liberty Maritime and the SIU crew served breakfast during the discharge and cooked up a Thanksgiving meal with delicacies such as turkey, ham, seafood and all the trimmings. More than 100 individuals attended this special celebration. “The reception was a big success with military personnel and crew,” said Captain Costas R. Balomenos. Seafarers sailing aboard the Alliance New York during this recent voyage included Bosun Thomas Grosskurth, ABs Gregory Peters, Antonio Centeno, Anthony Heinoldt, Jon Silveira and Christopher Brady, GUDEs Denis Cossio and Edwin Sebastian, Chief Steward John Walsh III, Chief Cook Breon Lucas, GSU Jermaine Williams and Unlicensed Apprentices Kabir Garcia and Robert Day Jr. The first MRAP to be delivered rolls down the stern ramp of the SIU-crewed Alliance New York. Seafarers are ready to welcome troops to the crew mess for a delicious meal. The three photos directly above show some of the MRAPs transported aboard the Alliance New York. Crew members display a sign noting the delivery’s historic nature. U.S. Army General Luis R. Visot (fourth from right) is pictured with troops and civilian shipboard personnel on the Seafarers-contracted vessel. The driver is in place and ready to move the first MRAP ashore. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 January 2008 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES NEW SIU DEPARTMENT IS ‘ONE-STOP SHOP’ FOR HELP GLOBAL LABOR LEADERS STRESS FREEDOM TO JOIN UNIONS AGREEMENT SIGNED FOR UP TO 13 MORE TANKERS BISSO CREWS APPROVE CONTRACT EXTENSION NASSCO LAYS KEEL OF 1ST PRODUCT TANKER FOR U.S. SHIPPING PARTNERS TSA ISSUES GUIDANCE FOR TWIC UNION MAKES GREAT STRIDES TOWARD ‘BRIGHTER FUTURE’ PINEY POINT AGENT EDD MORRIS RETIRES OAKLAND HALL HOSTS SUCCESSFUL THANKSGIVING FEAST SEAFARERS DELIVER LIFE-SAVING EQUIPMENT TO TROOPS IN IRAQ Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/01/2008 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. 70, No. 1 2008 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/f41206b6295d1acc48d0055195ef2be6.pdf a4030be330dd53080ab91cb6ee22da42 PDF Text Text Volume 69, Number 12 December 2007 Season’s Greetings Beck Notice __________________________ Page 6 45524_Pg1.indd 1 Scholarship Information __________________________ Page 14 11/26/2007 11:44:55 PM �45524X2:September-07 11/28/2007 12:25 PM Page 2 President’s Report Members Tell It Like It Is If anyone wants to know what the SIU is all about, check out the comments in this month’s LOG from the newest class of recertified bosuns (page 7). There, you’ll read about how the union and our affiliated training center have helped people find direction and become highly productive workers in a vitally important field. You’ll read about how SIU members have been able to make a good living and provide for their families by taking advantage of opportunities available through the union and the Paul Hall Michael Sacco Center for Maritime Training and Education. Last month wasn’t the first time I’ve heard such comments from graduates of the various upgrading programs at Piney Point, but it nevertheless was heartwarming, especially at this time of year. We remain a family in the SIU—union brothers and sisters, united by common goals, including the promotion of America’s national and economic security. If anyone wants to know what the SIU is all about, read the words of Government Services Division member Billy Bushey on page 9. Brother Bushey understands how and why the SIU looks out for its members. He does a great job explaining it, and just in case anyone’s wondering, the article was totally his idea. If anyone wants to know what an SIU member is made of, take a look at the “Paint Tacoma” feature on pages 12-13. The union members, employees and friends who volunteered their time and labor to help others didn’t do so because they wanted recognition. But they deserve it, as do all other Seafarers who take part it charitable activities. As another year winds down, I’ve never been more proud of the SIU and its members—and I’ve never been more grateful for the unwavering support of rank-and-file Seafarers. Strong Turnout for Elections Union families came through with another strong turnout last month on Election Day. Even though these were so-called “off-year elections,” they nevertheless were very important to all working families across the country. The same will be true in 2008, a presidential election year. Once again, it’ll be up to us to help elect or re-elect pro-maritime, proworker candidates—and then to follow up by fully educating them about our issues. I often use this space to discuss politics, and that’s simply because grassroots political action remains crucial to Seafarers’ livelihoods. If you’re new to the SIU, you owe it to yourself to at least understand the basics of how our industry is regulated and how we’re affected by maritime and transportation laws along with government agencies. If you’ve been around, I’m sure you already know how much the U.S. Merchant Marine interacts with those agencies and how much we rely on laws like the Jones Act, cargo preference and the U.S. Maritime Security Program to help sustain America’s fourth arm of defense. In any case, we have no choice but to remain very active in politics, and we’ll do so in 2008 and the years that follow. Happy Holidays With the holidays upon us, on behalf of the union’s executive board, I offer heartfelt best wishes to all Seafarers, retirees and SIU family members for an enjoyable, safe holiday season. I especially want to extend warmest wishes to our SIU brothers and sisters who are spending the holidays at sea, delivering materiel for our armed forces and transporting commercial goods that help sustain America’s economy. It’s never fun being away from home at this time of year, but sometimes it goes with the territory in this industry. Thank you for your dedication and for a job well done. Last but not least, my thoughts and prayers go out to our troops who are deployed overseas. I wish you success in your missions and a safe return home. Volume 69, Number 12 December 2007 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 899-0675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Deborah A. Hirtes; Associate Editor, Jim Guthrie; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry; Staff Writer: Mark Bowman. Copyright © 2007 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD 2 Seafarers LOG PHC Advisory Board Focuses on Training Needs, Industry Trends MSC Approves Paul Hall Center’s Helo Course Members of the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education’s (PHC) deep sea and inland advisory board recently worked through a packed agenda during its 38th annual meeting. Board members converged on the school’s Piney Point, Md.based campus from Oct. 24-25 to exchange ideas and discuss issues that will impact future training requirements in various segments of the maritime industry. They also focused on the possible techniques through which that training will be delivered in view of the fairly constant changes which are taking place in the industry with respect to regulations, laws and equipment. SIU President Michael Sacco welcomed the meeting participants and encouraged them to take advantage of the storehouse of information and opportunities that would be presented during the conference. He described the gathering as an opportunity for SIU-contracted companies to take a look at what the school currently is teaching, scrutinize curriculum contents and methods of presentation and then make recommendations on any needed changes that ultimately would translate into better service to the companies. “If you need a special program for your company to meet its requirements, let the school know,” he said. “The school will be able to sit down with you and work something out that will be fair and equitable to you and to the people who are on your boats.” Commenting on the constant changes to regulations that govern the maritime industry, Sacco emphasized the critical importance of knowing not only what these regulations are but also the ability for one to interpret them correctly. He noted that in addition to the board members, other meeting participants included representatives from the U.S. Maritime Administration, U.S. Military Sealift Command and U.S. Coast Guard. The SIU president also recognized the PHC staff and commended staff members for the job they have done over the years in helping fulfill the training needs of the maritime industry in general and the operators specifically. “There is a great staff here and Capt. David Stalfort NMC Commanding Officer Cole Cosgrove Crowley General Manager I’m proud of what this staff has done putting programs together to meet your needs and the industry’s needs,” he said. “They have done a wonderful job addressing the needs of operators while complying with the regulations of government agencies.” Focusing on the future, Sacco told those present that the SIU and its affiliated school would continue to be trailblazers and models for the maritime industry. SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez discussed the meeting’s agenda and goals. He noted that the maritime industry as a whole is undergoing a period of change. To keep pace with that change, Tellez said, we have to be prepared to take bold actions based on sound and well thought out solutions. “Our industry is in transition,” he said. “And I think the theme of this meeting is how we as a group meet and deal with that transition.” John Mason, director, ASTI, and J.C. Wiegman, PHC director of training, jointly provided meeting participants with an update on the school. Several guest speakers addressed the board. Those making presentations in their respective areas were: Bill Eglinton, SIU advisor, “IMO and U.S. Coast Guard Advisory Committee Updates;” U.S. Coast Guard Capt. David Stalfort, “National Maritime Center Reorganization;” Kyrm Hickman, director of training, MSC, “MSC Courses: Helo Fire Fighting;” and Cole Cosgrove, general manager, Crowley, “TWIC Update.” SIU SecretaryTreasurer David Heindel and Bart Rogers, PHC manpower director, headed a panel discussion on “Seafarers Manpower Informa- tion Systems.” Meeting participants took part in three subcommittee workshops during which a series of ideas were exchanged, explored and recommended for further examination. These three workshops and their respective subcommittee facilitators were: Culinary Subcommittee—SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker, and John Hetmanski and John Dobson, PHC Vocational Staff; Towboat Scholarship Subcommittee: Wiegman, David Shultz and Stacey Harris of the PHC Vocational Staff; and Engineering Subcommittee—Mason. In addition to SIU officials, advisory board meeting participants included representatives from some 35 SIU-contracted deep sea, Great Lakes and inland companies and the aforementioned agencies. In a related development, MSC approved the “Shipboard Helicopter Fire Fighting Team Member” course currently offered at the Paul Hall Center. It is believed that the school is the first private institution to receive MSC accreditation for helo fire fighting training. Kyrm Hickman presented the command’s official certificate of approval to Tellez and Wiegman during the advisory board meeting. The course, a one-day curriculum, is intended primarily for merchant mariners (including CIVMARS) sailing aboard military support ships—particularly vessels equipped with flight decks. Like most other courses at the Paul Hall Center, this one emphasizes hands-on training. It also features classroom instruction on a variety of topics including fire chemistry, flight quarters organization, personal protection equipment, helicopter types and firefighting tactics. The course also addresses practical exercises on combating engine fires, cargo fires and more. MSC Director of Training Kyrm Hickman (right) presents the certificate of approval for the Paul Hall Center’s helo fire fighting course. Pictured from left to right are Paul Hall Center Director of Training J.C. Wiegman, SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez and Hickman. December 2007 �45524:September-07 11/26/2007 11:10 PM Page 3 Union Urges Members to Apply for TWIC Adjustments Still Possible, but Deadline for Mariners Is Sept. 25, 2008 With the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program finally moving forward, the SIU is urging Seafarers to apply for the new card, which eventually will be required of all U.S. mariners who need unescorted access to secure areas of U.S. ports and vessels. As reported in last month’s LOG, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) began issuing TWICs in midOctober. There is still concern not only in the maritime industry but also in Congress about various aspects of the program. However, with no immediate indication that—where mariners are concerned—the program either will be delayed, modified or even scrapped, the union has no choice other than to advise members to apply. Mariners will be required by the government to carry a TWIC by Sept. 25, 2008. That requirement comes from a federal law called the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. Both as an individual organization and jointly with other unions, the SIU repeatedly has testified before Congress about the TWIC dating back to the summer of 2006, shortly after the government issued a notice of proposed rulemaking. From day one, the SIU has stated that it supports strong shipboard and port security—but that such measures must be fair to all concerned. The union also has been one of many to advocate simply adding a biometric identifier to the existing merchant mariner document/zcard and letting it serve as a TWIC Quarterly Deployment Plan (Through March 2008. Visit www.tsa.gov/twic for the latest schedule.) Oct.-Dec. 2007 Wilmington, Delaware Corpus Christi, Texas Baton Rouge, Louisiana Tacoma, Washington Honolulu, Hawaii Oakland, California Beaumont, Texas Houston, Texas Providence, Rhode Island Chicago, Illinois Port Arthur, Texas Savannah, Georgia Baltimore/Dundalk, Maryland Minneapolis, Minnesota St. Paul, Minnesota Lake Charles, Louisiana Kahului Maui, Hawaii Boston, Massachusetts Charleston, South Carolina Cleveland, Ohio Detroit, Michigan Port Fourchon, Louisiana Brownsville, Texas Hilo, Hawaii Indiana Harbor, Indiana Mobile, Alabama Albany, New York Brunswick, Georgia Long Beach, California Los Angeles, California Milwaukee, Wisconsin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Seattle, Washington Tulsa, Oklahoma Joliet, Illinois Kansas City, Missouri Kauai, Hawaii New York/New Jersey #1 Peoria, Illinois Jan.-March 2008 American Samoa Anacortes, Washington Ashtabula, Ohio Bay City, Michigan Bourne, Massachusetts Buffalo, New York Calcite, Michigan Cincinnati, Ohio Duluth-Superior, Minnesota Escanaba, Michigan Everett, Washington Green Bay, Wisconsin Guam Huntington, West Va. International Falls, Minnesota Jacksonville, Florida Key West, Florida Port Everglades, Florida Portland, Oregon Richmond, California TWIC. Similar recommendations have been submitted by industry groups whose sole purpose is to advise the government on maritime issues. Congressional hear- St. Louisiana (La Place, Louisiana) Salisbury, Maryland Sandusky, Ohio Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan St. Ignace, Michigan St. Louis, Missouri Tampa, Florida Texas City, Texas Toledo, Ohio Traverse City, Michigan Vicksburg, Mississippi Victoria, Texas Wilmington, North Carolina La Plata, Maryland Lorain, Ohio Louisville, Kentucky Marine City, Michigan Marquette, Michigan Memphis, Tennessee Miami, Florida Morehead City, North Carolina Morgan City, Louisiana Muskegon, Michigan Nashville, Tennessee New Orleans, Louisiana New York/New Jersey #2 and #3 Newport News, Virginia Norfolk, Virginia Ontonagon, Michigan Oswego, New York Palm Beach, Florida Panama City, Florida Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Port Canaveral, Florida ings have taken place to examine the TWIC program’s shortcomings, and the GAO issued a critical report about those deficiencies. Despite those recommenda- Keel Laid for 7 T-AKE Ship th NASSCO Announces Other Milestones in Navy Program General Dynamics NASSCO last month reported milestones in its U.S. Navy T-AKE ship construction program—a package that means shipboard jobs for members of the SIU Government Services Division. The San Diego shipyard announced that the keel had been laid for the seventh dry cargoammunition ship in the program. Also, construction started on the eighth T-AKE ship. Both vessels are slated for delivery in 2009. They will be crewed by SIU CIVMARS, as are the existing T-AKE ships. “Laying the keel of T-AKE 7 and starting construction of TAKE 8 are the latest milestones in the successful Navy auxiliary ship program,” said Frederick J. Harris, president of General Dynamics NASSCO and himself a former U.S. Merchant Mariner. “These two events are evidence that the NASSCO team is building and delivering T-AKE ships efficiently. With one ship now tions and concerns, the program is unfolding largely without change, albeit after multiple delays and without complete answers about the card readers. For Seafarers, there is another key component to this situation: the related Merchant Mariner Qualification Credential (MMC). As reported numerous times, the MMC is intended as an eventual replacement for the current MMD/z-card and STCW certificate. The final rulemaking on the MMC isn’t expected to be published before summer 2008, and initial issuance of that credential will continue over five years. Therefore, until the proposed MMC regulation is finalized, Seafarers should continue to apply for z-cards/MMDs, licenses, CORs and STCW endorsements under the current regulations in 46 CFR parts 10 and 12. If the MMC proposed regulation is fully implemented, mariners would be able to apply for original, renewal, duplicate and raise-in-grade MMCs entirely by mail, without having to visit a Coast Guard regional examination center. Most or all of the information currently submitted in person at one of the 17 RECs already would have been submitted at one of the 130 or so TWIC enrollment centers when an individual applied for a TWIC, removing the need (though not eliminating the option) to apply for an MMC in person. Getting Started with TWIC Mariners are encouraged to call the TSA/TWIC customer service line at (866) 347-8942, and visit Schedule The TSA’s TWIC site includes a link to a PDF file—http:// www.tsa.gov/assets/pdf/twicquarterlydeploymentschedule.pdf— with the latest rollout schedule. As of mid-November, the schedule through March 2008 was listed as indicated in the box at left. Check with the TSA through the TWIC customer service line or TWIC web site for exact locations. Please note that while the enrollment period for the TWIC is starting, program enforcement hasn’t begun. TWIC compliance dates will vary from port to port, and those dates haven’t been announced. There is a federal requirement to provide at least 90 days of advance notice before the TWIC regulations are enforced at a given port. More significantly for mariners, a valid MMD/z-card is considered as meeting any TWIC requirements until Sept. 25, 2008. In other words, up until that date, an MMD/z-card is just as good as a TWIC in the government’s eyes. deployed overseas and two other ships in service, the T-AKE class is already contributing to the Navy’s forward presence posture.” The keel of T-AKE 7 was laid on November 2, while construction of T-AKE 8 began on October 31. Also in late October, NASSCO launched the USNS Robert E. Peary (T-AKE 5) and successfully completed sea trials for the USNS Richard E. Byrd (T-AKE 4). Since June 2006, the yard has delivered three T-AKE ships to the Navy, and will soon deliver the Richard E. Byrd. The shipyard has contracts to build the first nine ships of the T-AKE class and recently reached an agreement to terms for ships 10 through 14. Designed by NASSCO, the TAKE class incorporates international marine technologies and commercial ship-design features, including an integrated electricdrive propulsion system, to minimize operating costs over its projected 40-year service life. The primary mission of T-AKE ships is to deliver as much as 10,000 tons of food, ammunition, fuel and other provisions to combat ships at sea. In addition to the T-AKE program, the shipyard is building the first of nine product carriers for SIU-contracted U.S. Shipping Partners L.P. SIU Statement on Delta Queen T-AKE 6 (left) and T-AKE 5 are shown under construction at the NASSCO shipyard in San Diego earlier this year. Please be advised the SIU headquarters and all SIU hiring halls will be closed on Tuesday, Dec. 25 for the Christmas Day holiday and Tuesday, Jan. 1 for the New Year’s Day holiday (unless an emergency arises). Normal business hours will resume the following workday. December 2007 the TSA’s TWIC web site, located at www.tsa.gov/twic. Step-by-step instructions are available on line and at all SIU halls. They also will be printed in next month’s LOG. The fee for a TWIC is $132.50, and the credential is valid for five years. Mariners with a valid z-card may pay a reduced fee of $105.25 because they have undergone a “comparable background check” as the one required for a TWIC. But it’s important to note that a new TWIC is valid only for five years from the date the background check was performed. In other words, if a mariner secured his z-card in December 2005 and then obtained a TWIC in December 2007 by paying the reduced fee, the TWIC would be valid only until December 2010. The Seafarers International Union recently has been subjected to erroneous attacks in certain newspapers and on the internet concerning renewal of a waiver for operation of the passenger boat Delta Queen. It’s time for us to refute those lies. First, it is ludicrous—and perhaps even slanderous—to suggest that the SIU or any other union either could or would guarantee congressional action on the proposed waiver. That accusation is flat-out false, contrary to what has appeared in print and on line. We indeed met with Majestic America Line to discuss the Delta Queen. However, our position simply was (and remains) that we make every effort to assist our contracted companies, though certainly not at the expense of safety. In this case, we believed we potentially—and we underscore potentially— could help present a persuasive argument concern- ing the waiver because the SIU has the only viable case for its continuation. This union has the only pool of unlicensed mariners with special training and a long history of meeting the needs specifically associated with the Delta Queen. Our role in helping safely operate the vessel is one reason why the waiver had been granted in years past. That is a far cry from guaranteeing anything. Additionally and again in contrast to public claims by the company, at no time did the SIU demand or even request recognition for employment aboard all of Majestic’s vessels. Our interest centered on the original three “Queens”—Delta, Mississippi and American—that the SIU had crewed for years. We have remained silent until now, even resisting the easy target that is Majestic’s recent safety record, but we cannot in good conscience allow the continued smearing of our names along with those of Senator Inouye and Congressman Oberstar. Seafarers LOG 3 �45524X2:September-07 11/28/2007 12:27 PM Page 4 SIU Crews Honored at AOTOS Event United Seamen’s Service also Recognizes 3 Company Officials Five SIU crews, top executives from three wSeafarers-contracted companies and a deck officer aboard a union-contracted vessel were honored Nov. 2 during the United Seamen’s Service (USS) 2007 Admiral of the Ocean Sea Awards (AOTOS) ceremony in New York. Hundreds of industry leaders, including SIU President Michael Sacco, attended the outing that has been dubbed the maritime industry’s most prestigious honor. The event, which took the form of a dinner and dance, was held at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers. Receiving recognition with the 2007 AOTOS Mariners’ Plaque (USS Honored Seafarers Awards) were SIU crew members who on specific dates were aboard Horizon Lines’ Horizon Falcon, Overseas Shipholding’s Overseas Joyce, Interocean American Shipping’s Independence and Military Sealift Command’s USNS Antares and USNS Kanawha. The 2007 USS AOTOS Awards were bestowed on James S. Andrasick, president and CEO of Matson Navigation Company, Inc.; Morten Arntzen, president and CEO of Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc.; and John F. Reinhart, president and CEO of Maersk Line, Limited. Third Mate Victor Manoli III from the SIU-crewed and E-Ships operated Maersk Maryland was the recipient of the AOTOS Mariner’s Rosette. U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton and Edward R. Morgan, USS president, presented the Mariners’ Plaques and Rosettes. The crews honored, the vessels on which they served and their respective contributions were as follows: Honored Seafarers The SIU crews from the Horizon Falcon, Overseas Joyce, Recipients of the United Seamen’s Service 2007 AOTOS Award are (from left) Morten Arntzen, president and CEO of Overseas Shipholding Group; John F. Reinhart, president and CEO of Maersk Line, Limited; and James S. Andrasick, president and CEO of Matson Navigation Company. USNS Antares and USNS Kanawha were recognized for heroism during rescues at sea while those aboard the Independence garnered laurels for the professionalism, courage and teamwork they displayed while providing emergency medical care during a chaotic situation. The crew of the Horizon Falcon from July 12-13, 2007, braving 30-foot swells and 40 mile-per-hour winds, rescued two Chinese seafarers over a 24-hour period from the Panamanianflagged log carrier Hai Tong No. 7. The 420-foot log carrier with 22 crew members on board sank in the North Pacific Ocean due to a typhoon. After maneuvering the Falcon into safe recovery distance, the vessel captain dispatched a lifeboat and three crewmen into 18-20 foot swells to rescue one survivor. The survivor was plucked from the ocean successfully, but as the lifeboat was being recovered, it was knocked into a 45 degree angle, which damaged its motor. The crew and rescued mariner abandoned the lifeboat and climbed to safety up the 40-foot pilot ladder. A second survivor was rescued by another SIU-crew member—who, while harnessed to the pilot ladder, descended toward the water and attached a grappling hook to the mariner. Both the crew member and rescued mariner were winched to safety. The Falcon remained on the scene and continued search operations until it was relieved by a U.S. Coast Guard tender from Guam. Search operations were suspended on July 15 after 13 survivors of the 22-man crew had been rescued. The car carrier Overseas Joyce, while en route to Japan on Oct. 18, 2006, experienced treacherous weather conditions which forced the captain to divert toward Dutch Harbor, Alaska. At 6:45 a.m., a mayday distress call was received 3 Honored by New York Port Council The New York Maritime Port Council, part of the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department, recently conducted its annual awards dinner. The port council this year honored U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton, American Steamship Company President and CEO Jerry Welsch and American Maritime Officers President Tom Bethel for their respective contributions to the U.S.-flag maritime industry. The event took place Oct. 20 in New York City. Pictured from left to right are SIU VP Great Lakes Tom Orzechowski, SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez, Welsch, Connaughton, Bethel, SIU and MTD President Michael Sacco, SIU VP Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi (who also serves as president of the port council) and Port Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer Peter Busacca. 4 Seafarers LOG from the Ocean Challenger, a 58-foot fishing vessel that was located about one mile off the Joyce’s starboard bow and sinking. All hands were mustered to the Joyce’s deck, and the Coast Guard was contacted and apprised of the distressed vessel’s position. Because of the Overseas Joyce’s high sides, there was no possibility of launching a lifeboat. A Coast Guard helicopter, at the time located about one hour from the sinking vessel’s position, therefore was dispatched to lend assistance. Assuming the role of on-scene command, the Joyce made a series of racetrack turns around the site of the Challenger. Crew members maintained lookout and during one of these passes, spotted a man in the water holding on to a plastic barrel. The Joyce maneuvered into position, and the crew tossed two survival suits and a life ring into the water but the survivor appeared too weak to respond and was not seen again. Another man, who had donned one of the survival suits, was later spotted waving and clinging to a fishing buoy. The Joyce moved into a desirable location, and crew members dropped a life ring with a light and smoke canister to act as a marker. Once the helicopter arrived, the crew directed it to the distressed mariner. A Coast Guard diver successfully rescued this sole survivor. While berthed at the Port of Shuaybah, Kuwait on Oct. 24, 2006, the crew and officers of the Independence were confronted with an ominous situation. A forklift being operated by a local longshoreman fell into the cargo elevator opening, plunged 10 meters from 5 deck to 8 deck and struck two longshoremen on its way down. An officer who was a trained emergency medical technician (EMT) heard about the incident over the radio and responded to the scene. The EMT and another officer found a seriously injured man underneath the forklift on the 40-ton elevator. After making certain that the scene was safe, she crawled underneath the forklift and provided emergency medical care to the man. The other officer called for medical assistance and alerted the Independence crew to take appropriate actions to move the forklift off of the fallen longshoreman. The second injured longshoreman later was found by crew members with a nearly severed leg. He was administered emergency care and placed on backboards until U.S. Navy medical personnel arrived and took him to a hospital. Crew members aboard the USNS Antares, while located some 150 miles offshore near the Gulf of Mexico on May 14, received a distress call indicating that a mariner aboard the fishing boat Michelle Marie might have suffered a heart attack. The Antares’ captain notified the Coast Guard, which dispatched a helicopter and requested the USNS Antares stand by to assist if necessary. Upon its arrival, the helicopter hovered over the scene and lowered a rescue swimmer down toward the fishing vessel. During his descent, however, the swimmer struck the side of the fishing vessel and broke his arm, effectively halting operations. At that point, the SIU President Michael Sacco introduces John Reinhart. Antares came alongside the fishing vessel, and two of its crew members climbed down the ladder to place the distressed mariner in a Stokes Litter. He subsequently was hoisted aboard the Antares using a stores crane. Once aboard, the mariner— displaying symptoms of shock, extreme pain and dehydration—received first aid and was monitored in the ship’s hospital. He, along with the injured swimmer, later was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital for treatment. Crew members aboard the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha on June 25 in the Arabian Sea were steaming toward the Suez Canal when the ship was directed by the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet Combined Task Force 150 to alter course. The Kanawha steamed 35 miles at full speed to reach the Korean-flagged merchant ship Jai Laxmai, which was in danger of sinking. It had a disabled diesel engine and was anchored by a weak mooring line in rough seas. No food or water was left aboard the vessel and it was unable to deploy its lifeboats. Once on location, the Kanawha crew launched the Continued on page 16 December 2007 �45524X2:September-07 11/28/2007 12:28 PM Page 5 Grassroots Efforts Rewarded on Election Day Union Volunteers Spread the Word about Pro-Worker Candidates Thousands of union volunteers earlier this year took to neighborhoods, worksites and phone banks in Virginia, Kentucky, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to talk with union family voters about hot political issues and off-year elections. The end results of those efforts reaped huge dividends for working families Nov. 6, according to the AFL-CIO, when labor-friendly candidates walked off with stunning off-year election victories in their respective state and municipal races. In the words of Dan Duncan, “We’re seeing presidential year turnout!” Duncan is president of the Northern Virginia Central Labor Council and executive director of the SIU-affiliated Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO. The union movement’s weekafter-week, get-out-the-vote effort in Virginia, Kentucky, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and elsewhere paid off big time for working families. AFL-CIO officials at all levels were not at a loss for words when it came to expressing their satisfaction with the developments. “Yesterday’s elections showed how energized working people are to change the course of our country,” AFL-CIO President John Sweeney told reporters following the elections. “Working people are driving a major change in the political landscape that’s growing larger every day. “We’re on the cusp of a shift that could redefine American politics for decades to come,” the federation president continued. “Working people want real health care reform that covers every American. They want their freedom to form and join unions restored. They want to stop the hemorrhaging of good, middleclass supporting jobs out of the country, and they want a secure retirement.” In Kentucky, anti-worker incumbent Gov. Ernie Fletcher (R) now is looking for a new job as Bluegrass State union members voted in former Lt. Gov. Steve Beshear. Beshear’s support for working family issues contrasts sharply with those of Fletcher, who cancelled collective bargaining rights for state workers, privatized the state’s Medicaid program and attacked workers’ wages. Union voters supported Beshear by a margin of 77 percent to 21 percent, according to an independent election night survey. Union household voters were estimated to be one in four voters at the polls. Fifty-eight percent of voters cited the economy, education or health care as their top reason for voting for Beshear. “Kentuckians were sick and tired of a governor who didn’t stand with them,” said Kentucky AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan. “From the beginning, Governor Fletcher stood in opposition to all working family priorities.” Following are some notable facts and figures about the Kentucky volunteer efforts of more than 7,000 union members who took part in the grassroots effort known as Labor 2007: Union members distributed more than 465,000 leaflets— including 65,000 on Election Day. In the “Final Four” days push to get out the vote, 2,100 union volunteers made 75,000 GOTV phone calls. Four hundred-forty union members knocked on the doors of more than 8,000 union homes on Nov. 3 alone. That’s in addition to the thousands of other union volunteers who walked the weekends leading up to the election or took part in the union movement’s Bluegrass Express bus tour that crisscrossed the state, with participants distributing 45,000 worksite fliers along the way. In Virginia, working family voters played an instrumental role in defeating four incumbent state senators and ending more than a decade of control of the state senate by the same party. “Working families roundly rejected the anti-worker policies pushed by the Republican-controlled state senate today and played a key role in creating a historical shift in Virginia,” said Virginia AFL-CIO President Jim Leaman. “The seismic shift in Virginia’s political landscape over the last several years is no fluke. Working men and women want better jobs, improved education, increased access to health care and protection of workers’ rights for all Virginians. Today, they turned their powerful frustration into an even more powerful political action.” AFL-CIO Political Director Karen Ackerman said the turnout by Virginia union volunteers who distributed leaflets at worksites, spent weekends going door to door to talk with union members and staffing phone banks was instrumental to winning the state senate back for working families and is vitally important going forward. In 2010, the Virginia legislature will draw up congressional redistricting plans. In New Jersey, not only did nearly 5,000 union members (including more than 1,100 on Nov. 3) take part in weekly laborto-labor neighborhood walks, thousands more staffed phone banks and made worksite visits. Fifty-one rank-and-file union members were on the ballot for state and local offices, and 33 won their elections. Iron Worker Steve Sweeney was reelected to his state senate seat, and six other union members won state assembly races. They are Wayne DeAngelo, Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 269; Joseph Eagan, IBEW Local 456; Tom Giblin, Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 68; John Amodeo, IUOE Local 825; Paul Moriarty, Screen Actors Guild/Radio and Television Artists (SAG/AFTRA); and Nelson Albano, Food and Commercial Workers Local (UFCW) 152. New Jersey AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech said the efforts of more than 10,000 union volunteers since the summer “proved to be the decisive factor in the election of 33 labor candidates. The electoral success is vital to our ability to continue to advocate for proworking family policies at the local, county and state level,” Wowkanech said. In Pennsylvania, union volunteers from the Northeastern Pennsylvania Labor Federation/ Schuylkill Central Labor Council helped elect union members Frank McAndrew (Fraternal Order of Police) and Mantura Gallagher (NEA) to the Schuylkill County Commission. Union members also played a key role in putting working family candidates into the mayor’s offices in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Union members in Ohio won dozens of local races, with Sheet Metal Worker (SMWIA) Tony Krasienko elected mayor of Lorain; UAW member John Hunter, mayor of Sheffield village; UAW member Mark Stoner, mayor of Northwood; and Graphic Communications (GCIU) member John Augnebrodge, mayor of Springboro. Elsewhere around the country, several important state initiatives were on the ballot. In Utah, voters overwhelming rejected a statewide school voucher program that would have drained money from public education. Oregon voters approved a measure to help save the state’s farms and forests and the jobs that depend on those natural resources. But a $12 million campaign by tobacco makers helped defeat a ballot measure to raise the tobacco tax to help pay for children’s health care. Labor-Sponsored Protests Urge Protection of Workers’ Rights A thousand union members and allies—including other workers, labor leaders and a large contingent of students from the SIUaffiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md.—gathered in Washington, D.C., Nov. 15 for an AFL-CIO-sponsored rally and march calling attention to certain decisions by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The Paul Hall Center students bore the colors and served as marshals during the event. Braving freezing rain and declining temperatures, the protestors gathered at AFL-CIO headquarters and marched to the NLRB center of operations where they called for the board to be “closed for renovation” until the body becomes more balanced. In making their case, the activists pointed to a recent flood of antiworker decisions handed down by the NLRB in September as evidence of the current board’s continuing assault on workers, and said that the NLRB has abandoned its original mission to uphold workers’ rights. Members of the current NLRB have steamrolled the rights of American workers again and again, according to United Mine Workers of America International President Cecil Roberts. Roberts was one of five individuals who December 2007 addressed rally activists. The other speakers were Fred Azcarate, director, Voice@Work Campaign; Rev. Ron Stief, director of organizing, Faith in Public Life; Jonathan Upright, AT&T retail sales consultant, Communications Workers of America; and Jos Williams, president, Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO. “This agency is supposed to protect workers’ rights and enforce their freedom to improve their lives through unions,” Roberts said. “Instead, we have a board that has blatantly promoted a corporate agenda at every turn. I don’t know how they can sleep at night. Unions are this country’s most successful middle-class support program and it’s time for the attack on America’s workers to end.” In addition to the Washington event, protest actions also took place in more than 20 other locations around the country on the same day. Included were rallies in St. Louis, Chicago, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Denver, Tampa, Fla.; Albuquerque, N.M. and Nashville, Tenn. In Nashville, protestors dressed up as chickens for a “fox in the henhouse” themed event. In late September, according to the AFL-CIO, the NLRB issued more than 60 decisions, half of which had been pending for four or more years. Many of these decisions strip working people of fundamental workplace rights, the federation said. The latest set of decisions will make it harder for workers to form a union through majority sign-up—often the only real option workers have now in the broken system for forming unions and bargaining collectively. Under a new rule, if workers choose unions through majority sign-up, employers have to post a sign telling them that 30 percent can petition for an election to undo the recognition—even though a majority has chosen union representation. On the same day, the board ruled that the same election process is just too burdensome when workers are trying to get rid of their union and that their employer should be able to withdraw recognition from the union on the basis of a signed petition. “These new rules from the Labor Board undo everything we worked to achieve,” said Jonathan Upright, an AT&T retail sales consultant who recently formed a union with the Communications Workers of America (CWA) in Winston-Salem, N.C., and whose employer posted such a sign notifying workers of how they can get rid of the new union. Demonstrators make their way to the National Labor Relations Board headquarters building in Washington, D.C. “The Labor Board is supposed to protect our freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life. This September, they stopped doing that and it’s just not right!” Federation officials pointed out that the decisions also make it harder for workers who are illegally fired to recover back pay. For instance, in one case, a company in Florida fired workers for supporting a union. The board refused them back pay because that would “reward idleness” since they weren’t out looking for a job soon enough after they’d been illegally fired. Collectively, the protestors said that the NLRB’s recent decisions continue and magnify trends that started in 2002. They said these decisions illustrate how badly broken the nation’s labor law system has become and further spotlight the need for the Employee Free Choice Act— labor law reform legislation supported by a majority in Congress, but stalled by a filibuster in the Senate. The board’s actions have become so egregious that the AFL-CIO last month took the unusual step of filing a complaint with the International Labor Organization (ILO), charging the NLRB with denying workers’ rights in violation of international labor standards. In discussing that action, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said America’s labor board has so failed our nation’s workers that we must now turn to the world’s international watchdogs to monitor and intervene. “The labor board is kryptonite for America’s workers,” the federation president said. “There is no historic precedent for such aggressive efforts by the board to curtail workers’ rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining.” Seafarers LOG 5 �45524:September-07 11/26/2007 11:10 PM Page 6 SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR MCS SUPPLEMENTARY PENSION PLAN SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SEAFARERS PENSION TRUST This is a summary of the annual report for the SEAFARERS PENSION TRUST, (Employer Identification No. 13-6100329, Plan No. 001) for the period January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement Benefits under the plan are provided by a trust (benefits are provided in whole from trust funds). Plan expenses were $38,393,480. These expenses included $7,233,364 in administrative expenses and $31,160,116 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 17,411 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $676,260,582 as of December 31, 2006 compared to $633,159,327 as of January 1, 2006. During the plan year, the plan experienced an increase in its net assets of $43,101,255. This increase includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had a total income of $81,494,735, including employer contributions of $4,843,674, losses of $199,860 from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $76,797,657. Minimum Funding Standards An actuary’s statement shows that enough money was contributed to the plan to keep it funded in accordance with the minimum funding standards of ERISA. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Financial information and information on payments to service providers; 3. Assets held for investment; 4. Transactions in excess of 5 percent of the plan assets; and 5. Actuarial information regarding the funding of the plan. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Margaret R. Bowen, Administrator, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746; telephone (301) 899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $4.05 for the full report, or 15 cents per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan (Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746) and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, DC 20210. This is a summary of the annual report for the MCS SUPPLEMENTARY PENSION PLAN, (Employer Identification No. 51-6097856, Plan No. 001) for the period January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement Benefits under the plan are provided by a trust (benefits are provided in whole from trust funds). Plan expenses were $602,771. These expenses included $198,751 in administrative expenses and $404,020 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 837 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $8,253,399 as of December 31, 2006 compared to $8,162,399 as of January 1, 2006. During the plan year, the plan experienced an increase in its net assets of $91,000. This increase includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had a total income of $693,771, including gains of $64,608 from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $628,605. Minimum Funding Standards An actuary’s statement shows that enough money was contributed to the plan to keep it funded in accordance with the minimum funding standards of ERISA. Your Rights to Additional Information SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SEAFARERS MONEY PURCHASE PENSION PLAN This is a summary of the annual report for the SEAFARERS MONEY PURCHASE PENSION PLAN, (Employer Identification No. 52-1994914, Plan No. 001) for the period January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement Benefits under the plan are provided by a trust (benefits are provided in whole from trust funds). Plan expenses were $1,793,559. These expenses included $554,358 in administrative expenses and $1,239,201 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 18,435 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $49,919,701 as of December 31, 2006 compared to $37,297,661 as of January 1, 2006. During the plan year, the plan experienced an increase in its net assets of $12,622,040. This increase includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had a total income of $10,306,170, including employer contributions of $5,993,296, employee contributions of $91,477, gains of $974,155 from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $3,247,219. Minimum Funding Standards Enough money was contributed to the plan to keep it funded in accordance with the minimum funding standards of ERISA. BECK NOTICE Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Assets held for investment; and 3. Transactions in excess of 5 percent of the plan assets. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Margaret R. Bowen, Administrator, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746; telephone (301) 899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $2.10 for the full report, or 15 cents per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan (Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746) and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, DC 20210. Notice to Employees Covered by Union Agreements Regulated Under the National Labor Relations Act The Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU assists employees by representing them in all aspects of their employment and work aboard vessels which sail deep sea, on the Great Lakes and inland waters throughout the country. For the most part, the union spends a majority of its financial resources on collective bargaining activities and employee representation services. In addition to these expenditures, the union also spends resources on a variety of other efforts such as organizing, publications, political activities, international affairs and community services. All of these services advance the interests of the union and its membership. This annual notice is required by law and is sent to advise employees represented by the Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU about their rights and obligations concerning payment of union dues. This notice contains information which will allow you to understand the advantages and benefits of being a union member in good standing. It also will provide you with detailed information as to how to become an agency fee payor. An agency fee payor is an employee who is not a member of the union but who meets his or her financial obligation by making agency fee payments. With this information, you will be able to make an informed decision about your status with the Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU. 1. Benefits of union membership — While non-members do receive material benefits from a union presence in their workplace, there are significant benefits to retaining full membership in the union. Among the many benefits and opportunities available to a member of the Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU is the right to attend union meetings, the right to vote for candidates for union office and the right to run for union office. Members also have the right to participate in the development of contract proposals and participate in contract ratification and strike votes. Members also may play a role in the development and formulation of union policies. 2. Cost of union membership — In addition to working dues, to belong to the union as a full book member the cost is $500.00 (five hundred dollars) per year or $125.00 (one hundred twenty-five dollars) per quarter. Working dues amount to 5 percent of the gross amount an employee receives for vacation benefits and are paid when the member files a vacation application. 3. Agency fee payors — Employees who choose not to become union members may become agency fee payors. As a condition of 6 You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Financial information and information on payments to service providers; 3. Assets held for investment; 4. Transactions in excess of 5 percent of the plan assets; and 5. Insurance information including sales commissions paid by insurance carriers. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Margaret R. Bowen, Administrator, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746; telephone (301) 899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $4.95 for the full report, or 15 cents per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan (Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746) and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, DC 20210. Seafarers LOG employment, in states which permit such arrangements, individuals are obligated to make payments to the union in the form of an agency fee. The fee these employees pay is to support the core representational services that the union provides. These services are those related to the collective bargaining process, contract administration and grievance adjustments. Examples of these activities include but are not limited to, the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, the enforcement and administration of collective bargaining agreements and meetings with employers and employees. Union services also include representation of employees during disciplinary meetings, grievance and arbitration proceedings, National Labor Relations Board hearings and court litigation. Employees who pay agency fees are not required to pay for expenses not germane to the collective bargaining process. Examples of these expenses would be expenses required as a result of community service, legislative activities and political affairs. 4. Amount of agency fee — As noted above, dues objectors may pay a fee which represents the costs of expenses related to those supporting costs germane to the collective bargaining process. After review of all expenses during the 2006 calendar year, the fee cost associated with this representation amounts to 82.22 percent of the dues amount. This means that the agency fee based upon the dues would be $411.10 (four hundred eleven dollars and ten cents) for the applicable year. An appropriate reduction also will be calculated for working dues. This amount applies to the 2008 calendar year. This means that any individual who wishes to elect to pay agency fees and submits a letter between December 1, 2007 and November 30, 2008 will have this calculation applied to their 2008 dues payments which may still be owed to the union. As noted below, however, to continue to receive the agency fee reduction effective January 2009, your objection must be received by December 1, 2008. A report which delineates chargeable and non-chargeable expenses is available to you free of charge. You may receive a copy of this report by writing to: Secretary-Treasurer, Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. This report is based upon an audited financial report of the union’s expenses during 2006. Please note that as the chargeable and non-chargeable expenses may change each year, the agency fee amount may also fluctuate each year. Individuals who are entitled to pay agency fees and wish to pay fees rather than dues, must elect this option each year by filing an objection in accordance with the procedure noted below. 5. Filing of objections — If you choose to object to paying dues, an objection must be filed annually. To receive the deduction beginning in January of each year, you must file by the beginning of December in the prior year. An employee may file an objection at any time during the year, however, the reduction will apply only prospectively and only until December 31 of that calendar year. Reductions in dues will not be applied retroactively. As noted above, each year the amount of the dues reduction may change based upon an auditor’s report from a previous year. The objection must be sent in writing to: Agency Fee Payor Objection Administration, Secretary-Treasurer’s Office, Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. 6. Filing a challenge — Upon receiving the notice of calculation of the chargeable expenditures related to core representation activities, an objector shall have 45 days to submit a challenge with the SecretaryTreasurer’s office if he or she believes that the calculation of chargeable activities is incorrect. Every person who wishes to object to the calculation of chargeable expenses has a legal right to file such an objection. 7. Appeal procedure — Upon receiving the challenge(s) at the end of the 45-day period, the union will consolidate all appeals and submit them to an independent arbitrator. The presentation to the arbitrator will be either in writing or at a hearing. The method of the arbitration will be determined by the arbitrator. If a hearing is held, any objector who does not wish to attend may submit his/her views in writing by the date of the hearing. If a hearing is not held, the arbitrator will set the dates by which all written submissions will be received. The costs of the arbitration shall be borne by the union. Individuals submitting challenges will be responsible for all the costs associated with presenting their appeal. The union will have the burden of justifying its calculations. The SIU works very hard to ensure that all of its members receive the best representation possible. On behalf of all the SIU officers and employees, I would like to thank you for your continuing support. Sincerely, David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer December 2007 �45524:September-07 11/26/2007 11:10 PM Page 7 10 Bosuns Complete Recertification Course Seafarers Discuss Opportunities Available Through Union, School Ten Seafarers graduated Nov. 5 from the bosun recertification course at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. The four-week course is considered the top curriculum available to deck department mariners at the Piney Point, Md. school. As is customary, each bosun addressed fellow members, unlicensed apprentices and SIU officials upon receiving a graduation certificate. Most talked about how the union and school have helped enable them to earn good livings and support their families. They noted that the recertification class will help them do a better job aboard ship. Finally, they encouraged the apprentices to stick with the program and take advantage of the opportunities available both through the SIU and the Paul Hall Center. Successfully completing the recertification course were (in the order in which they were introduced at the meeting) Thomas McGregor, who ships from the port of Tacoma, Wash.; Ion Irimia (New York); Charles James (Baltimore); Kennard Campbell (Mobile, Ala.); Ahmed Mihakel (Wilmington, Calif.); Darryl Smith (Tacoma); Maurice David Hetrick (Houston); Albert Brzezinski (Algonac); Winston Thompson (Tacoma and Houston); and Robert Vazquez (New York). The bosun recertification class emphasizes hands-on training and also includes classroom instruction. The course features training in security awareness, simulators, computers, first aid and CPR, fire fighting, STCW personal safety and survival, small arms and other components. Students reviewed international maritime conventions affecting their livelihoods, and also met with representatives from the union’s various departments as well as from the Seafarers Plans office. McGregor noted that his association with the school dates back to 1983, when he was part of the first trainee class to utilize the then-new training and recreation center. He described his most recent experience at the campus as “excellent,” and added, “I will now have better facts to answer questions aboard my ship.” Addressing the apprentices, McGregor stated, “Once you get out there (aboard ship), you’re going to get a reputation, like it or not, good or bad. People will either shake their heads or shake your hand. Make sure it’s the latter.” Irimia declared that, as SIU members, “we are in good hands. The SIU helps make your dreams come true.” He said the recertification class “was a very good experience. I especially learned more about communication and will share it with others on my ships. We all were treated very well and with great respect.” Turning to the trainees, he concluded, “When you have a The course includes training in fire fighting, small arms, water survival and more. December 2007 Recertified bosuns and SIU officials pose for the traditional post-graduation photo following last month’s membership meeting in Piney Point, Md. chance to learn, pay attention. This is a great school. You can go from the bottom to the top.” Touching on a theme mentioned by several of his classmates, James said that the union has helped enable him “to support my family. I credit the leadership of (SIU President) Mike Sacco, (Executive Vice President) Augie Tellez and the other officials. This union is very important to me.” James also thanked the Paul Hall Center instructors and encouraged the apprentices to “pay attention here and on the ships. Learn your trade—it’s a good trade.” Campbell said he signed on with the SIU during the Persian Gulf War, in 1991. Since then, “With the SIU’s support, I’ve earned a good wage so I can take care of my family.” Students brush up on donning safety gear. He urged the trainees to “show initiative, work hard and get along with your shipmates. Leave each job better than you found it.” Mihakel continued in that same vein, describing the SIU as “important” and “a big deal” specifically because it presented him “with the opportunity to earn a good living.” Speaking to the apprentices, he stated, “Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Your brothers on the ship will teach you.” Smith called the class “an enlightening experience regarding the overall knowledge and camaraderie of fellow seamen. I thank all the membership that has helped me to understand how our union works hard to make a better life for us all.” He also advised the trainees to “stick with it, work hard and listen. You, too, can be up here one day as a recertified bosun or steward or whatever you want to achieve. It’s a damn good life.” Hetrick shared that he “stumbled into this (career) while looking for a better way of life, and I found it. The SIU has allowed me opportunities I never had anywhere else. I’ve sailed all over the world, and it gives me great pleasure to be able to do this.” Reflecting on the course, Hetrick cited small arms training as a highlight along with the overall interaction with instructors and staff members. He also recommended that his fellow members support SPAD, the union’s voluntary political action fund, because “that’s what keeps the jobs here.” Speaking to the apprentices, he advised, “Pay attention to your leaders out there and don’t get distracted when you’re doing a job.” Brzezinski praised multiple aspects of the school, from the instructors to the course content, and from the grounds to the menus. He said the class improved his understanding of the “big picture” in the maritime industry as well as his capacity to relay accurate information aboard ship. He called his first trip to Piney Point “a 10-star experience.” “The SIU has been good for me and my family,” Brzezinski added. “I’ve always had work, always had benefits…. The SIU leadership are the people who know the industry and look out for our jobs.” After describing SPAD as an important “tool to keep the U.S. flag flying” on the high seas, he told the trainees, “Set attainable goals. You can go as far as you desire. Ask questions, listen, work hard and give 100 percent to every job.” Thompson noted that he had served in the U.S. Marine Corps Continued on page 8 Seafarers LOG 7 �45524:September-07 11/26/2007 11:10 PM Page 8 10 Bosuns Complete Recertification Training Continued from page 7 partly to fulfill a lifelong desire for travel. However, “I wasn’t really happy until someone turned me on to the SIU. The union has been so important to me. It has enhanced my lifestyle, educated me and given me the chance to travel.” He then recited to the apprentices what he described as “the three Ls: you look, you listen and you will learn. When you work aboard that ship, that’s all you’ve got. That’s your family.” Wrapping up the graduation remarks, Vazquez said, “I have so much gratitude for the opportunities to enhance my skills and improve my lifestyle for my family. This is a very strong union, and my overall experience at the school was excellent. I encourage everybody to attend.” Vazquez said to the trainees, “Never waste an opportunity to learn. Always work hard and do your best.” He concluded, “Fair winds and following seas. I’ll see everybody out there.” Several bosuns cited small arms training as a course highlight. That component takes place at the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School, part of the Paul Hall Center. Monthly Membership Meetings Keep Seafarers in the Loop Attending monthly membership meetings is an important way in which Seafarers can keep track of all the news that affects their livelihoods. Held in each SIU hall around the country, the monthly membership meeting is a forum to keep members abreast of key union and maritime issues. Below is the schedule of meetings for 2008. Each issue of the Seafarers LOG also lists the dates for the next two meetings scheduled in each port. Membership Meetings in 2008 Port Traditional Date January February March April May June July August Piney Point Monday after first Sunday 7 4 3 7 5 2 7 4 8 6 3 8 New York Tuesday after first Sunday 8 5 4 8 6 3 8 5 9 7 4 9 Wednesday after first Sunday 9 6 5 9 7 4 9 6 10 8 5 10 Baltimore Thursday after first Sunday 10 7 6 10 8 5 10 7 11 9 6 11 Norfolk Thursday after first Sunday 10 7 6 10 8 5 10 7 11 9 6 11 Jacksonville Thursday after first Sunday 10 7 6 10 8 5 10 7 11 9 6 11 San Juan Thursday after first Sunday 10 7 6 10 8 5 10 7 11 9 6 11 Algonac Friday after first Sunday 11 8 7 11 9 6 11 8 12 10 7 12 Boston Friday after first Sunday 11 8 7 11 9 6 11 8 12 10 7 12 Houston Monday after second Sunday 14 11 10 14 12 9 14 11 15 14* 10 15 New Orleans Tuesday after second Sunday 15 12 11 15 13 10 15 12 16 14 12* 16 Mobile Wednesday after second Sunday 16 13 12 16 14 11 16 13 17 15 12 17 Oakland Thursday after second Sunday 17 14 13 17 15 12 17 14 18 16 13 18 Port Everglades Thursday after second Sunday 17 14 13 17 15 12 17 14 18 16 13 18 Joliet Thursday after second Sunday 17 14 13 17 15 12 17 14 18 16 13 18 St. Louis Friday after second Sunday 18 15 14 18 16 13 18 15 19 17 14 19 Honolulu Friday after second Sunday 18 15 14 18 16 13 18 15 19 17 14 19 Wilmington Monday after third Sunday 22* 19* 17 21 19 16 21 18 22 20 17 22 Guam Thursday after third Sunday 24 21 20 24 22 19 24 21 25 23 20 26* Friday after third Sunday 25 22 21 25 23 20 25 22 26 24 21 26 Philadelphia Tacoma September October November December *Houston change created by Columbus Day holiday; New Orleans change created by Veterans Day holiday; Wilmington changes created by Martin Luther King’s birthday and Presidents’ Day holidays; Guam change created by Christmas Day holiday. 8 Seafarers LOG December 2007 �45524X2:September-07 11/28/2007 12:30 PM Page 9 CIVMAR Says SIU Membership Is ‘My Most Important Asset’ Bosun’s Mate Encourages Fellow Mariners to Join Editor’s note: This article was written by Bosun’s Mate Billy Bushey, a member of the SIU Government Services Division. It’s an interesting time to be a mariner in the Government Services Division and working for Military Sealift Fleet Support Command. The latest statistics show that the number of unlicensed mariners manning Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force ships continues to grow. What’s more, we have many more ships coming. Sub-tenders and even more of the new Lewis and Clark class TAKE multi-product UnRep ships on the horizon mean that our unit will grow to even greater numbers over the next few years. New ships, new employees, new missions and new technology don’t come without a few growing pains. That’s why I believe my most important asset in these times is my membership in the Seafarers International Union. During my eight years of service, I have both witnessed and participated in situations and events that have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the SIU Government Services Division has one goal: Looking out for me! I’ve seen firsthand the assertive, aggressive representation, and oversight of my pay, working conditions, safety and dignity in the workplace. The union dues I pay are the most cost-effective insurance policy in my portfolio. After all, we are a bargaining New Seafarers 401(k) Plan on Schedule Former NMU Plan to Transfer Assets Mid-January The new Seafarers 401(k) Plan, secured as a result of the most recent standard freightship and tanker agreements, is on schedule to begin Jan. 1, 2008. As previously reported, this new benefit for eligible Seafarers does not involve employer contributions. Instead, it relies on voluntary contributions from individual participants via payroll deduction through their employer. Several employers already have agreed to implement this system. Seafarers should check with their port agents for up-todate information on participating employers. An introduction letter and “welcome kit” is slated to be mailed to prospective participants no later than mid-December. Also, the Seafarers Plans office last month provided an update on the existing Seafarers 401(k) Plan, which formerly was known as the NMU 401(k) Plan. That plan had been scheduled to roll over into the new one as of Jan. 1, 2008. Due to a slight delay in processing, the official transfer of those assets will take place Jan. 15, 2008. A letter to plan participants is scheduled to be mailed in early December. That letter notes that while the old plan is transitioning from ING to Mass Mutual, there will be a short period of time when account activity will be frozen. This is standard procedure, and it means that during the transitional period, account holders will be unable to exercise certain rights otherwise available under the plan. As the letter points out, accounts will continue to be invested, and contributions will continue to be allocated during this “blackout” period. However, individuals may not request withdrawals, make changes to investment selections or transfer monies until the move is completed and balances are reconciled. Again, this situation applies only to participants in the existing Seafarers 401(k) Plan which used to be called the NMU 401(k) Plan. Once the transition is complete, those participants will find an enhanced selection of mutual fund investment options along with state-of-the-art internet and interactive telephone systems allowing unlimited access to account information and the ability to carry out investment transactions. During the November membership meetings, Seafarers Plans Administrator Maggie Bowen noted that for 2008, Seafarers 401(k) participants may contribute up to $15,500 apiece ($20,500 for those age 50 or older) to their respective accounts. She also cited the following components as “just a few of the great benefits the plan will include”: Tax advantages—specifically, the opportunity to make contributions on a pre-tax basis, which “will reduce your current taxes and have your wealth accumulate on a tax-deferred basis.” Additionally, ROTH after-tax contributions are an option. Twenty different investment options from a wide variety of leading money managers, including Mass Mutual, American Funds, Baron, Oppenheimer, T. Rowe Price and others. Pre-designed asset allocation model portfolios with risk/return characteristics ranging from conservative to aggressive. Direct access to personalized investment guidance and comprehensive financial planning from the team of Smith Barney financial consultants via a toll-free SIU phone number. Additional information on the new Seafarers 401(k) Plan will be published in upcoming issues of the LOG and reported at the monthly membership meetings. December 2007 unit, tied to private sector practices. Many important issues and working conditions are negotiated by the union to protect all CIVMARS. As I write this piece for the Seafarers LOG, the SIU Government Services Division is wrapping up resolution of CIVMAR lodging while in the pool, training or hiring. More than two years of hard work has resulted in the implementation of a “TripleA 3-Diamond” standard for all shoreside mariner lodging and retroactive compensation of over $300,000 to affected mariners staying in the hotel between October 2006 and Jan. 17, 2007. Next in line are the T-ARS (Salvage ship) habitability issues, a continual review of safety and health issues, S+Q, premium pay for cooks when ships get augment personnel, penalty meal payments, and helping CIVMARS face disciplinary matters, just to name a few of the issues being addressed. None of this is free, or even cheap. When negotiation fails, research, communication, paperwork processing, arbitration costs and legal costs add up to significant outlays to obtain results. Costs for these efforts come out of dues. That’s why it is so important that we all carry our share of the weight necessary to keep our jobs safe and financially secure. MSFSC is a federal workplace and, therefore, an open shop. That means that even though we are all part of the bargaining unit and receive union protection, not all of us have chosen to pay dues. If you lived in a neighborhood with 500 families that had children in the local school, and 250 of those families announced that they were going to send their children to the school but not pay the taxes necessary to support it, how would you feel? The same analogy can be applied to our workplace. It’s not fair to benefit from the outcome without contributing to the effort. How do you feel when a brother or sister mariner spends a pay raise, benefits from new safety rules, working conditions or premium pay and hasn’t paid one nickel toward the cost of getting those benefits? In an upcoming issue of the LOG, I’ll dispel a number of “urban legends” about SIU mem- Bosun’s Mate Billy Bushey bership at MSFSC and explain in detail how our representation works from the deckplate to the courthouse steps. In the meantime, I’d like to ask every mariner in the unit to think long and hard about your membership and what it means. If you’re already carrying your share of the weight, good for you. If you’re not, please think about what’s fair and what’s right. Bosun’s Mate Billy Bushey is an eight-year veteran of MSFSC with 26 years of commercial, government and naval sea time. He has been chairman on 13 MSFSC vessels. He can be reached at either billybushey@yahoo.com or billbushey@gimail.af.mil NOTICE TO SIU CIVMAR MEMBERS SAILING ABOARD ACOE, MARAD, MSC AND NOAA VESSELS As a result of a rule adopted by the U.S. Department of Labor in June 2006, all unions that represent employees who work for the federal government (which includes CIVMARS) are now required to send out a notice to their government employee/members containing certain information. As you know, your union is constantly working to protect your safety, health and employment rights and there are many benefits and advantages for all CIVMARS who join the Seafarers International Union. The summary noted below is intended to make sure that all SIU members understand the rights and privileges of union membership and the responsibilities of the union officers they elect. Union Member Rights Bill of Rights—Union members have: equal rights to participate in union activities freedom of speech and assembly voice in setting rates of dues, fees, and assessments protection of the right to sue safeguards against improper discipline Collective Bargaining Agreements—As an SIU member, you have the right to have input into collective bargaining negotiations. Members and certain nonunion employees have the right to receive or inspect copies of collective bargaining agreements. Constitutions, Bylaws, and Reports—Unions are required to file an initial information report (Form LM1), copies of constitutions and bylaws, and an annual financial report (Form LM-2/3/4) with OLMS. Unions must make these documents available to members and permit members to examine the records necessary to verify the financial reports for just cause. The documents are public information and copies of reports are available from OLMS and on the Internet at www.unionreports.dol.gov. Officer Elections—In accordance with the union’s constitution, union members have the right to: nominate candidates for office run for office cast a secret ballot protest the conduct of an election Officer Removal—Local union members have the right to an adequate procedure for the removal of an elected officer guilty of serious misconduct. Trusteeships—A union may not be placed in trusteeship by a parent body except for those reasons specified in the standards of conduct regulations. Protection for Exercising CSRA Rights—A union or any of its officials may not fine, expel or otherwise discipline a member for exercising any CSRA right. Prohibition Against Violence—No one may use or threaten to use force or violence to interfere with a union member in the exercise of his or her CSRA rights. Union Officer Responsibilities Financial Safeguards—Union officers have a duty to manage the funds and property of the union solely for the benefit of the union and its members in accordance with the union’s constitution and bylaws. The union must provide accounting and financial controls necessary to assure fiscal integrity. Prohibition of Conflicts of Interest—A union officer or employee may not (1) have any monetary or personal interest or (2) engage in any business or financial transaction that would conflict with his or her fiduciary obligation to the union. Bonding—Union officers or employees who handle union funds or property must be bonded to provide protection against losses if their union has property and annual financial receipts that exceed $5,000. Labor Organization Reports—Union officers must: file an initial information report (Form LM-1) and annual financial reports (Forms LM-2/3/4) with OLMS retain the records necessary to verify the reports for at least five years Officer Elections—Unions must: hold elections of officers of local unions by secret ballot at least every three years conduct regular elections in accordance with their constitution and bylaws and preserve all records for one year mail a notice of election to every member at least 15 days prior to the election comply with a candidate’s request to distribute campaign material not use union funds or resources to promote any candidate (nor may employer funds or resources be used) permit candidates to have election observers Restrictions on Holding Office—A person convicted of certain crimes may not serve as a union officer, employee, or other representative of a union for up to 13 years. Loans—A union may not have outstanding loans to any one officer or employee that in total exceed $2,000 at any time. The union also works to make sure that CIVMARS understand their shipboard rights and responsibilities and receive fair treatment from their agency. Additional benefits for union members include life insurance coverage which may be purchased for a nominal fee and access to many other benefits through the AFL-CIO’s Union Privilege program. For more information about how the SIU can better serve you please contact: Chet Wheeler 1121 7th Street Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 cwheeler@seafarers.org Kate Hunt 635 4th Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 832-8767 khunt@seafarers.org Maurice Cokes 115 Third Street Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 rcokes@seafarers.org Seafarers LOG 9 �45524X:September-07 11/27/2007 11:35 AM Page 10 Sailing with the SIU AB Abdulsalam Ahmed works aboard Interocean American Shipping’s Great Land in support of U.S. troops in Kuwait. Left: Chief Carpenter Dennis V. Remetio (far right, standing) is proud of the teamwork of his carpentry department on board NCL America’s Pride of Aloha. Included on his team are Assistant Carpenters Julee Quiapos, Leopoldo Malolos, Brice Ilao, Leonard Ajoste, José Dizon, Jeffer Baguio, Brayon Drew and Luis Reyes. (Note: not all are pictured.) In photo below: Remetio and Quiapos redo some of the tiles in the Hukilau Café. Left: Steward department member Shantay Medley receives her full B book from Philadelphia Port Agent Joe Mieluchowski. Philadelphia Port Agent Joe Mieluchowski (left) and VP Joe Soresi (right) present Ben Stanley with his full B book. Brother Stanley works in the engine department. Capt. Jan Kummernes (left) receives a model of the motor vessel Honor, which was made by AB Robert V. Bakeman. Bakeman donated the model to the ship Aug. 17, 2007. He started working on the piece in his spare time at the beginning of the voyage, which began June 26. The Honor is operated for American Roll-On/Roll-Off Carriers by Interocean American Shipping. It is one of seven SIU-crewed car carriers in the Maritime Security Program fleet. ABOARD THE USNS GORDON These photos were taken last August when the USNS Gordon, a 3PSC vessel, was in Norfolk, Va. Right: Wiper Ruden Perez and SA Nenita Phillips Right: AB Jerry Stilman and Susan King, vice president, 3PSC. AB Tim Kacer 10 Seafarers LOG Chief Cook Roslyn Johnson December 2007 �45524X2:September-07 11/28/2007 12:31 PM Page 11 LNG Safety Training Available at Paul Hall Center Local Company Cites Instructors, Curriculums as Positives SIU-contracted companies and Seafarers have a myriad of services, training courses and capabilities at their fingertips. One such benefit for mariners and the companies they work for is the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Fire fighting instruction and safety training at the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School and Paul Hall Center is worldrenowned. Training and Education, which offers the most U.S. Coast Guardapproved courses of any maritime school in the nation. A founding principle of the SIU and its affiliated school, located in Piney Point, Md., is to remain at the forefront of change and advancements in the maritime industry. With this in mind, the center offers state-of-the-art coursework and training in numerous maritime trades, one of which is in the growing field of liquefied natural gas (LNG)—its handling, safety and fire fighting. In these days of rising oil consumption, its surging prices and the search for alternative energy sources, the LNG industry is growing and LNG now accounts for one-fourth of the types of energy products being used in the world. Always working to stay a step ahead of industry trends and needs, the Paul Hall Center started LNG coursework decades ago and resumed it in 2005. One of the most comprehensive training courses available at the school is Safety Gear Donated to School Students at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education are utilizing newly donated portable foam applicators during certain safety classes at the Piney Point, Md. school (photos above and below). The equipment was provided by IMSSCO Corporation, for whom retired SIU Assistant VP Don Anderson (standing in photo above) is a consultant. Aboard ship, the portable foam applicators (right) are a requirement of the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) treaty. Specifically, they’re required for machinery spaces containing oil-fired boilers and internal combustion machinery. More information about SOLAS may be found on line at http://www.imo.org/ Conventions/contents.asp?topic_id=257&doc_id=647. IMSSCO’s site is www.imssco.com. Tank Ship Familiarization/LNG. The course provides a basic knowledge of LNG tanker cargoes and operations as required by the Code of Federal Regulations (46 CFR 13.409). It leads to original endorsement as tankerman assistant (LG) and complies with the amended STCW convention. Topics include hazard communication, safety and fire fighting, cargo piping, valves and pumps, watchstanding, ship mooring, confined space entry, cargo characteristics, tankership characteristics, cargo containment systems and repair materials. Basic and advanced fire fighting are other comprehensive safety courses conducted at the school, and those classes often are tailored to an individual company’s specific needs. For instance, the school has developed training scenarios to include LNG flange fires and piping system isolation, among many others. Hands-on training for these classes is provided at the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School—and the school stands ready to train companies and seafarers in the burgeoning field of LNG safety. “We have Coast Guard-qualified instructors at the ready,” said school instructor Joe Zienda. For example, students from nearby Dominion LNG, LP’s Cove Point, Md. LNG facility and terminal, have trained at the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School, part of the Paul Hall Center. According to Zienda, “We have an ongoing program to train Dominion’s folks about LNG in areas such as extinguishers, hand-lines, CPR, fire safety and more.” From the customer standpoint, Dominion Senior Safety Special- Part of the Paul Hall Center’s in-depth LNG coursework includes safety classes. Pictured is an LNG Tanker Control Console Simulator used in the training. Dominion’s LNG facility in Cove Point, Md. (pictured above) sends safety employees to the SIU’s affiliated school for specialized training. ist Terry Cox said, “The instructors’ experience as real fire fighters is a big reason we go to the fire school. We could have gone elsewhere but with the staff’s experience and training that is tailored to meet our needs, we determined that what [the Paul Hall Center] offered was the best way to go.” 2 More Apprentices Earn Diplomas Two more unlicensed apprentices from the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education last month earned high school diplomas through the school’s academic department. Receiving their respective certificates were (top photo, second from left) Sean D. Jones from Class No. 691 and (bottom, left) Caroline Thomas, Class No. 685. Jones is pictured with (from left) SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez, VP Contracts George Tricker, President Michael Sacco and Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel. Standing with Thomas is Peggy Densford from the school’s academic department. More than 2,000 students have earned GEDs through the Paul Hall Center. December 2007 Seafarers LOG 11 �45524:September-07 11/26/2007 11:10 PM Page 12 Seafarers Answer the C Members of the SIU Tacoma Vo nd SIU Team Enthusiastically Volunteers to Help Community W hen country or community calls, Seafarers have always answered. It was no surprise, then, that when the city of Tacoma, Wash. asked for help repairing and painting the exterior of homes of hundreds of elderly and special needs residents earlier this year, more than 30 recertified bosuns, stewards and other members and friends of the Seafarers International Union bonded together to answer the call. Paint Tacoma-Pierce Beautiful is an annual program through which community members and local organizations pool their resources and volunteer manpower to help those who can’t help themselves. Through that program, 32 SIU members, employees, family members and friends in the Tacoma area washed, scraped, sanded, caulked and painted Beatrice Lindsey’s home, devoting more than 200 hours of volunteer manpower. Affectionately known as “Bea,” Mrs. Lindsey is an 84-year-old widow. According to program guidelines, for a homeowner to be selected to get his or her home painted, a group of at least 15 volunteers must be formed per home. Groups aren’t limited to just painting, however. When it came to the SIU’s Tacoma group, they went well beyond the call of duty. They started organizing in mid-July and finished the project in late August. “The exterior of the house was in poor shape,” recalled Tacoma SIU Port Agent and paint project team leader Joe Vincenzo. “The pigment had faded over the years. Cedar shakes were loose and needed to be nailed back in place. The entire house had to be pressure washed, wire brushed and primed in spots. The gables and fascia on the roof had to be secured with nails, primed and painted. The house also needed caulking and a fairly heavy coat of paint all around. We also prepped, primed and painted the garage. “As for me, I was looking for an opportunity to volunteer and to continue the work of the SIU through Patrolman Randall Kramer climbs to new heights to help. 12 Seafarers LOG 2 Cook Ismail Nasser GUDE Nagi Nagi SB Clark Williams AB Abdullatif Ahmed SA Abdufatah Abdulla GUDE Wilkin Hoehn CC Jamie Serrano DEU Henry Egaran Wiper Rudolf Jordan QMED John Day SA Khaled Mohamed Oiler Efren Bacomo BREC Richard Barnes OS Rick Jones Bosun Chris Tizon BREC Don Rezendes SREC Amanda Suncin CC Claudia Mauricio DEU Salah Muthana AB Gary Jennings DEU Larry Ronning Port Agent Joe Vincenzo “It was a great way to show SIU’s face in the community and help someone less fortunate.” – Recertified Bosun Richard Barnes “E ex ou wo to as re to Tacoma Patrolman Randall Kramer (foreground) and AB Abdullatif Ahmed repair some of the cedar shakes on Bea Lindsey’s home. community involvement,” added Vincenzo when asked why he volunteered to help a total stranger. “Organized labor and the SIU in particular have always reached out to communities through the United Way and other such organizations. Paint Tacoma was a wonderful opportunity in keeping with a very rich tradition.” “I was very excited when Joe came to the staff asking if we would be interested in doing community work,” said Port Secretary Brenda Flesner. Recertified Bosun Richard Barnes demonstrates his expert caulking technique. Port Secretary Brenda Flesner knows it takes a newly painted picket fence to make a house a home. December 2007 Fl th em th lif an he as th th ye on pa pa m th Be Be m m th wh ho pr ne cia or �45524:September-07 11/26/2007 11:10 PM Page 13 Call of Those in Need in Tacoma a Volunteer Team Safety Director Ryan Palmer Quinten Palmer, son of Ryan Palmer Patrolman Randall Kramer Stevie McCoy, friend of Randall Kramer Administrator Brenda Flesner Nico Delia, son of Brenda Donica Delia, daughter of Brenda Emilia Flesner, daughter of Brenda Administrator James Ott Kathy Jones—next door neighbor Recertified Bosun Don Rezendes knows how to handle a paintbrush. SIU Safety Director Ryan Palmer is ready at the trigger of his caulk gun. “Everyone in the office replied with extreme enthusiasm. I had never painted an outside of a home and thought what fun it would be to learn the procedures. We had to wait about a month before we were assigned to our ‘candidate,’ but I was ready to start the day Joe brought the idea to us. “I enjoy helping the community,” Flesner continued. “I am so blessed with the family I have, the job that has employed me for so many years, and all the ‘empty’ but fulfilling materials in my life. I feel I need to give something back, and teach my children the importance of helping others without strings attached.” Flesner mentioned another positive aspect to her family’s participation. “To this day, my children still speak of Bea and the fun they had painting. Even my threeyear-old painted, even though she got more on herself than the house. Every time we pass a house that is similar to the color we painted Bea’s, Emilia always says, ‘Look mama, it’s Bea’s house.’ The other great thing I got out of doing Paint Tacoma Beautiful is I have made a friend for life in Bea. I visit her frequently and enjoy all the moments and memories she shares with me. I hope we can do another project like this again.” So, what did Bea think about the people who worked to revive her 52-year-old home? “They were very fine people. I’m proud to know them and to have such great neighbors. Thanks to them all and especially Joe and Brenda. Brenda kept things organized and helped me through it. I December 2007 know they all were busy with their jobs and I’m so grateful they helped me.” “I was pleased when Joe asked if we would be interested in helping in a community project,” said SIU Tacoma Port Administrator Jim Ott. “I do community and charity work for my parish but had never participated in the Paint Tacoma Beautiful project. I was very excited when they assigned our house and the staff went ‘full speed ahead’ to organize what was needed for our project. I was quite surprised at the amount of work needed to get the work started.” Ott said that the planning included putting together supply lists and then ordering paint along with related items such as rollers, pans, drop cloths, rags, brushes, paint remover, a pressure washer and more. Following a meeting of Bea and a project representative (Tim Gappa), the SIU team surveyed the house one final time before beginning its work. “What was most rewarding for me was the companionship that developed between staff and members during this time,” added Ott, who took the photos accompanying this story. “Another highlight was Brenda’s three children Some of the members of the Tacoma team (front row, from left): Brenda Flesner, Jim Ott (back row) AB Abdullatif Ahmed, Tacoma Patrolman Randall Kramer, Ismail Nasser, Chief Steward Clark Williams, QMED John Day, SA Abdufatah Abdulla, GUDE Nagi Nagi and Tacoma Port Agent Joe Vincenzo. Program Technical Advisor Tim Gappa (left) and Joe Vincenzo discuss the way forward to repair and paint Bea Lindsey’s home. Efren Bacomo and Henry Egaran are old hats at making the old look new. “God, the union and the community have been very good to me. It’s an honor and privilege to give something back this way.” – Recertified Steward Amanda Suncin and (Safety Director) Ryan Palmer’s son helping with the project.” Chief Steward and volunteer Clark Williams summed up his feelings about the Tacoma project when he said, “I worked over four days over four weekends. I’d never done anything like this before but I always wanted to. It’s great to give something back to the community. The way it brought folks together, it was a great example of the brotherhood we really have here. When you do something like this for a person as special as Bea, it’s a joy. I’m going to try to make this a part of my vacation planning every year.” QMED John Day does some of the much-needed prep work before painting. Seafarers LOG 13 �45524X2:September-07 11/28/2007 12:32 PM Page 14 n o s a e S p i h s r Schola 2008 Start the application process today! S eafarers, their spouses and dependent children who plan to attend college next year have a benefit unique to them. For in addition to any other grants or stipends they may be awarded, they also are eligible to apply for one of eight scholarships from the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan. Three of the scholarships are reserved for SIU members. One is in the amount of $20,000 for study at a four-year college or university. The other two are for $6,000 each and are intended as two-year awards for study at a post-secondary community college or vocational school. The other five scholarships will be awarded in the amount of $20,000 each to the spouses and dependent children of Seafarers. The first step in the application process is sending away for the Seafarers Scholarship Program booklet. To receive a copy of this guide, fill out the coupon at the bottom of this page and return it to the address listed on the form. Once the scholarship booklet has been received, applicants should then check the eligibility information and, if they are eligible, should start collecting some of the other paperwork which must be submitted along with the full application by the April 15, 2008 deadline. These items include transcripts and certificates of graduation. Since schools are often quite slow in handling transcript requests, the sooner the requests are made, the better. Another part of the application package includes letters of recommendation solicited from individuals who know the applicant’s character, personality and career goals. A photograph of the applicant as well as a certified copy of his or her birth certificate also need to be included. The selection committee looks at the high school grades of all applicants and also checks the scores of either their Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) or American College Tests (ACT). Therefore, arrangements should be made to take these exams no later than February 2008 to ensure the results reach the committee in time to be evaluated. Those Seafarers and dependents who previously applied for a Seafarers scholarship and were not selected are encouraged to apply again this year, provided they still meet all the eligibility requirements. Don’t let the steadily increasing costs of a college education stop you from reaching your goals. The Seafarers Scholarship Program can make a difference! P lease send me the 2008 SIU Scholarship Program booklet which contains eligibility information, procedures for applying and a copy of the application form. Name __________________________________________________________________________ Mariner's Social Security Number __________________________________________________ Street Address __________________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip Code______________________________________________________________ Telephone Number ______________________________________________________________ ( ) This application is for: Self Dependent Mail this completed form to Scholarship Program, Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. 12/07 14 Seafarers LOG SIU Families Eligible for Union Plus Scholarship Program Since 1992, the Union Plus Scholarship Program has awarded more than $2.4 million to students of working families who want to begin or continue their post-secondary education. More than 1,700 families have benefited from this commitment to higher education. The Union Plus Scholarship Program is offered through the Union Plus Education Foundation. The students selected for university, college, trade school or technical scholarships represent a wide sampling of backgrounds, union affiliations, goals and accomplishments. Eligibility for Scholarships: Because the SIU participates in Union Plus, current and retired SIU members, their spouses and their dependent children (including foster children, step children, and any other child for whom the individual member provides greater than 50 percent of his or her support) can apply for a Union Plus Scholarship. (Participating union members from the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada are eligible.) Members do not have to purchase any Union Plus program product or participate in any Union Plus programs to apply for the scholarships, and scholarship awards are not based upon participation in a Union Plus program. The individual must be accepted into an accredited college or university, community college or recognized technical or trade school at the time the award is issued. Note: Graduate students are now eligible. Evaluation criteria: The scholarship program is open to students attending or planning to attend a college or university, a community college, or a technical college or trade school. Applicants for scholarships are evaluated according to academic ability, social awareness, financial need and appreciation of labor. Scholarship applications are judged by a committee of impartial postsecondary educators. Applications are first reviewed by a panel of independent career professionals. Semi-finalists are chosen based on a point scale, and their applications are then provided to judges for further review and selection of finalists and awards. Program judges include representatives from the American Association of Community Colleges, the United Negro College Fund, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. Scholarship award amounts: The amount of the award ranges from $500-$4,000. This is a one-time cash award sent to individual winners for study beginning in the fall of the same year. How to apply: For information about obtaining the Union Plus Scholarship application, visit the Union Plus web site at www.unionprivilege.org/benefits/custom.cfm—and click the education services button. The application deadline is Jan. 31, 2008. Selected scholarship recipients’ names will be announced May 31. Due to the high volume of applications, only winners receive notification. Deadline: All applications must be postmarked by Jan. 31, 2008. December 2007 �45524X:September-07 11/27/2007 9:06 AM Page 15 Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea January & February 2008 Membership Meetings OCTOBER 16 — NOVEMBER 15, 2007 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals 4 5 6 17 4 5 31 20 4 15 8 23 18 16 4 13 6 4 27 19 2 1 1 7 3 3 9 2 0 2 1 2 6 1 1 0 0 1 9 7 290 249 58 Totals Totals Totals All Departments Piney Point ...........Monday: January 7, February 4 Algonac ................Friday: January 11, February 8 2 1 7 10 4 6 30 29 0 14 15 26 11 18 0 2 7 2 28 19 2 0 3 13 4 1 15 11 0 8 5 11 19 9 0 5 7 4 23 14 0 0 1 2 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 6 1 3 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 12 0 0 18 18 0 7 6 15 7 6 0 0 6 0 19 13 6 1 8 20 3 14 70 55 2 18 25 74 28 34 6 0 9 5 66 47 5 14 10 23 7 16 52 45 9 18 24 41 21 27 10 11 15 10 46 31 4 3 0 9 5 4 13 5 1 2 4 5 9 0 4 0 0 2 13 9 231 154 22 129 491 435 92 New York .............Tuesday: January 8, February 5 Norfolk .................Thursday: January 10, February 7 0 0 2 9 1 8 13 17 1 7 9 14 14 9 4 1 1 0 14 13 2 1 5 6 1 4 19 17 0 4 5 9 11 6 1 3 6 5 20 10 0 2 0 4 0 2 5 0 1 1 0 3 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 7 0 0 2 4 0 4 12 12 0 8 4 12 7 9 1 0 3 0 14 4 2 1 6 4 0 4 11 6 0 2 1 8 9 6 2 1 2 2 12 6 0 1 0 1 1 1 2 3 0 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 0 2 4 0 0 10 9 1 4 3 10 5 3 1 0 1 1 17 1 2 0 2 12 3 15 21 29 1 13 8 26 15 14 3 2 3 1 23 21 2 1 6 8 2 3 24 37 0 10 9 13 23 10 3 2 5 6 25 18 0 1 0 6 1 2 5 1 2 1 1 5 6 3 1 0 1 2 2 11 137 135 29 96 85 19 72 214 207 51 Baltimore..............Thursday: January 10, February 7 Boston ..................Friday: January 11, February 8 Guam ....................Thursday: January 24, February 21 Honolulu...............Friday: January 18, February 15 Houston ................Monday: January 14, February 11 Jacksonville ..........Thursday: January 10, February 7 Joliet .....................Thursday: January 17, February 14 Mobile ..................Wednesday: January 16, February 13 New Orleans.........Tuesday: January 15, February 12 Oakland ................Thursday: January 17, February 14 Philadelphia..........Wednesday: January 9, February 6 Port Everglades ....Thursday: January 17, February 14 San Juan ...............Thursday: January 10, February 7 St. Louis ...............Friday: January 18, February 15 Tacoma .................Friday: January 25, February 22 Wilmington...........Tuesday: January 22*, February 19* (*changes created by Martin Luther King’s birthday and Presidents’ Day holidays) Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. STEWARD DEPARTMENT 0 0 2 5 4 9 20 15 2 5 5 19 13 24 2 2 1 2 19 21 1 0 0 7 1 6 8 7 0 5 1 2 15 4 3 1 4 1 8 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 4 0 0 1 0 0 3 1 170 80 13 Port Algonac A1chorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C ENGINE DEPARTMENT Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs DECK DEPARTMENT 4 1 4 8 4 7 35 33 1 14 17 41 16 24 4 0 8 2 36 31 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 0 0 4 2 6 13 9 2 3 5 14 7 24 0 1 3 1 7 9 2 0 1 8 0 3 6 6 0 3 3 8 11 2 1 1 1 0 4 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 0 6 6 6 0 1 2 6 4 8 1 0 1 0 3 5 2 0 7 8 5 12 35 25 0 11 8 30 17 41 2 6 2 4 30 35 0 0 0 13 1 10 13 13 0 8 6 6 17 9 2 2 4 2 15 8 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 1 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 3 110 66 10 53 280 129 18 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 0 0 1 0 0 6 6 3 0 1 2 8 0 3 0 0 0 0 5 2 1 2 4 7 3 7 18 14 1 3 6 28 11 12 2 19 2 4 18 15 4 0 0 5 1 12 3 21 0 2 3 9 14 8 1 28 1 0 8 8 0 0 1 0 0 3 3 1 0 0 1 3 1 3 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 1 4 3 2 4 6 7 1 2 2 10 7 6 0 10 1 1 10 3 0 0 0 2 0 5 2 5 0 1 1 2 7 3 0 17 0 1 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 8 3 0 1 4 15 1 6 0 0 1 0 7 2 4 4 3 9 3 11 51 28 0 5 15 55 24 21 2 17 4 3 32 28 10 1 2 13 2 20 7 28 2 4 8 25 28 19 1 22 4 1 20 15 37 177 128 22 80 53 0 53 319 232 634 641 228 459 385 104 254 1,038 1,090 393 *“Total Registered” means the number of Seafarers who actually registered for shipping at the port. **“Registered on Beach” means the total number of Seafarers registered at the port. December 2007 Coast Guard Email Lists Offer Updates On Mariner Licensing, Documentation The U.S. Coast Guard recently circulated the following announcement in a National Maritime Center newsletter and via e-mail. It is reprinted here with permission. Subscribe to Mariner Licensing and Documentation Information Updates To improve how information is distributed to the maritime community, the National Maritime Center and the Mariner Licensing and Documentation program now have a presence on the Coast Guard’s List Server (CGLS). To automatically receive up-to-date information via e-mail, simply subscribe to one or more of the available lists, and messages will be delivered to your e- mail inbox. Please share this with other contacts to spread word about this new service. To subscribe to a list, follow the instructions below: 1) Go to the CGLS web site at http://cgls.uscg.mil/groups.php?ID=10 2) Review the lists to find the information you would like to have sent to you. 3) Under each list are the Subscribe/Unsubscribe/Archive links. To subscribe, click that link and provide your e-mail address, name (optional), pick a password and confirm it in the window provided. Then hit the subscribe button, and you have subscribed to that topics e-mail list. As new or updated NMC/MLD information is generated, you will receive an e-mail with a brief description of the content and a link to the site where the content is located. There are 6 lists under Mariner Licensing and Documentation (MLD) program, as described below: National Maritime Center Updates Information concerning the National Maritime Center’s (NMC) operations, process improvements, and important information on merchant mariner credentials. NMC Performance Reports Information from the National Maritime Center on credential production performance statistics, including processing time, application inventory and customer satisfaction. These reports will communicate the results of improvements to credential production processes and customer services. MLD Program Policy Updates Information from the Mariner Licensing and Documentation program manager at Coast Guard headquarters on changes to regulations, Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circulars (NVICs) and other policy guidance. REC News/Announcements Announcements concerning Regional Examination Center (REC) locations, hours of operation, contact information and other pertinent REC operations information. Mariner Information/News Information for individual mariners seeking licenses and/or Merchant Mariner Documents, including changes to the credential application, medical physical and other forms, revisions to checklist, information packets, instruction guides, information for healthcare professionals, selected Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s), NMC Point of Contact (POCs) and other pertinent information. Coast Guard-Approved Courses Information on Coast Guard-approved training, courses, examinations, course audits and other pertinent information. If you have questions or need assistance with subscribing to a list, please contact LT Hilary Stickle at (304) 724-9557 or via e-mail at Hilary.Stickle@uscg.mil. Seafarers LOG 15 �45524X2:September-07 11/28/2007 12:33 PM Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7 St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 th PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG Page 16 USS Recognizes SIU Crews, Company Officials Continued from page 4 vessel’s rigid-hull inflatable boats to aid in rescue operations. Braving 10foot waves and 27 knot winds, the Kanawha crew made two trips to transfer the stranded mariners from the Jai Laxmai to the Dupleix, a French warship that also assisted in the rescue. Sixteen distressed mariners were rescued. John Bowers, chairman of the USS AOTOS Committee and recently retired president of the International Longshoremen’s Association, announced the AOTOS Award recipients and offered comments which delineated their respective accomplishments. “These three men represent the very best of the U.S.-flag industry,” he said of Andrasick, Arntzen and Reinhart. “Our recipients have been selected by those who know them best: international transportation leaders who understand very well the challenges and issues which confront United States shipping and the American seafarers and recognize their leadership in this area.” James S. Andrasick Andrasick was named president and chief executive officer of Matson Navigation Company, Inc. on July 18, 2003. He joined Alexander & Baldwin, Inc., the parent company of Matson, in June 2000 as senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer. On April 25, 2002, Andrasick was appointed to additional duties as president and chief executive officer of Matson on an interim basis. He is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, where he received a bachelor’s degree in engineering. Andrasick also holds a master’s degree in management science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Vice Admiral Vivien S. Crea, vice commandant, U.S. Coast Guard, presented Andrasick with his award. Celebrating its 125th anniversary, Matson Navigation is the principal carrier of containerized freight and automobiles between the West Coast and Hawaii, Guam and Mid-Pacific, and is the largest subsidiary of Honolulu-based Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. Morten Arntzen Arntzen was appointed president and chief executive officer of Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (OSG) in January 2004. He has been an OSG Board member since 2004. Prior to joining OSG, Arntzen was chief executive officer of American Marine Advisors Inc., a U.S.-based merchant banking firm specializing in maritime industry merger and acquisition advisory work and corporate restructuring for a global client base. He holds a bachelor degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and a master of international affairs degree from Columbia University. Arntzen received his award from The Honorable Sean Connaughton, U.S. maritime administrator. Overseas Shipholding Group bills itself as the only large tanker company with a significant presence in both the international flag and U.S.-flag markets. Additionally, the company has an established position in the Jones Act product tanker and crude tanker segments. John F. Reinhart Reinhart was named chief executive officer, Maersk Line, Limited on Aug. 1, 2000 and president in April 2004. He joined Maersk Inc. in 1991 in human resources. In 1992, Reinhart began his career in universal maritime services working his way up to president. He returned to Maersk in 1996 as a regional director and then as senior vice president. Reinhart received his B.A. in political science from Ohio University and completed the executive MBA program at the University of Michigan in 1997. SIU President Michael Sacco introduced Reinhart and presented him with his award. “Over the years, John has proven himself as someone who clearly recognizes that the continued revitalization of the U.S. Merchant Marine depends on cooperation throughout our industry,” Sacco told those in attendance about Reinhart. “John has built a great team at Maersk. The company has grown under his leadership, and they deserve credit for supporting our troops in operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, as do the other U.S.-flag companies being honored tonight.” Maersk Line, Limited operates 19 U.S.flag liner vessels that are enrolled in the Maritime Security Program. The company is a long-term trusted partner with the U.S. Department of Defense providing support services and operating 29 vessels under vessel management contracts. AOTOS Mariner’s Rosette Winner Third Mate Victor Manoli III, while aboard the SIU-crewed Maersk Maryland on Oct. 25, 2006 contained a potentially deadly fire aboard the vessel in the port of Gioia Tauro, Italy. Shortly after the vessel had tied up, the captain over the radio announced that there was a fire alarm on B deck. Manoli, who was coming from the stern, made his way to B deck with two SIU crew members. After finding smoke coming from one of the rooms, he radioed the deck and informed those on duty that he had found the source and that he and the other two crew members were going to enter the room. Armed with a dry chemical extinguisher, the trio opened the door. They could feel the heat from the blaze and heard popping noises. Manoli took one step into the door and discharged the extinguisher in the direction of the blaze. They then evacuated the room as smoke began to fill the passageway. Crew members then brought fire suits and self contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) to the location, and Manoli donned an SCBA. While staying in radio contact with the bridge, he entered the space again to find even larger flames than before. This time he used the entire contents of the dry extinguisher and headed back out of the room. He then checked to see if he had enough air and went back inside with another extinguisher. Upon his return, the fire was headed up the bulkhead so he blasted the entire area until the fire was out. Senator Daniel K. Inouye was general chairman for this year’s event and sent a video message as well, congratulating the three AOTOS recipients and recognizing the mission of USS, which has been dedicated to meeting the needs of seafarers in foreign ports for 65 years. Captain Robert Hart, USN (ret.) and Samuel B. Nemirow served as National Committee co-chairmen. SIU President Sacco was dinner chairman. The USS continues to provide community services for the U.S. Merchant Marine, the American Armed Forces, and seafarers of the world. The USS, a nonprofit agency, was established in 1942. It operates centers in ports in Europe, Asia, Africa and in the Indian Ocean, and also provides seagoing libraries to American vessels through its affiliate, the American Merchant Marine Library Association. PIC-FROM-THE-PAST This photograph was sent to the Seafarers LOG by Pensioner Trinidad Sanchez of Carolina, P.R. “It was taken ashore in Rio Haina, Santo Domingo in 1972 at the home of a friend,” he wrote in a note accompanying the photo. Sanchez (far left, back row) was sailing as an SA at the time. Also pictured are Wiper Frank Torres and Chief Cook Greg Johnson as well as the chief steward. All were crew members aboard the Sea-Land Crusader. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with the LOG readership, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. December 2007 �45524X:September-07 11/27/2007 11:42 AM Page 17 Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA DENNIS BROWN, 65, joined the union in 1969. He first sailed on the USNS Maury. Brother Brown was born in Long Beach, Calif. He shipped in the deck department. Brother Brown most recently worked aboard the Tacoma. He attended classes on numerous occasions at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Brother Brown makes his home in Everett, Wash. GARY DOYEN, 65, became an SIU member in 1967. Brother Doyen’s first trip to sea was on the Commander. The engine department member was born in California. In 1967 and 2000, Brother Doyen upgraded his skills at the Piney Point school. His most recent voyage was aboard the Horizon Consumer. Brother Doyen lives in Bellflower, Calif. ERNEST DUHON JR., 61, joined the SIU in 1965. Brother Duhon first sailed on the Del Norte as a member of the deck department. He was a frequent upgrader at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Brother Duhon was born in New Orleans. Prior to his retirement, he shipped aboard the Horizon Fairbanks. Brother Duhon calls Longview, Wash. home. WALTER FITZGERALD III, 65, began his seafaring career in 1966. Brother Fitzgerald first sailed aboard a Wall Street Traders vessel. He upgraded his skills in 1988 at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Fitzgerald, who was born in Massachusetts, most recently sailed aboard the Carolina, where he worked in the engine department. He is a resident of Omaha, Ga. JIMMIE GRAYDON, 64, donned the SIU colors in 1964. Brother Graydon was born in Georgia and sailed in the engine department. He attended the Piney Point school on three occasions to upgrade his seafaring skills. Brother Graydon’s first ship was the Detroit; his last was the El Yunque. He resides in Jacksonville, Fla. JAMES JOWERS, 65, joined the SIU ranks in 1986. Brother Jowers’ first voyage was on the USNS Desteiguer. A native of Texas, he shipped in the deck December 2007 department. Brother Jowers upgraded his skills in 1992, 1996 and 2000 at the Seafarersaffiliated school. He last sailed aboard the Seabulk Pride. Brother Jowers settled in Liberty Hill, Texas. LUIS LOPEZ, 51, embarked on his seafaring career in 1973. Brother Lopez first worked aboard the Bradford Island. He upgraded his skills often at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Lopez worked in the steward department, most recently aboard the Courage. He makes his home in Naguabo, P.R. JAMES McKNIGHT, 65, began sailing in 1969 on the Choctaw. Brother McKnight, who was born in Washington, worked in the steward department. In 1975 and 1978, he attended the Piney Point school to upgrade his seafaring skills. Brother McKnight’s most recent voyage was aboard the Horizon Tacoma. He makes his home in Stanwood, Wash. FADEL MOHAMED, 53, began his SIU career in 1979. Brother Mohamed’s first ship was the Cove Navigator. He upgraded his skills in 2000 at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Mohamed, who was born in Yemen, most recently sailed aboard the Comet as a member of the steward department. He calls Garden Grove, Calif. home. WILLIAM MUNIZ, 68, was born in Puerto Rico and joined the SIU in 1968 in the port of New York. His first voyage was on the Robin Hood, where he shipped in the steward department. Brother Muniz upgraded his skills on numerous occasions at the Paul Hall Center. His last trip to sea was aboard the Atlantic. Brother Muniz is a resident of Hamilton, N.J. ALI MUTANIA, 65, joined the SIU in 1979. Brother Mutania’s first ship was the Westward Venture. He sailed as a member of both the engine and steward departments. Brother Mutania, who was born in Yemen, upgraded his skills on two occasions at the union-affiliated school. Brother Mutania’s most recent voyage was aboard the Midnight Sun. He resides in Oak Lawn, Ill. GENE POPE, 65, began his seafaring career in 1992 in the port of Mobile, Ala. Brother Pope’s first ship was the USNS Titan. The steward department member, who was born in Georgia, attended classes on two occasions at the Piney Point training center. His last trip to sea was on the USNS Invincible. Brother Pope lives in Montgomery, Ala. JOSE RIVERA III, 67, joined the SIU in 1965. Brother Rivera first sailed aboard a United Shipping Company vessel. He attended the Paul Hall Center on numerous occasions to improve his seafaring skills. Born in San Juan, P.R., Brother Rivera shipped in the steward department. He most recently worked aboard the Sirius. Brother Rivera is a resident of Houston. JOHN RYAN, 65, started sailing with the SIU in 1967. Brother Ryan, who was born in New York, worked in the engine department. He first sailed aboard the Seatrain New York. Brother Ryan most recently worked on the San Juan. He calls Toms River, N.J. home. IVAN SALIS, 46, became an SIU member in 1980, first sailing aboard the LNG Virgo. Brother Salis upgraded frequently at the Piney Point school. The Louisiana native shipped in the steward department. Brother Salis last worked on the Cleveland. He makes his home in Callahan, Fla. INLAND JOHN COLOMBO, 55, joined the union in 1975, first working aboard a Whiteman Towing Company vessel. He was born in Louisiana. Before retiring, Boatman Colombo worked aboard a Crescent Towing & Salvage Company vessel. He lives in Pearl River, La. WALTER EVANS, 62, started his SIU career in 1992 in the port of Houston. Boatman Evans worked primarily aboard vessels operated Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1945 In a move to appease calls for increased wages for stewards aboard Liberty and Victory ships converted to troop carriers, the War Labor Board granted a nominal wage increase to some of the ratings in the steward classification. In a hearing with the WLB, Seafarers International Union representatives described working and living conditions for stewards and the fact that the WLB’s increase did nothing to raise wages to a fair and “livable” wage. After months of considerable discussions on SIU’s part, wages were increased an average of $12.50 a month and raises were made retroactive three months prior to this final agreement. By 1945 standards, this was a considerable increase that helped raise the standard of living for stewards. by Higman Barge Lines. He is a resident of Lexington, Texas. BILLY HINES, 62, joined the SIU in 1972. Boatman Hines first worked on the Dravo Gulf. In 1976, he attended the Paul Hall Center to upgrade his seafaring skills. Boatman Hines’ most recent voyage was aboard a National Marine Service vessel. He makes his home in Milton, Fla. RICHARD WARD, 62, became a union member in 1981. Boatman Ward worked primarily aboard Willis Inc. vessels. He makes his home in Jacksonville, Fla. GREAT LAKES AHMED NASER, 60, joined the ranks of the SIU in 1972 in Detroit, Mich. Brother Naser upgraded at the unionaffiliated school in 2003. The steward department member, who was born in Saudi Arabia, first sailed on the Consumers Power. His last ship was his last the Walter J. McCarthy. Brother Naser calls Dearborn, Mich. home. are essentially American businesses. In turn, that would mean their crews could be organized by the SIU and other maritime unions.” 1976 A Washington, D.C., research organization, the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, has just published an in-depth study of the nation’s transportation system, concluding that the private transportation sector can meet most, if not all, of the needs of DOD at a significant savings, and without impairing overall defense readiness. The study maintains that “the United States can no longer maintain parallel military transportation capabilities when the private sector can do the job.” This Month In SIU History 1958 A federal court judge refused to issue an injunction against SIU demonstrations against American owners of “runaway” tonnage. The action opened the doors for SIU to call for action of the National Labor Relations Board. Runaways are vessels flying foreign flags that were actually owned by American companies. According to the LOG, “Up until now, the runaways have been able to evade jurisdiction of U.S. labor law by claiming that they were actually foreign businesses. It is the opinion in the industry that the runaway operators would be very reluctant to go near the NLRB for the simple fact that it would acknowledge that they 1995 Representatives of Congress, American maritime labor, U.S. flag carriers, domestic shipyards and pro-national defense coalitions reaffirmed their total support of the nation’s cabotage laws when they introduced the formation of a group to keep the Jones Act and other cabotage laws in place. “The basic need for enacting the Jones Act— namely, national and economic security—is as valid today as it was 75 years ago,” said SIU President Michael Sacco in a meeting with members of Congress and industry representatives. “Simply put, this law has worked!” Sacco noted that because of the Jones Act, “120,000 American citizens—employed on the domestic waterways of the United States, in domestic shipyards, and in related industries —are able to earn a decent living.” Seafarers LOG 17 �45524X:September-07 11/27/2007 11:48 AM Page 18 Final Departures DEEP SEA CHARLES CALLAHAN Pensioner Charles Callahan, 79, passed away April 13. Brother Callahan began his seafaring career in 1953. He was born in New York and sailed in the deck department. Brother Callahan first worked aboard a Waterman Steamship vessel. His most recent voyage was on the Horizon Enterprise. Brother Callahan was a resident of Sun City, Ariz. He retired in 1992. HAROLD PITTILLO Pensioner Harold Pittillo, 74, passed away April 10. Brother Pittillo started sailing with the Marine Cooks & Stewards (MC&S) in 1965 in the port of San Francisco. He first sailed aboard a States Steamship Company vessel as a member of the steward department. Brother Pittillo was born in Texas. His most recent voyage was aboard the Manukai. Brother Pittillo settled in Oregon and began receiving compensation for his retirement in 1997. HASAN RAHMAN JOSE CALO Pensioner Jose Calo, 71, died April 13. Brother Calo, who was born in Spain, joined the SIU in 1967. He first sailed aboard the Gateway as a member of the engine department. Before retiring in 2002, Brother Calo went to sea on the Houston. He made his home in the Bronx, N.Y. RICHARD DOUGLAS Brother Richard Douglas, 46, passed away April 20. He became a Seafarer in 1999 in the port of Mobile, Ala. Brother Douglas first sailed aboard the USNS Invincible. The steward department member, who was born in Alabama, last worked on a Maersk Line Limited vessel. He continued to live in Alabama. ALBERTO FALCON Pensioner Alberto Falcon, 66, died April 27. Brother Falcon joined the SIU in 1960. His first ship was the Council; his last was the USNS Potomac. Brother Falcon sailed in the steward department. He resided in his native state of Texas and went on pension in 2005. ROSCOE HONEYCUTT Pensioner Roscoe Honeycutt, 79, passed away April 26. Brother Honeycutt began sailing with the Seafarers in 1956. His first voyage was aboard a vessel operated by Maritime Operations Inc. Brother Honeycutt was a member of the engine department. Born in Cabarrus County, N.C., he last worked aboard the Seabulk Power. Brother Honeycutt called Candor, N.C. home. He became a pensioner in 1989. WANDA KELLY Sister Wanda Kelly, 44, died April 16. Sister Kelly joined the SIU ranks in 2004 in the port of New Orleans. She first sailed aboard a Patriot Contract Services vessel. Sister Kelly, who was a native of Maben, Miss., most recently worked in the steward department on the USNS Altair. She was a resident of New Orleans. 18 Seafarers LOG Pensioner Hasan Rahman, 66, died Aug. 18. Brother Rahman donned the SIU colors in 1979 in the port of New York. The steward department member, who was born in Egypt, first sailed aboard the Puerto Rican. He most recently shipped on the USNS Bob Hope. Brother Rahman made his home in Jacksonville, Fla. He started collecting his pension in 2006. SAMUEL SOTOMAYOR Pensioner Samuel Sotomayor, 69, passed away April 16. Brother Sotomayor began his seafaring career in 1966. His first voyage was aboard the Fairland. Brother Sotomayor, who was born in Puerto Rico, worked in the steward department. Prior to retiring in 2002, he sailed on the Humacao. Brother Sotomayor made his home in Puerto Rico. JACK TAYLOR Pensioner Jack Taylor, 79, died April 17. Brother Taylor was born in Maryland. He joined the SIU in 1966 in the port of Baltimore. Brother Taylor’s first voyage was aboard the Alcoa Marketer. He sailed in the deck department, most recently on the Cape Orlando. He continued to live in Maryland. Towing Company vessel. Boatman Blackburn called Wilmington, N.C. home. JAMES HARDIN Boatman James Hardin, 55, passed away April 25. He donned the SIU colors in 1970 in the port of Houston. Boatman Hardin first sailed aboard a G&H Towing Company vessel and last worked on a Moran Towing Company vessel. Boatman Hardin resided in League City, Texas. ELWOOD KITTRELL Pensioner Elwood Kittrell, 79, died April 9. Boatman Kittrell joined the union in 1956. His first voyage was aboard the Coe Victory. Boatman Kittrell, who was an Alabama native, most recently sailed on a vessel operated by Crescent Towing of New Orleans. Boatman Kittrell lived in Mobile, Ala. EUGENE McCULLOUGH Pensioner Eugene McCullough, 78, passed away March 11. Boatman McCullough became an SIU member in 1961. He first shipped aboard a Moran Towing of Philadelphia vessel. Boatman McCullough was born in New Jersey. His most recent voyage was on a Turecamo Maritime vessel. In 1990, Boatman McCullough went on pension. He made his home in Philadelphia. WAYNE NICHOLAS Pensioner Wayne Nicholas, 62, died April 19. Born in Alabama, Boatman Nicholas began his seafaring career in 1962 in the port of Mobile. He sailed primarily on vessels operated by Gulf Atlantic Transport Corporation. Boatman Nicholas was a resident of his native state. He started receiving retirement stipends in 2006. NILES PETERSON Pensioner Niles Peterson, 66, passed away April 3. Boatman Peterson joined the SIU ranks in 1986. He shipped primarily aboard boats operated by Delta Queen Steamship Company. Boatman Peterson was born in New Orleans. He became a pensioner in 2004. Boatman Peterson made his home in Kerrville, Texas. PETER SCHAEFER JOSE VAZQUEZ Pensioner Jose Vazquez, 83, passed away April 14. Brother Vazquez joined the Seafarers in 1952. His first ship was the Wanda; his last was the Overseas Natalie. Brother Vazquez, who was born in Puerto Rico, sailed in the steward department. He became a pensioner in 1984. Brother Vazquez was a resident of Puerto Rico. INLAND CLIFTON BLACKBURN Pensioner Clifton Blackburn, 84, died April 27. Boatman Blackburn embarked on his SIU career in 1962. He first sailed aboard a Stone Towing Line vessel. Boatman Blackburn was born in Sampson, N.C. Before retiring in 1985, he was employed aboard a Cape Fear Pensioner Peter Schaeffer, 80, died April 29. Boatman Schaeffer launched his seafaring career in 1961 in the port of Philadelphia. He first shipped aboard a Taylor Marine Towing Company vessel. Boatman Schaefer, who was born in Pennsylvania, last worked on a Turecamo Maritime vessel. He began collecting his retirement pay in 1992. Boatman Schaefer called Bristol, Pa. home. IVAN STEFFEY Pensioner Ivan Steffey, 83, passed away April 10. Boatman Steffey was born in Virginia and joined the union in 1968. Boatman Steffey first worked aboard a Moran Towing of Virginia vessel. Before retiring in 1988, he sailed on Steuart Transportation Company vessels. Boatman Steffey resided in Virginia Beach, Va. MANEH AHMED Pensioner Maneh Ahmed, 78, passed away April 18. Brother Ahmed joined the SIU in 1961 in the port of Fort Lauderdale. He was a member of the steward department. Brother Ahmed first sailed on an American Steamship Company vessel. Born in Arabia, his most recent voyage was on the St. Mary’s Challenger. Brother Ahmed retired in 1993. He was a resident of Yemen. GREAT LAKES HADDI AHMED ANTHONY MENKAVITCH Pensioner Haddi Ahmed, 72, died April 6. Brother Ahmed joined the SIU in 1969. The Arabian-born mariner shipped in the steward department, first working on a Tomlinson Fleet Corporation vessel. His most recent voyage was aboard an American Steamship Company vessel. Brother Ahmed went on pension in 2001. He lived in Yemen. Pensioner Anthony Menkavitch, 92, died March 16. Brother Menkavitch was born in Connecticut and joined the unon in 1951. The deck department member last sailed aboard the George Goble. He began receiving his pension in 1977. Brother Menkavitch made his home in Edwardsville, Pa. Editor’s note: The following brothers and sister, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust have passed away. NAME Amin, Ishmael Atkins, Thomas Bastidas, Victor Boone, James Brittain, John Coleman, Mills Correya, Eduardo Cumbaa, Jean Figueroa, Alfredo Garner, Marian Greenidge, Nathanial Hall, Charles Harrison, Herman Holmes, Wilson Hughley, James Johnson, George Knighten, Christopher Lehman, Beatrice Lemus, Ponpilio Long, Felix Lueck, Oliver Macaya, Santos McAnelly, Robert Moreno, Rene Morris, Bobby Nieves, Victor Perez, Manuel Plummer, Raymond Rawls, Jean Rivera, Luis Rodriguez, Francisco Saybe, Peter Stukes, Clarence Thomsen, Vernon Trotta, Pasquale Trujillo, Basilio Valeriano, Alejandro Vaselakos, Peter Vazquez, Raul Velez, Jose Vizcaino, John Walker, Robert Wing, Issac AGE 83 84 84 82 79 89 92 78 78 81 93 78 80 59 80 78 83 93 92 82 83 90 86 79 69 85 83 75 79 89 72 78 78 82 94 77 85 90 78 86 90 84 90 DOD March 24 March 31 March 10 March 10 March 24 March 6 March 28 March 1 March 3 March 15 March 27 March 5 March 9 March 1 March 26 March 8 March 1 March 30 March 14 March 4 March 23 March 6 March 1 March 28 March 4 March 23 March 28 March 30 March 11 March 2 March 2 March 25 March 6 March 24 March 5 March 8 March 20 March 2 March 29 March 1 March 11 March 10 March 27 December 2007 �45524X:September-07 11/27/2007 9:06 AM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. AMERICAN SPIRIT (American Steamship Company), Oct. 16— Chairman James V. Darden, Secretary Joyce A. Sufak, Educational Director Michael L. Kruse. Chairman thanked crew for their cooperation in developing smooth and safe shipboard operations. He encouraged SIU members to upgrade seafaring skills at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. and attend shoreside union meetings when not at sea. Secretary agreed that members worked well together and displayed great teamwork. Educational director urged mariners to keep all documents current. He reminded them that basic safety training and STCW courses have to be completed before fit-out 2008. It was noted that cold weather is approaching and everyone should take necessary precautions to work safely on deck. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew requested information pertaining to future 401(k) or retirement plans for Great Lakes members. Galley crew was given vote of thanks for outstanding food. BUFFALO (American Steamship Company), Oct. 4—Chairman John D. Cedeno Jr., Secretary Harry W. Peterson, Educational Director Kevin M. McArdell, Deck Delegate Alan Maury. Chairman discussed health care plan and Union Plus benefits. He advised members with further questions to contact their union hall. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Departing crew members were asked to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen for reliefs. Mariners also were encouraged to renew MMDs and well as physicals and drug screens early. They also were encouraged to contribute to SPAD and MDL. Winter on the Great Lakes is a good time for members to upgrade at Piney Point due to layup of vessels. Next port: Waukegan, Mich. COMMITMENT (Maersk Line Limited), Oct. 10—Chairman Edward J. O’Conner, Secretary Stephanie L. Sizemore, Educational Director Dennis R. Baker, Deck Delegate Edwin Ortega, Engine Delegate Stephen J. Riccobene. Chairman announced Oct. 11 sanitary inspec- tion. Seafarers were reminded to return movies after use. There has been no word about replacement of DVD players. Secretary reported new microwave has been purchased for delivery in Houston Oct. 22. Educational director posted TWIC information in crew lounge. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion made to increase pension benefits and lower retirement age. Bosun thanked crew for great trip. Next ports: Newark, N.J.; Charleston, S.C.; Houston. COURAGE (Interocean American Shipping), Oct. 27—Chairman Laurentis D. Colbert, Secretary Susanne Cake, Educational Director Patrick D. Tucker, Engine Delegate Theodore Wallace, Steward Delegate Sherman Harper. Chairman discussed rules and regulations pertaining to holding union meetings. He thanked crew members for safe, smooth trip. Educational director encouraged all mariners to upgrade seafaring skills at the SIU-affiliated school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Bosun read and discussed president’s report from the September 2007 Seafarers LOG. Next ports: New York; Baltimore; Charleston, S.C.; Brunswick, Ga. HORIZON ANCHORAGE (Horizon Lines), Oct. 14—Chairman Dan P. Fleehearty, Secretary Amanda F. Suncin, Educational Director Kevin T. McCagh, Deck Delegate Basil D. Stolen, Engine Delegate John R. Day. Chairman announced Oct. 15 payoff at sea. He noted new upholstery in crew mess and crew lounge and asked for help keeping it clean and ripfree. Secretary urged members to upgrade at Paul Hall Center when their schedules allow. Educational director reminded crew to check all document expiration dates and renew in plenty of time. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Chairman thanked everyone for helping keep ship clean and in working order. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash.; Anchorage, Alaska. HORIZON ENTERPRISE (Horizon Lines), Oct. 25—Chairman George B. Khan, Secretary William E. Bryley, Educational Director Matthew R. Redlinger, Engine Delegate James B. Spranza, Steward Delegate Michael D. Miller. Bosun announced Oct. 27 payoff at sea before arrival in Tacoma, Wash. Secretary thanked members for good housekeeping and reminded departing crew to leave fresh linen for next person. Educational director reminded everyone to keep documents current and renew early—up to six months in advance. He also stressed the importance of upgrading as often as possible to stay abreast of current requirements in the maritime industry, as well as to increase earning power. No beefs reported; OT problems discussed. Chief engineer stopped by and talked about changes made at most recent monthly safety meeting. Everybody aboard vessel thanked Chief Cook Miller for good chow during voyage. Next ports: Tacoma; Oakland, Calif.; Honolulu. HORIZON NAVIGATOR (Horizon Lines), Oct. 31—Chairman Anton T. Sulic, Secretary Richard W. Paulson, Educational Director David S. Goodpaster, Deck Delegate Feliciano M. Gimutao, Engine Delegate Ely R. Hermano. Chairman advised members to keep track of all documents and when they expire. He also stated that everyone should be helpful toward fellow shipmates. Secretary reminded crew to keep receipts from dues payments. Educational director spoke about upgrading opportunities available at Piney Point to better one’s skills. “Never settle for average; always look to be more productive in life.” Treasurer stated $650 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made for new chairs in galley, crew lounge and unlicensed rooms. New mattresses still are needed in rooms. Recommendations were made to improve pension plan benefits. Next ports: Los Angeles; Honolulu. HOUSTON (USS Transport), Oct. 21—Chairman Richard A. Szabo, Secretary Robert E. Wilcox, Educational Director Scott S. Fuller, Deck Delegate Sunday Nwankwo, Engine Delegate Jeffery T. Fields, Steward Delegate Saleh M. Saleh. Chairman thanked Seafarers for working hard and in professional manner. He reported new gear working well on mooring lines. Secretary thanked everyone for their cooperation in keeping common areas clean. He reminded crew to clean lint trap in dryer when clothes are finished. Educational director urged members to upgrade often and read Seafarers LOG to stay abreast of latest information on TWIC. He also suggested that everyone should check expiration dates on all documents. No beefs; disputed OT reported in deck and Three New Full Book Members Are Ready to Sail Congratulations to Oiler Richard Murray, Chief Cook Alphonzo Berry and Junior Engineer James Hudson. All three received their full books at the November membership meeting at the hall in Norfolk, Va. engine departments. Mariners discussed need for additional dryer for crew laundry. Suggestion made to increase steward department to include additional billet. Crew was asked to keep noise down in passageways, especially while others are sleeping. Next port: Port Everglades, Fla. JOHN BOLAND (American Steamship Company), Oct. 21— Chairman Paul S. Gohs, Secretary Solomon B. Darku, Educational Director Donald R. Jaegle. Chairman read all information in ship’s packet and posted it in “Good Feeder” Watkins Arrives in Norfolk The USNS Watkins is known as a “good feeder,” thanks to Steward/Baker Mark Simpson and Chief Cook Frank Washington (in photo at right). Four of the recipients of the good food are (below) BREC James Walker, QMED Edwin Simene, CSKS Gary Bruber and SA Wayne Shindler. recreation room. Any crew members claiming unpaid first day’s wage should check discharge date in question and inform bosun of findings. Educational director advised members to obtain basic safety training as soon as possible. Two crew members who had already obtained that training informed others about the classes involved and accommodations available to upgraders. Treasurer stated $800 remaining in satellite TV fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. President’s report and vice president’s report were read and discussed. Crew members reminded to be careful when filing taxes. Vacation applications were distributed, and everyone was asked to help in training of new apprentice aboard ship. Deck department members were asked to blow out deck line to prevent freezing; gloves and helmet liners are available upon request. MAERSK CAROLINA (Maersk Line Limited), Oct. 14—Chairman Brian K. Fountain, Educational Director Kevin M. Cooper, Engine Delegate Eddie Almodovar. Chairman announced Oct. 22 payoff in Newark, N.J. He thanked everyone for another safe voyage. Secretary reported that ship would be taking on 90-day stores in Portsmouth, Va. since it will not be returning to the States until Jan. 28. Educational director encouraged crew members to take advantage of educational opportunities available at Piney Point school. Treasurer stated $500 in ship’s fund from Maersk Line Limited for safety award. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestions made regarding vacation and pension benefits. Vote of thanks given to steward department for job well done. Next ports: Newark; Portsmouth; Charleston, S.C. MAERSK VIRGINIA (Maersk Line Limited), Oct. 21—Chairman December 2007 Mohamed S. Ahmed, Secretary Hugh E. Wildermuth, Educational Director John E. Conn, Deck Delegate Roberto Flores. Bosun reported good crew and safe trip. He announced Oct. 30 payoff in Newark, N.J. Educational director urged Seafarers to apply for TWIC card soon and upgrade at Paul Hall Center whenever possible. Treasurer stated $1,273 in ship’s movie fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion made for future contract negotiations to include an increase for engine department entry-level/wiper. OVERSEAS NEW ORLEANS (OSG Ship Management), Oct. 28—Chairman Samuel Duah, Secretary Louins Johnson, Educational Director William P. Stone, Deck Delegate Virgilio E. Rosalas, Engine Delegate Edgar G. Pacana, Steward Delegate John A. Stephen. Chairman reminded crew members that one washer is for work clothes while the other is for good clothes. He asked them clean out lint traps after each use due to fire hazard. Secretary advised crew members to have cash on hand to pay dues when agent comes aboard. He also urged them to check expiration dates on z-cards and passports and apply for TWIC cards. Educational director urged mariners to upgrade skills at Paul Hall Center to qualify for better jobs aboard vessel. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made to have satellite TV and refrigerators in all crew rooms. Thanks given to steward department for great menus and meals. Next port: Lakes Charles, La. USNS SAMUEL COBB (Ocean Ships), Oct. 6—Chairman Aristeo M. Padua, Secretary Cesar C. Dela Cruz, Educational Director Charles L. Jensen. Chairman and educational director expressed their gratitude to all departments for working well together. Crew discussed new gym equipment and the possibility of using the spare room for weight lifting and other fitness activities. They also expressed interest in having internet access. Secretary talked about completion of voyage with no reported injuries or illness aboard vessel. Treasurer stated $300 in ship’s fund. Educational director urged Seafarers to check out what the union-affiliated school has to offer. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next port: Houston. Seafarers LOG 19 �45524:September-07 11/26/2007 11:11 PM Page 20 SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SEAFARERS HEALTH AND BENEFITS PLAN SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SEAFARERS VACATION PLAN This is a summary of the annual report for the SEAFARERS HEALTH AND BENEFITS PLAN, (Employer Identification No. 13-5557534, Plan No. 501) for the period January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). This is a summary of the annual report for the SEAFARERS VACATION PLAN, (Employer Identification No. 13-5602047, Plan No. 503) for the period January 1, 2006 to December 31, 2006. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement Basic Financial Statement The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $65,464,095 as of December 31, 2006 compared to $22,124,202 as of January 1, 2006. During the plan year, the plan experienced an increase in its net assets of $43,339,893. This increase includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. During the plan year, the plan had a total income of $92,882,492. This income included employer contributions of $88,479,423, realized gains of $371,278 from the sale of assets, and earnings from investments of $3,267,823. Plan expenses were $49,553,985. These expenses included $10,106,688 in administrative expenses and $39,447,297 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $17,901,704 as of December 31, 2006 compared to $18,293,835 as of January 1, 2006. During the plan year, the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $392,131. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. During the plan year, the plan had a total income of $58,135,971. This income included employer contributions of $55,598,540, realized gains of $1,001,868 from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $1,426,387. Plan expenses were $61,235,484. These expenses included $6,491,216 in administrative expenses and $54,744,268 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. Your Rights to Additional Information Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Assets held for investment; and 3. Transactions in excess of 5 percent of the plan assets. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Margaret Bowen, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746; or telephone (301) 899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $2.70 for the full report, or 15 cents per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan (Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746) and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, DC 20210. 1. An accountant’s report; and 2. Assets held for investment. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Margaret Bowen, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746; or telephone (301) 899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $3.60 for the full report, or 15 cents per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan (Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746) and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, DC 20210. Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political pur- 20 Seafarers LOG poses of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. MEMBER RIGHTS/LMRDA. The LaborManagement Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) guarantees certain rights to union members and imposes certain responsibilities on union officers. The Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) enforces many LMRDA provisions while other provisions, such as the bill of rights, may only be enforced by union members through private suit in Federal court. Union Member Rights Bill of Rights: Union members have equal rights to participate in union activities; freedom of speech and assembly; a voice in setting rates of dues, fees and assessments; protection of the right to sue; and safe- guards against improper discipline. Copies of Collective Bargaining Agreements: Union members and nonunion employees have the right to receive or inspect copies of collective bargaining agreements. Reports: Unions are required to file an initial information report (Form LM-1), copies of constitutions and bylaws, and an annual financial report (Form LM2/3/4) with OLMS. Unions must make the reports available to members and permit members to examine supporting records for just cause. The reports are public information and copies are available from OLMS. Officer Elections: Union members have the right to nominate candidates for office; run for office; cast a secret ballot; and protest the conduct of an election. Officer Removal: Local union members have the right to an adequate procedure for the removal of an elected officer guilty of serious misconduct. Trusteeships: Unions may only be placed in trusteeship by a parent body for the reasons specified in the LMRDA. Prohibition Against Violence: No one may use or threaten to use force or violence to interfere with a union member in the exercise of LMRDA rights. Union Officer Responsibilities Financial Safeguards: Union officers have a duty to manage the funds and property of the union solely for the benefit of the union and its members in accordance with the union’s constitution and bylaws. Union officers or employees who embezzle or steal union funds or other assets commit a Federal crime punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment. Bonding: Union officers or employees who handle union funds or property must be bonded to provide protection against losses if their union has property and annual financial receipts which exceed $5,000. Labor Organization Reports: Union officers must file an initial information report (Form LM-1) and annual financial reports (Forms LM-2/3/4) with OLMS; and retain the records necessary to verify the reports for at least five years. Officer Reports: Union officers and employees must file reports concerning any loans and benefits received from, or certain financial interests in, employers whose employees their unions represent and businesses that deal with their unions. Officer Elections: Unions must hold elections of officers of local unions by secret ballot at least every three years; conduct regular elections in accordance with their constitution and bylaws and preserve all records for one year; mail a notice of election to every member at least 15 days prior to the election; comply with a candidate’s request to distribute campaign material; not use union funds or resources to promote any candidate (nor may employer funds or resources be used); permit candidates to have election observers; and allow candidates to inspect the union’s membership list once within 30 days prior to the election. Restrictions on Holding Office: A person convicted of certain crimes may not serve as a union officer, employee or other representative of a union for up to 13 years. Loans: A union may not have outstanding loans to any one officer or employee that in total exceed $2,000 at any time. Fines: A union may not pay the fine of any officer or employee convicted of any willful violation of the LMRDA. (Note: The above is only a summary of the LMRDA. Full text of the Act, which comprises Sections 401-531 of Title 29 of the United States Code, may be found in many public libraries, or by writing the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Room N-5616, Washington, DC 20210, or on the internet at www.dol.gov.) SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. December 2007 �45524:September-07 11/26/2007 11:11 PM Page 21 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE Safety Specialty Courses The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. for the first few months of 2008. All programs are geared to improve the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Course Date Completion Basic Fire Fighting February 18 February 22 Advanced Fire Fighting January 14 January 25 Basic Safety Training/STCW December 10 December 14 February 25 February 29 March 24 March 28 January 28 February 1 Medical Care Provider General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. Start Date of Course Date Completion Able Seaman January 21 March 3 February 15 March 28 April 14 April 18 January 7 February 1 The School Wants Your Input The Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education wants to know what courses interest you and when you would like to see them scheduled, if possible. If you are a prospective student/upgrader, please complete this form and mail it to: Paul Hall Center, Attn: Admissions, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674—or email the information to vocational@seafarers.org. (ARPA) (*must have radar unlimited) Celestial Navigation Date of Academic Department Courses Deck Upgrading Courses Automatic Radar Plotting Aids* Start Lifeboatman/Water Survival January 7 January 18 Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman March 3 March 14 A complete course listing appears in the Paul Hall Center section of the web site www.seafarers.org and also is scheduled for publication in the January 2008 issue of the Seafarers LOG. Feedback from this informal survey will be used to help shape the school’s curriculums and schedules. Please keep in mind that not all suggestions may be acted upon. (STOS) Your Name: ________________________________________________________________ Steward Upgrading Courses Your Rating (if applicable): __________________________________________________ Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations modules start every week. Your Contact Information (optional): ____________________________________________ Today’s Date: ______________________________________________________________ Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward classes start every other week beginning Dec. 10, 2007. Please list the courses you would most like to see the Paul Hall Center offer (either existing ones or new ones): __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Engine Upgrading Courses __________________________________________________________________________ Course Start Date Date of Completion FOWT February 25 March 21 Welding January 7 January 25 __________________________________________________________________________ If you have a preference as to when those classes would be offered, please note the date range or general time of year:__________________________________________________ Your feedback is appreciated. UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Date of Birth ______________________ With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twentyfive (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. BEGIN DATE COURSE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Seniority _____________________________ Department _____________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. U.S. Citizen: Yes No Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Yes Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ December 2007 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 12/07 Seafarers LOG 21 �45524X:September-07 11/27/2007 9:07 AM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 695 — Graduating from the water survival course are unlicensed apprentices from class 695. They include (in alphabetical order) Zoran Barich, Rasheen Breathwaite, Kevin Copeland, Michael Cruz, Shantaz Harper, Anthony Irizarry, Emmanuel Korsah, Theodore Lampke, Jose Layz, Demetrius Madison, William Redinger, Cieara Rogers, Darwin Rondon, George SantiagoCordero, Joangel Sierra, Chancellor Staley, David Upsher and Earl Wood. (Note: not all are pictured.) AB — With instructor Bernabe Pelingon (far right) are upgraders who completed the AB course Oct. 26. They are (in no specific order) Ernest Frank III, Sherwin Jones, Jarrell Vick, Daryl Spicer, William Cruz, Billy Hill Jr., James Luttrell Jr. and Desir Donald. (Note: not all are pictured.) Towboat Scholarship Program — These students recently completed a number of courses in the towboat scholarship program including GMDSS, Search and Rescue, Cargo Handling and Emergency Procedures. They are (in alphabetical order) Richard Axelsson, Denis Dubro, William Dunney, Russell Horton, Kenneth Johnson and Kervin Velazquez. (Note: not all are pictured.) Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations — On Oct. 5, the following Phase III unlicensed apprentices (in alphabetical order) completed this course: Bryan Boyle, Erik Brown, Juan Castillo, Moriah Collier, Christian Cordova, Drake Corpus, German Cortes, Anthony DelloRusso, Jose Encarnacion, Ian Ferrer, John Fraley, Rupert Henry, Thomas Jones, Thaddeus Kilgore, Donnetta McLee, Reina Mendez, Joshua Montgomery, Christopher Sheppard, Danielle Smith, Thomas Tebow, Todd Williams, Kerry Wilson and Joshua Zelinsky. Their instructor, Tim Achorn, is at far right. Lifeboatman/Water Survival — Under the instruction of Bernabe Pelingon (far left) are Sept. 28 graduates of the lifeboatman/water survival course. They are (in alphabetical order) Mike Andrucovici, Anthony Clemons, Abdul Muhammad, Justino Sanchez and Jarrell Vick. Medical Care Provider — Upgrading Seafarers who took the week-long medical care provider class that ended Oct. 12 are (in no specific order) James Larkin Jr., Noland Earl, Karim Elgallad, Chris Kibodeaux, Wayne Henry, Philip Ayotte, Jordan Cuddy, Neil Warren, Jeffery Bull and Pete Gerber. Their instructor, Mark Cates, is at far right. 22 Seafarers LOG Refrigeration Engineer — With Calvin Beal (center) as their instructor, Moses Mickens Jr. (left) and Donald Christian completed the refrigeration engineer course Nov. 9. Advanced Fire Fighting — Graduating from the advanced fire fighting course Oct. 5 are (in no specific order) Harold Gerber, Noland Earl, Clifford Taylor, Karim Elgallad, David Campbell, Horace Rains, Michael Shappo, Neil Warren, Patrick David, Paul Voisin, Jimmy Willis Jr., Michael Willis and James Larkin Jr. (Note: not all are pictured.) December 2007 �45524X:September-07 11/27/2007 9:07 AM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes Tanker Familiarization/ Assistant Cargo (DL) — Completing this course Oct. 5 are (in no specific order) Nathaniel Jennings, Anthony Wrencher, Sammuel Yazzie, Joseph Noach, Marco Galliano, Adam Hansen, Daniel Coffee, Donald Bernard Jr., Christopher Hunnings, Joe Mieluchowski, Brian Jones, Charles Buckley, Kenji Hoffman, Prashanta Barua, DeAnthony Owens, H. Cliff Page Jr. and James Singer. (Note: not all are pictured.) Their instructor, Jim Shaffer, is at far right. Chief Cook — Working their way up the culinary ladder are upgrading students who completed one of the class modules Oct. 11. From the left are Mark Newbold, Tanya Bradley, James Alibad, Domingo Barraga, Alex Cordero and Chef/Instructor John Dobson. Radar Observer — Successfully completing the radar observer course ending Oct. 18 are (in alphabetical order) Prashanta Barua, Timothy Fogg, Gerald Freeman, Frank Guido and Michael Willis. Their instructor, Mike Smith, is at far left. ARPA — With a radar course already behind them, these five students completed the Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) course Oct. 26. They are (from left) Kipling Wise II, Michael Willis, James Larkin Jr., Timothy Fogg and Frank Guido. Their instructor, Mike Smith, is third from left. Specially Trained OS — Upgrading STCW — NCL, Oct. 12: Ursula Baskett, Michael Beatty, Amanda Brill, John Cally, Donnel Cherry, Matthew Cross, Michelle Curry, Nichole DeRoche, Jessica Dunney, Kathleen Ford, Michael Gretch, RyAnn Hueners, Jeffrey Ingalls, John Jackson, Danyelle Jefferson, Roland Johnson and Ariana Jordan. Their instructor, Mike Daras, is at far left. STCW — Seafarers and Phase III unlicensed apprentices completed the STOS course Oct. 5. They are (in alphabetic order) upgraders Albert Beneman, Larry Bradley, Terry Hester and Wilfredo Lansangan, and apprentices David Bernstein, Bryan Brady, Prymus Buckholtz, Steven Dalton, DeMond Lindsey, Wade McClennan, John McCormick, Juan Ortega Jr., David Pacheco, Neiman Pettis, Robert Raymond, Joey Roberts, Tommy Rodgers, Terry Thomas and Josean Villanueva. NCL, Oct. 5: Phouvilay Louangaphay, Sherrard Lowe, Amarilys Machado, Amanda Mize, Eric Montalvo, Kathleen Nolis, Patrick O’Donnell, Jacqueline Obrofta, José Quinones Jr., José Ramos Rodriguez, Ramon Santos Berrios, Alexei Simonov, Dadrien Stiskal, Anthony Torres-Alvarado, Burton Trageser, Brandy Underwood, Angelica Vega Rodriguez and SIU upgrader Jerry Willis. December 2007 STCW — NCL, Oct. 12: Magdala Laguerre, Molly Lamb, Stephanie Layou, Katelyn Marshall, Tony Menges, Jeffery Moore, Deborah Morgan, Michael Murn, Kimber Murray, José Pacheco Martinez, Ronald Peebles, Lance Post, Thomas Robinson Jr., Steven Severs, Ashley Stammer, Joshua Thompson, Erin Trainor, Daniel Wilson, Euron Wright and Kelley Zogopoulos. Seafarers LOG 23 �45524X:September-07 11/27/2007 9:07 AM Page 24 Volume 69, Number 12 December 2007 Summary Annual Reports Seafarers Pension Trust, Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan and MCS Supplementary Pension Plan — page 6 Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan and Seafarers Vacation Plan — page 20 CONTRIBUTE TO SPAD The Seafarers Political Action Donation helps us help you! ATTENTION, SEAFARERS: Check upcoming editions of the LOG for information on new T-shirts sporting the SPAD artwork shown on this page. The shirts will be available for a limited time to individuals who contribute to the Seafarers Political Action Donation fund. Seafarers International Union/SPAD 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 www.seafarers.org � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource December 2007 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES PHC ADVISORY BOARD FOCUSES ON TRAINING NEEDS, INDUSTRY TRENDS UNION URGES MEMBERS TO APPLY FOR TWIC KEEL LAID FOR 7TH T-AKE SHIP SIU STATEMENT ON DELTA QUEEN SIU CREWS HONORED AT AOTOS EVENT GRASSROOTS EFFORTS REWARDED ON ELECTION DAY LABOR-SPONSORED PROTESTS URGE PROTECTION OF WORKERS’ RIGHTS CIVMAR SAYS SIU MEMBERSHIP IS ‘MY MOST IMPORTANT ASSET’ NEW SEAFARERS 401(K) PLAN ON SCHEDULE LNG SAFETY TRAINING AVAILABLE AT PAUL HALL CENTER SEAFARERS ANSWER THE CALL OF THOSE IN NEED IN TACOMA Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12/01/2007 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. 69, No. 12 2007 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/e5740f88666809442b0eeb45d052296c.pdf 23f93d336281a8113b2f91781227e127 PDF Text Text 45140_p1_5,7,9,17_21,24:September-07 10/26/2007 1:13 PM Page 1 Volume 69, Number 11 November 2007 National Glory Joins SIU Fleet Seafarers recently climbed the gangway to the newly contracted National Glory, pictured in Busan, South Korea in late September. In photo above, SIU Guam Port Agent Jeff Turkus (third from left) met with crew members when the ship docked in Guam. Shown from left are Chief Cook Victor Wolf, Chief Steward John Rapoza, Turkus, STOS Mohamed Mazid, Recertified Bosun Donald Rezendes and AB Dave Seeman. Page 4. CIVMARS Sailing On USNS Safeguard Seafarers in the union’s Government Services Division gained more shipboard jobs recently as the U.S. Navy rescue and salvage vessel Safeguard (pictured at right) was decommissioned and transferred to the Military Sealift Command (MSC). Page 4. Union Testifies on Manpower, Training SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez (above) presented testimony Oct. 17 to the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. Chaired by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the Subcommittee conducted a hearing “to receive testimony on trends and innovations in mariner education and to assess how growing workforce shortages will affect the maritime industry as trade continues to increase.” Page 3. OSG Ship Order Increases to 12 Aker American Shipping ASA and SIU-contracted Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (OSG) recently announced that they have signed an agreement under which Aker Philadelphia Shipyard will construct two additional Veteran Class MT-46 Jones Act product tankers. Also, the keel-laying ceremony for the fifth tanker in the 12vessel series took place Oct. 8 in the yard’s building dock (left). Page 3. Paul Hall Center’s Apprentice Program Still Going Strong 10 Years after Revamp In 1997, the Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education instituted a major restructuring of its program for entry-level mariners (a curriculum which, more recently, attracted the trainee at left, getting pointers from an upgrading bosun). Ten years later, the results are sterling. Page 9. NMU Pension Plan Notice TWIC News Page 3 Page 20 �45140_p1_5,7,9,17_21,24x1:5140p0 10/30/2007 10:35 AM Page 2 Seafarers 401(k) Plan Announced President’s Report Educational Opportunities for Everyone My message this month is a bit off the beaten path, but it’s important to Seafarers and their dependents who definitely want to attend college or who may want to attend some day. Within the SIU, we often emphasize the educational opportunities available at our affiliated Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. as well as through the annual Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan scholarships. Additionally, Seafarers and their dependents may have chances to take advantage of scholarships offered through Union Plus, an organization founded by the AFL-CIO. In the bigger picture, through our affiliation with the Michael Sacco AFL-CIO, the SIU also is promoting educational opportunities for working families all across the country. The federation’s executive council, on which I serve, recently adopted a resolution in which we committed that the AFL-CIO and its affiliates will lead a national effort to help ensure that all Americans have full access to a diverse range of excellent, affordable higher education opportunities. This is an important commitment partly because we recognize that higher education will be increasingly vital for workers in the 21st century economy. But it’s also important because America’s higher education system—once the best and most accessible in the world—is in danger of becoming unattainable for working families. Some feel it’s also in danger of losing its quality edge. America’s higher education system was built on an important public policy consensus. Specifically, it was built on the shared belief that investing in higher education is good for everyone. Going back as far as the years immediately following World War II and up through the 1970s, policy consensus resulted in strong state support for public institutions and an impressive array of two-year, four-year and graduate programs, as well as an extensive system of federal financial aid to equalize educational opportunity. Not coincidentally, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s, the share of the American work force possessing at least a bachelor’s degree doubled. The boost in education also helped to increase wages and combat unemployment. (The export of blue-collar jobs is a separate issue and a topic for another day.) Over time, though, there’s been some erosion in the public policies that supported the American higher education system, and working families’ access to college has declined as a result. As reported by the AFL-CIO, adjusted for inflation, state and local funding per student at public colleges and universities last year reached its lowest level in 25 years. Cuts in state aid have caused tuition and fees at four-year public universities to increase 52 percent over the past 10 years, while median family income increased only 3 percent. Frankly, in some ways it reminds me of the health-care crisis. In our resolution, the council noted, “The system for awarding student financial aid now is skewed against working students and provides little support for part-time students.... More students need to take out loans to attend college, and graduates now average debts of $15,000 for attending public institutions, $19,000 for private institutions and $24,000 for attending forprofit colleges.” What must not be lost in those numbers is their effect on low-income families and prospective students. Right now in the U.S., a low-achieving, high-income student is just as likely to attend college as the highest-achieving, low-income student. I understand the realities of money in society, but we’re also supposed to be an equal-opportunity society. When it comes to education, the numbers say something else. There is another component to this story. Reductions in state spending on higher education have had a big impact on the academic workplace. Less than one-third of the instructional personnel consist of full-time tenured professors. The rest work from one term or academic year to the next. At the same time, according to the AFL-CIO, graduate students and other faculty without either tenure or collective bargaining rights are staffing more and more classes. Most of them receive extremely low salaries (less than $200 a week for teaching a 15-week course) and few if any benefits. In the maritime industry, we understand the importance of keeping up with technology and learning as much as possible to help us do the best job possible. I’m also proud to remind everyone that our affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. offers college credits for many courses and college degree programs. The opportunities are plentiful for anyone who wants to start or advance their career. Nationwide, we’ll be well-served by adopting similar strategies and a greater commitment to higher education. Even the most highly educated workers need to adopt new skills over their lifetimes. With that in mind, the AFL-CIO, through its state federations and central labor councils, is focused on restoring state support for higher education and curbing tuition costs. This is a legislative priority for organized labor—one that also will advocate labor-studies programs at public universities. Unions must and will lead the way in rebuilding America’s commitment to ensuring that all citizens have the chance to pursue a college degree. Meanwhile, I encourage Seafarers to check out the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan scholarship information on page 14 of this issue of the LOG. Volume 69, Number 11 November 2007 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 8990675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Deborah A. Hirtes; Associate Editor, Jim Guthrie; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2007 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG A new benefit is being introduced for eligible Seafarers. As reported during the October membership meetings, a 401(k) plan will be implemented effective Jan. 1, 2008. “Seafarers has teamed up with Smith Barney and Mass Mutual to provide you with a 401(k) plan which offers world-class benefits and services,” Seafarers Plans Administrator Maggie Bowen said in her monthly report. “Smith Barney provides investment and financial consulting services to the 401(k) plan as well as individual family wealth management for participating Seafarers. Mass Mutual is a leading retirement services firm which specializes in the design and administration of retirement plans.” An introduction letter and “welcome kit” is scheduled to be mailed to participants in the very near future. It will include an enrollment form and a beneficiary designation form along with detailed descriptions of all investment choices and “model portfolios.” Also, Seafarers 401(k) Plan forms will be available on line at www.massmutual.com/retire, and a Smith Barney-SIU “hotline” will be available toll-free at 800421-5127. Bowen also announced that the existing Seafarers 401(k) Plan —formerly known as the NMU 401(k) Plan—will be rolled over into the new plan as of Jan. 1, 2008. ING no longer will be the investment manager/third party administrator of that plan. “This change is an improvement over the current plan offering and will provide participants with several advantages, includ- ing an enhanced selection of mutual fund investment options,” she added. “Other advantages include state-of-the-art internet and interactive telephone systems allowing unlimited access to account information and the ability to carry out investment transactions.” There are no employer contributions associated with the new Seafarers 401(k) Plan. Voluntary contributions may be made by participants via payroll deduction through their employer. Several employers already have agreed to implement this system. Additional information about the new Seafarers 401(k) Plan will be published in an upcoming issue of the Seafarers LOG and also will be posted to www.seafarers.org. Family Health Care Yearly Premiums Now Average More than $12,000 Report: Costs Have Increased 6.1 Percent This Year Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance have increased by an average of 6.1 percent in 2007—less than the 7.7 percent increase reported last year but still higher than the increase in workers’ wages (3.7 percent) or the overall inflation rate (2.6 percent), according to the 2007 Employer Health Benefits Survey released Sept. 11 by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Health Research and Educational Trust. Key findings from the survey were also published in the journal Health Affairs. The 6.1 percent average increase this year was the slowest rate of premium growth since 1999, when premiums rose 5.3 percent. Across the nation since 2001, premiums for family coverage have increased 78 percent, while wages have gone up 19 percent and inflation has gone up 17 percent. The average premium for family coverage in 2007 is $12,106, and workers on average now pay $3,281 out of their paychecks to cover their share of the cost of a family policy. “We’re seeing some moderation in health-cost increases, but premiums for family coverage now top $12,000 annually,” Kaiser President and CEO Drew E. Altman, Ph.D. said. “Every year health insurance becomes less affordable for families and businesses. Over the past six years, the amount families pay out of pocket for their share of premiums has increased by about $1,500.” “The number of options for low wage earners is limited, and the greatest burden of all health care costs falls to this segment of the population,” said Health Research and Educational Trust President Mary A. Pittman, Dr. P.H. “Although the economy seems to be strong, between 2005 and 2006 the total number of uninsured still rose by 5 percent, including a 9 percent increase in the number of uninsured children.” The annual Kaiser/HRET survey provides a detailed picture of how employer coverage is changing over time in terms of availability, costs and coverage for the 158 million people nationally who rely on employer-sponsored health insurance. It was conducted between January and May of 2007 and included 3,078 randomly selected, non-federal public and private firms with three or more employees (1,997 of which responded to the full survey and 1,081 of which responded to a single question about offering coverage). While premiums continue to rise faster than workers’ wages, this year’s gap of 2.4 percentage points is much smaller than the 10.9 percentage point gap recorded four years ago, when premiums rose 13.9 percent and wages grew just 3 percent. However, “despite the comparatively low rate of increase in premiums and a strong labor market, the percentage of the workforce obtaining coverage from employer-sponsored plans remained unchanged since 2006,” reports the Health Affairs article by Kaiser’s Gary Claxton and co-authors. The 60 percent of firms offering health benefits to at least some of their workers is statistically unchanged from last year’s offer rate (61 percent). The offer rate remains significantly lower than it was in 2000, when 69 percent of firms offered health benefits. Nearly all (99 percent) large businesses with at least 200 workers offer health benefits to their workers this year, but fewer than half (45 percent) of the smallest firms with three to nine workers do so. Meanwhile, in spite of the extensive attention paid to consumer-driven health plans, the survey finds that these relatively new types of arrangements have made only a small inroad into the employer market. Such plans cover about 5 percent of all covered workers, which is not statistically different from the 4 percent share recorded in 2006. Overall, an estimated 3.8 million workers are enrolled in consumer-driven plans, about equally divided between high-deductible plans that qualify for a Health Saving Account (HSA) and plans with a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA). These plans feature a high-deductible plan and a tax-preferred savings option, from which employees can pay for their out-of-pocket medical expenses. Such plans are often described as consumer-driven because people pay directly for a greater share of their health care and may have an incentive to minimize its cost. They also may offer tools to help consumers choose providers based on cost and quality. This year, 10 percent of firms offered a consumer-driven plan to their workers, which is up from (but not statistically different than) the 7 percent of firms reporting this for 2006. Firms with at least 1,000 workers are more likely to offer such plans, with nearly one in five (18 percent) offering one. Looking toward 2008, few firms that don’t already offer such plans report that they are very likely to add a HRA plan (3 percent) or a HSA-qualified plan (2 percent). Premiums for these high-deductible plans are generally lower than for other types of plans, though in addition to the premiums, employers may also contribute money to the savings accounts. The survey finds that firms on average pay a total of $7,815 toward the cost of family coverage for a HSA-qualified plan (including $714 for the account) and $10,179 toward the cost of family coverage for a high-deductible plan with a HRA (including $1,800 for the account). Compared to the $8,879 average firm contributions for other types of plans, employer contributions are lower for HSA-qualified plans and higher for plans with HRAs. Businesses made no contribution at all to the savings account for roughly half of all workers enrolled in an HSA for family coverage, leaving workers to pay the generally higher out-of-pocket costs associated with their high-deductible plan. “Consumer-driven plans have established a foothold in the employer market, but they haven’t grown as much as one might think, given all the attention that they receive,” said Kaiser Vice President Gary Claxton, co-author of the study and director of the Foundation’s marketplace research. “Despite the economic expansion that added 2 million new jobs from April 2006 to April 2007, the Continued on page 7 November 2007 �45140_p1_5,7,9,17_21,24x1:5140p0 10/30/2007 10:37 AM Page 3 TWIC Enrollment Starts, But Questions Remain Beset by delays, the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program nevertheless got going last month, as Wilmington, Del. on Oct. 16 became the first port to enroll workers in the federally mandated plan. Along with the start date for enrollment in Delaware, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced the next 11 ports that will begin enrolling in November. They are (early November) Corpus Christi, Texas; (mid-month) Baton Rouge, La.; Beaumont, Texas; Honolulu; Oakland, Calif.; Tacoma, Wash.; and (late November) Chicago; Houston; Port Arthur, Texas; Providence, R.I. and Savannah, Ga. During a media conference call Oct. 15, TSA and U.S. Coast Guard officials noted that while the enrollment period for the TWIC is starting, program enforcement hasn’t begun. TWIC compliance dates will vary from port to port, the officials stated, and those dates haven’t been announced. There is a federal requirement to provide at least 90 days of advance notice before the TWIC regulations are enforced at a given port. Barring changes to the program, mariners will be required to carry a TWIC by Sept. 25, 2008 in order to have unescorted access to secure areas of vessels and maritime facilities. Eventually, they also will be required to carry a separate document known as a merchant mariner qualification credential (MMC), as the current zcard/MMD and STCW certificates are phased out. The final rulemaking on the MMC isn’t expected to be published until at least summer 2008, and initial issuance of that credential will continue over a fiveyear period. This means that until the proposed MMC regulation is final, Seafarers should continue to apply for zcards/MMDs, licenses, CORs and STCW endorsements under the current regulations in 46 CFR parts 10 and 12. Indications are that the MMC will be phased in over five years. If the MMC proposed regulation is fully implemented, mariners would be able to apply for original, renewal, duplicate and raise-in-grade MMCs entirely by mail, without having to visit a Coast Guard regional examination center. Most or all of the information currently submitted in person at one of the 17 RECs already would have been submitted at one of the 125 or so TWIC enrollment centers when an individual applied for a TWIC, removing the need (though not eliminating the option) to apply for an MMC in person. Many questions remain about the TWIC program, including details about the card readers. Those readers were one of several topics scheduled for scrutiny during a U.S. House Homeland Security Committee hearing scheduled for Oct. 31 and titled, “Homeland Security Failures: TWIC Examined.” More information about the TWIC program will be included in upcoming editions of the LOG, posted at www.seafarers.org and reported at the monthly membership meetings. Additionally, the TSA/TWIC customer service line is available at (866) 347-8942, and the TSA’s TWIC web site is located at www.tsa.gov/twic. The fee for a TWIC is $132.50 and the credential is valid for five years. Mariners with a valid z-card may pay a reduced fee of $105.25 because they have undergone a “comparable background check” as the one required for a TWIC, but it’s important to note that a new TWIC only is valid for five years from the date the background check was performed. In other words, if a mariner secured his z-card in December 2005 and then obtained a TWIC in December 2007 by paying the reduced fee, the TWIC only would be valid until December 2010. In any case, according to the TSA, payment for a TWIC must be made with credit card (Visa or MasterCard only), money order, or cashier’s check. The cost of a replacement TWIC if the original is lost, stolen or damaged is $60. Union Testifies on Manpower, Training and Trade Issues House Subcommittee Examines Maritime ‘Trends, Innovations’ SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez presented testimony Oct. 17 to the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. Chaired by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the Subcommittee conducted a hearing “to receive testimony on trends and innovations in mariner education and to assess how growing workforce shortages will affect the maritime industry as trade continues to increase.” In announcing the hearing, the Subcommittee indicated it specifically would “consider the possible impact of various factors on workforce shortage, including wage levels; lifestyle challenges associated with employment in the maritime industry; and training requirements imposed by the Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention.” In addition to the SIU’s Tellez, the other panelists testifying were Coast Guard Rear Adm. Joel Whitehead; Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton; Michael Rodriguez, executive assistant to the president of the Masters Mates and Pilots; Carl Annessa, chief operating officer/vice president for operations of Hornbeck Offshore Services for the Offshore Marine Service Association; Cathy Hammond, CEO of Inland Marine Services for American Waterway Operators; retired Navy Adm. John Craine Jr., president of the State University of New York Maritime College; William Beacom, navigation consultant for Professional Mariner; Capt. Arthur H. Sulzer, USN (Ret), board member, Maritime Academy Charter High School; Capt. Jeff Slesinger, director of safety and training, Western Towboat Company; and Berit Ericksson, former executive director, Pacific Coast Maritime Consortium. Besides submitting written testimony, witnesses (divided into three panels) offered oral statements and answered questions from Subcommittee members. Among other points, Tellez emphasized that shipboard manpower “must be addressed in the context of national security.” He cited sealift lessons learned by our nation after the Persian Gulf War, including the need for a strong Ready Reserve Force ade- SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez testifies at the Oct. 17 hearing. U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) Please be advised the SIU headquarters and all SIU hiring halls will be closed on Monday, Nov. 12 for the observance of Veterans Day, Thursday, Nov. 22 for the observance of Thanksgiving Day and Tuesday, Dec. 25 for the Christmas Day holiday (unless an emergency arises). Normal business hours will resume the following workday. November 2007 quately crewed so the ships are properly maintained and ready to mobilize. He also noted the cooperative efforts between the SIU, its contracted operators and the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education—efforts that have strongly contributed to the nation’s manpower pool of skilled, loyal, U.S. citizen seafarers. Tellez also expressed dismay at the recent announcement by the U.S. Maritime Administration concerning a reduction in crew sizes that is expected to accompany the agency’s takeover of the fast sealift ships (an issue that was reported at all SIU membership meetings in October). Excerpts from his written statement follow. Visit the “Heard at Headquarters” section of www.seafarers.org for a link to individual statements by all panelists as well as by Rep. Cummings and Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the full committee. Continued on page 7 OSG Tanker Order Grows to 12 Aker American Shipping ASA and SIU-contracted Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (OSG) recently disclosed that they have signed an agreement under which Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, a subsidiary of Aker American Shipping, will construct two additional Veteran Class MT-46 Jones Act product tankers. Under terms outlined under an arrangement announced Oct. 3, the shipyard will—after manufacturing the new platforms—transfer them to another subsidiary, American Shipping Corporation (ASC). ASC then will bareboat charter the vessels to subsidiaries of OSG for initial terms of 10 years. The agreement is subject to relevant government approvals. “We are proud to be expanding our fleet from 10 to 12 tankers, and excited for the opportunity to continue exhibiting our expertise in constructing quality merchant vessels,” said Aker American Shipping President and CEO Dave Meehan. “These modern ships are vital to the U.S. Jones Act and we are eager to deliver them to an expanding market in need of quality, double-hulled vessels.” The shipyard also recently issued a progress report on the initial 10-ship program. Assembly of the series of Veteran Class tankers is continuing on schedule, according to Aker officials. In addition to the two ships previously delivered (the Overseas Houston and the Overseas Long Beach), and the two vessels under construction in the building dock, the third tanker in the series (Hull 007) is nearing completion with testing and commissioning procedures taking place in the yard’s outfitting dock. Construction of the sixth vessel is under way with ongoing steel cutting of plates which will form part of the ship’s engine room. In a related development, Aker American Shipping ASA-owned vessels have been designated as the first to serve as U.S.-flag shuttle tankers. Pursuant to the agreement announced Oct. 5, between OSG and Petrobras America, Inc. (Petrobras), two of the 12 products tankers under construction at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard will be converted for shuttle tanker service for use with The Overseas Houston is the first tanker in the series of ships being built in Philadelphia for SIUcontracted OSG. Petrobras. OSG now has time charters in place with major oil companies or refiners for 11 of the 12 tankers. “We are the first U.S. owner and builder entering the new and exciting shuttle tanker market, where growth prospects are seen as very strong,” said Meehan of the historic announcement. “This is an important strategic milestone for Aker American Shipping and is another example of how we are reinventing and reinvigorating the U.S. Jones Act market.” Elsewhere, the keel laying ceremony for the fifth tanker in series took place Oct. 8 in the yard’s building dock. The ceremony itself was particularly noteworthy, according to shipyard officials, because it marked the first time that the engine room section was the initial module to be set in the dock. This complicated section featured sweeping curves and intricate outfitting whereas previous vessels saw the less-complex cargo sections of the keel set first in the dock. As part of the ceremony, coins were placed under the keel block recreating a long-held shipbuilding tradition whereby special coins are hidden in the keel section of a ship as a permanent symbol of good fortune and safe travels. Seafarers LOG 3 �45140_p1_5,7,9,17_21,24x1:5140p0 10/30/2007 10:38 AM Page 4 Seafarers Crew Up National Glory The National Glory approaches the docks in Busan, South Korea after leaving the shipyard in China. In addition to being stored on the deck of the National Glory, materiel also found its way into the holds during the vessel’s maiden voyage with a Seafarers crew. More jobs came to the forefront for union members recently when SIU-contracted Crowley Ship Management welcomed the National Glory to its fleet. Owned by National Shipping of America, the 575 TEU containership recently underwent upgrades and a refurbishment in Jiangyin, China. The vessel measures 489 feet in length and 72 feet in width and will work in the U.S. coastwise trade starting in the second quarter of 2008. Since its delivery from the shipyard, the vessel has loaded in Busan, South Korea for discharge in Guam. The ship is presently sailing between Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand and Jebel Ali, UAE. It is expected that the vessel will operate in the Arabian Gulf area for the next several months before returning to the U.S. Both Crowley Ship Management and the owner have been very pleased with the cooperation of the SIU crew which has been assigned to the vessel. Officials said they did a masterful job in getting the vessel underway and ready for trading during a very difficult shipyard period. Members of the National Glory’s SIU crew are among those posing for this photo while the vessel underwent upgrades in Jiangyin. Cargo is staged on the docks in Busan and then hoisted aboard ship. Crowley, Horizon Lines Honored for Environmental Excellence Two SIU-contracted companies, along with their top performing vessels, recently were recognized by the U.S. maritime industry for outstanding achievements in environmental excellence. Crowley Maritime Corporation and Horizon Lines Inc. during a Sept. 25 dinner at the Washington Marriott Hotel were cited for their outstanding environmental records by the Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA). Twenty-six vessels which are owned and operated by Jacksonville, Fla.-based Crowley subsidiaries and 13 others in the fleet of Charlotte, N.C.-headquartered Horizon were singled out for their respective accomplishments. Certificates were bestowed upon each vessel. “These awards are especially gratifying because they are all about safety,” said SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker. “It’s a tribute not only to the companies but also the individual mariners. This recognition also is a reflection of the tremendous jobs that the instructors and staff at our affiliated training school (the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md.) do in preparing students for their careers.” “Safety, which includes environmental protection, is our company’s most important core value,” said Tom Crowley Jr., chairman, president and CEO of Crowley Maritime Corp. “I am extremely proud of the men and women here at Crowley who are providing leadership in this area by not only taking responsibility for their own safety, but who are also safeguarding those around them, our customers’ cargoes and USNS Safeguard Joins SIU CIVMAR Fleet Seafarers in the union’s Government Services Division—CIVMARS—gained more shipboard jobs recently as the U.S. Navy rescue and salvage vessel Safeguard was decommissioned and transferred to the Military Sealift Command (MSC). Masters, Mates & Pilots Capt. Edward Dickerson and 26 CIVMARS on Sept. 26 boarded the vessel and assumed their new duties at the conclusion of a decommissioning ceremony which was conducted in Sasebo, Japan. More than 100 of the vessel’s active-duty Navy crew looked on as Lt. Cmdr. Doyle Hodges, Safeguard commanding officer, lowered the ship’s commissioning pennant. The vessel assumed the designator United States Naval Ship—USNS Safeguard—shortly following its decommissioning and transfer to MSC. “We’re extremely happy about the vessel being added to the MSC fleet as well as the new job opportunities which were created for Seafarers as a result of the decommissioning and transfer,” said Chet Wheeler, assistant vice president, SIU Government Services Division. “I’m hopeful that a few issues with respect to habitability can be worked out as soon as possible so that our people’s transitions into their new jobs will be as smooth as possible.” “Safeguard is a great addition to MSC’s fleet,” said Paul Devoe, assistant program manager with MSC’s Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force. “The ship will continue to provide vital support to the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet.” The Safeguard will remain in Japan and maintain the same mission and operational capabilities, MSC officials said. These missions include: salvage of stranded vessels; rescue and assistance operations; recovery of submerged objects; and manned-diving 4 Seafarers LOG The USNS Safeguard is a new addition to the SIU Government Services Division fleet. operations. The CIVMAR crew will be complemented by a four-person military detachment of Navy sailors for communications support, and up to 20 Navy divers as the mission requires. According to Navy officials, operating noncombatant ships with civilian mariners means the U.S. Navy can free uniformed sailors for critical jobs in the combatant fleet. The Safeguard is the fourth and final Navy rescue and salvage ship to be transferred to MSC and be crewed by SIU CIVMARS, joining the USNS Grapple (T-ARS 53), USNS Grasp (T-ARS 51) and USNS Salvor (T-ARS 52). MSC operates 110 noncombatant ships with civilian crews that replenish U.S. Navy ships, chart ocean bottoms, conduct undersea surveillance, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world and move military equipment and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces. the environment.” John V. Keenan, president and CEO of Horizon Lines, echoed Crowley’s assessment noting, “Environmental responsibility is a commitment our company and ships have honored since our founding. These awards allow us to know that we are delivering on our promise to be good citizens on shore and at sea—actions that make us proud of our people and our performance.” The awards recognized companies with vessels that had achieved a record of two or more years of no recordable environmental incidents including: No reportable spills; No U.S. Coast Guard citations for violations of MARPOL; No port state citations for violations of MARPOL; and No violations of state/local pollution regulations. Vessels are eligible for awards beyond the initial two-year period. Crowley companies, including Crowley Liner Services, Crowley Petroleum Services, Marine Transport Lines and Marine Transport Management far surpassed the two-year benchmark, company officials said. The company registered a combined total of 152 years of environmental excellence among its recognized vessels which included: Crowley Liner Services— MV Cape Taylor, SS Cape Intrepid, SS Curtiss, SS Cape Island and SS Wright. Crowley Petroleum Services —ATB Coastal Reliance, ATB Ocean Reliance, ATB Sea Reliance, ATB Sound Reliance, MV Guardsman, MV Navigator, MV Sea Cloud, MV Sea Prince, MV Sioux, MV SMT Chemical Trader, SS Blue Ridge and SS Coast Ridge. Marine Transport Lines— MV Cape Decision, MV Cape Diamond, MV Cape Domingo and MV Cape Edmont. Marine Transport Management—Charleston Express, St. Louis Express, Washington Express and Yorktown Express. Horizon Lines vessels boasted a combined 94 years of environmental excellence. Those honored and their number of years with no recordable environmental incidents were: Horizon Challenger–4 years; Horizon Discovery–2 years; Horizon Enterprise–17 years; Horizon Fairbanks–7 years; Horizon Kodiak –6 years; Horizon Navigator–17 years, Horizon Pacific–7 years; Horizon Producer–4 years; Horizon Reliance–6 years; Horizon Trader–9 years; USNS Bowditch –2 years; USNS Heezen–7 years and USNS John McDonnell–6 years. U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen delivered the event’s keynote address. During his remarks, he shared statistics that demonstrate how the emphasis on preserving the environment by mariners, shipping companies and government agencies has yielded positive results through the years. In addition to high-ranking officials from shipping companies, the dinner was attended by prominent figures from the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Maritime Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and other government organizations. The Chamber of Shipping of America was founded in 1917. The organization represents 30 U.S.-based companies that own, operate or charter oceangoing tankers, container ships and dry bulk vessels engaged in both the domestic and international trades and companies that maintain a commercial interest in the operation of such oceangoing vessels. November 2007 �45140_p1_5,7,9,17_21,24x1:5140p0 10/30/2007 10:40 AM Page 5 University Professor Scrutinizes Runaway-Flag Shipping National security risks resulting from the United States’ dependence on flag-of-convenience (FOC) merchant ships since the events of 9-11 continue to raise concerns in many circles. J. Peter Pham, Ph.D., director of the Nelson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Harrisonburg, Va.’s James Madison University, points out that these concerns are well-founded and further that the FOC arrangement—as well as the ships which sail the seas under its authority— pose a clear danger to America’s national security interests. Foreign-flag ships in 2002 were estimated to be transporting 98 percent of U.S. commercial imports and exports, and many of those vessels fly FOCs, also known as runaway flags. The United States also relies on U.S.owned ships registered in at least five FOC states for military supply and support in wartime under a defense doctrine known as “effective U.S. control.” Under flags of convenience, a ship owned in one country is registered at relatively modest cost in another country, usually a poor nation that depends on the registry revenues for much of its income. In exchange for ship registry, some FOC states offer secrecy that often allows hidden title to a single vessel or fleet, and they generally do not tax shipping interests. Further, FOC states commonly shield vessel owners and operators from accountability in collisions, oil spills and other incidents. FOC states either cannot or do not enforce minimal operating, environmental, safety or social standards established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO) in the United Nations. Pham, in his work, “An Inconvenient Flag: Liberia’s Ship Registry in the Age of Global Terrorism,” scrutinized Liberia’s maritime force. He found that while this West African nation essentially has no Navy or Coast Guard to patrol its 579-kilometer coastline, it still has the world’s second largest merchant navy both in terms of vessels and gross tonnage. Ranking second only to Panama, Liberia’s merchant fleet is comprised of 1,687 large ships amounting to more than 96 million deadweight tons. Included in this inventory of seagoing platforms are three barge carriers, 322 bulk carriers, 83 cargo container ships, 75 liquefied gas tankers, 397 petroleum tankers, 76 refrigerated cargo ships, four roll-on/roll-off vessels, 11 specialized tankers and 35 vehicle carriers. After examining the fashion in which Liberia was able to grow its merchant registry from virtually nothing to the world’s second largest, and what he described as the extremely lax policies and procedures under which it registers vessels under its flag, Pham said that Americans need some assurances that the vessels sailing the world’s oceans are safe, highquality platforms which meet commonsense environmental safeguards, fair labor standards and basic security requirements. “We need to know who owns them, who operates them, and who crews them, especially if they approach our shores or those of our allies,” Pham said. According to the International Transport Workers’ Federation Federation Appoints Executive VP Holt Baker Succeeds Newly Retired Chavez-Thompson Arlene Holt Baker, the daughter of a domestic worker and laborer in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sept. 21 unanimously was approved to become the AFL-CIO’s new executive vice president. Holt Baker—the first African American woman to serve in one of the labor alliance’s top three offices—replaces Linda ChavezThompson, who served the labor movement for 40 years. She announced her retirement in early September. Holt Baker brings 30 years of experience as a union and grassroots organizer and political activist to the post. As a teenager, she got her first job in programs established through President Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty” initiative, and began her union career with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). As an organizer, international representative and eventually AFSCME’s international union area director in California, Holt Baker helped public-sector workers form a union and win a voice at work. She also helped workers secure contracts with better wages as well as pay equity for women. Holt Baker has served on California’s Comparable Worth Task Force Committee and also has received numerous civic awards for her work as a labor and community advocate. She came to the AFL-CIO as executive assistant to former Executive Vice President Chavez-Thompson in 1995. Most recently, she led the AFL-CIO’s Gulf Coast Recovery effort. Chavez-Thompson returned home to San Antonio to be with her family shortly after announcing her retirement. She was elected to the office of executive vice November 2007 (ITF), FOC crews typically are recruited from developing and less-developed countries including the Philippines and Indonesia, and, in a more recent trend, from former Soviet-bloc states in Eastern Europe. Many have no training, and many more are known to have fraudulent mariner documents and training certificates. Labor, clergy and human rights organizations worldwide have charged that FOC crews are easily exploited and often abused, working long hours for little pay under substandard conditions. SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel (who also serves as first vice chair of the ITF Seafarers’ Section) during testimony earlier this decade before the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee stated that FOC vessels “have been linked to the registration of hijacked ships, phantom ships, fraudulent unreported and unregulated fishing, illegal alien smuggling, and most recently, to international terrorism.” Norwegian intelligence sources in late 2001 furnished the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with a list of 23 cargo ships linked to terrorism, or more specifically to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. The ships’ names, listed owners, likely cargoes, and flag states at Attention Linda Chavez-Thompson Arlene Holt Baker president in 1995. A second-generation American who is the daughter of cotton sharecroppers, Chavez-Thompson became the first person of color to hold one of the top three elected offices at the AFL-CIO. She had previously served on the AFL-CIO Executive Council as a leader in AFSCME. Traveling and speaking to union and community groups constantly, she has been the face of America’s new union movement to millions. Chavez-Thompson during her career worked to strengthen state and local labor movements and has served as a strong voice on behalf of civil, human and women’s rights. She also has been a national leader on the issue of immigration and immigrant workers’ rights. “In everything she’s done over a lifetime of service, Linda has broken new pathways for the labor movement,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “Countless working women and men, not only in the United States but throughout the Western Hemisphere, have a better life because of all she’s contributed. She’s inspired tens of thousands of people to contribute through their own action, and wherever she’s gone, she’s earned tremendous affection.” Under the AFL-CIO constitution, Chavez-Thompson, a native of Lubbock, Texas, will become the AFL-CIO’s first executive vice president emerita. She will continue to chair the AFL-CIO Immigration Committee and serve as head of the InterAmerican Regional Organization of Workers (ORIT), the International Trade Union Confederation’s (ITUC) regional organization for the Americas. She also will serve as an advisor to state federations and labor councils. In a letter to Sweeney formally communicating her retirement, Chavez-Thompson said she wrestled with her decision. “I am blessed to have had 12 years worth of wonderful experiences, meeting thousands of union members and workers who have given me hope that our labor movement continues to be a major factor in their lives,” she wrote. “You have given me the opportunity of a lifetime, which was to go where I never dreamed I could go, and do more than I ever dreamed I could do.” the time of the House hearing remained classified. In London, however, ITF General Secretary David Cockroft declared that the possibilities were strong that the ships cited were registered under FOCs. “We warned two months ago that ships could be used to transport explosives, terrorists or worse,” Cockroft said. “I am sure that most, if not all, of these vessels will be flying flags of convenience.” Cockcroft continued, “Corruption and lack of accountability are endemic in the FOC system, which is built on two pillars: no questions asked of shipowners and no questions answered to anyone else. When a ship is registered with one of these flags, a curtain of secrecy descends—as valuable if you’re a money launderer, someone who wants to sink a ship for insurance, or work its crew half to death before abandoning them unpaid in a foreign port. As long as governments and the United Nations turn a blind eye to the way FOCs allow criminals to operate anonymously, ships will be used to transport everything from drugs and illegal immigrants to the supplies used by the al-Qaeda men who blew up the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.” Seafarers: Seafarers LOG 5 �45140_p6,8,10_16,22_24:September-07 10/25/2007 11:26 AM Page 6 Mobile Port Agent Ed Kelly Retires The comments definitely were offered in jest, and immediately were followed by laughter and then obviously sincere words of praise. But, it’s undoubtedly a measure of the union’s affection for newly retired SIU Mobile, Ala. Port Agent Ed Kelly that the first few quotes solicited for this article brought forth descriptions from different people including “big pain in the rear,” “grouchy so-and-so,” and “grumpy old [person].” Far more revealing and heartfelt was this sentiment from SIU Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey: “I hope we still see him around in the port of Mobile. He did a great job for us, and it was a pleasure working with him. Ed comes from a long line of charter SIU members and has a history Kelly said that working with the late SIU Assistant VP Steve Judd (left) was one highlight of his career, and asked that this particular photo—taken at the SIUNA convention in Piney Point, Md. in 2002—be published with his retirement article. with the union dating to its inception. He’s a great guy.” Kelly, 65, recently called it quits after an SIU career dating to 1981. While he indeed hails from a seafaring family, Kelly traveled an atypical route to the SIU. He had been a schoolteacher and was working as head coach of the track and cross country teams at the University of South Alabama when he decided to take advantage of an opening with the union. “At first, I thought, what the heck did I get myself into?” Kelly recalled with a chuckle. “But I’ve made friends for life in the SIU. I loved servicing, meeting the members and ‘preaching’ about the SIU. The union became my home and my family.” A native of the small town of Theodore, Ala., he worked in other halls from time to time, including facilities in Houston, New Orleans, Jacksonville and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., but spent most of his career in Mobile. Kelly served as port agent there beginning in 1999. “One thing that struck me is that no matter what hall you went to, the members all felt the same way about the SIU, and it was very positive,” he noted. “What that meant to me was the leadership and the rank-and-file were all on the same page.” Kelly’s father, Ed Kelly Sr., joined the union right after World War II and eventually sailed as a recertified steward. Kelly also Bosun’s Work Is No High-Wire Act had five uncles who were Seafarers, including charter member Jack Kelly, who sailed in both the deep sea and inland divisions. The newly retired Kelly listed among his fondest memories the years he worked in Houston in the late 1990s; assisting with a postSeptember 11 donation to the International Association of Fire Fighters from the Greater Mobile Port Maritime Council, where he served as secretary-treasurer; participating in grassroots activities promoting pro-maritime legislation; and working with the late Steve Judd, SIU assistant vice president based in New Orleans, who died unexpectedly in early 2006. SIU Assistant Vice President Gulf Coast Jim McGee described Kelly as “good to work with. He would follow up and take care of business. I wish him nothing but the best in retirement.” Ft. Lauderdale Port Agent Kenny Moore, citing Kelly’s well-known passion for golf, said, “I’m sure he’s on a course right now. He’s a very sharp guy who never shied away from hard Recently retired Mobile Port Agent Ed Kelly (left) is pictured with SIU boatmen earlier this year during contract ratification at Crescent Towing. work. He has a great sense of humor and I wish him all the luck in the world.” Kelly, reached (at home) in mid-October, said he is “happy to be retired, but I miss my peers.” At the end of a long conversation filled with laughs, he turned serious when offering this thought for experienced Seafarers: “It’s the job of older members to teach younger members about the union—to help them learn to care about it. Somebody taught you, so what’s wrong with you teaching them? That’s something that’ll keep the union strong for everyone.” Safety Team Reviews Regulations, Hones Skills SIU safety directors from 10 ports last month participated in their ninth annual meeting at the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, located in Piney Point, Md. Their agenda from Oct. 9-12 included hands-on training; examining critical regulations governing vessel and port safety; ship inspection procedures; methods for discovering hidden hazards; training and education at the center; manpower and recruiting; contracts and communications skills, and more. Pictured in the group photo (from left) are safety directors and SIU officials Jimmy White (from the SIU’s Houston hall), Asst. VP Ambrose Cucinotta, Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel, Karl Leiter (Jacksonville), Kevin Marchand (Ft. Lauderdale), President Michael Sacco, Sam Spain (Norfolk), Monte Burgett (Algonac), Ryan Palmer (Tacoma), Abdul Al Omari (Wilmington), James Brown (New Orleans), Kathy Chester (Oakland) and Frank Iverson (Honolulu). State-of-the-art simulators are important parts of many Paul Hall Center classes. Checking out the bridge and engine simulators, respectively, are Karl Leiter (left photo) and James Brown. Great Lakes Contracts Ratified For Bosun Zeki Karaahmet, pictured (literally) above, slushing the topping wires used on cargo cranes aboard the SIUcrewed Washington Express makes for an eye-catching experience, but it’s all in a day’s work. The bosun recently emailed these images taken during a voyage back in May. The vessel, operated by Marine Personnel and Provisioning, is part of the U.S. Maritime Security Program fleet. The ship is 798 feet long with a beam of 105 feet, 8 inches. Built in 2002, the vessel is equipped with four cargo cranes and can sail at greater than 21 knots. 6 Seafarers LOG Several contracts recently were ratified in the union’s Great Lakes Division. Separate but very similar 12-year pacts are now in place at Upper Lakes Towing, with one agreement covering unlicensed crew members and the other covering licensed mariners. The Upper Lakes Towing contracts call for wage increases each year through March 2013 and a wage reopener for the years 2013-2019. They also boost company contributions to the Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan and increase company vacation benefits. At VanEnkevort Tug and Barge, a comparable 12-year contract is now in place. It, too, stipulates annual wage increases from 2007 to 2013, followed by a wage reopener for the agreement’s remaining years. Further, the new pact provides for an increase of the company contribution to the Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan along with increased company vacation benefits. Finally, crew members on Hanson Material Services harbor boats based in Morris, Ill. are covered by a new five-year agreement. The pact took effect March 1, 2007 and runs through February 2012. This agreement maintains current health and pension benefit levels and provides for annual wage increases. November 2007 �45140_p1_5,7,9,17_21,24x1:5140p0 10/30/2007 10:41 AM Page 7 Union Testifies on the Hill Continued from page 3 Excerpts from SIU Statement I would like to thank the Committee for the opportunity to appear before you today and to express our thanks for the continued support of the Congress for the Maritime Security Program (MSP), the Jones Act and Cargo Preference that play a vital role in ensuring that the United Statesflag fleet is generally not experiencing the kind of manpower shortages at issue here today, and can continue to supply the trained manpower essential to maintaining U.S. strategic sealift capabilities. At the same time, I would be remiss in not pointing out that a recent government decision was made in order to save a relatively small amount of money by reducing crews in the vital U.S. Ready Reserve Force. This potentially sets a dangerous precedent and could create significant problems down the line by eroding the pool of well-trained, loyal, U.S.-citizen crews whom our military depend upon during times of conflict…. United States-flag vessels operating in the deep sea ocean trades are not experiencing the manpower shortages that are the subject of today’s hearing. The reasons for this include the MSP program enacted by Congress in 1996 and re-authorized in 2003; the preferences granted to United States-flag vessels for the carriage of military and commercial U.S. Government owned or impelled cargoes by Cargo Preference Laws enacted over the years; ongoing support for the Jones Act; maintenance of the RRF; and the general support of the Congress for emphasizing the use of commercial vessels for military cargoes expressed by the National Security Sealift Policy adopted by Presidential Directive in 1989. In combination, these programs and policies have enabled the United States to maintain a commercially viable and militarily useful fleet of privately owned vessels, manned by U.S. citizen crews, in active service in the international and domestic trades. In 2004, pursuant to Congressional direction in the Maritime Security Act of 2003 to study the Maritime Security and Cargo Preference programs, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that: “The cargo preference and Maritime Security Programs both provide incentives to retain privately owned U.S.-flag ships and their U.S. citizen crews for commercial and national defense purposes.” As stated by the Department of Defense in its comments on that report, “The Department of Defense supports a strong and viable United States Merchant Marine which provides DOD with needed U.S.-flag vessels and mariners during war. The Cargo Preference and Maritime Security Programs are vital to the U.S. Merchant Marine and DOD.” The direct linkage between these programs and U.S. strategic sealift capabilities is clear. Today 60 militarily useful vessels are enrolled in the Maritime Security Program, while, according to the GAO, on average almost 200 United States-flag vessels participate in the carriage of military and commercial preference cargoes. The contributions made by these vessels to defense sealift are two-fold. First, the vessels themselves are available for use by the military for defense cargoes. This is particularly true for the 60 vessels in the Maritime Security Fleet. As important, however, is the contribution made to creating and sustaining a pool of skilled and experienced seafarers that the Departments of Defense and Transportation can draw upon to provide augmentation crews for strategic sealift vessels kept in reduced operating or reserve status when not required for contingency operations. In general, to provide for crew rotations, training ashore, vacations and sick leave, for every billet on board those vessels, there are approximately 1.5 trained and experienced U.S. citizen seafarers. It is those seafarers who form a substantial part of the manpower pool that can be called upon to crew vessels being activated from those reserve or reduced operating status fleets. The importance of these ships Health Care Premiums Rise Continued from page 2 employer-based system can do no better than tread water,” said coauthor Jon Gabel, senior fellow at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. “It makes one ask, ‘What will happen during the next economic downturn?’” Worker Contributions, Cost-Sharing Covered workers on average pay 16 percent of the overall premiums for single coverage and 28 percent for family coverage— shares that have remained relatively stable in recent years. However, workers in small firms (three to 199 workers) pay significantly more on average toward the cost of family coverage ($4,236 annually) compared to larger firms ($2,831 annually). November 2007 For single coverage, the opposite is true, with workers at small firms annually contributing less on average than workers at large firms ($561 vs. $759). Other findings include many employers indicating that they expect to make significant changes to their health plans and benefits in 2008. Overall, 21 percent of firms say they are “very likely” to raise workers’ premium contributions next year. Some firms also say they are “very likely” to increase office visit costsharing (13 percent), increase deductibles (12 percent) and increase prescription drug costsharing (11 percent). Very few firms say they are “very likely” to restrict eligibility for coverage or drop health coverage altogether. The full survey may be accessed online at http:// www.kff.org/insurance/7672/ and crews to military sealift is evidenced by their continued role in supporting Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. To augment active privately owned, militarily useful vessels in commercial service and U.S. Government-owned active sealift forces, the United States maintains a fleet of approximately 45 sealift vessels in reserve or reduced operating status. During the period between October 2001 and February 2006, vessels activated from those reserve fleets transported 28.2 percent (U.S.flag commercial vessels carried most of the remaining 71.8 percent), or almost a third, of all military equipment and supplies delivered to U.S. forces in those contingency operations. One of the sealift lessons learned through Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990-91 was that because of the age of many of these vessels, and the lack of any crew on board during reserve status, the vessels experienced a high operating failure rate during the initial surge to this earlier war. Crew shortages also became an issue because the only manpower pool that was available to man the governmentowned vessels had to come from the U.S.-flag commercial fleet. After extensive study and analysis, in the mid-1990s the Department of Defense and the U.S. Maritime Administration changed the way that the government vessels would be maintained to solve the crewing issues encountered during the first Gulf War. In short, the Maritime Administration established a Panelists from different components of the industry participated in the subcommittee hearing. Reserve Operating Status Maintenance Program that placed a cadre of U.S. crews on board groups of reserve vessels in order to maintain the ships in a higher state of readiness. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, these ships were again called upon for initial surge transport, but unlike in Operation Desert Shield, the ships performed flawlessly, and most importantly, because of the small cadre of crew already on board the ships for maintenance there was a nucleus crew ready to sail the ships. By making the change in the mid-1990s, it increased the manpower pool by a small amount, but that was sufficient to help solve the crewing issues experienced during Desert Storm. Overall, it must be emphasized that in addition to the RRF crews, without the trained and experienced mariners drawn from the manpower pool made possible by the United States-flag commercial fleet supported by the Maritime Security Program, Cargo Preference programs and the Jones Act, it would have been impossible to crew up those vessels for Operation Iraqi Freedom. This being said, I am very concerned with plans by the government, as a cost-saving device, to decrease the readiness of certain vessels and reduce or eliminate the crews originally put on board through the changes made to the RRF program after Operation Desert Storm. While we are experiencing no significant crew shortages at this time, with the downgrading of the Reserve vessels, any future use of those vessels for major sealift will clearly lead to crew shortages in both the Jones Act and international trades. The gradual reduction in entry-level shipboard positions in all three departments makes this situation even worse.... SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR NMU VACATION PLAN This is a summary of the annual report of the NMU VACATION PLAN, EIN 13-6700828, Plan No. 501, for period Jan. 1, 2006 through Dec. 31, 2006. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $0 as of Dec. 31, 2006, compared to $1,077,591 as of Jan. 1, 2006. During the plan year, the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $1,077,591. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation and depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets acquired during the year. During the plan year, the plan had a total income of $5,091,029 including employer contributions of $4,959,294 and earnings from investments of $131,735. Plan expenses were $4,895,543. These expenses included $961,890 in administrative expenses and $3,933,653 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. As of Dec. 31, 2006, the NMU Vacation Plan merged into the Seafarers Vacation Plan and transferred the remaining net assets. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. an accountant’s report; and 2. financial information and information on payments to service providers. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write to: Board of Trustees of the NMU Vacation Plan, c/o Seafarers Benefit Funds, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746; telephone (301) 899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $1.70 for the full annual report, or 10 cents per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan (Board of Trustees of the NMU Vacation Plan, c/o Seafarers Benefit Funds, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746) and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: Public Disclosure Room, Room N1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20210. Seafarers LOG 7 �45140_p6,8,10_16,22_24x1:5140p0 10/30/2007 10:43 AM Page 8 Aboard the SS Haverford Victory: Winter of ’45 in the North Atlantic Editor’s note: This article was written by Paul Hogan, who joined the NMU in the fall of 1945 and sailed for about three years. He then went to Penn State before getting drafted into the Korean War. The GI bill that was promised to him was never granted, so he did his duty all over again in the Army. After his military service, Hogan became a contractor, designing and building playgrounds all over the world, from Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific to Leningrad in the former Soviet Union and all points in between. He has written three books on the subject and is still active in the field of playground safety. (You can find his web site at Triax2000.com.) I t was a dark and stormy night, one of the darkest and stormiest nights I have ever experienced, even to this day, nearly 62 years later. To make matters worse, we were in the North Atlantic aboard a rocking and rolling Victory-type troop transport. Our mass-produced vessel of 8,000 tons bobbed in the North Atlantic like a cork in rapids. Aboard were 2,000 German POWs who were being transported back to Europe, not to immediate freedom as they had hoped, but to six more months of indentured service clearing land mines in France. The French attitude was, “You put them down, you pick them up.” Also with us were 35 non-commissioned Army MPs and two or three of their officers. Their job was to maintain order among the POWs and to prevent anyone from escaping. How or why anyone would want to try and escape from a troop ship in the middle of the North Atlantic in the midst of a winter storm, I couldn’t fathom. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. As an 18-year-old seaman, I had already been on a troop ship to Southampton where I had about three hours of shore leave to go to a pub for my first English beer while the ship loaded 2,000 American soldiers to bring them home. That first overseas experience had me hooked for life. The next trip was more eventful. By throwing in my union card at the hiring hall, I bid on a trip to Le Havre, France. I knew it was a troop ship but had no idea we would Paul Hogan (right), as a young assistant officer’s pantryman, shakes hands with his boss—and friend—Sandy. be taking 2,000 German POWs to France and then bringing an equal number of GIs home on the same ship. My job was the lowest ranking on the ship: assistant officer’s pantryman. Chief pantryman Sandy was black, 19 years old and, with two years before the mast, had far more experience than I. He became my good friend, regaling me with many funny stories about coping with his position aboard ship. As on every ship, and I suppose in every office in the world, there is one person whose goal in life seems to be making it difficult for someone else. Our nemesis was a young, officious army lieutenant whose name I conveniently forgot a long time ago. I’ll call him Lt. X. He was second in charge of the MP guards who maintained order among the 2,000 POWs. That was really a joke because the POWs maintained their own order. They knew that anything other than order would cause them trouble, of which they’d already had enough. The majority of the POWS had been in 8 Seafarers LOG for a UFO or for whatever was hovering the Afrika Korps. When Rommel was over us with a flashing red light. Finally defeated, the United States was stuck the searchlights focused onto the kite with several hundred thousand German that was trailing us. The OD (officer of prisoners. As it was too expensive to the deck) was not amused, but 2,000 take care of them in Africa, they were POWs, the MPs and our own crew shipped here and relocated in dozens of thought it was great sport. The next day POW camps around the country. Now we had orders: “No more kite flying.” that the war was over, it was time for I forgot to tell you about our captain, them to go home (with that slight detour the strangest one I ever served under. through the mine fields of France). He was reclusive to the extreme and But I digress—an easy thing to do spent most of the time in his cabin, when trying to recall events of 62 years rarely going to the bridge and even ago. more rarely actually taking command of Every morning, Lt. X would appear POWs make a kite to pass the time on the Haverford his ship. One of Sandy’s jobs was to in full dress uniform for his inspection take the captain his breakfast, lunch and tour of our pantry. No one ever wore full Victory. dinner where he ate alone in his cabin. dress on an old troop ship save our Even on Thanksgiving, he ate alone. nemesis. Everyone from the almostly the GIs who had to suffer under Lt. X. If Both the officers and crew of our ship were never-seen captain to the engine room medals had been given for this sort of glad he stayed in his cabin rather on the wipers wore old work clothes. They were exploit, surely Sandy would have earned bridge where he was supposed to be. I doubt clean but old. I used to clean my pants by one. most of the crew ever saw him once, even tying a rope around them and throwing them By comparison, my second trip to Le when docking. off the fantail for about 10 minutes. They Havre was mostly uneventful. We picked up One morning, Sandy came back from got a good washing, and then I’d rinse the several train-loads of German POWs in Port delivering breakfast to the captain’s cabin salt water out of them with fresh water. Elizabeth, N.J. where our ship was docked. laughing. He told me that after having set Back to Lt. X As we watched them get off the special down his tray and on the point of leaving, He had the habit of reaching up and runprison trains and march up the gangplank, I our captain shouted out, “SANDY!” “Yes ning his fingers along the shelf rims looking wondered what lay ahead on this voyage. sir,” Sandy replied. ”You didn’t say good for dirt or grease. He never found any as We had been in port just a few days morning to Bozo” (the captain’s dog). Sandy ran a clean and tight pantry. After a cleaning out the ship and reprovisioning it Replied Sandy, “Oh sir, I said good morning week of this insult, Sandy took me aside and for taking 2,000 German troops east and to him when he was out for his walk earlier whispered, “Paul, I’m going to fix it so he another 2,000 American troops west. I don’t will never come in here and bother us suppose you can imagine how much the ship this morning.” The captain seemed satisfied with that excuse and dismissed Sandy. again.” Bear in mind, our pantry was out of smelled after a thousand or so German and As with most troop ships we had a pretty his domain and was under the supervision of American soldiers had been seasick. There good PA system—certainly superior to what our own chief steward who was very happy were precious few supplies available in you find on today’s 747s. The system was with the way we did our job. Europe for the homeward trip so we had to allegedly under the management of the Sandy found a bottle of molasses and carry provisions for both ways. American MPs, but as they were too busy poured it on the shelf where it was hidden I’d spent a few evenings with Sandy (shooting craps or playing poker), the job by the lip. Lt. X soon came in on his morntouring his favorite hangouts in Harlem, was left to the Germans who were glad for ing rounds to harass us. Unfortunately, this which strengthened our friendship. He was the opportunity. As it was so near Christmas time he had on white gloves. He looked in both my boss and my friend. After all, he and everyone was feeling nostalgic, the the drawers, opened the refrigerator and, as was 19 and I was only 18. Germans kept playing Lily Marlene—perexpected, ran his hand along the shelf where I forgot to tell you that on the first trip, haps every fourth record was sung by his new white gloves picked up a half-pound some of the POWs gave classes in German Marlene Dietrich. She sang the song that of gooey molasses. He jumped back in to wile away the time. I attended almost begins with: “Underneath the Lamppost,” in astonishment, and before he could say a every one and soon learned to count and both German and English. After a few days word, Sandy said, “Oh thank you make basic talk about the weather, jobs I of this, one of the American MP sergeants Lieutenant, I wondered what happened to had, and things like that. My rudimentary burst into the room and told the German DJ that bottle. It must have tipped over on a German came in handy when I greeted the that if he played Lily Marlene one more heavy roll. Here, let me help clean you up.” new load of POWs to our humble ship. I time, he’d throw the record and the DJ overLt. X never came back to our pantry for even learned to sing two complete verses of board. the rest of my two voyages on the Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht (Silent Night, We didn’t hear Marlene for a day or so. Haverford Victory. Holy Night). Then she slowly crept back onto the list Back to my opening line. It was a dark One concert that will stay with me for as where she sang her plaintive song perhaps and stormy night. It was Thanksgiving 1945, long as I live was when the entire shipload and as pantrymen, we had the job of serving of 2,000 German POWs sang Silent Night in every 20 records. We all liked that song but not quite so much as the lonesome POWS. I up a memorable meal for both the ship’s German—and in unison—on a tossing made a few good friends among the POWs officers and our guest army officers. troopship. Though the ship was divided into and for several years corresponded with Still worked up about Lt. X, Sandy had compartments, the song was picked up from Walter Borkofski. He sent me a beautiful yet one more trick up his sleeve. About 10 one compartment of 400 or 500 soldiers to charcoal sketch of a photo I had taken of me minutes before the Thanksgiving dinner the next until the entire ship sang as one in merchant marine training school. I sent gong sounded, he went into the officer’s beautiful chorus. It’s too bad we were him food parcels, but over the decades we dining salon and unscrewed three of the four unable to record that experience. lost touch. “dogs” on a porthole. A dog is a screw type It was cold and bitter when we left Port Last year, while in Tampa, I went aboard device that secures the porthole to the ship’s Newark. Christmas was just three weeks side. The fourth and last dog was held in away. As we entered the Gulf Stream, every- the American Victory. It is now a museum and was an exact duplicate of the Haverford place by just a few threads. thing warmed up for a day, and then we hit Victory. I recalled every nook and cranny of This unsecured porthole just happened to the bitter cold and unforgiving North the Haverford Victory as I led my companbe over the lieutenant’s favorite place in the Atlantic. ion on a tour. I was amazed how I rememsalon. A few days further out, however, the They say if a Victory ship rolls 50 weather turned pleasant again and the POWs bered the use of every room and piece of degrees, it just keeps on going and you are were allowed on deck. The holds where they machinery. I visited my old pantry and the officer’s dining salon. I went forward to the dead. We were in the low forties on our rolls (and the Americans as well) slept had bunks bow where I used to stand under a combing that Thanksgiving. six tiers high, so any excuse to get outside as the ship rose and dived in the heavy seas. The music over the PA system was was welcome. I could have found my bunk room blindfoldappropriate for the season. Everyone was in One warm, sunny day, a few of the ed. I touched the bunk in which I once slept. a holiday mood as they took their places and POWs decided to make a kite. They got I was carried back to that dark and stormy I began serving them from the opening to cloth and string and sticks from I don’t night 62 years ago. the pantry. After serving everyone their dinknow where and made a traditional kite ner, a few bottles of wine appeared out of about 3 feet across. They put a long tail on it nowhere. I went back to the pantry. Sandy and flew it off the stern of the ship. All the nudged me and whispered; “Now you just POWs cheered when the kite took off and watch.” While not appearing nosy, I kept my followed us across the ocean. eye on Lt. X. The ship was going through a Before dinner call, one of the POWs had particularly rough sea with each roll steeper the bright idea of tying a red flashing light than the last. to the tail. Such lights were attached to all On one never-to-be-forgotten roll, the the life belts so that if you were floundering porthole over Lt. X burst open, pouring tons in the freezing water you could be spotted of 32-degree seawater down on his head, by a rescue craft. Never mind that you’d washing him under the table and out the freeze to death after just 15 minutes in that door into the alleyway. Officers jumped up watery grave. to resecure the porthole while Sandy and I Though the European war had been over ran in with mops and buckets and profuse for six months, the North Atlantic still had apologies to begin the clean-up task. Was it thousands of loose drifting mines. We were worth it? You bet. Later, a few of the ship’s still on combat pay, and our ship was on officers went up to Sandy and said, “Good what might be termed today as a Yellow work, Sandy. That guy needed to be flushed Alert Condition. out of the salon.” The exploit traveled About 10:00 p.m., all hell broke loose POW Walter Borkofski sent Hogan this throughout the ship, making Sandy the hero with sirens and klaxon horns blaring. sketch from the small photo (inset) he had among our crew, the Germans and especialSpotlights were turned on, searching the sky sent to the German in 1946. November 2007 �45140_p1_5,7,9,17_21,24:September-07 10/26/2007 12:26 PM Page 9 Paul Hall Center’s Milestone Year Also Includes 10 th Anniversary of Revamped Trainee Program While the 40th anniversary of the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education duly was celebrated earlier this year, another milestone of sorts involving the school took place near the start of 2007. The month of March marked 10 years since the school announced a major change to its trainee program—a staple of the center’s Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship since its founding. Specifically, in 1997 the program shifted from 12 weeks to a curriculum lasting about 2.5 times as long as the old class. A major change in scenery accompanied the expansion. Whereas the old program exclusively took place at the school in Piney Point, Md., the new one added a 90-day shipboard component in which students went to sea and rotated through each department. The redesigned program retained the initial 12-week phase in Piney Point, which includes vessel familiarization, firefighting, first aid and CPR, water survival, vessel operations and maintenance, sanitation and other topics, with emphasis on hands-on training. Finally, the updated curriculum added a third phase back at the southern Maryland campus in which students undergo department-specific training along with additional classes that help provide more options when it’s time to ship out. Like a majority of Paul Hall Center courses, the “phase III” classes include plenty of practical training. Registered with the U.S. Department of Labor, the apprentice program has graduated approximately 22,000 people. U.S.-flag vessel operators have praised the redesigned training, pointing out that the more rigorous curriculum has decreased turnover while boosting safety. Alaska Tanker Company Labor Relations Director Bill Cole sees many benefits in the current format. “This unlicensed apprentice program has been a home run for the school and the employers,” stated Cole, who also serves as a Paul Hall Center trustee. “It’s been that way because what we’ve done is create a career path, starting from an entry-level position. That system provides employers with highly trained and competent people, which has been proven time and time again. Not only are new people entering the industry through the UA program, they’re coming fully qualified with state-of-the-art training and upgraded skill sets.” The program’s changes were driven by regulations as well as by practicality. Part of the impetus came from the amended STCW convention—an international maritime treaty governing the methods used to train and certify merchant mariners. Among that pact’s myriad requirements are practical demonstrations of shipboard skills for certification. But STCW wasn’t the only factor. “The old system was one in which many people taught the newcomers on board the ship how to do a job,” noted Paul Hall Center Director of Training J.C. Wiegman. “A trainee could come to the school for a relatively short period of time and then go right to work. You had larger crews that could take people under their wing on the ships. “The updated apprentice program was a product of higher technology, smaller crews on ships and the apprentice having to come aboard the vessel fully trained and ready to go. Because of those changes, it’s probably now the best program in the country for unlicensed seamen.” A U.S. Navy veteran, Wiegman compared his own experience sailing aboard destroyers to those of merchant mariners aboard civilian-crewed ships. In both cases, technology and automation slowly drove down crew sizes. The apprentice program has tried to compensate for such changes through more thorough training, which in turn has improved retention rates in the These photos depict various components of the unlicensed apprentice program, including shipboard training. U.S.-flag fleet. In particular, students, instructors and company officials alike have pointed to “phase II” (shipboard training) as a boon. Generally, the sentiment is that when a student finishes that stage of training, he or she has a clear idea of whether or not to fully enter the industry. Seafarers-contracted companies participating in phase II include 3PSC, Alaska Tanker Company, Allied Towing, AMSEA, American Steamship, Crowley, E-Ships, Hannah Marine, Horizon Lines, Interocean American Shipping, Keystone, Liberty Maritime, Maersk, NCL America, Ocean Ships, Overseas Shipholding Group, Pacific Gulf Marine and Sealift, Inc. For more information about the apprentice program, visit the Paul Hall Center section of the SIU web site at www.seafarers.org or call toll-free at 1-877-235-3275. With Allied Boatmen in Virginia As reported in last month’s LOG, SIU boatmen working aboard inland vessels operated by Norfolk, Va.-based Allied Transportation Co. have approved a new three-year contract which took effect Sept. 1. Among other elements, the contract maintains Core-Plus benefits levels and calls for annual wage increases. A few of the 120 union members who sail aboard Allied’s eight vessels are pictured below. Serving on the tallying committee were (from left) 1st Mate Mike Woolard, AB/Cook Randy Perrine and Captain Neil Johnson. AB/Tankerman Wayne Henry Sea Hawk November 2007 Cargo Mate Ryan Emmons Sea Raven AB/Tankerman Andy Page Sea Raven Seafarers LOG 9 �45140_p6,8,10_16,22_24:September-07 10/25/2007 11:38 AM Page 10 At Sea and Ashore With the SIU Working aboard the Great Land in support of U.S. troops in Kuwait are (left) QMED Saleh Shammam, performing some welding on the ramp, and (below) AB Vasilijs Semesjuks. Members of the SIU attended a rally July 31—and held Maritime Port Council of Delaware Valley signs—to show support for Teamsters Local #929 in their drive to organize Preferred Freezer in Philadelphia. Chief Storekeeper Renee Clayton and Bosun Troy “Speedy” Mack await incoming stores on the USNS Gordon in Norfolk, Va. Showing off the latest issue of the Seafarers LOG to come aboard the newly re-flagged Maersk Montana in New York is AB Rudy Syarifudin. Stu Miller (left), captain aboard the USNS Gordon, and Norfolk Port Agent Georg Kenny swap sea stories about their favorite port of call: Valparaíso, Chile. Four Seafarers who were sworn in as full book members during the September membership meeting in Norfolk pose with VP Government Services Kermett Mangram (left) and SIU Safety Director Sam Spain (third from right). The new members are (from the left) Wiper Ruden Perez, QMED Michael Evans, Chief Cook Derrick Moore and SA Teresa Williams. SA James Sears participates in helo training aboard the PFC William B. Baugh. 10 Seafarers LOG Crew members aboard the Maersk Ohio pose for a quick photo during a meal aboard the newly re-flagged vessel, which made a stop in New York in early August. SIU Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey and ITF Inspector Shwe Aung are among those being sworn in as vice presidents of the Texas AFL-CIO during their Aug. 4 convention in Corpus Christi. At right is the Houston SIU delegation to the convention (from the left) Aung, Assistant VP Jim McGee, Corgey and Patrolman Michael Russo. November 2007 �45140_p6,8,10_16,22_24:5140p0 10/25/2007 11:38 AM Page 11 NEW WIRELESS DISCOUNTS from UNION PLUS and AT&T! Savings and Solidarity Enjoy special discounts on wireless devices and save 10% on your monthly service charges through AT&T.* N ow SIU members can save 10% on any new or renewed service plan with AT&T. While you save, you’ll also be supporting the only wireless company that is “Proud to Be Union!” Choose AT&T for value and much more! •Fewest dropped calls of any wireless carrier. •Unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling to over 62 million AT&T customers. •Roll over your unused Anytime Minutes for up to 12 months on select plans. Save and support union workers. Along with saving money, you’ll also be supporting union workers and their families. AT&T respects the collective bargaining process. It is the only wireless company that is completely unionized. Some 40,000 AT&T Mobility employees are represented by the Communications Workers of America. SAVE % An ideal plan for every family! •Individual Plans Never pay domestic long distance or roaming charges! •Family Plans Share minutes between two lines for one low price. •Prepaid Plans Take advantage of local rates in a new, larger coverage area. •Data Plans Access your e-mail, corporate intranet and the internet. 3 Easy Steps will start your savings! 1. TAKE this ad to your local AT&T store. To find the location nearest you, visit att.com/find-a-store.** 2. SHOW union identification, such as your SIU Union Plus credit card, union membership book or paycheck or receipt showing union dues deduction. (Reference FAN #00113662) 3. SIGN UP for or renew a two-year service agreement. 10 *The equipment and service discounts described in this ad are NOT available with the iPhone and associated wireless service. **Union discount available ONLY at AT&T STORES, not through phone or any authorized AT&T dealer or kiosk. For more information about other benefits available to SIU members, visit www.UnionPlus.org/ATT Summer Fun Ad 05/07 SIUSIU AT&T 09/07 November 2007 Seafarers LOG 11 �45140_p6,8,10_16,22_24:5140p0 10/25/2007 2:14 PM Page 12 In and Around the Port of Wilmington Retirement Party for John Ivankovich Lots of fellow Seafarers came out to the union hall to help give a proper send-off to John Ivankovich, who retired after more than 20 years working in the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbor as a cook utility and AB/deckhand at Crowley Marine Services. Included among those who came to wish him all the best were Wilmington Port Agent John Cox, Captains John Zarroli, Homer Roberson, Hank Scott, Bruno Kalmeta, Mike Guillot, Greg Jarvis and Neal Doucet, Utility Engineers Craig Perry, John Tipich and Arsen Perhat and Deckhands Frank Gill, Mike Privette and Mike Restivo. W Om ha While Patty Young cuts the retirement cake, other guests sit around the table reminiscing. From the left are Mates Greg Jarvis and Benny Guillot, Capt. Mike Schmidt and John Ivankovich. Mate Benny Guillot (left) and Utility Engineer John Tipich helped Ivankovich celebrate his maritime career. Wishing his friend a happy retirement is AB/Deckhand Mike Restivo. Wilmington Port Agent John Cox congratulates John Ivankovich on a well-deserved retirement. Mate Neal Doucet and Capt. Hank Scott make their way to the party in an environmentally friendly way. Enjoying the camaraderie are Utility Engineers Arsen Perhat (left) and John Tipich. Capt. Mike Schmidt was one of the well-wishers at the retirement party. 12 Seafarers LOG November 2007 W m Ze th Lo �45140_p6,8,10_16,22_24:5140p0 10/25/2007 12:28 PM Page 13 n, Calif. Seafarers always show up in full force at the Southern California Labor Day Parade, which was held this year on Sept. 3. ABOARD THE CAR CARRIER JEAN ANNE — on a recent visit to the 10th St. Terminal in San Diego Wilmington Patrolman/Safety Director Abdul Al Omari works on his reports at the Wilmington hall. ABOARD THE OVERSEAS HOUSTON Wilmington Port Agent John Cox (below right) meets with Recertified Bosun Lawrence H. Zepeda Sr. aboard the Overseas Houston when that vessel made a recent visit to the port of Long Beach. Repairing the crane aboard the Jean Anne is Electrician David Cutro. Bosun Dave Davenport operates the ramp controls. Electrician David Cutro GVA Mohamed Saleh and AB Julio Ortiz Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton is flanked by Wilmington Port Agent John Cox (left) and SIU VP West Coast Nick Marrone at a press conference at Woodside Natural Gas, Inc. of Santa Monica, Calif. Connaughton recently unveiled a tentative agreement with Woodside to register two new LNG vessels scheduled to service a proposed deepwater port 28 miles off the coast of Los Angeles. “The employment of American citizens aboard U.S.-flag LNG vessels serving the nation’s natural gas receiving facilities is in the best interests of the United States,” he said at the July 30 press conference. November 2007 AB Vince Ippolito Steward Sam Sinclair AB Billy Cooley helps load stores onto the car carrier. Seafarers LOG 13 �45140_p6,8,10_16,22_24x1:5140p0 10/30/2007 10:43 AM Page 14 apply now for 2008 Scholarships available to SEAFARERS & their dependents DEADLINE = APRIL 15 P lease send me the 2008 SIU Scholarship Program booklet which contains eligibility information, procedures for applying and a copy of the application form. Name __________________________________________________________________________ Mariner's Social Security Number __________________________________________________ Street Address __________________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip Code______________________________________________________________ ( ) Telephone Number ______________________________________________________________ This application is for: Self Dependent Mail this completed form to Scholarship Program, Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. 11/07 14 Seafarers LOG Each year the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan offers qualified Seafarers and their dependents a scholarship program to help ease the financial burden of college and vocational studies. This year, eight scholarships are being offered; three for Seafarers and five for spouses and dependents. One of the three scholarships reserved for SIU members is in the amount of $20,000 and is intended to help cover the costs of attending a four-year, college-level course of study. The other two are for $6,000 each and are intended as two-year awards for study at a post-secondary vocational school or community college. The five scholarships for spouses and dependent children of Seafarers are worth $20,000 apiece. All Seafarers and their spouses and children who plan to attend college are encouraged to send for the 2008 SIU Scholarship Program booklet (see form on this page). It contains eligibility information, procedures for applying and a copy of the application form. The program books also are available at all SIU halls. NOW is the time to start the application process. April 15 is the deadline for the 2008 Scholarship Program—and you can’t be awarded a scholarship without filling out an application form. You have nothing to lose! November 2007 �45140_p6,8,10_16,22_24x1:5140p0 10/30/2007 10:44 AM Page 15 Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea December 2007 & January 2008 Membership Meetings SEPTEMBER 16 — OCTOBER 15, 2007 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals 2 9 8 17 5 9 27 29 5 9 11 17 17 16 6 9 8 5 28 20 0 1 0 4 2 1 6 6 1 0 3 6 10 0 3 0 1 1 3 4 271 257 52 1 0 3 4 1 8 12 15 0 10 3 17 11 9 1 1 1 0 15 9 0 1 7 9 2 1 11 19 0 6 5 13 17 9 3 1 1 3 14 9 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 2 1 1 1 4 4 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 Totals 121 131 25 0 0 6 5 5 7 18 9 0 7 5 21 4 28 0 3 2 2 12 19 1 0 2 9 2 5 5 11 0 4 5 8 12 7 0 2 0 1 6 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 Totals Totals All Departments 0 0 6 9 0 9 25 29 0 11 7 37 5 19 5 1 5 1 16 21 206 0 4 6 8 5 3 15 15 4 8 3 14 6 6 4 13 8 2 19 10 153 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 5 1 1 1 2 6 0 1 0 1 0 1 2 26 0 0 3 5 0 6 13 11 1 6 8 14 12 12 4 1 4 2 11 11 124 0 2 4 7 2 3 11 15 1 1 4 8 10 5 0 1 2 1 14 6 97 0 1 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 0 1 1 2 16 1 0 3 6 2 9 12 19 0 4 2 17 6 14 2 0 0 1 12 18 128 1 1 0 2 2 4 4 9 0 3 1 6 14 3 1 0 1 0 4 3 153 87 9 59 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 2 5 2 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 3 2 6 4 3 24 17 0 4 9 28 11 10 0 10 2 0 17 13 5 2 2 7 2 11 7 11 0 1 4 13 18 7 2 26 1 3 7 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 5 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 2 3 0 12 11 0 4 3 21 8 8 0 6 1 0 9 7 19 166 140 12 564 641 226 470 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 6 6 1 13 24 4 10 74 55 1 19 28 72 22 30 3 3 11 5 68 49 4 10 8 25 7 20 50 42 10 12 21 39 21 23 9 5 15 12 50 31 2 2 0 8 4 2 6 7 1 1 3 8 8 3 7 0 0 1 7 6 91 498 414 76 0 0 1 4 0 3 3 7 0 3 2 4 4 3 0 2 1 0 8 3 2 0 3 13 2 11 24 28 1 17 4 28 10 13 0 1 3 1 29 15 2 1 7 9 2 4 17 27 1 13 6 13 20 13 4 2 2 3 23 14 0 0 0 3 2 2 4 4 1 1 1 6 11 3 0 0 1 0 5 9 48 205 183 53 0 0 1 0 0 0 7 4 0 1 1 8 1 6 1 0 2 0 4 3 2 0 5 9 4 9 32 21 0 11 9 26 12 47 1 6 5 3 29 35 1 0 3 18 1 9 9 12 1 8 9 14 15 7 0 2 1 1 13 11 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 2 0 2 0 3 2 0 1 1 0 0 2 3 Baltimore..............Thursday: December 6, January 10 Boston ..................Friday: December 7, January 11 Guam ....................Thursday: December 20, January 24 Honolulu...............Friday: December 14, January 18 Houston ................Monday: December 10, January 14 Jacksonville ..........Thursday: December 6, January 10 Joliet .....................Thursday: December 13, January 17 Mobile ..................Wednesday: December 12, January 16 New Orleans.........Tuesday: December 11, January 15 New York .............Tuesday: December 4, January 8 Norfolk .................Thursday: December 6, January 10 Oakland ................Thursday: December 13, January 17 Philadelphia..........Wednesday: December 5, January 9 Port Everglades ....Thursday: December 13, January 17 San Juan ...............Thursday: December 6, January 10 St. Louis ...............Friday: December 14, January 18 Tacoma .................Friday: December 21, January 25 Wilmington...........Monday: December 17 ...............................Tuesday: January 22* (*change created by Martin Luther King holiday) Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. 39 266 135 20 0 1 1 0 0 6 1 3 0 2 0 2 7 3 3 23 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 5 3 0 1 4 12 2 8 0 1 2 0 10 2 3 3 4 7 2 9 41 34 1 5 12 49 21 20 0 9 6 0 32 24 8 1 2 15 2 18 10 23 2 3 8 23 27 16 0 11 3 3 22 12 97 58 0 53 282 209 406 106 178 1,022 1,014 358 ENTRY DEPARTMENT *“Total Registered” means the number of Seafarers who actually registered for shipping at the port. **“Registered on Beach” means the total number of Seafarers registered at the port. November 2007 Piney Point ...........Monday: December 3, January 7 Algonac ................Friday: December 7, January 11 0 0 3 7 0 4 10 10 0 5 4 13 4 10 4 0 2 0 11 4 STEWARD DEPARTMENT Port Algonac A1chorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C ENGINE DEPARTMENT Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs DECK DEPARTMENT 3 1 14 17 3 8 37 28 0 10 7 46 15 13 4 3 4 3 30 25 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Personals MANUEL OLVERA Wayne Korb would like to get in touch with Manuel Olvera or anyone who knows his whereabouts. The two men sailed together in 1956 aboard Waterman’s Citrus Packer. Please call Mr. Korb at (702) 386-2803. DANIEL (DANNY) BARRETT Ron Knight is trying to make contact with Danny Barrett or anyone who sailed with him. Call (301) 461-1803. EVER SAIL ON A NEW “MARINER CLASS” SHIP? I am doing background research for a possible book about the Maritime Commission-designed Mariner vessels. I’d like to hear your stories and sagas about these “new, state-of-the-art” ships of the early 1950s. My research includes just how different these ships were from the WWII era ships. The Schuyler Otis Bland was supposed to be the prototype ship of the future, but no sisters were ever built. Information on the Bland is real hard to find, so I’m looking for information about her, too, as part of my research. Then there was the Mariner C4-S-1a design, 35 ships designed and built by and for the Maritime Commission. I’d like to get your vessel’s name(s), voyage itineraries, your job(s), and how these new ships compared with the WWII C1s to C4s, Liberty ships, Victory ships, and even the Schuyler Otis Bland. Were they better or worse, how and why? What were your feelings about these ships? Got any good photos of the ships? When the ships were eventually purchased by the various steamship companies, what changes did they make to the ships in order to fit their respective needs? If you can help me out, please drop me a line. Capt. Charles Lund, MM&P (retired) 1620 N 203rd Pl. Shoreline, WA 98133-3309 Seafarers LOG 15 �45140_p6,8,10_16,22_24:5140p0 10/25/2007 12:35 PM Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG Page 16 SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR NMU 401K PLAN SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR NMU PENSION TRUST OF THE NMU PENSION AND WELFARE PLAN This is a summary of the annual report for the NMU 401K Plan, EIN 13-6592643, Plan No. 002, for period Jan. 1, 2006 through Dec. 31, 2006. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). This is a summary of the annual report for the NMU PENSION TRUST OF THE NMU PENSION AND WELFARE PLAN, EIN 13-6592643, Plan No. 001, for period January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2006. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement Benefits under the plan are provided through insurance. Plan expenses were $360,067. These expenses included $360,067 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 657 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $3,751,535 as of Dec. 31, 2006, compared to $3,432,409 as of Jan. 1, 2006. During the plan year, the plan experienced an increase in its net assets of $319,126. This increase includes unrealized appreciation and depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had a total income of $679,193 including employee contributions of $380,544 and earnings from investments of $298,649. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. an accountant’s report; 2. financial information; 3. assets held for investment; 4. insurance information, including sales commissions paid by insurance carriers; and 5. information regarding any common or collective trusts, pooled separate accounts, master trusts or 103-12 investment entities in which the plan participates. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write to, or call: Board of Trustees of the NMU Pension and Welfare Plans, c/o Seafarers Benefit Funds, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746; (301) 899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $1.50 for the full annual report, or 10 cents per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan (Board of Trustees of the NMU Pension and Welfare Plans, c/o Seafarers Benefit Funds, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746) and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: Public Disclosure Room, Room N1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20210. Basic Financial Statement Benefits under the plan are provided through a trust fund. Plan expenses were $29,740,152. These expenses included $3,039,566 in administrative expenses and $26,700,586 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 7,436 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $296,628,713 as of December 31, 2006, compared to $296,871,091 as of January 1, 2006. During the plan year, the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $242,378. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation and depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had total income of $29,497,774 including employer contributions of $563,898, realized gains of $2,486,059 from the sale of assets, earnings from investments of $26,023,493, and other income of $424,324. Minimum Funding Standards An actuary’s statement shows that enough money was contributed to the plan to keep it funded in accordance with the minimum funding standards of ERISA. Your Rights To Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. an accountant’s report; 2. financial information and information on payments to service providers; 3. assets held for investment; 4. transactions in excess of 5 percent of the plan assets; 5. information regarding any common or collective trusts, pooled separate accounts, master trusts or 103-12 investment entities in which the plan participates; and 6. actuarial information regarding the funding of the plan. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call Board of Trustees of NMU Pension and Welfare Plan, c/o Seafarers Benefit Funds, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746; (301) 899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $7.80 for the full annual report, or 10 cents per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan (Board of Trustees of NMU Pension and Welfare Plan, c/o Seafarers Benefit Funds, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746) and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: Public Disclosure Room, Room N1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20210. PIC-FROM-THE-PAST This photograph was sent to the Seafarers LOG by Pensioner John W. Curlew of Sea Level, N.C. The picture was snapped sometime during a voyage aboard the SS Choctaw (Waterman Steamship Corp.) from October 1954 to August 1955. Curlew, who was bosun at the time, is at left with two other members of the deck department, refurbishing a deck railing. Brother Curlew joined the union in 1947. He completed the bosun recertification program in 1975 and last sailed aboard the Sea-Land Patriot in 1989. Brother Curlew retired in 1990 to the high mountain desert of Nevada. In a note accompanying the photo, Curlew said that after the death of his wife of 49 years, he left Carson City (4,680 feet above sea level) and moved to Snug Harbor (at sea level). “This is a great place for aged, decrepit and wornout seamen,” he wrote. “For economic reasons, Snug Harbor has been opened up to others besides seamen, but there are enough of us here to have a good gathering after supper and see who can come up with the biggest sea story. I have been here for more than a year, and I have not made it yet!” If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with the LOG readership, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. November 2007 �45140_p1_5,7,9,17_21,24:September-07 10/26/2007 10:44 AM Page 17 Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA RICHARD BUCHANAN, 65, joined the union in 1977, initially sailing aboard the Long Lines. Brother Buchanan was a member of the deck department. He upgraded on numerous occasions at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Brother Buchanan was born in Illinois. His most recent voyage was aboard the Intrepid. Brother Buchanan makes his home in Santa Cruz, Calif. SALVATORE CICIULLA, 65, embarked on his SIU career in 1979, first working in the inland division aboard a Crowley Towing & Transportation Co. vessel. In 1995 and 2000, the deck department member attended classes at the Piney Point school. Brother Ciciulla’s most recent voyage was on the SL Pride. He was born in Italy and calls Melbourne, Fla. home. DONALD FARMER, 64, joined the SIU in 1964. Born in Georgia, he first sailed aboard the Penn Carrier. Brother Farmer enhanced his seafaring skills in 1974 at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. He shipped in the engine department. Brother Farmer most recently worked on the 1st Lt. Jack Lummus. He is a resident of Albany, Ga. DAVID GANNOUN, 65, became a Seafarer in 1973. Brother Gannoun, a native of Honduras, first sailed on the Over Anchor as a member of the steward department. He attended courses at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. on three occasions to upgrade his skills. Before retiring, he worked aboard the USNS Capella. Brother Gannoun lives in Kenner, La. MONTE GRIMES JR., 55, began his seafaring career in 1971, first sailing on a Vivian Tankers Corp. vessel. He upgraded his skills often at the Paul Hall Center and worked in the deck department. Brother Grimes most recently shipped aboard the Lightning. He continues to reside in his native state of California. KAYED HRBY, 65, joined the SIU in 1967 in the port of Detroit, Mich. Brother Hrby first sailed aboard a vessel operated by November 2007 Isthmian Lines Inc. The deck department member upgraded his skills in 1978 at the Seafarersaffiliated school. Brother Hrby, who was born in Yemen, most recently sailed aboard the Overseas Juneau. He made his home in Bronx, N.Y. CHARLES LORE JR., 58, began sailing with the union in 1972. Brother Lore was a frequent upgrader at the Piney Point school. He first sailed aboard the Summit as a member of the engine department. Brother Lore, who was born in New York, most recently worked aboard the Sam Houston. He makes his home in Buffalo, N.Y. EDWIN LUSK, 59, commenced his seafaring career in 1972. Brother Lusk’s first ship was the Jefferson Davis. He was born in Fayetteville, Tenn. and shipped as a member of the deck department. Brother Lusk upgraded his skills often at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. His last ship was the Horizon Hunter. Brother Lusk calls Covington, La. home. ALI MOHSIN, 62, who was born in Arabia, began sailing with the SIU in 1968 aboard the Banner. Brother Mohsin was a member of the engine department. In 2000 and 2001, he upgraded his skills at the Paul Hall Center. Prior to retiring, Brother Mohsin worked on the Commitment. He is a resident of Brooklyn, N.Y. NELSON PATTERSON, 65, joined the union in 1970 in the port of Houston. Brother Patterson upgraded his skills on numerous occasions at the unionaffiliated school in Piney Point, Md. He began sailing aboard a Calmar Steamship Co. vessel, where he worked in the engine department. Brother Patterson, who was born in Texas, most recently worked aboard the Equality State. He makes his home in Livingston, Texas. EDISON RODRIGUEZ, 71, became an SIU member in 1986 in the port of New York. Brother Rodriguez’s first voyage was on the USNS Antares. He upgraded his seafar- ing skills on numerous occasions at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Rodriguez was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He most recently sailed aboard the Green Lake. Brother Rodriguez lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. FRANCES WADSWORTH, 65, began her seafaring career in 1991 in Piney Point, Md. Sister Wadsworth’s first ship was the Louis J. Hauge; her last was the William Baugh. The steward department member was a frequent upgrader at the Seafarers-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Sister Wadsworth resides in Wilmington, N.C. INLAND DAVID DEL BUONO, 64, joined the SIU in 1977 in Puerto Rico. Boatman Del Buono sailed primarily aboard vessels operated by Crowley Towing & Transportation Co. Born in New York, he worked in the engine department. Boatman Del Buono attended the Piney Point school in 1981, 1994 and again in 1998 to upgrade his seafaring skills. He is a resident of Baldwin Park, Calif. MANUEL FIGUEROA, 62, began shipping with the Seafarers in 1978. During his career, he worked primarily aboard Crowley Towing & Transportation Co. vessels. Boatman Figueroa, who was born in Puerto Rico, sailed in the engine department. He took classes in 1984 at the Paul Hall Center to upgrade his seafaring skills. Boatman Figueroa makes his home in Catano, P.R. JAMES MUSICK, 65, began his SIU career in 1996 in the port of Philadelphia. Boatman Musick worked primarily aboard Crowley vessels. The New Jersey-born mariner was a member of the deck department. Boatman Musick settled in Mullica Hill, N.J. SVEN VILBORG, 57, started sailing with the SIU in 1975. Boatman Vilborg first sailed aboard a Whiteman Towing Co. vessel. He upgraded in 2003 at the Paul Hall Center. Boatman Vilborg, who is a native of Sweden, most recently worked on a Crescent Towing of New Orleans vessel. He calls Bay Mintette, Ala. home. GREAT LAKES MOHAMED MOHSIN, 65, joined the union in 1969. Brother Mohsin worked primarily aboard American Steamship Co. vessels, including the American Sea Ocean and American Mariner. He was born in Arabia and shipped in the deck department. Brother Mohsin lives in Dearborn, Mich. EUGENE PIKE, 65, joined the union in 1967. Brother Pike first worked aboard Great Lakes Associates Inc. vessels as a member of the deck department. He was born in West Virginia. Brother Pike’s most recent voyage was aboard the JAW Iglehart. He resides in Bristol, Tenn. Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1949 Certified by the NLRB as collective bargaining agent for nine Cities Service Oil Company tankers, the SIU immediately called upon the company to enter negotiations for a contract covering the company’s unlicensed personnel. The contract will culminate two years of effort by the SIU to obtain union wages, conditions and security for CS seamen. The company began firing crew members by the shipload at the end of each voyage, as the election drew near, but the replacements hired recognized the need for union representation and voted for the SIU. The company’s attitude was scored by the NLRB: “. . . it ill behooves the employer to file objections stemming principally from its own recalcitrance.” 1969 The steward department aboard the SIU-contracted Seatrain Ohio in November received a spontaneous citation from the ship’s officers for its “cooperative effort to please” during a recently completed voyage. “It is seldom that an entire department is as conscientious and hard-working as you men have been,” the letter states. “In the face of such obstacles as long stays in port, not once did the officers and crew lack a first-rate meal.” Praised for a “job well done” were Chief Steward Warren Messenger, Chief Cook Jose Torrefiel, 2nd Cook and Baker Richard Morgan and 3rd Cook Percy Brown as well as “the rest of the department for the courtesy extended us…. It is a pleasure to sail with men such as you, who take pride in your trade.” 1959 Rolling up a near-perfect record, the SIU Training School in New York has graduated 169 successful candidates for a lifeboat ticket out of 173 who have attended the school to date. The lifeboat trainees, after taking both classroom and boat instruction, have been whizzing through the Coast Guard examinations with ease. In addition to the 169 successful lifeboatmen, the training school has assisted 24 ordinaries who subsequently obtained their AB tickets, plus a number of wipers who have gone up to firemen. Ordinaries and wipers interested in enrolling in the school for upgrading, as well as men in any category who lack lifeboat tickets can enroll in the school by contacting the dispatch counter on the second deck in the New York hall. 1979 On Nov. 28, Seafarers crewed the El Paso LNG carrier Sonatrach in Savannah, Ga. Even though she’s the 11th LNG carrier to sail under the SIU banner, her crewing was a first for the union and for U.S. maritime. Until recently, the Sonatrach was operated by a Norwegian crew. Two other El Paso LNG vessels, the Consolidated and the Paul Kayser were also crewed by Norwegian seamen. SIU crews are scheduled to fly out to Dunkirk, France, where the ships are undergoing repairs, to fill the unlicensed jobs on those vessels early next year. By opting for a top-to-bottom crew of American seamen, El Paso has shot holes in the myth that Western European seamen are more capable than their American counterparts. This Month In SIU History Seafarers LOG 17 �45140_p1_5,7,9,17_21,24:September-07 10/26/2007 11:25 AM Page 18 Final Departures DEEP SEA ALBERT BAZOR Pensioner Albert Bazor, 74, passed away March 3. Brother Bazor, who was born in Alabama, joined the SIU in 1963. He first sailed on the Santa Emilia as a member of the deck department. Brother Bazor’s most recent voyage was aboard the Chemical Trader. He retired in 1991 and lived in Tibbie, Ala. JAMES BRUCE Pensioner James Bruce, 83, passed away Feb. 19. Brother Bruce began his seafaring career in 1963, first sailing on a Destiny Carrier vessel. Brother Bruce was born in Galvez, La. and sailed as a member of the deck department. His most recent voyage was aboard the Aurora. Brother Bruce went on pension in 1989. He called Baton Rouge, La. home. PAUL BUTTERWORTH Pensioner Paul Butterworth, 82, died Feb. 23. Brother Butterworth joined the union in 1967. The West Virginia native first shipped on a vessel operated by MooreMcCormack Lines. Brother Butterworth sailed in the deck department. Prior to his retirement in 1995, he worked aboard the Ambassador. Brother Butterworth made his home in Savannah, Ga. CHARLES DAHLHAUS Pensioner Charles Dahlhaus, 69, passed away March 17. Brother Dahlhaus, who was born in New York, first sailed in 1961 on the Steel Worker. He shipped in the engine department. His most recent voyage was aboard the Overseas Chicago. Brother Dahlhaus resided in Japan. He began collecting compensation for his retirement in 2004. LEONARD DAVIDSON Pensioner Leonard Davidson, 82, died March 17. Brother Davidson joined the SIU in 1958 in the port of Mobile, Ala. The U.S. Army veteran, who was born in Tennessee, first sailed on the Brooklyn. He settled in Slidell, La. and became a pensioner in 1974. PATRICK DEVINE Pensioner Patrick Devine, 83, passed away March 6. Brother Devine joined the SIU in 1951 in the port of New York. He briefly shipped in the inland division aboard a Blue Stack Towing Co. vessel before switching to the deep sea division. Brother 18 Seafarers LOG Devine was a native of Ireland and worked in the steward department. His most recent voyage was on the Tam Guilden. Brother Devine started receiving his retirement pay in 1983. He was a resident of New Hope, Pa. JOHN HARRIS Pensioner John Harris, 81, died March 16. Brother Harris embarked on his seafaring career in 1944 in the port of Norfolk, Va. His first ship was the Massillon Victory; his last was the Liberty Sun. Brother Harris was a member of the steward department. He was born in North Carolina and made his home in Virginia Beach, Va. Brother Harris retired in 1990. THOMAS KLINE Pensioner Thomas Kline, 79, passed away Feb. 18. A native of Charleston, S.C., Brother Kline joined the SIU in 1952. His first ship was the Cantigny. Brother Kline sailed in the deck department. He last sailed on the Overseas New Orleans. Brother Kline lived in Jacksonville, Fla. He went on pension in 1990. KOON LAU Pensioner Koon Lau, 87, died March 18. Brother Lau joined the Marine Cooks & Stewards (MC&S) in 1978 in the port of San Francisco. He first sailed aboard a States Steamship Co. vessel. Brother Lau, who was born in China, worked in the steward department. Before retiring in 1999, he shipped on the R.J. Pfeiffer. Brother Lau called San Francisco home. ROBERT MADDOX Pensioner Robert Maddox, 74, passed away March 29. Brother Maddox joined the SIU in 1979. He first sailed in the steward department aboard the Charleston. Brother Maddox, who was born in Knoxville, Tenn., last worked on the Overseas Boston. He settled in Graham, Wash. and began collecting his retirement stipends in 1998. GUSTAVE MALENSKY Pensioner Gustave Malensky, 78, died March 13. Brother Malensky became a Seafarer in 1956 in the port of New York. His first ship was the Steel Direct. Brother Malensky, who was born in the Bronx, N.Y., worked in the deck department. His most recent voyage was aboard the San Juan. Brother Malensky retired in 1991 and resided in New York. MARIO NOLASCO Pensioner Mario Nolasco, 85, passed away March 12. Born in the Philippines, Brother Nolasco joined the union in 1954. He first sailed on the Steel Artisan. A member of the engine department, Brother Nolasco last worked aboard the Santa Maria. He made his home in San Francisco and began receiving compensation for his retirement in 1980. CHAN-FAT NEU Pensioner Chan-Fat Neu, 89, died Feb. 11. Brother Neu began his seafaring career in 1956 in the port of San Francisco. The deck department member, who was born in China, first sailed aboard the Choctaw. His last ship was the Freedom. Brother Neu went on pension in 1982. He called San Francisco home. OTIS PASCHAL Pensioner Otis Paschal, 86, passed away March 11. Brother Paschal joined the ranks of the SIU in 1958. He first worked on a vessel operated by Boston Towing Boat Co. Brother Paschal was a native of Georgia and sailed in the steward department. Prior to his retirement in 1986, he worked on the Express. Brother Paschal made his home in Flushing, N.Y. KENNETH ROBERTS Pensioner Kenneth Roberts, 79, died March 8. Brother Roberts joined the SIU in 1949. He first sailed aboard a Sprogue Steamship Co. vessel. Born in Michigan, Brother Roberts shipped as a member of the steward department. His most recent voyage was on the Santa Mariana. Brother Roberts settled in Redding, Calif. and retired from the union in 1982. ANTONIO SGAGLIARDICH Pensioner Antonio Sgagliardich, 85, passed away March 15. Brother Sgagliardich became a union member in 1967 in the port of New York. The engine department member’s first ship was the Gateway City. Brother Sgagliardich was born in Croatia. His last voyage was aboard the Elizabeth. Brother Sgagliardich went on pension in 1989 and lived in Brooklyn, N.Y. ROLAND ST. MARIE Pensioner Roland St. Marie, 85, died March 8. Brother St. Marie joined the Seafarers in 1951 in the port of New York. His first voyage was on the John Evans where he worked in the deck department. Brother St. Marie was born in Putnam, Conn. Before retiring in 1987, he sailed aboard the Leader. Brother St. Marie continued to reside in Connecticut. LLEWLLYN TROTT Pensioner Llewellyn Trott, 68, passed away March 10. Brother Trott, who was born in Bermuda, started sailing with the SIU in 1967. He was a member of the engine department. Brother Trott first worked on the Panama. His last voyage was aboard the Oakland. Brother Trott was a resident of Jamaica, N.Y. He started collecting his retirement compensation in 1997. ROBERT ZURFLUH Pensioner Robert Zurfluh, 69, died June 2. Brother Zurfluh joined the SIU in 1960, first shipping on the Mt. Whitney. He was a native of Albany, Wis. Brother Zurfluh most recently sailed in the engine department of the Horizon Reliance. He called Seattle home and went on pension in 1998. INLAND CARMINO (CARMEN) MARANO Pensioner Carmen Marano, 84, passed away March 1. Boatman Marano embarked on his SIU career in 1963. He first sailed aboard an Erie Lackawanna Railroad Co. vessel. Boatman Marano was born in Hoboken, N.J. He last worked with Penn Central Transportation. Boatman Marano became a pensioner in 1982 and made his home in Waldwick, N.J. STEWART PARKS Pensioner Stewart Parks, 71, passed away Feb. 5. Boatman Parks embarked on his seafaring career in 1981. He first worked aboard a Bulk Fleet Marine Corp. vessel. Boatman Parks was born in Virginia and worked in the steward department. He most recently sailed on an Express Marine Inc. vessel. Boatman Parks became a pensioner in 2002. He had settled in Tangier, Va. WILLIAM PETERS Pensioner William Peters, 77, died Feb. 17. Boatman Peters, who was born in Tremont, Miss., joined the union in 1969. He sailed primarily aboard vessels operated by Orgulf Transport Co. Boatman Peters began receiving compensation for his retirement in 1978. He made his home in Missouri. GREAT LAKES MOHAMED BAAGARI Pensioner Mohamed Baagari, 75, passed away Feb. 7. Brother Baagari became a seafarer in 1963. The steward department member was born in Yemen. Brother Baagari first sailed with Great Lakes Associates. His most recent voyage was on the Steel T. Crapo. Brother Baagari retired in 1996; he continued to reside in Yemen. JULIUS RUDAI Pensioner Julius Rudai, 87, died Feb. 19. Brother Rudai began his seafaring career in 1965, initially working aboard the Reiss Brothers. A native of Pennsylvania, he shipped in the engine department. Brother Rudai’s most recent voyage was on the St. Clair. He went on pension in 1984 and was a resident of Ohio. HAROLD WALKLEY Pensioner Harold Walkley, 75, died March 2. Brother Walkley joined the union in 1956. The engine department member shipped primarily aboard vessels operated by American Steamship Co. Brother Walkley resided in his native state of Michigan. He went on pension in 1993. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust have passed away. NAME AGE Acabeo, Rafael 96 Andujar, Felix 90 Bright, Roosevelt 84 Byrd, Colvin 77 Cobb, Rufus 82 Curley, Oswald 82 Denis, Marcial 93 Drayton, Ezekiah 81 Goebel, Henry 84 Green, Henderson, Jr. 79 Green, Melvin 81 Hernandez, Rafael 83 Ingham, Jack 76 Krider, James 73 Mead, Emerson 91 Molina, Henry 99 Mundo, Leocadio 82 Ortiz, Jaime 83 Pizarro, Antonio 83 Quinones, Angel 82 Roderick, Lester 86 Rose, Cecil 75 Taylor, Hubert 75 White, Charles 77 Wilcott, Alfred 78 Wilson, Miles 83 DOD Feb. 2 Feb. 20 Feb. 12 Feb. 21 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 6 Feb. 18 Feb. 7 Feb. 23 Feb. 25 Feb. 28 Feb. 4 Feb. 18 Feb. 18 Feb. 15 Feb. 12 Feb. 23 Feb. 10 Feb. 18 Feb. 18 Feb. 2 Feb. 7 Feb. 1 Feb. 23 Feb. 28 November 2007 �45140_p1_5,7,9,17_21,24:September-07 10/26/2007 12:28 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. ALASKAN FRONTIER (Alaska Tanker Company), Sept. 13— Chairman Carlos Loureiro, Secretary Gregory S. Lynch, Educational Director Odilio G. Evora, Deck Delegate Ramon T. Guimba, Engine Delegate Robert G. Oliveto, Steward Delegate Justo D. Reyes. Chairman informed crew members of meeting between union and company officials being held in Piney Point, Md. at which he hoped AB work rules would be clarified. He thanked deck gang for good work and said he was looking forward to painting deck. Secretary addressed several food issues such as quality, quantity and budget. He reminded everyone that any issues related to food should be brought to steward’s attention directly. Educational director advised mariners to take advantage of opportunities available at Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. He also stressed importance of keeping all documents up to date. Treasurer stated approximately $3,000 in ship’s fund and told members to get captain’s permission before buying something for vessel. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew members requested clarification concerning extra day’s pay for completing tour of duty injuryfree. Recommendation made to change terminology in contract to reflect no differences in certain stain remover products. Crew suggested T-shirts and/or other products with ATC logo on them to be made available. Steward department was thanked for good chow. Smith machine is ready for use in gym, and X/M radio is coming soon. CHARGER (Maersk Line Limited), Sept. 16—Chairman Robert Pagan Jr., Secretary Rolando M. Lopez, Deck Delegate Raymond P. Vicari, Steward Delegate Saleh M. Saleh. Chairman announced Sept. 22 payoff in Long Beach, Calif. He praised galley gang for great food and reminded everyone to keep laundry room door closed so there will be quiet for those trying to sleep. He led discussion about proper handling of trash when arriving in port. Secretary thanked crew for their help in keeping food service area clean. He asked departing Seafarers to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen for next person. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made for a microwave in the galley and comfortable chairs (e.g., recliners) for all crew members’ rooms. GREEN POINT (Central Gulf Lines), Sept. 23—Chairman Melvin R. Nichols Jr., Secretary Ramon I. Tolosa, Educational Director Gregorio M. Saguran, Deck Delegate Daniel A. Donegan. Chairman requested boarding patrolman when ship arrives in Baltimore, Md. Green Point will be in port for four days. Treasurer reported that captain handles ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Questions were raised pertaining to vacation pay deductions, and suggestion was made to increase vacation days and institute cost of living raises. It was reported that crew members were having problems with e-mail; captain has been letting crew use his. Next ports: Jacksonville, Fla.; Baltimore, Md. HORIZON PACIFIC (Horizon Lines), Sept. 7—Chairman Pablo O. Borja Jr., Secretary Robert P. Mosley, Educational Director James T. McParland, Deck Delegate Julius C. Udan, Steward Delegate Regalado M. Bayan. Bosun thanked his department for hard work during voyage. He led discussion of importance of donating to SPAD (Seafarers Political Activity Donation) and how it benefits the membership. He asked members leaving vessel to clean rooms for replacements and check in with SIU patrolman or port agent. Secretary encouraged members to upgrade at Piney Point school and keep all documents current. Educational director advised Seafarers to keep dues paid up. Treasurer stated $389.52 in cook-out fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Vote of thanks given to President Michael Sacco and his staff for all the work they do for the membership. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash.; Oakland, Calif.; Hawaii. HORIZON TACOMA (Horizon Lines), Sept. 16—Chairman Joseph Artis, Secretary Lincoln E. Pinn Jr., Educational Director Michael P. Brown. Chairman announced Sept. 18 payoff upon arrival in Tacoma, Wash. He urged crew members to keep dues current and support SPAD. He also thanked everyone for helping keep ship clean. Educational director advised mariners to take advantage of upgrading and training offered at SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Vote of thanks given to steward department for job well done. MAERSK GEORGIA (Maersk Line Limited), Sept. 30— Chairman Carlton P. Hall, Secretary Larry Ewing, Educational Director Philip R. Ayotte. Chairman praised crew members for smooth, safe trip and reported Oct. 2 payoff to take place in Port Elizabeth, N.J. Secretary thanked everyone for great voyage. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion was made to lower seatime requirements for benefit eligibility. Crew thanked steward department for very good food during voyage. MAERSK OHIO (Maersk Line Limited), Sept. 23—Chairman Brian P. Corbett, Secretary Fidelis N. Oliveira, Educational Director Louis A. Santiago. Chairman thanked everyone for their cooperation during the maiden voyage. He stated some bugs need to be worked out, but overall it was a nice, safe trip. Secretary Some of the crew members from the newly reflagged Maersk Montana pose for a picture when the U.S.-flag vessel was in New York last summer. Daniel G. Ramirez Jr., Steward Delegate Wilfred E. Lambey. Chairman thanked crew members for good trip and talked about importance of health benefits. This is a big topic for union members nationwide during contract negotiations. Secretary thanked mariners for helping keeping mess hall and lounge clean. He warned crew that flu season is coming and advised everyone to wash hands frequently. He also asked members to refrain from eating while standing in service line. Educational director encouraged crew to continue their Working on the Baugh LIBERTY STAR (Liberty Maritime), Sept. 30—Chairman Albert C. Williams, Secretary Nick Andrews, Deck Delegate Donald Stickens, Engine Delegate Alcido Lopes, Steward Delegate Cecilio Suarez. Chairman stressed the need to work together safely and to wear proper protective equipment. He stressed importance of maintaining accurate documentation to lessen chance of missing out on a job at the hall or aboard ship. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next port: New Orleans. Sailing aboard a Newly Reflagged Vessel November 2007 reported food situation should improve next trip as adequate stores have been ordered. Educational director advised crew to upgrade when they can at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. No beefs; disputed OT reported in deck department. Concerns were raised about the laundry room and need for additional washers and dryers. Members also requested microwave in the crew mess hall as well as clarification on a number of issues. Next ports: New York; Norfolk, Va.; Charleston, S.C. AB John Roberts (left) does some painting on deck while Recertified Chief Steward takes part in helo training aboard the PFC William B. Baugh. OVERSEAS LONG BEACH (OSG Ship Management), Sept. 27 —Chairman Tony Beasley, Secretary Samuel Raine, Educational Director Anthony R. Hulsey, Deck Delegate Jefferson V. Julian, Engine Delegate Michael E. Iverson, Steward Delegate Nina McFall. Chairman stated washer and dryer are now working properly, thanks to repairs made by engine department. Educational director urged crew to check dates on all seafaring documents and renew, if necessary. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward department given vote of thanks for job well done. Next port: Cherry Point, Wash. PUGET SOUND (OSG Ship Management), Sept. 30— Chairman Anton Sulic, Secretary Wiley Owens, Educational Director Benjamin E. Mathews, Engine Delegate Jimmie Thomas, Steward Delegate Christina A. Mateer. Chairman announced Oct. 2 payoff in Los Angeles. He encouraged Seafarers to help fellow crew members aboard ship and share their knowledge about the union. Educational director advised seamen to check out upgrading courses available at Piney Point school and to keep track of expiration dates on all documents. Treasurer stated $1,500 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made to have chairs in rooms fixed or replaced and purchase of shower mats for everyone. Suggestion made to install refrigerators in each room, which can be paid for with money from the ship’s fund. ST. LOUIS EXPRESS (Marine Personnel & Provisioning Inc.) Sept. 16—Chairman Matthew T. Sagay, Secretary Christopher B. Amigable, Educational Director education at the Paul Hall Center. No beefs; disputed OT reported in deck department. Members requested union representative be present at Sept. 30 payoff in Houston, Texas to resolve OT issue. Next ports: Charleston, S.C.; Miami, Fla.; Houston. USNS RICHARD G. MATTHIESEN (Ocean Ships Inc.) Sept. 28—Chairman Kyle W. Bailey, Secretary Fonda T. Biamonte, Educational Director Kelley Mayo. Bosun stated everybody did great job during inspections and audits. He also informed crew members about TWIC card. Secretary asked everyone to help keep all areas clean. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Educational director reminded seafarers of educational opportunities available at Paul Hall Center. Communication pertaining to new medical benefits was read and posted. Steward department was thanked for job well done. Smoking policy was reviewed: NO smoking anywhere except designated area—and no lighters allowed. NATIONAL GLORY (Crowley Ship Management) Oct. 5— Chairman Donald Rezendes, Secretary John Rapoza, Steward Delegate Victor J. Wolfe. Chairman reported vessel was officially commissioned for U.S. trade Aug. 27. Captain to purchase television for crew lounge and reefers for crew mess. He also urged all members to read the Seafarers LOG to stay current on TWIC information. Treasurer stated $2,000 in entertainment fund. No beefs; disputed OT reported in engine department. Recommendation made to receive monthly statement of earnings and to purchase numerous items for ship. Seafarers LOG 19 �45140_p1_5,7,9,17_21,24:September-07 10/26/2007 9:32 AM Page 20 Notice/Reminder Anthrax Vaccination Required for Jobs Aboard Some MSC Ships The deputy secretary of defense in October 2006 announced the resumption of the mandatory Anthrax Vaccination Immunization Program (AVIP) for designated military personnel, emergency-essential civilian personnel and contractor personnel performing essential services in certain geographic areas of the world. Two months later in December, the Military Sealift Command (MSC) received notification from the office of the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness that uniformed personnel as well as civilian and contract mariners under its command would be subject to the compulsory program. Specifically, according a Department of Defense Directive, civilian and contract mariners sailing aboard MSC ships in the Central Command area of responsibility or the Korean Peninsula for 15 or more consecutive days beginning in February and March would be required to resume anthrax immunizations, except as provided under applicable medical and administrative policies. Additionally, said MSC, “Any mariner not subject to the mandatory program who has received at least one dose of anthrax vaccine in the past will be allowed, if desired, to voluntarily complete the six-shot anthrax vaccination series and receive any boosters as required by the Food and Drug Administration-approved dosing schedule.” MSC further stated that, “Individuals will be notified by their chain of command if the shots are required. Navy medical personnel will give the vaccinations either aboard MSC ships, in MSC workplaces or at military treatment facilities.” According to DOD, anthrax is a deadly infection and the anthrax vaccine is an important force protection measure to combat it. In the fall of 2001, 22 cases of anthrax resulted from attacks with anthrax spores through the U.S. postal system. Five people died in these attacks. “The anthrax vaccine will protect our troops from another threat—a disease that will kill, caused by a bacteria—that already has been used as a weapon in America, and that terrorists openly discuss,” said Dr. William Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. Critics have charged that anthrax vaccinations can cause infertility and auto-immune disorders, such as multiple sclerosis and lupus. Some service mem- bers have died after being vaccinated, but the Pentagon has said the deaths were not conclusively linked to the vaccine. The mandatory anthrax vaccination program began in 1998. Since that time, at least 1.2 million troops have been vaccinated against anthrax in six-shot regimens. Hundreds of service members had been punished or discharged for refusing them until U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in December 2004 suspended the vaccinations after he found fault in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s process for approving the drug. In December 2005, the FDA gave final approval to the vaccine, clearing the way for the military to resume a mandatory program. Seafarers seeking more information on the inoculations should contact their port agents. Specific questions may be directed to Mr. Shelley Croyle, MSC medical administrator, at (202) 685-5706/5123. CIVMARS may call MSC’s CIVMAR support center at 1-877-562-7672. General information on the program and medical eligibility for receiving the vaccines is available on line at the following sites: www.anthrax.mil and www.vaccines.mil/anthrax. ANNUAL FUNDING NOTICE FOR NMU PENSION PLAN Introduction This notice, which federal law requires all multiemployer plans to send annually, includes important information about the funding level of the NMU Pension Plan, Plan # 001, Federal ID # 13-6592643. This notice also includes information about rules governing insolvent plans and benefit payments guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal agency. This notice is for the plan year beginning Jan. 1, 2006 and ending Dec. 31, 2006 (2006). Plan’s Funding Level The plan’s “funded current liability percentage” for the plan year was 128.2 percent. In general, the higher the percentage, the better funded the plan. The funded current liability percentage, however, is not indicative of how well a plan will be funded in the future or if it terminates. Whether this percentage will increase or decrease over time depends on a number of factors, including how the plan’s investments perform, what assumptions the plan makes about rates of return, whether employer contributions to the fund increase or decline, and whether benefit payments from the fund increase or decline. Plan’s Financial Information The market value of the plan’s assets of Jan. 1, 2006 was $282,798,636. The total amount of benefit payments for the plan year was $25,069,537. The ratio of assets to benefit payments is 11.3. This ratio suggests that the plan’s assets could provide for approximately 11 years of benefit payments in annual amounts equal to what was paid out in the plan year. However, the ratio does not take into account future changes in total benefit payments or plan assets. Rules Governing Insolvent Plans Federal law has a number of special rules that apply to financially troubled multiemployer plans. Under so-called “plan reorganization rules,” a plan with adverse financial experience may need to increase required contributions and may, under certain circumstances, reduce benefits that are not eligible for the PBGC’S guarantee (generally, benefits that have been in effect for less than 60 months). If a plan is in reorganization status, it must provide notification that the plan is in reorganization status and that, if contributions are not increased, accrued benefits under the plan may be reduced or an excise tax may be imposed (or both). The law requires the plan to furnish this notification to each contributing employer and the labor organization. Despite the special plan reorganization rules, a plan in reorganization nevertheless could become insolvent. A plan is insolvent for a plan year if its available financial resources are not sufficient to pay benefits when due for the plan year. An insolvent plan must reduce benefit payments to the highest level that can be paid from the plan’s available financial resources. If such resources are not enough to pay benefits at a level specified by law (see Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC, below), the plan must apply to the 20 Seafarers LOG PBGC for financial assistance. The PBGC, by law, will loan the plan the amount necessary to pay benefits at the guaranteed level. Reduced benefits may be restored if the plan’s financial condition improves. A plan that becomes insolvent must provide prompt notification of the insolvency to participants and beneficiaries, contributing employers, labor unions representing participants, and PBGC. In addition, participants and beneficiaries also must receive information regarding whether, and how, their benefits will be reduced or affected as a result of the insolvency, including loss of a lump sum option. This information will be provided for each year the plan is insolvent. Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC The maximum benefit that the PBGC guarantees is set by law. Only vested benefits are guaranteed. Specifically, the PBGC guarantees a monthly benefit payment equal to 100 percent of the first $11 of the plan’s monthly benefit accrual rate, plus 75 percent of the next $33 of the accrual rate, times each year of credited service. The PBGC’s maximum guarantee, therefore, is $35.75 per month times a participant’s years of credited service. Example 1: If a participant with 10 years of credited service has an accrued monthly benefit of $500, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the PBGC guarantee would be determined by dividing the monthly benefit by the participant’s years of service ($500/10), which equals $50. The guaranteed amount for $50 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $24.75 (.75 x $33), or $35.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit is $357.50 ($35.75 x 10). Example 2: If the participant in Example 1 has an accrued monthly benefit of $200, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the guarantee would be $20 (or $200/10). The guaranteed amount for a $20 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $6.75 (.75 x $9), or $17.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit would be $177.50 ($17.75 x 10). In calculating a person’s monthly payment, the PBGC will disregard any benefit increases that were made under the plan within 60 months before the earlier of the plan’s termination or insolvency. Similarly, the PBGC does not guarantee pre-retirement death benefits to a spouse or beneficiary (e.g., a qualified pre-retirement annuity) if the participant dies after the plan terminates, benefits above the normal retirement benefit, disability benefits not in pay status, or non-pension benefits, such as health insurance, life insurance, death benefits, vacation pay, or severance pay. Where to Get More Information For more information about this notice, you may write to Miriam Bove at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 or call (718) 499-6600, ext. 242. For more information about the PBGC and multiemployer benefit guarantees, go to PBGC’s website, www.pbgc.gov, or call PBGC toll-free at 1-800-400-7242 (TTY/TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll free at 1-800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 1-800-400-7272). Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. November 2007 �45140_p1_5,7,9,17_21,24x1:5140p0 10/30/2007 10:42 AM Page 21 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE Safety Specialty Courses The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. through January 2008. All programs are geared to improve the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses Start Date of Course Date Completion Advanced Fire Fighting January 14 January 25 Basic Safety Training/STCW November 12 November 17 November 19 November 23 December 10 December 14 Medical Care Provider January 28 February 1 Tankerman Familiarization/ Assistant Cargo (DL)* November 26 December 7 (*must have basic fire fighting) offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994- Academic Department Courses 0010. General education and college courses are available as needed. In Deck Upgrading Courses addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered Start Date of throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocation- Course Date Completion al course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. Able Seaman January 28 February 22 Celestial Navigation November 26 December 21 Lifeboatman/Water Survival January 14 January 25 A future edition of the Seafarers LOG Steward Upgrading Courses will contain a complete guide of all the Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations modules start every week. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward classes start every other week begin- upgrading courses available to ning Nov. 12, 2007. students in the year 2008. Engine Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Advanced Refrigerated Containers November 26 December 21 UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Date of Birth ______________________ With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twentyfive (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. BEGIN DATE COURSE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Seniority _____________________________ Department _____________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ U.S. Citizen: ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Yes No Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? Yes No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ November 2007 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 11/07 Seafarers LOG 21 �45140_p6,8,10_16,22_24:5140p0 10/26/2007 1:33 PM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 693 — Graduating from the water survival course are unlicensed apprentices from class 693. They include (in alphabetical order) John Albritton III, Christopher Baum, Maurice Beasley, Bryan Brady, Kenneth Bricker Jr., Matthew Brown, Ashanti Chavers, Bryan Clark, Bobby Dickson Jr., Andrew Gerrie, Alexander Grant, Anthony Hill, Omar Izquierdo, Nicholas Jones, Christopher Landry, Eileen Mendiola, Edward Newbegin, Steven Rappolee, Terry Taylor Jr., and Andrew Thompson II. (Note: not all are pictured.) Their instructor, Ben Cusic, is at far left. Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 694 — Unlicensed apprentices from class 694 who completed the water survival course are (in alphabetical order) Jeffrey Bach, Stephen Banks, Fraya Brown, Brandy Griffin, Creg Gumanas, Veronica Hernandez, Ryan Hogan, Joel Jones, Terrell McMillian, José Orengo, Jason Redmond, and Daniel Thompson. (Note: not all are pictured.) Bridge Resource Management — Junior Engineer — On Sept. 7, the following students (in no particular order) completed the junior engineer course: Grady Mason Jr., David Kelch, Jeffery Parrish, Levy Calzado, Adam Begleiter, William Wakeman, Anthony Bartley, Daniel Amesbury, Hashiem Pittman, Aaron Wood, Cliff Taylor, Keith Kowaleski, Richard Wright, Jon Stratton, Charles Johnson, Ahmed Sharif, Nabil Ahmed, Eugene Earl, John Morrison Jr., Harold Gerber, Heather Bushey, Philandar Walton and Jimmy McCall. Their instructor, Jay Henderson, is at far right. (Note: not all are pictured.) MTLX boatmen graduating from this class Aug. 22 are (in no particular order) Robert Hoffman, David Lane, August Cramer, John Nelson, Robert Mills, Randall Brinza, Douglas Crawford, Bruce Comiskey, William Lenfestey, Robert Albe, Robert Roberts, Kenneth Graybill III, William Davis Jr., George Sadler and Charlie Carlson. Their instructor, Mitch Oakley, is at far right in the back row. Any student who has registered for a class and finds— for whatever reason— that he or she cannot attend, please inform the admissions department so that another student may take that place. Fast Rescue Boat — Under the instruction of Stan Beck (far right) are Crowley boatmen who completed the fast rescue boat class Aug. 24. They are (in no paricular order) Edward O’Connell, David Nimmer, Matthew Follilove, Ardale Crim and Leonard Brownless. Welding — Upgrading Seafarers who completed the welding course Aug. 24 are (in no particular order) Gene Butson, Glenn Cullifer, Warner James, Ron Embody and Lon Molnar (not pictured). Also not pictured is their instructor, Buzzy Andrews. 22 Seafarers LOG Tanker Familiarization/Assistant Cargo (DL) — Two classes of Phase III apprentices (and four upgrading Seafarers) graduated Aug. 31 from tankerman assistant courses. They are (in no specific order) Seafarers Ron Embody, Gene Butson, Glenn Cullifer, Warner James and apprentices Wade McClennan, Drake Corpus, Thomas Jones, Bryan Boyle, Robert Raymond, Erik Brown, Rivera Encarnacion, David Bernstein, Josean Villarrubia, Joshua Zelinsky, Tommy Rodgers, Sean Sullivan, Steven Dalton, Thaddeus Kilgore, Terry Thomas, Moriah Collier, Andrew Sitterly Jr., Thomas Tebow, Chris Sheppard, John Fraley, Joey Roberts, Juan Ortega Jr., Joshua Montgomery, Donnetta McLee, Caprice Jennings, Prymus Buckholtz, Juanito Mauricio, John McCormick, DeMond Lindsey, David Pacheco and Danielle Smith. November 2007 �45140_p6,8,10_16,22_24x1:5140p0 10/30/2007 10:45 AM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes FOWT — Completing the FOWT course Sept. 7 are (in alphabetical order) Steven Allen, Michael Clark, Eugene Davis Jr., Richard Frederick, Rene Gil, Benjamin Grace, Camillo Love, Latisa MayChristopher, John McKay, Christopher Olsen, Antonio Owens, Jeremy Pace, Kenneth Sumner, Lee Weygandt and Djuan Wright. Their instructor, Tim Achorn, is standing at left (with arms folded). (Note: not all are pictured.) Tankerman (PIC) Barge — Boatmen from Crowley and Allied Transportation completed this course Aug. 17. They are (in no specific order) Matthew Fullilove, Dadrian Hyman, Raymond Snow and Mark Stabler (note: not all are pictured). Posing with them are SIU VP West Coast Nick Marrone (far left), instructor Mitch Oakley (third from left) and Tacoma Port Agent Joe Vincenzo (second from right). Advanced Fire Fighting — Upgrading Seafarers as well as Crowley and G&H boatmen completed this course Aug. 24. They are (in no specific order) Christopher Vincenzo, Ronald Poole, Ronnie Jackson, Daniel Monjarres, Joseph Walker, Lawrence Soulier, William Rose, Mark Stabler, Freddy Hamilton Jr., Christina Costanzo, George Maloney, Roy Saldana Jr., Anthony Montgomery, John Niday IV, Jason Jones, George Bennett, John Harrison and Douglas McGuire. Their instructor, Mark Cates, is at far right. (Note: not all are pictured.) Fast Rescue Boat — With Stan Beck (far right) as their instructor, the following six students (in no specific order) completed this course Aug. 31: Michael Willis, James Albert, Ato Aikins, Steven Corachan, Victor Antunez and James Larkin Jr. AB — With instructor Bernabe Pelingon (far right) are upgraders who completed the AB course Sept. 14. They are (in no specific order) Justin Beal, Philip Gallagher, Steven Szymanski, Clayton Lupton, Brandon Ballard, Gemini Tacang, Mark Randall, Malcolm Demery, Joe Nieves, Robert Vayko, James Wynegar III and Charles Herrera. STCW — NCL, Sept. 10: Alex Antao, Stanley Rodrigues, Michael Kaplan, Jose Gabasa Jr, Felix Bernardino Jr, Edwin Gonzales, Jimson Banay, Mharie Balahim, Arsenio Carreon Jr. and Diego Comesana. Safety Training at the Barbers Point Facility in Hawaii STCW — NCL, Sept. 3: Suresh Kumar Soungdararajan, Haresh Rankhambe, Sleeton Fernandes, Erepan Periera, Christian Cabrera, Rizaldy Bautista, Orlando Conde, Philip Gravoso, Arnold Bathan, Danilo Cabrera, Ronald Carlos, Marlon Casuyon, Evar Lucente, Benjamin Wong Jr, Rizaldy Espanol, Ramel Paras, Arman Santillan, Eric Sioco, Rody Nucup Hipolito and Saraya Forbes. November 2007 STCW — NCL, Sept. 3: Samuel Williams, Jonathan Cabatic, Rowen Tamayo, Moraliza Alanes, Zenaida Garcia, Felix Bartolome Jr, Jennifer Grace Cutillar, Onofre Doctolero, Noli Calzado, Toribio Domingo, Ida Bagus Made Suwastika, Ricky Valderrama, Ariel Diaz, Myles Walrick Charles, Christopher Monroy, David Santos, Noel Cesar, Braule Duhalyungsod, Melchor Cacho and Kenneth Santos. Seafarers LOG 23 �45140_p1_5,7,9,17_21,24:September-07 10/26/2007 1:14 PM Page 24 Volume 69, Number 11 November 2007 Summary Annual Reports NMU Vacation Plan — page 7 NMU 401K Plan and NMU Pension Trust of the NMU Pension and Welfare Plan — page 16 NMU Pension Plan Notice — page 20 SIU Members, U.S. Marines Train Side-by-Side Aboard USNS Wright RRF Vessel Continues Busy Stretch Supporting Troops USNS Wright recently hosted United States Marines for multi-faceted training while the vesThesel SIU-crewed was docked in Baltimore. Seafarers and Marines trained side-by-side aboard the Ready Reserve Force (RRF) ship, which is operated by SIU-contracted Crowley. It wasn’t the only time recently when Seafarers and members of the armed forces worked together aboard the Wright. Earlier this year, the ship activated for an undisclosed military support mission that proved successful. More recently, a trip to the aviation logistics support vessel in late September (when the photos accompanying this story were taken) found mariners and Marines in businesslike but good spirits, addressing the tasks at hand and seamlessly interacting. The Wright has a five-day activation period. It is 602 feet long and has a beam of 90 feet, 2 inches. The vessel can travel at 19 knots. RRF ships like the Wright help protect America’s national and economic security, whether they’re fully activated or in reduced operating status. Described by the U.S. Maritime Administration as “a key element of strategic sealift,” the RRF program has served the U.S. since 1976. Currently, it consists of 47 ships. RRF vessels continue to play key roles in Operations Enduring Bosun Tom Moore (right) and Sgt. Dennis Heil Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Additionally, 10 of the ships (includ- operate crane. ing the Wright) were activated to assist in recovery and relief missions following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. AB Greg White Above and at left: Electrician Gary Torres Hooking up cargo boxes Right: PFC Sean Attridge Chief Steward Robert Brown (left) serves lunch to LCPLs Johnny Holman and Cody Price. Chief Cook John Bukowsky, LCPL Johnny Holman � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 November 2007 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES SEAFARERS 401(K) PLAN ANNOUNCED FAMILY HEALTH CARE YEARLY PREMIUMS NOW AVERAGE MORE THAN $12,000 TWIC ENROLLMENT STARTS, BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN UNION TESTIFIES ON MANPOWER, TRAINING AND TRADE ISSUES OSG TANKER ORDER GROWS TO 12 SEAFARERS CREW UP NATIONAL GLORY CROWLEY, HORIZON LINES HONORED FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE USNS SAFEGUARD JOINS SIU CIVMAR FLEET UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR SCRUTINIZES RUNAWAY-FLAT SHIPPING FEDERATION APPOINTS EXECUTIVE VP MOBILE PORT AGENT ED KELLY RETIRES GREAT LAKES CONTRACT RATIFIED ABOARD THE SS HAVERFORD VICTORY: WINTER OF ’45 IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC PAUL HALL CENTER’S MILESTONE YEAR ALSO INCLUDED 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF REVAMPED TRAINEE PROGRAM SIU MEMBERS, U.S. MARINES TRAIN SIDE-BY-SIDE ABOARD USNS WRIGHT Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 11/01/2007 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. 69, No. 11 2007 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/03f034557209c8415ebc509a06904a54.pdf 2b3b4470a66ff4b43f1ad7f82590ac62 PDF Text Text 44775_P01_24x:September-07 10/2/2007 1:05 PM Page 1 Volume 69, Number 10 October 2007 ‘Mapping Out a Brighter Future’ At left: AFL-CIO President John Sweeney addresses the convention as SIUNA President Michael Sacco (center) and Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel listen. At right, U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) discusses challenges facing the maritime industry. Delegates, Speakers Address Maritime And Other Critical Issues The Seafarers International Union of North America (SIUNA) on Sept. 13-14 conducted its 25th convention, hosted by the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Guest speakers from Congress, the administration, the military and the domestic and international labor movements tackled a range of key issues— some of them maritime-specific, others more broad, including health care. The event’s theme was “Mapping Out a Brighter Future.” Coverage starts on pages 2-3 and continues on pages 9-14. International Association of Machinists President Tom Buffenbarger notes the consistent solidarity shown by SIUNA unions. U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton talks about opportunities for U.S. mariners on LNG ships. Tanker Construction Updates Aker Philadelphia Shipyard and General Dynamics NASSCO, respectively, recently provided updates on the tanker construction projects happening at those yards. In Philadelphia, the third product tanker in a series of ships being built for SIU-contracted OSG was floated from its berth in the yard’s building dock (right) in late August. Also, steel cutting has begun for the sixth vessel. In San Diego, construction started Aug. 30 on the lead tanker in a series being built for SIUcontracted U.S. Shipping Partners. Page 3. SEATU Convention CIVMAR News Seafarers Pension Plan Notice Page 6 Page 16 Page 20 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 10:14 PM Page 2 SIU of Canada Demands Answers After Dangerous Greenpeace Stunt President’s Report Convention a Roaring Success I can honestly say that the convention held last month by the Seafarers International Union of North America ranks as one of the best we’ve ever had. Many of the guest speakers offered uplifting expressions of solidarity. They also provided valuable insights into the workings of our government and military. Convention delegates and guest speakers alike took candid looks at key challenges facing the Michael Sacco maritime industry and facing all working families. Consistent with the event’s theme—“Mapping Out a Brighter Future”—we formed strategies moving forward that I believe will prove to be appropriate and effective. Parts of the 25th SIUNA convention had a decidedly international flavor, and not just because of the strong attendance by our brothers and sisters from the SIU of Canada. Our lineup of guest speakers included leaders from the International Transport Workers’ Federation, the Maritime Union of Australia and the Norwegian Seafarers Union. Their remarks really held everyone’s attention, and I think the audience could tell they were heartfelt. Something that stood out among those speeches was the consistent recognition of how politics affects all of our industries. As Paddy Crumlin, national secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia put it, “The reason the SIU is in Washington is that’s where the decisions get made. That’s where the Jones Act lives and dies. The heart and the mind of the union is in Washington because if you’re unable to persuade the politicians, then we’re in the hands of big business and global business—and they don’t care about our interests.” When union officials from other countries see things as we do on such an important subject, it reinforces our own beliefs and strengthens our resolve. I should also mention that Paddy paid tribute to the late John Fay, whom he described as “a giant in more ways than one.” As many, if not most, of our members know, John was a top official in the SIUNA and did groundbreaking international work not only on behalf of our union but truly for all mariners. He passed away in November 2005. “He was a larger-than-life character that really represented the interests of seafarers and the SIU all over the world,” Paddy said. “He was greatly respected right to his last breath. Hopefully that message will get back to John’s family.” In ways that John undoubtedly would approve, his union family throughout the convention focused on the tasks at hand. They include organizing new members, boosting the U.S. Merchant Marine, fighting for good health-care coverage and much more. As always, it starts with hard work. And as always, sooner or later it will involve politics. We’re ready. We’re committed. We will get the job done. Pension Notice This edition of the LOG contains a Seafarers Pension Plan notice with a long section on rules governing insolvent plans. I want to make it clear that there is a legal requirement to publish this notice along with the footnotes, but the Seafarers Pension Plan is fully funded. (All pension plans such as the Seafarers Pension Plan, regardless of their condition, are required to send out a notice.) The Plan is not in trouble at all. A quick read of the notice may cause undue concern. The bottom line is that the Seafarers Pension Plan is in good shape. Volume 69, Number 10 October 2007 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 8990675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Deborah A. Hirtes; Associate Editor, Jim Guthrie; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2007 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG The SIU of Canada last month called for charges of terrorism or piracy to be levied against Greenpeace activists who illegally boarded a union-crewed ship on Lake Erie. Protestors from the Greenpeace vessel Arctic Sunrise during the morning hours of Aug. 30 unlawfully went aboard the union-crewed Algomarine on Lake Erie as it was delivering a shipment of coal to a power plant at Nanticoke, Canada. “This isn’t a small incident,” said James Given, vice president of the Seafarers International Union of Canada. “They put the lives of 16 guys in danger. They (crew members) didn’t know why the protestors were there.” According to several reports, five activists boarded the ship in a bid to delay its delivery of 30,000 tons of coal to the power plant. In the process, they hoped to draw attention to the issue of global warming. After writing the words “No coal, no nuclear—Clean energy” on the ship’s hull, two of the protestors boarded the Algomarine and chained themselves to its discharge boom, which is used to unload coal. Sources say a third demonstrator suspended herself from the vessel’s stern where she dangled dangerously close to the rudder, making movement of the ship impossible. Following the boarding, the Algomarine’s captain radioed the Coast Guard to have the activists removed. He then veered away from the port to await the arrival of authorities. The trio—Dominique Du Sablon, 20, of Toronto; Charlie Latimer, 25, of Vancouver; and Emily-Elizabeth Storey, 22, of Toronto—eventually was cut down and taken away by Ontario Provincial Police to a detachment in Cayuga, Ontario. They were charged with two counts of mischief apiece, but Given contends the protesters should have been charged with terrorism or piracy. “It is piracy. You’re still a pirate. You’re still boarding a ship illegally,” he said during a phone interview from the union’s Thorold, Ontario office. Given said the 16 crew members aboard the Algomarine—some from Niagara, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland—had already been dealing with stressful circumstances before the protest. A crew member from Nova Scotia died during an accident aboard the ship two weeks earlier when it was at a port in Quebec, according to Given. The Greenpeace protest unnecessarily targeted the Algomarine crew, he said. Given has since written a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on behalf of the union demanding to know why the protesters are not facing more serious charges. The union also wants the federal government to call a public inquiry into why no preventative measures were taken by authorities to stop the protesters from boarding the ship. Besides targeting the Algomarine crew, the actions of the protestors also put themselves in jeopardy, said Allister Paterson. He works for Seaway Marine Transport, the company that manages the Algomarine for Algoma Central Corp. “You’d have to have a death wish, I think, to do something like that,” he said of the stunt. Paterson added he could not understand how the protesters even managed to board the Algomarine. “The ship is 700-plus feet long and they’re very high. It’s an athletic feat to climb. There’s no set of stairs. It’s exceptionally dangerous, because if you fall and you go under, you’re dead.” The activists’ boarding of the coal carrier came one day after the Ontario Power Authority released plans for a new power plan that calls for more than $25 billion to be spent on nuclear power plants to ensure the province’s electricity supply until 2025. ILO Report: American Workers Are World’s Most Productive American workers constitute the world’s most prolific labor force. They stay longer in the office, at the factory or on the farm than their counterparts in Europe and most other rich nations, and they produce more per person over the year. American workers also get more done per hour than everyone but the Norwegians, according to a report released Aug. 27 by the United Nations International Labor Organization (ILO). Concisely put, the United States “leads the world in labor productivity,” said the report, which was scrutinized by the Associated Press. The study, “Key Indicators of the Labor Market 2001-2002,” was based on a research effort led by labor market economist Lawrence Jeff Johnson, who serves as chief of the ILO Employment Trends Team. Findings were based on 2006 figures for many countries, or on the most recent available. The average U.S. worker produces $63,885 of wealth per year, more than their counterparts in all other countries, the ILO said in the report. Ireland comes in second at $55,986, followed by Luxembourg at $55,641, Belgium at $55,235 and France at $54,609. Only part of the U.S. productivity growth, which has outpaced that of many other developed economies, can be explained by the longer hours Americans are putting in, the ILO said. The U.S., according to the report, also beats all 27 nations in the European Union (EU), Japan and Switzerland in the amount of wealth created per hour of work—a second key measure of productivity. Norway, which is not an EU member, generates the most output per working hour, $37.99, a figure inflated by the country’s billions of dollars in oil exports and high prices for goods at home, according to the report. The U.S. is second at $35.63—about a half dollar ahead of third-place France. The U.S. employee put in an average 1,804 hours of work in 2006, the report said. That compared with 1,407 hours for the Norwegian worker and 1,564 for the French. It pales, however, in comparison with the annual hours worked per person in Asia, where seven economies—South Korea, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Thailand— surpassed 2,200 average hours per worker. But those countries had lower productivity rates. America’s increased productivity “has to do with the ICT (information and communication technologies) revolution, with the way the U.S. organizes companies, with the high level of competition in the country, with the extension of trade and investment abroad,” said Jose Manuel Salazar, the ILO’s head of employment. The ILO report warned that the widening of the gap between leaders such as the U.S. and poorer nations has been even more dramatic. Laborers from regions such as Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have the potential to create more wealth but are being held back by a lack of investment in training, equipment and technology, the agency said. In sub-Saharan Africa, workers are only about one-twelfth as productive as those in developed countries, the report said. “The huge gap in productivity and wealth is cause for great concern,” ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said, adding that it was important to raise productivity levels of the lowest-paid workers in the world’s poorest countries. China and other East Asian countries are catching up quickest with Western countries. Productivity in the region has doubled in the past decade and is accelerating faster than anywhere else, the report said. But they still have a long way to go: Workers in East Asia are still only about one-fifth as productive as laborers in industrialized countries. Green Bay Reflags U.S. Last month, the brand new RO/RO Green Bay (below) hoisted the Stars and Stripes and replaced the Atlantic Forest in the U.S. Maritime Security Program Fleet. Crewed by SIU members, the Green Bay is operated by Central Gulf Lines. The vessel is 656 feet long and has a beam of 105.8 feet. Its gross tonnage is listed at 59,217; the ship has a CEU (car equivalent unit) capacity of about 6,400. October 2007 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 10:06 PM Page 3 Convention Focuses on Maritime, Health Care, Right to Organize Meeting in convention Sept. 13-14 in Piney Point, Md., delegates representing the dozen affiliated organizations of the Seafarers International Union of North America (SIUNA) reviewed accomplishments and lessons learned from the past five years and crafted strategies to keep fighting for working families. During the SIUNA convention, the St. Mary’s County (Md.) Board of Commissioners presented Seafarers President Michael Sacco with a proclamation celebrating the 40th anniversary of the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. Pictured from left are Commissioner Thomas Mattingly, formerly a member of the Communications Workers of America; AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, one of the convention’s featured speakers; Francis Jack Russell, president of the board of county commissioners; SIU President Sacco; and Commissioner Kenneth Dement, who represents the district including the Paul Hall Center. Tanker Construction Starts in San Diego Philly Shipyard Reports Milestones Tanker construction projects in Philadelphia and San Diego, respectively, are moving ahead, with shipyards reporting milestones in late August. At General Dynamics NASSCO on the West Coast, construction started Aug. 30 on the first product carrier in a nine-vessel series for Seafarers-contracted U.S. Shipping Partners. The keel is scheduled to be laid in December, with vessel delivery slated for early 2009. The first ship will be named Golden State, in honor of California. The other vessels of the class will bear the nicknames of American seaboard states, according to the shipyard. Each of the double-hulled tankers will be just over 600 feet long, displace 49,000 deadweight tons and will have a cargo capacity of about 331,000 barrels. They are designed to carry petroleum and chemical products in the Jones Act trade. Across the country, with two double-hulled tankers already delivered on charter and in service to SIU-contracted Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG), Aker Philadelphia Shipyard on Aug. 27 announced “major milestones” on two subsequent vessels in their program. The third tanker, Hull 007 (eventually to be named Overseas Los Angeles) was floated from its berth in the yard’s building dock on Aug. 25. Two days later, steel cutting began for Hull 010, the sixth vessel in the series (marking the start of production on that ship). For the latter ship, the first steel plates were cut on one of the yard’s two state-of-the-art plasma-cutting machines, and will be used in the construction of engine room sections. With two other tankers also in production, the yard now once again has four of the 600-foot long MT 46 Veteran Class tanker vessels under construction simultaneously. Featuring the theme “Mapping and delegates elected by acclamaOut a Brighter Future,” the tion President Michael Sacco and SIUNA’s 25th convention took Secretary-Treasurer David Heinplace at the Seafarers-affiliated del. Twenty vice presidents also Paul Hall Center for Maritime were chosen at the convention. Training and Education, which is They are Tom Bethel, Nick in its 40th year of operation. Celona, Dean Corgey, Jorge Cruz, During the quinquennial gather- Ed Cummings, Michel Desing, delegates called for actions to jardins, Orlando Diaz, Roman protect workers’ rights to join Gralewicz, Theresa Hoinsky, unions; strengthen the U.S.- and René Lioeanjie, Gunnar LundeCanadian-flag maritime fleets; berg, Kermett Mangram, Nick SIUNA President Michael Sacco back the work of the Marrone, Tom OrzeInternational TransMore convention chowski, Herb Perez, PASHA and TOTE, and we’ve port Workers’ FederaAnthony Poplawski, gained new ATBs with Crowley. tion along with that of coverage appears Joseph Soresi, John “We’ve continued to get supother individual ITF Spadaro, Augie Tellez port for the Jones Act from on pages 9-14. affiliates; provide good, and Donna Walsh. Congress and the administration,” affordable health care Topics on the he continued, “which as you for all Americans; and support agenda included the Employee know is also vital to many of our America’s troops wherever they Free Choice Act, port and shipunions.” serve. They also passed resolu- board security, the war against Several guest speakers lauded tions urging labor federation soli- terrorism, health care, cabotage the school on its anniversary, and darity; continued utilization of laws and the U.S. Maritime following the convention’s first Union Plus programs; grassroots Security Program. session, county officials presentpolitical action; and specifically President Sacco during his the enactment of the Belated opening remarks listed some of ed a proclamation honoring the Thank You to the Merchant the challenges faced by maritime Paul Hall Center and the union. Sacco pointed out, “One of the Mariners of World War II Act. labor and unions as a whole, but keys to the school’s success is Approximately 250 delegates also cited a few of the key accomthat it has always changed with and guests attended the conven- plishments spurred at least in part the times. It has always changed tion. Addressing the gathering by SIUNA affiliates since the to meet the needs of our members were (in order): Valerie Lilja, prior convention in 2002. and our companies. I believe Union Plus representative; Ernie “SIUNA unions helped secure every one of the unions in the Grecco, president, Metropolitan the renewal and expansion of the SIUNA has to be guided by that Baltimore AFL-CIO; Paddy U.S. Maritime Security Program, same philosophy.... We can be Crumlin, national secretary, which provides thousands of jobs proud of our history. We can celMaritime Union of Australia; Bill for our members,” he pointed out. ebrate traditions. But we have to Van Loo, secretary-treasurer, “Our unions also helped support remain on the cutting edge in Marine Engineers’ Beneficial efforts that have resulted in con- order to survive.” Association; Dick Myers, repre- struction of new American-flag The SIUNA was chartered in senting the office of U.S. Senator commercial ships in Philadelphia 1938. It consists of 12 autoBarbara Mikulski (D-Md.); Capt. and San Diego—tankers for OSG nomous affiliate unions, includGlen Banks, international secre- and U.S. Shipping, and container- ing the Seafarers International tary-treasurer, International Or- ships for Matson. We’ve picked Union, Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and ganization of Masters, Mates & up new ships with Horizon Lines, Inland Waters District/NMU. Pilots; John Sweeney, AFL-CIO president; Capt. David Stalfort, commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center; U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.); Tom Buffenbarger, president, International Association of Machinists; Sean Connaughton, U.S. maritime administrator; Fred Mason, president, Maryland and D.C. AFLCIO; Steve Cotton, International Transport Workers’ Federation maritime coordinator and secretary of the ITF Special Seafarers’ Department; Jacqueline Smith, president, Norwegian Seafarers’ Union; and Rear Adm. Robert Reilly Jr., commander, U.S. Military Sealift Command. Additionally, SIUNA affiliates reported on their recent activities, Delegates and guests pack the auditorium. Production starts on Hull 010 at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard in late August. Please be advised the SIU headquarters and all SIU hiring halls will be closed on Monday, Nov. 12 for the observance of Veterans Day, and Thursday, Nov. 22 for the observance of Thanksgiving Day (unless an emergency arises). Normal business hours will resume the following workday. The convention took place Sept. 13-14 at the Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center. October 2007 Seafarers LOG 3 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 6:06 PM Page 4 Allied Boatmen Approve Contract SIU boatman employed aboard inland vessels operated by Norfolk, Va.-based Allied Transportation Co. on Aug. 31 ratified a new threeyear agreement which went into effect the following day. Among other gains, the new contract provides for annual wage increases and the continuation of Core-Plus benefits levels throughout the life of the accord. Some 120 union members who work aboard eight Allied-operated vessels (Heron, Sea Robin, Sea Raven, Sea Hawk, Falcon, Sea Eagle, Petral and Socrates) are affected by the new agreement. Seafarers from a ninth vessel (Osprey) also will fall under the fresh pact when it rejoins the Allied fleet later this year. “This new labor agreement is fair to all parties concerned,” said SIU Norfolk Port Agent Georg Kenny, who served as principal negotiator for the union. “The actual negotiations went very smooth and the company’s representatives were very open and willing to address our major concerns. They recognized the importance of labor and management working together to get things done.” Kenny had high praise for the rank-and-file members who assisted him on the union negotiation committee: 1st Mate Mike Woolard, Engineer Dan Haag and AB/Cook George Erwin. “Each of the negotiation committee members did a wonderful job lobbying in the interests of their fellow shipmates,” Kenny said. “Their brothers and sisters should be proud.” SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker credited the union’s bargaining committee for outstanding work and also noted that Allied was extremely forthcoming in hammering out the new agreement. Company bargaining officials realst From left, 1 Mate Mike Woolard, Engineer Dan Haag and AB/Cook ized that it benefits all concerned to George Erwin served on the union’s committee during recent con- have safe, reliable, enthusiastic crew tract negotiations with Allied Transportation Co. in Norfolk, Va. In members who feel like they’re partaddition to these members, Norfolk Port Agent Georg Kenny (not pic- ners in the operations rather than just tured) was a member of the SIU negotiating team. numbers, he said. SIU boatmen aboard the Heron are pleased with the new contract. The crew (from left) consists of Chief Engineer William Racette, Capt. Cliff Noe, AB Ronnie Powell, AB/Tankerman William Matthews, Mate Edward Rittenhouse and OS/Cook Charles Hill. Members of the Sea Robin crew are happy with the efforts of their shipmates who helped hammer out the new labor agreement. Pictured (from left) are AB Brad Hall, AB Jose LeBron and Mate Lance Riggs. G&H Adds New Tugboat Pictured on the Sea Raven are crew members (from left) OS/Cook Elwin LeBouef, Mate Gerald Gamage, Chief Engineer Stuart Diggs, Capt. Steve Lewis and Engineer Gil Diggs. Also on the crew but not pictured are AB/Tankerman Andy Page and Cargo Mate Ryan Emmons. T-AKE Ship Order Expands SIU-contracted G&H Towing recently christened the z-drive harbor tug Thor. Seafarers and SIU officials participated in the ceremony at Barbours Cut in La Porte, Texas. The 6,500 hp tugboat features high-tech navigational and propulsion systems. It also is equipped with a firefighting system that includes a vapor-mist feature designed to extinguish fires on LNG vessels or at LNG terminals. Pictured in the group photo are (from left) SIU Asst. VP Gulf Coast Jim McGee, Mate Travis Parker, DEU Buddy Wheeler, Capt. Doug Caradec, AB Jay Fabian, Relief Capt. Nicoli Payne, Chief Engineer Chris Wootton and SIU VP Gulf Coast Dean Corgey. The z-drive harbor tug Thor 4 Seafarers LOG The SIU’s Government Services Division on Aug. 23 continued its run of good news in the new tonnage arena. On that date, San Diego-based General Dynamics NASSCO announced it had reached an agreement with the U.S. Navy for options to build up to five additional T-AKE dry cargo ammunition ships. Each of the new builds will be part of the Lewis and Clark class of vessels owned and operated by the Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) and crewed by the union’s CIVMARS. Shipyard sources say contracts for the ships, valued at approximately $2.5 billion if all options are exercised, are expected to be awarded over the next four years. Including the nine ships previously under contract, this pact means the San Diego shipyard would build a total of 14 T-AKE ships for the Navy. Since October 2001, NASSCO has received contracts to build nine T-AKE ships and delivered the first three ships of the class (USNS Lewis and Clark, USNS Sacagawea and USNS Alan Shepard). The fourth T-AKE ship (USNS Richard Byrd) is scheduled to be delivered next month. Under the new agreement, NASSCO would deliver the fourteenth ship in the fourth quarter of 2014. Each of the new platforms will be 689 feet in length, boast an overall beam of 106 feet, navigational draft of 30 feet and the ability to displace about 42,000 tons with a full load. Powered by a single-shaft diesel-electric propulsion system, each of the ships can reach a speed of 20 knots. As part of the Military Sealift Command’s Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force, the ships will be crewed by 124 civil service mariners. Each vessel also will have military detachments of 11 sailors to provide operational support and supply coordination. When needed, the ships each will carry helicopter detachments of 39 military personnel. NASSCO has incorporated international marine technologies and commercial ship-design features into the T-AKE class, including an integrated electric-drive propulsion system. The ships can deliver more than 10,000 tons of food, ammunition, fuel and other provisions to combat ships at sea. T-AKE ships are replacing single-mission ships that are reaching the end of their service lives. October 2007 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 6:07 PM Page 5 Labor Day Events Focus on Health Care Union workers across the country, including SIU members in Mobile, Ala. and Wilmington, Calif., celebrated Labor Day 2007 with an assortment of picnics, parades and politics. Working families, counting SIU port officials, rank-and-file members and their families honored the working men and women who built and maintain America. Moreover, they celebrated a year that saw workers play a major role in: electing a new Congress, the passage of the first increase in the minimum wage in a decade and majority congressional support of the Employee Free Choice Act. Perhaps the most significant Labor Day episode, however, actually took place Aug. 29 in Washington, D.C. when the AFLCIO launched its massive national drive to fix America’s broken health care system. New figures from the federal government show there are a record 47 million Americans with no coverage. Speaking at a press conference conducted shortly after the drive’s launch, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said the grassroots campaign will summon the full force of millions of union members and scores of union retirees behind winning high-quality, secure health care for every person in America within the next two years. Five days later, Sweeney, while making a Labor Day appearance in Philadelphia, vowed to make health care a national priority in the presidential race. Speaking at the annual Labor Day festivities along the Delaware River, Sweeney repeated his earlier pledge to recruit millions of union workers to speak out on health-care reform. “Nobody should have to fear the consequences of getting sick,” he said, adding that no company should have to go out of business because health-care costs have gotten out of control. “This year, we’re not only putting together the biggest grassroots political campaign in our history, we’re putting the full force of 10 million union members and 3 million retirees behind a new campaign to win high-quality health care for every person in America by 2009,” he said. “We’re stepping out front because we believe that in America nobody should have to fear the consequences of getting sick or having an accident,” he continued. “Our message to America this Labor Day is a promise: We brought you public schools. We brought you the weekend and, by God, we’re going to bring you health care.” In Tampa, Fla., AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka told a rally that workers can restore the grand principle that ours is a nation for all the people, all of the time. “We can have it all if we refuse to take a rest and begin now this Labor Day to finish what we started last year,” Trumka said. “We can take back control of our government and take back control of our country and take back control of our lives if we pledge to work October 2007 harder than ever to elect men and women at every level of government who will champion our working family’s agenda.” AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda ChavezThompson, who threw out the first pitch during a Toledo (Ohio) Mud Hens AAA Minor League baseball game earlier in the day, told a rally that workers are “sick and tired of living on a treadmill—running as fast as we can and still falling behind. We see what’s going on and we’re not going to keep quiet. We’re going to join together and stand up for what we know is fair and right.” The enthusiasm and determination of workers to win universal health care could be seen around the country during the Labor Day weekend, according to federation reports. Labor Day is the traditional launch of the political campaign season and with the all-important 2008 elections approaching, workers used the Labor Day weekend to send a message to candidates that they want health care and other working families issues addressed in this campaign. The United Steelworkers and the Mine Workers used the weekend to endorse former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) for president. But it was health care that was on most workers’ minds. Many of the picnics and parades used stickers and placards with “In America, No One Should Go Without Health Care” and “Employee Free Choice Act Now.” New Jersey State AFL-CIO President Charles Wowkanech and Secretary-Treasurer Laurel Brennan said America’s failure to adopt a national and health care plan for all dramatically undermines our nation’s ability to maintain a healthy economy. Instead of rewarding union contractors and responsible employers for contributing to their workers’ health care, the labor officials said our system places them at a disadvantage as they are faced with the reality of paying premiums inflated by the cost of providing care for the uninsured. In Phoenix, Ariz., AFL-CIO Executive Director Rebekah Friend said health care is the main issue on working people’s minds. “It’s become more and more of an issue for us when we’re going to the bargaining table for our contracts. Health care is the number one issue and the rising costs associated with it,” Friend said. More than 4,000 union members attended a statewide rally in Birmingham, Ala. Rep. Artur Davis (D-Ala.) attended the event and pledged to support a comprehensive health care plan. Alabama AFL-CIO President D. Stewart Burkhalter told the crowd, “There’s something wrong when we’re the wealthiest country in the (world) and so many of our people don’t have health insurance.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), in his Labor Day statement, pledged that the new Congress will continue to put working families first when it returns to Capitol Hill after the Labor Day recess. “We cannot Seafarers in Wilmington, Calif. march in the annual Labor Day parade. forget that so many workers in the world’s wealthiest nation continue to struggle,” he said. “New census data show that while wages have declined, the number of Americans without health insurance has increased.” Elsewhere on Labor Day, according to the AFL-CIO: Workers from as far away as the U.S. territory of Guam celebrated. GFT, Guam’s local union, made free soda floats for everyone at the Labor Day picnic on the beach. In the Boston area, members of Electrical Workers Local 2222 who work for Verizon displayed banners on two busy highway overpasses, saying “Enjoy your holiday weekend—made possible by organized labor!” In Pasadena, Texas, the Harris County Central Labor Council and the Gulf Coast Building and Construction Trades Council joined with the Texas Gulf Coast BBQ Cookers Association for a cook-off competition and Labor Day celebration. The two-day event included food for purchase, entertainment, exhibits, crafts and children’s activities. In Pittsburgh, a plaque was unveiled renaming the 10th Street Bridge in honor of Philip Murray, founding president of the United Steelworkers. Workers in New York City— in place of the city’s traditional Labor Day parade— rallied Sept. 8 to demand long-term health care for ill Sept. 11 workers. Rallygoers urged Congress to pass comprehensive health care legislation, including ongoing treatment and medical monitoring for all workers made ill by their exposure to the toxic air at Ground Zero in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001. New Terminal Opens in Va. “Impressive–quite impressive!” That was the reaction and assessment of SIU Vice President Government Services Division Kermett Mangram Sept. 7 after attending ceremonies which marked the official opening of APM Terminals’ new $450 million port complex in Portsmouth, Va. The new terminal took about seven years to develop, according to the Virginian-Pilot. It sits on 230 acres of real estate, replaces a 71-acre facility and is one of the most technologically advanced facilities of its kind in the world. Its 30 semi-automated cranes, which will be operated via a combination of computer and human guidance, are expected to significantly increase the number of cargo containers which the Hampton Roads port annually handles. Mangram and Norfolk Port Agent Georg Kenny represented the SIU during the terminal’s official opening which attracted some 700-plus people. Included were representatives from the national and international maritime transportation industry, maritime labor, and Virginia state and local governments. Additionally, Maersk McKinney Moller, the 94year-old former chairman of A.P. Moller-Maersk, flew in from Denmark to participate in the event. In his remarks to guests, he said that Maersk ships have been calling in Hampton Roads regularly since 1928. “We’ve always been treated well in Virginia, in a friendly, Southern, high-quality way,” he said. Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine (D) called the project a huge win “for Virginia because it increases the state’s global connections.” Such links are essential for success in the modern economy, he noted. Reports say the complex initially will employ about 130, including the longshoremen who handle cargo. The employee count is expected to reach about 210 as the terminal increases to full capacity SIU VP Government Services Division Kermett Mangram (left) met and conversed with Maersk McKinney Moller, former chairman of A.P. MollerMaersk (center), during the ceremony. Joining the two for this photo is Norfolk Port Agent Georg Kenny. —one million 20-foot-long containers per year. Edward L. Brown Sr., general vice president of the International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO, also attended the event. After commenting on the impact which the new facility may have on longshoremen and their employment opportunities—sources say the terminal’s automation presents a challenge to longshoremen by reducing the need for manual work—he urged APM not to employ non-ILA workers to do traditional longshoremen’s work. APM Terminals spent about seven years developing the cargo container terminal. It opened July 30 for testing and ramp-up operations, including working some smaller ships. Larger vessels already have been arriving at the terminal, but sources say the facility won’t be fully operational until year’s end. APM Terminals, part of the Danish conglomerate A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, built the new facility to handle international cargo shipments which are expected to increase rapidly in coming decades. In particular, it will serve the Seafarers-contracted Maersk Line Limited, its sister company and the world’s largest container shipping line. Several of the new facility’s 30 railmounted, semi-automatic cranes provided an excellent backdrop for parts of the grand opening ceremonies. Officials say the new equipment will have the capability to stack cargo containers faster and more efficiently than other systems. Seafarers LOG 5 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 5:03 PM Page 6 SEATU Convention Tackles Issues of Growth and Organizing As the fourth triennial convention of the Seafarers Entertainment & Allied Trades Union (SEATU) got under way Sept. 10, 2007 at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., delegates, officials and guests heard from a number of speakers about the necessity of keeping the labor movement strong through organizing efforts. SEATU, an affiliate of the SIU, was chartered in 1995 with 169 members in Alton, Ill. Twelve years later, with more than 4,600 members, this two-day meeting and election of officers focused on the need to continue to grow. SIU President Michael Sacco, who also is president of SEATU, opened the convention by talking about the challenges currently faced by SEATU/SIU-contracted NCL America and how the company’s three U.S.-flagged cruise ships, the Pride of Aloha, Pride of America and Pride of Hawaii, have brought thousands of jobs to the rank-and-file membership. He also talked about the necessity to raise money through PACs (political action committees). The SIU has an old saying, “Politics Is Porkchops,” meaning that politics plays a role in helping put food on the table. PACs use money to selectively support those candidates at the federal, state and local levels who support their members’ issues. One of the union’s greatest friends in the U.S. Congress is Rep. Neil Abercrombie (DHawaii), who, as a champion of working people, energized the group as he spoke about the labor movement. A successful movement, he noted, is based on faith and trust—“faith in yourselves and trust in your mission.” He likened the hard work in building up the Paul Hall Center from a barren area to a top-tier training school for merchant mariners to that of the hard work being done in Congress. He also stressed the importance of remembering that every single vote counts. “You need to figure out what’s in your interest and who’s on your side….You’ve got to vote for people that are on your side and that can organize themselves.” “Votes for labor just don’t appear in the Congress of the United States,” he said. “It takes hard work, concentrated work to make sure we get the 218 votes that we need in order to get a majority.” It also takes money, and “a PAC is the first line of financial defense in helping elect those officials who will work for you.” Abercrombie mentioned the foreign cruise ships that currently are sailing in the Hawaiian Islands—cruise ships that don’t pay taxes in the United States and don’t have to obey the health, environmental and safety laws. He said that SEATU members on the NCL ships are pioneers in the struggle to keep a cruise ship operation that is American flagged and crewed under American laws and noted that there wouldn’t be a U.S. cruise industry today without them. Some people accept their fate, the representative said. They have no faith that they can change their own condition. But by organizing—and voting—changes can be made. He concluded by thanking those who continue to have faith and trust in him and promised that while he remains in Congress, Gene Clark, senior vice president at Penn National Gaming, Inc., expressed his hopes that SEATU and Penn National will continue to grow together. Legislative Affairs Consultant Bob McGlotten emphasized the need for political action and the importance of registering to vote—and then actually getting to the polls. U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) energized the attendees at the SEATU convention as he spoke about the labor movement and the importance of keeping a strong American-flag cruise ship operation. labor has a friend 100 percent of the time. On the second day of the convention, Bob McGlotten, a partner in the legislative affairs consulting firm of McGlotten & Jarvis (and previously the legislative director of the AFL-CIO), continued talking about unionism and the need for political action. “Workers in this country are under attack,” he stated. Changes in laws are being made to help individuals’ interests, not to help the workers’ interests. He acknowledged that votes and money—in that order—are the two things that politicians understand. While individuals may not have the money themselves, they can join forces with others to raise it and become politically effective by outvoting those politicians who are not for working people. He urged union members to become more political on a daily basis to protect their jobs and their industry—to be players. “Politics,” he said, “plays a major role from birth to death and everything in between. Politics is playing a role in your life every single day…Step up to the plate by registering to vote and help your union survive.” Gene Clark, senior vice president, human resources at Penn National Gaming, Inc., toured the Paul Hall Center, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and came away impressed by the people, the facility and the work being done there. He noted that the relationship The re-elected officers take the oath of office given by General Counsel Leslie Tarantola. From the left are Vice President Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Augie Tellez, Executive Vice President/Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel and President Michael Sacco. 6 Seafarers LOG John Mason, CEO of American Service Technology, Inc., talked about skills involved in the maritime, service, gaming and hospitality industries. Valerie Lilja, AFL-CIO Union Plus Rep, provided information about the cost savings programs available to union members including the popular credit card program. between SEATU and Penn National (which acquired Argosy in 1995) is unique and unlike any other union association. The company started out in 1972 as the owner of a racetrack in Pennsylvania. It went public in 1994 and since then the rate of growth has been astonishing. It is the only company in history to make Fortune magazine’s “100 Fastest-Growing Companies” six times in a row. The experienced gaming operation has small and large facilities in a geographically diversified area and employs 2,000 SEATU members, including in Lawrenceburg, Ind.; Sioux City, Iowa; Riverside, Mo.; Baton Rouge, La.; Joliet and Alton, Ill. And that growth and continued growth, Clark affirmed, is attributable to SEATU. He encouraged the union to continue to assist the company with providing the technical training and marine expertise as well as with legislative issues needed to help it provide continued job security for its employees. “SEATU is successful if Penn National is successful,” Clark stated, and he hoped the two forces will continue to grow together. Part of the convention proceedings included regional reports from the various union halls, a reading of the Executive Board minutes, and reports from the Auditing Committee, Credentials Committee and Convention Arrangements Committee. Carolyn Gentile, general counsel of the Seafarers Investment Funds spoke about legislative regulations on pensions and health care. John Mason, CEO of American Service Technology, Inc., the company that provides curriculums and educational guidance to the Paul Hall Center, talked about the skills involved in the maritime, service, gaming and hospitality industries that are taken for granted by the public, and he showed a promotional film about the hospitality programs available to employees of NCL and Penn National, noting that the school has issued 9,952 certificates to SEATU gaming facility members since 1996. Valerie Lilja, the AFL-CIO Union Plus representative for SEATU and the SIU provided information to the group about the cost savings available to union members through their benefit programs, including a new plan for roadside assistance and auto buying. She also conducted a workshop in the afternoon during which she summarized each of the benefits available, including credit counseling, health savings, insurance programs, education services and the popular credit card program, among others. Before adjourning the triennial convention, delegates voted to approve 12 resolutions and to return the current officers to lead the union through the next three years. Re-elected were President Michael Sacco, Executive Vice President/Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel, Vice President Augie Tellez and Vice President Tom Orzechowski. October 2007 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 8:21 PM Page 7 Catching Up With Seafarers On Shore Boston Port Agent Gerard Dhooge (left in both pictures) stands behind the counter in the new hall on Drydock Ave. as members come in to take care of business. Oiler Antonio Dos Santos is at left and QMED Hank Spanhoff is at right. Recertified Bosun Dan Marcus of Baltimore, Md. challenged himself Aug. 4 when he ran a 10K in Washington, D.C. as part of The North Face 2007 Endurance Challenge. Of 118 finishers in the race, Marcus came in 51st place overall–and first in his age group (50-59), with a time of 55:55.75 (or a 9:01 pace per mile). With him at the finish is the race director. Manuel Figueroa (right) receives his first SIU inland pension check from Port Agent Amancio Crespo at the hall in Santurce, P.R. Figueroa worked as an engineer at Crowley. Capt. David C. Stalfort, commanding officer, National Maritime Center, U.S. Coast Guard, had an opportunity to tour the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. in late August. He is pictured here with instructor Mitch Oakley, who showed him the stateof-the-art computer bridge simulator. Captain Stalfort was impressed by what he saw and returned to the school last month as a speaker at the SIUNA convention. Above: Upgrading member Richard Wright (third from right) receives his full book at the August membership meeting in Piney Point, Md. From the left are Asst. VP Ambrose Cucinotta, Port Agent Edd Morris, VP Kermett Mangram, Exec. VP Augie Tellez, Wright, VP George Tricker and Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel. At right: QMED Jimmy McCall receives his full book at the September meeting. From the left are VP Joseph Soresi, Tellez, Morris, McCall, Tricker and Heindel. October 2007 SIU Port Agent Georg Kenny (right) greets U.S. Senator Jim Webb during the Virginia AFLCIO convention in Tyson’s Corner, Va. in mid-August. Kenny congratulated the senator on his election last year, and the two briefly discussed the importance of the U.S. Merchant Marine. At a June 20 luncheon held by the United Seamen’s Service in New York City, SIU Rep Kate Hunt (left) met with Rear Adm. Robert Reilly, commander, MSC. Also in the picture is Randi Ciszewski, MEBA/MMP Government Fleet representative. Seafarers LOG 7 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 8:22 PM Page 8 Recollections of the Merchant Marine in World War II Editor’s note: The first five installments of retired Seafarer Albert Stimac’s experiences in the merchant marine appeared in the April, May, June, July and September Seafarers LOGs, respectively. He wrote about his training, his first ship, joining the SIU, the responsibilities of a member of the black gang, traveling in a convoy during World War II, boiler problems on a C-3 bound for England, attending a Coast Guard hearing and a convoy trip to Europe with a load of high explosives on board. This is the last article in the series. These are the best recollections of Brother Stimac’s training and sea time from the end of 1943 to late 1946, so any inaccuracies in the details need not be brought to his attention. I t was a long four hours before we docked, and the pilot was no prize. He would ring down every other minute from full ahead to full reverse and everything in between. The fireman/watertender had to have a full head of steam at all times in order to maneuver quickly and yet not blow the safety valves and blow steam all over. We counted later in the log that he called for changes of speed 30 to 40 a minute until we finally made it through all the mess. Sometimes the pilot would ring down different changes so fast that we would stand there and do nothing. But eventually, we made it to the dock and tied up. Almost immediately, everyone who wasn’t on watch took off. Even the gun crew members took off. Merchant seamen did not have to get permission to go ashore once a ship had docked. The only ones needed were the black gang people. The only steam needed when docked was enough to run the generators for electricity and pumps for water and fuel. I had stayed on board as I could see no sense in running ashore when the whole area was bombed out. I figured I’d go the next day with a couple of the black gang crew to take a look around and that it would be a few days before they got the ship unloaded. In late afternoon, I heard a big boom and then saw a large column of smoke head skyward. It was almost white in color and then, like a mushroom, it blossomed out in a black cloud. The column must have been a mile or two high. I judged it was about 10 miles away and figured the Germans had blown up a supply dump of ammunition while retreating. Shortly thereafter, an air raid siren on land went off, which meant for the Navy armed guard to get to the 20mm guns. I looked around and didn’t see any armed guard (Navy personnel) going to the guns, so I figured I’d go and see if anybody needed help. Nobody was on the gun station that I checked. About five minutes later, the gunnery officer showed up and gave a quick look around. He could see there was nobody on the gun except me and asked me what I was doing there. I just looked at him and shrugged. He stared back, turned around and left. So I stayed there and got into the gun harness and tried to remember how to fire the thing. I figured that this would be an Albert Stimac stays busy with gardening and yard work and also is quite at home in the kitchen. His pride is a deep-oil fryer that holds five pounds of French fries. 8 Seafarers LOG exciting thing to do. In training, we fired at planes coming in from different angles that were shown on a giant movie screen. This stuff now was for real. Before I got around to even get started trying to fire the gun, I heard an engine noise that sounded like a plane was in big trouble. It was burping and sputtering like it was going to crash at any time. Then I looked astern and saw it wobbling along about 500 feet above the water headed directly toward us. I figured I was a dead duck if he opened fire, but he just came over the top of us and kept on going. It wasn’t hard to see the German markings on the plane. Shortly after, I heard another plane whose engine was running fine. He came over us at a good speed but did not fire at us. That was all the activity we had that evening. I found out later that this was a favorite icebergs. The captain called for full reverse of the engines, and we stopped and had just enough propeller revolutions to have control of the ship’s drifting. These icebergs were really something to see. I would guess they were 150 feet to 200 feet high and 300 or 400 feet across. This was just on top of the water. They say 90 percent of an iceberg is beneath the water. As we sat there just slowly drifting, a ship suddenly appeared out of the fog coming about 10 knots straight at us. We were broadside to it on our port side. It was about 600 yards out and all the horns started blowing. It was like a movie in slow motion. The oncoming ship was desperately trying to avoid us by turning to its left while we tried turning to our right. It slid into us about about 45 degrees. The ships came together as I stood on our As his ship was heading into LeHavre, France during the war, Brother Stimac and his fellow crew members caught sight of a half-sunken Liberty ship. tactic of German fighters and bombers. The first plane coming in was a decoy acting like it had engine problems. If the gun crews opened fire at it, then they knew it was an operating supply ship. The second plane could aim for the ship guided by the gun fire at the decoy. Then it would dive down and drop a bomb or bombs on the ship. As I look back on this, I wonder sometimes at how things happen. If the gun crew had not gone ashore and were there to fire at the decoy, I doubt I would be writing this. The next day, I went ashore with a couple of my pals, an oiler and a watertender. The port was a mess. No building was complete. They were either bombed out or just skeletons. No people were around. We just walked around a little and went back to the ship. The next day we got orders to start building up steam in the boilers because we were going to leave port. I couldn’t figure out why we didn’t unload our ammo. We did not look forward to sailing around with our cargo, and there was no scuttlebutt about our next destination. We ended up going back to England and anchored about two or three miles offshore. The current from the tide was very strong and ran about 6-8 knots. We had to let out all of our anchor chain to hold us pretty much in the same place. With the current this fast, we didn’t have to worry about getting torpedoed. We didn’t stay long in this location as we were in the process of making up a convoy back to the States. We took the northern route and things went along pretty well as far as the ships keeping in a group. This lasted until we hit dense fog around the Greenland area. The convoys usually zigged and zagged once or twice a day. We had zigged in the morning and then came upon a thick fog bank. Before orders could go out to all ships in the convoy to zag at 3 o’clock instead of 5 o’clock, it was too late. We just kept going straight ahead as some ships did while others took a turn to port and steamed on. It really became a nightmare to try and guess who was where. We had just broken out of a fog for a patch of sunlight when we ran in between three main deck watching the action taking place. The other ship did not reduce its speed and so it kept going and scraping along our port side. As I stood there, I saw a huge long bolt of blue go across our deck caused by the scraping of the two steel hulls of the ships. This ship was empty with only water for ballast in its fuel tanks. So it stood high in the water while we were loaded and were low. When in full contact alongside of us, the other ship took off our life rafts and boats and caved in the 20mm gun turrets. I saw some guys running to the back of our ship and saw our 3rd engineer going that way, too. He was a carrying a Colt 45 in his hand. Some of the men were starting to go over the side. Two men were already over the rails ready to jump, and I saw the 3rd engineer point the pistol at them. He ordered the men back aboard and said if they jumped, they would be dead before they hit the water. They all climbed back over the rails. I thought to myself, “It’s Sunday afternoon and 5 o’clock. What a hell of a way to die.” The odd part was that I had no fear of death. It was so unreal, and a person had no control over the events that were happening. As we slowly drifted apart, the crew from the other ship showed up on their rail. They were about 10 feet above us since they were empty, and they disappeared in a hurry when they found out we were carrying ammo. Luckily, we didn’t rupture any of the seams but we dented the port side pretty badly. The rest of the trip was uneventful, and I understand they scrapped our ship after we got off. I decided to go home for a couple weeks and then ship out on the West Coast as the war was pretty much over in Germany. As usual, my mother asked me how things were and if I had run into any trouble. I said no, just average. She didn’t say anything but took out a piece of newspaper from her apron pocket. She had found a short article in the Duluth News Tribune on a back page that stated that a convoy in the North Atlantic had run into icebergs and some ships had been damaged. It named the ships, and mine was among them, saying it was one of the most damaged. It’s amazing sometimes how life goes on. There was a widowed woman in Nashwauk who ran a café that was a popular hangout on Main Street. Just before I left, I was having coffee and visiting. The woman came over and asked if she could talk to me. So we went to an empty table and she started talking about her son, a young man of 18 or so. I knew who he was, but was not a friend, so to speak. Evidently, the son had been involved with some of the younger “war widows” as local gossip said. The term “war widow” meant any woman, young or old, whose husband or boyfriend was in the service. To make a long story short, I agreed to take him with me when I left. He didn’t show too much emotion about staying or leaving town. We went to Seattle and I hunted up the union shipping hall. I didn’t have any trouble getting a good ship after the union steward saw my stamped union book. He saw that I had just gotten off a ship as a junior engineer and fixed me up on a motor vessel at the same rating, even though I didn’t have papers. I talked to him about my problems with the hometown boy. I had promised his mother that I would help him get some sailing papers, and he set him up as a mess boy on the same ship I was sailing on. All the ships I had sailed on before were steam driven. This one was a diesel engine. It had two monster diesels for its power. I remember our trip from LeHavre, France. We were hauling some troops back to the States in our cargo holds. I knew the purser and persuaded him to look on the Army roster for anybody from Minnesota. He found a guy from Keewatin, Minn. I fixed it up to get him out of the cargo hold and up for a shower and a cooked meal from our galley. He sure was hungry. We sailed to Guam with cargo and after we unloaded, we headed back to the States. We also hauled troops back from Guam. I found one from the Iron Range and did what I could for him to take showers and eat a couple of good meals. We only broke down once and had to replace a piston and rings on one cylinder. We heard then that the United States had dropped an atom bomb on Japan. There were all kinds of wild rumors as to its size. I never did see the local boy after we docked and were paid off. I said I was going home for good since the war was all but finished. One of the things I liked best about shipping in the Atlantic was the respect and treatment we got from the people, especially in the British Isles. They thought as much of us as they did their own Air Force fighter pilots who fought off the Luftwaffe. We weren’t exactly too high on the good-guy list in the States. Many members of the military figured we were in it for the money since we supposedly got about three times their pay rate. What they didn’t figure on was that we received no pay when we were off a ship and waiting for another one. We had to pay all of our own expenses: food, travel, clothing, lodging, etc. We never got any more pay if we carried ammo or were on a tanker carrying vehicle gas, fuel oil or airplane gas. We never got any benefits such as schooling, medical, unemployment or cheap rates for housing. About 40 years after the fact, Congress recognized us as veterans and gave us the right to be buried in a military cemetery. The state of Minnesota gave me a $187 bonus for services rendered. All I can say is that I did what I thought was the most I could do for the war effort. The Merchant Marine had a higher casualty rate than any military service except for the Marine Corps and that doesn’t include the thousands who were wounded or injured from ship sinkings. October 2007 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 6:08 PM Page 9 Maritime Speakers Describe Industry’s Value, Challenges Representatives from Congress, the administration, the U.S. Military Sealift Command, the U.S. Coast Guard and maritime labor had plenty to say about the U.S. Merchant Marine’s tremendous importance as they spoke during the SIUNA convention Sept. 13-14 in Piney Point, Md. They also didn’t shy away from addressing some of the key challenges facing the industry during this time of unprecedented and evolving regulation. Among those focusing the bulk of their respective comments on the U.S.-flag industry were U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.); Rear Adm. Robert Reilly Jr., commander, MSC; U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton; Capt. David Stalfort, commanding officer of the Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center; Dick Myers, representing the office of U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (DMd.); Capt. Glen Banks, international secretary-treasurer of the International Association of Masters, Mates & Pilots; and Bill Van Loo, secretary-treasurer of the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association. Cummings chairs the House Transportation Committee’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. He also serves on the House Armed Services Committee. He reviewed some of the subcommittee’s key accomplishments during the past nine months, including passage of the Integrated Deepwater Program Reform Act and the Maritime Pollution Prevention Act. Concerning the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program—a complex, controversial subject—Cummings stated, “Like all of the new security measures instituted after 9/11, the introduction of TWIC requires the govern- ment to strike a delicate balance. We must ensure that we put all needed security measures in place throughout our maritime installations, but that these measures do not place an undue burden on the maritime industry or lead to the unfair treatment of workers. Right now, too many questions about TWIC remain unan- swered. For that reason, I will be convening the subcommittee again in the fall to receive an update from the Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration regarding the steps that will be taken to ensure the effective and predictable roll-out of the TWIC.” He said that when it comes to offshore LNG projects in and near the U.S., “I will continue to take every available opportunity to promote the placement of LNG operations offshore—and the use of vessels that fly the U.S. flag and employ U.S. crew members to serve those terminals.” Cummings stated that when he became subcommittee chairman, “I dedicated myself to two objectives. The first objective is to promote the growth and success of the U.S. Merchant Marine. The second objective is to oversee the effective operation of the Coast Guard. Importantly, these two goals are also complementary. “The posture of the Coast Guard toward the maritime industry is a concern that has been repeatedly raised to me by mariners, port officials, shipowners, and indeed all members of the maritime community since I assumed the chairmanship of Rear Adm. Robert Reilly Jr., SIUNA President Michael Sacco the subcommittee. I want you to know I have heard these concerns and I am working diligently to address them.” Cummings concluded by thanking mariners for their vital contributions to U.S. security, and in particular noted the U.S. Merchant Marine’s role in evacuating citizens on September 11, 2001; providing aid and emergency assistance along the Gulf Coast to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita; and providing the sealift capacity that keeps our armed forces equipped to fight the global war on terrorism. “I know that without these highly trained men and women, we would simply be unable to equip our armed forces with the Organizing, Health Care Top U.S. Labor Agenda Addressing the SIUNA convention Sept. 1314 in Piney Point, Md., guest speakers from U.S. organized labor cited health care and organizing as the movement’s top priorities. They also credited the Seafarers with unfailing solidarity and declared unions must play a vital role in promoting and revitalizing the nation’s middle class. Speakers included AFL-CIO President John Sweeney; International Association of Machinists President Tom Buffenbarger; Maryland and D.C. AFL-CIO President Fred Mason; and Metropolitan Baltimore AFL-CIO President Ernie Grecco. Sweeney opened his remarks by thanking SIUNA President Michael Sacco “for the support you’ve given me and for your outstanding service as a vice president of the AFL-CIO and a member of our executive council. Nobody works harder for the unions affiliated with the Seafarers or gives more support to the 54 other affiliates of the AFL-CIO— nobody.” He added, “I want to thank you, Mike, and every leader and activist in the Seafarers for the work you do every day to keep our union movement strong. You’re not only there in numbers for every rally we have on Capitol Hill, but at every convention and in every campaign we sponsor—even though many of the things we’re fighting for are like the health care and pensions and health and safety protections you already have.” He pointed to U.S. cabotage laws as a model for other domestic sectors. “I’ve often said I wish we had a Jones Act for every one of our basic industries,” Sweeney stated. “It’s the standard for trade unionists of every stripe, and every one of you deserves a medal for defending it and extending it so well for the last 87 years.” He noted the labor movement’s grassroots capabilities, reflected in the strong union turnout during last year’s elections. Sweeney also said that those capabilities must be used to organize new members. “There are 60 million Americans out there who say they want to join our unions, and we’re determined to bring them that opportunity.” Turning to health care, Sweeney said it will be a critical issue in next year’s elections. “Nobody in this richest country in the world should go without health care—not a single child, not a single retiree, not a single family,” he asserted. “Along with good jobs and the freedom of every worker to form and join unions, health care will be a signature issue for us from now through the elections of 2008. We will elect members of Congress and a president who will support real national health care reform—health October 2007 Metropolitan Baltimore AFL-CIO President Ernie Grecco care as good as our members of Congress get. Health care worthy of our great country. Health care that works for Main Street instead of health care that works for Wall Street.” Buffenbarger noted that American workers simply seek basic things including a fair wage, safe neighborhoods and maintaining traditional expectations “that they can do better than their parents as they emerge into the workforce ... and at the end of a lifelong career, they can retire with dignity and respect and with pensions that are safe and secure.” He mentioned an IAM-sponsored rally in D.C. earlier this year and thanked the SIUNA for its strong turnout. “This great union stands up with its friends,” Buffenbarger said. Further expressing that appreciation, he presented Sacco with a bronze eagle bearing an inscription from the IAM to the SIUNA that reads in part, “With deepest respect, admiration and appreciation for the work your members do. Solidarity forever.” Mason shared a story from his childhood that involved a Seafarer whom he knew as “Uncle Addison,” though they weren’t related. Mason told the audience that he grew up “dirt poor” in segregated Virginia during the 1950s. His interactions with Uncle Addison helped him appreciate many aspects of unions. Mason said that whenever Addison returned home from a voyage, “No matter what time of year it was, it was Christmas. He always had money, always had one of the best cars. He’d bring back photos of black and white people in fraternal relationships, actually smiling, and would tell stories about going to different countries. I didn’t know at the time what an impact those stories were having on me, nor at the time about the role that the union was actually playing in helping to change America. “A piece of that is the notion of a middleclass way of life,” he continued. “The union made it possible back then. Today, unions still have a role to play in making our democracy better, in recapturing and surpassing the middleclass way of life that Americans deserve. We have to put forth greater effort to elect politicians that honor work and respect workers and who will pass the Employee Free Choice Act. We have to support and elect politicians who believe all workers—all people—are entitled to decent, affordable health care.” Mason also thanked the SIUNA for its support, noting that “any time the federation has needed assistance, it was literally a phone call away. Call on the SIU, and we’ll have people there to do it.” Grecco fired up the crowd by urging union members and officials alike to work harder and work smarter to accomplish the movement’s goals. He also emphasized union members’ buying power and reminded delegates that buying union-made, American-made products is beneficial in many ways. He pointed out the loss of industrial jobs in Baltimore over the years as well as elsewhere across the country—a condition brought on mostly by corporate greed but exacerbated by citizens buying so many foreignmade goods. “I remember the days when you couldn’t attend one of these kinds of meetings without checking to see if you had a union label on your coat,” he said. “Those days are gone. We need to get back to those days, and we need to talk—not only to each other, but to our members. We need Continued on page 10 supplies they need to defend our nation,” he said. Mikulski could not attend the convention but sent a letter stating, “You know that I am on your side. Working men and women are the backbone of our great nation. Unions play a vital role in ensuring safe and fair working conditions. I’m proud to stand with the labor movement.” Reilly recalled the heroic efforts of the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II—in particular the Murmansk Run—and stated, “If you think about our U.S. Merchant Mariners and you recognize the fact that they have always been there to support us, you will recognize the fact that they still have the courage and the conviction to support this nation in time of defense, no matter what the threat is.” He said that relying on civilian mariners is a good value for the government “because we can take advantage of the efficiencies that have been learned in the civilian sector to not have a lot of overhead.” Reilly said America is “still a maritime nation and we always will be. It ultimately ties us to the American fleet.” The MSC commander mentioned that several of his family members have belonged to unions, so he understands and appreciates the value of such organizations. He concluded, “I appreciate your support. I appreciate the ongoing relationship we have with you. Keep fueling that maritime engine that supports that bell of freedom.” Connaughton thanked the union for its support since he took office a year ago. He noted that during that time, MarAd reorganized. He said there are current and future opportunities for the marine highway system and shipbuilding. Concerning LNG, Connaughton said, “I think we’ve been very successful taking a step-by-step approach, first to get some agreements to put American mariners on board.” He noted the recent commitment by Woodside Natural Gas to the U.S.-flag and U.S. crews on the West Coast and added, “I am very happy to say we’re very, very close to another commitment from another company to operate U.S.-flag LNGs here on the East Coast.” Continued on page 10 U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) Seafarers LOG 9 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 6:08 PM Page 10 International Solidarity Still Key for Mariners and Their Unions In this age of economic globalization, maritime unions must follow suit by working together at every opportunity to promote and protect good jobs for their respective memberships. That message was driven home last month by three prominent labor officials at the SIUNA convention in Piney Point, Md. on Sept. 13-14. Delivering the sentiments were Paddy Crumlin, national secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia (a position equivalent to that of a president in the U.S.); Stephen Cotton, secretary of the International Transport Workers’ Federation’s Special Seafarers’ Department and also the ITF maritime coordinator; and Norwegian Seafarers’ Union President Jacqueline Smith. Cotton provided an overview of the ITF, pointing out that the organization consists of 680 transport unions representing more than 4.5 million workers from 148 countries. He noted that the federation was formed more than a century ago “from solidarity action and industrial action. Those principles of standing up for your rights and defending workers are just as true today as they were over 100 years ago. We have to fight for each other.” He updated the convention on the ITF’s battle against so-called flag-ofconvenience shipping, also called runaway-flag shipping. Cotton reported that the federation now has more than 8,000 ships under contract and noted that during the past three years, ITF inspectors have collected $60 million in back pay for crew members. “Our objective is to see all of the world’s seafarers in strong unions fighting for their future,” he said. Cotton credited the SIUNA with providing a good example for other ITF affiliates, describing it as “a democratic, strong, powerful union that knows how to fight and knows how to deliver. Good trade unions don’t moan about changing times. They find ways to take on the chal- Paddy Crumlin (left), national secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia, brought a present from his union to the SIUNA and President Michael Sacco. lenges. Here again, the SIU has led the way.” Cotton brought two letters conveying fraternal greetings from, respectively, the Seafarers Union of Russia and the Philippine Seafarers Union—and pointed out that both of those organizations use the SIUNA as a model. Additionally, he voiced the ITF’s commitment “that if there is anything we can do to support the employment of American seafarers on LNG vessels, we will do that, whatever it takes.” Finally, Cotton pointed to the need to develop new methods of organizing and building alliances with government, employers “and whoever else we need to help achieve our objectives. We have to look at our history and understand that everything you have today comes from the leadership and the membership fighting for what they’ve achieved. Our future—the future of your families and workers tomorrow—depends on our ability to mobilize our power. We must be effective, and solidarity is the key.” Smith mentioned that the conven- tion marked her first visit to the Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. She described the school as “truly an inspiration to seafarers globally.” She noted the long tradition of SIUNA and NSU solidarity. “It’s through international liaison that SIU and NSU along with other ITF affiliates are able to secure higher living and working conditions for seafarers on a global basis,” Smith stated. On a somber note, she explained how runaway flags—particularly flagging out from traditional maritime nations—harms mariners and “has had an extremely harsh effect on our members. Just in the last 20 years, over 100,000 jobs have been lost in the European shipping industry. Around 30,000 Norwegian seafarers lost their jobs practically overnight when they introduced a second registry in the [Norwegian International Ship Register].” She concluded by noting that Norwegian trade unions are “still battling to establish something similar to the Jones Act” to help reverse the “nightmarish” loss of jobs. “U.S. seafarers must never let the government Continued from page 9 10 Seafarers LOG ITF Maritime Coordinator Stephen Cotton Norwegian Seafarers Union President Jacqueline Smith decency at work ... to have a pension and medical benefits. Those things aren’t just American values. They’re Australian values, Canadian values, UK values. We’ve got to maintain strong leadership and belief in each other—and understand the fact that we’re part of an international family. If we don’t stick together, someone will come up the gangway and take our jobs.” Officials Credit SIUNA For Consistent Support Continued from page 9 to talk about the importance of buying American-made, unionmade products and the importance of getting involved in the political process.” He added that the SIU is appreciated by fellow unions in Baltimore, specifically mentioning the work of SIU Port Agent Dennis Metz. “Every local union in the city knows that if there’s any situation whatsoever, the Seafarers International Union is there to help.” Maritime Speakers Describe Challenges He asserted that MarAd must protect the Jones Act and be “very vigilant with our other government agencies with respect to government-impelled cargoes” to ensure the appropriate use of U.S.-flag vessels and U.S. crews. Connaughton also vowed to continue pushing to “lift some of the burden that will help mariners and ship operators alike to grow the U.S.-flag fleet. I look forward to working with you.... We have a great partnership, great collaboration because there’s one key element. It’s all about making sure we support American jobs and support American businesses.” Stalfort offered detailed descriptions of changes happening at the National Maritime Center (NMC) and improvements to the mariner licensing and documentation program. “The Coast Guard is committed to drastically improving all aspects of the credentialing process and we take this job seriously,” he said. “We certainly understand past and current frustration and we accept that our past performance does not warrant giving us the benefit of the doubt just yet. However, we continue to focus on the future and strive for issuing credentials to competent mariners in the most efficient, customer-centric manner possible. We thank you for challenging us to improve; we ask for your patience and support as we do.” Both Banks and Van Loo stressed the ongoing need for American maritime labor to work together, especially in the political arena. “If we have learned anything over the years it is that our likelihood of success in Congress is directly related to our ability and willingness to work together,” Banks said. “All of our officers are totally committed to this proposition and we’re extremely pleased and proud that our D.C. operation and yours are able to closely work together on the Hill. There should be little doubt that if the unions had not decided to work in sync with one another we very likely would not have been able to enact the Maritime Security Program or have it re-authorized two years ago for anoth- weaken the Jones Act. Never. This won’t happen as long as you have strong leadership.” Crumlin emphasized political action as an indispensable means of advancing mariners’ interests. He called SIUNA President Michael Sacco and the entire union “an inspiration for seafarers around the world, showing that we don’t have to just stand back and let other people take our jobs. If we stand up for our jobs there’s a future for us and our families and the generations to come.” He noted that the SIUNA has a long history of working with promaritime candidates regardless of political party. Such activity “reflects union leadership. It’s a great tribute to the SIU and it’s a great tribute to Mike’s leadership and other leaders that you’ve been able to maintain because it is a vision for all of us that we can secure our future. “If we’re prepared to work together; if we’re prepared to make hard decisions; if we’re prepared to protect our own interests, we can make things happen.” Crumlin recalled that during an earlier visit to the U.S., he observed how the union lobbied Congress and appreciated the fact that union headquarters is based just outside of D.C. “The reason the SIU is in Washington is that’s where the decisions get made. That’s where the Jones Act lives and dies. The heart and the mind of the union is in Washington because if you’re unable to persuade the politicians, then we’re in the hands of big business and global business— and they don’t care about our interests.” Wrapping up, Crumlin described merchant mariners as “blue-collar workers seeking to get a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work, and to have U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton U.S. Coast Guard Capt. David Stalfort, SIUNA President Sacco, SIUNA Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel er 10-year period. I can honestly say I don’t think this would have happened at all if it hadn’t been for the leadership of Mike Sacco.” Van Loo said, “In maritime labor, solidarity is more than just a buzzword. It’s a practice. One needs only to look at the history of cooperation between the MEBA and the SIU to see examples. Our members serve together on nearly every vessel we crew.” He added, “This industry, despite our best efforts, has been slowly shrinking over the past 50 years. Larger ships, newer technology and tougher competition have reduced the number of jobs available but we have proven we can overcome these obstacles when we cooperate. When we work together there is no limit to what we can achieve.” Maryland and D.C. AFL-CIO President Fred Mason AFL-CIO President John Sweeney (right) confers with SIUNA President Michael Sacco. SIUNA Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel is shown in background. IAM President Tom Buffenbarger (left) presents a gift to SIUNA President Michael Sacco on behalf of Machinists officials and members. The eagle is directed toward all officials and members of SIUNA unions. October 2007 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/29/2007 HTER F UR R A B IG E MAPPING OUT UT 7:10 AM Page 11 2007 SIUNA Convention HIGHLIGHTS 9/29/07 6:27:43 AM In photos directly above and below, delegates and guests sign in for the convention. Union Plus Representative Valerie Lilja explains some of the benefit programs. SIUNA President Michael Sacco tells convention delegates that while much has been accomplished since the previous convention, there’s no shortage of challenges ahead. Unlicensed apprentices post the colors at the convention’s start. The St. Mary’s County (Md.) Board of Commissioners presented Seafarers President Michael Sacco with a proclamation celebrating the 40th anniversary of the union-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. The school is located in Piney Point, Md. and was the host site for the convention, which took place Sept. 13-14. Pictured from left to right are Francis Jack Russell, president of the board of county commissioners; Commissioner Kenneth Dement, who represents the district including the Paul Hall Center; SIU President Sacco; and Commissioner Thomas Mattingly. October 2007 This was the 25th SIUNA convention. The organization was chartered in 1938. Seafarers LOG 11 �44775_P01_24x:4775p0 10/2/2007 1:28 PM Page 12 DELE &G MAPPING OUT IG UR R A B Michael Sacco SIUNA President E Archie Ware SIU Asst. VP HTER FUT 44775_SIU_MappingLogo.indd 1 John Sweeney AFL-CIO President 9/29/07 6:27:43 AM Michael Given SIU of Canada Organizing Director Sean Connaughton U.S. Maritime Administrator SPEAKERS U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) Ambrose Cucinotta SIU Asst. VP Ernie Grecco Metropolitan Baltimore AFL-CIO President Georg Kenny SIU Port Agent Capt. David Stalfort NMC Commanding Officer Tom Buffenbarger IAM President Fred Mason Maryland and D.C. AFL-CIO President Stephen Cotton ITF Maritime Coordinator Bill Van Loo MEBA SecretaryTreasurer Jacqueline Smith Norwegian Seafarers Union President Rear Adm. Robert Reilly Jr. MSC Commander 12 Seafarers LOG Chris Westbrook SIU Port Agent Tom Soresi SIU Bosun Paddy Crumlin Maritime Union of Australia National Secretary Dick Myers Representing office of U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski Capt. Glen Banks MM&P SecretaryTreasurer Valerie Lilja Union Plus Representative Herb Perez UIW VP October 2007 S �44775_P01_24x:September-07 10/2/2007 1:11 PM LEGATES GUESTS Tom Orzechowski SIUNA VP Joseph Soresi SIUNA VP Page 13 Augie Tellez SIUNA VP Roman Gralewicz SIU of Canada President Tom Bethel AMO President David Heindel SIUNA Sec.-Treasurer Dean Corgey SIUNA VP George Tricker SIU VP Kermett Mangram SIUNA VP René Lioeanjie SIUNA VP Charlie Stewart SIU VP Nick Marrone SIUNA VP Nick Celona SIUNA VP Becky Sleeper SIU Port Agent Catina Sicoli SIU of Canada Comptroller Dan Smith AMO Exec. VP Eugene Irish UIW VP Dennis Metz SIU Port Agent Elizabeth Brown SEATU Asst. VP Dave Connolly SUP VP Don Cree AMO VP Frank Pecquex MTD Sec.-Treasurer Jeff Turkus SIU Port Agent Anthony Poplawski MFOW President Chad Partridge SIU Port Agent Bob Love UIW Representative Chester Wheeler SIU Asst. VP Edd Morris SIU Port Agent Gerard Dhooge SIU Port Agent Joe Mieluchowski SIU Port Agent Joe Vincenzo SIU Port Agent Karen Horton-Gennette SEATU Business Rep. Mike DiPrisco Paul Hall Center Trustee John Cox SIU Port Agent Tony Naccarato Paul Hall Center Trustee Tracey Mayhew UIW Rep. Tom Walsh IPTW Organizer John Larew Jr. IPTW Sec.-Treasurer Desiree Gralewicz SIU of Canada Sec.Treasurer Jim Given SIU of Canada VP Bill Ellis UIW VP Amancio Crespo SIU Port Agent Michel Desjardins SIU of Canada Exec. VP Kenny Moore SIU Port Agent Donna Walsh SIUNA VP John Spadaro UIW National Director October 2007 Maggie Bowen SIU Plans Administrator Bill Cole ATC Labor Relations Director Theresa Hoinsky Fishermen’s Union President Brian Krus AMO Asst. VP Jim McGee SIU Asst. VP Neil Dietz SIU Port Agent Orlando Diaz UIW VP Todd Brdak SIU Port Agent Bill O’Brien MFOW VP Seafarers LOG 13 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/29/2007 7:20 AM Page 14 COMMIT TEES MAPPING OUT IG E AUDITING COMMITTEE – (Seated, from left) Elizabeth Brown, David Heindel, Roman Gralewicz (chairman), Joseph Soresi, (standing) John Zimmerman, George Tricker, Nancy Beltran, Thomas Bethel, Tom Orzechowski. (Zimmerman is a CPA with the Buchbinder Tunick accounting firm, Beltran the SIU controller. They were on hand to assist the committee if the group had any questions about the financial reports.) UR R A B Committees consisting of representatives from the SIUNA affiliates met during the convention and carried out their assignments. Each committee reported on its work to the full convention. Whether providing credentials to the delegates, reviewing resolutions submitted by the member unions, or developing recommendations for rules by which to conduct the convention, the committees work to see that the event functions democratically and efficiently. HTER FUT 44775_SIU_MappingLogo.indd 1 9/29/07 6:27:43 AM CREDENTIALS COMMITTEE—(Seated, from left) Don Cree, Augie Tellez (chairman), Joseph Soresi, Becky Sleeper, (standing) Herb Perez, John Cox, Jim Given, René Lioeanjie, Todd Brdak. LEGISLATIVE AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES COMMITTEE—Theresa Hoinsky (chairwoman), Kermett Mangram, Tracey Mayhew, John Spadaro, Michel Galarneau, (standing) Charlie Stewart, Gerard Dhooge, Michael Given. OFFICERS AND AFFILIATES REPORTS COMMITTEE—(Seated, from left) William Berger, Nick Marrone, Desiree Gralewicz, (standing) Thomas Walsh, Brian Krus, Hugo Boisjoly. INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE—(Seated, from left) Catina Sicoli, Anthony Poplawski (chairman), Karen Horton-Gennette, (standing) Dan Smith, John Larew Jr., Bill Ellis, Augie Tellez, Joe Mieluchowski. RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE—(Seated, from left) Georg Kenny, Dean Corgey (chairman), Dave Connolly, (standing) Eugene Irish, Amancio Crespo, Augie Tellez, Chester Wheeler. CONVENTION ARRANGEMENTS & PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMITTEE—(Seated, from left) Donna Walsh (chairwoman), Michel Desjardins, Orlando Diaz, William O’Brien, (standing) Nick Celona, Ambrose Cucinotta, Jim McGee. 14 Seafarers LOG October 2007 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 6:12 PM Page 15 Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea November & December 2007 Membership Meetings JULY 16 — AUGUST 15, 2007 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port 2 1 0 4 1 2 7 5 1 0 2 2 5 1 3 0 0 0 5 2 0 1 4 11 0 10 33 23 3 12 11 26 14 17 3 0 1 4 34 29 2 2 7 18 6 3 23 13 2 11 7 24 20 12 4 6 7 2 24 16 0 0 1 2 1 1 4 3 0 0 3 2 3 4 1 0 0 0 5 4 0 3 5 8 0 3 25 11 0 2 10 17 8 11 2 1 1 2 24 13 4 0 9 19 1 12 61 64 1 22 27 81 15 40 5 1 14 3 51 50 5 7 6 14 7 16 42 30 11 13 15 44 14 16 9 14 15 12 51 31 3 2 0 7 2 3 5 6 2 2 3 6 7 5 4 0 1 1 7 7 283 252 43 236 209 34 146 480 372 73 1 0 4 6 1 9 12 19 0 9 6 15 8 18 0 2 6 2 17 10 2 1 7 3 3 2 12 27 1 2 3 8 11 10 5 5 0 1 12 12 0 1 1 2 2 1 2 1 0 1 0 1 10 4 0 0 1 1 1 4 0 0 5 6 1 5 11 18 0 10 4 17 7 8 0 1 4 0 12 12 0 1 3 3 2 3 11 10 0 3 2 8 9 5 5 3 2 3 8 9 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 1 3 2 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 4 1 0 3 9 9 0 3 0 15 3 3 1 0 1 3 12 4 1 0 3 13 1 12 25 30 2 12 8 32 10 22 3 2 6 3 30 17 2 2 7 10 2 8 17 28 3 7 5 11 21 11 3 3 3 2 28 15 0 1 0 3 2 2 6 3 1 0 1 3 10 3 1 0 1 3 4 9 145 127 33 121 90 16 71 232 188 53 2 0 2 6 1 6 19 16 0 3 6 19 10 28 3 3 2 1 13 20 1 0 2 7 1 3 6 10 0 3 5 10 11 2 1 0 1 1 11 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 3 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 160 81 16 ENGINE DEPARTMENT Port STEWARD DEPARTMENT Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Port 0 0 1 4 2 2 8 10 0 1 1 2 4 0 0 0 1 1 1 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 9 5 0 0 2 13 6 4 0 0 0 0 7 5 3 0 2 10 2 14 31 32 1 8 7 29 13 45 3 3 3 2 34 42 1 1 1 12 1 10 10 15 1 8 6 16 21 5 1 1 2 1 16 10 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 7 1 0 1 0 0 3 2 3 129 44 8 56 284 139 25 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 3 0 2 1 10 0 3 0 1 1 0 3 2 0 1 4 3 2 9 28 21 0 3 5 28 12 19 0 8 2 0 14 13 2 0 1 8 0 8 4 10 2 2 2 8 14 13 0 20 2 2 15 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 2 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 4 2 0 0 4 3 2 7 21 20 0 5 4 20 11 10 1 9 0 0 5 7 0 0 2 1 0 4 1 4 0 0 1 3 6 4 0 20 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 6 4 0 1 2 14 0 8 0 1 2 0 8 2 0 2 3 8 1 6 31 27 1 8 7 58 20 23 0 12 5 0 32 25 7 1 1 11 0 14 9 19 2 4 6 19 30 14 3 10 2 1 22 9 Totals 29 172 117 20 129 50 0 52 269 184 617 632 209 506 472 108 273 1,048 968 335 *“Total Registered” means the number of Seafarers who actually registered for shipping at the port. **“Registered on Beach” means the total number of Seafarers registered at the port. October 2007 Baltimore..............Thursday: November 8, December 6 Boston ..................Friday: November 9, December 7 Guam ....................Friday: November 23* ..............................Thursday: December 20 (*change created by Thanksgiving Day holiday) Honolulu...............Friday: November 16, December 14 Houston ................Tuesday: November 13* ..............................Monday: December 10 (*change created by Veterans Day holiday) Jacksonville ..........Thursday: November 8, December 6 Joliet .....................Thursday: November 15, Dec. 13 Mobile ..................Wednesday: November 14, Dec. 12 New Orleans.........Tuesday: November 13, Dec. 11 New York .............Tuesday: November 6, December 4 Norfolk .................Thursday: November 8, December 6 Oakland ................Thursday: November 15, Dec. 13 Philadelphia..........Wednesday: November 7, Dec. 5 Port Everglades ....Thursday: November 15, Dec. 13 San Juan ...............Thursday: November 8, December 6 St. Louis ...............Friday: November 16, December 14 Tacoma .................Friday: November 23, December 21 Wilmington...........Monday: November 19, December 17 0 0 0 4 1 4 25 11 0 3 5 17 9 16 2 2 0 0 14 16 Algonac A1chorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals All Departments Piney Point ...........Monday: November 5, December 3 Algonac ................Friday: November 9, December 7 3 6 6 12 6 10 25 22 7 10 15 26 11 11 5 11 13 9 27 17 Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C 2 1 2 13 0 11 46 39 2 14 16 32 12 21 3 1 5 2 29 32 Port Totals Trip Reliefs DECK DEPARTMENT Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. NOTICE Federal Court Bars Calif. CPA From Claiming So-Called Mariner’s Tax Deduction The U.S. Department of Justice on Aug. 22 issued the following news release: WASHINGTON, D.C.—A federal judge in Los Angeles has barred Martin A. Kapp, a certified public accountant from El Segundo, Calif., from preparing federal income tax returns claiming a so-called mariner’s tax deduction, the Justice Department announced today. The permanent injunction was entered by U.S. District Judge George Schiavelli of the Central District of California. The court found that Kapp prepared returns for mariners nationwide, improperly claiming deductions for the costs of meals when their employers had given them free meals. The court said Kapp “knew or should have known” the deductions were illegal. The court ordered Kapp to give the Justice Department a list of names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and Social Security numbers of customers for whom he claimed the deductions. The judge also ordered Kapp to post a copy of the permanent injunction on his Web sites for one year. More information about this case is available at http:// www.usdoj.gov/tax/txdv06213.htm. Since 2001, the Justice Department has sought and obtained injunctions against more than 245 tax return preparers and tax fraud promoters. More information about these cases is available on the Justice Department Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax/tax press2007.htm. More information about the Justice Department’s Tax Division can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/tax. Seafarers LOG 15 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/29/2007 10:41 AM Page 16 Seafarers International Union Directory CIVMAR News Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG Hotel Award Calculated, CIVMARS to Receive $482,200 Previous LOG articles notified CIVMARS that the SIU was successful in the “failure to provide adequate hotel quarters” arbitration earlier this year. The SIU convinced the arbitrator that the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC)-selected hotel, the Days Inn Military Circle, was unsafe, unhealthy and unsuitable. (The full decision is available on line, in PDF format, at http://www.seafarers. org/log/2007/082007/decision.pdf) The arbitrator held that while the hotel was clearly substandard from the start of the time CIVMARS were assigned, because MSC had signed a contract with the hotel, the arbitrator did not have the authority to determine if MSC could have cancelled the contract. As a result of this finding the arbitrator determined that the monetary awards for CIVMARS would start once the contract had been extended, from Oct. 1, 2006 and ending when CIVMARS were transferred to the Doubletree, Virginia Beach Jan. 18, 2007. CIVMARS staying at the Days Inn Military Circle between those dates will be receiving monetary compensation of $40 for each night of their stay. The union reviewed each sign-in sheet and listed each CIVMAR and the nights stayed to calculate the amount of the award. The total award amounted to $482,200. This report was sent to MSC for implementation. The union will work with MSC to ensure appropriate payment and notification of CIVMARS who will receive this money. Union Proceeding with TARSClass Habitability Grievances The union’s efforts to have CIVMARS paid habitability pay aboard the TARS salvage vessels USNS Grasp, USNS Grapple and USNS Salvor are proceeding. The SIU and MSC are selecting arbitration dates for the East Coast salvage ships. The Salvor grievance has been sent for a third-step review by Rear Adm. Robert Reilly, commander, MSC, in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement between the SIU and MSC for the West Coast CIVMAR unit. The union is asking for compensation for all CIVMARS assigned to these vessels at $40 per night. The SIU will keep CIVMARs posted. Penalty Meal Hour Payments The union has been advised by East Coast CIVMARS that they may not be getting an appropriate reimbursement for working through a meal hour. The collective bargaining agreement and the CMPI provide for penalty pay if CIVMARS are required to work through the meal hour as a result of underway replenishment duties or duties related to the navigation of the vessel. These rules do not apply to people on watch duty. If you have been required to work during a meal hour, even if you have received 15 or 20 minutes to eat your meal, you may be entitled to this payment in addition to the overtime rate of pay. CIVMARS must request payment for this type of penalty pay. If you do not know how to file for this pay, contact civmarsupport@seafarers.org or contact your SIU Government Services Division representative. You can call Maurice Cokes at (757) 622-1892; Kate Hunt at (718) 499-6600, extension 223, or Chet Wheeler at (510) 444-2360, extension 17. Benefits Enrollment Period The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recently announced that the federal benefits enrollment period will take place from Nov. 12 through Dec. 10. Also, the agency has given the enrollment period itself a new name: Federal Benefits Open Season. Previously, it had been called the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program Open Season. However, the new procedure involves more than signing up for basic health benefits. Federal workers also may enroll for vision and dental coverage. They may arrange “flexible spending accounts” for out-of-pocket expenses for health care and dependent care. Updated information (including 2008 premiums) should be available by early November at the following web address: www.opm.gov/insure. Two Ports Remain on USNS Comfort Mission By late September, only two ports remained on the hospital ship USNS Comfort’s humanitarian assistance mission, MSC reported. The vessel is crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division. It is on a four-month deployment to Latin America and the Caribbean providing medical assistance to patients in a dozen countries. The deployment is in support of the U.S. Southern Command’s Partnership for the Americas initiative, strengthening the ties between the United States and partner nations. According to MSC, the Comfort has helped more than 84,000 patients to date. Additionally, the ship departed Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Sept. 22, having been the longest vessel to pull pierside there. Typically, the port has a limitation for the length of ships allowed to dock, due to a small turning basin where the vessels enter and exit. The Comfort (at 894 feet) exceeds the length set in the limitations, so special accommodations were arranged. In particular, the Comfort only took on 60 percent of its fuel capacity before arriving in Trinidad and Tobago, and the ballast tanks were emptied so the ship wouldn’t run aground. If the Comfort hadn’t been pulled pierside, everyone arriving on and departing the ship would have had to be flown, which would have depleted the ship’s helicopter fuel supply. Nearly 100 surgeries were performed on the ship in cooperation from Trinidad and Tobago medical professionals. Two Trinidad and Tobago doctors assisted and observed during a range of surgeries, including hernia repairs, cataract surgeries, hysterectomies and a variety of others. PIC-FROM-THE-PAST The first SIUNA convention was held March 23-28, 1942 in the port of San Francisco. This photo of the delegates (taken from the LOG archives) was snapped at that meeting. Sixty-five years later, the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. was the venue for the 2007 Quinquennial Convention of the SIUNA. See coverage of the September 1314, 2007 convention on pages 3, 9-14. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with the LOG readership, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. October 2007 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 8:42 PM Page 17 Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA ROBERT BELL JR., 58, joined the union in 1965. Brother Bell first sailed aboard the Southwestern Victory as a member of the engine department. He attended classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. on numerous occasions. Brother Bell, who was born in Alabama, most recently worked aboard the Maj. Stephen W. Pless. He makes his home in Cantonment, Fla. FRANK CASBY JR., 69, became an SIU member in 1979 in the port of New Orleans. Brother Casby’s first ship was the Cove Engineer. He was born in Louisiana and worked in the engine department. In 2000, Brother Casby upgraded his seafaring skills at the unionaffiliated school in Piney Point. His most recent voyage was on the USNS Bellatrix. Brother Casby lives in Franklin, La. MICHAEL DUNN, 54, began his seafaring career in 1973 in Piney Point, Md. Brother Dunn’s first trip was aboard the Overseas Aleutian. He upgraded his skills often at the Piney Point school. Brother Dunn, who was born in California, sailed in the deck department. His most recent voyage was on the Liberty Spirit. Brother Dunn calls Richmond, Calif. home. JACOB DUSICH III, 55, was born in Washington. Brother Dusich joined the Marine Cooks & Stewards (MC&S) in 1977 in the port of San Francisco. In 1997 and 2000, he attended the Maritime Training Center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Dusich’s most recent voyage was on the Manukai. The steward department member lives in Apple Valley, Calif. DOMINGO GORDIAN, 65, joined the SIU in 1990. Brother Gordian’s first voyage was on the Cpl. Louis J. Hauge. The Puerto Rico-born mariner shipped in the deck department. Brother Gordian upgraded his skills in 2000 at the Paul Hall Center. Prior to retiring, he sailed aboard the Horizon Trader. Brother Gordian is a resident of Tucson, Ariz. October 2007 ALAN HANSEN, 62, began his seafaring career in 1970 on the Walter Rice. Brother Hansen, who was born in Seattle, worked in the engine department. He was a frequent upgrader at the Piney Point school. Brother Hansen’s most recent voyage was aboard the Cape Island. He resides in Port Angeles, Wash. FRANCISCO INSUA, 65, joined the SIU in 1979. Brother Insua first shipped aboard the Cove Engineer as a member of the deck department. He upgraded his skills on three occasions at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Brother Insua, who was born in Spain, most recently sailed on the Columbia. He resides in Spain. JOSE JORGE, 65, joined the SIU in 1977. Brother Jorge first worked aboard a Cove Shipping Company vessel. In 2000 and 2002, he took advantage of the educational opportunities available at the Seafarers-affiliated school. Brother Jorge most recently sailed on the Commitment. Born in Puerto Rico, he makes his home in New York. MARY-LOU LOPEZ, 65, hails from Hanford, Calif. Sister Lopez embarked on her seafaring career in 1978, initially sailed aboard the Mariposa. Sister Lopez, who shipped in the steward department, upgraded three times at the Paul Hall Center. She most recently worked on Matson Navigation’s Mahi-Mahi. Sister Lopez calls San Pedro, Calif. home. DAVID MILLIGAN, 60, became an SIU member in 1975. Brother Milligan’s first ship was the Transcolorado. He was born in New York and sailed in the deck department. Brother Milligan upgraded his skills at the Piney Point school. His most recent voyage was on the Horizon Pacific. Brother Milligan makes his home in Reno, Nev. HASAN RAHMAN, 66, began his seafaring career in 1979 in the port of New York. He first worked aboard the Merrimac as a member of the steward department. Brother Rahman, who was born in Egypt, attended classes often at the SIUaffiliated school in Piney Point, Md. He most recently sailed aboard the Horizon Crusader. Brother Rahman is a resident of Jacksonville, Fla. DAVID VALLE, 65, began sailing in 1974 aboard the Overseas Alaska. Brother Valle, who was born in Puerto Rico, worked in the steward department. He upgraded his seafaring skills on numerous occasions at the Maritime Training Center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Valle most recently shipped on the Horizon Discovery. He resides in Worcester, Mass. VERNON WALLEN, 66, joined the union in 1976 in Detroit, Mich. Brother Wallen’s first voyage was aboard the William Roesch. He was a member of the steward department. Brother Wallen attended the Paul Hall Center on numerous occasions to upgrade his skills. He is a native of Tennessee. Prior to retiring, Brother Wallen worked on the ITB New York. He lives in Orem, Utah. his SIU career in 1968. Boatman Amey’s first voyage was aboard a Meyle Towing vessel. He was born in New Jersey and sailed in the deck department. Boatman Amey most recently worked aboard a Moran Towing of Philadelphia vessel. He makes Thorofare, N.J. his home. JOHN IVANKOVICH, 68, was born in Croatia. Boatman Ivankovich started shipping with the SIU in 1989 in the port of Wilmington, Calif. He worked primarily aboard vessels operated by Crowley Towing & Transportation of Wilmington. Boatman Ivankovich upgraded his skills often at the Piney Point school. He lives in San Pedro, Calif. WILLIAM McANDREWS, 63, began his SIU career in 1962. Boatman McAndrews worked pri- INLAND KENNETH AMEY, 62, began Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1954 BALTIMORE – Seafarers from the crew of the SS Bull Run (Petrol Tankers) have been manning a 24-hour seagoing picket line around the ship here since Sunday, as the company continues its refusal to renew its full work agreement with the SIU. The vessel, which arrived late Saturday under tow from Norfolk, had been covered by an SIU contract for several years. Members of the crew originally left the ship in the Virginia port after the union acted on prior strike authority voted by the membership and called the crew out on strike. marily on Great Lakes Towing Company vessels. Born in Buffalo, N.Y., he calls Hamburg, N.Y. home. EARL SHEPARD JR., 54, joined the union in 1970. Boatman Shepard initially sailed in the deep sea division aboard the Charleston before switching to the inland division. He was born in Baltimore, Md. and attended the Piney Point school on three occasions to upgrade his skills. Boatman Shepard’s most recent trip to sea was on a Maritrans Operating Company vessel. He settled in Hanover, Pa. GREAT LAKES CLARENCE DOAN, 65, joined the union in 1968 in Detroit, Mich. Brother Doan’s first ship was the American Sea Ocean; his last was the American Republic. He was born in Michigan and worked in the deck department. Brother Doan resides in Hollister, Fla. diploma through the GED program offered at the Lundeberg School in Piney Point, Md. Born in Aland Island, a possession of Finland, Brother Moval went to sea for the first time at the age of 13. The story of his career is typical of the great heroism shown by the brothers of the SIU during the Second World War. He was one of four survivors from a tanker that hit a mine in the Bordeaux Harbor in 1940. He was later captured by the German army and placed in a prison camp in France. His third escape attempt was successful…. After joining the SIU in 1942, Brother Moval’s first ship took him to the invasion of Casablanca. He returned to the U.S. and immediately shipped out again, this time as a chief steward. He served in the D-Day invasion of Anzio Beach and the invasion of Okinawa…. “The GED program is great, and the teachers are outstanding,” he said. This Month In SIU History 1964 The battle of the SIU and other segments of maritime to extend the Food for Peace program under Public Law 480 without any crippling amendments added on came to a successful conclusion last week when President Johnson signed the bill extending the law for two more years. As a result of the victory a substantial number of American seamen’s jobs have been saved. The fight to extend the law had been marked by attempts to whittle down the role of U.S. ships in carrying P.L. 480 cargoes. These provisions were beaten down through the efforts of the SIU and other maritime groups. The union intends to keep a watchful eye on the administration of the bill in order to make certain that American-flag ships get their fair share of P.L. 480 cargoes. 1974 Seafarer Leo Moval, 57, recently became the first SIU pensioner to receive his high school 1984 Another newly converted RO/RO ship has been added to the SIU-contracted fleet. Bringing in more jobs for SIU members is the Cpl. Louis J. Hauge, Jr. which is being operated by a privately owned company for the Military Sealift Command. This 755-foot long vessel is part of the U.S. military’s Maritime Prepositioning Ship (MPS) program. During her conversion, the ship was lengthened by a 157-foot mid-body section and was fitted with a semi-slewing stern ramp, side port doors and ramps, and three twin-tandem heavy-lift cranes. A helicopter pad and quarters for military personnel were also added. Seafarers LOG 17 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 8:52 PM Page 18 Final Departures DEEP SEA HERBERT ATKINSON Pensioner Herbert Atkinson, 74, passed away Jan. 25. Brother Atkinson became an SIU member in 1961. The Florida-born mariner shipped in the engine department. Brother Atkinson initially worked aboard the Steel Rover. Before his retirement in 2003, he sailed on the USNS Capella. Brother Atkinson was a resident of Jacksonville. CLAUDE BANKSTON JR. Pensioner Claude Bankston Jr., 79, died Jan. 5. Brother Bankston started his seafaring career in 1951. He first set sail on a Waterman Steamship vessel. Brother Bankston was a native of Bogalusa, La. He worked as a member of the deck department, most recently aboard the Leader. He made his home in Baton Rouge and went on pension in 1992. HARRY CAMPBELL Pensioner Harry Campbell, 81, passed away Jan. 9. Brother Campbell joined the Marine Cooks & Stewards (MC&S) in 1934 in the port of San Francisco. The steward department member was born in the Philippine Islands. Brother Campbell’s most recent voyage was aboard Matson Navigation’s Lurline. He resided in Shingletown, Calif. and became a pensioner in 1974. WILLIAM FOLSE Pensioner William Folse, 82, died March 7. Brother Folse embarked on his seafaring career in 1951, initially sailing aboard an Alcoa Steamship Co. vessel. He was born in Raceland, La. Brother Folse’s most recent voyage was on a Michigan Tankers vessel. He called Slidell, La. home. Brother Folse became a pensioner in 1973. PABLO GONZALEZ the Del Valle. Brother Harvey worked in the deck department, last sailing aboard the Robert E. Lee. Brother Harvey began collecting his retirement stipends in 1984. He made his home in Picayune, Miss. MAGON HERNANDEZ Pensioner Magon Hernandez, 81, passed away Jan. 29. Brother Hernandez joined the MC&S in the port of San Francisco. He was born in Puerto Rico and sailed as a member of the steward department. Brother Hernandez retired in 1978 and called Torrance, Calif. home. HOEI HIGA Pensioner Hoei Higa, 81, died Jan. 30. Brother Higa became a member of the MC&S in 1948 in the port of San Francisco. He was born in Ewa, Hawaii and shipped in the steward department. Brother Higa’s most recent voyage was on Matson Navigation’s Kauai. He went on pension in 1985. Brother Higa was a resident of Waipahu, Hawaii. JOSEPH MARTELLO Pensioner Joseph Martello, 91, passed way Jan. 5. Brother Martello joined the union in 1939. He worked primarily aboard Delta Steamship Lines vessels as a member of the engine department. Brother Martello’s first ship was the Del Sud; his last was the Delta Manpower. Born in Italy, he settled in Louisiana. Brother Martello started receiving his retirement compensation in 1980. HARLAN PETERS Pensioner Harlan Peters, 95, died Jan. 23. Brother Peters joined the union in 1939 in the port of Baltimore. His first voyage was aboard the Morning Light. A native of Alabama, Brother Peters shipped in the steward department. Before retiring in 1976, he worked aboard the Del Sol. Brother Peters lived in Tampa, Fla. Brother Gregory Terado, 56, passed away Jan. 30. He joined the SIU in 2005. Brother Terado was born in the Philippines. He worked primarily aboard the Seabulk Power. Brother Terado made his home in Virginia Beach, Va. LEE HARVEY RAFAEL VERGARA 18 Seafarers LOG INLAND PETER FUNK Pensioner Pablo Gonzalez, 80, passed away Jan. 5. Brother Gonzalez began sailing with the Seafarers in 1951. His first ship was the Jefferson Davis, on which he sailed in the steward department. Brother Gonzalez, who was born in Ponce, P.R., last worked aboard the Cove Trader. He continued to live in Puerto Rico and started receiving his pension in 1988. Pensioner Lee Harvey, 81, died Jan. 12. Brother Harvey, who was born in Arkansas, joined the SIU in 1951. His first ship was pensioner in 1995. Brother Vergara continued to live in his native Puerto Rico. GREGORY TERADO Pensioner Rafael Vergara, 73, died Jan. 27. Brother Vergara began his seafaring career in 1968 in Puerto Rico. He became a Boatman Peter Funk, 52, passed away Dec. 29. He joined the SIU in 1976 in the port of New York. Boatman Funk began his seafaring career by working in the deck department aboard an American Barge Lines vessel. He sailed in both the inland and deep sea divisions. His most recent voyage was on the Sound Reliance. Boatman Funk, who was born in Chicago, Ill., called Fort Lauderdale, Fla. home. EDWARD FURMAN Pensioner Edward Furman, 85, died March 22. Boatman Furman, who was born in Maryland, joined the SIU in 1962 in the port of Baltimore. During his seafaring career, Boatman Furman shipped primarily aboard vessels operated by Moran Towing of Maryland as a member of the deck department. In 1983, Boatman Furman retired. He made his home in Baltimore. Keill settled in Rockport, Texas. He became a pensioner in 1995. ANTHONY KUMBAT Pensioner Anthony Kumbat, 91, passed away May 12. Boatman Kumbat became an SIU member in 1961 in the port of Philadelphia. His first expedition was aboard a Sheridan Transportation Co. vessel. Boatman Kumbat was born in Pennsylvania. He most recently sailed aboard a Meyle Towing Co. vessel. Boatman Kumbat made his home in Philadelphia. He began receiving his retirement pay in 1978. GREAT LAKES WILLIS KINGSTON Pensioner Willis Kingston, 77, died Jan. 15. Brother Kingston started his seafaring career in 1961. The New York native worked in the deck ROBERT McCARL Pensioner Robert McCarl, 75, passed away Dec. 16. Brother McCarl launched his SIU career in 1961. He was born in Ashland, Wis. Brother McCarl worked primarily aboard Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co. vessels. A resident of Michigan, he went on pension in 1993. FLOYD OLSON Pensioner Floyd Olson, 86, died Jan. 17. Brother Olson joined the union in 1961 in the port of Duluth, Minn. He worked primarily aboard Great Lakes Towing Co. vessels. Brother Olson sailed in both the engine and deck departments. He retired in 1982 and called Duluth home. ANDREW ROSE Brother Andrew Rose, 47, passed away Jan. 30. Born in London, Brother Rose joined the SIU in 2002 in Detroit, Mich. His first vessel was the Sam Laud; his last was the Indiana Harbor. Brother Rose worked in the deck department. He made his home in Michigan. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust have passed away. NAME ERNEST GIBBS department. Brother Kingston shipped mainly on the Lemmerhirt. He started collecting his retirement compensation in 1991. Brother Kingston resided in New York. AGE DOD NAME AGE DOD Pensioner Ernest Gibbs, 80, passed away Jan. 20. Boatman Gibbs began sailing with the union in 1977, initially aboard a Tug Management Corporation vessel. The steward department member was born in Pleasant Grove, Ala. Boatman Gibbs most recently shipped with Sheridan Transportation. He was a resident of Tampa, Fla. Boatman Gibbs went on pension in 1995. Alvarez, Ramon 87 Jan. 17 Karschau, Horst 84 Jan. 10 Archey, George 82 Jan. 18 Kroon, Efrain 83 Jan. 29 Burgdorf, Richard 82 Jan. 10 Labus, Joseph 91 Dec. 29 Burgos, Jose 81 Jan. 17 Lake, Richard 84 Dec. 12 Carbo, Jose 98 Jan. 12 McKnight, Raymond 83 Jan. 13 Chavez, Carlos 83 Jan. 17 Medina, Marcial 87 Jan. 23 ROBERT GILES Cruz, Frank 85 Jan. 26 Moore, Nathanial 66 Jan. 3 Darcey, Charles 75 Jan. 26 Paul, Eugene 84 Dec. 28 DeJohn, Benjamin 80 Dec. 9 Pendino, Salvatore 88 Dec. 14 Delannoy, Alejandro 85 Dec. 4 Pinero, Arturo 81 Dec. 15 Donohue, William 80 Jan. 8 Price, Edward 94 Dec. 23 English, Edward 79 Dec. 25 Quervalu, Francisco 91 Dec. 6 Flores, Leonelo 59 Dec. 19 Rivers, Charles, Sr. 79 Dec. 17 Formosa, Anthony 80 Jan. 8 Rolain, Raymond 80 Dec. 25 Freeman, Oras 74 Dec. 26 Savory, Arthur 80 Dec. 25 Goicuria, Fernando 80 Dec. 16 Scheuerman, Robert 78 Dec. 22 Gomez, Guillermo 88 Dec. 4 Silva, Cyprian 77 Jan. 20 Grady, John 82 Jan. 9 Simpson, Robert 78 Dec. 3 Greer, George 75 Dec. 27 Smith, Robert 80 Dec. 30 Hebrank, Edward 79 Jan. 31 Strawder, Carlo 68 Jan. 17 Hickson, Walter 92 Dec. 29 Stryker, Ralph 81 Jan. 10 Higgins, Carroll 85 Dec. 22 Tennyson, Charles 68 Jan. 23 Hill, Elton 82 Jan. 8 Torres, Pedro 81 Dec. 26 Ishiki, Charles 86 Dec. 23 Trensch, Frederick 89 Jan. 3 Istre, Clebby 83 Dec. 4 Vargas, Efrain 88 Jan. 21 Jaiman, Adolfo 96 Jan. 23 Yunque, Wilfredo 81 Jan. 20 Jimenez, William 77 Jan. 2 Zavala, Oscar 90 Dec. 6 Pensioner Robert Giles, 83, died Dec. 13. Boatman Giles became an SIU member in 1955 in the port of Jacksonville. He first worked aboard a Gulf Atlantic Transport Corporation vessel. Boatman Giles was born in Kansas City, Mo. Prior to his retirement in 1989, he sailed with Mariner Towing Company. Boatman Giles resided in Sanford, Fla. JILES HAMM Pensioner Jiles Hamm, 80, passed away Dec. 26. Boatman Hamm joined the union in 1952 in the port of New York. He first sailed aboard a vessel operated by Alcoa Steamship Co. Boatman Hamm was born in Black Creek, N.C. and shipped in the steward department. His most recent voyage was on a Piney Point Transportation vessel. Boatman Hamm started collecting his pension in 1991. He called Hertford, N.C. home. THOMAS KEILL Pensioner Thomas Keill, 73, died Dec. 23. Boatman Keill, who was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, began his Seafaring career in 1975 in the port of Houston. Boatman Keill’s first voyage was on a National Marine Service vessel. He last sailed with Higman Barge Lines. Boatman October 2007 �44775_P01_24x:September-07 10/2/2007 1:16 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. CAPE JACOB (Matson Navigation), Aug. 4—Secretary Gary S. Dottino, Steward Delegate Erik J. Loret. Secretary reported annual pay raise took effect July 28. Steward delegate thanked engineers (MEBA and MFOW) for quick response to galley repairs. Clarification requested from company on family emergencies and current e-mail restrictions. Crew members requested to have direct deposit option for paychecks. Ship is currently in Okinawa, Japan with generator problem. Next port: Sasebo, Japan. COMMITMENT (Maersk Line Limited), Aug. 25—Chairman James K. Walker, Secretary Stephanie L. Sizemore, Educational Director Dennis R. Baker, Deck Delegate Edwin Ortega, Engine Delegate Stephan J. Riccobene, Steward Delegate Jorge Mora. Bosun reported good, safe voyage and great crew. He announced Sept. 2 payoff in Newark, N.J. and noted other bosun would be returning at that time. Those crew members requesting cash at payoff will have to wait until cash arrives aboard ship. Sanitary inspection to take place this week. Secretary thanked wiper for great job and also thanked trainees for good seamanship while aboard vessel. Educational director stated that new Cigna health cards were sent out in June and reminded crew members about 24-hour hot-line to speak with a nurse. He urged mariners to watch for safety hazards while on deck, especially watertight doors, which are very heavy and have no latch. Treasurer stated $1,332 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion made regarding time needed to collect pension benefits. Next ports: Newark; Charleston, S.C.; Houston. CP NAVIGATOR (Crowley Marine), Aug. 8—Chairman Stig Sasse Jr., Secretary Hernegildo Batiz, Educational Director Barry C. Knowles. Chairman announced Aug. 9 payoff in Houston. Educational director advised mariners to upgrade skills at Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. and read Seafarers LOG to stay abreast of issues that affect maritime industry. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendation made to increase dental benefits and lower seatime requirements. Seafarers recommended that book numbers be used on all paperwork rather than Social Security numbers to avoid identity theft. Crew thanked steward department for keeping ship clean and great food. Next port: Houston. HONOR (Interocean American Shipping), Aug. 12—Chairman Billy G. Hill Sr., Secretary Patricia A. Sullivan, Engine Delegate Derek C. King, Steward Delegate Eddy Usmany. Chairman announced payoff on Aug. 18 en route to Beaumont, Texas. He reported Middle East trip was extremely hot, but crew did good job of staying hydrated. Members were reminded to keep documents current and dues paid up and to support SPAD. Secretary reminded crew to turn in linen before arrival in U.S. port. Clean linen will be issued to next mariners when they arrive on board vessel. No beefs or disputed OT Sailing with the SIU The above photo was taken of SIU members aboard the Interocean American Shipping vessel Freedom when it arrived in New York on July 30, 2007. At right is Michael Carello, chief steward on the Vermont, an Eships Inc. vessel. He is checking out the latest union news in the May 2007 Seafarers LOG. October 2007 reported. New freezer and dishwasher have been installed and are operational. Seafarers requested fresh water drinking fountain be installed on deck 7. Chairman thanked Chief Steward Sullivan for healthy meals and great cook-outs. He also expressed his gratitude to entire crew for an outstanding sanitary inspection. Suggestion made regarding contracts for car-carrying vessels. Next ports: Beaumont; Houston; Jacksonville, Fla. HORIZON DISCOVERY (Horizon Lines), Aug. 5— Chairman Patrick C. Ray Jr., Secretary Gerald B. Kirstey, Educational Director Herman Castro, Deck Delegate Efrain Alvarez, Engine Delegate William B. McCants, Steward Delegate Tracy L. Newsome. Chairman encouraged mariners to apply for renewal of passports and z-cards early (six to 11 months before they expire) and announced upcoming payoff in Jacksonville, Fla. Educational director advised members to get information regarding retirement and vacation from the union. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion made to lower seatime requirements for medical benefits and raise pension amounts. Seafarers requested comparable gym as officers. They also asked for new chairs in crew mess hall and lounge. Vote of thanks given to steward department for job well done. HORIZON PRODUCER, (Horizon Lines), Aug. 15— Chairman Joseph R. Colangelo, Secretary William J. Bunch, Educational Director Gary M. Dahl, Deck Delegate Cleofe B. Castro, Engine Delegate Alex Oliva, Steward Delegate Juan J. Vallejo. Chairman reported Aug. 17 payoff in Jacksonville, Fla. Educational director urged crew to upgrade skills at Piney Point school. Treasurer stated $4,299 in ship’s fund; suggestion made to buy a Bowflex machine with the money. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Seafarers requested status of the motion sent to Board of Trustees regarding evaluation of current pension benefits. HORIZON RELIANCE, (Horizon Lines), Aug. 11— Chairman Kissinfor N. Taylor, Secretary Michael L. Baker, Educational Director Randy D. Clark, Deck Delegate Erowin C. Udan, Engine Delegate Gualberto M. Salaria, Steward Delegate Cesar L. Santos. Chairman announced upcoming payoff at sea prior to arrival in Los Angeles. He noted that reply from headquarters pertaining to new medical coverage was received and posted in crew lounge. Secretary advised all members to upgrade skills when- New Orleans. He encouraged members to become familiar with their contracts, work rules and duties. Secretary asked mariners to leave rooms clean for next crew members. Educational director warned seamen to keep all necessary sailing documents current and take advantage of upgrading opportunities at SIUaffiliated school in Piney Point. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Requests made for purchase of fans for crew rooms and DVD player for crew lounge. Vote of thanks given to the steward department. Awards Given on the Green Point Capt. J.E. Belcourt (at left in both photos) was proud to present a couple of awards during voyage 69 aboard the Green Point. The “Best Shipmate” award was given to AB Gregorio Saguran (top photo), and the Safety Award was handed out to Bosun Melvin Nichols. “Both crewmen performed their duties in the best traditions of the U.S. Merchant Marine,” stated Belcourt. The ship was sailing from the Mediterranean to Panama during that voyage. ever possible and take advantage of all Piney Point has to offer. Educational director discussed importance of contributing to SPAD and how it helps our industry. Treasurer stated $788 in ship’s fund. Beef and disputed OT reported in deck department. Crew members were informed that outside locks will be rekeyed to work with room keys. Next ports: Los Angeles; Honolulu. LIBERTY GLORY (Liberty Maritime), Aug. 12—Chairman John T. Roe, Secretary Michael J. Gramer, Educational Director Stephen R. Treece, Deck Delegate Franklin B. Akins, Steward Delegate Hamin Sialana. Chairman announced Aug. 20 payoff in Houston. He reported that everyone on board has gone above and beyond their duties in terms of helping out on deck, in the galley and in the engine room. “Great crew,” he said. Secretary reminded mariners to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen for next person. Educational director encouraged crew to stay abreast of TWIC requirements. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Members requested new ice machine, box spring mattresses, bigger and more efficient dryers and good dishwasher. Recommendation made to look into larger yearly wage increases. Steward department was thanked for fantastic job during voyage. Next ports: Houston; Durbin, South Africa. LIBERTY SUN (Liberty Maritime), Aug 26—Chairman David N. Martz, Secretary Ronald J. David. Chairman announced Aug. 30 payoff in MAERSK MISSOURI (Maersk Line Limited), Aug. 26— Chairman Thomas Flanagan, Secretary Billy Gigante, Educational Director Hiawatha J. Williams, Deck Delegate James V. Triassi Jr., Engine Delegate Anatoli Vetsinov, Steward Delegate Medardo Thomas. Chairman reported smooth, safe voyage and announced Aug. 27 payoff in Elizabeth, N.J. He urged Seafarers to check document expiration dates, support union through SPAD donations, and start looking into TWIC requirements. Educational director advised mariners to continue education process at the maritime training center in Piney Point. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion made to hire standbys so crew can have day off following a voyage. Request made for a new carpet-cleaning machine. QUALITY (Maersk Line Limited), Aug. 4—Chairman Eddy E. Stwaeard, Secretary Franklyn J. Cordero, Engine Delegate Owen L. Richards, Steward Delegate Ricardo C. Ellis. Chairman discussed benefits of new medical plan. Everyone aboard expressed pleasure in the changes which will help in lowering deductibles. Secretary thanked members for helping keep ship clean and asked departing crew to clean room and leave fresh linen for reliefs. Educational director encouraged mariners to stay updated on TWIC information and reminded them they will need the cards to ship. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew thanked steward department for great meals. Seafarers LOG 19 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 6:12 PM Page 20 ANNUAL FUNDING NOTICE FOR SEAFARERS PENSION PLAN Introduction This notice, which federal law requires all multi-employer plans to send annually, includes important information about the funding level of Seafarers Pension Plan, Plan Number 001, Employer Identification Number 13-6100329 (Plan). This notice also includes information about rules governing insolvent plans and benefit payments guaranteed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal agency..1 This notice is for the plan year beginning Jan. 1, 2006 and ending Dec. 31, 2006 (plan year). Plan’s Funding level The plan’s “funded current liability percentage” for the plan year was 98.01 percent. In general, the higher the percentage, the better funded the plan. The funded current liability percentage, however, is not indicative of how well a plan will be funded in the future or if it terminates. Whether this percentage will increase or decrease over time depends on a number of factors, including how the plan’s investments perform, what assumptions the plan makes about rates of return, whether employer contributions to the fund increase or decline, and whether benefits payments from the fund increase or decline. Plan’s Financial Information The market value of the plan’s assets as of Dec. 31, 2006 was $676,381,358. The total amount of benefit payments for the plan year was $31,160,116. The ratio of assets to benefit payments is 21.7:1. This ratio suggests that the plan’s assets could provide for approximately 21.7 years of benefit payments in annual amounts equal to what was paid out in the plan year. However, the ratio does not take into account future changes in total benefit payments or plan assets. Where to Get More Information For more information about this notice, you may contact Margaret R. Bowen, Plan Administrator, at (301) 899-0675, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. For more information about the PBGC and multi-employer benefit guarantees, go to PBGC’s website, www.pbgc.gov, or call PBGC toll-free at 1800-400-7242 (TTY/TDD users may call the federal relay service toll free at 1-800-877-8339 and ask to be connected to 1800-400-7242). 1 Rules Governing Insolvent Plans: Federal law has a number of special rules that apply to financially troubled multi-employer plans. Under so-called “plan reorganization rules,” a plan with adverse financial experience may need to increase required contributions and may, under certain circumstances, reduce benefits that are not eligible for the PBGC’s guarantee (generally, benefits that have been in effect for less than 60 months). If a plan is in reorganization status, it must provide noti- fication that the plan is in reorganization status and that, if contributions are not increased, accrued benefits under the plan may be reduced or an excise tax may be imposed (or both). The law requires the plan to furnish this notification to each contributing employer and the labor organization. Despite the special plan reorganization rules, a plan in reorganization nevertheless could become insolvent. A plan is insolvent for a plan year if its available financial resources are not sufficient to pay benefits when due for the plan year. An insolvent plan must reduce benefit payments to the highest level that can be paid from the plan’s available financial resources. If such resources are not enough to pay benefits at a level specified by law (see Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC, below), the plan must apply to the PBGC for financial assistance. The PBGC, by law, will loan the plan the amount necessary to pay benefits at the guaranteed level. Reduced benefits may be restored if the plan’s financial condition improves. A plan that becomes insolvent must provide prompt notification of the insolvency to participants and beneficiaries, contributing employers, labor unions representing participants, and PBGC. In addition, participants and beneficiaries also must receive information regarding whether, and how, their benefits will be reduced or affected as a result of the insolvency, including loss of a lump sum option. This information will be provided for each year the plan is insolvent. Benefit Payments Guaranteed by the PBGC: The maximum benefit that the PBGC guarantees is set by law. Only vested benefits are guaranteed. Specifically, the PBGC guarantees a monthly benefit payment equal to 100 percent of the first $11 of the plan’s monthly benefit accrual rate, plus 75 percent of the next $33 of the accrual rate, times each year of credited service. The PBGC’s maximum guarantee, therefore, is $35.75 per month times a participant’s years of credited service. Example 1: If a participant with 10 years of credited service has an accrued monthly benefit of $500, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the PBGC guarantee would be determined by dividing the monthly benefit by the participant’s years of service ($500/10), which equals $50. The guaranteed amount for a $50 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $24.75 (.75 x $33), or $35.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit is $357.50 ($35.7,5 x 10). Example 2: If the participant in Example 1 has an accrued monthly benefit of $200, the accrual rate for purposes of determining the guarantee would be $20 (or $200/10). The guaranteed amount for a $20 monthly accrual rate is equal to the sum of $11 plus $6.75 (.75 x $9), or $17.75. Thus, the participant’s guaranteed monthly benefit would be $177.50 ($17.75 x 10). In calculating a person’s monthly payment, the PBGC will disregard any benefit increases that were made under the plan within 60 months before the earlier of the plan’s termination or insolvency. Similarly, the PBGC does not guarantee pre-retirement death benefits to a spouse or beneficiary (e.g., a qualified pre-retirement survivor annuity) if the participant dies after the plan terminates, benefits above the normal retirement benefit, disability benefits not in pay status, or non-pension benefits, such as health insurance, life insurance, death benefits, vacation pay or severance pay. Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. 20 Seafarers LOG PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. October 2007 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 8:58 PM Page 21 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE Engine Upgrading Courses The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. through the end of 2007. All programs are geared to improve the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 9940010. Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion FOWT October 8 November 2 Refrigeration System Maintenance and Operations October 1 November 9 Welding October 1 October 29 October 19 November 16 Safety Specialty Courses Start Date Date of Completion Basic Safety Training/STCW October 29 November 12 November 19 December 10 November 2 November 17 November 23 December 14 Government Vessels November 5 November 9 Medical Care Provider October 8 October 12 Tankerman Familiarization/ Assistant Cargo (DL)* November 26 December 7 Course Course Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman October 1 October 26 Automatic Radar Plotting Aids* October 22 October 26 Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. (*must have basic fire fighting) (ARPA) (*must have radar unlimited) Lifeboatman/Water Survival October 29 November 9 Radar October 8 October 19 Radar Renewal (one day) October 29 Seafarers: Keep abreast of the latest training programs offered at the Paul Hall Center. Check out the courses offered on this page and apply now. A future edition of the Seafarers LOG wll contain a complete guide to all upgrading courses available to students in the year 2008. Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations modules start every week. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward classes start every other week beginning Oct. 1, 2007. Recertification Bosun October 8 November 5 UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Date of Birth ______________________ With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twentyfive (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. BEGIN DATE COURSE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Seniority _____________________________ Department _____________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ U.S. Citizen: ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Yes No Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? Yes No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ October 2007 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 10/07 Seafarers LOG 21 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 6:10 PM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 691 — Graduating from the water survival course are unlicensed apprentices from class 691. They include (in alphabetical order) Jay Aki, Raymond Banks, LaDarus Clark, Steven Dalton, Caprice Jennings, Sean Jones, Thomas Jones, Thaddeus Kilgore, Riley LeBlanc, Delbra Leslie-Singleton, Wade McClennan, David Newsome, James Paulin, James Petite, DeAndre Whitley, Cortney Williams and Christopher Yokel. Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 692 — Unlicensed apprentices from class 692 who completed the water survival course are (in alphabetical order) Edwin Arroyo, Andrew Cooper, Peter Crane, Daniel Giles, Benigno Gonzales Jr., Richard Grushkin, Cheryl Gutkowski, Weston Hines, Yakan Israel, Omar Izquierdo, John Joyce, Sean Keaton, Jon Larrinaga, Alexis Lopez, Blaine Musk, Shawn Pantschyschak, Amer Saleh, Casey Shannon, Patrick Shaw, Leroy Sierra-Ramos, Lamar Walton and Robert Wilson. Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman (STOS) — On Aug. 10, the following students completed the STOS course under the instruction of Stan Beck (far right). They are (in no specific order) Dennis Barbosa, Vic Moody, Chris Ruggiero, Robert Brown, José Garcia, Joshua McAtee, Pedro Rivera-Riestra, Mark Wand Sr., Emmanuel Garcia, Rhett Morgan, Jesse Baumler, Edmund Livins, Philip Carlton, Farren Blackwell, John Stanton, Ben Vogel, Aubrey Wiggins, Cheryl Lee, Danielle Wright, Anthony Clemons, Ali Ahmed, Derrick Elijah and Ryan Anderson. AB — Completing the AB class Aug. 3 are (in alphabetical order) Richard Bodden, Christopher Curran, Darnell Goggins, Gerret Jarman, Sherwin Jones, Christopher Justo, Jorge Lanas, Raymond Any student who Maldonado, José Nieves, Ryan Racoma, John Solis, Johnny Starnes, has registered for a William Thomas and Wilbur Torres. class and finds—for Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is at far right. whatever reason— that he or she cannot attend, please inform the admissions Chief Cook — Working their way up the culinary ladder are upgrading students in the chief cook course (from left) Korey Jackson, Domingo Barroga and Thessolonian Smith. Chef/Instructor John Dobson is at far right. department so that another student may take that place. Computer Lab Classes A number of students recently completed computer lab classes at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. At left, Jess Cooper (left) and Budiman Chandra hold their certificates of achievement while their instructor, Rick Prucha, looks on. In the photo at right are (from left) Donald Lasley, Instructor Rick Prucha, Stephen McGruder and Francisco Madsen. 22 Seafarers LOG Pumpman — Forrest McGee (seated) had the full attention of his instructor, Jim Shaffer, in the pumpman class that ended Aug. 10. October 2007 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 6:11 PM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes Medical Care Provider — The nine upgrading Seafarers who took the medical care provider class taught by Instructor Mark Cates (far right) are (in no specific order) Edgar Pacanja, Charles Bennett, Donald Tye, Marco Rodriguez, Michael Stephens, Robet McMurray, Harry McKever, Kiplig Wise and Kenneth Jackson. The class lasted from July 23-27. (Note: not all are pictured.) Radar — Five boatmen from G&H Towing and Crescent Towing completed the radar course Aug. 10. They are (in no specific order) Douglas Lewis, John Niday IV, Douglas McGuire, John Harrison and George Bennett. Their instructor, Mike Smith, is at far right. Water Survival — Tankerman (PIC) Barge — Graduating Upgrading Seafarers who completed the water survival course Aug. 17 are (in alphabetical order) Zirjan Ahmed, Hermogenes Aquino Jr., Brandon Ballard, Robert Boomer, Charles Herrera, Edgar Pacana and Horace Page Jr. from this course Aug. 17 are Crowley and Allied Transportation boatmen (in no specific order) Matthew Fullilove, Dadrian Hyman, Raymond Snow and Mark Stabler. Their instructor, Mitch Oakley, is at far right. Safety Training at the Barbers Point Facility in Hawaii STCW — NCL, June 23: Sonja Gubalke, Leisa Radosavljevic, Trudy Miles, Haley Laux, Hancy Hart, Isaac Hayes, Susan Amato, Sheryl Olson and Jamie Boston. STCW — NCL, July 16: Arnold Bugabua, Joauinito Ig, Oliver Orale, Hermogenes Tipo, Renato del Rio Vasquez, Alvaro Dracket, Rodney Irodistan, Harry Lincuna, Emerson Mendoza, Jenifred Villanueva, Vinayak Nirmale, Ceferino Paguinto, Antonio Chan and Pascual Tinio. STCW — NCL, July 30: Gerard Oblina, Ferdinand Lipardo, Marlon Manile, Federico Jumarang Jr., Dino Gallardo, Ramona Graur, Lacerda Aslie, Luis Montalbon, Caroll Gardener, Armando Pangilinan, Ismael Orjaio, Ronaldo Gurimbao, Rolly Ofalsa, May Grace Sobida, Mary Rose Macatangay, Johnny Gamoso, Henry Garungcong, Agostinho Cardozo, Edilberto Egonia, Bhaskar Bandyopadhyay, Wayne Charles, Reinaldo Lugo, Richard Rebello, Elmer Fernandez, Joel Martin, Euserio Galvez and Ramilo De Guzman. October 2007 STCW — NCL, Aug. 6: Ian Bacheikov, Abraham Caluza, Pelagio Riodique, Christopher Belena, Edwin Delos Reyes, Premel Autor, Madel Bunyi, Joseph Quiday, Charlyn Rosete, Juvenil Cabales and Mary Grace Meneses. Seafarers LOG 23 �44775_P01_24:September-07 9/28/2007 6:32 PM Page 24 Volume 69, Number 10 October 2007 Attention Seafarers: It Takes a Four-Letter Word to Be Heard! Contribute to SPAD. Buck Crew Enjoys Antarctic Scenery The SIU-crewed USNS Paul Buck, a tanker operated by Ocean Shipholdings, Inc., arrived Feb. 1 at the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station in Antarctica for the annual resupply mission known as Operation Deep Freeze. The vessel, which is part of the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) fleet, pumped off 162,000 barrels of fuel for equipment ranging from generators to helicopters. The Seafarers LOG ran an article about this mission, along with photographs sent by Bosun Phil Corl, in its May 2007 issue. A number of crew members from the ship also took pictures of the unique and often dramatic scenery from that trip, and some of them are included here. MSC has participated in Operation Deep Freeze every year since the station was established in 1955. This photo was taken looking through a porthole as the USNS Paul Buck nears McMurdo. Icebergs and other broken ice are common sights as the vessel approaches McMurdo. The USNS Paul Buck is tied up at the ice pier. A Coast Guard icebreaker, the Polar Sea (above), is one of the ships that helps keep the channel clear of ice. Below, scientists and others who work at McMurdo Station arrive by specially outfitted planes that land on “skiways” made of ice. Even though it’s summer in Antarctica in February, temperatures “skyrocket” to the minus 30s with wind gusts of up to 200 miles per hour. Keeping warm, as these crew members show, is all a matter of dressing in layers. Castle Rock, 3.5 miles from McMurdo Station, is a prominent volcanic outcropping. Below is one of the apple hut shelters on the trail that have emergency supplies such as a stove, food, sleeping bags and a first-aid kit. Penguins, seals, whales, birds and krill are but some of the animal life found in Antarctica. Clockwise from above are: an orca (killer whale); crew members feeding Cheerios to a bird on deck; and penguins frolicking on the ice. One of the Buck’s crew members (above) climbed the rock spire and was rewarded with a spectacular view. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 October 2007 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES SIU OF CANADA DEMANDS ANSWERS AFTER DANGEROUS GREENPEACE STUNT ILO REPORT: AMERICAN WORKERS ARE WORLD’S MOST PRODUCTIVE CONVENTION FOCUSES ON MARITIME, HEALTH CARE, RIGHT TO ORGANIZE TANKER CONSTRUCTION STARTS IN SAN DIEGO ALLIED BOATMEN APPROVE CONTRACT T-AKE SHIP ORDER EXPANDS LABOR DAY EVENTS FOCUS ON HEALTHCARE NEW TERMINAL OPENS IN VA. SEATU CONVENTION TACKLES ISSUES OF GROWTH AND ORGANIZING RECOLLECTIONS OF THE MERCHANT MARINE IN WORLD WAR II MARITIME SPEAKERS DESCRIBE INDUSTRY’S VALUE, CALLENGES ORGANIZING, HEALTH CARE TOP U.S. LABOR AGENDA INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY STILL KEY FOR MARINERS AND THEIR UNIONS BUCK CREW ENJOYS ANTARCTIV SCENARY Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 10/01/2007 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. 69, No. 10 2007 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/b357606511f4b77b8293edb289205929.pdf 9b98edf4577477fee3016d19eaaa739b PDF Text Text Volume 69, Number 9 September 2007 Crowley Christens ATB SIU Fleet Welcomes Tugboat Resolve, Barge 650-3 Seafarers and union officials participated in the sun-drenched festivities Aug. 15 in Mobile, Ala. as SIU-contracted Crowley christened its newest articulated tugbarge (ATB). The vessels christened were the 9,280 hp tug Resolve (left) and the barge 650-3 (above). Shown in the Resolve’s engine room are SIU VP Gulf Coast Dean Corgey and Seafarers Rick Cristofano, Jacek Sawicki, Ryan Hogge and Patrick Harrington III. Page 3. Rescue at Sea: Seafarers-Crewed USNS Gianella Saves Refugees On Aug. 2, the SIU-crewed USNS Lawrence Gianella, operated by Ocean Shipholdings, Inc., rescued 13 Cuban refugees in the Gulf of Mexico. Capt. Robert Lee provided a detailed, absorbing account of the operation—along with photos, including those shown here (depicting the refugees adrift in their boat, the launching of the Gianella’s rescue boats, and finally the refugees safely aboard the U.S.-flag vessel). Page 2. Safety Milestone for ATC Comfort’s ‘Hoops Diplomacy’ U.S. Mariners Deliver Page 4 Page 6 Pages 12-13 �USNS Gianella Rescues 13 Cuban Refugees President’s Report Another Look at LNG The ceremony was modest, and there’s still a lot of work to be done. But, the U.S. Maritime Administration’s recent announcement concerning one company’s commitment to American-flag LNG ships—with U.S. crews— ranks among the more significant news to surface in our industry all year. In case you missed it, Woodside Natural Gas has pledged to utilize U.S.-flag vessels and American crews and officers in the company’s proposed “OceanWay” LNG import regasificaMichael Sacco tion project off the coast of Southern California. Woodside is the first business to make such a commitment as MarAd continues weighing applications for LNG terminals and LNG transport at various domestic ports. The agency is authorized to favor applicants who employ U.S. mariners and whose ships sail under the Stars and Stripes. Without question, that’s what Congress had in mind last year when it amended the Deepwater Port Act to help ensure domestic safety, security and environmental protection. The logic behind that position is hard to dispute. Natural gas already accounts for about one-fourth of all energy consumed in the United States. And, according to government projections, demand for natural gas will grow by roughly 40 percent by the year 2025. That’s a potential seven-fold increase in LNG imports. Here’s the first hitch: Natural gas production in the continental United States has peaked. Increasing the use of liquefied gas means transporting it from both Alaska and overseas to the Lower 48. However, most existing LNG import facilities in the U.S. were built during the 1960s and 1970s. And although the industry’s safety record has been strong, the volatile nature of LNG has created a sense of public unease. That’s where we come in. American mariners can and should play a key role not only in advancing public acceptance of LNG terminals, but also in the safe, secure transport of the cargo itself. During the past 10 months or so, members of Congress as well as state legislators have declared as much, citing the reliability of the American seafarer and particularly calling attention to the vetting process which civilian mariners must endure simply to acquire a merchant mariner document. The SIU and several other unions took it a step further this summer when we signed an agreement establishing appropriate training standards for U.S. seafarers aboard LNG vessels. On the flip side, it’s not exactly biased to point out that training and oversight in many foreign-flag registries are virtually nonexistent. It’s also a matter of public record that stowaways accompanied Algerian LNG tankers to Everett, Massachusetts earlier this decade. In fact, since September 11, 2001, more than one stowaway incident has been attributed to these vessels, and almost without exception the people caught are from countries known to harbor terrorists and fugitives. Previously, one of the Al Qaeda millennium-bomb plotters is reported to have reached our shores as a stowaway aboard a foreign-flag LNG tanker before departing through Boston. As our government issues licenses for new LNG terminals and with the solidly projected increase in importing such cargo, it’s not only good policy but also good common sense to recognize that having American LNG vessels and crews will help to minimize an obvious threat from those who wish to harm our nation. In part, that’s why I believe that MarAd without exception should push for 100 percent U.S. crewing and the use of the American flag aboard the ships in question. We already know that we can’t take anything for granted when it comes to threats to our population, facilities, environment, and energy security. The use of U.S. vessels and mariners in the LNG trade will go a long way toward protecting all of those things, and at a relatively small cost. Our nation can’t afford to approach the growing LNG trade any other way. Volume 69, Number 9 Editor’s note: On Aug. 2, the SIU-crewed USNS Lawrence Gianella, operated by Ocean Shipholdings, Inc., rescued 13 Cuban refugees in the Gulf of Mexico. The following SIU members were sailing aboard the Gianella during the rescue: Bosun Bernardino Eda, ABs James Castillo, Roderick French, Troy Ingersoll, Ramsey Ingram and Jaime Guerrero, DEUs Christopher McAfee and Santiago Ruiz, QMED/Pumpman Darrell McDonald, QMEDs Nicholas Collins and James Summers, Steward/Baker Nancy Vaupel, Chief Cook Mary Brayman, GSUs Sonia Felix and John Rascon and Unlicensed Apprentice Eileen Mendiola. The following account was written by Capt. Robert Lee, the Gianella’s master, who also provided the photos accompanying this story. Cuban Refugee Rescue, Master’s Report On August 2, 2007 while SE bound through the middle of the Gulf of Mexico on a very rainy morning, the AB on Watch, Troy Ingersoll, was busy doing what he always does, scanning the horizon with binoculars in hand. Nothing gets by him. He is one of the best lookouts I have seen in all my years of going to sea. This morning would bring rare tangible reward for his unwavering attention to duty. His reports were typically professional, unembellished and monotone: “We have a small boat coming down the port side.” What may have not appeared strange to the lookout seemed very strange to the third mate. She confirmed his sighting off in the distance and through the rain. They also noticed what appeared to be two people aboard. Knowing we were more than 300 miles from the nearest land at 25-51N, 087-31W, this was strange indeed. The third mate alerted me to the situation at 1515Z, 1115L. We marked the GPS and chart with the position and the engineers worked quickly to ready the main engine-shaft generator for reduction to maneuvering speeds. As soon as the engine was made ready, we programmed down and began a hard 180-degree turn to port. The whole crew immediately became involved. Most who were work- AB Troy Ingersoll (right) was the first aboard the Gianella to spot the small boat. Capt. Lee said the refugees “were very happy with him.” ing inside jobs donned their rain gear and headed into the rain squalls to lend a hand. As we slowed and made our approach, the third mate spotted the small boat once again through the heavy rain. The chief mate and crew made ready the pilot ladder, painter lines and safety belts. The second officer made ready the trauma kit and the galley department gathered blankets and water. We approached from upwind and used the wind to our advantage. The closer we came, the more heads began to appear. It went from two to four to eight and finally to 13. I would learn later that they had become numb to passing ships that would not stop and did not want to waste energy sitting up unless it looked very promising. As it became evident that we were going to pick them up, they all began to get excited. As the small wooden boat came alongside, the crew worked it towards the pilot ladder. Two men and a woman wasted no time getting out and up the ladder right away. Nearly all began crying as they came over the rail and sat on the deck of the ship. Others were weaker and slowly made their way to the ladder as the small boat pitched and heaved in our lee. One woman had a laceration on her left leg and was having difficulty moving on the ladder, so the crew pulled her and the ladder up together—all she needed to do was hold on. The weaker ones were secured with a safety belt attached to two painter lines that allowed the crew to help them up and keep them from falling. As they came aboard, they were all given water and dry blankets. One man was a diabetic and very weak. The medical officer brought him some sugar and orange juice that immediately The refugees spent 13 days in their small boat before being rescued by the SIU-crewed USNS Lawrence Gianella. changed his demeanor for the better. The woman with the cut leg was also treated by cleansing the wound and bandaging. As they gathered on deck, it was obvious they were pleased with their new status. Our deck cadet, unbeknownst to us, spoke fluent Spanish and was a great help in our communications with the refugees. The cadet pointed out the AB/lookout that spotted them and they all showed great admiration for him. Once everyone was secured aboard ship, their few belongings were searched for weapons, and each refugee was searched before moving them to rooms in the house. Their wooden vessel was released and we resumed our voyage towards Charleston, S.C. The steward department held over lunch in case anyone wanted to eat, but they were not interested in much food. They continued to drink fluids and we supplied Continued on page 8 September 2007 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 8990675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Deborah A. Hirtes; Associate Editor, Jim Guthrie; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2007 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG Crew members and refugees pose on deck after everyone had a chance to exhale. September 2007 �Crowley Christens 3 of 10 New ATBs rd Tugboat Resolve, Barge 650-3 Join Seafarers-Crewed Fleet SIU members and officials were on hand Aug. 15 in Mobile, Ala. as Crowley christened its newest articulated tug-barge (ATB). The vessels christened were the 9,280 hp tug Resolve and the barge 650-3—the third of 10 new 185,000-barrel ATBs scheduled for delivery to the company by the end of the year 2010. “With these boats, you can clearly see that Crowley is preparing for the years ahead,” noted SIU Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey, who attended the christening along with SIU Mobile, Ala. Port Agent Ed Kelly. “Crowley’s new ATBs are all about the engineering—high-efficiency, low emissions, environmentally friendly. It’s really the wave of the future.” Kelly added, “It shows the progressiveness of both the SIU and SIU-contracted operators. This is really a state-of-the-art vessel. I was impressed with everything I saw.” During ceremonies, conducted in sweltering conditions at the Mobile Convention Center on South Water Street, Nancy Schlueter, wife of Ed Schlueter, vice president of Crowley’s Vessel Management Services (VMS) christened the Resolve, while Alison Haber-Djuve, wife of Karsten Djuve, regional chartering manager, BP Shipping USA, christened barge 650-3. Crowley’s Petroleum Services group will charter the VT Halter Marine-built ATB from VMS, and operate it for BP under a seven-year agreement. The 650-3 reportedly is the first vessel in the United States to be certified by Lloyds Classification Society as complying with the requirements of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) Green Passport program. This certification ensures that any and all potentially hazardous materials that went into the original construction of the barge have been identified and will be properly disposed of when the barge ceases trading at the end of its useful life. Crowley already has four, 155,000-barrel ATBs and two 185,000-barrel ATBs operating. “We continue to receive positive feedback about these ATBs, Crowley’s newest ATB had a hot debut—temperatures soared to above 100 degrees at its christening Aug. 15 in Mobile, Ala. Pictured near the tugboat are SIU VP Gulf Coast Dean Corgey (fourth from left) and Seafarers (in alphabetical order) Willie Allen, Rick Cristofano, Patrick H. Harrington III, Ryan Hogge, Edward O’Connell, Kenneth Kuehne, Jacek Sawicki and Leo Venegas. which further validates our continued investment in the build program,” said Tom Crowley Jr., company chairman, president and CEO. “The ATBs that we currently have in service consistently provide reliable, efficient and safe transportation for the petroleum products they are contracted to carry.” MarAd Announces Commitment For American-Flag LNG Ships Woodside Natural Gas, Inc. Pledges to Utilize U.S. Crews The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration on July 30 announced an agreement that could lead to the first LNG ships registered in the United States in almost 10 years, potentially creating nearly 200 jobs for U.S. mariners. Officials from Woodside Natural Gas, Inc., of Santa Monica, Calif., committed to Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton and representatives from seafaring trade unions— including the SIU—that Woodside will create a U.S. presence in the rapidly growing international liquefied natural gas (LNG) fleet. The company agreed to the employment of U.S. mariners in Woodside’s operation of the proposed OceanWay deepwater port located 28 miles off the coast of Los Angeles, and to register its two new LNG regasification vessels under the U.S. flag. SIU Vice President West Coast Nick Marrone, SIU Wilmington, Calif. Port Agent John Cox and SIU Wilmington Safety Director Abdul Al Omari represented the union at a ceremony in Santa Monica celebrating the announcement. “The employment of Ameri- can citizens aboard U.S.-flag LNG vessels serving the nation’s natural gas receiving facilities is in the best interest of the United States,” said Connaughton. “Placing the transportation of LNG under the control of U.S. mariners, who are subject to strenuous security checks, will add an additional layer of security to our Nation’s energy supply chain.” Although the global LNG fleet has been growing rapidly—from 194 ships at the beginning of 2006 to an estimated 373 at the end of 2007—there are currently no LNG ships of American registry. Woodside’s proposed OceanWay facility will use trading LNG carriers to transfer LNG to the U.S.-flagged regasification vessels, which will then convert the liquefied natural gas into natural gas for injection into Southern California’s existing onshore pipeline system. More than 90 American officers and crew will be employed on each of the vessels. OceanWay Secure Energy (Woodside Natural Gas, Inc.) filed an application with the Maritime Administration for a license under the Deepwater Port Please be advised the SIU headquarters and all SIU hiring halls will be closed on Monday, October 8 for the observance of Columbus Day (unless an emergency arises). Normal business hours will resume the following workday. September 2007 Act, to build, own and operate an LNG facility. The Maritime Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard and the City of Los Angeles are reviewing the revised application for completeness. The company’s application to build the OceanWay terminal must be approved by the Maritime Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, the City of Los Angeles and the Governor of California. If approved, the specifics of this agreement will become conditions of the deepwater port license. An ATB has an articulated, or hinged, connection system between the tug and barge, which allows movement in one axis, or plane in the critical area of fore and aft pitch. Crowley and VT Halter Marine jointly designed the ATB tank vessel. The barge 650-3 was built at Halter’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., and the Resolve at its shipyard in Moss Point, Miss. The new ATBs feature the latest systems technology and double-hull construction for maximum safety and reliability. Not only does the unit have the capability of transporting refined products, but it can also carry heated cargoes and “easy” chemicals, which require special arrangements of vents, stripping systems, pump components and tank coatings above that normally required for product carriers. All of Crowley’s ATBs are built under the ABS SafeHull program for environmental protection. This program puts the vessel design through an exhaustive review to identify structural loads and strengthen the vessel structure. The 650-Class barges will be 27,000 deadweight tons, 587 feet in length, 74 feet in breadth and 40 feet in depth. The fully loaded draft will be 30 feet. There is an electric cargo pump in each of the 14 cargo tanks to assure maximum cargo integrity and segregation flexibility; two anchor windlasses and associated equipment to enable the vessel to accommodate offshore mooring operations; and a vacuum system with three retention tanks to easily handle cargo changes. There also is a nitrogen generator and vapor collection system for maximum safety. A layer of nitrogen covers products in the tanks to make the atmosphere too lean for combustion. An enhanced mooring system features 1,000-foot Spectra-type lines on split drums with a highspeed recovery rate of 100 feet per minute. The tugs meet all SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) and ABS criteria, and have a foam-capable fire monitor; twin fuel-efficient heavy fuel oil engines; a noise reduction package; and other upgrades to increase crew comfort. The communication and navigation equipment is among the most technologically advanced in the industry today, according to Crowley. APL’s President Adams in New York These photos were taken Aug. 17 while the Seafarers-crewed President Adams was docked in Staten Island, N.Y. At right, SIU VP Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi (right) greets General Norton A. Schwartz, USAF, Commander, U.S. Transportation Command. Pictured above (from left) are Chief Cook John Padilla, ACU Abdulla Quaraish, Patrolman Joseph Baselice, VP Soresi, Chief Cook Rudy Gibson and Steward/Baker William Churney. Seafarers LOG 3 �11 Million Hours and Counting As Alaska Tanker Co. Hits Milestone Shipboard safety and environmental performance during the past several years appear to have become synonymous with the SIU-contracted Alaska Tanker Company (ATC). Time and again since 2001, the Beaverton, Ore.-based business has added one feat after another to its unparalleled inventory of accident/incident-free accomplishments. ATC on July 11 augmented its list of triumphs by adding yet another conquest: the completion of 11 million man-hours without a lost time injury (LTI). This latest signpost covers a five-year period, accounts for all operations throughout the company’s SIUcrewed fleet and recognizes ATC’s achieving the highest levels of safety and environmental performance while transporting Alaska North Slope crude oil from Valdez, Alaska to refineries in Washington, California and Hawaii. “As far as I can tell, no other tanker company in the world currently matches, or has ever matched this record,” said ATC President and CEO Anil Mathur. “And with a restricted work injury rate of zero and a total recordable injury rate of 0.4, ATC’s personal safety record is amongst the best in any industrial setting in the world.” Mathur credited the SIU for substantially contributing to the company’s past as well as present outstanding safety record. “Our relationship with the Seafarers International Union has been crucial to our joint success,” he said earlier this year when the company reached the 10 million manhour plateau without a LTI. “The SIU leadership has an enlightened and long-term view of what is best for their membership. This view matches our view in ATC. “We both see safety as deeply personal and not about statistics,” he continued. “Safety is about taking care of ourselves every day, so we can live full lives and earn a good living for our loved ones. Our Seafarers have responded with maturity and responsibility to the work environment we have jointly created,” Mathur said. “ATC’s latest milestone is a great credit to all concerned,” said SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez, who pointed out that many of the company’s mariners have undergone safety training at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. He added, “Particularly where the school is concerned, I would invite other SIU-contracted companies to follow Alaska Tanker’s lead and take advantage of the world-class safety training available in Piney Point. The results speak for themselves.” ATC began operations in April 1999. The company operates five Seafarers-crewed vessels includ- ITF Inspector Honored An International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) inspector’s contribution to the labor movement has been honored with an award from an organization of Asian American and Pacific Islander trade unionists. Shwe Aung, an ITF inspector from the SIU, received the Art Takei award for “outstanding leadership” July 21 in Washington, D.C. It was presented by the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA) during that organization’s convention. The award is named after a founder of APALA. “Shwe is small in stature but has a very big union heart,” said SIU Patrolman Robert Troy, who works with Aung at the union’s hall in Houston. “He has been a great advocate for all mariners and a thorn in the side of captains and owners of so-called flag-ofconvenience ships entering the western Gulf region. He does an outstanding job.” A native of Burma, Aung knows firsthand the pitfalls of runaway-flag shipping, having sailed aboard such vessels. He also knows the courage required of downtrodden crews who want to stand up for their rights. In late 2001, Aung’s vessel sank in Venezuela, taking his credentials and other paperwork beneath the sea. Unable to get a new passport without returning to Burma—where he would have been jailed for his pro-labor activities—he instead made his way to the United States. Ironically, he was detained by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, but with the help of U.S. Rep. Gene Green’s office, the ITF and SIU officials 4 Seafarers LOG ing the four new Alaska Class tankers built in San Diego: the Alaskan Legend, Alaskan Frontier, Alaskan Explorer and Alaskan Navigator, along with the Prince William Sound. Last year, the Alaska State Legislature honored ATC for its consistently outstanding record, presenting a declaration commending the company for its safetyrelated efforts and achievements. The declaration noted that since 2002 (and as of last summer, when it was presented), ATC ships safely carried 43.6 billion gallons of crude oil with just 27.2 gallons of hydraulic oil escaping to the sea (as a consequence of storm damage) The United States Coast Guard recognized ATC’s outstanding performance in 2004 when they presented them with their premier national honor, the Benkert “Osprey Award,” recognizing excellence in marine environmental protection. In recent years, Alaska Tanker has also won several major awards for excellence in marine safety and environmental stewardship from the state of Washington and the Pacific States/British Columbia Oil Spill Task Force. MTD Spotlights Importance Of National Dredging Policy SIU ITF Inspector Shwe Aung is congratulated by AFL-CIO Executive VP Linda Chavez-Thompson (right) and APALA President Maria Somma. including Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel, Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey and Assistant Vice President Jim McGee, Aung was granted asylum in 2002. “When you have the chance to help a fellow trade unionist and mariner like Shwe, you do it,” Corgey said at that time. “We’re pleased to have given him a hand.” In addition to his duties with the ITF, Aung serves on the APALA board and is president of the alliance’s Texas chapter. He also is an official with the Texas AFL-CIO. The SIU is affiliated with the ITF, a federation of more than 600 transport-worker unions in 140 countries. SIU Secretary-Treasurer Heindel is vice chair of the ITF’s Seafarers’ Section. Gretchen to the Rescue . . . SIU boatmen from G&H Towing in the Houston area provided badly needed assistance to a pushboat crew and also secured the boat and a barge during the pre-dawn hours of May 18. G&H officials praised the quick thinking and efficient actions of Seafarers from the tugboat Gretchen, including Capt. Charles R. Branch Jr., Mate John A. Mathews, AB John E. Fabain and Engineer Roy M. Saldana. The operation began shortly after 3 a.m. when the watch supervisor at Houston’s Vessel Traffic Service relayed a call to G&H Towing for assistance in helping the pushboat Miss Julie move a bunker barge from alongside the vessel Excellence, which was anchored in Bolivar Roads. The barge had just transferred fuel to the Excellence and was banging into the side of the ship’s hull due Pictured last year during the home stretch of construction, the Alaskan Legend is ATC’s newest vessel, first sailing in late 2006. to choppy waters and three-foot swells. The original request called for G&H to assist the pilot in turning the ship in the anchorage to allow the Miss Julie to find a lee and move the bunker barge away from the larger vessel. However, a crew member from a Coast Guard utility boat near the scene stated that the situation had become urgent. G&H dispatched the Gretchen to assist in turning the ship, and that part of the operation went smoothly. But the SIU boatmen also discovered that the crew members from the Miss Julie (which is owned by Hard’s Marine Service, Ltd.) had abandoned their boat and moved to the barge because they feared sinking. The Gretchen lashed up alongside the barge and towed it along with the Miss Julie to Galveston Harbor. (The Miss Julie had broken all of its face wires and could not tow the barge without assistance.) By around 5:30 a.m., the barge and pushboat were secured at pier 21 in Galveston. Steven J. Huttman, director of marine operations at G&H Towing, noted that the captain and crew of the Gretchen “performed with a great deal of professionalism and superior seamanship in taking a loaded bunker barge in tow alongside. This is a task that is not routinely performed by our crews.” Jeff Preston, director of safety and training at G&H, agreed, adding, “The decisive action by the crew of the Gretchen preserved life, property and the marine environment.” Branch, Mathews and Fabain all have completed safety-related courses at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, located in Piney Point, Md. The Maritime Trades Department (MTD), AFL-CIO, last month submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) promoting dredging in general and also making a case for special consideration for the Great Lakes. The MTD consists of 23 affiliated unions, including the SIU, representing more than 5 million members. Responding to the agency’s request for comments (published earlier this year in the Federal Register) on existing national dredging policy, the MTD described dredging as “a vitally important aspect of the American economy” and also noted that the department “was a strong supporter of the work done by the U.S. Department of Transportation and a federal interagency working group in the early 1990s on this very issue.” At that time, the MTD criticized the “time-consuming and costly nature of the dredging review process, the myriad overlapping federal and state jurisdictions and the belief—fed by some environmental groups—that there was no way to balance legitimate economic concerns with the need to maintain a clean and safe environment. The success of the DOT’s effort can be seen by the creation of the original federal interagency working group in 1993, the streamlining of the interagency review process and several key findings of the national dredging policy that the EPA is submitting for review.” Among other things, the current policy notes that a network of ports and harbors is essential to the United States economy, affecting its competitiveness in world trade and national security. It further states that port facilities serve as a key link in the intermodal transportation chain and can realize their full potential as magnets for shipping and commerce only if dredging occurs in a timely and cost-effective manner. Additionally, the policy asserts that the nation’s coastal, ocean and freshwater resources are critical assets that must be protected, conserved and restored; that consistent and integrated application of existing environmental statutes can protect the environment while allowing for sustainable economic growth; and that close coordination and planning at all government levels—and with all aspects of the private sector—are essential to developing and maintaining the nation’s ports and harbors in a manner that will increase economic growth and protect, conserve and restore coastal resources. Portions of the MTD’s comments follow: U.S. Ports and Port Dredging Are Essential Components of a Healthy U.S. Economy and the Defense of the Nation The national dredging policy is absolutely correct in stating the importance of ports and dredging to the U.S. economy, and by acknowledging that environmental concerns and economic development do not need to be at odds. Any effective U.S. policy on dredging must start with these observations. Indeed, the importance of U.S. ports will only increase in an age of economic globalization with foreign trade expected to grow at a rapid rate over the next two decades. Today, U.S. ports and waterways handle more than 2 billion tons of domestic and import/ export cargo annually. By 2020, the total volume of cargo is expected to double. Continued on page 18 September 2007 �House Approves ‘Belated Thank You’ Legislation U.S. Merchant Mariners who served their country during World War II now are closer to receiving not only the recognition they deserve but also a monthly annuity, thanks to recent action on Capitol Hill. Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Bob Filner (D-Calif.) on July 30 announced that the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 23, The Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007. The bill, which has the full backing and support of the SIU, its officials and membership, would establish a U.S. Merchant Mariner Equity Compensation Fund to provide monthly payments in the amount of $1,000 to qualifying members of the United States Merchant Marine who served during World War II between the periods of December 7, 1941 and December 31, 1946. H.R. 23 includes qualifying members of the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service. “The House of Representatives took the opportunity to correct a grave injustice heaped upon the gallant men of the Merchant Marine of World War II,” stated Filner. “We call our veterans ‘heroes’ for a reason, and the heroes from past wars deserve all the care and dignity that this nation can bestow. We will work boldly and tirelessly to move this legislation forward. “I am pleased that the House of Representatives passed The Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007,” Filner continued. “The heroic and brave service of these veterans has gone unheralded by this country for too long. We owe these heroes a thank you and today, we are one step closer to righting this wrong—once and for all. These veterans kept their promises to serve our country and it is not too late to keep our promises to those that have fought for our country.” Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson (D), just days after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 23, urged the U.S. Senate to follow suit by passing companion legislation, S. 961, which he introduced. In a letter to the Senate’s chair and ranking member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, Nelson wrote, “Merchant mariners served this country by delivering troops, tanks, food, airplanes, fuel and other needed supplies to every theatre of the war. Yet they have been denied the benefits given to other service branches. It is past time to pass legislation to Labor Federation’s Executive Council Plans Strategies for Working Families Members of the AFL-CIO executive council, during their Aug. 6-8 summer meetings in Chicago, conferred about crucial concerns for working people and mapped out strategies to make certain that their voices are heard both in the workplace and in the highest echelons of government. Executive council members, including SIU President Michael Sacco, during the meetings outlined the next steps to be taken in the continuing battle to win quality health care for all Americans, developed plans to mobilize a force of activists as part of “An Economy That Works for All” and called for a rebuilding of the nation’s infrastructure. Council members also approved statements on important reforms to the nation’s trade policy, advancing the fight for the Employee Free Choice Act and expanding access to higher education. On Labor Day, the AFL-CIO union movement will kick off a renewed campaign to win health care reform that protects hardwon union benefits and extends health care coverage to all Americans. The campaign’s goal, according to the council, will be to win universal, quality health care for all of America by making the 2008 elections a mandate on health care reform and electing people in the executive and legislative branches of the federal government who are pledged to that end. To accomplish these objectives, the AFL-CIO leadership will engage with federation unions to mobilize a massive working family army and help build a broad progressive alliance committed to establishing high quality care for all. Elements of this reform campaign include: Education of union members and their families about the necessity for federal action to preserve their hard-won benefits; Mobilization of union members to participate in the 2008 elections and demand that candidates for federal office support comprehensive health care reform; September 2007 AFL-CIO President John Sweeney Recruiting employers to support health care reform; Linking national health care reform to the important reform work at the state level; and Working with progressive organizations to establish a broad alliance for reform. In addition to soaring health care costs and shrinking retirements, workers are faced with stagnating wages and mounting economic uncertainty, the federation leaders charged. In short, America’s workers and their families are finding it tougher and tougher to maintain their living standards. To combat this situation, the council developed plans to train and mobilize a force of 1,000 activists in the coming months. These activists, as part of “An Economy That Works for All” campaign, will take the battle for economic justice to union members in their communities, workplaces and union halls. As a result of these activists’ actions, the federation anticipates that large numbers of other union members will become involved in the 2008 elections. The activists’ training will focus on three key policies: restoring workers’ freedom to form and join unions by enacting the Employee Free Choice Act; solving America’s health care crisis; and protecting good jobs through trade and industrial policies that support the creation of good jobs in America. With the images of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis fresh and the disaster of crumbling levees that flooded New Orleans in Hurricane Katrina still vivid, the council said it is time for a major national effort to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure. “Our nation cannot careen from one preventable disaster to another,” said an official statement. “The future of our economy and our quality of life depend on the health of the nation’s infrastructure. Investing in it will create good jobs while improving the living standards of working families and their communities.” On trade, the council pointed out that since 2000, more than 3 million manufacturing jobs have disappeared and 40,000 facilities have been shut down “due to flawed trade policies.” The council statement said that the socalled free trade agenda “allows companies to avoid the whole panoply of domestic laws and regulations—affecting clean air and water, the minimum wage, the abolition of child labor, the right to organize and bargain collectively, a safe and healthy workplace, safe consumer products and safe food, to note just a few—that we as a nation have long decided are important to promote the common welfare and temper the worst excesses of a free market economy. Corporate profits have skyrocketed, executive compensation has gone through the roof and working Americans have paid the price.” Council members urged rejection of flawed trade agreements with South Korea and Colombia and any effort to renew fast track trade authority. They also supported reauthorizing and expanding the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act to help workers and their families who are victims of unfair trade. The Employee Free Choice Act, which protects workers’ freedom to form a union without employer intimidation, harassment or interference, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives (by a 241–158 margin) in March. In June, the bill fell to Continued on page 9 honor and recognize the contribution of merchant mariners during the Second World War.” While U.S. Merchant Mariners provided invaluable assistance during the war, they were denied benefits in the post-war G.I. Bill of Rights because they were classified as civilians. In 1988, they were granted a watered-down version of the G.I. Bill of Rights, but some portions of those benefits were never made available to them. Additionally, it wasn’t until 10 years later (1998) that the cutoff date for veterans’ status for World War II mariners was extended to match the one applied to members of the armed services. “We can never make up for the years lost, but we can fix the injustice by passing S. 961 as quickly as possible,” Nelson said. He added that the Senate version of this legislation already has garnered the support of 46 of his colleagues who have signed on as co-sponsors. “With the strong backing of these individuals, I will work with the leadership of both parties to do what is right for these merchant mariners: pass this bill,” he concluded. There is some dispute as to how many surviving mariners remain who sailed during World War II, but their average age is approximately 83. Calif. Grocery Workers Ratify 4-Year Contract Grocery workers in Southern California—represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)—on July 22 by an overwhelming majority approved a new collective bargaining agreement with the country’s largest supermarkets: Kroger, Safeway and Supervalu. The contract, covering approximately 65,000 union members, was ratified by a wide margin exceeding 87 percent, with extremely high membership attendance at the meetings throughout Southern California. All seven UFCW local unions involved recommended that grocery workers ratify the contract. UFCW members and their union officials in Southern California fought long and hard through six months of negotiations for this contract, and many believe it is a major improvement over the previous one. The new four-year contract, which runs from March 5, 2007 to March 6, 2011: Eliminates the “two-tier” wage and benefit structure. All employees now will be on the same wageprogression schedule and will be eligible to reach the same top pay scale in their classification; Provides annual wage increases retroactive to March 5, 2007. Wage increases will range between $1.65 and $6 over the life of the contract; Shortens the waiting period for health care eligibility to six months for new hires and dependents, and 24 months for spouses. The previous standard was 12-18 months for employees and 30 months for children and spouses; Provides funding for health coverage for the term of the contract. The union agrees to supplement the grocers’ contributions with $3,000 per employee from an existing health care trust fund to pay for health coverage, or about $240 million over four years; Includes provisions for preventative health care for all employees; Offers graduation to a “Plan A” health plan with increased benefits for employees hired after March 2004; and Continues pension funding at current levels. Much of what UFCW members accomplished, say union sources, can be directly attributed to the solidarity and strength they showed in working together to bargain for a fair contract. Seven Southern California UFCW locals all worked together in bargaining and coordinating campaign actions and strategies. They also owe their accomplishment to the extensive support of community and religious leaders, shoppers, affiliated unions and UFCW members nationwide throughout the negotiations. Coordinated action with supporters and customers played a pivotal role in gaining a positive settlement, UFCW officials said. Union members, community members, religious groups, grocery workers, and supporters knocked on thousands of doors, handed out flyers, sent e-mails and letters of support, wrote editorials, attended rallies and marches, spoke out in churches, and signed pledge cards supporting UFCW members. “This contract is a major step forward for grocery workers,” said Pat O’Neill, UFCW international executive vice president and director of collective bargaining. “But it never would have happened without the solidarity of the UFCW members and their union leaders in Southern California, along with the support of the community. It just goes to show that it pays to be a member of the UFCW.” Elsewhere on the West Coast, about 18,000 UFCW members in Washington and Oregon are still fighting for a fair contract with their employers. Grocery workers in Northern California will begin bargaining for a new contract later this fall. Seafarers LOG 5 �USNS Comfort CIVMARS Spread ‘Hoops Diplomacy’ in El Salvador Hospital Ship Continues 4-Month Humanitarian Mission The hospital ship USNS Comfort, crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division for the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC), is in the midst of a four-month deployment to Latin America and the Caribbean aimed at treating approximately 1,000 patients per day. Along the way, a number of the Comfort’s civil service mariners (CIVMARS) in late July befriended locals in Acajutla, El Salvador during a few evening games of pickup basketball—an interaction described by MSC as “hoops diplomacy.” On the vessel’s second evening in port in Acajutla, a group of 10 or so CIVMARS visited a park near the ship to play basketball and, rather than just play against each other, struck up a game with some of the locals. “We were over there playing ball and then some of the locals called us over and we started playing with them,” said Boatswain’s Mate William Ramos, who speaks Spanish and served as a translator. “Sunday, our second night playing, it was so crowded, there were at least 100 people in and around the park watching us play and having fun with us. At first they were cheering for their own people, but after the third game they started cheering for us, too.” During the mariners’ final night of competition, a local boy U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joshua Karsten The hospital ship USNS Comfort, deployed for a fourth-month humanitarian mission, is moored in Acajutla, El Salvador in late July. brought a small American flag to the game. Some of the people in the crowd had been treated on the hospital ship and recognized the crew. “There was one lady who had had an operation on the ship, and she remembered us and asked us if we were from Comfort,” noted Ramos. The crew members took Gatorade, water, snacks and a soccer ball to share with the other players and with the many children who gathered to watch the games. Three of the CIVMARS gave their athletic shoes away to their new friends. “I just really like these people,” said OS John “Junior” Rogers, who gave a pair of Air Jordan basketball shoes to one of the opposing players. “It was nice—all of those people fell in love with us playing basketball,” said Ramos. According to MSC, the CIVMARS won the first game—but after that the El Salvadorans put together a winning streak that continued through the ship’s last night in port July 29. The Comfort’s current mission began in mid-June when the 894foot vessel sailed from Norfolk, Va. This is the ship’s first deployment since October 2005, when it had concluded more than a month of operations along the U.S. Gulf Coast providing assistance in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Its current itinerary includes stops in Belize, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. At each port of call, U.S. military doctors and nurses from the ship’s medical treatment facility are working with various embarked agencies (governmental and private) as well as medical professionals from the respective host nations. They are providing medical care including immunizations, general and specialty surgeries, dental care and vision services. In announcing the deployment, MSC noted, “Comfort’s mission, part of U.S. Southern Command’s Partnership for the Americas, is modeled in part on the humanitar- U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kelly E. Barnes Lt. Megan Zeller, an intensive care unit nurse, checks a patient’s vital signs while he recovers after surgery aboard the hospital ship USNS Comfort, which is crewed by SIU CIVMARS. The photo was taken July 31 in El Salvador. ian assistance deployment that the Comfort’s sister ship, the USNS Mercy, conducted last year to Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. On that mission, the Mercy’s medical team treated more than 60,000 patients.” The USNS Mercy also is crewed by SIU CIVMARS. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Elizabeth Allen Aircrew personnel assigned to Helicopter Sea Command (HSC) Squadron 28 assist in directing an MH-60S Seahawk helicopter in moving cargo aboard the Seafarers-crewed USNS Comfort in mid-July, somewhere in the Pacific. Ammo Ship’s Story Has Pop It’s probably a rare circumstance in which an extra “pop” aboard an ammunition ship isn’t necessarily cause for alarm, but a report last month from the U.S. Military Sealift Command fits that description. According to the agency, the USNS Flint, which routinely delivers ordnance to Navy ships, was scheduled to distribute 250,000 bags of donated microwavable popcorn last month. Crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division, the 564-foot Flint, which supports the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet, was to supply the popcorn to Navy ships at sea and also pass a portion of its edible cargo to other MSC ships that will help deliver it to thousands of sailors and Marines aboard other Navy ships around the world. Termed “Operation Popcorn,” the delivery of 3,000 cases of the buttery treat—in addition to already-planned ammunition— was slated to be made by the Flint’s civil service mariners (CIVMARS). The donation was a result of a coordinated effort between the Boy Scouts of America, the Support Our Troops organization and Weaver Popcorn Co., which U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communications Specialist 2nd Class Maebel Tinoko Cases of donated popcorn are being shipped from the Seafarerscrewed USNS Flint to military personnel around the world. 6 Seafarers LOG gave the $70,000 worth of popcorn for Navy sailors and Marines serving far from home. The ammunition and popcorn were loaded at Naval Magazine Indian Island, Wash., July 20 and 21. Cases of butter, butter light and kettle corn were to be given to each ship. According to the MSC, the Defense Logistics Agency considers transportation requests for donated goods of this kind. Requests cannot be accommodated unless space is available and operations aren’t affected. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Spike Call In this early April photo taken in the South China Sea, a helicopter assigned to the Black Knights of Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron (HS) 4 clears the flight deck of the Seafarers-crewed ammunition ship USNS Flint. CIVMAR News: Union Files Grievance The SIU Government Services Division has filed a grievance requesting monetary compensation on behalf of crew members from the USNS Supply who were required to use the “buddy system” while on liberty. The union charges that the restrictions took two forms: MSC requiring that CIVMARS comply with the U.S. Navy’s instruction regarding the use of the “buddy system,” and the agency requiring that mariners return to the vessel by 0200. The union further insists that the aforementioned restrictions were unnecessary and that they violated the collective bargaining agreement, the Civilian Marine Personnel Instruction provisions and the applicable memorandum of understanding between the parties. In a recent communication to the agency, the union noted, “These unwarranted restrictions cre- ate a hardship for the mariners…. CIVMARS should not be forced to relinquish their rights to full liberty without compensation. This new policy has multiple, significant adverse consequences for unlicensed CIVMARS which need to be addressed in negotiations.” The union also noted that this is a great departure from past practice. The buddy system is a Navy directive implemented for the command and control of its forces and it is not necessary to use such a system with professional mariners who are experienced travelers. CIVMARS understand when the buddy system may benefit them and may decide to use it under certain circumstances. The requirement, however, is difficult to implement during short liberty periods and can work to eliminate the ability of CIVMARS to take liberty altogether. September 2007 �Six Stewards Complete Recertification Six Seafarers recently completed their respective ascents to the summit of the merchant mariner culinary hierarchy when they graduated from the union’s steward recertification course. In recognition of their achievements, the graduates received certificates during the Aug. 6 membership meeting at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Satisfying the rigid yet essential demands of their instructors during the month-long curriculum were Stewards Christopher Amigable, Charlfred Autrey, Adele George, Karen Fensel, Exxl Ronquillo and Douglas Swets. Each stood and spoke before the audience of SIU officials, fellow Seafarers, family members, friends and guests during the membership meeting. Collectively, they expressed their gratitude for the opportunities they have been afforded to enhance their skills, improve their lives and those of their families and become better shipmates to their brothers and sisters aboard SIU-contracted vessels. Ronquillo, who sails from the port of Piney Point, Md., was the first to approach the podium. “I’ve been with the SIU since Sept. 29, 1989,” said Ronquillo who was born in the Philippines. “I sail as a chief steward and have sailed all over the world during my career,” he continued. Ronquillo told those in attendance that that SIU has been a very important part of his life since becoming a member because he considers the union as a partner. “It helps me to take care of myself and my family,” he said. “The SIU makes my life more secure and I am very proud to be a member.” Exxl Ronquillo, left, and David Swets perform prep work for one of their entrees. Members of the steward recertification class joined union officials for this photo following the August membership meeting at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. Standing left to right are VP Contracts George Tricker, Assistant VP Ambrose Cucinotta, Douglas Swets, Christopher Amigable, Charlfred Autrey, Executive VP Augie Tellez, Exxl Ronquillo, Adele George, VP Government Services Kermett Mangram, Karen Fensel and Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel. The children are the sons of Exxl Ronquillo (John, left, and Michael). Ronquillo extended his thanks to union officials for all that they do for the rank-and-file members, including the affiliation with the school and making upgrade training so accessible. He also thanked the Paul Hall Center instructors and staff for their contributions and support. “I thank them all for being there and being willing to help all of us. “To the trainees, never waste the opportunity to learn while you are here,” he concluded. “Always study hard and be the best that you can be.” Autrey sails out of the port of Mobile and has been an SIU member since 1993. He has upgraded at the school on three previous occasions. “I’m honored to be here today,” the Atmore, Ala. native told the audience. He extended his gratitude to the union’s officials and Paul Hall Center instructors for helping him advance in his career. Autrey told the trainees to always put their best effort forward and take advantage of each opportunity to learn. “Practice good teamwork while you are undergoing training,” he said. “Help each other out as often as you can and trust in one another’s abilities.” “I have sailed around the world several times,” said Amigable, who most recently sailed out of the port of Tacoma as a steward/baker. “I joined the SIU in 1984 in Seattle and have been sailing for Showing off their creations for the recertification course’s “mystery basket” module are (from left) Karen Fensel, Exxl Ronquillo, Adele George, Christopher Amigable, Douglas Swets and Charlfred Autrey. September 2007 14 years. The union has been very important in my life over the years because of the job opportunities it has given me,” he continued. “The benefits are great.” Born in the Philippines, Amigable previously has upgraded at Piney Point on five different occasions. “The training I received here is very valuable. I learned many new skills and I now feel more empowered with the ability to do a better job aboard my ship and to be a better shipmate to my brothers and sisters,” he said. “I enjoyed my stay very much and would encourage everyone to come here and upgrade their skills.” Amigable then extended his thanks to the SIU leadership for “the job security, good contracts and safe and reliable working conditions they provide for union members.” “To the trainees, you all have made a wise career choice and it’s good to see all of you here,” Amigable added. “I urge you to study hard, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Listen to your instructors, learn from your instructors. Learn to work together with your classmates and always carry your part of the load.” U.S. Virgin Islands-born George was a member of Unlicensed Apprentice Class 506 in 1993. She sails from the port of Norfolk, Va. and has upgraded many times. “I came back here five times before to attend upgrade training,” she said. “I learned a lot each time I was here, but this time I especially learned a great deal about working together as a group…. I would like to thank the union officials and the instructors here at the school for all that they do. “To the trainees, listen to your supervisors and always work together as a team,” she concluded. Swets is a veteran of the U.S. Army with some 30 years of service. “I served as a facility manager in the Army,” he said. “I later worked in a culinary capacity for 10 years with the Disney Resorts. I now sail as a chief steward. “I have been sailing with the SIU since 1987,” said Swets, who first donned the union colors in Honolulu. He currently sails out of the port of Oakland. “Joining the union and sailing changed my life for ever,” Swets told those in the audience. “It challenged me to work hard… and afforded me the opportunity to reach my goals.” Being at sea also gave Swets the time to read a great many books which were penned by some of his favorite authors. He shared some of their respective philosophies and views on humanity with those in attendance. Swets said that thanks to the SIU, he had made several voyages around the world. “I have traveled to such ports as Shanghai, Bombay, Singapore, Burma, Thailand, Southampton and Amsterdam,” he said. “I have made four trips around the world by way of the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal. I also have traveled around the Cape of Africa.” Swets said the overall training experience at Piney Point was “great and I will definitely encourage others to take advantage of what is available here. Being here and undergoing the training will help me do a better job aboard ship. It also has given me a better working knowledge of the union and its officials.” He continued his remarks by thanking everyone responsible for his success to date as a Seafarer and this most recent opportunity to attend training. “The SIU has been a life-changing experience for me,” he said. Swets had a lot of advice for the trainees. Using quotes from some of the books he had read over the years, he told the unlicensed apprentices, “The surest way to doom yourself to failure is to perform poorly the work you are paid to do. Today and every day, deliver more than you are getting paid to do. Don’t give up on your dreams…. Take responsibility for your choices and choose to be a winner.” Fensel launched her career with the union in Hawaii. “I’ve been sailing with the SIU since 1987,” she told the audience. “This career has opened many doors for me over the years. I first came to Piney Point in 1991 and have returned many times since to upgrade my skills. I thank the officials for helping to keep this school open and the instructors for keeping it running.” She told the audience that she enjoyed the meetings she had with union officials, including President Michael Sacco, Executive Vice President Augie Tellez, Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel and Vice President Contracts George Tricker. “Meeting and talking with them really opened my eyes to all of the hard work these officials have done and the accomplishments they have achieved for our union and its members. I’d like thank all of them for their hard work in getting us good contracts,” she said. Directing her attention to the trainees, Fensel said, “Work hard and take pride in everything you do. You will soon be representing our union aboard vessels, so please make our officials and members proud.” The steward recertification course, like most other classes at the Paul Hall Center, blends hands-on training with classroom instruction. Detailed refreshers in safety training (including fire fighting, first aid and CPR) and sanitary conditions are emphasized. Computer training also is a key part of the course as are study skills, communication and nutrition. Additionally, the training includes meetings with representatives from the various departments within the union and the Seafarers Plans, along with a trip to AFL-CIO headquarters (including the offices of the Maritime Trades Department). In every instance, the curriculum is designed to help stewards do an even better job when they go to their next ships. Adele George, left, and Karen Fensel mix ingredients for use in one of the courses of their mystery basket. Members of the class were divided into teams; each team was given the same ingredients. Within the established timeframe, each was required to complete a mystery basket. Seafarers LOG 7 �Luedtke Mariners Dredge in Toledo Deckhand Charles Wallace These photos were taken July 25 in Toledo, Ohio, where SIU members employed by Luedtke Engineering performed maintenance dredging operations from aboard Derrick Boat 16. More than 30 Seafarers work at Luedtke, based in Frankfort, Mich. OS Craig Argue Left: Foreman (and former SIU member) Bud Cropeck and SIU Representative Don Thornton SIU Representative Don Thornton, OS Craig Argue and Deckhand Charles Wallace Gianella Rescues 13 Continued from page 2 them plenty of Gatorade as recommended by MAS to bring their electrolyte levels back to normal. We also gave them plenty of simple carbs such as cookies to rebuild their energy levels. We kept a guard posted outside their rooms, but they rested quietly. Dry clothes were supplied by the ship. At dinner time, they were all in better spirits and did eat a little more. They were kept together as a group and allowed to eat after the crew. Once they completed their meal, I had the deck cadet bring up the “navigator.” He had requested to send an email to family to spread the word that they were safe. He was also eager to discuss his planned voyage versus his actual voyage. Using his small handheld GPS, he described how they intended to sail from Cuba and land in the Yucatan peninsula area of Mexico. They started with two small diesel outboards of some type, some jugs of fuel, 100 liters of water and containers of canned meat. Each one also had a flimsy inflatable life preserver that appeared to be leftovers from some airline. I am sure the group set out in high spirits, with dreams of a new beginning only days away. The navigator said he was a lawyer in Cuba. Using his handheld, battery-powered Treker GPS he pointed the way as they left Cuba. Problems occurred nearly right away when one 20liter water jug was found empty due to a hole. Later, engine #1 broke down and they had to employ engine #2. Another 20liter water jug would turn up dry as it was used upside down as a chair and had leaked. Towards the end of day two, they hit their first storm. The navigator turned off his GPS to keep the rain from harming it. They tied off motor #1 in the water to use as a sea anchor. When the storm had passed, they restarted the GPS to find out they had been going in a circle during the storm. It was becoming appar- 8 Seafarers LOG ent they were not going to have enough fuel. During day three they were able to get motor #2 working, but the Yucatan counter-current had taken them a fair distance south all the way to 19-52N, 85-38W. In this southern area they tried to get the attention of four cruise vessels that passed very close, but they were either not seen or ignored. Day three was also the day they ran out of water. The canned meat also spoiled from the heat, and cans began to explode. During the fourth and fifth days they had no water or rain. The stronger Yucatan current began to pick them up and carry them north. Knowing they did not have the fuel required to make it to Mexico, they tried to motor east in hopes of getting back to Cuba. Storm #2 hit them on day six and they once again secured the GPS, but continued to motor in what they thought was east. After the storm passed, they discovered they had gone in circles during the storm and had actually ended up farther west. Motor #2 broke down shortly that storm. The storm itself provided two liters of water, which was rationed by syringe at 20cc per person, twice a day. On day seven, securely in the clutches of the Yucatan current, they watched helplessly as Cuba passed by on their GPS. Drinking the last of their two liters of rain water, they worked at trying to get motor #2 to work again. They repaired the motor on day eight and tried to motor against the current to the now-closer Yucatan Peninsula; however, the GPS displayed the cold truth. Even with the motor running there was no way they were going to beat the strength of the Yucatan. Once motor #2 stopped again, they threw both motors over the side to make more room in the boat. Day nine was their second day without water again. At this point some of the refugees began drinking their own urine. They would put what they could into a plastic bottle, and then drag it in the water to cool it off. Once cooled, they would hold their nose and drink it. Day ten was more of the same. Somewhere in this area they endured storm #3. Waves would crash over the gunnels and at the worst point the boat was half full of water. Old water jugs with cut off tops would serve as bailers. The third storm was more wind than rain and did not supply significant drinking water. Day 11 brought another cruel insult to the 13 refugees. According to the navigator, on July 31, in the area of 26-10N and 87-54W a black-hulled cargo ship made a close approach and turned around them. He said the ship was so close he could clearly see Second Mate Jason Myers, an SIU hawsepiper, calls for assistance. the name “MINERVA” in blue lettering. He said it was a loaded ship with aft house construction. The refugees became very excited and began waving their bright yellow water jugs. He said they were sure the ship had seen them. Then the ship turned the other way and departed. He said when they saw it begin moving away they shouted for only water, but the answer was silence and a ship that grew smaller on the horizon. Day 12 was more of the same—more ships sighted, but none that deviated such as the MINERVA. They had no water and continued to drink their own body fluids. One or two would keep lookout while the other lay in the bottom of the boat and tried to keep the sun off of them. Another disturbing thing noticed by the navigator but not shared with the others was that his GPS positions showed them alternately moving both north and south, indicating they were in an area of mixed current. He was hoping they would continue on to New Orleans. Day 13 was the last day of their ordeal. It started with nice rains at 0530. Because the winds were not too high and the waves only three to four feet, the refugees collected a relatively large amount of water. They got five liters of water and began a 350cc per day, per person schedule. It was in these rains that they saw us pass them at 16 knots. The navigator said when he saw us reappear about 20 minutes later out of the rain, he did not get excited. Even though we were going much slower, he could only think of their earlier experience. This matched what we were seeing because despite us being fairly close and barely moving, we still thought there were only four people in the boat. It was not until I put the engine astern that many heads began to pop up above the gunnels. The navigator said when he saw our astern wash, he finally believed we were going to help them. The debrief with the navigator was very interesting for the cadet and me. He estimated they had seen about 20 ships in the 13 days with the MINERVA and cruise ships being the closest approaches. The navigator sent his email. I noticed he was very comfortable with the computer. He asked me about their fate and he was attentive when I let him know we were going to rendezvous with a U.S. Coast Guard ship. Although there was some disappointment in his face, he was still very gracious. He mentioned he may end up in jail if returned to Cuba. Even with that fate potentially ahead of him, you could tell he preferred it compared to more days aboard the LIBERTAE (Freedom), which was the name of the wooden skiff he built. All of the Refugees were grateful and very polite. On the morning of August 3, we were scheduled to rendezvous with the USCG ELM to transfer the 13 refugees. At 0800 they ate a good breakfast and prepared what tiny belongings they had. One man insisted on giving his watch to the AB that spotted them. It was the only thing he had to give and he desperately wanted to express his gratitude. The AB accepted the watch and I am sure it will be something he looks at with fond memories for years to come. Our transfer with the ELM was clockwork smooth. The ELM was exactly where she said she would be and she was ready for the transfer. The communications and small boat handling by her crew was very professional. The weather was calm, so we slowed to dead slow ahead and lowered the port lifeboat with all refugees aboard. We kept the boat locked in the falls and only inches above the highest waves. This made for an easy climb over the gunnels to enter the Coast Guard skiff. One by one, they made their way over the rail with smiles and waves all around. As they headed back to the ELM and I observed our crew, it was easy to see how helping these people out of a desperate situation also helped us aboard the LHG work together as one. Aboard the LHG, every crew member responded to the situation in a way that would make anybody proud. It was astonishing, disheartening, stimulating and bonding all in the same breath. September 2007 �Hughes Elected to Lead ILA Bowers Retires After 20 Years at Union’s Helm Richard P. Hughes Jr. has been elected to succeed the retiring John Bowers as president of the International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO (ILA) Hughes, 73, was elected July 26 by voice vote during the ILA convention in Hollywood, Fla. He was unopposed. Born in Baltimore and a third-generation dockworker, Hughes since 2005 had served as executive vice president of the New York-based union, the No. 2 spot. He became the first Longshoreman from Baltimore to occupy the top post. Bowers had held the presidency for some 20 years. Hughes launched his career as a longshoreman on the docks of Baltimore in 1954, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, father and uncle. He still resides in South Baltimore, and four of his five children are ILA members. Hughes held various titles in the ILA Local 333 and began his ascent in the parent union in 1985. At that juncture, he was elected vice president of the Atlantic Coast executive board, representing the port of Baltimore. Hughes’ election came following four days of convention sessions during which a full spectrum of issues relevant to the ILA and its members—including health care, port security, organizing, politics, safety, wages, retirees, port projects, labor-management relations and the general state of the shipping industry—were addressed. “The ILA is United, Powerful and America’s Best” was the event’s theme. Dozens of speakers—including SIU President Michael Sacco—addressed the 300-plus delegates and 700 guests who attended the convention. Many spoke about the critical importance of labor’s participation in the political process. After noting the upward spike in regulatory requirements faced by union members who work in the maritime industry since 9-11—the TWIC and what some AFL-CIO Maps Strategies Continued from page 5 a Senate filibuster—51 senators voted to end the filibuster, but under Senate rules it takes 60 votes. The council said the key to moving the Employee Free Choice Act into law is “to deepen and broaden our grassroots movement for reform, create a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and elect a president who can and will lead the movement for Employee Free Choice, navigate the bill through Congress and sign it into law.” Additionally, the council reported that, on average, college graduates leave school with a diploma and debts ranging from $15,000 to $24,000 as college costs have soared and local and state aid to colleges and universities have been eroded by inflation. To help ensure access to higher education for working families, the council said the AFL-CIO and it unions will lead a national effort to assist students in utilizing a diverse range of affordable, excellent higher education opportunities. The council also approved statements on mismanaged airlines and the need to protect aviation workers and the flying public, protecting the nation’s food supply and honoring retiring Longshoreman’s President John Bowers. Rose Ann DeMoro, executive director of the California Nurses Association/ National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC), was named to the council. The CNA/NNOC affiliated with the AFL-CIO in May. More information about the executive council proceedings, including full council statements, is available at www.aflcio.org/ aboutus/thisistheaflcio/ecouncil/. describe as excessive background checks, for example—President Sacco told those in attendance that “our people should be treated better. Brothers and sisters, our members deserve respect,” he said. “In many cases, they’re on the front lines in the war on terrorism. They should be treated by our government as assets, not as suspects. And it is up to us to make it happen. “How do we begin?” Sacco continued. “For us, it starts with grassroots political action. This means getting out the vote, promoting our issues, educating the membership and realistically, it means donating money to pro-worker, pro-maritime candidates. Voluntary political donations are simply a fact of life in this day and age. It’s not our only tool, and it doesn’t guarantee success, but without it, we’d never get our foot in the door.” He added that grassroots political action also includes “talking with—not to, but with—our elected officials from your local hometown all the way up to Congress. No one can better explain what we face at the docks and aboard ship than the people who are doing it day-to-day.” Labor Brief NSPS Battle Continues Unions in the United DOD Workers Coalition recently announced they would file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court in order to stop the Department of Defense from implementing its National Security Personnel System (NSPS). The coalition has been fighting NSPS since it was first proposed. In February 2006, the group won a decisive ruling in the U.S. District Court against NSPS. Judge Emmet G. Sullivan’s ruling protected workers’ rights by gutting NSPS provi- Other speakers included Congresswoman Corinne Brown (D-Fla.), Congressmen Bennie G. Thompson (DMiss.), Al Green (D-Texas) and Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda ChavezThompson, Commandant of the United States Coast Guard Admiral Thad W. Allen, International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) General Secretary David Cockroft, Maritime Union of Australia National Secretary and ITF Dockers’ Section Chair Paddy Crumlin and International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots President Capt. Timothy Brown. ILA Executive Council members as well as other ILA officials also made presentations. The ILA—which represents more than 65,000 members on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, along major U.S. rivers, in Puerto Rico and Eastern Canada—was organized in 1892 in the Great Lakes region. The union negotiates master contracts governing the wages that shipping lines pay workers who load and unload cargo. It also lobbies Congress on labor issues and provides benefits to its members. sions pertaining to labor relations, collective bargaining, independent third party review, adverse actions, and Defense Department’s proposed internal labor relations panel. However, on May 18, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals—in a sharply divided 2-1 decision—upheld the regulations. The coalition filed a motion for review, which was denied Aug. 10. The group subsequently announced its intention to file another motion with the Court of Appeals and within 90 days to proceed with a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. “If NSPS were to be fully implemented, DOD workers would be subjected to an arbitrary, dishonest and unfair working atmosphere,” noted American Federation of Government Employees National President John Gage. With Seafarers Aboard the El Yunque ATTENTION SEAFARERS: These photos of SIU members aboard the El Yunque were taken earlier this summer in Jacksonville, Fla. Recertified Steward Francis Ostendarp Crew members get together for a photo after meeting with SIU Jacksonville Safety Director Karl Leiter. SA Carlos Hernandez September 2007 Right: Chief Cook Ismael Garayua prepares lunch. Seafarers LOG 9 �At Sea and Ashore With the SIU . . . HOUSTON — OS Brian Kinard (right), who works at G&H Towing Company, recently completed training and passed the test to receive his 500-ton Inland Mate License, which he is showing to Asst. VP Jim McGee. NORFOLK — Sgt. Brian Goodman (right) was recalled June 24 to active duty as part of Iraqi Freedom. Brother Goodman, who sailed as an oiler, has always personified the concept of “Brotherhood of the Sea.” Port Agent Georg Kenny—along with the port of Norfolk and the entire SIU membership—wish him well. Retiring from the SIU SEABULK TRADER — Attending a shipboard meeting aboard the Seabulk Trader are (from left, seated) DEU Nasser Kassim, SA Sanad Saleh, Bosun Bob Coleman, OMU Nat Lamb, Chief Steward James Harris, (from left, standing) AB Irving Carlos Rueda, AB Carson Jordan, AB Geoffrey Hall, Chief Pumpman Eron Hall, AB David Hollenback and AB Melvin Smalls. FT. LAUDERDALE — AB John Kolodziej (center) shows his first pension check. Safety Director Kevin Marchand (left) has been Kolodziej’s best friend for nearly 14 years and helped him get into the union. With them is Port Agent Kenny Moore. HORIZON PRODUCER — Checking out a recent issue of the Seafarers LOG aboard ship are (in photo above left, from left) Chief Cook Juan Vallejo Hernandez, OMU Jo Vanii Sprauve and SA Fernando Vega Mercado. William Bunch (above right) is the recertified chief steward aboard the cargo vessel. JACKSONVILLE — Wallace Lester Cumbest (left) receives his first pension check from Asst. VP Archie Ware in the Jacksonville hall. JACKSONVILLE — SIU Patrolman Ashley Nelson (left) presents Ray Green with his first pension check. 10 Seafarers LOG VIRGINIAN — Bosun John Thrasher (above, seated) and CE Jaime Cayonte look over the Seafarers LOG aboard the cargo ship. STOS Renard Murphy (above, right) is an unlicensed apprentice (class 683). Several of the vessel’s crew members have commended Murphy for being a hard worker and a good shipmate. At right is Oiler Miguel Abad who sails from Port Everglades. September 2007 �September 2007 Seafarers LOG 11 �The U.S. Merchant Marine: Always Re Serving the Country from Colonial Days F reighters, tankers, tugboats, towboats, ferries, passenger ships, dredges: these are some of the privately owned and operated vessels flying the American flag that help make up the U.S. Merchant Marine in times of peace. The civilian mariners— including thousands of SIU members—and their vessels move cargo and passengers between nations and within the United States. They ply the oceans and Great Lakes, the inland waters and navigable rivers, canals and harbors, delivering goods and people where they are needed. During times of war, however, the merchant marine “The officers and men of the merchant marine, by their devotion to duty in the face of enemy action, as well as the natural dangers of the sea, have brought us the tools to finish the job. Their contribution to final victory will be long remembered.” –Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1945 becomes an auxiliary to the Navy and can be called upon to deliver troops and supplies for the military. The U.S. Merchant Marine is this country’s “Fourth Arm of Defense” and can deliver anywhere and at any time. The sealift effort by the merchant marine during World War II almost defies belief. It was, perhaps, the greatest sealift operation in history. But merchant shipping has been of vital importance to Americans since colonial times. The Early Years The first wartime role of an identifiable United States Merchant Marine first took place on June 12, 1775 in Maine. Citizens from the 13 independent colonies had only 31 ships in their Navy when they heard of the battles at Concord and Lexington and the demand by Britain for them to sign a petition promising to protect British property at all times in exchange for the right to buy supplies. They protested, but in order to fight the British, they needed additional ships. Letters of Marque were sent to privateers (privately owned, armed merchant ships that were outfitted as warships to prey on enemy merchant ships). The privateers interrupted the British supply chain all along the eastern seaboard of the United States and across the Atlantic Ocean. These actions by the privateers predate both the U.S. Coast Guard (formed in 1790) and the U.S. Navy (formed in 1797) and are considered the start of the merchant marine’s role in times of war. The U.S. Merchant Marine was active in subsequent conflicts. During the War of 1812, the British were seizing American ships on the high seas and forcing seamen to join the British navy or merchant navy. This war was fought primarily by merchant ships because the U.S. had almost no Navy. Together, the Navy and the privateers captured 30,000 prisoners. The Mexican War was the first conflict in which the U.S. Army invaded an enemy’s territory by sea, and thus required the use of a large number of oceangoing ves- guns, tanks, planes, fu dreds of other essentia sels. The American Merchant Marine provided chartered ships in order to defend Texas against Mexico. During the Civil War, there was a struggle for control of the sea lanes and the inland waterways. The North set up a blockade of all southern seaports, cutting off imports of war materiel, medical supplies and household goods. Merchant mariners also played a role in the Spanish-American War, the Korean War and the first and second battles of the Atlantic in both world wars as well as in the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. There were just six privately owned commercial ships under charter to the military when the Korean War began. There were 255 at the peak of the hostilities. In September 1950, when the U.S. Marine Corps went ashore at Inchon, 13 USNS cargo ships, 26 chartered American and 34 Japanese-manned merchant ships, under the operational control of Military Sea Transportation Service, participated in the invasion. During the Vietnam War, ships crewed by civilian seamen carried 95 percent of the supplies used by our Armed Forces. Many of these ships sailed into combat zones under fire. The Mayaguez incident is well known, involving the capture of mariners from that SIUcrewed merchant ship. During the first Gulf War, the merchant ships of the Military Sealift Command delivered more than 11 million metric tons of vehicles, helicopters, ammunition, fuel and other supplies and equipment during the war. At one point, more than 230 government-owned and chartered ships were involved in the sealift. Government-owned merchant vessels have, in fact, supported emergency shipping requirements in many wars and crises. During the Korean War, 540 vessels (commercial and military) were activated to support military forces. A worldwide tonnage shortfall from 1951 to 1953 required more than 600 ship activations to lift coal to Northern Europe and grain to India. From 1955 through 1964, another 600 ships were used to store grain for the Department of Agriculture. Another tonnage shortfall following the closing of the Suez Canal in 1956 resulted in the activation of 223 cargo ships and 29 tankers. During the Berlin crisis of 1961, 18 vessels were activated, which remained in service until 1980. The Vietnam conflict required the activation of 172 vessels. World War II Whether it’s carrying humanitarian supplies (like the bags of lentils shipped overseas on U.S.-flag vessels under the PL 480 Food for Peace program, above) or loading military equipment for defense purposes around the world, the U.S. Merchant Marine delivers. 12 Seafarers LOG The role played by America’s Fourth Arm of Defense during World War II is, perhaps, the most dramatic—and has been sensationalized in books and movies throughout the years. But the world is a little more aware of the true history and role of the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II, thanks to SIU pensioner John Bunker, who wrote a number of books about both the September 2007 �eady to Deliver s to the Present Shown here is a photocopy of a declassified page from a 1944 shipping log, indicating the progress of American and British convoys to the Russian ports of Archangel and Murmansk. The convoys setting out on what was popularly called the “Murmansk Run” were vital to keeping the Soviet Union in the war by supplying uel, food, machinery and hunals for its defense. union and the merchant marine. In “Heroes and Dungarees, The Story of the American Merchant Marine in World War II,” he states: “The Merchant Marine was in the forefront of battle from Pearl Harbor until the end of the war. It transported the steel, fuel and food, as well as the guns, tanks and ammunition that kept Britain and Russia in the war. It carried rubber, oil, ores and other raw materials for the American war arsenal. The Merchant Marine took the soldiers to war, too. Merchant seamen braved bombs, torpedoes, kamikazes and the hazards of storm, ice and collision in convoy, from the icy Barents Sea to Pacific invasion beaches. Shells from the guns of merchant ships streaked through many foreign skies. Wherever the freights of war were needed, the cargo ships were ready to deliver. “Hundreds of ships were sunk by bombs, torpedoes and gunfire; by storms; or by collisions in thick fogs and blanketing snow. Thousands of seamen went down with their ships or were killed or wounded in action.” Many battles took place during World War II involving merchant mariners. From the icy convoys in the North Atlantic to the battles of the Central and South Atlantic, the U.S. Merchant Marine continued to carry needed supplies for the war effort. They sailed in every theater, regardless of the danger, moving more than 300 million tons of material. September 2007 As General Dwight D. Eisenhower said during the early stages of World War II, “When final victory is ours, there is no organization that will share its credit more deservedly than the merchant marine.” Tales of heroism and courage on the part of seafaring crews were commonplace during this period. But at no stage of the war were merchant ships and the seamen who manned them more vital than during and after the D-Day invasion when men and materiel were delivered in the greatest concentration in military and shipping history. Thousands of seamen took part in establishing the beachheads at Normandy and Omaha, among others, and later in maintaining the lines of supply which were vital in bringing down the Nazi regime. These mariners played an important role in landing the 2.5 million troops, the one-half million trucks and tanks and the 17 million tons of ammunition and supplies that were put on the beaches of Europe during the first days after D-Day. Many seafarers also were among the 1,000 merchant seamen who volunteered to sail the 32 American ships that were scuttled to make the emergency breakwater—the “miracle harbor” that made the successful invasion of the Normandy coast possible. After the beachheads were established, and as Allied troops fought their way toward the heart of Germany, the merchant ships continued to keep the supply lines open. Years have passed since the bombs of World War II fell, but those merchant mariners who saw and heard them have not forgotten them. Neither have they forgotten the 1,554 American-flag ships that went to the bottom between the “ In memory of those men, and in the interest of our nation, the United States must carry out the bold and daring plan of Franklin D. Roosevelt for a Merchant Marine of the best designed and equipped passenger and cargo ships, manned by the best trained men in the world.” —President Harry S. Truman The Merchant Marine flag, unveiled on May 24, 1994 by then-Maritime Administrator Albert J. Herberger, was designed by the U.S. Army’s Institute of Heraldry. It was first displayed at the annual U.S. Merchant Marine Memorial Service in Washington. D.C. to honor America’s civilian seafarers who have supported the nation’s armed forces in times of war and carried its commerce in times of peace. outbreak of the European war and Germany’s surrender, nor the 6,066 American merchant seamen who were killed or captured during that phase of the fighting—a casualty rate second only to that of the United States Marine Corps. More than 1,200 SIU members were among those who gave their lives. Thanks for Serving Without a doubt, all their service made a huge difference in the war’s outcome, and members of the U.S. Merchant Marine justly deserved the thanks and honors that came their way at war’s end. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, during the signing of the G.I. Bill on June 22, 1944, said, “I trust Congress will soon provide similar opportunities to members of the merchant marine who have risked their lives time and time again during war for the welfare of their country.” But that was not to be. When merchant seamen returned home from World War II, they came back without travel pay expenses, mustering out pay, state and federal pensions, disability benefits, G.I. loans, on-the-job training, paid college education with living expenses, medical and dental payments and much more, including burial benefits. It was not until 1988— more than 40 years overdue and after a long court battle—that some veteran status was given to merchant mariners who served from Dec. 7, 1941 to Aug. 15, 1945. Mariners who went to sea during that time, serving in wartime in hazardous waters, got their status as veterans Nov. 11, 1998. Unfortunately, many did not live long enough to take advantage of these benefits. Additionally, it wasn’t until 1998 that the cutoff date for veterans’ status for mariners was extended to Dec. 31, 1946—the same one that applies to the armed forces, and the date upon which President Harry Truman declared hostilities to be over. For the last several years, merchant mariners have been awaiting legislation to extend the 1944 G.I. Bill of Rights to them as well. If passed by both chambers of Congress and signed into law, the bill, “A Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007,” would provide benefits to certain individuals and grant them the compensation and respect that they have rightfully earned. On July 30 of this year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation. It still is awaiting consideration by the Senate. Today, the men and women of the U.S. Merchant Marine continue in the spirit of seafaring brothers and sisters. Since 1977, the Ready Reserve Fleet made a major contribution to the success of Operation Desert Shield/Operation Desert Storm from August 1990 through June 1992, when 79 vessels were activated to meet military sealift requirements by carrying 25 percent of the unit equipment and 45 percent of the ammunition needed. Sealift remains a vital component in protecting our national security. Beginning in 2003, merchant mariners answered their country’s call to duty during the initial combat phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom. An estimated 5,000 merchant mariners (including more than 2,000 Seafarers who sailed aboard more than 100 SIU-crewed ships) helped transport and supply coalition forces as the U.S. and our allies removed the dictatorial regime in Iraq. Mariners transported—and continue to carry—critical cargo including Apache helicopters, multiple launch rocket systems, wheeled vehicles including Humvees and fuel tankers, bulldozers and other combat engineer equipment, and ammunition to our forces. September 11 by transporting emergency personnel and needed supplies. That day, more than a half-million people were safely “I have come to appreciate first-hand why our Merchant Marine has long been called our nation’s fourth arm of defense. The American seafarer provides an essential service to the well-being of the nation as was demonstrated so clearly during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm…We are a maritime nation…This means that not only do we need a strong Navy, but a strong maritime industry as well.” —Gen. Colin Powell, Persian Gulf Wars Peacetime Missions The U.S. Merchant Marine has taken on many peacetime missions as well. They sailed to Somalia for Operation Restore Hope in 1993 and ’94; to Haiti in 1994 for Uphold Democracy operations; and in 1995 and 1996, helped deliver military cargo as part of U.S. and U.K. support to NATO peacekeeping missions. Four RRF ships were activated to offer support in Central America following Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and rendered humanitarian assistance to the Gulf Coast area following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2006, providing food, a place to sleep and electrical power to refinery workers, oil spill response teams and longshoremen. Merchant mariners were there first to answer the call for assistance following the horrific terrorist attacks of evacuated from lower Manhattan by SIU-crewed ferry boats, tour boats and government vessels. The U.S, Merchant Marine has served America with great distinction throughout our nation’s history—whether in times of peace or times of war. From the Revolutionary War through both world wars and up to today, the men and women who serve in the merchant marine have willingly served and defended their nation. As SIU President Michael Sacco noted recently, the names and faces of merchant mariners throughout the years may have changed, “but our commitment never wavers. Our reliability never lessens. Our message to our troops and to the rest of our countrymen is the same: You can count on us!” Seafarers LOG 13 �Recollections of the Merchant Marine in World War II Editor’s note: The first four installments of retired Seafarer Albert Stimac’s experiences in the merchant marine appeared in the April, May, June and July Seafarers LOGs, respectively. He wrote about his training, his first ship, joining the SIU, the responsibilities of a member of the black gang, traveling in a convoy during World War II and boiler problems on a C-3 bound for England. The last article left off following a Coast Guard hearing and being assigned to another ship. These are the best recollections of his training and sea time from the end of 1943 to late 1946, so any inaccuracies in the details need not be brought to his attention. S ometimes I think it was the Coast Guard that told the company which ship we would be assigned to. Usually, they pay you off and you leave the ship or else the chief or captain asks you to stay on. We weren’t even paid off—just transferred to another ship. I don’t even recall getting a discharge from that 10-day trip on the C-3. I got a bad feeling right away when I boarded the next ship. It hadn’t been cleaned yet and was a mess. The thing that bothered me most was the insulated Navy cold weather jackets left in one of the lockers. This meant the Murmansk Run and Russia. BAD NEWS!!! Small convoys that made this run were escorted by larger English navy ships, cruisers and the like. But if the Germans spotted the 20- or 30-ship convoy, they would send out their battleships berthed in the fjords. Then the English escort ship would abandon you and head for home. Otherwise, the German battleship could easily sink anything from a cruiser on down. No use sinking a battleship for a small convoy. Wasn’t worth the price. And besides, they were needed more on higher priority missions. The only good news was you would get a $500 bonus if you made this trip successfully. The bad side was you got paid in rubles and couldn’t get off the ship. And, you had to give the the money back. I talked to one guy who had made the trip and told me that Russian political prisoners unloaded the ships. When they couldn’t work anymore or starved, they were shot and pushed over the side. Well, they cleaned up the ship in the next few days, and I felt much better. When we were on board, I heard we were going to the New Jersey side. That was another surprise coming up. I had never been on a ship that loaded up on the Jersey side. I found out in a hurry, though, when we docked. Shore crews came aboard as soon as we tied up to the pier. They hauled all their lumber on board and started to board up the holds with wood. That meant only one thing: We were going to get loaded with something that would explode if there was a spark. It turned out we were hauling ammunition, 6,600 tons of it. But we were not going to Russia. We got loaded up with our cargo and headed out to sea. Scuttle—another term for rumor—was that we were headed for Europe. The second day out, we lined up in a convoy. It really was what I considered a large one. Over 50 ships. This was the first vessel I sailed on that had an armed guard crew. These were U.S. Navy sailors who would be in charge of the gunnery we had for protection. On this trip, we had four sets of twin 20mm anti-aircraft guns, a 5-inch cannon on the stern and a 3-inch cannon on the bow. The gun crews did not quarter with the merchant crew. They slept in the stern while we were quartered mid-ship. The 20mms were pretty new guns, but the 5-inch cannon mounted on the stern was a laughing matter. The gearing to move it up or down or left to right was very slow and hard to do. As we were carrying high explosives, we were the last to join up with the convoy. Just before we caught up to the rest of the ships, the captain decided to have the gun crew get some practice. So the alarm was sounded and the sailors rushed to their positions. After everyone was accounted for, the aft gun crew was ordered to drop a 50-gallon drum that was to be the target. The drum was specially made for target use and smoked when it was in the water. We were hitting some pretty good swells—long waves—and the stern would rise about 10 feet on top of a swell and down 20 feet to the bottom. On the command to fire, the ship’s stern just reached the top of the swell. The cannon fired, and we all watched to see how close they came to the smoking barrel. Of course, the gun barrel was further raised with the stern up and the bow down by 20 feet. We never did see the shell land and hit water. It just went up and out of sight. The captain got mad as we whooped and hollered with delight at the big miss. He immediately called to arm and fire again as the barrel was getting smaller and smaller as we continued on. As things went, the command to fire came just as the stern of the ship went down into the trough and the bow came up. With that movement, the gun fired right into the swell behind us, which was about 200 feet from the stern. Shooting of the cannon was called to an abrupt halt. Next, they went to the 20mm guns which were fed by cartridges that contained 25 or so 20mm shells. They were pretty heavy—I would guess about 40 to 50 pounds. These guns had some ammunition stored alongside them. But if they were in combat, much more ammo would be needed. This is where the Merchant Marine guys not on watch came in. We were supposed to go down in the hold and bring up two canisters at a time, one in each hand. Now we were supposed to walk up grated steps on a rolling ship and not be able to use you hands. It made no sense. The next practice was much better. They had one fellow who could really handle that 20mm. They would shoot up parachutes that opened up to about five or six feet and left a trail of smoke as they came down. Even on this ship going slowly up and down, he could cut off some of the lines on the parachute. These guns were slotted so they could go just so far to the right or left. The same went for up and down. It was a good thing. After a couple of other guys practiced, the next one up gave us another big thrill. He wasn’t too big or heavy set, so when the ship continued to pitch up and down, he had problems. He got strapped in alright, but did not get his feet or body set to control the gun. So when he released the turret safety, the gun swung aft as the ship’s stern went down in the swell. In the meantime, his hand immediately Students marched to class at the Sheepshead Bay training facility in Brooklyn, N.Y. where Stimac trained in 1943. 14 Seafarers LOG tightened and he pulled the trigger to fire. The shells went about 10 feet over our heads and cut off a couple guy wires. Scared stiff, we really moved from the fantail to the center of the ship. Now we knew why they put stops on the guns. The captain had just about had it, and he tied everything up and we never had any more practice. We soon caught up to the convoy and got into our position. We were in the last row back and the furthest ship out on the starboard side. This was called the “coffin corner.” Ships that carried explosives A pier, about five blocks long, was where lifeboat training was conducted at the Merchant Marine Academy. were assigned this position. If we blew up from a torpedo or gunfire, we wouldn’t take any other ship down with us. The closer to the middle of the convoy, the safer you were. But this wasn’t always true.... One time, for instance, a sub was spotted and it ran under the convoy for protection from the convoy escorts dropping depth charges. My experience was that when we were in the engine room on watch, we would count the depth charges the escorts would drop (usually between 75 to 100). This happened at sunrise and sunset. Anyway, on this day, the escorts came in after the sub and dropped a string of charges. They were close enough so it blew all the wrenches and spare parts loose from the skin of the ship. That’s why one always wanted to be the first one to sign up in the blackgang. The 4-8 watch was the worst, the morning watch when the sun rose around 6 or 7 o’clock and the 4-8 evening watch when the sun went down at 6 or 7 o’clock. I had just been relieved on my watch and was on the ladder going up when the charges started going off. I scampered up pretty fast and hit the deck running. I looked over the side and pretty soon saw some debris coming up from the sub. Don’t know if they got it or not, or if the sub just released a bunch of stuff. With a large convoy, it was difficult to keep everybody in formation and in line. One has to be aware that no radio communication could be used because it could be picked up by subs. So in clear weather, it was no problem as we kept everyone in visual sight. Even if the sea got a bit rough, we still could hold some sort of formation. The problem came when we hit fog. Visual contact was out, and all we used were the steamhorns. Each ship had an assigned horn signal—so many short blasts, long blasts and any variations thereof. If it was foggy or a dark night with a good sea running, one had problems. The ships would drift to port or starboard. In the morning, or when the fog cleared, it was a mess. It would take a good half day to get us more or less in line again. Even if we were the outside ship and in the coffin corner, ships would be outside of us and behind us. Some lines had six or seven ships and others would have only two or three. One day, we ran into heavy fog and a ship ran into our bow and tore off our starboard anchor. It also banged up our bow a bit but did not cause any leaks. It was on the deck plates and not down near the water line. Just as we were getting close to England, we ran into a large convoy of ships heading for the States. It was quite a mess. We met some of them head on and others came from the side. Evidently, some German subs had been in the vicinity and had torpedoed the ships, which then scattered. All around us, I could see ships going in different directions. We passed one ship that was going down bow first and the crew was lowering life boats. Seemed almost like a dream going by them at about 10 miles per hour. Maybe they were 100 yards away, but 100 yards isn’t much when two ships pass each other. Just past them was a ship sitting in the water, barely moving. But we kept heading straight ahead, making no effort to maneuver. We just kept sounding our horn in long steady blasts. We found out later that we had run up flags for BAKER. This meant high explosives on board in our cargo hold. There was a tanker on our port side coming at right angles to us He was really moving, but when he saw our B for BAKER flags, that big old tanker really put that ship in reverse in a hurry. The water was frothing and boiling up from the thrust of the propellers going full reverse. We just kept going, and it turned a little away from us and we passed in front of it by about 300 yards. After that, the escorts picked us up and gave us protection until the next morning and we were to hit England. During the lull in action, I heard how close we came to getting torpedoed. The Navy lookout on the bow did not respond during the action. One of the mate’s officers went up to see what the trouble was. He found the lookout in shock and just sitting and staring. The officer had to slap his face to get him to come around. We found out later his condition was caused by a torpedo headed toward us. Fortunately, it missed and went right under the bow. It missed us by just 10 or 20 feet. About five or six of us were rounded up the next day and we found out through scuttle that we were headed for Antwerp. That would be no problem, but the Germans had just left the port and had sunk boats and ships all over the passage going in. This time I was on day watch and down below when we started in. Why they put us in first, I’ll never know...unless they needed our ammunition that badly. We were afraid of a mined channel, so the 1st engineer had us put 5gallon cans filled with lube oil, one in each shaft alley bearing. We punched a hole in the bottoms and let it lubricate by gravity. Then we got out and went into the engine room and secured the watertight door. They always have a pilot come aboard a ship and bring it into the harbor, especially a local pilot who knows the harbor well. Being the first ones in, everybody was pretty jumpy. Hitting sandbars and sunken boats weren’t too bad. Floating mines and anchored mines gave us the biggest threat and fear. Brother Stimac’s wartime recollections will continue in a future edition of the Seafarers LOG. September 2007 �Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea October & November 2007 Membership Meetings JULY 16 — AUGUST 15, 2007 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals 3 5 6 18 7 7 37 22 4 13 6 28 17 15 6 4 4 2 38 17 0 0 1 8 2 0 5 5 0 1 3 6 5 5 3 0 0 0 6 8 307 259 58 0 0 6 11 2 4 19 19 2 8 8 24 6 10 3 1 3 0 15 18 0 1 2 9 3 6 16 12 1 7 2 10 14 7 1 3 5 1 19 10 0 1 0 2 0 1 4 4 1 0 0 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 6 Totals 159 129 31 1 0 1 10 2 12 24 14 0 6 5 29 6 22 1 1 1 2 22 26 0 1 1 7 2 3 8 10 1 4 3 5 10 1 2 2 3 1 5 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 Totals Totals All Departments 1 2 4 9 3 10 36 24 2 11 12 37 9 24 6 0 10 1 23 26 250 1 7 4 11 5 2 20 16 0 6 6 12 9 11 5 19 5 3 20 12 174 0 0 0 6 2 0 7 1 0 0 1 2 5 2 2 0 0 0 3 1 32 0 0 6 5 0 4 11 9 0 3 14 13 4 7 1 2 4 0 6 11 100 0 1 1 4 6 1 15 10 0 2 4 10 9 5 0 2 5 1 13 9 98 0 0 0 3 1 3 3 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 6 22 185 78 8 3 0 3 7 3 9 18 10 0 2 6 23 8 15 4 1 2 1 17 18 150 1 0 1 5 2 7 6 7 0 0 4 3 11 1 2 4 5 0 2 7 68 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 8 2 0 12 18 1 15 56 58 2 20 23 87 15 41 6 1 11 4 61 51 8 6 8 21 9 16 50 29 7 17 10 52 19 23 9 12 13 7 59 35 2 1 1 6 2 2 3 6 1 2 6 8 7 8 2 0 1 3 9 10 Algonac ................Friday: October 12, November 9 Baltimore..............Thursday: October 11, November 8 Boston ..................Friday: October 12, November 9 Guam ....................Thursday: October 25 ..............................Friday: November 23* (*change created by Thanksgiving Day holiday) Honolulu...............Friday: October 19, November 16 Houston ................Monday: October 15 ..............................Tuesday: November 13* (*change created by Veterans Day holiday) 133 484 410 80 Jacksonville ..........Thursday: October 11, November 8 0 0 3 1 0 2 4 8 0 1 3 5 9 4 0 1 2 0 0 13 0 0 5 11 3 10 25 35 2 16 9 38 10 19 3 1 4 1 28 21 2 4 6 14 1 13 17 18 3 8 7 15 20 10 4 5 5 5 25 13 0 1 0 1 1 1 5 3 1 1 1 4 5 1 2 0 1 3 5 8 Joliet .....................Thursday: October 18, November 15 68 241 195 44 0 0 1 8 1 3 12 7 0 0 0 9 7 8 0 1 0 1 7 12 1 0 4 9 2 14 42 25 1 10 7 31 16 42 2 3 1 1 36 45 1 1 0 9 2 8 15 18 2 9 2 13 15 4 0 2 2 1 9 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 1 6 0 0 1 0 0 3 2 2 77 292 124 21 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 1 0 0 1 0 2 4 3 0 1 2 7 0 5 0 0 1 0 9 1 0 3 4 4 3 4 18 18 1 6 6 36 16 10 1 3 4 0 20 13 1 0 2 4 1 12 5 12 0 3 3 6 18 8 0 27 0 0 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 5 0 4 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 3 1 2 2 4 14 7 0 4 6 21 5 9 0 8 3 0 10 6 0 0 0 4 2 3 5 0 0 1 1 3 6 5 0 19 0 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 8 3 0 2 4 11 1 7 0 0 1 0 10 2 2 2 3 10 3 8 26 32 3 9 5 70 25 28 2 16 4 0 28 24 9 1 2 9 0 16 12 22 2 2 8 27 28 13 4 12 1 3 12 7 37 170 110 17 105 55 0 53 300 190 688 636 207 517 445 117 278 1,070 1,029 335 *“Total Registered” means the number of Seafarers who actually registered for shipping at the port. **“Registered on Beach” means the total number of Seafarers registered at the port. September 2007 Piney Point ...........Tuesday: October 9* ..............................Monday: November 5 (*change created by Columbus Day holiday) 1 3 3 9 0 1 17 25 1 4 4 10 5 12 4 0 3 0 22 9 STEWARD DEPARTMENT Port Algonac A1chorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C ENGINE DEPARTMENT Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs DECK DEPARTMENT 1 1 5 11 2 9 38 29 0 15 19 51 12 27 4 0 10 3 37 33 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Mobile ..................Wednesday: October 17, November 14 New Orleans.........Tuesday: October 16, November 13 New York .............Tuesday: October 9, November 6 Norfolk .................Thursday: October 11, November 8 Oakland ................Thursday: October 18, November 15 Philadelphia..........Wednesday: October 10, November 7 Port Everglades ....Thursday: October 18, November 15 San Juan ...............Thursday: October 11, November 8 St. Louis ...............Friday: October 19, November 16 Tacoma .................Friday: October 26, November 23 Wilmington...........Monday: October 22, November 19 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. Personals CHIEF COOK GEORGE CREEKMORE Please e-mail Alma at shuby007@hotmail.com. HANK LIEBERMAN Anyone knowing the whereabouts of “my old shipmate, Hank Lieberman,” is asked to contact Tyrone Patrick-Navarre in Florida. The phone number is (850) 936-7015; or e-mail tdpat69@hotmail.com. Send Your Photos to the LOG Photos can tell a story. As has often been said, “a photo is worth a thousand words.” You can help the LOG tell the stories of interest to SIU members through your photos. When something happens on your ship, take some photos and send them to us. Or just snap some of your fellow shipmates at work. Try to take higher-quality photos (digital or regular), and therefore increase the odds that your photos will be included in the LOG. Here are a couple tips: Show the whole story in the photos. For instance, if the subject of the picture is a ship, show the whole ship. Let the LOG staff crop the photo as needed. Identify all the people in the photos by name and rating and indicate what they are doing. The LOG staff members are not seafarers, and sometimes they don’t know the proper names of equipment aboard ship. Digital photos should be taken at the highest resolution possible, otherwise they do not reproduce well for publication. Digital photos should be e-mailed to jbiscardo@seafarers.org. Other photos should be mailed to Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Seafarers LOG 15 �Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 IMPORTANT NOTICE TO UPGRADERS AND APPRENTICES Original USCG Physical Form and MRO Letter Mandatory Effective immediately, students who want to enroll in any of the following courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education must bring (or must have submitted in advance) an original, completed U.S. Coast Guard physical form and a medical review officer (MRO) drug letter upon arrival at the school: Unlicensed Apprentice Phase I, Unlicensed Apprentice Phase III, AB, FOWT, Junior Engineer, and all engine specialty courses. Members cannot take a drug test or a Coast Guard physical at the Paul Hall Center. Completed Coast Guard physical forms may be sent prior to a course’s start-up date or may be brought by the student. MRO drug letters may be submitted by the medical review officer in advance of the course or may be brought by the student. Paul Hall Center scheduling letters have been changed to include the aforementioned information. Additionally, each SIU hall in late July received a letter explaining this situation, including copies of the forms to be utilized by students. Please note that the MRO request form has been revised; the newest version calls for the letter to be sent directly to the Paul Hall Center admissions office. (Students and officials alike are reminded that random drug tests do not meet the requirement of the MRO drug letter.) For more information, contact the school’s admissions office at (301) 994-0010. BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 We are pleased to announce important changes to the Seafarers 401(k) Plan [formerly NMU 401(k) Plan]. Effective Aug. 1, 2007, we will be adding five (5) new investment options. NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG Under federal law, a participant and his or her dependents have the right to elect to continue their Plan coverage in the event that they lose their eligibility. This right is granted by the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, better known as “COBRA.” The COBRA law allows a participant and his or her dependents to temporarily extend their benefits at group rates in certain circumstances where coverage under the Plan would otherwise end. A participant and his or her dependents have a right to choose this continuation coverage if they lose their Plan coverage because the participant failed to meet the Plan’s seatime requirements. In addition, a participant and his or her dependents may have the right to choose continuation coverage if the participant becomes a pensioner ineligible for medical benefits. The participant’s dependents may also elect continuation coverage if they lose coverage under the Plan as the result of the participant’s (1) death; (2) divorce; or (3) Medicare eligibility. A child can also elect COBRA if as the result of his or her age, he or she is no longer a dependent under the Plan rules. If a member and his or her dependents feel that they may qualify, or if they would like more information concerning these rights, they should contact the Plan office at 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Since there are important deadlines that apply to COBRA, please contact the Plan as soon as possible to receive a full explanation of the participant’s rights and his or her dependents’ rights. The new funds are called the ING Solution Portfolios, which are a set of five asset allocation portfolios. Each Solution Portfolio targets a specific date range for retirement. Here’s a summary of the investment option changes: Five (5) New Investment Options Effective Aug. 1, 2007 are: Asset Class Investment Style Lifecycle/Asset Allocation Solution Portfolios JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 HEALTH CARE CONTINUATION 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746; (301) 899-0675 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 SEAFARERS HEALTH AND BENEFITS PLAN — COBRA NOTICE Seafarers 401(k) Plan [formerly NMU 401(k) Plan] HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 IMPORTANT NOTICE: ING Participant Access Effective Aug. 1, 2007, you will have access to the new funds via ING’s toll-free (800-262-3862) participant access telephone number or ING’s Internet Access Online New Funds Available on Aug. 1, 2007 Solution 2045 Portfolio Solution 2035 Portfolio Solution 2025 Portfolio Solution 2015 Portfolio Solution Income Portfolio available at www.ingretirementplans.com. You will also be able to use either of these services to initiate a transfer of your existing account balance and/or direct your future contributions to a different mix of available investment funds. If you need any additional information, please call the Plan office at the above number or Miriam Bove at (718) 499-6600, ext. 242. — Board of Trustees PIC-FROM-THE-PAST The year was 1954. The photo at right (taken from the LOG archives) shows copies of the new SIU contract being printed on the press in the mailing room at the headquarters building in New York. The new two-year contract, which was retroactive to Oct. 1, 1953, made several important changes in working rules and general rules dealing with such subjects as money draws in foreign ports, allotments, work in interior spaces by foreign shoregang labor, fans and innerspring mattresses in members’ cabins, handling of garbage and more. Monetary increases were anywhere from two to six percent in wages and overtime for all ratings. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with the LOG readership, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. September 2007 �Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA AMERICUS BELL JR., 70, joined the union in 1990 in the port of Mobile, Ala. Brother Bell sailed in both the deep sea and inland divisions. He first worked aboard the USNS Chauvenet. Brother Bell was born in Alabama and shipped in the steward department. He attended classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. in 2000 and 2001. Brother Bell’s most recent voyage was aboard the Delta Mariner. He is a resident of Mobile. JOACHIM BUETZER, 65, became an SIU member in 1995. Brother Buetzer’s first voyage was on the Independence. The steward department member was born in Greece. Brother Buetzer upgraded his skills at the Piney Point school in 1999, 2000, 2001 and again in 2002. He last sailed on the LNG Gemini. Brother Buetzer lives in Lahaina, Hawaii. WILLIAM FOGARTY, 65, embarked on his seafaring career in 1998 in the port of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. In 2000 and 2002, Brother Fogarty attended the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. to upgrade his skills. His first ship was the John McDonnell; his last was the USNS Red Cloud. Brother Fogarty was born in Connecticut and worked in the deck department. He makes his home in Palm Harbor, Fla. JOHN KOLODZIEJ, 65, hails from Mississippi. Brother Kolodziej joined the SIU in 1998 in the port of Fort Lauderdale. His first voyage was aboard the USNS Kane. Brother Kolodziej shipped in the deck department, most recently sailing on the USNS Dahl. He was a frequent upgrader at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Kolodziej resides in Pompano Beach, Fla. MARVIN LAMBETH, 68, began his seafaring career in 1968. Brother Lambeth’s earliest voyage was aboard a Delta Steamship Lines vessel. He enhanced his skills often at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Prior to retiring, Brother Lambeth shipped on the Horizon Trader as a member of the engine department. He calls Temple Hills, Md. home. September 2007 ORELLANA MEJIA, 68, began sailing with the SIU in 1977. Brother Mejia first worked aboard an Altair Steamship Co. vessel in the engine department. Born in Honduras, he attended classes at the Piney Point school in 2001. His most recent voyage was on the USNS Algol. Brother Mejia settled in New Orleans. MIGUEL ROBLES, 61, first went to sea aboard a vessel operated by Penn Navigation Company. Brother Robles is a native of Puerto Rico. The steward department member upgraded in 2000 at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Robles’ most recent voyage was on the Horizon Challenger. He continues to live in Puerto Rico. WILLIAM SHOWERS, 65, joined the SIU in 1964 in the port of New York. Brother Showers initially shipped in the deck department on the Sea Georgia. A native of Alabama, Brother Showers most recently work on a Delta Queen Steamship Co. vessel. He is a resident of Mobile, Ala. RAY GREENE, 61, started shipping with the Seafarers in 1980. Boatman Greene worked primarily on the Dodge Island. The Georgia native upgraded his skills in 2004 at the Piney Point school. Boatman Greene lives in Valdosta, Ga. ROBERT HURST, 64, hails from Virginia. Boatman Hurst launched his SIU career in 1977. He worked primarily on Virginia Pilot Corp. boats. In 1980, Boatman Hurst attended upgrading courses at the Paul Hall Center. He is a resident of Cobbs Creek, Va. RAYMOND McKNIGHT, 48, initiated his SIU career in 1978. Boatman McKnight first sailed aboard a National Marine Service Inc. vessel. He was a frequent upgrader at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Boatman McKnight was born in Pennsylvania. He most recently sailed aboard a Crowley Towing & Transportation vessel. Boatman McKnight is a resident of Thornhurst, Pa. BERRY MEEKINS, 64, donned the SIU colors in 1990. Boatman Meekins shipped primarily on vessels operated by Allied Transportation Co. He upgraded his seafaring skills on three occasions at the maritime training and education center in Piney Point, Md. Boatman Meekins settled in Chocowinity, N.C. LUMAN MOODY JR., 65, embarked on his seafaring career in 1994 in the port of Wilmington, Calif. Boatman Moody shipped primarily aboard American Marine Corp. vessels. He was born in Birmingham, Ala. and sailed as a member of the deck department. Boatman Moody makes his home in Seal Beach, Calif. CLYDE BRADSHAW, 62, was born in Maryland and launched his seafaring career in 1985 in Piney Point. He worked primarily aboard vessels operated by the Association of Maryland Pilots. Boatman Bradshaw makes his home in Ewell, Md. EDWARD BRADY, 62, became an SIU member in 1983 in the port of Wilmington, Calif. Boatman Brady sailed primarily aboard vessels operated by Crowley Towing & Transportation. Born in California, Boatman Brady enhanced his skills on two occasions at the Paul Hall Center. He resides in Sunset Beach, Calif. JAMES GRAY, 62, joined the union in 1983 in the port of Wilmington, Calif. Boatman Gray sailed primarily aboard vessels operated by Crowley Towing & Transportation. He took advantage of the educational opportunities available at the Seafarers-affiliated school in 1994, 1998 and 2000. Boatman Gray worked in the deck department. He calls O’Neals, Calif. home. JOSEPH McKAY, 55, joined the union in 1973, initially sailing from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Brother McKay worked primarily on vessels operated by Inland Lakes Management, including the J.B. Ford and the Alpena. He shipped in the engine department. Brother McKay attended the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. to upgrade his skills in 1979, 1994 and again in 2003. He lives in his native state of Michigan. GREAT LAKES MOHSIN ABDULLA, 65, was born in Arabia. Brother Abdulla joined the SIU in 1972. His first voyage was aboard the Hennepin, Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1947 INLAND on which he worked as a member of the deck department. Brother Abdulla attended classes at the Seafarers-affiliated school in 1979 and 2000. He most recently shipped on the Indiana Harbor. Brother Abdulla resides in Dearborn, Mich. Commending the captain and one of the ordinary seamen aboard ship for their diligence in aiding a crew member stricken with appendicitis, the crew of the SS Venore unanimously gave them a vote of appreciation at the September 7 shipboard meeting. The stricken crew member, J. Brake, oiler, became ill while the ship was off the west coast of South America. While Brake was ill, D. Reynolds, OS, gave unstintingly of his time to make Brake more at ease until port could be reached. The skipper, Robert Mason, kept in constant touch with the sick man. When he saw the man was too ill to remain aboard until the regular port was hit, he turned the vessel off course and put in at Lima, Peru. The foresight of the captain saved the life of the Seafarer as an operation was immediately performed with success. Moving for the vote of appreciation was Brother C. Davis with the entire crew in unanimous approval. Another vote of thanks for a somewhat different reason was given the ship’s steward, Clarence Davis, who was praised for good food, fast service and clean mess rooms. The steward in turn lauded the crew for being the most friendly, jolly and helpful to one another that he has had the pleasure to work with aboard ship. idled by the walkout. Strike action in San Juan on Wednesday tied up the Carolyn and the Jean, with the remainder of the fleet’s operations due to be closed down as ships come in. Two Libertys, the Angelina and Dorothy, are already inactive. The strike began on August 19 after many weeks of negotiations by the union committee and the company had failed to break a deadlock on wage changes and other monetary matters. Two days later, the Masters, Mates & Pilots, representing deck officers, and the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association also ran into total snags in their separate contract talks with the company and picketed the terminal. Longshoremen, Teamsters and others servicing the ships, including ship’s radio officers and pursers, have all respected the various union picket lines. This Month In SIU History 1957 The SIU extended its strike against Bull Line to San Juan in the fourth week of the walkout despite efforts by Bull to break the strike. A company bid for an injunction was denied last week by State Supreme Court Justice John E. Cone, who ruled that there was no reason why SIU’s peaceful picketing could not continue…. Round-the-clock picketing by Seafarers has halted all activity at the Brooklyn terminal, with four C-2 ships, the Frances, Kathryn, Elizabeth and Beatrice 1967 MONTREAL—The 5,400 members of the SIU of Canada have returned to their ships pending formal ratification of an agreement reached last week between negotiators for the union and 32 Canadian inland shipping companies. Voting on the full agreement will be held aboard all ships within the next two weeks, according to Leonard McLaughlin, SIU of Canada president. Release of full details of the settlement must await formal membership ratification, McLaughlin said, but it involves an overall 34 percent increase for Seafarers over three years and provides for a basic work week of 40 hours, previously denied to seamen in Canada. The decision by the SIU members to return to work after an agreement was reached ended a 37-day strike in which the key issues in dispute were a 40hour week, ship manning, the 24-hour work span and paid leave. Although a wage increase was sought by the union, most of its demands centered in the area of fringe benefits. Seafarers LOG 17 �Final Departures DEEP SEA LAU CHAN Pensioner Lau Chan, 79, passed away Dec. 30. Brother Chan joined the Marine Cooks & Stewards (MC&S) in 1972 in the port of San Francisco. He sailed primarily aboard vessels operated by American Ship Management; his first being the President Polk. He last worked aboard the President Wilson. Brother Chan was born in China and shipped in the steward department. He retired in 1987. His home was in California. BILL FERNANDEZ Pensioner Bill Fernandez, 81, died Dec. 23. Brother Fernandez became an SIU member in 1967. He began sailing aboard Hudson Waterways Corp. vessels as a member of the deck department. Brother Fernandez, who was born in the Philippines, most recently sailed aboard the OMI Yukon. Brother Fernandez started collecting his pension in 1967. He called Pinole, Calif. home. JOHN FRANCES Pensioner John Frances, 85, passed away Dec. 20. Brother Frances began his seafaring career in 1951. His first voyage was on the Steel Record. Brother Frances worked in the engine department, most recently on the Leader. Brother Frances went on pension in 1984 and resided in Baltimore. JOSE GONZALEZ Pensioner Jose Gonzalez, 80, died Dec. 22. Brother Gonzalez joined the SIU in 1953 in the port of New York. He began sailing on an Ore Navigation vessel. Brother Gonzalez, who was a member of the deck department, last worked aboard the San Juan. He continued to live in his native Spain and went on pension in 1991. NEVILLE JOHNSON Pensioner Neville Johnson, 68, passed away Dec. 19. Brother Johnson joined the SIU in 1969. He first sailed in the steward department of the Baylor Victory. Brother Johnson was born in New Orleans. Prior to retiring in 1998, he shipped on the Steven L. Bennett. Brother Johnson was a resident of New Iberia, La. GEORGE KONTOMATIS Pensioner George Kontomatis, 84, died Jan. 3. Brother Kontomatis began sailing with the SIU in 1967. His first trip to sea was aboard the Overseas Joyce. Brother Kontomatis was born in Greece and worked in the engine department. His last voyage was aboard a the Baltimore. Brother Kontomatis started receiving 18 Seafarers LOG his pension in 1987 and made his home in Long Island, N.Y. ARNE LARSEN Pensioner Arne Larsen, 91, passed away Dec. 15. Brother Larsen began his seafaring career in 1951. He first shipped aboard an Alcoa Steamship Co. vessel and last worked on a Michigan Tankers Inc. ship. He sailed in the deck department. Brother Larsen began collecting compensation for his retirement in 1975. He made his home in Denmark. HARRIN MACIP Brother Harrin Macip, 64, died Dec. 23. Born in Honduras, Brother Macip joined the union in 1962. He first sailed on a Seatrain Lines vessel. The deck department member most recently worked aboard the Integrity. Brother Macip called Oberlin, La. home. DIMAS MENDOZA Pensioner Dimas Mendoza, 87, passed away Dec. 12. Brother Mendoza began his SIU career in 1944, first sailing aboard the Mobilian. Born in Puerto Rico, he shipped as a member of the deck department. His most recent voyage was aboard the Bayamon. Brother Mendoza went on pension in 1981 and continued to live in Puerto Rico. DONALD NICHOL Pensioner Donald Nichol, 78, died Dec. 13. Brother Nichol became a union member in 1979 in the port of San Francisco. His first voyage was aboard the Del Sol. Brother Nichol, who sailed in the steward department, was born in Seattle and settled in Puyallup, Wash. He started receiving his retirement stipends in 1989. RAFAEL QUINONEZ Pensioner Rafael Quinonez, 79, passed away Dec. 28. Brother Quinonez joined the SIU in 1965 in the port of New York. His first ship was the Jefferson City Victory; his last was the Horizon Mayaguez. Brother Quinonez was born in San Juan and worked in the engine department. He retired in 1994 and made his home in Orlando, Fla. VINCENT SIGUENZA Pensioner Vincent Siguenza, 62, died Dec. 7. Brother Siguenza began his seafaring career in 1978 in the port of San Francisco. His first voyage was on the Santa Maria. Brother Siguenza worked in the steward department, most recently aboard the Grand Canyon State. Brother Siguenza was born in Hawaii and called Las Vegas, Nev. home. He became a pensioner in 2005. KENNETH STEINMETZ Pensioner Kenneth Steinmetz, 79, passed away Dec. 3. Born in New Jersey, Brother Steinmetz started sailing with the SIU in 1951 from the port of New York. During his seafaring career, he shipped primarily aboard vessels operated by Interocean American Shipping. Brother Steinmetz was a member of the engine department. He went on pension in 1986 and settled in Clearlake, Calif. BILLY WALKER Pensioner Billy Walker, 79, died Jan. 1. Brother Walker joined the SIU in 1945. The U.S. Army veteran initially sailed aboard the Azores as a member of the engine department. Brother Walker retired in 1989 and continued to live in his native state of Tennessee. SIDNEY WALLACE Brother Sidney Wallace, 52, passed away Dec. 15. He joined the SIU in 1978 in Piney Point, Md. Brother Wallace first shipped on the Fort Hoskins. The deck department member, who was born in Norfolk, Va., most recently worked aboard the ITB Groton. He was a resident of Virginia. LEROY WILLIAMS Pensioner Leroy Williams, 86, died Dec. 15. Brother Williams launched his SIU career in 1969 in the port of San Francisco. His earliest trip to sea was on a Cosmos Navigation Corp. vessel. A native of Florida, Brother Williams worked in the engine his SIU career, Boatman Dujmovich sailed primarily on vessels operated by Moran Towing of Philadelphia. He retired in 1986 and lived in Glenolden, Pa. department. Before his retirement in 1987, Brother Williams sailed aboard the Overseas Ohio. He resided in Catonsville, Md. BERT WINFIELD Pensioner Bert Winfield, 76, passed away Dec. 19. Brother Winfield began shipping with the union in 1951. His first voyage was on the Winfield S. Stratton. Brother Winfield was born in Virginia and sailed in the steward department. His last voyage was aboard the Performance. Brother Winfield made his home in Norfolk, Va. He started collecting his retirement pay in 1994. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust have passed away. NAME AGE DOD Archer, William 86 Nov. 26 Armijo, Samuel 89 Nov. 2 Budny, Frank 80 Oct. 28 Fontanez, Calixto 91 Nov. 28 Fuertes, Francisco 79 Nov. 15 Hendricks, Thomas 80 Nov. 24 RONALD WOLF Jennings, Ned 83 Oct. 30 Pensioner Ronald Wolf, 77, died Dec. 31. Brother Wolf joined the SIU in 1979. He initially shipped on the New York as a member of the deck department. Brother Wolf, who was born in New York, worked on the Edward A. Carter Jr. prior to retiring in 1995. He called Massapequa Park, N.Y. home. Langford, John 81 Nov. 7 Levy, Kenneth 86 Nov. 20 Lewis, Carl 79 Nov. 8 Mandahar, Margaret 62 Oct. 25 Martinez, Felix 78 Oct. 23 Mashburne, Harvey 80 Oct. 28 McBride, Joseph Nov. 8 INLAND 77 Melendez, Antonio 95 Nov. 22 Padro, Angel 85 Nov. 28 Phelan, John 73 Nov. 30 Raines, John 83 Nov. 20 THOMAS DUJMOVICH Rowley, Amos 88 Nov. 15 Pensioner Thomas Dujmovich, 83, passed away Jan. 1. Boatman Dujmovich was born in Philadelphia and joined the union in 1961. During Rybak, Frank 82 Nov. 12 Vaughn, Billy 75 Oct. 17 Vincze, Richard 79 Oct. 16 MTD Promotes National Dredging Policy Continued from page 4 Moreover, the Department of Defense has designated two dozen ports as being essential in the mobilization and deployment of U.S. forces during major overseas conflicts and in keeping troops supplied. U.S. Dredging Projects Should Be Funded at Adequate Levels While the EPA statement on dredging notes that “a network of ports and harbors is essential to the United States’ economy … and national security,” it fails to explicitly state that the only way that these national assets can be maintained is if the federal government sets aside adequate monies for port modernization/ dredging. Unfortunately, over the past two decades, dredging projects have been consistently underfunded. For example, the administration requested $4.871 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers’ Civil Works program in the fiscal year 2008 budget. As the American Association of Port Authorities noted, this funding level still is about $1 billion short of what is needed to ensure that U.S. ports remain capable of handling the volume of ships from all categories that are found in the world’s maritime fleets. As other groups have noted, funding for domestic dredging began to stagnate in the 1970s. The establishment of a Harbor Maintenance Tax in 1986 was supposed to alleviate this problem at deep-draft ports and waterways. However, the monies in the fund, which has a surplus of $3.3 billion, have never been dispensed at levels needed to keep the U.S. port system properly maintained. Any Dredging Policy Should Recognize the Special Needs of the Great Lakes Industry Any federal dredging policy should recognize that the crisis that permeates the industry is particularly acute on the Great Lakes, which has long been shortchanged when it comes to government spending on port modernization. Corps per capita spending on Great Lakes dredging amounted to $0.52 per ton carried last year. In contrast, per capita spending on the Missouri River was 30 times that amount, or $15 per ton of cargo carried. Because of this funding imbalance, Great Lakes vessels have been forced to sail at less than capacity, which affects the local economies and increases operating costs and pollution. Other Areas The MTD, like other segments of the maritime industry, strongly believes that the federal government should invest monies into research to make the dredging industry more productive. One promising method for the Great Lakes region includes Open Lake disposal of non-contaminated sediment. However, some states bar this promising method. The MTD strongly supports increasing the beneficial uses of dredged material. This offers not just an opportunity to lower the cost of dredging, it also aids in restoration and habitat creation. Any federal policy should take into account that we need to expand the times of year dredging can be done safely. This will substantially reduce costs. Finally, dredging projects should proceed in a timely manner. While the 1993 review helped streamline the dredging process, it did not go far enough. Too many legal and bureaucratic hurdles remain in place. September 2007 �Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. ADVANTAGE (Sealift, Inc.), July 1—Chairman Andrew Jones, Secretary Kenneth A. Roetzer, Deck Delegate Allan B. Coloyan. Chairman discussed changes to health plan and read president’s report from Seafarers LOG. He thanked crew members for safe trip and stated ship is going under APL contract in the Middle East. Secretary reported smooth sailing. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew expressed gratitude to steward department for “awesome job.” Next port: Jebel Ali, UAE. ALLIANCE (Liberty Maritime Corp.), July 8—Chairman Brad D. Brunette, Secretary Ronald V. Lupinacci, Deck Delegate Raymond Johnson, Engine Delegate Wade Jordan. Chairman announced July 24 payoff in Brunswick, Ga. He asked seafarers to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen for next person. He also requested that they keep noise down in passageways while watchstanders are trying to sleep. Crew was reminded to keep documents current. Educational director talked about educational opportunities available at Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Members requested refrigerators in all crew rooms. Bosun suggested raising retirement benefits. Next ports: Savannah, Ga.; Jacksonville; Baltimore. EL YUNQUE (Interocean American Shipping), July 29— Chairman Luis J. Ramirez, Secretary Francis E. Ostendarp Jr., Deck Delegate Jackie Jones Jr., Engine Delegate Peggy A. Wilson, Steward Delegate Ismael A. Garayua. Chairman advised crew members to read Seafarers LOG to stay up-to-date on information pertaining to maritime industry. Secretary discussed changes to medical plan. Educational director recommended everyone upgrade at Piney Point school whenever possible. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next ports: Jacksonville; San Juan. GLOBAL SENTINEL (Transoceanic Cable Ship), July 25—Chairman Lee Hardman, Secretary Vicki Haggerty. Bosun talked about Coast Guard web site. Information about new TWIC program can be found there. He also informed crew that CIGNA, the new insurance carrier, has web site where you can find names of doctors. Members asked for copies of contract; they would like to know vacation rate and number of days required for vacation pay. Clarification requested regarding permanent crew members returning to vessel as per shipping rules. Secretary reminded everyone to put dirty laundry in supplied bags. Treasurer stated $4,300 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward department was thanked for job well done and, in turn, thanked deck department for painting pantry and engine department for installing new refrigerator. Thanks also given to bosun for help getting new washers and dryers for crew. Next port: Portland, Ore. HARRIETTE (Sealift, Inc.), July 8—Chairman Sean M. Ryan, Secretary George Quinn, Educational Director Manuel A. Lulley, Deck Delegate Osnang Ariola, Engine Delegate Alfredo M. Silva, Steward Delegate Lolita A. Sanchez. Bosun announced payoff July 14 in the port of Houston. Ship returning from West Africa and will be loaded in Houston and Lakes Charles, La. for Africa. Secretary advised crew members to have cash on hand to pay dues when agent comes aboard. Educational director urged Working on the Seabulk Trader Clockwise from left: Chief Cook Matthew Carroll prepares a meal in the galley; AB Carson Jordan operates the port crane; and AB David Hollenback heads for lunch after a busy morning. Photos taken by AB Irving Carlos Rueda on the way back to the U.S. from China. September 2007 mariners to upgrade seafaring skills at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Treasurer stated bosun donated $230 to ship’s fund, which now contains $330. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Vote of thanks given to steward department. HORIZON ANCHORAGE (Horizon Lines), July 22— Chairman Dan P. Fleehearty, Secretary Sherman W. Anderson, Educational Director Kevin T. McCagh, Deck Delegate Frank R. Bermudez, Engine Delegate Jeffrey L. Murray, Steward Delegate Christopher D. Hopkins. Chairman announced July 26 payoff in Tacoma, Wash. Educational director advised crew to check document expiration dates and renew early. He also encouraged them to attend classes at the Paul Hall Center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Communications were read and posted for crew to review. Bosun thanked all members for working hard to clean ship after coming out of shipyard. All aboard expressed gratitude to steward department for great meals during voyage. Next ports: Tacoma; Anchorage and Kodiak, Alaska. HORIZON CHALLENGER (Horizon Lines), July 18— Chairman Roy L. Williams, Secretary William P. McGee, Educational Director Matthew P. Ditullio, Deck Delegate Franklin V. Futch, Steward Delegate Daniel V. Crawford. Chairman led discussion of new medical network. Educational director encouraged all mariners to take advantage of upgrading opportunities offered at the Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendations made pertaining to the pension and medical plans. Next port: Houston. HORIZON EAGLE (Horizon Lines), July 4—Chairman Daniel W. Seagle, Secretary Clark S. Williams, Educational Director Brian S. Leach, Deck Delegate Chad Chirell, Steward Delegate Thomas Gingerich. Chairman announced July 6 payoff in Tacoma, Wash. He informed crew that new barbecue grill was purchased and is scheduled for delivery in Oakland, Calif. Secretary encouraged crew to upgrade skills at Paul Hall Center. He stressed the need for more electricians. Educational director also talked about upgrading and encouraged members to take advantage of the refrigeration course. Treasurer stated $400 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward department thanked fellow crew members for their patience and respect during journey. Request was made for a steam table, grill and larger sink for washing pots and pans. Clarification requested on process of calculating seatime when applying for medical benefits. Next port: Tacoma. INTREPID (Maersk Line Limited), July 5—Chairman Abdulla R. Alwaseem, Secretary Michael Kozak, Educational Director Grant W. Schuman, Engine Delegate Romeo N. Rivera, Steward Delegate Clancy Hennigan. Bosun announced July 7 payoff in Los Angeles. He informed crew members that retroactive pay for COLA would be forwarded to employees’ homes. Educational director encouraged mariners to upgrade at Paul Hall Center and to watch expiration dates on MMDs and renew early. Treasurer stated $1,400 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made for new laundry detergent, hot water dispenser in messhall and fans for crew rooms. Clarification requested on various terms in contract. Seafarers thanked steward department for nice holiday barbecue. MAERSK CAROLINA (Maersk Line Limited), July 8—Chairman Brian K. Fountain, Educational Director Kevin M. Cooper, Deck Delegate Abdul Gharma, Engine Delegate William J. Boyd. Chairman thanked crew for smooth, safe voyage and passports. He advised mariners to apply for TWIC cards as soon as issuing offices are open. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew was asked to keep noise down during lunch hour and after 1800 because people are trying to sleep. Aft door on crew deck also should not be used during those hours. Bosun reminded everybody to separate plastics from regular trash in all rooms including messhalls and laundry and garbage rooms. Vote of thanks given to steward department for great meals and clean house. Next ports: Yokosuka, Japan; Ulsan, South Korea; Guam; Cherry Point. Aboard the Seabulk Trader SA Sanad Saleh and DEU Nasser Kassim are good friends as well as good shipmates. announced July 16 payoff in Newark, N.J. Secretary reported 60-day stores to be taken on in Portsmouth, Va. He thanked members for helping keep ship clean. Educational director urged mariners to contribute to SPAD for job security and to upgrade skills at school in Piney Point. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion made regarding raising pension benefits. Steward department was thanked for job well done. Next ports: Portsmouth; Charleston, S.C. OVERSEAS JOYCE (OSG Ship Management), July 1—Chairman Roger C. Tupas, Secretary Jack A. Hart, Engine Delegate Gilberto E. Baltazar. Chairman announced July 21 payoff in New Jersey and that the ship would then be re-flagged. Educational director encouraged Seafarers to upgrade whenever possible at SIU-affiliated school for better wages and job security. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion made to increase vacation benefits. Thanks given to all departments for great work during voyage. Next ports: Jacksonville; New Jersey. RICHARD G. MATTHIESEN (Ocean Ships, Inc.), July 16— Chairman Dana Naze, Secretary Fonda T. Biamonte, Educational Director Kelly L Mayo, Deck Delegate Eric A. Kjellberg, Engine Delegate Donald W. Lumpkins, Steward Delegate Albert Hermoso. Bosun announced Aug. 15 payoff in Cherry Point, Wash. He talked about change in medical plan and reminded departing crew members to make sure they get injury/illness-free tour of duty letter from captain in order to qualify for bonus when filing for vacation benefits. Steward delegate asked that drinking glasses not be taken to rooms or on deck. Educational director urged members to check expiration dates on z-cards and Second Pumpman Ray Avie and AB Geoffrey Hall stand a minute of silence following the shipboard meeting in memory of departed Seafarers. SEABULK POWER (Seabulk Tankers, Inc.) July 3—Chairman Moises Ramos, Secretary Richard A. Riley, Educational Director Donald H. McBride Jr., Engine Delegate Pedro G. Rochez, Steward Delegate Charles Reynolds III. Chairman requested copy of memorandum of understanding with Seabulk Tankers Inc. He thanked galley gang for great job. Secretary distributed copies of current health and benefit plan to all crew members and informed them that any questions should be directed to the plan on an individual basis. Educational director encouraged crew to take advantage of Piney Point school whenever possible and also stressed the importance of contributing to SPAD. Suggestion made to ask contracts department to look into increasing pension benefits and reducing number of days required to qualify. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next port: Corpus Christi, Texas. WASHINGTON EXPRESS (Crowley Marine), July 5— Chairman Zeki Karaahmet, Secretary Frances Dvoroznak, Educational Director George W. Bieselin. Chairman announced July 11 payoff in Houston. He reminded mariners to keep plastic items separate from paper and other trash and donate to SPAD for job security. Educational director encouraged crew members to upgrade skills at Paul Hall Center in order to qualify for jobs aboard ship. Last four refrigerators were purchased and installed in crew rooms. All rooms now have refrigerators. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made to set a sailing board 30 minutes after arrival, as per contract. Vote of thanks given to steward department for job well done. Next port: Houston. Seafarers LOG 19 �Letters to the Editor Editor’s note: The Seafarers LOG reserves the right to edit letters for grammar as well as space provisions without changing the writer’s intent. The LOG welcomes letters from members pensioners, their families and shipmates and will publish them on a timely basis. Wartime Shipping Memories Still Vivid Sixty-three years ago, I took an oiler’s job on the John W. Meldrum. We loaded 10,000 tons of ammunition out of Beaver Ammo Depot, which is near Clatskanie, Ore. On leaving Beaver and going across the bay, the No. 1 bearing got hot. I was trying everything in the book to cool it down, including dumping kerosene in it followed by gallons of oil. (This was a Liberty ship with a triple expansion steam engine.) I was running up and down the staircase with the oil and kerosene. The chief engineer was running behind me, beating me on the back with his fists. He was furious. But he was a small man, so he didn’t hurt me. I finally got the bearing cooled down, but it was wiped out, so it hammered all the way across the Pacific to the Admiralty (or Manus) Islands. The minute we dropped anchor, the first engineer pulled that bearing down and scraped it and refitted it like new! The next day, the USS Mt. Hood blew up alongside of us. The port officials moved our ship a couple miles out to sea, where we dropped anchor and were unloaded by barges. It took six weeks to unload. There is a discrepancy as to how many people lost their lives—anywhere from 325 to 375. No bodies were ever found—only bits and pieces. I was on deck at the time, and the blast almost blew me over. Ed Unversagt Warren, Oregon Retiree Remembers Sailing Days The following poem was written by John M. Clarke of Houston, Texas, “an old retiree who no longer can ship out but who often thinks about what it used to be like.” Brother Clark wishes “good luck to all the officials and members of the SIU—the finest maritime union in the world—and to all in the number-one port in the U.S.A.—Houston.” Know Your Rights I want to make a trip On a good old union ship. To places I want to see Somewhere across the sea. Perhaps over to sunny Spain And hope it does not rain. To feel ocean breezes once more Far from the American shore. I do have a hanker Once again to ride a tanker. Ras Tanura, here I come Hold out your hand in welcome. Remembering One thing I want you to get I am not ready to sail yet. Hope you take some time To read this little rhyme. It came into my head Before I even got out of bed. I am just letting off steam And having a nice little dream. LOG-A-RHYTHM SS Steel Flyer 1943-1971 by Max Reed There’s nothing like ships and sailors—amen. Sixteen years, twenty-one or thirty, from the union they send—kids we are and men. Be it first ship or last ship ... bulk carrier, tanker or freighter, its seafaring adventure—shipmates like kin. Fireman, watertender, oiler man, all hands ... pilot on the captain’s bridge—the voyage begins ... from the engine room, galley and deck—all aboard—the Steel Flyer, a steamer 16 knots—we travel— no wind. The screw churns, turns and sailors’ tales we spin. Saigon, Pusan, Tokyo and Taipei ... Fire, oil and steam—fire it up, Captain and heave-ho, it’s the New Bar Pusan ... and our cherry boys will go. It’s the pretty women that will change the boy’s life, you know. Former Seafarer Max Reed sailed aboard the Steel Flyer in 1968. The Isthmian Lines vessel was built in 1943 by Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp. in Pascagoula, Miss. In 1971, the ship was sold for scrapping in a foreign yard. Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. be mailed (unless otherwise specified). If you are getting more than one copy of the LOG delivered to you, if you have changed your address, or if your name or address is misprinted or incomplete, please fill out the form and send it to: Seafarers International Union Address Correction Dept. 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 or e-mail corrections to kclements@seafarers.org HOME ADDRESS FORM 9/07 (Please Print) Name: ___________________________________________________________________________ Phone No.: _______________________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ Social Security No.: ________ / ________ / ________ Book No.: ___________________ Other _______________________________________ This will be my permanent address for all official union mailings. This address should remain in the union file unless otherwise changed by me personally. 20 Seafarers LOG SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 In order to help ensure that each active SIU member and pensioner receives a copy of the Seafarers LOG every month—as well as other important mail such as W-2 forms, pension and health insurance checks and bulletins or notices—a correct home address must be on file with the union. If you have moved recently or feel that you are not getting your union mail, please use the form on this page to update your home address. Your home address is your permanent address, and this is where all official union documents will Pensioner TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. Tied up and let go—from sea to sea—the SS Steel Flyer Americanflagged she be—the house has been full and many lives she see ... Are You Receiving All Your Important Mail? Active SIU FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. September 2007 �SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE Engine Upgrading Courses The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. through the end of 2007. All programs are geared to improve the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 9940010. Course Start Date Date of Completion Basic Auxiliary Plant Ops September 10 October 5 FOWT October 8 November 2 Marine Electrician September 24 November 16 Welding October 1 October 29 October 19 November 16 Safety Specialty Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Advanced Fire Fighting September 24 October 5 Basic Safety Training/STCW September 3 September 17 September 24 October 29 November 12 November 19 December 10 September 7 September 21 September 28 November 2 November 17 November 23 December 14 Government Vessels September 17 November 5 September 21 November 9 Medical Care Provider October 8 October 12 Tankerman Familiarization/ Assistant Cargo (DL)* September 24 October 5 November 26 December 7 Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman October 1 October 26 Automatic Radar Plotting Aids* October 22 October 26 (ARPA) (*must have radar unlimited) Lifeboatman/Water Survival September 17 September 28 October 29 November 9 Radar October 8 October 19 Radar Renewal (one day) October 29 (*must have basic fire fighting) Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations modules start every week. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward classes start every other week beginning Sept. 3, 2007. Recertification Bosun October 8 November 5 UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Date of Birth ______________________ With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twentyfive (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. BEGIN DATE COURSE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Seniority _____________________________ Department _____________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ U.S. Citizen: ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Yes No Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? Yes No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ September 2007 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 9/07 Seafarers LOG 21 �Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 689 — Graduating from the water survival course are unlicensed apprentices from class 689. They include (in alphabetical order) Ali Ahmed, Bryan Boyle, Robert Brackbill, Linarys Castillo, Rani Duke, Mohammed Elazzouzi, Stanley Gerber, Robert Lee Gray, Ruben Haynes, Travis Horton, Weneisom Landstrom, Cheryl Lee, Elmer Pancho, Rommel Sijera, Thomas Tebow, Anthony Thomas and Joshua Zelinsky. Galley Ops — Flanked by Chef/Instructor Ed White on the left and Chef/Instructor Natalie Nunes on the right are students working their way up through the culinary ladder. They are (from left), Brad Stephenson, Keesha Smith, Lisette Bonilla, Rob Engelhart, Budiman Chandra, Donald Lasley and Julio Marcone. Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 690 — Unlicensed apprentices from class 690 who completed the water survival course are (in alphabetical order) Jakssen Aristizabal, Robert Arnett, Gavin Benckert, David Bernstein, Drake Corpus, Jose Encarnacion, John Fraley, Donnetta McLee, Joshua Montgomery, Dwon Petite, Neiman Pettis, Robert Raymond, Christopher Sheppard, Henry Sheppard, Sean Sullivan, Dominic Tuccio and Kurt Weidacher. Advanced Fire Fighting — Completing the advanced fire fighting course July 20 under the instruction of Mark Cates (far right) are (in no specific order) Jordan Cuddy, Bryan Field, Chris Kibodeaux, Harry McKever, Kenneth Jackson, Robert McMurray, Maurice Baptiste, Joel Encarnacion, Doug Lewis, Greg Martineau, Marco Rodriguez, Michael Stephens, Carlos Castillo, Willie Sam, James Armer, Charles Mispagel, Wayne Henry, Philip Ayotte, Kelly Doyle and Jeffery Bull. Any student who has registered for a class and finds—for whatever reason—that he or she cannot attend, please inform the admissions department so that another student may take that place. Machinist — Forrest Tanker Familiarization/Assistant Cargo (DL) — Two groups of Phase III students completed this course July 6. They include (in no specific order) Aubrey Wiggins, Joshua McAtee, Jason Young, Gavin Benckert, Robert Brown, Rhett Morgan, Philip Carlton, Farren Blackwell, James McEntire, Linarys Ortiz, Cheryl Lee, Dennis Barbosa, Rani Duke, Mohammed Elazzouzi, Christopher Carrier, Jean Cardona, Angel Cintron, Brandon Fields, Derrick Elijah, Jose Garcia, Neiman Pettis, Danielle Wright, Ali Ahmed, Andres Nunez, Emmanuel Garcia, Chris Ruggiero, Vic Moody, Pedro Rivera-Riestra, Robert Puckett and Daniel Griffin. McGee (seated) had the full attention of his instructor, Steve Haver, in the machinist class that ended July 27. Computer Lab Classes Flanking instructor Rick Prucha are students who recently completed computer classes at the Paul Hall Center. Showing their certificates of achievement are Lissette Bonilla (left) and Alfredo L. Genio Jr. 22 Seafarers LOG Machinist — Graduating from this course July 6 are (in alphabetical order) Sergio Ayala, Jessie Cooper, Ron Embody, Samuel Garrett, Benjamin Mathews, Terry Santure and Hector Solis. September 2007 �Paul Hall Center Classes Water Survival — Upgrading Seafarers who completed the water survival course July 6 are (in alphabetical order) Christopher Baxter, Jeremie Coates, Brenton Edenfield, Alfredo Genio, Ronnie Rankin, Hipolita Roches and Dennis Shields. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is standing at left. Fast Rescue Boat — Five students completed the fast rescue boat class June 29. They are Carlos Castillo, Greg Martineau, Jeffrey Jensinson, Robert Hall and Eric Hurt. Their instructor, Tom Truitt, is at far right. Galley Ops — Completing one of the galley courses recently (under the instruction of Chef John Dobson at left) are (from left) Cory Jackson, Alex Vasquez and Al Balsone. FOWT — Under the instruction of Tim Achorn (standing far right) are 15 students who completed the FOWT course. They are (in no specific order) Claytain Carr, Eeric White, Fatim Rashed, Brandon Bosch, Maurice Jones, Damion Vaughn, Victorino Marin, Rustin Calame, Alex Roel, Lewis Coleman, Tracy Hanson, J.M. White, Michael Bussiere, Myckal Sands and Dewayne Gould Jr. STCW — NCL, July 19: Eugenio Guzman, Eric Haight, Christopher Hawkins, Micah Hill, Jillian Huschke, Carly Irby, Lindsey Jones, Lindsie Jones, Peggy Jones, Michael Kenworthy, Tenphel Kunchok, Matthew Leach, Alvin Lopez, Joseph Mancini, Jeffrey Marsden, Kevin McCarthy, David Pettit III, Darrell Price, Joseph Pugliese Jr., Zackary Quichocho and William Reiff Pumpman — With instructor Jim Shaffer (far left) are upgrading Seafarers who completed the pumpman class July 20. They are (in alphabetical order) Sergio Ayala, Jessie Cooper, Samuel Garrett, Terry Santure and Quincy Wilson. Safety Training at the Barbers Point Facility in Hawaii STCW — NCL, June 18: Rodolfo Novero Jr, Richard Estonina, Rodrigo Sarinas, Maribele Zamora, Teresa Perez, Ivor Steve Hooker Omeir, Pereira Amancio Martin, Teles Francisco, Augustin Ulrick, Delfinito Olarte, Wilfredo Ariap Jr, Rodrigo Junior Habana, Michael Roman, Juremar Crisostomo, John Timoteo September 2007 STCW — NCL, June 18: Albert Bagona, Redentor Carino, Whitzel Panes, Tacorda Salvador, Gama Victor, Savio Cecil Pereira, Costa Constancio Roberto, Menino Luis, Joseph Alfonso, Melanio Aguirre, Joseph Villafuerte Seafarers LOG 23 �Volume 69, Number 9 September 2007 Attention Seafarers: It takes a four-letter word to be heard. Contribute to SPAD! ‘Phase II’ Apprentices Sail on Cleveland For Practical Training, At-Sea Component Is Tough to Top Unlicensed Apprentice Henry Sheppard Unlicensed Apprentice Drake Corpus These photos of Seafarers and unlicensed apprentices were taken this summer aboard the Cleveland, which crossed the equator during the voyage. A ugust marked the 40th anniversary of the SIUaffiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, located in Piney Point, Md. While the school has undergone drastic changes since first opening its gates in 1967, the entry-level program always has remained an essential part of Paul Hall Center curriculums. Nevertheless, the unlicensed apprentice program itself also has transformed throughout the years. Perhaps the most significant change occurred 10 years ago when the program expanded to include (among other new segments) “Phase II”—a 90-day shipboard experience in which each trainee rotates through the three shipboard departments aboard a U.S.-flag vessel. Mariners and instructors alike have cited Phase II as a key reason why students who complete the entire UA program are likely to continue working in the industry. According to Paul Hall Center officials, more than 75 percent of students who graduate from the program still are sailing four years later (the most recent calculation made by the school). Seafarers-contracted Sealift, Inc. recently joined the ranks of companies participating in “Phase II” of the unlicensed apprentice program, which entirely consists of U.S. Coast Guard-approved courses, many of them blending classroom instruction with practical training. Other companies taking part in Phase II include 3PSC, Alaska Tanker Company, Allied Towing, AMSEA, American Steamship, Crowley, E-Ships, Hannah Marine, Horizon Lines, Interocean American Shipping, Keystone, Liberty Maritime, Maersk, NCL America, Ocean Ships, Overseas Shipholding Group and Pacific Gulf Marine. While the shipboard training has proven successful, Phase I, at the school itself, lays the foundation for becoming a mariner. This phase also lasts three months and includes the following training: vessel familiarization; STCW basic safety training; basic fire fighting; first aid; water survival; vessel operations; and social responsibilities. During Phase III (which also takes place in Piney Point), students begin to specialize their training. Deck personnel head to courses titled (respectively) specially trained ordinary seaman OS Steven Reiber, UA Henry Sheppard and tankship familiarization/dangerous liquids, while engine department mariners enroll in the basic auxiliary plant operations class. Those who choose the steward department take four weeks of upgrader-level galley operations. Completion of Phase III is considered official graduation, but the school doesn’t abandon students after that point. What is considered Phase IV consists of an additional four months’ sea service, followed by the appropriate upgrading course (able seaman, for instance). For additional information about the program, call tollfree at 1-877-235-3275 or visit the Paul Hall Center section of the web site at www.seafarers.org Unlicensed Apprentice David Bernstein � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 September 2007 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES USNS GIANELLA RESCUES 13 CUBAN REFUGEES CROWLEY CHRISTENS 3RD OF 10 NEW ATBS TUGBOAT RESOLVE, BARGE 650-3 JOINS SEAFARERS-CREWED FLEET MARAD ANNOUNCES COMMITMENT FOR AMERICAN-FLAG LNG SHIPS 11 MILLION HOURS AND COUNTING AS ALASKA TANKER CO. HITS MILESTONE ITF INSPECTOR HONORED MTD SPOTLIGHTS IMPORTANCE OF NATIONAL DREDGING POLICY GRETCHEN TO THE RESCUE… HOUSE APPROVES ‘BELATED THANK YOU’ LEGISLATION LABOR FEDERATION’S EXECUTIVE COUNCIL PLANS STRATEGIES FOR WORKING FAMILIES CALIF. GROCERY WORKERS RATIFY 4-YEAR CONTRACT USNS COMFORT CIVMARS SPREAD ‘HOOPS DIPLOMACY’ IN EL SALVADOR AMMO SHIP’S STORY HAS POP CIVMAR NEWS: UNION FILES GRIEVANCE HUGHES ELECTED O LEAD ILA BOWERS RETIRES AFTER 20 YEARS AT UNION’S HELM THE U.S. MERCHANT MARINE: ALWAYS READY TO DELIVER SERVING THE COUNTRY FROM COLONIAL DAYS TO THE PRESENT RECOLLECTIONS OF THE MERCHANT MARINE IN WORLD WAR II ‘PHASE II’ APPRENTICES SAIL ON CLEVELAND Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 09/01/2007 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. 69, No. 9 2007 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/5dc717e753d97a5744a0e641b6213063.pdf ee59b69a7b4fcc2076cce3399163274e PDF Text Text 43725_p1,2,18,19:2007-May 7/27/2007 6:16 PM Page 1 Volume 69, Number 8 August 2007 SIU-Affiliated School th Marks 40 Anniversary The Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education opened in August 1967 in Piney Point, Md. Once a barebones facility, the campus has grown into a highly regarded, cuttingedge school where tens of thousands of mariners have trained. The photos below span the school’s existence, from the late 1960s to the mid 2000s. Additional coverage appears on page 2 and on pages 9-16. Seafarers Commend and Share Crowley’s Commitment to Safety Company Takes Smart, Proactive Approach Seafarers-contracted Crowley utilizes a far-reaching, highly effective combination of programs to help ensure shipboard safety—a practice heartily embraced by its SIU crews. Pictured below are two Seafarers employed by Crowley along with one of the company’s vessels: the ATB Sound Reliance (with barge 550-2) off the coast of Honolulu, Mate Greg Jarvis aboard a tug in Los Angeles/Long Beach, and Engineer Deso Hrboka in a tugboat engine room in Los Angeles/Long Beach. Page 24. Rescues at Sea Pages 2, 4 TWIC News Page 3 �43725_p1,2,18,19x:2007-May 7/31/2007 12:11 PM Page 2 Horizon Falcon Rescues 2 President’s Report Debris, Severe Weather Complicate Operation in North Pacific Leadership and Foresight A glance at the aerial photo at the bottom of this article should confirm that today’s Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education bears little resemblance to the spartan facility which opened 40 years ago this month in Piney Point, Md. Fortunately, the changes have been for the better. The SIU-affiliated school has grown and adapted throughout its existence, meeting the needs of individual students and ship operators who, in Michael Sacco turn, help fulfill the manpower requirements of the U.S. Merchant Marine. The school also has done much more than simply survive. The Paul Hall Center consistently has been at the forefront of state-of-the-art, maritime-specific training, whether we’re talking about simulators, fire fighting, oil spill prevention, shipboard computers, training record books, refrigeration and the list goes on. As with other institutions, there may be a tendency with the passage of time to overlook some of the history behind the Paul Hall Center—to mistakenly assume it was easy to put together. Having been on site when the property first was acquired, I can assure you it took an incredible amount of work to get that school off the ground. You’ve heard the expression “blood, sweat and tears?” Just about everyone who was at the school in the late 1960s shed some of each, and they weren’t tears of joy. Paul Hall, the union’s second president, rightfully is credited as the school’s driving force. Many times, I have used this space to reflect on Paul’s vision and how to this very day his foresight continues to help shape both the school and the union. Additional thoughts on Paul and the training center can be found elsewhere in this newspaper. But I wanted to take a moment to recognize the thousands of other people who also, in their own ways, have contributed to the success in Piney Point. I was based at the school for many of its early years. Because of that, and what the school means to our union, it has always and will always hold a special place with me. So, I have a firsthand appreciation for the school officials, instructors, staff members and students who over the years have helped build the Paul Hall Center into a world-class facility. They’ve made sacrifices large and small, usually away from the spotlight, but always for the betterment of the next people who would pass through the front gate. Obviously there is no realistic way to list every name or use every photograph as we celebrate “40 Years of Progress.” But as someone who was there from the start, I thank everyone who did their part and went out of their way to help maintain and build upon Paul Hall’s extraordinary vision. Rescues at Sea Many of the seamanship skills taught at the Paul Hall Center were utilized by SIU crews during two recent rescues at sea. Seafarers aboard the Horizon Falcon and the USNS Kanawha upheld the finest traditions of the “Brotherhood of the Sea” as they helped save fellow mariners in distress. On behalf of the entire union, I commend you for a job well done. Piney Point in 1967 Volume 69, Number 8 August 2007 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 8990675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Deborah A. Hirtes; Associate Editor, Jim Guthrie; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2007 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG The SIU-crewed containership Horizon Falcon last month rescued two Chinese mariners whose Panamanian-flag vessel sank in the North Pacific after encountering rough seas due to a typhoon. The rescue effort took place over a 24-hour period on July 12 and 13, approximately 375 miles northwest of Guam. The two mariners were among 13 survivors from the 22-person crew of the log carrier Hai Tong No. 7. Three other bodies were recovered; six more remained missing when the U.S. Coast Guard suspended search operations July 15. SIU members sailing aboard the Horizon Falcon during the rescue included Recertified Bosun Steven Bush, ABs Ahmed Almuflihi, John Dacuag, Jennifer Souci, Stanley Parker, Jack Kem, Earl Sparkes and Jerry Gonzaga, Electrician Ursel Barber, QMEDs Husain Ali and Gustavo Osorio, Recertified Steward Philip Lau and SA Milagros Clark. “In this electronic information age we live in, it’s easy to forget how goods actually get to consumers—that merchant mariners still go to sea for months at a time to make the global economy work. And ever since man has been going to sea, there has been danger. But there also has been and will ever be brotherhood at sea that crosses any boundary. This rescue effort is a shining example of that,” said Charles G. (Chuck) Raymond, chairman, president and CEO of Horizon Lines and himself a former mariner. “I couldn’t be prouder of our crew and their efforts,” added John V. Keenan, senior vice president and chief transportation officer for Horizon Lines. “I know our crewmen were thankful they could help bring home two fellow mariners, and only wished they could have located more.” The Hai Tong No. 7 crew already had been in the water for two days when the 722-foot Horizon Falcon was contacted by the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Guam to divert for a distress call. The SIU-crewed ship arrived at the site before noon on July 12, where it encountered 30-foot swells in fierce seas, with 40-mph winds. The rescue further would be complicated by logs and other debris that came from the 420foot Hai Tong No. 7. According to reports from the company, the Horizon Falcon crew used a lifeboat and the ship’s portside pilot ladder to attempt a rescue of the distressed seafarers. A lifeboat with three seamen was dispatched with 18to-20-foot swells and waves impacting from every direction. One survivor was rescued, but as the lifeboat was being recovered, a large swell descended on the lifeboat, knocking the craft to a 45-degree angle and damaging the motor. The crew was ordered to abandon the lifeboat and climbed to safety with the survivor up the containership’s 40foot pilot ladder. A second survivor was rescued by AB Dacuag who, while harnessed to the pilot’s ladder, descended toward Some of the survivors from the Panamanian-flag ship are shown in this U.S. Coast Guard photo. the water. While being submerged by swells, Dacuag attached a grappling hook to the survivor before both were winched clear of the sea to safety. With flares from an Okinawabased Navy P3 Orion 225 airplane providing some light from above, the Horizon Falcon continued searching for survivors and was eventually joined by the M/V Coral Emerald. The Horizon ship ran a search pattern in the area for four more hours until morning. A U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender from Guam arrived at the scene to assist and relieve the Horizon Falcon, which was running low on fuel. Arriving in Yantian, China, the vessel’s destination, the two rescued seamen reported to local media crews that they were very well cared for on board the Horizon Falcon. Representatives of the government of China were on hand to express their appreciation for the efforts of the Horizon Falcon captain (Tom McDorr) and crew. The United States Coast Guard Amver offices in New York City also recognized the efforts of the Falcon crew. “These actions are to be commended and do not go unnoticed. Your willingness to participate in the Amver system is testimony to ensuring that no call for help goes unanswered… This underscores your commitment to safety at sea,” said Benjamin M. Strong, director of marketing, Amver Maritime Relations, U.S. Coast Guard. Cmdr. Frank Genco, chief of the Coast Guard’s search and rescue branch in Honolulu, added, “The immediate response by so many mariners is impressive. Mariners truly understand the importance of helping out their fellow sailors. The Coast Guard may be farther away and mariners have to rely on each other to help out in times like these.” USNS Wheat Hosts Dignitaries A Seafarers-crewed Military Sealift Command (MSC) vessel recently hosted a U.S. diplomat and a prominent Estonian military official while tied up in Tallinn, Estonia. The UNSN LCPL Roy W. Wheat on June 19 rolled out the red carpet to welcome U.S. Ambassador to Estonia Stanley Davis Phillips and Estonian Chief of Defense Col. N. Vali for a briefing and guided tour. A prepositioning and cargo vessel, the Wheat arrived in the Estonian capital city June 15, nearly one year after it initially called on the port in 2006. MSC reported that Capt. Peter Grealy, Wheat master, his officers and the 17-person crew of Seafarers did the American flag and U.S. maritime industry proud as they impressed their guests with their seamanship savvy and professionalism. SIU members who were aboard the vessel during the tour were: Bosun Bill Lima; ABs Marc Everell, Dorkucho Tanihu, Bryan Chase, Edward Majesky and Glenn Davis; QMEDs/Oilers Francis Yapching, Gerard Dunn and Romeo Harriell; Electrician Frank J. Michalski and Electrician Trainee John A. White. Also aboard were Chief Steward Emmanuel Zephr, Chief Cook Suree Farrell, Storekeeper Rodolfo Amoro and GVAs German Dolmo, Sylvan E. Harris and Israel L. Edmunds. According to MSC, the USNS Wheat frequently travels to commercial ports like Tallinn because, as a member of the U.S. Navy’s Maritime Prepositioning Ship (MSP) Squadron One, it often is forward-deployed to Europe. The vessels in this command strategically stage U.S. military cargo at sea in the European theater. In the event of a military or humanitarian crisis, the mission of this squadron is to deliver its cargo to forces ashore, ensuring a fast U.S. response to contingency situations. The squadron also plays an important role supporting NATO military exercises in the region and bolstering U.S. ties with its allies in Europe. The USNS Wheat was named after Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Roy M. Wheat. Wheat died in combat Aug. 11, 1967 during the Vietnam War, throwing himself on an exploding mine to save the lives of his fellow Marines. August 2007 �43725_p3_5,8,17,24x:3725p0 7/31/2007 12:32 PM Page 3 Unions Testify at TWIC Hearing Coast Guard Issues Guidance on ID Card Program U.S. maritime unions including the SIU last month continued urging Congress to take them up on a safe, straightforward idea that would allow seafarers to comply with the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program by simply obtaining a merchant mariner document equipped with a biometric component. Meanwhile, the TWIC program lurched forward as the Coast Guard in early July issued a 63-page Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) covering its implementation in the maritime sector. The NVIC’s purpose is to provide guidance and clarifications about the TWIC program. The NVIC did not include an enrollment schedule, but reportedly will be updated as dates become known. Barring changes in the program, U.S. mariners will be required to obtain a TWIC by Sept. 25, 2008. But shipboard and shoreside unions on July 12 reiterated their position that the new card is overkill for some employees in the maritime sector who already undergo background checks before they can go to work. In joint testimony submitted to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, the SIU, MM&P, MEBA, ILA, ILWU, AMO, SUP and MFOW in part said, “All the maritime unions have a vital interest in, and an unwavering commitment to, the enhancement of America’s maritime security. We want an effective and realistic system for controlling access to facilities and vessels because our members are on the front lines. The members of our respective organizations will almost certainly be among the first American citizens directly affected, injured and killed in the event of such an incident or breach of maritime security. Therefore, we desire to be regarded by our government as an ally here at home, in the same way that we sail and work in support of our armed forces overseas in the war against terror. “At the same time, we have another obligation to our nation: to safely and economically move America’s foreign and domestic commerce. We strongly believe strengthening maritime security and facilitating the movement of cargo to strengthen our economic security are not mutually exclusive goals and objectives. Rather, we can achieve both goals provided the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) understands that a poorly designed and implemented program will unnecessarily burden our industry and seriously diminish our ability to do our jobs without providing any real maritime security bene- fits to our nation.” The unions also repeated their call to combine the TWIC with the existing merchant mariner credential, also called an MMD or a z-card. “Currently, when an individual submits an application to the Coast Guard for evaluation for an MMD, he must include a copy of proof of citizenship and establish proof that he has a Social Security Number,” the unions point out. “The individual must further undergo a drug test, and is also fingerprinted so that the Federal Bureau of Investigation can perform the necessary criminal background checks. Finally, the individual must agree to a check of the National Driver Register so the Coast Guard can determine if there are any offenses relating to the operation of a motor vehicle which may render the individual unsuited for the duties and responsibilities associated with shipboard employment. “We believe that the merchant mariner document (MMD) that is currently issued to seafaring personnel should be updated in order to comply with the requirements of the MTSA in order to allow the MMD to serve as a TWIC for all merchant mariners, licensed and unlicensed. We believe that the MMD can and should be upgraded to include the biometric identifier standards of the TWIC and that a combined MMD/TWIC should be issued after the requirements of both statutes are met. Doing so, and giving the Coast Guard exclusive jurisdiction to provide the requisite background checks, will eliminate the need for two or more Federal agencies to perform separate background checks; will eliminate redundancies in the vetting process; will streamline the credentialing process for mariners; and will eliminate the need for mariners to carry more than one Federal identification credential for maritime employment.” U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), chairman of the subcommittee, stated, “We must ensure that we put all needed security measures in place at our ports and throughout our maritime installations—but we must also ensure that these measures do not place an undue burden on the maritime industry, interfere with the flow of commerce, or lead to the unfair treatment of workers. Further, we must ensure that the measures that are put in place make sense and that they counter the real threats we face rather than simply denying job opportunities to those who do not in any way threaten our nation’s security.” Cummings said that he and others on the subcommittee are “deeply frustrated with the questions that remain unanswered about this credential. Of particu- Please be advised the SIU headquarters and all SIU hiring halls will be closed on Monday, Sept. 3 for the observance of Labor Day (unless an emergency arises). Normal business hours will resume the following workday. August 2007 lar concern are questions regarding the installation and use of the readers that are needed to enable the TWIC to be used to control access to secure locations as well as questions about whether the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Coast Guard will truly be able to issue a TWIC to all mariners who need one by September 2008.” The subcommittee is scheduled to reconvene in three months to receive a progress report from the Coast Guard and from the TSA regarding the program’s implementation. Meanwhile, the NVIC included the following points: TWIC holders will be required to choose a six-digit PIN which will be used during Coast Guard inspections and spot checks. The PIN can be used as the primary verification tool “if the biometric is inoperative.” However, during those inspections and spot checks, the agency intends to use handheld biometric readers to verify that the card is valid and in possession of the proper individual. Enrollment and issuance of the TWIC will be carried out by the TSA. Enforcement of the TWIC as an access control measure in the maritime sector will be carried out by the Coast Guard. A notice will be published in the Federal Register to announce when enrollment begins in each captain of the port zone. The phased-in schedule shouldn’t affect mariners prior to September 25, 2008, since their MMD will serve as a TWIC until that date. Possession of a TWIC does not guarantee unescorted access to secure areas; permission must be granted by the vessel or facility owner/operator. Individuals can apply for a TWIC and ask for a waiver if they know they don’t meet “the standards concerning criminal activity or mental capacity, or [are] in Temporary Protected Status at the time of enrollment.” In those cases, “the applicant should annotate by initialing they are applying for a waiver on the ‘TWIC Application Disclosure Form.’ If the applicant becomes aware that he or she does not meet the standards concerning criminal activity or mental capacity when TSA issues an Initial Determination, the applicant may apply for a waiver at that time as well.” The enrollment process consists of 5 components: preenrollment (optional), enrollment, fee collection, security threat assessment and notification of the results, and issuance of the TWIC to the applicant. The time from enrollment to credential availability is expected to take fewer than 30 days, not including potential appeal or waiver processing. If the security threat assessment does not reveal any questionable or negative information about an individual, the process is expected to take fewer than 10 days. All applicants will receive a TWIC Application Disclosure Form which must be signed in the presence of the enrollment personnel under contract to TSA at the beginning of the enrollment process. They re-post the application fees: $137.25 for individuals requiring a security threat assessment, $105.25 for the rest. Payment may be made by cashier’s check, money order or credit card. Also the card replacement fee, currently set at $36, may be increased to $60. The “TWIC Help Desk” has a toll-free number offering around-the-clock service: 866DHS-TWIC (347-8942). “Assistance includes help for enrollment, lost, stolen, or damaged cards, PIN resets (note: an applicant will have 10 tries to get their PIN correct before needing to have the PIN reset), etc. Assistance is also available for scheduling enrollment appointments, locating the closest enrollment facility to an applicant, and guiding applicants through the webbased pre-enrollment process. Both TSA (571-227-4545) and the Coast Guard (877-6872243) will have a help desk in order to address calls that do not come directly through 1866-DHS-TWIC.” U.S. Shipping Partners Takes Delivery of ATB SIU-contracted U.S. Shipping Partners L.P. early last month announced the delivery of its new articulated tug barge unit, the pusher tug Freeport and the double-hulled parcel barge Chemical Transporter (together, the ATB Freeport). It is the first of five ATBs ordered by U.S. Shipping as part of a fleet expansion. In a news release, the company noted, “The ATB Freeport has successfully completed sea trials and has received necessary certification by the U.S. Coast Guard and the American Bureau of Shipping. As is customary in newbuilding situations for the first of a series of vessels, there are a few documentation-related items that we need to address following delivery of the vessel. These items do not affect our ability to begin operating the ATB Freeport in our chemical service, and we do not anticipate any problem in satisfactorily addressing these items within the required time frames.” The new vessel departed the shipyard on July 1, 2007 for its first load port in Louisiana. Following completion of two routine design verification test procedures and arrival at the load port, it lifted its first cargo in The ATB Freeport, pictured in Baltimore, features the latest technology. early July. The Freeport is a 19,999 deadweight ton ATB capable of carrying 140,000 barrels of the most sophisticated chemical cargoes transported by seagoing vessels, according to the company. Its service speed is listed at 13.5 knots. Paul Gridley, chairman and CEO of U.S. Shipping Partners L.P., commented, “We believe the ATB Freeport is the most technologically advanced ATB in the U.S.-flag Jones Act deep sea trade. The features we built into this unit include 10 cargo tanks with flat internal surfaces, indi- vidual stainless steel deck mounted cargo heaters, stainless steel cargo piping, radar tank gauging, and advanced automatic tank cleaning. The ATB Freeport’s propulsion system runs on heavy fuel, which at current fuel prices yields significant operating cost savings in comparison to traditional diesel engines.” Manitowoc Marine Group of Marinette, Wis. and Eastern Shipbuilding Group, Inc. of Panama City, Fla. are under contract to construct additional ATBs of similar design for U.S. Shipping. Seafarers LOG 3 �43725_p3_5,8,17,24x:3725p0 7/31/2007 12:33 PM Page 4 Government Services Division Wins Hotel Arbitration An arbitrator recently ruled in favor of the SIU Government Services Division in a case involving the union’s efforts to help ensure that CIVMARS aren’t required to stay in substandard hotels selected by the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC). The hotel involved in the arbitration is the Days Inn Military Circle on Chambers Street in Norfolk, Va. A hearing had taken place Feb. 15-16 at the SIU hall in Norfolk, where representatives from the SIU and MSC stated their respective cases. On June 28, Arbitrator Mark H. Grunewald issued a decision calling for monetary compensation for CIVMARS required to stay in the hotel between Oct. 6, 2006 and Jan. 17, 2007. Although the union maintained that the general conditions at the hotel were substandard from the moment CIVMARS were assigned in October 2005, the arbitrator found that it was not within his power to determine whether the MSC could terminate the hotel contract award prior to October 6, 2007. Grunewald agreed with the union that “$40 per day is the proper back pay remedy to the CIVMARS who stayed in the contract hotel during the extension period” (Oct. 6, 2006-Jan. 17, 2006). That amount of money is stipulated in the Civilian Marine Personnel Instructions (CMPI) as the reimbursement rate for “cash in lieu of quarters.” At the outset of the hotel assignment, the union charged that the Days Inn Military Circle posed substantial health and safety risks to the hundreds of civil service mariners who stayed there. Grunewald noted that MSC’s inspectors found safety and health problems with the facility early on and the hotel was selected even though it was only “marginally” qualified. Despite MSC’s understanding of these problems, however, the contract was awarded to the Days Inn because of its lower cost to the agency. Grunewald took the agency to task for extending its initial agreement with the hotel despite relatively widespread concerns about health and safety. The con- USNS Kanawha, French Vessel Team Up for Rescue in Arabian Sea The U.S. 5th Fleet’s multina- uating six rescued mariners to the Sixteen mariners from aboard the Korean-flagged merchant tional Combined Task Force Dupleix each time. Dupleix’s ship Jai Laxmai almost certainly (CTF) 150 and CTF 53 directed RHIB retrieved the other four. owe their lives to the crews of the the Kanawha and Dupleix to set Once on board the Dupleix, all SIU-contracted Military Sealift course for the distressed vessel 16 rescued crew members were Command (MSC) fleet replenish- and to rescue its crew (CTF 150 examined and found to be in good ment oiler USNS Kanawha and is in charge of security in the health. They subsequently were the French warship Dupleix. region where the vessel was in transferred ashore in Salalah, Crews from the American and distress, while CTF is responsible Oman. “The quick and brave actions French vessels on June 25 jointly for the 5th Fleet’s logistics operarescued the North Korean ves- tions). The SIU ship had been of Kanawha’s crew represent the sel’s 16-person crew—composed steaming toward the Suez Canal, finest traditions of mariners helpof 13 Indians, two Burmese and but promptly changed course and ing other mariners in need,” said one Sri Lankan—in the Arabian sailed 35 miles at top speed to U.S. Navy Capt. Glen Sears, Sea. The Kanawha—crewed by reach the scene. Kanawha and commander, Sealift Logistics members of the SIU Government Dupleix crew members launched Command Central and CTF 53. The Kanawha has been supServices Division—and Dupleix their rigid-hull, inflatable boats at 6:26 p.m. June 25 responded to (RHIBs) at 9:35 p.m., three-quar- porting U.S. Navy and coalition a distress call from the MV Jai ters of a mile from where the Jai ships operating in the Middle Laxmai, which was in danger of Laxmai was helplessly floating in East since March 20. The ship, with 90 civil service mariners, the turbulent sea. sinking. The Kanawha’s RHIB made deployed from the United States The Laxmai had a disabled diesel engine and was anchored two trips to the Jai Laxmai, evac- in February. by a weak mooring line in unstable sea conditions.y; Waves were cresting at about 10 feet and the winds were blowing at speeds of up to 27 knots. Further complicating the situation, the crew of the Jai Laxmai reported that no food or water was available on board their vessel. They also were unable to deploy their vessel’s life- SIU CIVMARS from the USNS Kanawha helped rescue mariners whose ship was in danger of sinking. boats. Congratulations on Earning a GED Hard work and studying paid off for Phase III unlicensed apprentice Robert Brown (center), who received his GED at the July membership meeting in Piney Point, Md. Congratulating him are (from left) VP Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi, Executive VP Augie Tellez, VP Contracts George Tricker, President Michael Sacco and Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel. 4 Seafarers LOG tract’s first year ended Sept. 30, 2006 but included three “option” years. The arbitrator noted that “there is ample evidence in the record to support the view that there were serious health and safety concerns about the hotel since the outset of the contract,” including a detailed report from an MSC environmental health officer. Grunewald stated that in the face of the union’s grievance, the agency set up an individual complaint process through which CIVMARS could voice concerns. He noted, however, that this individual complaint system was not effective because the hotel failed to meet the appropriate standards and that the complaint system could not have addressed the multiple systemic problems at the facility. He ruled that “by extending services for a period clearly longer than it was obligated contractually, the agency changed its position on the problem.” After the first contract year was concluded and MSC chose to extend its obligation to the hotel, “it unreasonably sought to place the burden on the CIVMARS individually to identify problems and seek relief from a situation of MSC’s own making.” The agency may appeal the ruling to the Federal Labor Relations Authority. If no appeal is made or of the appeal is unsuccessful, the union will seek to ensure that CIVMARS who stayed in this hotel during the award period will receive the money owed to them. With this ruling, the union has met two of its major goals with regard to MSC assignments to shoreside hotels. MSC now uses a “three diamond” standard when selecting hotels on both the east and west coasts. The union is still pursuing its unfair labor practice against the agency to ensure that when hotels are selected the union is able to negotiate with MSC regarding the standards at individual facilities. CIVMARS will be updated as the unfair labor practice process continues. General Dynamics NASSCO Photo The USNS Alan Shepard departs San Diego during its June 12-13 sea trials. USNS Alan Shepard Delivered The SIU Government Services Division fleet on June 26 gained more tonnage with the delivery of the U.S. Navy’s latest T-AKE vessel, the USNS Alan Shepard. Named in honor of the late Alan Shepard, the Mercury and Apollo astronaut who was the first American in space, the vessel was constructed and delivered by General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. The USNS Alan Shepard is part of the Lewis and Clark class of dry cargo/ammunition ships owned by the Navy’s U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC). It will be crewed by SIU CIVMARS. The USNS Alan Shepard is expected to remain in San Diego for about three months to conduct crew familiarization and undergo final outfitting. The ship, which can sail at speeds up to 20 knots, will be part of the Navy’s MSC flotilla and will operate in support of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet. With a cargo capacity of more than 10,000 tons, the USNS Alan Shepard’s primary mission will be to deliver food, ammunition, fuel and other provisions from shore stations to combat ships at sea. The USNS Alan Shepard is the third in an expected class of 11 dry cargo-ammunition ships for the Navy. Construction of the 689-foot-long vessel began in September 2005. NASSCO has incorporated international marine technologies and commercial ship-design features into the T-AKE class ships, including an integrated electricdrive propulsion system, to minimize operating costs during their projected 40-year service life. The San Diego shipyard has contracts to build the first nine ships. Two of the vessels, the USNS Lewis and Clark and USNS Sacagawea—both of which are crewed by SIU CIVMARS—already have been delivered to the Navy. The fourth through seventh ships of the class are currently under construction. In addition to the T-AKE program, the San Diego shipyard is scheduled to begin construction on the first of nine product carriers for SIU-contracted U.S. Shipping Partners L.P., sometime this month. August 2007 �43725_p3_5,8,17,24x:3725p0 7/31/2007 12:36 PM Page 5 New Report Sheds More Light On Need for Free Choice Act The Employee Free Choice Act on June 26 was blocked in the U.S. Senate, but at least one distinguished researcher says the legislation’s passage is “critical” to ensuring America’s workers have a truly democratic process in choosing to join a union. “Anti-union employers are making a mockery of the principle governing American elections,” said Gordon Lafer, Ph.D., a University of Oregon political scientist who recently authored the report, “Neither Free Nor Fair: The Subversion of Democracy Under National Labor Relations Board Elections.” “Weak labor laws allow antiunion employers to manipulate the outcome of union elections in a manner that is inherently unfair and undemocratic,” Lafer said. “Union-busting activity in the weeks leading up to union elections resembles practices that our government routinely denounces when performed by rogue regimes abroad.” The report, released July 10 by American Rights at Work, comes just weeks after the Employee Free Choice Act, despite majority support, in effect was killed in the Senate. In echoing the multimillion dollar corporate campaign that sought to undermine support for the bill, anti-worker lawmakers claimed the measure would take away workers’ rights to secret ballot elections if employees are allowed to choose to join a union when a majority signed union authorization cards. That argument, no matter how often it is repeated, is wrong on two fronts, according to the AFLCIO. First, the federation pointed out, the Employee Free Choice Act does not eliminate secret ballot elections. Second, under the current NLRB government-run election process, the report points out there are “myriad ways in which workers are denied the most basic tenets of democracy.” “Neither Free Nor Fair” addresses head-on the claim that the NLRB election process guarantees workers a truly secret ballot—the central claim of antiunion advocates who seek to keep the current NLRB system in place. Instead, the report said, “NLRB elections fail to safeguard workers’ right to keep their opinions private; and that, on the contrary, the NLRB system results in workers being forced to reveal their political preferences long before they step into the voting booth— thus turning the secret ballot into a mockery of democratic process.” AFL-CIO President John Sweeney shortly after the report was released, issued the following remarks: “The new study … details the extraordinary barriers workers face under current labor law to exercise their freedom to form and join unions. In the first study of its type, Dr. Lafer makes a direct comparison between union elections and political elections, and finds that unlike America’s politi- Retired Port Agent Carter Dies at 76 Retired Port of Mobile SIU Port Agent David M. Carter passed away June 24 in Nixa, Missouri. He was 76. “Dave was a rock-solid union guy,” said SIU Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey. “He was true blue SIU all the way up until the end. “Dave ran a very efficient port in Mobile and had an untarnished reputation as a real fighter for our members,” Corgey continued. “He was not only a wonderful person, but also a great individual to work with. We all will certainly miss him a great deal.” “The union has lost not only a great person but an avid labor advocate,” said Ed Kelly, port agent in Mobile, Ala. “Dave and I worked together for about nine years and I replaced him when he retired. Transitioning into his position was very effortless … a real testament to how efficient he was and the type of operation he ran. “Dave was a true believer in the labor movement and worked hard to uplift and support everything the SIU stood for,” Kelly concluded. “Dave will definitely be missed.” “In addition to being a staunch advocate and tireless worker for the union, Dave was a longtime personal friend of mine,” said SIU Assistant Vice President Gulf Coast Jim McGee. “We worked together on several beefs and there was never any doubt as to how loyal toward the SIU and its members he was…. I was very sad to see him go and I’m certain that he will be missed by the union.” Born in St. Louis, Brother Carter August 2007 David M. Carter June 4, 1931-June 24, 2007 was a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who served during the Korean conflict. He joined the SIU in July 1976 in Mobile and was employed primarily in the inland division where he sailed aboard Hannah Marine and Crescent Towing vessels. Carter worked in all three shipboard departments and upgraded his skills at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in 1978. He came ashore in 1979 and thereafter served stints as patrolman in the ports of St. Louis and New Orleans. Carter also held the post of safety director in St. Louis and Mobile. He became port agent in Mobile in July 1990 and remained in that post until his retirement in June 1999. Brother Carter was preceded in death by his wife, Delia. He is survived by two sons, George Carter III and David Carter Jr.; two daughters, Toni Ballard and Linda Allen; five grandchildren, one great grandchild and a host of other relatives and friends. Memorial services were conducted June 28 at St. Catherine La Bourne Church in St. Louis. cal elections, union elections are not fair and balanced, but are skewed towards the employer. “Dr. Lafer describes what workers experience during National Labor Relations Board elections, including a culture of intimidation, fear, and aggression. The study details some of the extensive tactics, both legal and illegal, employers use to stifle workers’ freedom to form unions to bargain for better wages and benefits. “This key study comes at a time when working families are at the tipping point. Unions are the best anti-poverty, middle-class supporting program in our nation, and are a key to turning around the growing gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots.’ The anti-democratic and skewed system detailed in Lafer’s study clearly does not give workers a free and fair chance to improve their lives by forming unions. “The Employee Free Choice Act would level the playing field for workers and restore workers’ freedom to form unions and bargain. It would strengthen penalties for companies that coerce or intimidate employees, establish mediation and binding arbitration when the employer and workers cannot agree on a first contract and enable employees to form unions when a majority signs union authorization cards. Instead of forcing workers to go through an intimidating election process wrought with corruption, it would allow them to more freely exercise their freedom to form a union.” The report documents how employers: Deny workers free speech —Although management is permitted to plaster the workplace with anti-union posters, leaflets and banners, prounion employees are prohibited from doing likewise. Union organizers are banned from entering the workplace—or entering publicly used but company-owned spaces such as parking lots— at any time, for any reason. Employees of the company are banned from talking about forming a union while they are on work time and are banned from distributing prounion information except when they are on break time and in a break room. Use economic coercion and intimidation—When em- ployers speak out, employees always listen carefully for even the subtlest hints as to what kind of behavior will be rewarded or punished. This is all the more true in an economy where so many Americans feel insecure about their economic future. Ostracize and defame union supporters—The NLRB allows employers to make nearly any type of threatening or derogatory statement to employees, as long as it doesn’t contain an explicit quid pro quo threat. Workers who have earned their way to good standing with the company are often ostracized and belittled by management after publicly asserting their support for the union. In one example, a worker was followed to restaurants on days off by security guards with walkie-talkies. A member of management was assigned to work with her eight hours a day, five days a week, and was told he was there solely to work on her to change her ideas about unions. A full copy of the reports is available at www.americanrightsatwork.org/docUploads/Neither FreeNorFair.pdf Don’t Let Shipping Documents Expire Seafarers are reminded not to wait until the last minute before renewing their documents. With current security concerns and a reorganization of the Coast Guard’s licensing program, what once took a few weeks may now take anywhere from 10-12 weeks—but just to be on the safe side, it is recommended that mariners start the renewal process six months in advance. The Coast Guard has begun to centralize its Marine Licensing and Documentation program with the National Maritime Center (NMC) in a new location near Martinsburg, W.Va. The 17 Regional Exam Centers (RECs) will continue to perform the important customer service tasks that require face-to-face contact with mariners and the training industry, including answering basic questions, verifying applicant identity and nationality, fingerprinting applicants, reviewing applications for completeness and administering examinations. The RECs will then forward the completed applications to the NMC for evaluation. It is very important that when turning in an application to the REC, it is complete and not missing any item (e.g., results of a physical, drug test or court papers). The REC cannot send the application to the West Virginia center for processing until all the documentation for the application is in its possession. Additionally, it is suggested that seafarers not surrender their current (soon-toexpire) MMD when applying for a new one. Current documents are not required to be turned in even though applicants may be asked to do so. The Seafarers Appeals Board has added Action Number 423 to amend Rule 6 of the Shipping Rules to allow members under certain circumstances to extend reliefs when their MMD renewal has not been processed in time (see sidebar below). Earlier this year, the U.S. Coast Guard launched a web site “to provide merchant mariners with real-time information on the status of pending mariner credential applications.” According to the agency, merchant mariners may check the status of application packages throughout the verification and approval process by logging onto http://homeport. uscg.mil/, clicking on the Merchant Mariners tab and then clicking on Merchant Mariner Application Status. In announcing the new site, the Coast Guard noted, “When application information is entered, Homeport will display the information submitted with the application package and current application status information. Mariner credentials that have already been issued will be displayed in Homeport as ‘issued’ for a 120day period. Mariners who need additional information after visiting the web site can request additional information by telephone or email.” Passports are another form of documentation that no seafarer should be without. Since the new requirement for air travelers returning from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean took effect Jan. 23, 2007, average wait times to get a passport have soared from three weeks to between 10 and 12 weeks on average. The State Department received more applications than it expected after the new regulations went into effect and has admitted to a backlog in the millions. To help alleviate the problem, passport officials have expanded operation hours at all 17 production facilities and formed task forces of trained volunteers to answer questions and help with processing. Unlike MMDs, applicants will have to surrender their current passport when renewing. Oftentimes, one of these important documents is due to expire while a seafarer is aboard ship. This should not happen. It is the responsibility of each person to manage his or her rotation well in advance so as not to get caught with an expired document. The bottom line is—whether it’s an MMD, passport, driver’s license, drug test, etc.—no one should wait until the last minute to renew these important documents. They are the tools that help all seafarers in their chosen careers. SAB Action Number 423 A seaman employed as a permanent or trip tour rating who has registered, in accordance with Rule 2. Shipping Procedure, Item G., 7, and is waiting on the return of his Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) while renewing and has submitted evidence that a renewal MMD has been applied for at least ninety (90) days prior to the expiration of the MMD, may have a relief period extended until such time as his Merchant Mariner Document has been returned. Once the permanent or trip tour seaman has received his document, he may return to his permanent position aboard the vessel, and transportation to the vessel shall be paid by the Company in accordance with the provisions of these rules. The departing relief shall also have his transportation paid by the Company back to his original U.S. port of engagement. Seafarers LOG 5 �43725_p6,7,9_16,20_23:3725p 7/31/2007 12:45 PM Page 6 Aboard the M/V Buffalo: A Real Working Ship After sailing for two months this past spring as QMED on American Steamship Co.’s M/V Buffalo, Roger Hewlett submitted the following article and accompanying photos on these two pages “as a tribute to the guys out there doing their great seafaring jobs on the bulk carrier. The crew and officers are all SIU and AMO, and I have really enjoyed working with them,” he stated. The AMO is an SIUNA affiliate. he Buffalo is a real “working ship,” sometimes hitting four docks in a single 24-hour period and other times sailing a more leisurely 2½-day trip all the way up the Lakes. It is like a tramp ship as we sometimes don’t know which loading port we’ll be heading for next, even after getting underway. This adds some mystery and interest to the job. So far this season, we have gone into Silver Bay, Marquette, Cleveland, Ashtabula, Lorain, Trenton, South Mate John Olney (AMO) and AB/Deck Watch Chicago, Waukegan, Port Saleh Ahmed attend to loading the vessel in Gypsum, Port Inland and South Chicago. a few others. This covers Lakes Superior, Huron, Michigan and Erie, and we have carried coal, iron ore pellets, gypsum and various grades of stone. The crew works very hard, especially the deckhands, who can be called out at all hours to handle lines or rattle the cargo chains T to get the stuck lumps of bulk cargo to fall toward the conveyor chutes. The QMED also is called out at all hours to do the ballast pumping when cargo is being loaded or unloaded. The meals and bakery products are plentiful—and very pleasingly cooked. Due to the heavy demand for steel, there is more effort for the Buffalo to go far north to Lake Superior ports for iron ore than in the past. But since the lake levels are running low, the amount of cargo per load is diminished somewhat due to draft limitations. We probably will see a longer season and more cargo runs for ore and other commodities because of this. The Buffalo is kept very clean, including the deck and all the way down to the bilges. The rooms are nice and spacious, and there is a recreation room with TV, books and games. All rooms are wired for satellite TV and, eventually, internet connections, thanks to cooperation between the SIU and the AMO and the spirit of brotherhood. We get mail and light supplies delivered by the J.W. Wescott mailboat as we pass Detroit. Our reliefs often arrive by the Wescott as well. It’s great to have a job and be working, and we all enjoy the benefits of SIU membership— including rotation and relief with paid vacations—but it’s also great to see the relief man show up at the end of a voyage! The Buffalo loads coal in South Chicago. Saturday is ‘steak day’ on the Buffalo— and Chief Steward Robert Stark gets the grill going. Deckhand Kaleg Ahmed handles the Buffalo’s lines. After another great meal, Steward Assistant Jonah Ahmed does the dishes. Deckhand Mario Rascon handles the lines of the Buffalo as the ship goes through the Soo Locks. Note the snow still on the ground in mid-April. QMED Roger Hewlett (who sent these photos to the LOG) performs engine and machinery rounds on the vessel. AB/Wheelsman Al Maury takes the wheel. Left: 1st Mate (and relief captain) Guy Gramzow (AMO) guides the vessel through the narrow channels of the Detroit River near Belle Isle. Right: Baker Harry Petersen makes cookies. 1st Assistant Watch Engineer Bryce Sharpe (AMO) checks the engine. 6 Seafarers LOG August 2007 �43725_p6,7,9_16,20_23:3725p 7/23/2007 7:53 AM Page 7 Left: Deckhand Mario Rascon works in the cargo hold aboard the bulk carrier. From the left, AB/Deck Watch Boyd Lesser and AMO 1st Mate (and relief captain) Guy Gramzow prepare Deckhands Kaleg Ahmed and Mario Rascon to be lowered to the dock for line handling at the Soo Locks. Left: 3rd Mate Andy Kenia (AMO) attends to navigation and pilot duties on the bridge as the vessel approaches Detroit. The M/V Buffalo . . . . . . upbound on the St. Clair River Right: AB Lennie Thomas stands gangway security watch during loading operations. Engine Utility Jeremy Pace proudly poses on the aft deck of the Buffalo. Relief Chief Steward Marco Kotajarvi prepares supper for the crew. 1st Mate Kevin Johnson (inset) demonstrates handheld flare procedures during a fire and lifeboat drill aboard ship. Chief Engineer ‘Mac’ Lamp (AMO) and 2nd Assistant Robert Fluharty pose in the control room of the Buffalo. August 2007 At the J.W. Wescott mailboat, QMED Roger Hewlett gets a warm welcome home from his wife, Jonene Eliasson, after two months of duty on the Buffalo. Seafarers LOG 7 �43725_p3_5,8,17,24:3725p0 7/24/2007 4:47 PM Page 8 Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea September & October 2007 Membership Meetings JUNE 16 — JULY 15, 2007 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals 5 5 7 8 6 7 18 17 3 9 8 25 12 8 7 29 6 6 27 22 1 2 0 4 1 2 4 3 1 1 2 2 7 3 0 0 1 1 3 5 293 235 43 0 0 1 3 0 4 13 19 0 7 7 16 7 11 1 1 3 1 20 10 0 3 4 5 1 5 13 14 1 3 5 12 12 8 2 1 1 3 15 15 0 0 1 2 2 1 3 0 0 2 2 3 2 1 1 0 0 2 3 9 Totals 124 123 34 Totals Totals All Departments 2 0 3 10 0 8 31 26 0 5 13 26 17 13 6 2 5 1 24 31 223 2 2 5 10 2 6 22 16 1 9 7 13 15 4 3 7 5 2 26 15 172 0 1 0 3 0 1 6 6 0 0 3 2 7 0 2 0 0 0 5 5 41 0 0 4 9 0 1 22 13 0 2 10 23 10 5 2 1 4 1 20 19 3 1 12 19 3 18 65 62 4 17 21 82 15 41 9 1 15 3 51 53 8 9 10 21 10 15 39 31 5 13 13 50 11 20 11 29 16 8 49 29 5 1 0 5 2 2 9 8 1 2 4 6 12 6 1 1 1 3 10 11 1 0 4 5 0 5 12 9 0 3 8 14 8 6 5 1 2 0 11 6 100 1 3 5 4 0 2 4 15 0 4 3 10 11 5 0 1 1 2 14 9 94 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 2 2 1 1 0 0 1 2 2 5 22 Piney Point ...........Tuesday: September 4*, October 9* (*changes created by Labor Day and Columbus Day holidays) Algonac ................Friday: September 7, October 12 Baltimore..............Thursday: September 6, October 11 Boston ..................Friday: September 7, October 12 Guam ....................Thursday: September 20, October 25 Honolulu...............Friday: September 14, October 19 Houston ................Monday: September 10, October 15 Jacksonville ..........Thursday: September 6, October 11 Joliet .....................Thursday: September 13, October 18 Mobile ..................Wednesday: September 12, Oct. 17 146 495 397 90 New Orleans.........Tuesday: September 11, October 16 0 1 1 2 0 1 7 7 0 0 7 8 2 1 2 2 1 0 11 5 0 0 5 4 1 8 23 28 0 14 14 31 9 23 1 3 5 3 21 21 2 4 5 12 6 11 20 19 3 3 9 23 19 10 3 5 6 5 23 16 0 0 0 4 2 3 5 1 0 1 1 4 4 2 2 0 1 3 4 12 New York .............Tuesday: September 4, October 9 58 214 204 49 0 0 2 6 0 2 5 20 0 2 2 8 5 8 1 0 2 0 7 6 3 0 6 6 3 12 42 24 1 9 11 32 19 43 6 3 3 0 34 40 2 0 0 14 2 11 14 14 1 5 3 11 14 6 0 7 3 0 7 11 3 0 0 1 0 0 2 2 0 1 3 6 1 0 0 0 0 5 2 4 Norfolk .................Thursday: September 6, October 11 Oakland ................Thursday: September 13, October 18 Philadelphia..........Wednesday: September 5, Oct. 10 Port Everglades ....Thursday: September 13, October 18 San Juan ...............Thursday: September 6, October 11 St. Louis ...............Friday: September 14, October 19 Tacoma .................Friday: September 21, October 26 Wilmington...........Monday: September 17, October 22 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. STEWARD DEPARTMENT 0 0 3 5 3 9 19 18 1 3 5 17 16 19 2 2 1 0 19 18 160 2 0 0 8 1 5 10 13 0 1 5 8 6 5 0 3 2 0 5 3 77 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 2 16 Port Algonac A1chorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C ENGINE DEPARTMENT Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs DECK DEPARTMENT 3 0 10 8 0 10 47 32 2 12 12 43 11 26 7 1 6 2 31 30 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 0 2 5 1 11 16 10 0 1 4 13 11 10 1 1 0 0 9 12 107 1 0 0 9 0 7 7 8 0 0 6 2 10 3 3 0 2 1 5 4 68 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 4 76 297 125 30 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 1 1 2 1 6 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 2 7 1 1 20 15 0 4 4 31 8 17 1 22 1 0 12 15 6 1 0 5 1 3 10 7 0 0 2 11 11 4 3 10 1 2 7 6 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 3 0 0 1 5 0 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 4 3 6 3 1 15 17 0 2 2 11 8 4 1 4 2 3 10 8 2 0 1 1 1 2 7 4 0 0 2 1 5 4 1 17 0 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 1 6 10 1 10 0 0 0 0 7 2 2 2 3 10 2 15 34 28 3 10 9 82 17 31 1 22 1 0 24 20 9 1 1 14 3 10 14 19 3 0 7 28 21 14 4 4 2 5 21 8 20 162 90 22 105 53 0 42 316 188 597 597 183 452 439 120 280 1,048 1,042 357 Personals KENNETH LOCKHART Please write to Lorenzo Lockhart at P.O. Box 1074, Blountstown, FL 32424; or call him at (850) 867-2439. Correction The LOG article about the 2007 scholarship winners (June 2007) stated that Nicole LaPointe’s father, Robert LaPointe, was an AB aboard the Padre Island. He is now, in fact, captain of the Padre Island for Great Lakes Dredge and Dock and currently is in Bahrain working as relief captain on the the Victoria Island. Remembering Paul Hall August 20, 1914 - June 22, 1980 *“Total Registered” means the number of Seafarers who actually registered for shipping at the port. **“Registered on Beach” means the total number of Seafarers registered at the port. 8 Seafarers LOG August 2007 �43725_p6,7,9_16,20_23:3725p 7/27/2007 6:26 PM Page 9 19672007 Paul Hall Center What It Meant Then Four Decades Of Preparing Seafarers To Meet The Challenges Of Changing Times The late Seafarers International Union President Paul Hall often is described as a visionary when it comes to the training facility that now bears his name. Consider this, however, about such a label: It’s a compliment, but it also by definition means the seer views things very differently from those around him. Put another way, it usually means others are skeptical about the vision. So it was for Paul Hall, who inarguably fits the formal characterization —“a person of unusually keen foresight”—but who in the late 1960s may have been described by some people in different terms. “To be honest, everyone at first had doubts about the school,” said current SIU President Michael Sacco, who was there from the beginning. “The membership didn’t buy into it right away, and the guys in the ports didn’t understand what we were trying to do. The isolated physical setting didn’t help with the general outlook, either. “But Paul was committed to the school and he was a strong leader. He insisted that we had to upgrade the quality of our people so we could meet the challenges of the future—automation and other new technology. He kept saying we were going to do it until we got it right.” Late 1960s August 2007 What is now the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education opened in August 1967 in Piney Point, Md. as the Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship, named after the SIU’s first president. (Lundeberg’s name still is part of the school’s full, formal title, and the largest building on the main campus is named after him. The overall campus was named for Paul Hall in 1991, 11 years after his death.) Jointly administered by boards of trustees representing, respectively, the union and its contracted operators, the school had humble beginnings. Make those exceptionally humble beginnings, according to others who were there when it opened. The school featured a trainee program from its earliest days, but most people on campus spent those first few years building or rebuilding facilities at what had been a torpedo-testing facility run by the Navy. It was grueling work, performed seven days a week, and merely mentioning it nowadays still elicits grimaces from the participants. “We worked very hard and very long,” noted Chief Bosun Tom Soresi, one of the first people assigned to the school. “I really don’t know how all of us hung in there. Paul was a tough Paul Hall, the union’s second president, didn’t let skeptics impede his dream of a comprehensive maritime school. taskmaster, and back in those days when you looked around, there wasn’t much to look at. I came to Piney Point from Brooklyn and it was like a no-man’s land.” Don Nolan, now vice president of the school, arrived there in 1968 straight out of the Navy. “I guess we didn’t know any better, but we worked seven days a Continued on page 10 Late 1990s Seafarers LOG 9 �43725_p6,7,9_16,20_23:3725p 7/27/2007 6:17 PM Page 10 New Construction Refurbishing older buildings and constructing new ones has been the norm throughout the school’s history, which helps enable the Paul Hall Center to stay ahead of the curve. The photo at left was taken in 1981. ment resurfaces. Students gradually warmed up to week, 12- and 14-hour days,” he the school, for many reasons. The recalled. “This place was in shambles. vocational training not only helped We figured Paul Hall was either a them do their jobs aboard ship, it genius or a nut.” proved indispensable in keeping up Paul Hall Center Safety Director with rapidly changing technology. Jimmy Hanson, who had an unforgetMany took advantage of academic table introduction to the center in support which bolstered their perfor1968, pointed out another characterismance in the maritime-specific courstic of its dawning. es. Some even came to think of the “It was a growing time for the campus as a home away from home. school, and I soon found out that as an Sentimentality aside, there was no employee you would be called upon to disputing one key tangible benefit of do anything and everything from filltraining at the Paul Hall Center: It ing fire extinguishers to driving, painthelped students increase their earning ing, herding cattle, digging potatoes, power as they amassed more skills and carpentry work and the list goes on,” knowledge and improved their ratings. he said. “I have seen them put down “Everything that Paul envisioned asphalt in the snow and bulldoze part for the school has happened—maybe of a building while they were painting even more than he expected,” said the other side.” (Hanson, having com- Sacco, who served as Lundeberg pleted service in the Army, was work- School vice president from 1968 to ing in the local volunteer fire depart1979. “Back then, the school property ment and seeking employment in only contained old wooden military 1968. He was instrumental in extinbarracks, a two-story hotel and some guishing a fire at the school, and was piers. But Paul saw far beyond the limhired the same day.) ited accommodations. He believed that Not all of the challenges of that era education was vital to members were physical. Although the SIU datadvancing themselves, and he undering back to the early 1950s had operat- stood the potential that existed at the ed modest training centers in its halls school. He also had an all-consuming in New York, Baltimore, Mobile, New passion for helping Seafarers better Orleans and Houston, vocational themselves and improve their standard schooling for mariners largely was an of living—and he knew that the school afterthought in those days—and acade- would be critical to making it happen.” mic pursuits were virtually unheard of. The SIU president added a strong Not surprisingly, in the late 1960s word of credit for Hazel Brown, anothand early 1970s, Seafarers were skepti- er school official from the center’s forcal about the new school in Piney mative years. Brown wrote most of the Point. Some were intimidated at the initial curriculums, started the GED prospect of trying to pass a course, program and formally established the while others simply didn’t see the need Lundeberg School’s working relationfor such a facility. ship with the American Council on That’s where the “visionary” eleEducation, which justifiably boosted Continued from page 9 Directly above and at right, by 1969 the campus had undergone significant enhancements. Below: The Addictions Rehabilitation Center has saved careers—and lives. 10 Seafarers LOG August 2007 �43725_p6,7,9_16,20_23:3725p 7/30/2007 the center’s reputation. “Hazel was an underrated figure in the school’s history,” Sacco said. “She brought a professional atmosphere to the school and helped refine it in many ways.” Soresi said he still marvels at what the school has become. “The truth is, what we have today, Paul envisioned 40 years ago,” Soresi asserted. “When you think about merchant seamen back then, everybody referred to us as drunks and bums and stuff like that. The thought of educating merchant mariners … I don’t know how Paul thought of it, but he had that vision. And even though it was hard work, we had a lot of faith in his leadership and in the leadership of our other union officials. August 2007 7:58 AM Page 11 “It wasn’t a very gratifying job at that time, but later on, when you saw what you helped develop, it all worked out.” Nolan, who founded the school’s steward department training, remembered that when Hall was on campus, “he made things happen. He had a vision and he saw things we didn’t see, there’s no doubt about it. Piney Point was Paul’s dream. “There are many others who deserve credit, too, and Mike Sacco is one of them,” Nolan continued. “He was the one who explained to members what the school was all about, and as you know, he’s a pretty convincing guy. And even back then, just like today, he would roll up his sleeves, jump in there and do whatever needed to be done.” Most of the photos on this page first were published in the LOG in the late 1960s and early ’70s. Seafarers LOG 11 �43725_p6,7,9_16,20_23:3725p 7/27/2007 6:18 PM Page 12 SIU President Michael Sacco (directly above left, and in photo above right seated in front of podium) served as the school’s vice president from 1968 to 1979. 12 Seafarers LOG August 2007 �43725_p6,7,9_16,20_23x:3725p 7/23/2007 1:54 PM Page 13 Leadership Each of the SIU’s four presidents strongly has supported vocational training. Even before the school opened in Piney Point, Seafarers trained at union halls dating back to the early 1950s. Paul Hall is pictured at left, Frank Drozak directly below, and Michael Sacco below, left. A statue of Harry Lundeberg is prominently displayed in Piney Point. The Paul Hall Center’s primary mission hasn’t changed, but the training techniques constantly are revised and improved, as is the classroom equipment. Besides helping mariners advance their careers, the school also has hosted many dignitaries over the years and even been a summer vacation retreat for Seafarers and their families. August 2007 Seafarers LOG 13 �43725_p6,7,9_16,20_23x:3725p 7/31/2007 1:40 PM Page 14 Building and Growing Knocking down the old hotel and making way for a new one in 1983 Why It Matters Now Cutting-Edge School Characterized by Steady Improvements The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education (PHC) in Piney Point, Md. started some 40 years ago as a central location for providing qualified manpower to crew America’s merchant vessels. Today it is the largest training facility for deep sea merchant seafarers and inland waterways boatmen in the United States. Recently, three individuals, each of whom personally has been involved with the school over the years, shared their views on how the institution has changed, what those modifications have meant and what the center is today. Lending their perspectives were recently retired PHC Director of Training Bill Eglinton, PHC Vocational Director J.C. Wiegman and SIU Assistant Vice President Contracts Archie Ware. “The school essentially was established as the primary location to train a manpower pool to work aboard U.S. ships,” said Eglinton, who in 1973 signed on at the school as an instructor. “Its secondary purpose in those days was to serve as a hub where mariners could go—on a recurring basis—to improve on their skills and keep them updated.” Over the years, the school’s basic mission has remained the same, but virtually everything else has undergone far-reaching transformation. Today, Eglinton said, the institution provides topnotch professional training to students who are just entering their maritime career, to mariners who wish to improve or upgrade their seafaring skills and to mariners who wish to retrain in their job classifications. Overall, the school continues to meet the ever-changing needs of the maritime industry—never an easy task, but particularly so in this era of unprecedented federal regulation. “When I started there, we did not have formal classrooms,” Eglinton recalled. “We had barges—three of them. There was a hobby barge, a music barge and an upgrading barge. “The vocational offices of the instructors were located on the upper deck of a small vessel called the Sonny Simmons,” he continued. “The classrooms were located down below. As far as the classes were concerned, there was lifeboat, lifeboatman and basic deck. Basic engine classes were conducted in the gutted-out engine room. So the trainees had classes aboard the Simmons and the upgraders had classes on the upgrading barge.” Construction on the Logan and Drozak buildings, now fulltime classrooms, began in the late 1970s. In 1983, the first shiphandling simulator was installed while basic and advanced computer training were offered for the first time. But the change that caught the eyes of most in Piney Point was the opening of the six-story, 300room Seafarers Training and Recreation Center. While the physical changes around campus are hard to miss, they haven’t been the only substantial transformations at the school, according to Eglinton. In particular, he pointed to the trainee program as an example of how the school constantly has grown to meet the needs of the individual mariner and the ship operator alike. “The school went from being a 12-week mariners training regimen to an eight-month unlicensed apprentice training program,” he said. “The original trainee program was 12 weeks in duration. At the end of the 12 weeks, the trainees graduated and shipped out.” Eglinton explained that early on, there was general consensus that while the program had its strong points, there was plenty of room for improvement, too. “There was no sea service, no going out aboard ships and no field trips,” he noted. “Those undergoing the training never really got a taste of what going to sea entailed. So when they graduated after 12 weeks they’d often go out on ships only to discover that they did not like what they were doing.” Another concern with the 12week program was that trainees—at the outset of their instruction and without any real knowledge of what their job would entail—had to choose which shipboard department they wanted to work in. All of that would change in the mid-1990s with the amending of the Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW). “The convention actually was implemented in 1995 and came on-line in 1997,” according to Eglinton. “The timing was right. It provided a perfect opportunity for us to change our approach from a training program to an unlicensed apprentice program because the amended convention called for exactly what its name suggests: the establishment of standards of training, certification and watchkeeping. “To meet those requirements and to continue fulfilling the school’s mission of turning out the world’s best-trained mariners, we went from a 12week training program in 1967 to the unlicensed apprentice program in 1997,” Eglinton concluded. “We all are very proud of it, and I think the record speaks for itself.” Wiegman said that besides the conversion of the unlicensed apprentice program, the biggest change during his tenure at the school to date has been the introduction of simulation. “When I came here there was no engine simulator. And the bridge simulator—while very good—still was a dinosaur,” Wiegman said. “It took a whole room of computers to make it work. “We now have a 360-degree fully automated bridge with three auxiliary bridges,” Wiegman continued. “We have multi-function classrooms with GMDSS, a radar, ARPA and an ECDIS Lab. Additionally, thanks to the simulation, we can train multiple platforms including cruise ships, tankers and containerships with scenarios in various ports around the United States. We also have the ability to convert the simulation to our inland members with Z-drive and conventional tug capability. We can train the entry level people to be look-outs. We can train the ABs to steer; we can train mates to perform all of their duties. “In the engine room we can train QMEDs,” he continued. “On the engineering side, we have steam and diesel simulators to train our watchstanders and day-working QMEDs. We just recently added new containers and a refrigeration trainer along with cargo handling simulation including an LNG simulator for loadings and discharges of LG cargoes. “When I started teaching here, we would draw out systems on the chalkboard,” Wiegman said. “Today, our classrooms have been upgraded with projection systems, computerized lectures and visual Power Points of the actual equipment aboard our vessels. Overall, the changes have been dramatic.” Wiegman said that 40 years ago when the school was founded, he was at sea and crewing levels on ships were large, Continued on page 16 14 Seafarers LOG August 2007 �43725_p6,7,9_16,20_23:3725p 7/23/2007 12:26 PM Page 15 Paul Hall Center At a Glance Opened in August 1967 Located on 60-plus waterfront acres in Piney Point, Md. Purpose is providing vocational training for mariners, including entry-level curriculums. Also offers some academic courses. 22,000 apprentices have completed the entry program 110,000 upgraders have improved their skills 2,000 GEDs have been earned 1,200 honorably discharged military veterans have secured maritime jobs through Paul Hall Center programs Offers 75 Coast Guard-approved courses College degrees may be earned in nautical science and engineering Includes 11 maritime simulators Employs 40 instructors and teachers Includes Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School, which opened in 1999 Overall campus named in memory of the president of SIU-AGLIWD from 1947-80, who was the driving force behind the school’s construction. School itself is the Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship, dedicated in memory of the union’s founder. Various buildings are named in memory of Seafarers, SIU officials and officials of SIU-contracted companies. August 2007 Seafarers LOG 15 �43725_p6,7,9_16,20_23:3725p 7/27/2007 6:19 PM Continued from page 14 affording the mariner the opportunity to receive on-the-job training. “Crews had enough people to take the new OS under the AB’s wing and to teach basic skills. As the OS acquired sea time, he or she would see the school for the first time to get training as a lifeboatman and AB. They would take a U.S. Coast Guard exam to acquire their rating and the school provided great training so the members could achieve their goals. What has changed over the years is a reduction in crew size and the introduction of automated systems requiring a better trained member.” Wiegman said technological advances also have had the overall effect of reducing crew sizes aboard vessels, noting, “Today when someone goes on board a ship they have demonstrated competency and have been assessed in the tasks they may be required to perform. So when we look back at the school’s history, it has evolved to meet the needs of the members and our companies by constantly upgrading the facility from a trainee program, then adding inland programs and expanding with an undergraduate degree program in nautical science or maritime engineering. “In addition, the implementation of the Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) made a difference,” he continued. “This probably has had the biggest impact on mariners and the method in which they are trained.” The unlicensed apprentice program is a good example, he said. “A person comes here, learns some skills, does some assessments, goes out as a student observer for a while and then he comes back here to school for more skills and assessments. He then goes back out to sea again and returns here for a rating. And the process does not stop there. He continues acquiring more and more skills so that he becomes more qualified.” Wiegman said that without the Paul Hall Center, the cost to the mariner for his training would become quite significant. “In a nutshell, a mariner’s ability to advance becomes extremely limited with- 16 Seafarers LOG Page 16 out the school,” he concluded. “Without this school and this organization, mariners would have to pay astronomical costs for courses or acquire scholarships from some entity to be able to afford to go to sea.” Ware recalls that living conditions at the school in years past were a far cry from what they are today. “During those days there was no hotel,” said the union official and former recertified bosun who attended the Piney Point-based institution in the ’70s. “We all had to stay in bungalows. Now the school has accommodations to the extent that people have their own rooms. I think that arrangement can only help students get the most out of their classes.” Commenting further on living conditions, Ware noted that the school used to rely on its nearby farm. “We used to get a lot of our food from the farm—fresh meat and produce,” he said. “Now they have vendors bringing in everything. It’s a similar situation with laundry. In the past you had to drop your laundry off by a certain time and pick it up by a certain time; today you can do it yourself whenever you want.” As a whole, Ware said the changes he has seen at the school all have been extremely positive. “They have played a significant role in making the school the highly recognized and respected institution that it is,” he said. Still, Ware believes that there has been one aspect of the school that has remained constant throughout its history. “There have been various changes at the school, but the best trained sailors still come from Piney Point,” he said. “The Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is an excellent school and a great vehicle for anyone wanting to become a merchant mariner. “The SIU has been successful since its establishment but the school has made it even more so,” Ware concluded. “Through it, the union is able to consistently turn out the most safety-conscious, efficient and best-trained mariners in the world. All of the shipping companies are aware of this, and that’s why SIU mariners continue to be a hot commodity and in such high demand.” Hands-on training always has been a staple of Paul Hall Center curriculums. The addition of the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School (bottom three photos) in 1999 further enhanced the center’s practical training. August 2007 �43725_p3_5,8,17,24x:3725p0 7/31/2007 1:47 PM Page 17 Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA CLAYTON EVERETT, 56, hails from Norfolk, Va. Brother Everett joined the union in 1970 in the port of New York. He first sailed in the engine department aboard the Steel Chemist. Prior to his retirement, Brother Everett worked aboard the Portsmouth. He continues to make his home in Norfolk. EDWARD FULLER, 63, became an SIU member in 1978 in the port of Jacksonville, Fla. Brother Fuller’s first voyage was on the Neches. The Georgia-born mariner shipped in the steward department, most recently aboard the Horizon Crusader. He is a resident of Macon, Ga. JUAN GONZALEZ, 70, began his seafaring career in 1967. Brother Gonzalez, who was born in Puerto Rico, first sailed aboard the Alcoa Master. His most recent ship was the Overseas Philadelphia. Brother Gonzalez worked in the steward department. He calls Kissimmee, Fla. home. RAUL GUERRA, 53, joined the SIU in 1973 in the port of Houston. Brother Guerra began sailing in the inland division on a G&H Towing vessel. He was born in Galveston, Texas and shipped in the deck department. Brother Guerra’s most recent voyage was on the Overseas Harriette. He lives in Texas City, Texas. ABDULHFID HUSSAIN, 61, was born in Yemen. Brother Hussain began sailing with the Seafarers in 1976 in the port of New York. His first voyage was aboard an Asbury Steamship Co. vessel. Brother Hussain, who worked in the engine department, most recently sailed on the Quality. He resides in Bronx, N.Y. STEVEN LEDERMANN, 55, began his seafaring career in 1969, first working aboard a Hudson Waterways vessel. The deck department member was born in Reading, Pa. His most recent voyage was on the St. Louis Express. He settled in San Marcos, Texas. August 2007 ANGEL MERCADO, 55, became a Seafarer in 1975. Brother Mercado initially sailed aboard the Los Angeles as a member of the engine department. He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. Brother Mercado’s most recent voyage was aboard the Midnight Sun. He makes his home in Lacey, Wash. OTTO PARIAMA, 69, joined the SIU in 1973 in the port of New York. Brother Pariama first shipped aboard a Rye Marine Corp. vessel. He was a member of the engine department. Before retiring, Brother Pariama worked on the Courage. He is a resident of Kissimmee, Fla. LARRY PHILPOT, 62, began shipping with the SIU in 1961. Brother Philpot first worked aboard the Beaugard. He was born in Kentucky and sailed in the engine department. Brother Philpot’s most recent voyage was on the Houston. He resides in LaPorte, Texas. INLAND ALDON BARLETTO, 57, embarked on his seafaring career in 1974. Boatman Barletto sailed primarily aboard vessels operated by Crescent Towing & Salvage of New Orleans. The Louisiana native worked in the engine department. Boatman Barletto calls Franklin, La. home. JAMES KRUGER, 55, joined the SIU in 1974 in the port of Norfolk, Va. He first sailed aboard an Allied Transportation Co. vessel. Boatman Kruger was born in Fergus Falls, Minn. and shipped in the deck department. His most recent voyage was on a Penn Maritime vessel. Boatman Kruger lives in Norfolk. RICHARD ROSSER, 53, joined the union in 1974. Boatman Rosser worked primarily aboard Crescent Towing & Salvage of New Orleans vessels as a member of the deck department. He resides in Gretna, La. RONALD RUSSELL, 57, joined the SIU in 1974. Boatman Russell first sailed on an Inter Cites Navigation Corp. vessel. He sailed in the deck department. His most recent voyage was aboard a Maritrans Operating Co. vessel. Boatman Russell was born in Pennsylvania and settled in Maryville, Tenn. GREAT LAKES WILLIAM AGNELLO, 60, started working with the Seafarers in 1970, sailing in the steward department of the Otto Reiss. His last voyage was on the Buffalo. Brother Agnello makes his home in his native New York. JOHN BISHOP, 65, launched his SIU career in 1968. Brother Bishop first sailed aboard a vessel operated by Hudson Waterways Corp. He was a member of the engine department. Prior to retiring, Brother Bishop sailed on the H. Lee White. He is a resident of Constantine, Mich. JOHN NORTON, 63, was born in North Dakota. He began his seafaring career in 1967 in Chicago. Brother Norton worked in all three shipboard departments and first sailed on the J. F. Schoellkopf Jr. His most recent voyage was on the Walter J. McCarthy. He lives in Austin, Texas. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust, recently went on pension. CHARLES GIVENS, 65, joined the NMU in 1992 in the port of Seattle. Brother Givens first sailed aboard the Keystone Canyon. He was born in Tennessee. Brother Givens most recently worked aboard the Denali. He sailed in the deck department. ROLAND DARBY SR., 65, embarked on his NMU career in 1968 in the port of New Orleans. Brother Darby first sailed aboard a Lykes Brothers ship in the steward department. Born in Louisiana, Brother Darby most recently worked aboard the Jean Lykes. FLORENTIN JOHNSON, 70, launched his NMU career in 1989, shipping from the port of New York. Brother Johnson’s first voyage was aboard the Mormac Sun. Born in Honduras, he most recently sailed on the USNS Henson. KEVIN GASAWAY, 50, joined the union in 1989 in the port of Houston. Brother Gasaway, who is a native of Galveston, Texas, first sailed on the Star Oregon; his last ship was the Maersk Maryland. Brother Gasaway was a member of the steward department. EUGENE THOMAS JR.1, 65, hails from Amelia, Fla. Brother Thomas began his NMU career in 1963 in the port of Jacksonville, Fla. He first sailed on the Pioneer Valley. Prior to retiring, Brother Thomas worked aboard the Maersk Nebraska. He sailed in the deck department. Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1947 NEW YORK, Aug. 21 – The fight of the Isthmian Steamship Company, last of the large open shop companies, against the union hiring hall and rotary shipping came to an abrupt end today when the company surrendered to the demands set forth by the negotiating committee of the Seafarers International Union. As soon as this provision was agreed upon, both the SIU and the SUP held special membership meetings in all ports where it was overwhelmingly voted to accept this victory and to release the 31 Isthmian ships which have been tied up. 1979 SIU boatmen sailing aboard the National Flag (National Marine Service) saved a ship’s pilot and extinguished a fire aboard a burning tugboat on August 30. The Seafarers’ good training and professionalism came to an emergency test when a Peruvian ship in the Mississippi River hit a butane barge that was loading in Good Hope, La. Amidst the chaos that followed, the crew rescued from the water the injured pilot off the ship. The crew then went on to put out the fire on a burning tugboat, the Capt. Norman…. Some eyewitnesses said the fire reached a height of at least 1,500 feet. This Month In SIU History 1962 The waters around Cuba seem to be as crowded with refugees as New York’s Times Square is with tourists. Since the escape route cuts right across busy shipping waters, SIU ships have landed a fair share of the Cubans abandoning the Castro regime. The Seafarersmanned New Yorker (South Atlantic & Caribbean Line) was the latest to perform this humanitarian service when it rescued three more Cubans in August. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy Oceanographic Office (formerly the Hydrographic Office) has warned that charts for Cuban waters are no longer dependable because they cannot be kept up-to-date due to political conditions in Cuba. The three men picked up from a small motor boat by the New Yorker expressed warm thanks to the crew for the food, attention and help given them. 1991 The complex embodying the Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship in Piney Point, Md. has been named the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education as a result of action taken by the institution’s board of trustees. The dedication of the Paul Hall Center was marked with a simple ceremony on August 20, the anniversary date of the birth of the late president of the SIU. In describing the naming of the Piney Point center, Herbert Brand, chairman of the Transportation Institute and master of ceremonies for the event, called it “more than a dedication—it is an act of remembrance” for the man who headed the SIU from 1947 until his death in 1980. Seafarers LOG 17 �43725_p1,2,18,19_24:2007-May 7/27/2007 2:08 PM Page 18 Final Departures DEEP SEA ANTONIO CRUZ Pensioner Antonio Cruz, 79, passed away Dec. 12. Brother Cruz joined the union in 1944 in the port of New York. He first sailed on a Bloomfield Steamship vessel. Brother Cruz, who was born in Puerto Rico, shipped as a member of the engine department. His last voyage was aboard the Elizabeth. Brother Cruz retired in 1989 and lived in Flushing, NY. HARPER DARROW Pensioner Harper Darrow, 82, died Dec. 10. Brother Darrow joined the SIU in 1951. His first ship was the Salem Maritime; his last was the Overseas Chicago. Brother Darrow worked in the deck department. He was born in Ashland City, Tenn. and made his home in Nashville. Brother Darrow went on pension in 1986. MICHAEL FIELDS Brother Michael Fields, 52, passed away Dec. 3. He started his seafaring career in 1989 in Piney Point, Md. Brother Fields first shipped on the Independence. The steward department member, who was born in Portland, Ore., most recently worked aboard the Paul Buck. He was a resident of Panama. LUIS GUADAMUD Pensioner Luis Guadamud, 71, died Dec. 10. Brother Guadamud joined the union in 1961 in the port of New Orleans. His first voyage was on the Del Mar. Brother Guadamud was born in Ecuador and shipped in the deck department. His most recent voyage was aboard the Overseas Vivian. Brother Guadamud made his home in Metairie, La. He became a pensioner in 2000. WALTER MAKIN Pensioner Walter Makin, 86, passed away Nov. 5. Brother Makin, who was born in Alabama, began sailing with the Seafarers in 1944 from the port of New York. Brother Makin’s first trip to sea was on the Del Santos where he shipped as member of the steward department. Prior to his retirement in 1976, he worked aboard the Thomas Nelson. Brother Makin resided in Robertsdale, Ala. GEORGE MIKE Pensioner George Mike, 86, died Nov. 7. Brother Mike embarked on his SIU career in 1951. He first 18 Seafarers LOG worked aboard a New York Dock Railway Co. vessel in the engine department. Brother Mike was a native of Norwood, Mass. He last sailed on the USNS Bellatrix. Brother Mike started receiving his pension in 1984. He continued to live in Massachusetts. JOHN PENNELL Pensioner John Pennell, 80, passed away Nov. 6. Brother Pennell joined the SIU in 1951 in the port of New York. The steward department member, who was born in Fort Scott, Kan., first sailed aboard the Sea Monitor. His last trip to sea was on the Lawrence Gianella. Brother Pennell retired in 1988. He called Huffman, Texas home. RODOLFO RAMOS Brother Rodolfo Ramos, 86, died Nov. 16. He launched his seafaring career in 1993. Brother Ramos first worked aboard the Independence. He most recently sailed on the Patriot. Brother Ramos made his home in Honolulu. STEPHEN ROTH Brother Stephen Roth, 55, passed away Nov. 18. He became a Seafarer in 1990, first sailing aboard the Liberty Belle. Brother Roth was a member of the steward department. He was born in Louisiana. Brother Roth last sailed on the Sgt. Matej Kocak. He was a resident of Metairie, La. BERNARD SACHS Pensioner Bernard Sachs, 75, died Dec. 8. Brother Sachs started shipping with the union in 1951 from the port of Baltimore. His first ship was the Bradford Island. Brother Sachs was born in Maryland and worked in the engine department. He went on pension in 1996 and resided in Baltimore. SALVATORE SBRIGLIO Pensioner Salvatore Sbriglio, 77, passed away Nov. 17. Brother Sbriglio joined the Seafarers in 1952. He first sailed aboard an Isbrandtson Co. vessel as a member of the deck department. Brother Sbriglio was born in Massachusetts. He last worked aboard the Pacer. In 1992, Brother Sbriglio retired and settled in Nevada. HARRY SCHOCKNEY Pensioner Harry Schockney, 84, died Dec. 11. Brother Schockney was born in Maryland and joined the SIU in 1943 in the port of New York. He first shipped aboard the Yorkmar in the engine department. Brother Schockney’s most recent voyage was aboard the Houston. He lived in Bedford, Va. Brother Schockney started collecting his pension in 1986. LESLIE TOLLETT Pensioner Leslie Tollett, 79, passed away Dec. 10. Brother Tollett embarked on his seafaring career in 1967, first sailing on an Isthmian Lines Inc. vessel. The engine department member, who was born in California, last worked aboard the Innovator. Brother Tollett became a pensioner in 1993. He called San Francisco home. RAFAEL TORRES Pensioner Rafael Torres, 88, died Nov. 18. Brother Torres began sailing with the SIU in 1944 in the port of New York. His first voyage was aboard an AH Bull Steamship Co. vessel. Brother Torres was born in Puerto Rico. He worked in the deck department, last sailing on the Borinquen. He went on pension in 1978 and continued to live in Puerto Rico. INLAND DOMINGO HEREDIA Boatman Domingo Heredia, 58, passed away Nov. 13. He began his seafaring career in 1991, sailing in both the inland and deep sea divisions. Boatman Heredia first worked aboard a vessel operated by Crowley Towing & Transportation of San Juan. His last ship was the Guayama. He made his home in Puerto Rico. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust, have passed away. OSSIE FERGUSON Pensioner Ossie Ferguson, 88, passed away Oct. 16. Brother Ferguson joined the NMU in 1945. He first sailed aboard the Chapel Hall Victory. Brother Ferguson was born in Hallieford, Va. His last voyage was on the African Comet. Brother Ferguson retired in 1979. GIRINALDO FIGUEROA Pensioner Girinaldo Figueroa, 85, died Sept. 20. Brother Figueroa became an NMU member in 1941 in the port of San Juan, P.R. He worked in the deck department. Brother Figueroa’s last voyage was on the Santa Cruz. He began receiving his pension in 1968. RICHARD FLORES Pensioner Richard Flores, 68, passed away Oct. 1. Brother Flores embarked on his seafaring career in 1965 in the port of Houston. His first voyage was aboard the William Lykes. Brother Flores was a Texas native. Prior to his retirement in 1996, he shipped on the Howell Lykes. GENE NEUBAUER HAROLD GUY Pensioner Gene Neubauer, 87, died Dec. 11. Boatman Neubauer joined the SIU in 1974. He first sailed aboard vessels operated by McAllister Towing of Philadelphia. Boatman Neubauer, who was born in North Dakota, most recently worked on a Taylor Marine Towing vessel. He retired in 1984 and resided in Ridley. Pensioner Harold Guy, 81, died Oct. 10. Brother Guy was born in Hyslop, Va. He joined the NMU in 1943 in the port of Norfolk, Va. Brother Guy first sailed aboard the David Caldwell. He last worked in the engine department of the Pasadena. Brother Guy became a pensioner in 1969. GREAT LAKES AHMED MUSSAD Brother Ahmed Mussad, 55, passed away Dec. 2. He joined the union in 1970. Brother Mussad first shipped aboard an American Steamship Co. vessel. He worked in both the deck and engine departments. Brother Mussad most recently sailed aboard the Paul Thayer. Born in Yemen, he made his home in Dearborn, Mich. EDWARD PERRY Pensioner Edward Perry, 92, died Dec. 5. Brother Perry began his SIU career in 1961. He sailed primarily aboard Great Lakes Towing Co. vessels. Brother Perry, who was born in Stonington, Conn., became a pensioner in 1977. He was a resident of Debary, Fla. PAUL KOLWYCK Pensioner Paul Kolwyck, 79, passed away Oct. 14. Brother Kolwyck joined the NMU in 1945 in the port of New York. His first trip to sea was on the Anniston City. Brother Kolwyck, who was born in Batesville, Miss., last sailed aboard the USNS Yukon. He went on pension in 1985. ANGUS McCORMICK Pensioner Angus McCormick, 65, died Oct. 9. Brother McCormick began his seafaring career in 1967 in Charleston, S.C. He first shipped in the engine department on the American Falcon. Brother McCormick was born in Saint Paul, N.C. He most recently sailed on the Mallory Lykes. Brother McCormick started collecting his retirement pay in 1988. JOSE MOREIRA Pensioner Jose Moreira, 87, passed away Oct. 21. Brother Moreira began sailing with the NMU in 1946 in the port of Boston, Mass. The engine department member, who was born in Portugal, first worked aboard the Pocahontas. Brother Moreira’s last voyage was on the United States. He retired in 1970. LEROY OZEN Pensioner Leroy Ozen, 78, died Sept. 16. Brother Ozen commenced his seafaring career in 1968 in Port Arthur, Texas. His first ship was the Whitehorse; his last was the Texaco California. Brother Ozen was born in Texas and worked in the steward department. He became a pensioner in 1986. CHARLES SNEYD Pensioner Charles Sneyd, 83, passed away Sept. 14. Brother Sneyd joined the union in 1944 in the port of Norfolk, Va. He was born in Chicago, Ill. Before retiring in 1968, Brother Sneyd shipped aboard the Green Bay. LEMUEL STEWART Pensioner Lemuel Stewart, 82, died Oct. 7. Brother Stewart was born in Panama. He joined the NMU in 1946 in the port of New York. Brother Stewart was a member of the steward department. His last voyage was on the United States. Brother Stewart began receiving his retirement compensation in 1970. PABLO VELAZQUEZ Pensioner Pablo Velazquez, 88, passed away Oct. 15. Brother Velazquez joined the NMU in 1963 in the port of New York. He was a native of Puerto Rico. Brother Velazquez shipped in the steward department. His last voyage was on the Mormac Draco. Brother Velazquez went on pension in 1983. August 2007 �43725_p1,2,18,19_24:2007-May 7/27/2007 2:13 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. ACHIEVER (Maersk Line Limited), June 17—Chairman Michael Borders, Secretary John G. Reid, Educational Director Irwin J. Rousseau, Engine Delegate Chromer W. Jefferson. Chairman announced June 17 payoff in Charleston, S.C. He also noted that pay raise will take effect July 1. Secretary reported good trip with stores to be loaded in Houston. He thanked fellow crew members for their help throughout voyage. Educational director encouraged mariners to upgrade at Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. and reminded them to check expiration dates on all documents needed for shipping (z-card, clinic card, passport, STCW, etc.). No beefs or disputed OT reported. Bosun read and discussed president’s report from latest Seafarers LOG. Crew members discussed upcoming changes to medical plan. New CD players have been purchased for crew rooms. Request made to have fans in each room as well. Suggestions made to increase pension payments and reduce eligibility requirements. Vote of thanks given to steward department for job well done. Next ports: Charleston; Houston. CHARGER (Maersk Line Limited), June 3—Chairman Frank P. Sena, Secretary Raymond S. Garcia, Educational Director Juanito P. Dansalan, Engine Delegate Charles J. Kirksey III, Steward Delegate Wiley C. Owens. Chairman reported smooth sailing and good crew. Secretary encouraged Seafarers to make sure their documents are up to date and they have the necessary certificates. Educational director urged mariners to take advantage of educational opportunities available at Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Clarification requested on wording in contract. Thanks given to steward department for good food and clean ship. Next ports: Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif. COMMITMENT (Maersk Line Limited), June 9—Chairman Edward J. O’Conner Jr., Secretary Charles A. Banky, Educational Director Brian J. Sengelaub, Deck Delegate Edwin Ortega, Engine Delegate Ahmed M. Sultan, Steward Delegate Robert Arana. Chairman announced June 13 payoff in Newark, N.J. He asked crew to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen and soap for reliefs. He also advised everyone to stay on top of TWIC situation and remember medical benefits start July 1 with Cigna. Secretary urged members to be careful when using concentrated laundry soap. Use only 1 oz. per load so clothes do not have soap left in them. Educational director talked about the importance of being fit for duty and completing tour. He informed crew members they can check the status of their documents on the Coast Guard web site. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestions were made pertaining to pension and prescription benefits. New ice machine will be picked up in Houston. Next ports: Newark; Charleston, S.C., Houston; Cagliari (Sardinia), Italy. EL FARO (Interocean American Shipping), June 17—Chairman Eric A. Berry, Secretary Kenneth Whitfield, Deck Delegate Zinnonnon Jackson. Chairman thanked crew for adapting to changes and working well together while getting the ship ready for its new trial run of different cargo. Vessel is now headed back to the States. Secretary reminded each mariner to clean room for next crew member and also to check expiration dates on documents. Working on the USNS Victorious There’s never an end to painting, chipping and other maintenance duties aboard ship. OS Wilbert Torres (above) and Bosun Angel Perez keep up with some of the work on the USNS Victorious. August 2007 Additionally, he suggested everyone read the Seafarers LOG to stay informed on issues affecting the maritime industry. Educational director talked about the benefits of upgrading at the Piney Point school. Treasurer stated $45 in ship’s fund. Crew voted to divide the amount and give it to the two apprentices on board ship. No beefs or disputed OT reported. A vote of thanks was given to President Sacco for the hard work he does for the membership. Seafarers were advised to attend home port union meetings while ashore and were reminded that when taking cash for transportation, it is taxable. Crew expressed gratitude to steward department for a job well done. Next ports: Charleston, S.C.; Jacksonville, Fla. HONOR (International American Shipping), June 10—Chairman Norman E. Tourtellot, Secretary Lionell P. Packnett, Educational Director Derek C. King, Deck Delegate Trawn D. Gooch, Engine Delegate Kyle W. Byron, Steward Delegate Roberto Rivera. Chairman announced June 11 payoff in Jacksonville, Fla. Request was made for copies of the contract. Educational director urged mariners to upgrade skills at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew would like washer and dryer to be fixed or replaced as well as purchase of new DVD player. Clarification requested on rest periods and penalty rates. Steward department was thanked for great food and housekeeping. HORIZON HAWAII (Horizon Lines), June 10—Chairman Brian P. Corbett, Secretary Joseph J. Gallo Jr., Educational Director Roy S. Frett Jr., Deck Delegate Isaac V. Mercado, Engine Delegate Ronald Williams, Steward Delegate Angel D. Corchado. Chairman announced June 15 payoff in Jacksonville, Fla. Union books and dues should be ready for boarding patrolman. Chairman advised crew members to make sure all necessary shipping documents are current or chance losing a job. He thanked everyone for working together as a team and also explained TWIC procedures and time of projected issuance. Secretary thanked everyone for great voyage; with a special thanks given to Chef Carlito and UMS Corchado. Educational director encouraged Seafarers to check available courses at Paul Hall Center and renew expiring documents early. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion made regarding eligibility requirements for health care benefits. Next ports: Jacksonville; San Juan, P.R.; Elizabeth, N.J. LIBERTY EAGLE (Liberty Maritime), June 11—Chairman Juan M. Rivas, Secretary Tyler N. Laffitte, Educational Director Jerome E. Dooms, Deck Delegate Stig Sasse Jr. Chairman announced June 18 payoff in Galveston, Texas. He also led a discussion on the TWIC program. Educational director urged all eligible mariners to upgrade at Paul Hall Center and keep MMDs and other documents current. No beefs reported; some disputed OT noted in deck department. Suggestions made regarding retirement benefits. Vote of thanks given to steward department for job well done. MAERSK NEVADA (E-Ships), June 7—Chairman Roy Tyler, Secretary Rudolph Daniels, Educational Director Herbert B. Hyde, Engine Delegate Malachi L. Tannis. Chairman thanked crew members for a safe trip and announced June 9 payoff in Port Elizabeth, N.J. Educational director requested more copies of standard agreement (along with any changes made to agreement) in order to better educate crew on rules and regulations. He also talked about benefits of upgrading skills at Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Vote of thanks given to steward department for great job and for obtaining new pillows for crew. OVERSEAS JOYCE (OSG Ship Management), June 3—Chairman Deck Delegate Ruben V. Datu, Engine Delegate Melgar Daguio, Steward Delegate Orlando A. Hill. Chairman announced ship to arrive in Port Angeles, Wash. June 5 to discharge cargo and then proceed to Point Wells, Wash. Secretary thanked crew for helping keep mess hall clean. Educational director reminded everyone to check document expiration dates and urged them not to wait until last minute to renew. He also talked about taking courses at the Paul Hall Center to upgrade skills. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Members requested an extra washer and dryer to accommodate everyone, especially when riders Aboard the USNS Mary Sears Posing on the deck of the USNS Mary Sears are (from left) OS Joel Marcano, Bosun Kelly Doyle, 2nd Mate Glenn Loutsenhizer, DEU Mohsin Mohamed and OS Mark Randall. Roger C. Tupas, Secretary Ronald P. Drew, Educational Director Louis Valencia, Deck Delegate Virgilio T. Alday, Steward Delegate Breon A. Lucas. Chairman announced ship to arrive in Portland, Ore. on or about June 5, discharge cargo that night and then leave for Long Beach, Calif. Educational director encouraged mariners to take advantage of educational opportunities available at Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Deck delegate gave steward department “3 hurrahs” for excellent food, and steward delegate thanked all departments for teamwork. Next ports: Portland; Long Beach. P&O NEDLLOYD BUENOS AIRES (Waterman Steamship Corp.), June 15—Chairman Francis C. Adams, Secretary Brandon D. Maeda, Educational Director Basil R. D’Souza, Deck Delegate William Rios, Engine Delegate Saleh S. Saleh, Steward Delegate Taha A. Ismail. Bosun reported temperature has reached over 100 degrees in Persian Gulf and reminded everyone to drink plenty of water. Educational director advised everyone to take advantage of courses offered at Paul Hall Center to upgrade skills and better themselves intellectually and financially. Treasurer stated $190 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Chairman read letter from VP Contracts George Tricker concerning TWIC. Crew members thanked Tricker for great job he is doing. Suggestions made regarding bosun recertification process. Vote of thanks given to Chief Cook Asril Syarbaini for great food and SA Taha Ismail for keeping the house spotless. SEABULK ARCTIC (Seabulk International Inc.), June 3—Chairman Juan Castillo, Secretary Alan W. Bartley, Educational Director Reginald R. Hunter, are on board. Steward department was thanked for job well done. Next port: Port Angeles; Point Wells; San Francisco. SEABULK TRADER (Seabulk International Inc.), June 6—Chairman Robert J. Coleman, Secretary James E. Harris, Educational Director Eron G. Hall Jr., Deck Delegate David L. Hollenback, Steward Delegate Matthew D. Carroll. Chairman announced ship will anchor on arrival in Lake Charles. He praised crew members for jobs well done in China shipyard and reminded everyone that they will be required to carry a TWIC by September 25, 2008. Educational director encouraged all Seafarers to upgrade skills at Piney Point facility and watch expiration dates on documents needed to ship out. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Satellite TV is now being received aboard ship. Requests made for new dryer in crew laundry and door hooks for reefer box doors. Steward department given vote of thanks for good food and service. SP5 ERIC G. GIBSON (Osprey Ship Management), June 6— Chairman Michael S. Sinclair, Secretary Hamdi H. Hussein, Educational Director Bobby L. Jones, Deck Delegate Larry Martin, Engine Delegate Vincent L. Kirksey, Steward Delegate James E. Kelly Jr. Bosun read memorandum regarding vacation/ holiday pay increases effective June 1. Educational director advised all hands to upgrade at union-affiliated school in Piney Point. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Discussion was held concerning new TWIC program: what it is and when it will go into effect. More information was requested on this subject. Next ports: Fijirah, UAE; Jebel Ali, Dubai. Seafarers LOG 19 �43725_p6,7,9_16,20_23:3725p 7/23/2007 10:14 AM Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 Page 20 Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. PICS-FROM-THE-PAST These photos recently were sent to the Seafarers LOG anonymously–but were identified on the back! The picture below was taken aboard the VLCC Stuyvesant. From the left are Bosun Luther Pate (chairman), AB Gary Hoover (deck delegate) and Steward/Cook William Higgs (ship’s secretary). Pate is pointing to Valdez, Alaska on the map, the port at which the vessel was to pick up its cargo. The other photo was taken at the SIU hall in San Francisco on Mission Street. Mike Rossi (left) and Joe SanFilippo were two “tenderfoot bosuns,” according to the writing on the back of the photo. PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 20 Seafarers LOG If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with the LOG readership, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. August 2007 �43725_p6,7,9_16,20_23:3725p 7/23/2007 10:19 AM Page 21 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE Engine Upgrading Courses The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. through the end of 2007. All programs are geared to improve the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Basic Auxiliary Plant Ops September 10 October 5 FOWT August 13 October 8 September 7 November 2 Marine Electrician September 24 November 16 Welding August 6 October 1 October 29 August 24 October 19 November 16 Safety Specialty Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Advanced Fire Fighting September 24 October 5 Basic Safety Training Classes are conducted weekly Fast Rescue Boat August 27 August 31 Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman August 20 October 1 September 14 October 26 Government Vessels August 6 September 17 November 5 August 10 September 21 November 9 Automatic Radar Plotting Aids* (ARPA) (*must have radar unlimited) October 22 October 26 Medical Care Provider October 8 October 12 October 5 August 13 August 24 Tankerman Familiarization/ Assistant Cargo (DL)* September 24 GMDSS November 26 December 7 Lifeboatman/Water Survival August 6 September 17 October 29 August 17 September 28 November 9 August 13 August 17 Radar October 8 October 19 Radar Renewal (one day) October 29 Course (*must have basic fire fighting) Tankerman (PIC) Barge* (*must have basic fire fighting) Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations modules start every week. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward classes start every other week beginning Aug. 6, 2007. Recertification Bosun October 8 November 5 UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Date of Birth ______________________ With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twentyfive (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. BEGIN DATE COURSE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Seniority _____________________________ Department _____________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ U.S. Citizen: ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Yes No Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? Yes No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ August 2007 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 8/07 Seafarers LOG 21 �43725_p6,7,9_16,20_23:3725p 7/23/2007 1:15 PM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 688 — Unlicensed apprentices Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 687 — Graduating from the water survival course are unlicensed apprentices from class 687. They include (in alphabetical order) Dennis Barbosa, Farren Blackwell, Erik Brown, Robert Brown, Philip Carlton, Christopher Carrier, Emmanuel Garcia, Darren Hall, Michael Hernandez, Nikolay Ivanov, Zachary Kurtz, Joseph Maltese, Jesse Pernell, Robert Puckett, Pedro Rivera Riestra, Joey Roberts, Tommy Rodgers, Andrew Sitterly Jr., Aubrey Wiggins and Danielle Wright. from class 688 who completed the water survival course are (in alphabetical order) Scott Accardi, Brayone Albert, Ryan Atwood, Marcos Bolanos, Prymus Buckholtz, Angel Cintron-Colon, Moriah Collier, Derrick Elijah, Brandon Fields, Jose Garcia, Charles Glover Jr., Nicholas Gustafson, Joshua Hosseinzadeh, John McCormick, James McEntire, Juanito Mauricio, Victor Moody, Andres Nunez, David Pacheco, Joseph Redwood Jr., Terry Thomas, Josean Villanueva and Jason Young. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is at far right. Tankerman (PIC) Barge — Students who completed this course June 8 are (in no specific order) Michael Wittenberg, Nebojsh Milosevic, Scott Saw, Juan Bernal-Helices, Moises Ramos, Clayton Lupton, Thom Montgomery, James Rolin, Jon Dillon Jose Vazquez, William Schuppman and Brandon Granger. Advanced Fire Fighting — Completing the advanced fire fighting course June 15 under the instruction of Mark Cates (second from right) are Crowley boatmen (in no specific order) Jimmy Ocot, Roger Phillips, Joseph Pittman, Thomas Caballero, Kirk Pegan, Michael Alghafeili, Mrimri Farah, McKinley Jones Jr., Gregory White and Denis Burke. AB — With instructor Bernabe Pelingon (far left) are students who earned Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations — Phase III students and upgrading Seafarers who com- pleted this course are (in alphabetical order) Cortez Capers, Christopher Caporale, Michael Chapman, Mario Cruz, Dwayne Gould Jr., Alvin Hansley, Paul Hart, Dwight Hunt, Stanley Jackson Jr., Catherine Jones, Douglas Kellup, Vivian Norfleet, Pierre Norwood, Hipolita Roches, Juan Rochez, Cornelius Smith, Bobby Turner, Enrique Velez and Jonathan White. Their instructor, Tim Achorn, is at far left. their AB endorsement June 22. They are (in alphabetical order) Joseph Bianchi, Reid Bland, Wiliam Bolden, Roy Carey, John Cash Jr., Grant Fedukovich, Matthew Green, Bryan Hayden, Joseph Huff, Jorge Lanas, Shawn Orr, Michael Sedita, Whitney Sheridan, Wilma Joy Smith, Kyle Spruill, Thomas Tramutola, Jeremy Williams and John Worae. Computer Lab Classes With instructor Rick Prucha in both photos are students who recently completed computer classes at the Paul Hall Center. Showing their certificates of achievement are (from left) David Ruggirello, Aaron Larson and Arkady Bichevsky. 22 Seafarers LOG Advanced Fire Fighting — Graduating from this course June 29 under the instruction of Tom Cessna (center) are Crowley boatmen (in alphabetical order) Rayfield Crawford, William Dowzicky, Josh Gunter and George Murphy Jr. August 2007 �43725_p6,7,9_16,20_23x:3725p 7/31/2007 1:22 PM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes ARPA — Upgrading Seafarers who completed the ARPA course June 22 are (in no alphabetical order) Carlos Castillo, Steven Corachan, Patrick David, Denis Dubro, Robert Hall, Jeffrey Jenkinson and Gregory Martineau. Their instructor, Mike Smith, is at far right. Radar — June 15 was graduation day for members of the radar class (in no specific order) Richard Summers, Carlos Castillo, Denis Dubro, Robert Hall, Steven Corachan, Jeffrey Jensinson and Gregory Martineau. Their instructor, Mike Smith, is at far right. Welding — Under the instruction of Buzzy Andrews (second from right) are students who completed the welding course June 29. They are (in alphabetical order) Arkady Bichevski, Mohsen Hubair and Jeffrey Parrish. Advanced Refrigerated Containers — Jay Henderson (far right) taught the refrigeration engineer course that ended June 15. Included in this class were (in no specific order) Rahul Bagchi, Hector Solis, Douglas Lowry, Mike Murphy, David James, Richard Huffman, Robert Norris, Andrew Linares and Rigoberto Beata. Specially Trained OS — Two groups of Phase III apprentices and upgrading Seafarers graduated June 15 from STOS courses. They are (in no particular order) apprentices Joseph Maltese, Arthur Jones, Demetrius Green, Ryanne Wheeler, Benjamin Wright, Cleveland Foy, Ravon Moore, Preston Grant, Daniel Irizarry, Faalando Williams, Arvid Rutledge, Mark Brownell, Diego Barbosa, Trevor Rowe, Melody White, Charles Brown Jr., Darren Hall, Jonathan Luna, David McRoy Jr., John Anson, Jesse Mixon, Iker Urrachi and upgraders Marino Macadaan, Dennis Shields, J.K, Borden, Thomas Clement, Durlas Ruiz, Ronnie Rankin and Jeremie Coates. One of their instructors, Stan Beck, is at far right. The other instructor, Tom Truitt, is not pictured. Safety Training at the Barbers Point Facility in Hawaii Tanker Familiarization/Assistant Cargo (DL) — Completing this course June 15 are (in no specific order) Sergey Kurchenko, Forrest McGee, Albert Beneman, Lilia Bocaya, Teodulfo Alanano, Manolo Delos Santos, Michael Joel, Juma Juma, Fernando Mesa, Robert Brown, Kenneth Steiner, James Walker, Nicasio Arzu, Mohamed Mohamed, Michael Bell, Abdulkarim Mohamed and Milton Flynn. August 2007 STCW — NCL, June 11: Richard Maxian, Marjorie Marva, Raul Almoradie, Leonardo Porras Jr., Florante Alcosiba, Renato Santos Jr., Alejo Narcise, Ursulito Comia, Eiroll Banag, Ronald Dimalanta, Randy Gabunada, Viegas Marcelline, Manuel Valderrama, Jose Canonaso, Rudy Velasquez, Arnel De Lara and Menzi Espanol. Seafarers LOG 23 �43725_p3_5,8,17,24x:3725p0 7/31/2007 2:07 PM Page 24 Volume 69, Number 8 August 2007 The Slop Chest: Check out the exclusive online source for Seafarers International Union merchandise at www.seafarers.org Crowley’s Commitment to Safety Is ‘No Accident’ Seafarers-Contracted Company Takes Strong Initiatives Throughout Fleet With a constant emphasis on safety, Crowley Maritime Corporation and its subsidiaries employ SIU members aboard their owned and operated vessels. SIU-crewed Crowley vessels are home-ported in the ports of Baltimore, Charleston, Jacksonville, Lake Charles, Houston, San Diego and Long Beach. SIU members work aboard all Crowley vessel types: line haul tugs, ship assist and escort tugs, ATBs, tankers, RO/ROs and containerships, hauling cargo for commercial and military customers. The company is committed to a culture of safety. Safety is a Crowley “core value” reflected in their slogan “Safety, It’s No Accident.” That motto was selected because of its two very important and powerful meanings. According to the company, the first meaning of “Safety, It’s No Accident” is that safety on vessels (and at home) is the result of a culture where accidents are prevented. Safety just does not automatically happen. Crowley believes it is “a thoughtful and concentrated approach to all of our actions. It is thinking about and discussing the possible hazards associated with a task and deciding what controls are necessary to eliminate or reduce the risks,” the company noted in a statement for this article. “That is the second meaning. It is these control actions that result in safety. To take care, be fully aware, and understand the task. It’s no accident.” During the last few years, working in partnership with the SIU, Crowley has been embarked on a voyage of culture change. Starting in 2003, Crowley implemented “safety leadership” training. Safety leadership empowers all Crowley employees, from the captain to the GVA, to speak up and address any and all safety concerns they see in the workplace and aboard their vessels. The company notes that its safety culture is based on ideals including: Accidents can be prevented Safety is fully integrated in every business activity Employee involvement, feedback and recognition Capt. Al Costner aboard the ATB Sound Reliance Bosuns including Tom Moore (at front of hose) and Rick James (next in line), pictured last month during fire fighting training at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center, say Crowley constantly demonstrates its unwavering commitment to safety. are fundamental to safety Safe behavior is doing the job right Safety is a Crowley core value Safety is leadership focus, responsibility and example Safety is a good business practice Three Seafarers who regularly sail aboard Crowley vessels recently said that they have firsthand appreciation for the company’s commitment to individual and environmental wellbeing. “Crowley is a very safetyconscious company,” stated Bosun William Dowzicky. “This is a company that actually listens to its crew. If there ever is a safety concern, Crowley acts on it promptly. You can never be too safe on a ship, and Crowley stresses education and training.” Bosun Rick James said that in his 17 years of sailing with the SIU, “Crowley has been and continues to be at the forefront of shipboard safety and continues to train all their shipboard personnel. A ship’s safety is paramount to continued success for everyone—economically, environmentally and personally. That’s something that cannot be achieved without a proactive safety culture, and Crowley definitely has one.” Bosun Tom Moore simply declared, “Safety is our policy— always!” Crowley has an “Operational Excellence Management System” that puts a structured process in place to manage safe operations. It includes documented procedures to identify and effectively manage safety, health, environmental and operational risks. The objective is to provide safe practices in vessel operations and a safe working environment. The company has created industry-leading safety tools and education that include effective safety meetings, job safety analysis, near-miss reporting, “why tree” incident and nearmiss investigations and on-board video training. These are supplemented with the cutting-edge training curriculums at the SIUaffiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education and special programs such as ATB crew training that significantly improve safety for the crew member. According to Crowley, the real key to success is the SIU mariner. When it comes to safety, employees being aware of The harbor tug Master maneuvers in “indirect mode” (traveling sideways) to slow an outgoing car carrier in Los Angeles/Long Beach. potential hazards and using good judgment to make sure safety controls are in place, both on and off the job, represent the culture of safety Crowley expects. Charlie Nalen, Crowley’s vice president for environmental, safety and quality assurance said, “Crowley knows that its seafarers have the ability to prevent accidents. Each of us must take personal initiative and responsibility to be safe. We know from prior experience that the root cause of most incidents is unsafe acts or behaviors. That is why it is critical to always think about the safety aspects of a job and know that we are responsible and empowered to ensure that no work is performed if it can’t be done safely.” SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker praised the company’s commitment to safety. “Crowley deserves full recognition not only for their dedication but also for getting so much input from the crew members,” he stated. “There’s no doubt that when it comes to safety, Crowley is as thorough and successful as they come.” Besides the aforementioned initiatives, Crowley also has implemented the “Personal Safety Check” which has three elements: define the job; identify the hazards; apply controls. In describing the components, the company noted, “The first thing is to assess the work to be done. Good questions to always ask are—what can go wrong? And, what is the worst thing that could happen if something does go wrong? Taking a few seconds to think about these questions will help identify possible job risks. “Next, analyze how to reduce the risk. Have I done a job safety analysis? Do I understand the task? Have I been properly trained? Are there communication procedures in place? Do I have the proper personal protective equipment? “Finally, you need to act to ensure safe operations. This is the critical step of taking action to ensure that the job is safely done—controlling the job hazards and following the job safety analysis or written procedures— and asking for assistance if needed. Most importantly, stop the job if you think it’s unsafe or you see someone acting in an unsafe manner.” Along with safety leadership, Crowley emphasizes crew member responsibility. While the company and supervisors play their part, crew members are expected to arrive for their watch or activities on time, prepared to work safely throughout their day and address any safety concerns with their supervisor. Crowley crew members are encouraged to listen and learn from any training. They are active participants in learning a job skill or safety issue. They further are urged to ask for assistance if the training or instruction is not clear or they don’t feel comfortable in performing the task. Additionally, they are asked to report unsafe acts and near misses immediately; address problems with the supervisor ASAP, but always try to give solutions; re-address issues with the supervisor on unresolved topics; and be an active member in the safety of the workplace by (among other activities) participating in safety meetings, job safety analyses, and drills. Nalen added, “We are very proud to have the SIU as a safety partner. Together, we can continue to improve our culture of safety which will result in more voyages that bring seafarers safely home to their families.” � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 August 2007 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES HORIZON FALCON RESCUES 2 USNS WHEAT HOSTS DIGNITARIES UNIONS TESTIFY AT TWIC HEARING COAST GUARD ISSUES GUIDANCE ON ID CARD PROGRAM U.S. SHIPPING PARTNERS TAKES DELIVERY OF ATB GOVERNMENT SERVICES DIVISION WINS HOTEL ARBITRATION USNS KANAWHA, FRENCH VESSEL TEAM UP FOR RESCUE IN ARABIAN SEA USNS ALAN SHEPARD DELIVERED NEW REPORT SHEDS MORE LIGHT ON NEED FOR FREE CHOICE ACT DON’T LET SHIPPING DOCUMENTS EXPIRE RETIRED PORT AGENT CARTER DIES AT 76 ABOARD THE M/V BUFFALO: A REAL WORKING SHIP 1967-2007 PAUL HALL CENTER WHAT IT MEANT THEN WHY IT MATTERS NOW CROWLEY’S COMMITEMENT TO SAFETY IS ‘NO ACCIDENT’ Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 08/01/2007 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. 69, No. 8 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log 2007 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/400b73b44e063f226089aacb1ab00eb4.pdf 59b18beb6948bc45e8681d9ab75e05bf PDF Text Text 43332_p01_9,15,18,19x:3332p0 6/26/2007 4:36 PM Page 1 Volume 69, Number 7 July 2007 Union Welcomes nd 2 OSG Tanker Aker Philadelphia Shipyard Conducts Ceremony for Overseas Long Beach The second of Overseas Shipholding Group’s new tankers being built at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard formally was named the Overseas Long Beach June 16 at the yard. The vessel is pictured above during sea trials a week before the ceremony. At left, shown near the ship just before the event are (from left) SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez, OSG Senior VP Captain Robert Johnston and SIU VP Contracts George Tricker. The photo at right shows ongoing progress at the shipyard, which is building additional tankers to be crewed by Seafarers. Page 3. SIU Boatmen Bike for Charity Seafarers were among an estimated 4,500 people participating in a rally in Washington, D.C. on June 19 urging passage of pro-worker legislation intended to give employees a genuine opportunity to choose union representation. The Employee Free Choice Act, organized labor’s top legislative priority, was headed for a possible Senate vote as this issue of the LOG went to press. Page 5. Seafarer Nickoli Payne (pictured in Austin, Texas) recently led a group of fellow SIU boatmen who took part in a major philanthropic event raising funds for the Lone Star Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. The two-day bike ride generated more than $12 million. Page 6. Thousands Rally in D.C. for Employee Free Choice Act CIGNA News Lakes Photos T-AKE Update Page 4 Page 8 Pages 12-13 �43332_p01_9,15,18,19x:3332p0 6/26/2007 4:33 PM Page 2 California Nurses Assoc. Joins AFL-CIO President’s Report Why We Participate Any Seafarer who cares about his or her job security and the future of our union should understand the importance of grassroots political activities. This is a topic I bring up with some frequency, precisely because it’s so important to all of us. Our livelihoods depend on it. A quick look at this issue of the LOG illustrates my point. (I’ll understand if you first want to turn toward the back pages and check who retired and who crossed the final bar. I do the same thing each Michael Sacco month as I’m approving the pages.) Our lead story is about a new tanker joining the SIU fleet. That ship is part of a large program of new builds, first announced a couple of years ago. Without the Jones Act—a law promoting ships that are crewed, flagged, built and owned American—there would be no new domestic tanker program. And without political efforts to maintain support for pro-maritime laws, the Jones Act undoubtedly would be weakened or wiped out. On the back page, we’re running a photo feature about a vessel that’s enrolled in the U.S. Maritime Security Program. The MSP is an important program that keeps 60 privately owned, militarily useful U.S.-flag ships sailing in the international trades. It took repeated, forceful, bipartisan political action dating back to the early 1990s to make the MSP reality, both in its initial form in 1996 and again when it was renewed two years ago. Without the original enactment of that program and its extension, and without full funding each year to maintain it, I believe most or all of the American-flag international fleet would disappear in no time. Make no mistake, we’ve got a selfish interest in the Jones Act and MSP fleets. Many of those vessels are SIU ships. But as a citizen, I’ve also got a genuine appreciation for what those laws (and others promoting the U.S.-flag fleet) mean to America’s national and economic security. Without a viable U.S. Merchant Marine, it would only be a matter of time before our country found itself an economic hostage to foreign nations. Worse, history shows we cannot and must not exclusively depend on foreign-flag ships to deliver materiel for our armed forces. That’s not just a case of lessons learned; it’s good common sense. Those aren’t the only stories that reflect why we’re politically active. Late last month, the Employee Free Choice Act was headed for possible action by the Senate. As you may know, that legislation is organized labor’s top priority, and for good reason. It would begin the process of leveling the playing field in union organizing drives— finally giving workers a chance to freely choose union representation. That law alone would be a springboard to a better way of life for working families. And then there’s the story that won’t go away: health care. The recent addition of the California Nurses Association to the AFL-CIO is good news in our long fight to secure decent, affordable health care for all Americans. Labor is leading that fight, too. Obviously, this is a subject that impacts every one of us, even if we haven’t been to the doctor lately. Health care costs have been going through the roof for years. That’s the number one subject in practically every contract negotiation from coast to coast, and not just in maritime. There are other examples in this edition (the TWIC unavoidably comes to mind), but hopefully you get the point. We’ve always been politically active, and considering the heavily regulated nature of our industry—and the regular turnover at every level of government— we’ve got no choice but to continue on that path. Rank-and-file grassroots support is critical to our efforts. That’s why we ask you to donate time and contribute to SPAD. Put another way, political action doesn’t necessarily guarantee our success, but lack of participation assures failure. Keep that in mind the next time your port agent asks you to take part in grassroots activities for pro-maritime candidates, or the next time you’re deciding whether to donate to our voluntary political action fund. We’ve got a proven track record of success in this arena, and with full participation there’s no reason we can’t build on that success. Volume 69, Number 7 July 2007 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 8990675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Deborah A. Hirtes; Associate Editor, Jim Guthrie; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2007 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG Affiliation Should Help Labor’s Health Care Drive Saying nurses are eager to help lead the drive for guaranteed health care for all, 75,000 Registered Nurses became the newest members of the AFL-CIO May 21 as the California Nurses Association and its national arm, the National Nurses Organizing Committee, joined the 10 million member federation (to which the SIU also is affiliated). The national affiliation charter was issued at a meeting of the board of directors of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee (CNA/NNOC). “Nobody understands better than nurses that health care in our country cries out for reform,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. “CNA has led the drive for reform in California; working together in the AFL-CIO, we have the power to build a broad new national movement that can win change.” “We look forward to engaging in collective work with AFL-CIO unions,” said CNA/NNOC President Deborah Burger, RN. “We believe that the strength of the labor movement coupled with the nurses’ commitment to guaranteeing comprehensive health care coverage through HR 676 will provide the foundation necessary for genuine reform.” H.R. 676— The United States National Health Insurance Act—is one of several approaches currently under consideration in Congress to achieve quality, affordable universal health care. The affiliation unites 325,000 RNs in the federation. CNA/NNOC will join the AFL-CIO RNs Working Together Industry Coordinating Committee and affiliate with all AFL-CIO state and local organizations where it has members. CNA/NNOC nurses join AFL-CIO nurses represented by the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE); American Federation of State, County, Municipal Employees (AFSCME); American Federation of Teachers (AFT); Communications Workers of America (CWA); International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE); International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE); Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU); United Auto Workers (UAW); United American Nurses (UAN); and United Steelworkers (USW). “We look forward to being a part of a federation that has distinguished itself as the national voice of working people in the U.S. and is the leading national champion for all Americans on a broad range of critical issues, including jobs, retirement security, economic opportunity, workplace safety, civil rights, civil liberties, and public safety,” Burger added. The CNA/NNOC affiliation is the latest in a string of AFL-CIO affiliations and partnerships that has significantly strengthened the labor movement. Last December, nearly 50,000 mail handlers with the National Postal Mail Handlers Union returned to the AFL-CIO after having left the federation along with their parent union, the Laborers. The United Transportation Union’s 60,000 members also affiliated with the AFL-CIO late last year. Four National Education Association (NEA) groups have taken advantage of the unique national NEA/AFL-CIO partnership opportunity: Rialto Education Association (California), Seattle Education Association, Beloit Education Association (Wisconsin), and UDC Faculty Association (Washington, D.C.). Two more unions recently have affiliated directly with the national AFL-CIO: the Monarch Electric Blue Collar Union (Ohio) and the Dade County School Maintenance Employee Committee (Florida). In addition, the AFL-CIO has forged innovative new partnerships with the National Day Laborers Organizing Network (NDLON), the nation’s largest day laborer association, and Interfaith Worker Justice, a national coalition of faith-based worker rights groups. Working America, the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate for workers who don’t have a union on the job, continues to gain steam, now counting 1.6 million members nationwide. Earlier this year, the AFL-CIO executive council (on which SIU President Michael Sacco serves) adopted a statement on health care which in part reads, “The time for talking about this crisis is past. All families deserve the security of a universal health care system that guarantees access based on need rather than income. Health care is a fundamental human right and an important measure of social justice…. As a nation, we need to exert the political will to enact comprehensive health care reform nationwide. There is strong evidence the crisis can be solved with tools at hand and at a cost that pales in comparison to the toll in human lives the current system exacts.” Andrasick, Arntzen, Reinhart Selected for AOTOS Awards Executives from three Seafarers-contracted companies recently were chosen to receive the 2007 Admiral of the Ocean Sea (AOTOS) Awards, presented by the United Seamen’s Service (USS). Scheduled to receive the honor Nov. 2 in New York City are James S. Andrasick, president and CEO of Matson Navigation Company; Morten Arntzen, president and CEO of Overseas Shipholding Group; and John F. Reinhart, president and CEO of Maersk Line, Limited. “Without question, all three AOTOS recipients are extremely deserving of this recognition,” stated SIU President Michael Sacco, who is chairing the awards dinner. “Each of them has done exceptional work to promote and grow the American maritime industry as a whole and the U.S. Merchant Marine in particular. I applaud and respect their efforts.” John Bowers, chairman of the USS AOTOS Committee and president of the International Longshoremen’s Association, announced the selections last month. “These three leaders represent a remarkable cross-section of the seagoing sector of our industry,” John Reinhart James Andrasick said Bowers. “Jim Andrasick, Morten Arntzen and John Reinhart all are outstanding leaders in their own areas of liner services, tanker shipping and U.S. Department of Defense support operations—all excellent symbols of the American maritime industry.” Celebrating its 125th anniversary, Matson Navigation is the principal carrier of containerized freight and automobiles between the West Coast and Hawaii, Guam and Mid-Pacific, and is the largest subsidiary of Honolulubased Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) is the only large tanker company with a significant presence in both the international flag Morten Arntzen and U.S.-flag markets, and it has an established position in the Jones Act product tanker and crude tanker segments. Maersk Line, Limited operates 19 American-flag vessels that are enrolled in the U.S. Maritime Security Program and is a longterm trusted partner with the U.S. Department of Defense, providContinued on page 5 July 2007 �43332_p01_9,15,18,19:3332p0 6/22/2007 5:46 PM Page 3 Overseas Long Beach Christened New Tanker Joining Seafarers-Contracted OSG Fleet The largest domestic vessel order since World War II continued moving forward as the SIUcontracted tanker Overseas Long Beach was christened June 16 at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez and Vice President Contracts George Tricker attended the ceremony. The Overseas Long Beach is the second ship in an initial 10tanker order by Seafarers-contracted Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG). The vessel was scheduled to enter service in late June, sailing in the Jones Act trades along with sister ship Overseas Houston. During the days leading up to the naming ceremony, the Overseas Long Beach successfully reached several checkpoints. The vessel departed the yard on June 5 and headed down the Delaware River. Once the system and performance tests began, the tanker performed admirably, accomplishing a “clean sweep” of the required assessments, fully demonstrating all systems and achieving all specified performance measures. The tanker returned to the yard on schedule in the early hours of June 9. One week later, hundreds of invited guests along with Aker employees and their families turned out for the ceremony. Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner formally named the ship the Overseas Long Beach. Also addressing the crowd were Eric Smith, OSG’s chief commercial officer; Dave Meehan, president and CEO of Aker American Shipping; Jonathan Whitworth, senior vice president and head of OSG America; and John Ridgway, deputy CEO of BP Shipping. In a message contained in the printed program, OSG President and CEO Morten Arntzen noted that the Overseas Long Beach “underscores OSG’s strong commitment to the Jones Act and to the renewal of the U.S.-flag fleet, indeed in our commitment to America. For it also reflects our commitment to maintain and operate a modern, high-quality, double-hull tanker fleet, which will be built and operated to the highest safety and quality standards.” The newest ship is part of a group called the Veteran Class of tankers. Each vessel in the series will be slightly longer than 600 feet and capable of transporting more than 332,000 barrels of petroleum products. Each vessel will weigh 46,000 deadweight tons, have a beam of about 105 feet and travel at a “cruising speed” of 14.6 knots. All 10 product tankers in the series will be owned by American Shipping Corporation, a subsidiary of Aker American Shipping, and chartered to OSG. To Photos above, below and at left show different views of the Overseas Long Beach and an overview of the shipyard, where additional tankers are under construction. date, nine of the 10 tankers in the build program are under signed time charter, with agreements in place between OSG and Shell, BP and Tesoro. Earlier this year, the yard announced an agreement in principal pursuant to which Aker Philadelphia Shipyard will construct up to six additional Veteran Class MT-46 Jones Act product tankers (three fixed plus three options), beyond the initial 10- ship order. The delivery schedule for the eight vessels remaining in the first order is as follows: Overseas Los Angeles, November 2007; Overseas New York, April 2008; Overseas Texas City, October 2008; Overseas Boston, March 2009; Overseas Nikiski, May 2009; Overseas Tampa, October 2009; Overseas Port Arthur, March 2010; and Overseas Jacksonville, July 2010. Crowley Welcomes ATB Gulf Reliance Seafarers already had been sailing aboard Crowley Maritime Corporation’s ATB Gulf Reliance for a few weeks, but the new articulated tug and barge formally was welcomed into the fleet May 23 at a ceremony in Long Beach, Calif. SIU members and officials were on hand for the pier-side event, including Seafarers Bruce Comiskey, Charlie Carlson, Robert Hoffman Jr., Ardale Crim, Kenneth Graybill, Christopher Farmer, Ronald Poole and Rick Cristofano and Wilmington Port Agent John Cox. Altogether, more than 125 people attended the christening. The Gulf Reliance (and its accompanying barge 650-2) is the second in a series of 10 new ATBs being constructed for Crowley by VT Halter Marine at facilities in Pascagoula and Moss Point, Miss. The first, the Pacific Reliance/650-1, was christened in March 2006. The newest tug was christened for customer Shell Trading U.S. by Shell Representative Amy McDonald and Crowley Technical Services Senior Vice President and General Manager Steve Collar. The barge was christened by Shell Representative Jan Chilelli and Crowley Petroleum Services Vice President of Bulk Petroleum and Chemical Transportation Bill Taylor. The ATB is powered by twin, low-emissions Caterpillar diesels producing over 9,000 horsepower. Each tugboat in the Reliance Class of ATBs measures 127 feet long and 42 feet wide, with a depth of 24 feet and a draft of 19 feet. Each barge is approximately 587 feet long and 74 feet wide and has a capacity of 185,000 barrels. According to the company, “The Reliance/650 Class ATBs incorporate the latest advances in environmental safety along with improvements in hull design to deliver the most advanced and efficient tug barge combinations currently available. Making use of an articulated connection system, the tug mates into a specially designed notch in the stern of the barge. The sophisticated connection allows the tug and barge to move fluidly as one unit in the most adverse seas, thereby providing increased service reliability not achievable with a conventional tug and barge. With the barge’s advanced hull shape and articulated connection system, the unit is able to achieve a service speed of 12 knots.” Crowley further notes that the barges are double-hulled and tugs double-sided “for maximum protection and safety. The barges were built, documented and Barge 650-2 works in conjunction with the Gulf Reliance. Please be advised the SIU headquarters and all SIU hiring halls will be closed on Wednesday, July 4 for the observance of Independence Day (unless an emergency arises). Normal business hours will resume the following workday. July 2007 Pictured aboard the tug early last month are (from left) Vessel Utility Bill Foley, Utility Cook Jimmy Saloom and Captain Brad Burkart. The Gulf Reliance is part of Crowley’s newest ATB. maintained to the stringent requirements of American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) SafeHull. They have sophisticated inert gas generating systems, vapor recovery systems, fully redundant ballast systems, flexible and highly efficient cargo systems, closed radar tank gauging systems, and advanced mooring systems. “Tugs meet all SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) and ABS criteria, and have foam capable fire monitors; twin fuel efficient, low emission electronic diesel engines; noise reduction packages as well as other upgrades to increase performance and ensure safe, reliable operation. The tugs and barges carry communication and navigation equipment that is among the most technologically advanced in the industry today.” When the last of the new tugbarge units is delivered—scheduled to take place in 2010— Crowley’s ATB fleet will number 14, consisting of four 155,000barrel and ten 185,000-barrel ATBs. Seafarers LOG 3 �43332_p01_9,15,18,19:3332p0 6/22/2007 6:36 PM Page 4 Port Personnel Complete Workshop in Piney Point Considerable Time Devoted to New Health Network More than 20 administrative specialists from various SIU ports last month converged on the Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education to attend a workshop covering changes members can expect under the union’s new health services provider. Union secretaries, administrative assistants and two port agents participated in the June 3-5 sessions that took place on the grounds of the spacious Piney Point, Md.-based training facility. In addition to receiving instruction on the intricacies associated with the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan’s new provider— CIGNA HealthCare Network— conference participants toured the Piney Point campus including simulator facilities; met with colleagues and management team members at the union’s claims office and visited with officials and staff members at SIU headquarters in Camp Springs, Md. Additionally, they visited the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School and went on an orientation voyage aboard a sailing vessel on the St. Mary’s River. “It was a highly productive three days for all of the participants,” said SIU Plans Administrator Maggie Bowen. “We had a lot of important information to pass on to them about imminent as well as future changes under the Plan. It was crucial that we got everyone aware and up to speed on the CIGNA HealthCare Network, because many of our rank-and-file members will have questions about the change from First Health and how it affects them. “Everyone who participated in the training was very enthusiastic and receptive toward the information we provided,” Bowen concluded. “I’m confident that our administrative folks now will be Following the June 4 membership meeting in Piney Point, Md., SIU and SHBP officials are pictured with administrative specialists from various union halls across the country. able to effectively deal with any concerns the members may have.” The blocks of training which covered changes to the union’s benefit plan provider were conducted by CIGNA Representatives Mike Davis, Meg Guessford and Reunka Bahadursingh. Instruction in other areas was provided by Bowen and staffers in the claims office and the fire fighting school, respectively. Two of the administrative assistants shared their views on the training conference and commented on their overall Piney Point experience. “I found the training very educational,” said Lisa Clark from the port of Baltimore, who also attended the 2000 training conference. “It was nice to meet the people we will be talking to in reference to claims and to learn about the new way members will have to submit their claims. It was also great to meet the other administrative assistants, like myself, whom I talk to all the time by phone. I now have faces to match the voices.” Clark said the visit to the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School was especially useful, noting, “I learned some very interesting information about fire safety which I plan to use. It’s the little things you take for granted about safety plans that could make all of the difference. “All in all, the training was great,” she said. “I had a wonderful time and it was nice that I could bring my 5-year old son, Netre, along. He had a great time as well and was named captain on the boat ride we took…. I look forward to my next visit to Piney Point. The school is great and our members should be proud of it.” Benita Evans from the port of New Orleans concurred with Clark’s assessment of the workshop’s value. “The training provided information that—once disseminated—should put the collective minds of Plan participants at ease,” Evans said. “Active Seafarers, pensioners and the respective family members of Engine Dept. Training at Paul Hall Center These photos were taken last month as students successfully completed the marine refrigerated containers advanced maintenance course at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, located in Piney Point, Md. Richard Huffman, Douglas Lowry, Andrew Linares Robert Norris, Rigoberto Beata, Rahul Bagchi, Hector Solis 4 Seafarers LOG Richard Huffman both now will have to worry a lot less regarding their out-of-pocket expenses by using CIGNA.” In addition to Clark and Evans, others who participated in the training and their respective ports were: Amber Akana (Hawaii); Judy Benton (Mobile); Brenda Flesner (Tacoma); Janice Hunicke (Houston); Mary Jenkins (Algonac); Linda Kluska (Philadelphia); Larayne Koide (Hawaii); Donna Massucco (Boston); Terry Montgomery (New York); Tracey Moore (Oakland); Samantha Partridge (Joliet); Clara Rampersadsingh (Ft. Lauderdale); Maria Sanchez (Puerto Rico); Myka Schwagmeier (Lawrenceburg); Karen Shuford (Jacksonville); Betty Wierschem (St. Louis) and James Ott (Tacoma). SIU Port Agents Georg Kenny (Norfolk, Va.) and John Cox (Wilmington, Calif.) also participated in the training. Participating in the CIGNA training only (all from the SIU claims department) were Pat Benoit, Lori Fessette, Kenda Parker, Linda Everett, Jenell Gandy and Lisa Russell. SIU headquarters staff members who took part in the CIGNA-only training were Bowen, Kitty Eno, and Teresa Zelko. The last training conference for union administrative specialists was conducted in August 2000. “About five or six of the people who participated in that initial training conference were back for this version,” said Paul Hall Center Vice President Don Nolan. “It was nice to see them again—they were an exceptionally good group.” CIGNA Move Takes Effect CIGNA HealthCare is now the medical and dental network service provider for the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP). The change to CIGNA from the First Health Network became effective July 1, according to SIU Plans Administrator Maggie Bowen. As reported earlier in the Seafarers LOG, participants were sent correspondence from the SHBP Board of Trustees in May, which spelled out the details of the change. In June, along with additional letters, all participants were sent new medical and dental cards. The letters are available on the SIU web site (www.seafarers.org) in the “Member Benefits and Resources” section. This change to CIGNA is a very positive one for the participants and the Plan, Bowen said. The medical benefits and benefit levels remain the same, while reducing Plan deductibles as of January 1, 2008. Eligible participants, as defined in the Rules and Regulations of the Plan, who use a provider or hospital within the CIGNA HealthCare Network will incur no balance billing; however, claims will still continue to be processed and paid in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Plan. If a provider or facility is not in the CIGNA HealthCare network, then claims will be processed as non-network claims as they have in the past. Those eligible to receive benefits under the SHBP were sent new CIGNA I.D cards last month so that providers could readily identify them as participants in the CIGNA network. In addition to other pertinent data, these new credentials contain important benefits and claims submission information for CIGNA hospital and medical providers. Effective July 1, these new cards must be used for all medical services rendered. Plan officials stressed that the old First Health Network Medical I.D. cards should be destroyed as they are no longer valid for use. Individuals who have not received these new cards but believe that they are entitled to benefits under this Plan should contact the Seafarers Claims Department at 1-800-252-4674. Like the Plan’s previous provider, the new CIGNA program has inand out-of-network benefits. Under the CIGNA network, participants do not need to select primary care physicians or require referrals to see specialists. Participants still enjoy the same freedom of provider choice options under the CIGNA network which were available to them under the previous provider. Also, plan participants and their family members may: Contact CareAllies (CIGNA) at 1-800-768-4695 to obtain provider information. Visit the CIGNA HealthCare web site at: www.cigna.com/SA-PPO2 to determine if their current provider is in the CIGNA network. CIGNA has different networks within its organization, so the entire web address listed should be used rather than going to the CIGNA home page. The CIGNA link also may be accesed through: www.seafarers.org/members. Request a provider nomination form from the Seafarers Claims Department (at 1-800-252-4674) if their doctor/provider is not in the CIGNA network and they would like CIGNA to contact them. Log on to www.myCareAllies.com (password Seafarers) for other services. This includes an online health library, health risk assessment tools, as well as preventive care tips and tools for a healthier lifestyle. Contact the 24-Hour “NurseLine.” This program provides toll-free telephone access to medical care professionals 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. The number is 1-800-768-4695. July 2007 �43332_p01_9,15,18,19:3332p0 6/22/2007 5:46 PM Page 5 Senate Vote Imminent on Free Choice Act D.C. Rally Calls Attention to Historic, Vital Pro-Worker Legislation Seafarers, including a contingent of unlicensed apprentices from the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., were among the thousands of AFL-CIO union members who on June 19 rallied in Washington, D.C. to urge the passage of proworker legislation intended to give employees a genuine opportunity to choose union representation. The legislation, the Employee Free Choice Act (S. 1041), at the time of the rally was being debated in the Senate where a vote was imminent when this issue of the Seafarers LOG went to press. The House by a 241-185 margin passed the bill March 1. If enacted, the Employee Free Choice Act would help enable workers to decide how they want to choose a union. Specifically, according to the AFL-CIO, the bill would give workers the option to use majority sign-up, which is much faster than the management-controlled representation election process and leaves less time for employers to harass and intimidate workers to discourage them from joining unions. Under current law, an employer can insist on a secretballot election, even after a majority sign-up. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney told the crowd that the Employee Free Choice Act is nothing short of vital. “Momentum is building and history is being made because the Employee Free Choice Act is the most important legislation helping workers economically in AFL-CIO President John Sweeney (above) told rally participants that momentum is building for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. many, many years,” Sweeney said. “It’s the most important link to good living standards and a strong middle class. That’s why grassroots support is rippling across our nation. And today, thousands of union members and our allies are speaking to our senators with one powerful voice, asking: Are you going to join us on the right side of history?” The Capitol Hill rally was one of more than 100 demonstrations that took place across the country during the week of June 17 demanding that Congress restore the fundamental freedom to join a union and bargain for a better life. According to the AFL-CIO, mid- dle-class Americans have generated 50,000 telephone calls to the Senate, 156,000 faxes and emails, and 220,000 postcards, including 120,000 which were delivered to the Senate during the rally. Further, more than 1,200 elected officials in all 50 states have voted in support of resolutions calling on Congress to pass the bill. Fourteen Democratic governors also have signed a statement in support of the legislation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told the cheering crowd that the Senate will vote on the Employee Free Choice Act soon, but he did not specify a date. The senator also added, “Last year, the top three hedge funds earned $4.4 billion in profits, and the ex-CEO of Exxon got a $400 million golden parachute. Today, hourly wages are down while the number of uninsured is up. Today, household income is down, while the average CEO makes 411 times more than the average worker. Today, for far too many Americans, that New Deal has become a raw deal. It’s time to give working families a square deal … a square deal that honors workers and their families by giving them a real chance for a better life.” Sen. Edward Kennedy (DMass.), the bill’s sponsor and longtime champion, assured the crowd the bill will pass when the roll is called. Kennedy opened debate on the Senate floor and described the connection between the nation’s shrinking middle class and the decline in union 3 Executives Selected for AOTOS Awards Continued from page 2 ing various maritime support services in addition to ship operations. Andrasick, Arntzen and Reinhart led the field of nominees for the award, solicited by the USS from more than 150 maritime management, labor and government officials. All proceeds from the event benefit USS community services abroad for the U.S. Merchant Marine and other international seafarers. The recipients will share the evening with a group of American mariners who will be honored for specific acts of bravery at sea. James Andrasick was named president and chief executive officer of Matson on July 18, 2003. He joined Alexander & Baldwin, Inc., the parent company of Matson, in June 2000 as senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer. On April 25, 2002, he was appointed to additional duties as president and chief executive officer of Matson on an interim basis. Andrasick serves as a trustee and is on the National Executive Committee of the U.S. Coast Guard Foundation, and is a director of the Pacific Maritime Association. He also is a trustee of Mills College, the United Seamen’s Service and of the San Francisco National Maritime July 2007 Park Association. He is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, where he received a bachelor’s degree in engineering. He also holds a master’s degree in management science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Morten Arntzen was appointed president and chief executive officer of OSG in January 2004. He has been an OSG board member since 2004. Prior to joining OSG, he was chief executive officer of American Marine Advisors Inc., a U.S.-based merchant banking firm specializing in maritime industry merger and acquisition advisory work and corporate restructuring for a global client base. Arntzen is a board member of the Seamen’s Church Institute in New York and New Jersey and is active with the American Bureau of Shipping and the American Maritime Association. He is presiding director of Chiquita Brands International, Inc., where he is chairman of the nominating and governance committee and a member of the audit committee. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and a master of international affairs degree from Columbia University. John Reinhart was named chief executive officer of Maersk Line, Limited on Aug. 1, 2000 and president in April 2004. He joined Maersk Inc. in 1991 in human resources. In 1992, he began his career in Universal Maritime Services working his way up to president. He returned to Maersk in 1996 as a regional director and then as senior vice president. Reinhart is a member of the American Bureau of Shipping, Association of the United States Army, National Defense Industrial Association, United States Naval Institute Foundation, National Defense Transportation Association, Navy League, United Seamen’s Service and The Propeller Club of the United States. He also serves as a member of Maersk’s North American Container Business Council. Reinhart received his B.A. in political science from Ohio University and completed the executive MBA program at the University of Michigan in 1997. The USS provides community services for the U.S. Merchant Marine, American Armed Forces, and mariners of the world. It is a non-profit agency established in 1942, and operates centers in nine foreign ports in Europe, Asia, Africa and in the Indian Ocean. The USS also provides seagoing libraries to American vessels through its affiliate, the American Merchant Marine Library Association. membership, which has occurred in large part because of the unjust difficulty workers face in forming unions. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) said unions can bring back the country to the prosperous days after World War II when returning soldiers joined unions and built the strongest middle class in history. “We’re going to give workers across this nation the same chance they had after that war,” Durbin said, “to be treated with dignity, to organize in the workplace, to stand up and fight for things that count like a decent living wage, health insurance that covers everything a family needs and pension benefits that you won’t lose in the next merger or bankruptcy.” Other speakers of note at the rally included presidential candidates Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), Joseph Biden (D-Del.) and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio); Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.); Rep. George Miller (DCalif.); AFSCME President Gerald McEntee; Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen; Mineworkers President Cecil Roberts; UAW Secretary-Treasurer Elizabeth Bunn; James Hoffa, president of the unaffiliated Teamsters; Joseph Hansen, president of the unaffiliated United Food and Commercial Workers; Roger Hickey, co-director of Campaign for America’s Future; U.S. Action President William McNary; Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; American Rights at Work Executive Director Mary Beth Maxwell; and Eric Perry, AFGE’s transportation security officer. Optimism Fades in Grocery Talks Contract talks between Southern California’s major supermarket chains and the union representing some 65,000 of their workers continue to stall, raising the possibility of a repeat of the region’s 141-day lockout and strike of 2003-2004. As this edition of the LOG went to press, representatives of both the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) and the three chains—Vons, Ralphs and Albertsons, which account for more than 50 percent of the grocery business in Southern California—were firm in their assessments that it was unlikely the two sides would make a union-imposed deadline of June 21 to agree on the provisions of a new contract. Union officials said they set the deadline simply to prevent the talks from dragging on indefinitely, rather than as provocation. Among other issues, the union and grocers primarily are at odds over regular health insurance contributions to be made by workers and the grocers, as well as how much to tap from a joint reserve trust fund of about $480 million to help offset health care costs. The union says it is willing to use around $240 million, while the grocers seek to use up to $350 million. Negotiators from seven UFCW locals have been involved in the contract talks with negotiators from the supermarket chains for nearly six months, and as of last month were some 90 days past the expiration of their original contract. Union health care funding experts have determined that the supermarket employers’ plan falls far short of the commitment needed to keep the health plan solvent through the life of the contract. In at least six other contracts around the country, supermarket employers have under-funded health care plans, according to the UFCW, forcing benefit cuts or premium increases to avoid bankruptcy. Union representatives contend that same scenario could play out in Southern California as well. SIU President Addresses AMMV Convention SIU President Michael Sacco (left) was a featured speaker May 17 at the American Merchant Marine Veterans (AMMV) convention, which took place at the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) in Linthicum, Md. He is pictured at the convention with Ian Allison, co-chairman of AMMV’s Just Compensation Committee, and AMMV Office Manager Cindy Raymond. Sacco conveyed the SIU’s ongoing support for the “Belated Thank You” legislation spearheaded by the AMMV. He also touched on the U.S. Merchant Marine’s history and some key current events affecting the industry. Seafarers LOG 5 �43332_p01_9,15,18,19x:3332p0 6/26/2007 4:35 PM Page 6 G&H Boatmen Cycle for Charity Successful Fund-Raiser Targets a Crippling Disease When six SIU boatmen from the Houston area decided earlier this year to help raise money for charity, one could say they went the extra mile—again and again. The Seafarers were among an estimated 12,000 people who participated in a 180-mile bike ride starting in Houston and ending in Austin, Texas. The twoday event raised more than $12 million for the Lone Star Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society—a new record. It took place April 21-22 under the title sponsorship of BP. The SIU contingent in the 23rd annual ride, all employed by G&H Towing, included Relief Masters Nickoli Payne and Blake Morgan, Mates Clay Buckley, Billy Kern and Travis Parker and Mate-in-Training Todd Keith. Together, they raised several thousand dollars through pledges, including donations from the SIU, G&H and others. (Although the ride itself is finished, pledges are accepted through September.) “I think the participation says a lot about each one of those members,” stated SIU Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey. “There’s obviously nothing wrong with simply making a donation, but they did so much more. They devoted a lot of time and energy to this worthwhile cause.” Payne, the only experienced cyclist among the group of Seafarers, also biked in the 2006 Boatman Nickoli Payne, an experienced cyclist, encouraged fellow members to ride in the MS event. ride. He encouraged his fellow boatmen to participate this year as part of a larger team organized by the port of Houston. “The other guys have shown interest in cycling from time to time,” Payne noted. “I’d loan them a bike and that’s usually all it takes to get hooked on the sport. We went on training rides together in the months leading up to the MS event…. “I’ve raced (competitively) many times for myself,” added Payne, who joined the union right out of high school in the late 1980s. “I thought this time I ought to race for somebody else for a change, whether I’m helping an individual or a group. The fund-raising part was easy, since the port of Houston put together the team.” Payne, whose father is SIU retiree Jimmy “Indiana” Payne, noted that the MS fundraiser was split with 100 miles of riding the first day, an overnight stay in La Grange and 80 miles on the second day. Much of the course went through small towns. While the times naturally varied with each rider, it generally took about five hours to complete the first leg and three-anda-half hours for the second. “When you pull into Austin, it’s a feeling of joy,” concluded Payne. “It’s a lot like the bike races you see on television. People are cheering at the finish line, and that wipes away all the pain from the ride. You realize you’re riding for people who can’t ride, and all of a sudden it’s all good.” Kern said the experience was “great. I loved it. Especially on the second day, the scenery was amazing. It kind of kept you going when you were tired. I definitely plan on doing it again.” Like Payne, Kern also men- St. Louis Port Council Honors 4 From left, Mate Travis Parker, Relief Master Nickoli Payne and Mate-inTraining Todd Keith were part of the SIU contingent participating in the fund-raiser. tioned getting a boost from the audience. “Coming into Austin was nice, with all the people cheering. It made us feel good,” he said. “This was my first time participating in anything like this—I had just gotten into cycling and it so happened that this event was coming up. I was curious to see if I could do it. Of course, it was an opportunity to help out the MS Society, also.” The Lone Star Chapter of the National MS Society serves 141 counties in Texas and assists an estimated 17,000 individuals with MS. Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system which often disables its victims. It interrupts the flow of information from the brain to the body. Symptoms range from numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. According to the National MS Society, most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with more than twice as many women as men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S., and 2.5 million worldwide. Relief Master Blake Morgan Crescent Crews Commend Contracts As reported last month, SIU boatmen working aboard Crescent Towing tugs in three southern states recently voted in favor of new threeyear contracts that boost wages and maintain benefits. More than 150 SIU members are covered by the agreements, with most based in New Orleans and Savannah, Ga. and the rest operating from the Mobile, Ala. area. The two contracts (which are virtually identical) were approved by overwhelming majorities and were praised by numerous members. A few of the boatmen are pictured here along with SIU officials. Deckhand J.D. Spencer Four pro-worker, pro-maritime individuals were recognized May 12 during the annual dinner hosted by the St. Louis Port Maritime Council, affiliated with the Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO. Pictured in the group photo are (from left) Dick Mantia, port council president; Jack Martorelli, port council vice president; the Honorable Robin Carnahan, Missouri secretary of state (the council’s “Able Helmsman” honoree); Leonard Dino Jr., president and CEO, LDI Pharmacy Benefit Services (Management Man of the Year); Roger Poole, directing business representative for Machinists District 9 (Labor Man of the Year); General Norton Schwartz, commander, U.S. Transportation Command (who as a surprise received a ship’s wheel for his support of the U.S. Merchant Marine); Jerry Feldhaus, executive secretary-treasurer of the St. Louis Building and Construction Trades Council; and Michael Sacco, MTD and SIU president. At left, President Sacco presents the wheel to General Schwartz. This was the port council’s 27th annual awards dinner. 6 Seafarers LOG Deckhand James Horton, Deckhand Norman Usey, AMO Captain Danny Robichaux, SIU Port Agent Chris Westbrook Juggo Barletto, Captain/Deckhand Joe Carson, SIU VP Dean Corgey July 2007 �43332_p01_9,15,18,19x:3332p0 6/26/2007 5:35 PM Page 7 SIU Joins in Maritime Day Ceremonies in Calif., Texas Congressman Cummings Honors Mariners with Supportive Declaration While a large contingent of SIU headquarters officials, rankand-file members and unlicensed apprentices from the Seafarersaffiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education honored the service of merchant mariners during three Washington, D.C.-area National Maritime Day ceremonies May 22, their brothers and sisters in several ports around the country were busy paying their own respects. Seafarers and SIU officials participated in observances in the ports of Oakland and Wilmington in Calif., as well as at the Apostleship of the Sea of the United States of America in Port Arthur, Texas. While different in structure and program theme, each of the observances had a common objective: paying tribute to the service and accomplishments of our nation’s merchant mariners and the maritime industry as a whole. SIU Assistant Vice President Government Services Chester Wheeler represented the union during a service and wreath laying ceremony aboard the SS Jeremiah O’Brien in Oakland while Wilmington Port Agent John Cox, Dispatcher Nick Rios and Patrolman Abdul Al Omari attended on behalf of the union during a National Maritime Day observance and memorial service in San Pedro, Calif. Deputy U.S. Maritime Administrator Julie Nelson served as the event’s keynote speaker. This ceremony was conducted at the American Merchant Marine Veterans Memorial. In Port Arthur, Texas, the SIU’s Father Sinclair K. Oubre welcomed those who attended the community’s 20th Annual Maritime Memorial Service. Conducted at the Seamen’s Memorial Sundial, this event honored the Texas Maritime Academy at A&M Galveston and alumni. It also commemorated mariners and fishermen who have passed away during the last year. Rear Adm. Allen Worley, superintendent of Texas Maritime Academy, received the honor and delivered a moving speech on the importance of the maritime industry and the need for more of the country’s youth to become mariners. The Sabine Pilots laid the wreath in the water from their newest vessel. Wilmington Port Agent John Cox, right, Dispatcher Nick Rios, center, and Patrolman Abdul Al Omari represented the union during a National Maritime Day observance and memorial service in San Pedro, Calif. Elsewhere, U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, released an official statement in honor of National Maritime Day. The congressman’s statement read in part, “I am honored to take the opportunity afforded by National Maritime Day to pay tribute to our nation’s merchant mariners and to the entire maritime industry…. In 1933, the United States first honored our merchant marine by authorizing the designation of May 22 as National Maritime Day. Seventyfour years later, I particularly want to remember the estimated 250,000 Americans who served in the War Shipping Admin istration moving 95 percent of the goods and materiel used by the Allies during World War II. “Some 20,000 of these merchant mariners were killed or wounded in that war—yielding among the U.S. Merchant Marine the highest casualty rate of any service according to the U.S. Maritime Service Veterans. Despite their service, U.S. Mer chant Mariners still lack many of the benefits given to those who served in the other U.S. military forces engaged in World War II. “Not until 1988 were World War II-era Merchant Mariners made eligible for services from the Veterans Administration. Not until 1998 were they made eligible for burial and cemetery benefits. “U.S. Merchant Mariners have still never been made eligible for the GI Bill, or for the housing, educational or unemployment benefits that the Bill provided for other U.S. veterans…. I urge that the experience of these mariners be a lesson to ensure that we will never again deny any veteran who has served the United States any of the benefits he or she has earned. “I also honor today the vital role that our Merchant Marine continues to play in responding to our nation’s emergencies. Most recently, U.S. Merchant Mariners helped evacuate an estimated 160,000 people from Manhattan on September 11, 2001, and provided aid and emergency assistance along the Gulf Coast to the victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. “Merchant mariners also continue to provide the sealift capacity that keeps our armed forces equipped to fight the global war on terrorism. More than 8,000 merchant mariners serve in the Military Sealift Command, and … civilian-crewed military support ships have moved some 79 million square feet of cargo to U.S. troops in Iraq and throughout the world. “Unfortunately, despite their significant contribution to our national defense and to our economy, our merchant mariners and our maritime industries are almost invisible in our nation…. “While the industry may not be visible, the cargo it moves is certainly visible. If every person takes the time to look at the labels on their clothes or on the furnishings in their offices or homes, they are likely to find that these items arrived on a ship from a foreign destination. Were this commerce to be interrupted, our nation’s economy could be devastated. “And our reliance on our maritime industry is only going to grow. The U.S. Maritime Administration estimates that the total volume of trade handled by U.S. ports will double in the next 15 years—but we are not ready to meet the challenges this growth will bring. Our nation needs to build new port capacity. We also urgently need to support the growth of short sea shipping so that cargo can be economically moved between domestic ports and so that we can help get trucks off of our increasingly congested highways. At the same time, we must also ensure that our maritime resources are protected from further degradation—and we must move aggressively to combat the introduction of invasive species through ballast water. “Further, we need to ensure that our domestic maritime industry is poised to be a continuing part of the growth in the worldwide maritime industry. According to the Maritime Administration, in 2005, the U.S.-flag ocean-going fleet numbered fewer than 200 vessels, of which 106 ships were Jones Act vessels—meaning that fewer than 100 ocean-going vessels engaged in international trade bore the flag of the United States. As a result, 97 percent of the cargo transported to the United States is carried on foreignflagged ships. “In my capacity as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, I will continue to support the development of a comprehensive maritime policy that will protect the integrity of the Jones Act, that will support the Maritime Security Program, and that will promote the growth of the U.S.-flagged fleet competing in our foreign trade.” The SIU donated this wreath for the ceremony aboard the SS Jeremiah O’Brien in Oakland, Calif. SIU Assistant VP Government Services Division Chester Wheeler comes to attention behind the wreath as the Colors approach to signal the ceremony’s commencement. National Day of Remembrance Crew members aboard the M/V Liberty (left) on May 29 proudly paid tribute to those who have served America during times of war. As part of their National Day of Remembrance ceremony, the crew rang the ship’s bell. Participating in the event were (from left) AB Atanacio Bernardez, Steward Irina Shubov, AB Paul McDonell, Deck Cadet Tiegh Francois and Engine Cadet James Roe. The crew from the M/V Cape Taylor, (right) also conducted a ceremony in honor of the National Day of Remembrance. A member of the U.S. Coast Guard stands at attention on shore near the American Flag as the wreath laying fleet of vessels approaches on the waterfront in Port Arthur, Texas. July 2007 Seafarers LOG 7 �43332_p01_9,15,18,19x:3332p0 6/26/2007 4:39 PM Page 8 Ceremony Conducted for 6th T-AKE Ship New tonnage and additional jobs became visible on the horizon May 30 for the SIU Government Services Division when General Dynamics NASSCO held a keel-laying ceremony for the sixth ship in the U.S. Navy’s T-AKE program. A shipbuilding tradition, a keel-laying ceremony represents a signpost in the birth of a new ship—the start of its full-scale production. In recognition of that milestone, Darlene Costello, event honoree, welded her initials into the keel. Costello is the deputy director for Naval Warfare in the office of under secretary of defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. This new platform, according to a May 29 announcement by the Navy, will be named USNS Amelia Earhart, in honor of the first woman to fly solo, non-stop across the Atlantic and (years later) Pacific oceans. The Amelia Earhart is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) in the fall of 2008 at which point it will be crewed by SIU CIVMARS. The ship will be 689 feet long and displace about 41,000 metric tons when fully loaded. The Amelia Earhart’s primary mission will be to deliver food, ammunition, fuel and other provisions to combat ships at sea. Like the other ships in the T-AKE class, it will have a sailing speed Photo courtesy General Dynamics NASSCO The fifth T-AKE ship, the USNS Robert Peary, is under construction and scheduled for delivery in 2008. of 20 knots. In addition to conducting the May 30 keel laying ceremony for the USNS Amelia Earhart, NASSCO on the same day announced the start of construction on the seventh dry cargoammunition ship in the U.S. Navy’s T-AKE program. The ship is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in the first quarter of 2009. Since June 2006, the USNS Lewis and Clark (T-AKE 1) and USNS Sacagawea (T-AKE 2) have been delivered to MSC and crewed up by CIVMARS. The third ship of the class, USNS Alan Shepard, and the recently- launched USNS Richard E. Byrd will also be delivered to the Navy by the end of 2007. The fifth TAKE vessel, the USNS Robert Peary, is slated for delivery in 2008. The T-AKE class is expected to include 11 ships for the Military Sealift Command fleet. USNS Henson Sails to Finland The SIU-crewed USNS Henson recently became the first U.S. Navy vessel in two years to tie up in Finland. A U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) oceanographic survey ship operated by Seafarers-contracted Horizon Lines, the Henson on May 28 called on the port of Turku, Finland. The vessel and its crew were charged with a dual mission: act as a catalyst for enhancing the United States’ partnership with the Scandinavian country, and foster increased cooperation between U.S. and Finnish naval forces. “Henson’s visit to Turku is a wonderful opportunity for our navies to collaborate and to build on the already strong friendship between our two countries,” said Capt. Nick Holman, commander, Task Force 63/Sealift Logistics Command Europe. Captain Holman oversees all of the U.S. Navy noncombatant and logistics ships and aircraft operating in Europe and Africa. “Henson is a truly unique ship with a big mission—to help us learn more about the world’s vast oceans,” continued Holman. “It is a privilege to be here sharing that mission with our neighbors in Finland.” The USNS Henson is also unique because as a noncombatant ship, it is operated by MSC for the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command. In addition to its merchant marine crew, the vessel can carry up to 27 civilian surveyors from the Naval Oceanographic Office that carry out the vessel’s survey mission. While in Turku, the Henson will host tours for high school science students. In addition, the vessel will conduct an underway survey demonstration with Finnish sailors and scientists. Oceanographic survey ships like the Henson examine the world’s oceans using a variety of sonar systems and other oceanographic equipment to collect environmental data in either coastal or deep sea waters. The information gathered is used to develop accurate maritime charts and models of the ocean. Survey ships are also used in special situations to locate downed aircraft or chart wrecks that pose hazards to safe ship navigation. Gulf Boatmen Receive Wage Increases Apprentices March in DC Memorial Day Parade Unlicensed apprentices from the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education (above) marched in the National Memorial Day Parade on May 28 in Washington, D.C., where they helped represent the U.S. Merchant Marine. The grand marshals were a contingent of wounded heroes from each branch of the services from Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom, some of whom are pictured below, left. Among the parade’s estimated 160 elements were marching bands, youth groups, veterans groups from every conflict since World War I and re-enactors representing veterans from earlier wars (below, right). Several thousand people turned out for the event, primarily sponsored by the American Veterans Center, in association with the White House Commission on Remembrance. 8 Seafarers LOG Gulf Coast SIU boatmen employed by Seabulk Towing and Moran Towing, respectively, recently received significant wage increases thanks to SIU contracts that were reopened. Some of the Seabulk crews are pictured here along with SIU officials Assistant VP Jim McGee (far left, top photo) and Patrolman Michael Russo (second from left, bottom photo). The other two photos show two of Seabulk’s newest tugboats—the Energy Hercules and Energy Zeus— which joined the fleet earlier this year. July 2007 �43332_p01_9,15,18,19:3332p0 6/22/2007 6:46 PM Page 9 Hospital Ship USNS Comfort Deploys The U.S. Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort, crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division, departed Naval Station Norfolk (Va.) June 15 for a fourmonth humanitarian assistance mission to Latin America and the Caribbean. According to the agency, this is the Comfort’s first deployment since returning from the U.S. Gulf Coast in October 2005 where the ship spent more than a month providing medical assistance in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Comfort is scheduled to visit Belize, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. At each stop, U.S. military doctors and nurses from the ship’s medical treatment facility will work with a variety of embarked governmental and non-governmental agencies as well as medical professionals from host nations to treat about 1,000 patients per day, providing medical care including immunizations, general and specialty surgeries, dental care and vision services. An embarked naval construction force of Seabees is slated to join the Comfort’s CIVMARs to provide engineering support at each location including medical facility repairs and minor construction projects. The Comfort’s mission, part of U.S. Southern Command’s Partnership for the Americas, is modeled in part on the humanitarian assistance deployment that the vessel’s sister ship, the Seafarers-crewed USNS Mercy, conducted last year to Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. On that mission, the Mercy’s medical team treated more than 60,000 patients. In announcing the Comfort’s current deployment, MSC said that the work of CIVMARs aboard the vessel “will be pivotal to the mission.” Where the Comfort cannot pull into port due to the ship’s deep draft, CIVMARs will operate two 33-foot utility boats to transport patients and mission personnel between ship and shore. Painted white with red crosses and named Hospitality 1 and Hospitality 2, these boats can transfer as many as five times the number of patients as the Comfort’s two embarked helicopters. “I have been with MSC for 10 years, and of the many missions that I have been on, this is going to be one of the most challenging,” said AB Mario Geonzon. “This is going to be a great run.” “America is the most generous nation in the world, and this mission is our way of showing that,” said Capt. Ed Nanartowich, the ship’s civil service master. “This is a great opportunity for the Navy and our mariners to show the compassionate side of our workforce. “The number one role of Photo by Bill Cook, Military Sealift Command The Seafarers-crewed USNS Comfort departs Norfolk, Va. June 15 on a four-month humanitarian mission to Latin America and the Caribbean. CIVMARs on this mission is the navigation and operation of the ship—making sure that we get from point A to point B safely and running the engineering plant that supplies the hospital with water and electricity. The ship’s crew and I are looking forward to being part of a productive and highly rewarding mission.” MSC Says ‘Happy Birthday’ to U.S. Merchant Marine Merchant mariners from the U.S. Military Sealift Command on June 12 helped celebrate the 232nd “birthday” of the U.S. Merchant Marine at a ceremony hosted by the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation in Washington, D.C. “On this, the birthday of the U.S. Merchant Marine, we pause to honor the incredible contributions mariners make every day to ensure our nation remains strong in an increasingly competitive global economy,” said Navy Rear Adm. Robert D. Reilly Jr., in a message read at the ceremony by retired Navy Rear Adm. Richard Buchanan, president and CEO of the memorial foundation. Reilly is the commander of MSC, the global U.S. Navy command responsible for sea transport of combat equipment and supplies for the Department of Defense. MSC is the largest single employer of U.S. Merchant Mariners in the world (with almost 7,000 American seamen serving around the globe, according to the agency). “Now more than ever, we are a maritime nation, relying on the flow of goods to and from our shores to sustain our way of life, guarantee our prosperity and extend opportunities for a better way of life to every citizen on this planet. From Portland, Maine, to captain, spent nearly a year at the helm of MSC Office, Kuwait. That office coordinated the arrival and departure of American-flag cargo ships delivering combat equipment and supplies to U.S. and coalition forces in the Central Command area of operations. “In the global war on terror- ism, the strength and capabilities of the U.S. Merchant Marine are more important than ever to our national security and survival,” said Delong. “It’s fitting that we pay tribute to the generations of merchant mariners who have served our nation so valiantly. We owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude.” Attention Seafarers Help SPAD Help You! U.S. Navy photos The commemoration for the U.S. Merchant Marine took place in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Navy Memorial (pictured above from a bird’s eye view during a different event). Among many other elements, the monument includes the Lone Sailor statue (below). Port Everglades, Florida; down the muddy Mississippi to Galveston; from San Diego to Seattle and to the trade windswept waters off Honolulu, America’s mariners steadfastly continue to go down to the sea in ships,” said Reilly. “May we always admire their courage, determination and patriotism.” During the ceremony at Navy Memorial Plaza, a wreath was laid at the foot of the Lone Sailor statue, paying tribute to more than two centuries of U.S. Merchant Mariners and their service to the nation. Steve Delong, a licensed master in the U.S. Merchant Marine and senior staff member at MSC headquarters, was one of the spectators at the ceremony. Delong, also a U.S. Navy Reserve The Navy Memorial also features this bronze relief depicting a U.S. Merchant Marine convoy under attack while en route to Murmansk during World War II. July 2007 Seafarers LOG 9 �43332_p10_14,16,17,20_24x:332p0 6/26/2007 4:43 PM Page 10 At Sea and Ashore With the SIU At a recent membership meeting in the port of Mobile, Port Agent Ed Kelly (left) reads the oath to steward department member Leo Battiste, who received his full book. In photo at right, Battiste and Kelly are joined by SIU Gulf Coast VP Dean Corgey. The crew aboard the Maersk Nevada QMED Walt “Wilder” Filleman is a pump repairman on the USNS Gordon. This photo was taken last year aboard the vessel, which was en route to Kuwait. The crew aboard Allied Towing’s tug Heron pose for a photo, taken in New York in March. This snapshot was taken in May at the Baltimore hall. From the left are Lisa Clark (secretary), Port Agent Dennis Metz, retired inland Capt. Gerard Cifarelli, Arthur Petitpas (ITF inpsector) and retired Recertified Bosun “Snake” Williams. Working aboard the Maersk Maine are (from left) AB Alan Green, AB Phil Robinson and Bosun Conrad Burke. Eufemiano Gomes, above, is an electrician aboard the Maersk Maine. At left, Chief Cook Edna Torres checks out the latest Seafarers LOG on the Maersk Maine. 10 Seafarers LOG From Captain Forsberg comes this photo of the Horizon Falcon arriving in the port of Tacoma May 18 on her maiden U.S. voyage. July 2007 �43332_p06,10_14,16,17,20_24:2007-May July 2007 6/19/2007 6:06 PM Page 11 Seafarers LOG 11 �43332_p06,10_14,16,17,20_24:2007-May 6/19/2007 6:07 PM Page 12 In and Around t AB/Wheelsman James Smith helps unload the American Republic in Detroit. GUDE Asker Abubaker Aboard the American Republic Bosun Jeff Eckhart, AB Brian Gauntt and GUDE Mohamed Sailan Bosun Jeff Eckhart QMED/Conveyorman Jeffery Frankovich in the tunnel 12 Seafarers LOG July 2007 �43332_p10_14,16,17,20_24x:332p0 6/26/2007 5:28 PM Page 13 the Great Lakes A meeting was held recently in Williamsville, N.Y. for bosuns and relief bosuns working aboard American Steamship Company (ASC) vessels. SIU Algonac Port Agent Todd Brdak and Safety Rep Monte Burgett represented the SIU. Jerry Welsch, president of American Steamship Company, gave a “State of the Company” address to the bosuns. Also in attendance were ASC Vice President Kevin McMonagle and the human resources department, including Kathy Elinski, Mary Banks and Matthew Fish. A number of issues were covered and reviewed, ranging from safety and rotations to the economic status of the company. In the group picture at left are (clockwise from the bottom left) Bosun Mike Keogh, Port Agent Todd Brdak, Bosuns Paul Gohs, Jeff Eckhart, David Greig, Mike Schaff, Leeroy Cochrane, Robert Timmons, Jared Smith, Tim Burke, Dave Poree, Scott Gallagher and Bill Mulcahy. Bosun Mike Keogh A number of important issues were covered during the meeting. Aboard the H. Lee White Bosun Mike Schaff In the Algonac Hall SIU Algonac Port Agent Todd Brdak (above left) chats with Bill Mulcahy, bosun aboard the H. Lee White, during a servicing visit on that vessel. Left: GUDE Mohamed Ahmed proudly shows the full book he received while on board the H. Lee White. July 2007 Earl Hicks (center) is an SIU pensioner and U.S. military veteran. He recently came into the Algonac hall to share another award he received. With him are Safety Director Monte Burgett (left) and Union Rep Don Thornton. Seafarers LOG 13 �43332_p06,10_14,16,17,20_24:332p0 6/19/2007 6:09 PM Page 14 Recollections of the Merchant Marine in World War II Editor’s note: The first three installments of retired Seafarer Albert Stimac’s experiences in the merchant marine appeared in the April, May and June Seafarers LOGs, respectively. He wrote about his training, his first ship, joining the SIU, the responsibilities of a member of the black gang, and traveling in a convoy during World War II. The last article left off in LeHavre, where the Red Cross took the crew members’ coffee and doughnuts back because the men were civilians and the Red Cross only gave to servicemen in uniform. These are the best recollections of his training and sea time from the end of 1943 to late 1946, so any inaccuracies in the details need not be brought to his attention. T his [having to give back the coffee and doughnuts] did not sit well with us. We passed this story around the ship when we went back up the gangplank. The Red Cross made it a practice to try and get aboard the ship when we were paid off after a trip. A table would be set up for payday on the ship. It would include the company men, purser and captain, with the chief engineer and chief mate to identify us as crew. Sometimes, a woman in a Red Cross full dress uniform would sit next to the captain, who handled the money. We got cash, not checks. Then, as the captain gave us our money, he would look over at the Red Cross woman and ask if we would like to donate to her cause. After the refusal of coffee and doughnuts in LeHavre fresh in our minds, we did not contribute. Of course, the captain felt very slighted because his men did not donate, or if they did, it was $5 or $10 instead of the $50 he wanted us to give. A lot of servicemen thought we made too much money and resented merchant seamen. This was ironic because in England and in the rest of Europe, we were rated at the top. Without us, these people would have no food, fuel or war materials. So if one was out for three or four months, their pay might be $500 or $600 cash. One time I had $511 due me. I got paid with one $500 bill, a $10 bill and a $1 bill. I had a hard time cashing a $500 bill in New York so that I could get a hotel room for the night. When they woke the manager up and I showed him my seamen’s papers, he finally changed it, but on one condition: It stayed in their safe until the day manager showed up. The next day I went down to the union hall and signed up for my card and paid my union dues. I turned in the minutes of the meeting I had held aboard ship. The dispatcher took me over to the side of the counter and thanked me for my efforts. He also noted in my union dues book that I had been a union rep on a ship. The last trip had been a relatively short one, so I hung around New York for only a few days. New York was too expensive, and one’s money disappeared pretty fast. One thing I forgot to note previously about money: When you left port in the United States, you did not have regular pay days. If you needed stuff off the ship’s supply, like clothes or candy and cigarettes, you could charge it. If you hit a port and they gave you shore leave, it was the captain’s option as to how much to give each man. We usually got around $10 or $15. When you got back to the States, they subtracted all you owed and paid you in one lump sum in cash for the balance. A short trip of a month or two might net you $200 or $300. So you would sign on again or go ashore and grab another ship as soon as you could. On a long trip of four or five months, your pay would be much higher if you happened to get in a war zone with actual fighting in the area. So if I was getting $90 a month as an oiler, I would get $180 a month, figured on time spent in a certain war zone. Then one could get $600 or $800 cash after all deductions. It sounded like a lot, but we had to pay all our own costs once we signed off a ship: room, board, travel, clothes, etc. So one could not stay ashore too long. I decided to go down to the union hall and see how things were going and look for a better ship. I was a fast learner on what to throw my card in for and which ship was best to sail on. I spotted a ship I liked and threw my card down for an oiler’s job. Fortunately, when I showed my card and union book, it was the same dispatcher I had talked with a couple days before. He finished looking at all the cards for that ship and asked me to stick around a minute. Then he came over and said there was an opening coming up for a junior engineer and would I like it. I said I didn’t have my papers for that rating. No problem, I had enough experience and they needed a junior engineer right now. So he gave me the pier number and away I went. I was a happy man. This meant a step up the short way—and more money. When I saw the ship, I thought I had really struck gold. It was a brand new C-3 class and just out of the shipyard and on its first trip. I was the last junior engineer signed in, so I got the top bunk. That meant I would be on the 12-4 watch. This was a high-pressure turbine that operated at 600 pounds steam pressure. It also signified that this ship could travel at 15 or 16 knots with no problems. It was also apparent that at 1720 miles per hour, we would travel alone and not in a convoy. On this ship, the fireman, oiler and junior engineer worked on the lower deck or grating, and the third engineer would be on the top grating by all the controls. We left New York the next morning and headed up toward Nova Scotia and Greenland. This would mean lots of fog, which was good for safety and for submarines not seeing us. But no sub could catch us at our speed, so we felt pretty safe. Everything went fine during the shakedown of the ship. Everything worked well, and we were all happy. I figured this would be one fine trip. I never did find out what kind of cargo we were carrying, but I heard that we had a dozen or so Jewish passengers on board going to England. On the third day, I went down for my 12-4 watch, relieved the junior engineer and checked out the pumps, generators and turbine gearing. Everything looked good and sounded good. The turbine ran around 6,000 rpm and really screamed. It was very hard to talk and be heard. We had to shout in each other’s faces. Everything went fine for about 10 minutes This is the building at the Merchant Marine Academy in Sheepshead Bay (in Brooklyn, N.Y.) where Stimac trained in 1943 for a career as a member of the engine department. 14 Seafarers LOG and then the fireman/watertender came running over pointing to the starboard boiler and up at the water gauge glass. This showed how much water was in the boiler. I hadn’t talked to him before and couldn’t understand in what tongue he spoke. He sounded just like on my first trip when the fireman/watertender I relieved was Portuguese. When I looked at the glass, I couldn’t tell if it was full of steam, full of water or empty. I turned open the valve to drain the gauge glass but still could not determine its status. I made the judgment that the boiler was dry or low on water and if we continued to keep the fires burning, it would blow up. I hollered for the third Albert Stimac (left) and a fellow shipmate sit amid the bombed out ruins in Bremerhaven, Germany in 1944. engineer to come down and look at the boiler and confirm my conclusion. He didn’t know what to do. It was his first trip as a third engineer, so I told him to go and shut the steam out of the starboard boiler as I was going to have the fireman cut the burners out of it and shut it down. In his haste or confusion, he opened the wrong valve and bled all the steam out of the good port boiler. With no steam to operate the ship, the turbine died down, the pumps and generators quit and we were dead in the water. We were in total darkness, and then all hell broke loose. The chief engineer and the first and second engineers came charging down with big flashlights. I spoke to them and they flashed their lights on me. They were up between the two boilers and I was beneath them. I told the chief that the starboard boiler was dry and told the third engineer to shut that system off. He ordered the fireman to blow down the boiler for him. Which he did, two or three times. One still couldn’t really tell if it had water. He then said it was too full and ordered me to have the fireman light up the port boiler, which had no steam left with which to operate the fuel pumps for the boilers. So the engineers had to come down and pump oil manually to the port boiler, which was now isolated from the starboard boiler. It took a lot of hard, manual labor to pump pressure oil to the burners. Finally, we got one burner lit and then managed to get the other three lit and build up steam to operate the pumps and generators. We were still dead in the water. This area was known for its submarine saturation, easy to pick off ships going to England. After we got everything running once again, the chief hollered down to me to light up the starboard boiler. I said I couldn’t see any water in it, it all looked like steam. I refused two times until he threatened me with a Coast Guard hearing when we got back and would yank my sailing papers. So I told the fireman to light up. He did OK on the first one, but I still didn’t like it. I left in a hurry and jumped behind the large gear transfer case and crouched down. Just in time! Evidently, I was correct in assuming the boiler was dry. The fireman had the third burner lit out of four when the chief told him to put water into the boiler. When that cold water hit those empty water tubes that were cherry red, the boiler blew. The chief and two other engineers were on the upper grate near the top of the boilers at the time. Fortunately, it only had steam enough to blow the tubes and bulge out the boiler, and lots of soot formed by the burners. There was lots of hollering and runing around, but eventually we secured everything and got underway with one boiler and headed back to New York. We could only make about seven or eight knots, so it took seven days to get back to New York. In the meantime, the Jewish refugees were all excited and eventually were allowed to walk on deck. It didn’t take long for a deckhand to spot a young 18 year-old girl. Soon everybody knew who the pasengers were: male, female, young, old, married and single. It was funny that as we limped back to New York with a disabled new ship, the officers never talked to us about this incident. Common sense told me that somebody was in big trouble, especially the chief engineer and my third engineer. One’s papers could easily get yanked for this. When we docked, we got news that we could go ashore and would be given some cash. This would be deducted from what cash we had coming. The captain was the complete master over everything. I believe we got about $10 and were told to make sure we were aboard by 9:00 the next morning. Of course this meant a night on the town. Some drank, perhaps a little more than they could handle. We got called up to the captain’s quarters for a meeting. It included only the engineers and our watch. The company had two lawyers there, so the lawyers did all the talking. They told the chief engineer to go through the evidence of the boiler blowing up. They would correct him on certain ways of saying things or correct usage of words. So we all were sharp enough to catch on quickly as to what to say so that we all told the same story and nobody would be held responsible and get their papers yanked. It went along fine until we got to my oiler, a young fellow of about 19 years who had had too much to drink the night before. Very bleary eyed and hung over, he just couldn’t grab the gist of the fabricated story the lawyers were trying to promote. He kept insisting he was next to me when the chief ordered me to light up and I wouldn’t. That is until he threatened me. Finally, he came around, and his story was that he was on the other side of the machinery, oiling and checking equipment. That afternoon, we went for a Coast Guard hearing. The officers went in first and were there a very long time. It seemed pretty cut-and-dried when we went in and told our stories about what happened. It didn’t take long for the court to reach a decision, and all the blame was put on shipyard workmanship and poor rundown inspection. We were all blameless, and the shipping company had no fiscal responsibility. The company wasted no time in assigning us to another ship. Brother Stimac’s wartime recollections will continue in a future edition of the Seafarers LOG. July 2007 �43332_p01_9,15,18,19:3332p0 6/22/2007 5:48 PM Page 15 Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea August & September 2007 Membership Meetings MAY 16 — JUNE 15, 2007 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals Totals DECK DEPARTMENT 2 0 2 4 1 2 8 8 1 0 4 3 9 2 2 0 1 2 6 6 2 1 0 12 0 5 33 32 1 10 12 32 12 27 4 3 8 1 40 18 1 3 4 12 2 3 24 17 1 6 5 17 16 11 6 13 5 5 23 17 1 0 1 3 3 1 3 3 1 0 1 2 2 0 1 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 2 9 0 3 26 17 0 8 4 32 7 14 0 2 7 2 15 20 5 1 8 21 5 21 62 59 2 19 24 85 22 32 8 2 16 2 52 57 5 12 10 26 10 16 49 37 3 17 13 50 14 19 7 9 16 7 60 23 5 1 2 7 2 2 12 13 0 3 5 8 14 4 3 1 1 1 12 14 311 244 63 253 191 27 168 503 403 110 1 0 5 6 1 9 12 14 0 9 9 19 8 17 4 1 3 1 5 5 4 4 5 9 3 3 9 20 3 1 7 10 15 6 2 4 5 3 15 11 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 0 0 1 1 3 1 1 0 1 3 4 5 0 0 4 4 0 8 14 12 0 5 5 12 12 12 2 0 2 1 7 6 1 1 1 6 3 0 13 22 1 4 4 8 11 7 3 1 5 1 15 8 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 2 4 0 3 10 5 0 2 4 3 5 2 0 1 5 0 8 7 1 0 10 7 1 11 26 25 0 12 14 34 9 20 5 3 5 2 16 19 3 4 7 12 8 9 14 27 3 5 8 28 17 11 2 6 5 4 28 13 1 1 0 4 2 3 2 2 0 0 1 6 3 3 1 0 2 3 3 12 129 139 26 106 115 16 63 220 214 49 2 0 4 7 2 10 30 10 0 5 8 22 10 24 4 1 1 1 23 24 1 0 0 9 1 6 14 7 1 4 4 6 15 4 2 2 3 0 7 11 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 7 2 9 14 22 0 7 5 17 2 20 1 1 1 2 25 18 1 0 0 4 0 4 9 7 0 1 2 4 7 7 1 1 3 0 10 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 3 10 6 0 2 4 10 3 10 2 1 1 0 11 12 3 0 9 7 1 21 44 19 0 7 10 36 16 37 5 2 2 1 28 37 1 0 0 20 1 13 14 11 1 6 6 13 19 4 3 4 2 2 9 15 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 4 3 0 1 0 0 0 4 2 188 97 11 154 69 9 79 285 144 24 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 0 0 3 9 1 4 0 0 0 0 4 3 2 5 2 5 2 7 14 21 2 5 3 36 16 21 1 7 1 3 17 10 5 0 1 10 1 5 11 13 2 0 6 13 14 14 2 16 1 2 10 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 5 0 1 1 6 1 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 3 0 1 16 7 0 2 3 9 10 11 1 11 1 1 14 12 0 0 1 6 0 4 4 7 0 0 1 3 8 8 1 12 0 0 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 4 5 0 0 5 14 0 11 0 0 0 0 6 3 2 6 5 12 4 17 35 35 3 9 8 90 22 25 1 5 2 2 28 15 7 0 2 13 3 12 20 23 3 2 10 32 15 14 3 12 4 3 19 9 31 180 130 26 104 62 0 52 326 206 659 660 230 539 479 114 310 1,060 1,087 389 ENGINE DEPARTMENT STEWARD DEPARTMENT Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals All Departments **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C 4 4 4 12 3 7 33 24 3 8 12 26 11 18 4 6 10 3 34 18 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs 3 1 5 13 3 11 37 34 1 14 14 51 13 23 5 3 12 1 38 29 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C ENTRY DEPARTMENT *“Total Registered” means the number of Seafarers who actually registered for shipping at the port. **“Registered on Beach” means the total number of Seafarers registered at the port. July 2007 Piney Point ...........Monday: August 6 ..............................Tuesday: September 4* ..............................(*change created by Labor Day Holiday) Algonac ................Friday: August 10, September 7 Baltimore..............Thursday: August 9, September 6 Boston ..................Friday: August 10, September 7 Guam ....................Thursday: August 23, September 20 Honolulu...............Friday: August 17, September 14 Houston ................Monday: August 13, September 10 Jacksonville ..........Thursday: August 9, September 6 Joliet .....................Thursday: August 16, September 13 Mobile ..................Wednesday: August 15, September 12 New Orleans.........Tuesday: August 14, September 11 New York .............Tuesday: August 7, September 4 Norfolk .................Thursday: August 9, September 6 Oakland ................Thursday: August 16, September 13 Philadelphia..........Wednesday: August 8, September 5 Port Everglades ....Thursday: August 16, September 13 San Juan ...............Thursday: August 9, September 6 St. Louis ...............Friday: August 17, September 14 Tacoma .................Friday: August 24, September 21 Wilmington...........Monday: August 20, September 17 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. Personals FRIENDS OF PRESTON BROUSSARD The family of Preston D. Broussard of Port Arthur, Texas and Cecilla, La. (who died March 21, 2006) would like to hear from friends of Mr. Broussard. Please call Mike at (409) 8388720. THE MARINE ELECTRIC The Marine Electric sank off the coast of Virginia in 1983. Anyone with photos or videos of the ship, please contact Gregory Scott at (312) 601-8350; or e-mail gregory. scott@towersproductions.com. Inland Career Opportunities: Immediate Job Openings The SIU has immediate openings in the inland division. Interested individuals who possess either a 1,600-ton master’s license (with near coastal or ocean endorsements) along with an Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (OICNW) STCW certificate; or a designated duty engineer (DDE) 5,000 hp or greater license are encouraged to contact Bart Rogers at the union’s manpower office at (301) 994-0010, extension 5317 for additional information. TWIC Updates The Transportation Security Administration around May 1 published a list of 131 U.S. cities and territories that have been tapped as locations for Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) fixed enrollment centers. Since then, there has been a dearth of formal announcements concerning the program, although last month numerous published reports quoted TSA officials as acknowledging delays that will push initial TWIC issuance back until this fall. The SIU will publicize information on the TWIC and its related merchant mariner qualification credential (MMC) as it is released by the various agencies involved. Meanwhile, the phone number for the TSA’s TWIC help desk is 877-687-2243, and the TSA’s TWIC web site is located at www.tsa.gov/twic. The union continues to post updates at www.seafarers.org, normally in the “Heard at Headquarters” and Seafarers LOG sections. Seafarers also are encouraged to check with their port agent from time to time for updates. Seafarers LOG 15 �43332_p06,10_14,16,17,20_24:332p0 6/19/2007 6:10 PM Page 16 Seafarers International Union Directory SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SIU PACIFIC DISTRICT PENSION PLAN Michael Sacco, President This is a summary of the annual report for the SIU Pacific District Pension Plan, 94-6061923 for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2006. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 5 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 Basic Financial Statement Benefits under the plan are provided by the Trust. Plan expenses were $10,555,326. These expenses included $970,320 in administrative expenses and $9,585,006 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 3,226 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $130,406,267 as of July 31, 2006, compared to $138,101,966 as of August 1, 2005. During the plan year, the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $7,695,699. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had a total income of $2,859,627, including employer contributions of $37,367, losses of $413,641 from the sale of assets, earnings from investments of $3,233,717 and other income of $2,184. Minimum Funding Standards An actuary's statement shows that enough money was contributed to the plan to keep it funded in accordance with the minimum funding standards of ERISA. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report. 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Financial information and information on payments to service providers; 3. Assets held for investment; 4. Transactions in excess of 5 percent of plan assets; and 5. Actuarial information regarding the funding of the plan. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of the SIU Pacific District Pension Plan, which is the administrator, 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107; tel. (415) 764-4990. The charge to cover copying costs will be $17 for the full annual report, or $0.25 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan, 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107 and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: Public Disclosure Room, Room N1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20210. SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SIU PACIFIC DISTRICT SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS FUNDS, INC. This is a summary of the annual report of the SIU Pacific District Supplemental Benefits Fund, Inc., EIN 94-1431246 for the year ended July 31, 2006. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Benefits under the plan are provided by the SIU Pacific District Supplemental Benefits Fund, Inc., a Trust Fund. Basic Financial Statement The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan was $996,980 as of July 31, 2006, compared to $1,282,960 as of August 1, 2005. During the plan year, the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $285,980. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets acquired during the year. During the plan year, the plan had a total income of $7,552,155, including employer contributions of $7,465,751, losses of $429 from the sale of assets, earnings from investments of $86,896 and other losses of $63. Plan expenses were $7,838,135. These expenses included $452,291 in administrative expenses and $7,385,844 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report. 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Financial information and information on payments to ser vice providers; 3. Assets held for investment; and 4. Transactions in excess of 5 percent of plan assets. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of the SIU Pacific District Supplemental Benefits Fund, Inc. at 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107; tel. (415) 764-4990. The charge to cover copying costs will be $6 for the full annual report, or $0.25 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan, 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107 and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: Public Disclosure Room, Room N1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20210. PIC-FROM-THE-PAST This photo was sent to the Seafarers LOG by Bruce E. Knight of Chesapeake, Va. Brother Knight was involved in organizing the Isthmian Steamship Company’s S.S. Horace Wells for the SIU in 1946. The picture shows the men on board the ship “the day we voted for the SIU.” He has drawn a circle around himself and indicated an arrow pointing to the bosun, Blackie Martin. Following that organizing run from Norfolk, Va. to Charleston, S.C., Knight was drafted into the U.S. Army. He served for four years and one month in both Japan and Germany. Following his military stint, he returned to sailing with the SIU. PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 A copy of his certificate of discharge, shows that Brother Knight worked as an acting AB aboard the S.S. Horace Wells in 1946. ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with the LOG readership, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. July 2007 �43332_p06,10_14,16,17,20_24:332p0 6/19/2007 6:11 PM Page 17 Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA JAMES BADGETT, 65, joined the Seafarers in 1972 in the port of Houston. Brother Badgett’s first voyage was aboard the Overseas Aleutian. The engine department member, who was born in Texas, was a frequent upgrader at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Brother Badgett last sailed on the Commitment. He calls Bonham, Texas home. JOHN CAIN, 71, first sailed with the SIU in 1953 aboard the Alcoa Pegasus. He was born in Mobile, Ala. and worked in the deck dpeartment. His most recent ship was the Overseas Natalie. Brother Cain lives in LaPorte, Texas. RICKEY CAVENDER, 50, launched his SIU career in 1970. Brother Cavender first shipped aboard a Michigan Tankers Inc. vessel. A native of Indianapolis, Brother Cavender upgraded his skills often at the Piney Point school. He was member of the engine department. Brother Cavender’s most recent voyage was aboard the Thompson Pass. He is a resident of Wilmington, Calif. MICHAEL CLAPSHAW, 65, joined the SIU in 1978. Brother Clapshaw first sailed on the Overseas Anchorage as a member of the engine department. He was born in Port Angeles, Wash. and upgraded on numerous occasions at the unionaffiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Brother Clapshaw most recently sailed aboard the Tacoma. He continues to reside in the state of Washington. JOHN GEHRING, 65, was born in Colorado. Brother Gehring became a union member in 1987. He first sailed on the USNS Silas Bent. Brother Gehring worked in the steward department. In 2000 and 2001, he attended classes at the Paul Hall Center to upgrade his seafaring skills. Brother Gehring’s most recent trip to sea was aboard the Calvin P. Titus. He makes his home in Ronan, Mont. July 2007 TOMMY LISTER, 65, started shipping with the union in 1963 in the port of Mobile, Ala. Brother Lister, who was born in Mississippi, sailed in the deck department. His first ship was the TransIndiana; his last the USNS Bellatrix. Brother Lister settled in Neely, Miss. EARL MACOM, 63, joined the SIU in 1965, first sailing on the Topa Topa. The Missouri native worked in the engine department, most recently aboard the USNS Chesapeake. He calls Morrill, Maine home. JOHN MIRANDA, 56, commenced his seafaring career in 1971. Brother Miranda’s first voyage was on the Dauntless. The engine department member, who was born in New York, most recently sailed aboard the Prince William Sound. He lives in Bush, La. THOMAS PAPPAS, 65, began sailing with the union in 1991. Brother Pappas first sailed with the MC&S Marine Cooks & Stewards (MC&S) on the Northern Light. He was born in Virginia. Before retiring, Brother Pappas shipped aboard the USNS Soderman. He continues to reside in Virginia. LINTON REYNOLDS JR., 65, is a native of Clinton, Iowa. Brother Reynolds joined the SIU in 1967 in the port of San Francisco, first sailing on an ISCO Inc. vessel. He last worked in the engine department aboard the Overseas Marilyn. Brother Reynolds is a resident of Dayton, Texas. HERMAN RHODES, 66, began his seafaring career in 1999 in the port of Mobile, Ala. Born in Graysville, Ala., Brother Rhodes sailed in the engine department, working primarily on vessels operated by Maersk Line Limited, including the USNS Sisler and the USNS Watson. Brother Rhodes makes his home in Mobile, Ala. INLAND JAMES ADDINGTON, 63, launched his seafaring career in 1986 in the port of New Orleans. Boatman Addington initially shipped aboard Red Circle Transport Co. vessels. The deck department member most recently worked on Crowley Towing & Transportation vessels. Boatman Addington settled in Portland, Tenn. WALLACE CUMBEST, 56, joined the union in 1977. Boatman Cumbest, who was born in Georgia, sailed primarily aboard Crowley Towing Co. vessels. Boatman Cumbest attended classes on multiple occasions at the Paul Hall Center. He resides in Oldtown, Fla. ARTURO MARTINEZ, 62, began shipping with the SIU in 1987 from the port of St. Louis. Boatman Martinez initially worked aboard a Delta Queen Steamship Co. vessel. He is a native of Honduras. Boatman Martinez most recently sailed on the Mississippi Queen. He calls Houston home. WILLIAM MATHEWS, 61, embarked on his seafaring career in 1967. Boatman Mathews first sailed in the deep sea division on the Coeur d’Alene. He upgraded frequently at the Piney Point school. Boatman Mathews’ most recent voyage was aboard a Penn Maritime vessel. He makes his home in Aydlett, N.C. ROSA MEZO, 63, became a union member in 1994. Sister Mezo sailed primarily aboard Orgulf Transport Co. vessels. She was a member of the steward department. Sister Mezo is a resident of Dix, Ill. Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1945 When Brother Richard Lewis left New York in January 1941 on the City of Alma, a Waterman ship bound for Santos, he never thought the voyage would eventually take him to Shanghai, Manila and the infamous death march of Bataan. But the sequence of unforeseen events did that to this SIU seaman and, recently arrived back in the States, he told a thrilling story of his experiences in the intervening four years…. When it became impossible to leave Manila (where he had been hospitalized), Lewis offered his services to the Army, along with a number of other merchant seamen and was put to work moving supplies from Manila to Corregidor…. Following the surrender on April 9, 1942, Lewis and several other merchant seamen were put in a stockade with Philippine civilians and troops for about a week, after which they were started on the Death March of Bataan. His memories of this experience include the sight of hundreds of Filipino women being raped by foreign soldiers, of soldiers and civilians shot as they tried to get water, of men abandoned by the road to die or be bayoneted by the guards as the procession trudged along. The only food during seven days of the march was what furtive Filipinos managed to pass them along the route…. Brother Lewis himself was lined up for burial, but crawled away before the burial squad did its gruesome work. ROLAND SIMMS, 64, was born in Lewes, Del. Boatman Simms first sailed in 1977 on an IBC Co. vessel and most recently worked on an Interstate Oil Transport Co. vessel. Boatman Simms resides in Georgetown, Del. MELVIN WILLIS, 66, commenced his SIU career in 1962. Boatman Willis joined the Seafarers in 1962. Prior to retiring, he sailed with Steuart Transportation Company. Boatman Willis settled in Marshallberg, N.C. GREAT LAKES MAYNARD BAKER, 66, joined the union in 1960 in the port of Detroit. Brother Baker, who was born in Michigan, first sailed on an American Steamship Co. vessel. He worked in both the engine and deck departments. Brother Baker last shipped aboard the St. Clair. He lives in Marine City, Mich. Continued on page 20 any aspect of the program. Three headquarters officials of the union are working full time on administration of the seniority system to assure smooth operation. They are Keith Terpe, director of organization, who is handling seniority matters for the district; A “French” Michelet, chief dispatcher at headquarters; and Freddie Stewart, working with Michelet as dispatcher. The seniority system was negotiated by the union with the shipowners in March and has been incorporated into the contract along with other membership-approved shipping rules. This Month In SIU History 1955 In effect for four months, the SIU’s seniority shipping system has been operating smoothly in all ports. No major hitches have developed in 1965 The Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO, has charged that the efforts to resolve the current collective bargaining dispute in maritime which has immobilized more than 100 vessels is “being thwarted by a handful of willful shipping company officials, representing just eight companies, who have refused to conclude agreements with any of the maritime unions whose contracts are now open for renegotiation.” MTD President Paul Hall said in a statement forwarded from Amsterdam, Holland, where he had been attending the International Confederation of Free Trade Union Congress as an AFL-CIO delegate, that “this situation is of grave concern to the Maritime Trades Department, which represents hundreds of thousands of workers who are dependent upon the maritime industry for their livelihoods. It is of particular concern at this time when a tripartite effort on the part of maritime labor, management and the government is being made to find ways and means of strengthening and improving the American-flag merchant fleet.” Seafarers LOG 17 �43332_p01_9,15,18,19x:3332p0 6/26/2007 4:41 PM Page 18 Final Departures DEEP SEA JULIO ARZU Brother Julio Arzu, 38, passed away Nov. 28. He became an SIU member in 1991. Brother Arzu, who was born in Honduras, first sailed aboard the Independence. He most recently worked on the Tyco Decisive. Brother Arzu lived in Houston. BENJAMIN BALERIO Pensioner Benjamin Balerio, 72, died Nov. 28. Brother Balerio joined the union in 1968. His first ship was the Midlake; his last was the Overseas Alaska. Brother Balerio, who went on pension in 1999, continued to reside in his native Texas. PETER BATAYIAS Pensioner Peter Batayias, 83, passed away Nov. 23. Brother Batayias began his seafaring career in 1964. His first voyage was aboard a vessel operated by Waterman Steamship Corp. Brother Batayias was a member of the steward department. He last sailed on the Horizon Mayaquez. Brother Batayias retired in 1993. He was a resident of Savannah, Ga. DAVID BOARD Pensioner David Board, 84, died Nov. 28. Brother Board began shipping with the SIU in 1967. The deck department member, who was born in Cuba, first worked aboard the USNS Potomac. Prior to retiring in 1989, he sailed on the Seattle. Brother Board made his home in Jacksonville, Fla. ROBERT BROWN Pensioner Robert Brown, 76, passed away Nov. 28. Brother Brown joined the union in 1956. His first voyage was aboard the Louis Emery Jr. Brother Brown sailed in the deck department. His last voyage was on the Horizon Kodiak. Brother Brown called Elma, Wash. home. He started collecting his pension in 1996. MAURICE DUET Pensioner Maurice Duet, 79, died Nov. 15. Brother Duet began his seafaring career in 1945, first sailing aboard a Delta Steamship Lines vessel. Born in Crown Point, La., Brother Duet worked in the deck department most recently on the Cape Farewell. He settled in Maurice, La. Brother Duet became a pensioner in 1990. JOHN FLUNKER Pensioner John Flunker, 87, passed away Nov. 23. Brother Flunker joined the Marine Cooks & Stewards (MC&S) in 1954 in the port of San Francisco. He first shipped aboard the Del Oro as a member of the steward department. Brother 18 Seafarers LOG Flunker’s last voyage was on the President Jackson. He was born in the Philippines and made Seattle his home. Brother Flunker retired in 1985. FRANK FROMM Pensioner Frank Fromm, 88, died Nov. 13. Brother Fromm first sailed with the SIU in 1951 from the port of Mobile, Ala. His first ship was the Steel Architect; his last was the Connecticut. Brother Fromm, who was born in New Jersey, worked in the deck department. He went on pension in 1981. Brother Fromm was a resident of Lindenhurst, N.Y. WILFREDO GATEMAN Brother Wilfredo Gateman, 51, passed away Nov. 20. He became an SIU member in 1997 in Piney Point, Md. Brother Gateman was born in the Philippines and shipped in the deck department. His most recent voyage was aboard the Alaskan Navigator. Brother Gateman lived in Hawaii. CARLOS GOMEZ Pensioner Carlos Gomez, 79, died Nov. 14. Brother Gomez joined the Seafarers in 1951. He initially shipped on the Strathmore in the engine department. Brother Gomez was a native of Argentina. Before retiring in 1988, he sailed aboard the Steel Voyager. Brother Gomez called Winter Park, Fla. home. ERNEST KOLENOVSKY Pensioner Ernest Kolenovsky, 85, passed away Nov. 11. Brother Kolenovsky began his SIU career in 1947. The deck department member first sailed on the Walter Tyler Page. Brother Kolenovsky, who was born in Texas, last worked aboard the Connecticut. He settled in Galveston, Texas and started receiving compensation for his retirement in 1981. NICHOLAS LOMAS Pensioner Nicholas Lomas, 78, died Nov. 10. Brother Lomas embarked on his seafaring career in 1946. His first voyage was on the Fort Bridge. Brother Lomas, who was born in Galveston, Texas, worked in the deck department. He last sailed aboard the Horizon Discovery. Brother Lomas retired in 1992 and resided in Tampa, Fla. JESSE LUSIAN Brother Jesse Lusian, 25, passed away Sept. 2. Born in Santa Rosa, Calif., Brother Lusian joined the SIU in 2003 in Piney Point, Md. He initially sailed on the USNS Pomeroy. Brother Lusian’s most recent voyage was aboard the USNS Red Cloud. He made his home in Hemet, Calif. FELIX VITO Pensioner Felix Vito, 83, died Oct. 13. Brother Vito launched his seafaring career in 1945. His earliest trip to sea was aboard a Bloomfield Steamship Co. vessel. Brother Vito last worked on the Oakland. He became a pensioner in 1984 and called Reno, Nev. home. INLAND JOSEPH LONG Pensioner Joseph Long, 75, passed away Oct. 4. Boatman Long joined the union in 1968. He first worked aboard Gulf Atlantic Transportation Corp. vessels. Boatman Long, who was born in Baltimore, last sailed on a Piney Point Transportation vessel. Boatman Long started collecting his pension in 1996. He was a resident of Newport, N.C. JAMES MARTIN SR. Pensioner James Martin Sr., 79, died Oct. 8. Boatman Martin joined the SIU in 1974. He first worked aboard a Moran Towing of Virginia vessel. Boatman Martin was an Ohio native. He last sailed on McAllister Towing boats. Boatman Martin, who retired in 1989, lived in Norfolk, Va. RICHARD MOSS Pensioner Richard Moss, 57, passed away Nov. 20. Boatman Moss became a union member in 1968. He sailed in the deck department in both the inland and deep sea divisions. Boatman Moss first shipped aboard a Texas City Refining Inc. vessel and last worked aboard G&H Towing Co. vessels. He resided in Texas and went on pension in 1998. home in his native state of Minnesota. Boatman Sweeney started receiving compensation for his retirement in 1988. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust have passed away. AMBLER BRANHAM Pensioner Ambler Branham, 98, passed away Aug. 11. Brother Branham joined the NMU in 1967, first sailing from the port of Beaumont, Texas aboard the Margaret Lykes. Born in Amhurst, Va., he worked on the Gulf Knight before retiring in 1978. Pensioner Joseph Self, 76, died Oct. 3. Boatman Self was born in Hemphill, Texas and began sailing with the union in 1962. He worked primarily aboard National Marine Service vessels. Boatman Self, who called Jasper, Texas home, went on pension in 1994. GREAT LAKES JACK SWEENEY Pensioner Jack Sweeney, 83, passed away Nov. 22. Brother Sweeney began his seafaring career in 1970, initially shipping aboard a Michigan Tankers Inc. vessel. He was a member of the steward department. Brother Sweeney last sailed on the Seniority Men. He made his Pensioner Julio Rocca, 85, died Aug. 4. Brother Rocca joined the NMU in 1946 in the port of New York. He first shipped aboard the Clevelander. Brother Rocca was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. His last voyage was on the Cape Hudson. Brother Rocca became a pensioner in 1971. THEODORE WADDELL Pensioner Theodore Waddell, 76, passed away Aug. 18. Brother Waddell joined the NMU ranks in 1968 in the port of Baltimore. He initially worked in the steward department of the Rio. Brother Waddell was born in Maryland. He retired in 1987. SECUNDINO CARRION Pensioner Secundino Carrion, 83, died Aug. 23. Brother Carrion became an NMU member in 1961 in the port of New York. The Puerto Rico-born mariner shipped in the steward department. Brother Carrion’s first vessel was the Atlantic; his last was the American Liberty. He started collecting his pension in 1986. JOHN CLARK Pensioner John Clark, 78, passed away Sept. 20. Brother Clark joined the NMU in 1945 in the port of Wilmington, Calif. Born in Kansas City, Kan., he last sailed aboard the Zoella Lykes. Brother Clark began his retirement in 1987. ROGELIO COLON JOSEPH SELF JULIO ROCCA Pensioner Rogelio Colon, 81, died Sept. 6. Brother Colon began his seafaring career in 1962 in the port of San Francisco, Calif. He initially worked on the Garden State as a member of the steward department. Brother Colon was born in Puerto Rico. His last boyage was on board the Marine Duval. Brother Colon retired in 1992. MICHAEL LEYDON Pensioner Michael Leydon, 82, passed away Aug. 1. Brother Leydon was born in Sligo, Ireland. He started sailing with the union in 1946 from the port of New York. Brother Leydon first sailed on the Sea Porpoise as a member of the deck department. Brother Leydon’s last voyage was on the Chestnut Hill. He went on pension in 1991. EGBERT WALCOTT Pensioner Egbert Walcott, 88, died Aug. 19. Brother Walcott joined the NMU in 1943 in the port of Mobile, Ala. His first ship was the Winding Gulf. Brother Walcott was a native of Barbados, W.I. The steward department member most recently sailed aboard the Austral Ensign. Brother Walcott began receiving his retirement compensation in 1981. MILTON WALTERS Pensioner Milton Walters, 76, passed away Aug. 30. Brother Walters began his seafaring career in 1951 in the port of Norfolk, Va. His first voyage was on the Pan Pennsylvania. Brother Walters shipped in the engine department. He last sailed on the Tillie Lykes. Brother Walters went on pension in 1995. ROBERT WALTHALL Pensioner Robert Walthall, 81, died Aug. 12. Brother Walthall joined the union in 1947 while in Galveston, Texas. His first ship was the Pan Massachusetts. Brother Walthall was born in Kirven, Texas and sailed as a member of the engine department. He last worked on the Texaco New Jersey. Brother Walthall became a pensioner in 1973. CHARLES WILLIAMS Pensioner Charles Williams, 89, passed away Aug. 3. Brother Williams first sailed aboard the African Neptune in 1939. Born in Jacksonville, Fla., he worked in the steward department. Prior to retiring in 1981, Brother Williams sailed on a vessel operated by Farrell Lines. July 2007 �43332_p01_9,15,18,19:3332p0 6/22/2007 5:48 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. HORIZON ENTERPRISE (Horizon Lines), April 5—Chairman George B. Khan, Secretary William E. Bryley, Educational Director Michael J. Wells, Engine Delegate John E. Coleman, Steward Delegate Soriano S. Grande. Chairman reported ship paid off today after making final run to Guam and Hong Kong. Next voyage will start “Pineapple” run (Tacoma, Oakland, Honolulu). Secretary reminded departing crew members to clean rooms and leave fresh linen for next members. Educational director advised crew to check document expiration dates and, if necessary, renew early. He also reminded them to read the Seafarers LOG to stay current on what’s happening in union and in maritime industry and encouraged them to upgrade skills at Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew advised to keep an eye on clothes that are in dryer. Chief engineer to be notified about possible repair. Suggestions were made regarding medical plan. Crew thanked steward department for great St. Patrick’s Day barbecue. HORIZON TACOMA (Horizon Lines), April 1—Chairman Joseph Artis, Secretary Lincoln E. Pinn Jr., Educational Director Mohamed N. Ahlsinai. Chairman announced April 3 payoff upon arrival in Tacoma, Wash. He urged everyone to keep dues paid up and support SPAD for increased job security. Crew members were thanked for helping clean ship. Educational director encouraged mariners to take advantage of upgrading opportunities offered at Piney Point facility. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew expressed gratitude to steward department for job well done. Next port: Tacoma, Wash. HORIZON TRADER (Horizon Lines), April 15—Chairman Amante V. Gumiran, Secretary Kevin M. Dougherty, Educational Director Thomas M. Flynn, Deck Delegate Mohsin A. Ali, Engine Delegate Mohamed M. Abdulla. Bosun announced April 21 payoff to take place prior to arrival in Tacoma, Wash. He stated ship is then scheduled for dry dock in China on June 17. Educational director encouraged crew members to attend classes at SIU-affiliated school to upgrade seafaring skills. Treasurer noted $860 in crew fund and $1,000 in satellite TV fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Seafarers requested new radio with DVD player for crew lounge and made suggestions for next contract. Next ports: Tacoma; Oakland, Calif.; Honolulu; Hong Kong. JEAN ANNE (Interocean American Shipping), April 22—Chairman Daniel Davenport, Secretary Samuel P. Sinclair, Educational Director David F. Cutro, Deck Delegate Vince Ippolito, Steward Delegate Mary L. Maddox. Chairman thanked all departments for outstanding work July 2007 and dedication during recent voyages. Secretary went over eligibility issues. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Engine delegate expressed crew’s gratitude to bosun for his support during journey. Next port: San Diego. LOUIS J. HAUGE JR. (Maersk Line Limited), April 23—Chair- Paul Hall Center. Treasurer stated $1,962 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. President’s report and communication from VP George Tricker concerning retirement and pension were read. Crew members were reminded to clean rooms and supply fresh linen for reliefs. Thanks given to steward department for “excellent job.” GLOBAL SENTINEL (Transoceanic Cable Ship), May 29— Chairman Lee Hardman, Secretary Shawn R. Fujiwara, Educational Director Vladimir G. Tkachev, Deck Delegate David L. Parks, Engine Delegate Johnny W. Carson, Steward Delegate Robert J. Haggerty. Chairman reviewed new health care information and encouraged members to check Seafarers LOG of May 2007 or carrier web site for further information. He stated that vessel will load cable next week for pro- report any problems immediately. He announced May 11 arrival in Tacoma, Wash. Treasurer stated $250 in ship’s fund and an additional $2,000 with captain. Suggestion made to use ship fund money to reimburse crew members who personally bought converters. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Captain has posted sign stating that gym equipment will be furnished each trip. Volunteers are needed to purchase more equipment. They will be reimbursed. Requests made for steam table, grill/griddle and additional refrigerator for galley. Clarification requested regarding medical benefits. Crew is encouraged to read and check out web site on STCW renewal. HORIZON PRODUCER (Horizon Lines), May 23—Chairman Joel A. Lechel, Secretary Alexander Banky III, Educational Celebrating Flag Day on the Obregon Flag Day—June 14—was welcomed aboard the Pfc Eugene A. Obregon with a special menu and, of course, lots of flags! The ship’s steward department put forth their best efforts in showing the pride held by the crew members for the flag of the United States of America. The Obregon’s steward department consists of (from the left, standing) Chief Steward Patrick D. Helton, Assistant Cook/Utility Rod Jackson and Steward Assistant Timoteo Nunez. Kneeling are Chief Cook Eric Hernandez and Steward Assistant René Alfaro. Chief Cook Eric Hernanez (left) and Chief Steward Patrick Helton display their American flag cake. Thanks to Helton for sending these photos to the Seafarers LOG. man Paul C. Johnson, Secretary George J. Borromeo, Educational Director Arthur J. Kately III, Deck Delegate George McClendon, Steward Delegate Salvatore P. Gotti. Chairman talked about TWIC and how it affects SIU members. He also went over new company policy concerning a preboarding physical. Educational director urged members to take advantage of educational opportunities at Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Communication from headquarters was read and discussed. Next port: Saipan. MAERSK VIRGINIA (Maersk Line Limited), April 15—Chairman Mohamed S. Ahmed, Secretary Hugh E. Wildermuth, Educational Director Donald M. Christian, Deck Delegate Roberto Flores, Engine Delegate Sjamsidar Madjidji. Chairman reported smooth trip with great crew and announced April 23 payoff in Newark, N.J. Secretary thanked crew for help and support in making this a good trip. Educational director stressed importance of upgrading skills at Steward Assistant René Alfaro stands at the decorated salad bar. ject for fall of 2007 and to remember that ship is on a 24-hour standby status. Pertaining to SMPPP, he reminded crew to keep track of their sea days and make sure beneficiary forms are filled out; they are not the same as union beneficiary forms. He noted that ship is awaiting a bid for repair of crew lounge furniture. Crew was asked to return movies to movie locker when done watching them and to report any water seen on deck to chairman. Request was made for copies of current Tyco-SIU contract and manning scale for various cable operations. Educational director urged mariners to make an appointment, if necessary, with Coast Guard to renew shipping documents. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendation made regarding work rotations and lower retirement age. HORIZON HUNTER (Horizon Lines), May 6—Chairman Larry E. Watson, Secretary Jennifer K. Kim, Educational Director Joe Eagan, Deck Delegate George W. Mazzola. Chairman reminded crew members not to wait for a meeting to report safety issues; Director Jeffrey D. Levie, Steward Delegate Fernando L. Vega Mercado. Bosun thanked crew for helping keep ship clean and congratulated them on successful Coast Guard inspection. He noted continuing need for help in separating plastic items from other trash. Secretary reported great voyage and thanked crew for helping with Captain Cocozza’s (“the best captain ever”) retirement barbecue. Educational director encouraged Seafarers to be aware of expiration dates on MMDs and upgrade skills at Paul Hall Center. Treasurer stated $4,156 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestions made concerning pension plan and addition for web site. Vote of thanks given to steward department for good meals and clean galley. HOUSTON (U.S.S. Transport), May 20—Chairman John R. Lamprecht, Secretary Robert E. Wilcox, Educational Director Scott S. Fuller, Deck Delegate Sunday Nwankwo, Engine Delegate Hugh Morrison, Steward Delegate David Gibson. Chairman stressed the importance of shipboard meetings as a valuable way to keep the union and its members strong and informed. He also led discussion on possibility of increasing size of steward department due to large number of crew, cadets and other riders. Secretary asked crew to make sure doors to house are closed tightly so air conditioning will perform properly. He also thanked them for helping keep lounge and common areas clean. Educational director advised all members to stay informed about TWIC issue and read Seafarers LOG for any new developments. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew expressed gratitude to steward department for good food and hard work. Next ports: Philadelphia, Pa.; Bayonne, N.J.; Port Canaveral and Port Everglades, Fla. ITB NEW YORK (U.S.S. Transport), May 13—Chairman Calvin M. Miles, Secretary Milton M. Yournett, Educational Director Jimmie E. Thomas, Deck Delegate Hussein M. Mohamed. Chairman reported May 16 payoff upon arrival in Houston. Departing crew reminded to clean rooms and leave keys and fresh linen for next mariner. Educational director urged members to check expiration dates on z-card and passports. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendations made regarding pension and medical plan. Vote of thanks given to steward department for job well done. Next port: Houston. PRIDE (Maersk Line Limited), May 6—Chairman Omaha S. Redda, Secretary Osvaldo J. Castagnino, Educational Director Matthew P. Ditullio, Engine Delegate Bruce M. Koete, Steward Delegate Obencio M. Espinoza. Chairman announced May 7 payoff at sea and thanked crew for their cooperation during voyage. Secretary asked mariners getting off to leave rooms clean and take dirty towels/sheets to linen locker. He thanked crew for helping keep messhall clean. Educational director encouraged crew members to take advantage of opportunity to attend classes at union-affiliated school in Piney Point. No beefs; disputed OT reported in steward department. Clarification requested on calling of standbys. Everyone expressed gratitude to steward department for excellent food. Next ports: Charleston, S.C.; Houston; Norfolk, Va. QUALITY (Maersk Line Limited), May 12—Chairman William M. Richard, Secretary Franklin J. Cordero, Educational Director Timothy E. Pillsworth, Deck Delegate Robert S. Vazquez. Chairman thanked all departments for smooth, safe voyage. Secretary expressed his gratitude to fellow members for helping keep ship’s house clean. Educational director encouraged everyone to keep documents current and upgrade at Paul Hall Center whenever possible. Treasurer stated $2,000 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Clarification requested as to why company cut back on certain food items. They also discussed the way incoming mail should be handled. Members requested new chair and e-mail hook-up for crew lounge. Vote of thanks was given to steward department for job well done. Of special note, AB Joseph Archer was given a wristwatch from Maersk from the captain for helping prevent an oil spill during a stowaway search. Seafarers LOG 19 �43332_p06,10_14,16,17,20_24:332p0 6/19/2007 6:13 PM Page 20 Letters to the Editor Editor’s note: The Seafarers LOG reserves the right to edit letters for grammar as well as space provisions without changing the writer’s intent. The LOG welcomes letters from members, pensioners, their families and shipmates and will publish them on a timely basis. Credit for Job Well Done Bill Eglinton’s retirement from the Paul Hall Center will be a loss. I met Bill in 1976 when he was an instructor at the school and I was an engine department upgrader. I especially valued a course that Bill taught, diesel for unlicensed engine department members. It differed from many other courses for upgraders because it did not lead directly to an MMD endorsement. But it provided a special opportunity for those of us who were without officer academy training. It was clear that Bill really enjoyed teaching this course, and most of us in the class picked up on his enthusiasm. I still use material presented in the course. I was Pensioners Continued from page 17 LAWRENCE CURNOW, 65, became a union member in 1966. Brother Curnow first worked aboard a Great Lakes Associates Inc. vessel. Born in Duluth, Minn., Brother Curnow’s most recent voyage was on the John Boland. He continues to call Duluth home. pleased when Bill remained at the school because I knew he would be an asset. Among the contributions that should be attributed to him, at least in part, was the school’s transition from teaching traditional shipboard department basics and specializations into the present multi-program curriculums. I remember that Bill was among the first at the school to see the need for ongoing changes. He had observed that worldwide developments were occurring for mariners’ qualifications, and the American maritime industry as we knew it was in jeopardy. He also knew that changes which would assure our membership’s security and mobility would be difficult. At that time, the school was just starting to enjoy membership acceptance, and it would have been easier to ride things out hoping for the best. Bill was one of the major players in aggressive developments at the school that followed, and his leadership was a key factor that helped provide for and lead to the programs and resources we have available today. In my view the membership Lindemuth joined the SIU in 1978, first working on a Michigan Interstate Railway vessel in the deck department. Brother Lindemuth most recently sailed aboard the Alpena. He lives in Pellston, Mich. and the American maritime industry as a whole have been served well during Bill’s tenure at the school. He was the right person there at the right time. Eric Sager Martinsburg, West Virginia Relief Fund A Big Help Because of Hurricane Katrina, I had a lot of damage to my home and had to replace the roof, among other things. I also had to replace a shed out back and a freezer in the garage, which was flooded. Three trees were downed and there was an awful lot of yard cleanup—just a lot of damage due to wind and water. Many others had it far worse, but I’m still trying to get it all back together. The assistance I received through the Seafarers Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) was a big help and I truly appreciate it. I want to say thank you to all of our officials and members. I wish you fair winds and following seas. Gene Wilson Saraland, Alabama McCarthy. In 2003, he attended the Seafarers-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. to upgrade his skills. Brother Nassir most recently sailed aboard the St. Mary’s Challenger. Born in Yemen, he makes his home in Detroit. SAID NASSIR, 66, joined the SIU in 1988. Brother Nassir’s earliest trip to sea was on the Walter J. ROLAND LINDEMUTH, 60, was born in Michigan. Brother Know Your Rights THE SLOP CHEST Items are available via the slop chest link on our web site at: Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. www.seafarers.org or e-mail corrections to kclements@seafarers.org 7/07 (Please Print) Name: ___________________________________________________________________________ Phone No.: _______________________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ Social Security No.: ________ / ________ / ________ Active SIU Pensioner Book No.: ___________________ Other _______________________________________ This will be my permanent address for all official union mailings. This address should remain in the union file unless otherwise changed by me personally. 20 Seafarers LOG SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 be mailed (unless otherwise specified). If you are getting more than one copy of the LOG delivered to you, if you have changed your address, or if your name or address is misprinted or incomplete, please fill out the form and send it to: Seafarers International Union Address Correction Dept. 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 HOME ADDRESS FORM TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. The exclusive online source for Seafarers International Union merchandise. Are You Receiving All Your Important Mail? In order to help ensure that each active SIU member and pensioner receives a copy of the Seafarers LOG every month—as well as other important mail such as W-2 forms, pension and health insurance checks and bulletins or notices—a correct home address must be on file with the union. If you have moved recently or feel that you are not getting your union mail, please use the form on this page to update your home address. Your home address is your permanent address, and this is where all official union documents will FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. July 2007 �43332_p06,10_14,16,17,20_24:332p0 6/19/2007 6:13 PM Page 21 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. for most of 2007. All programs are geared to improve the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Deck Upgrading Courses FOWT August 13 October 8 September 7 November 2 Junior Engineer July 16 September 7 Machinist July 9 July 27 Marine Electrician September 24 November 16 Pumpman* July 9 July 20 July 30 August 10 August 6 October 1 October 29 August 24 October 19 November 16 (*must have tankerman familiarization/ assistant cargo (DL) AND machinist) Welding Safety Specialty Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Advanced Fire Fighting July 9 July 20 July 27 August 31 Start Date Date of Completion July 9 August 20 October 1 August 3 September 14 October 26 Fast Rescue Boat July 23 August 27 Basic Safety Training Classes are conducted weekly Automatic Radar Plotting Aids* (ARPA) (*must have radar unlimited) October 22 October 26 Government Vessels Celestial Navigation July 9 August 3 GMDSS August 13 August 24 July 16 August 6 September 17 November 5 July 20 August 10 September 21 November 9 Lifeboatman/Water Survival August 6 September 17 October 29 August 17 September 28 November 9 Medical Care Provider July 23 July 27 Tankerman Familiarization/ Assistant Cargo (DL)* September 24 October 5 November 26 December 7 Radar October 8 October 19 Radar Renewal (one day) October 29 August 13 August 17 Course Able Seaman (*must have basic fire fighting) Tankerman (PIC) Barge* (*must have basic fire fighting) Steward Upgrading Courses Recertification Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations modules start every week. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward classes start every other week beginning July 9, 2007. Bosun October 8 November 5 Steward July 9 August 6 Academic Department Courses Engine Upgrading Courses Course Basic Auxiliary Plant Ops Start Date Date of Completion July 16 September 10 August 10 October 5 General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Date of Birth ______________________ With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twentyfive (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. BEGIN DATE COURSE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Seniority _____________________________ Department _____________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ U.S. Citizen: ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Yes No Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? Yes No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ July 2007 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 7/07 Seafarers LOG 21 �43332_p06,10_14,16,17,20_24:332p0 6/19/2007 6:14 PM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 686 — Graduating from the water survival course are unlicensed apprentices from class 686. They include (in alphabetical order) Charles Brown Jr., Mark Brownell, Jean Cardona-Santiago, Mario Cruz, Cleveland Foy, Preston Grant, Daniel Irizarry, Stanley Jackson Jr., Dawn Johnson, Dontae Jones, Demond Lindsey, Sabrina Long, Peter McNeal, Pierre Norwood, Trevor Rowe, Christopher Ruggiero, Arvid Rutledge, Bobby Turner, Robert Watson, Ryanne Wheeler, Melody White, Falando Williams and Benjamin Wright. AB — With instructor Bernabe Pelingon (far left) are upgraders who completed the AB course May 11. They are (in no specific order) David Stavron, Daniel Stavron, Parris Mancuso, Darnell Taylor, Johnny Starnes, Larry Castaneda-Mercado, Gabe Williamson, Nicholas Kempker, Omar Madrid, Robert Freeman Jr., Jamar Allen, Daniel Dale, Scott Stilwell, Orien Nelson, Daron Tinney, Scott Bloomfield, Clifford Cronan, Jeffrey Gronotte Jr., Robert Morrison, Kevin Wimbley and Michael Stilwell. Advanced Fire Fighting — Graduating from this course May 4 are MTLX boatmen (in no specific order) Adam Emanual, Robert Stone, Tacek Sawicki, Kesse Kesse, Clyde McNatt, Darrel Koonce Jr., Brandon Raney, Jay Templet, Philip Wright, David Lane II, Joseph Lupton Jr., Scott Chew, Richard Serwat and Frederick Mayo. Their instructor, Mark Cates, is at far right. (Note: not all are pictured.) FOWT — Upgrading seafarers who completed this course May 18 are (in no specific order) DeWayne Jacobs, Furman Watson, Carmelo Collazo, Kamion Kearney, Patrick Devlin, Jesse Tornabene, Kevin Lewis, Daniel McFarland, Gustavo Costas, Antoine Best, Aaron Larson, Scott Smith, Michael Iverson, Philip Rhule, Melvin Ratcliff, Travis Green, Billy Duenas, Peter Rubio, Kareim Wright, Mark Sawyer, Ronald Sease and David Ruggirello. Computer Lab Classes With instructor Rick Prucha in each photo are students who recently completed computer classes at the Paul Hall Center. Showing their certificates of achievement are (top row, from left) Clifford Cronan, Abdmutaali Muhammad and Rafael Chow, (bottom row, from left) Robeson Carrier and Jeff Hawkins and Elrick Archer and Rudy Oliva. Marine Electrician — Students who completed the marine electrician course May 4 are (in no specific order) Greg Alvarez, Wendell Brown, Joseph Sam, Al Dixon, Joseph Krajnik, David Rushing, Husain Ali, Chris Schneider, Jeff Hawkins, Bryan Fletcher, David James and James Donohue. (Note: not all are pictured.) Any student who has registered for a class and finds—for whatever reason—that he or she cannot attend, please inform the admissions department so that another student may take that place. 22 Seafarers LOG July 2007 �43332_p10_14,16,17,20_24x2:332p0 6/27/2007 10:35 AM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes Medical Care Provider — Upgrading seafarers who completed the medical care provider course May 4 under the instruction of Mark Cates are (in no specific order) Sellers Brooks, Vincent Mull, Samuel Levecque, Khaled Alsayed, Steven Blair, Timothy Fogg, John Collins, Michael Morita and Sean Grace. Bridge Resource Management — MTLX boatmen completing this refresher course May 4 are (in no specific order) Aron Morgan, Robert Bronzan, Michael Santini, Jeff Brown, Elliott Talbot, Stephen McGavock, Scott Melton and Howard Clark. Their instructor, Herb Walling, is at far left. Welding — Graduating from the welding class May 25 are (in no specific order) Bryan Fletcher, Tawrence Abrams, Forrest McGee, Michael Morita, Tim Johnson II and Stravon Jordan. Their instructor, Buzzy Andrews, is second from right. Refrigeration Engineer — Jay Henderson (far left) taught the refrigeration engineer course that ended June 1. Included in this class were (in no specific order) Andrew Linares, Douglas Lowry, Rigoberto Beata and Rahul Bagchi. Tanker Familiarization/Assistant Cargo (DL) — Two classes of Phase III apprentices graduated May 11 from tankerman assistant courses. They are (in no specific order) Cornelius Smith, Falando Williams, Charles Brown, Darren Hall, Cleveland Foy, Chris Caporale, J.K. Borden, Jonathan Luna, Diego Barbosa, Mark Brownell, Stanley Jackson Jr., Kieran Green, Preston Grant, Pierre Norwood, Daniel Irizarry, Felix De Armas, John Anson, Melody White, Arvid Rutledge Sr., Benjamin Wright, Ryanne Wheeler, Bobby Turner, Iker Urruchi, Michael Chapman, Arthur Jones, Rovena Cornelius, Tabethia Twine, Darein Matthews, Dawn Johnson, Ravon Moore, Demetrius Green, Alvin Hansley, Trevor Rowe, Mario Cruz, Joseph Maltese, Jesse Mixon, Enrique Velez, Paul Hart, Sabrina Long and Dwight Hunt. Fast Rescue Boat — Graduating from the fast rescue boat course May 4 are MTLX boatmen (in no specific order) Bill Marti, Gabor Gardonyi, Kerry Noble, Chris Mavbaum, Glenn Lane, Darrell Corgatelli, Mitchel Gordon, Mike Meriweather and Patrick Harrington III. Their instructors were Stan Beck (far left) and Tom Truitt (far right). July 2007 Fast Rescue Boat — Along with their instructor, Tom Truitt (standing at left), are May 25 graduates of the fast rescue boat class. They are (in no specific order) Frank Campos, Clifford Cronan, Jay Dillon, Marc Everell, Paul Kucan, Sergey Kurchenko, Nebojsa Milosevic and Paul Riggs. Seafarers LOG 23 �43332_p06,10_14,16,17,20_24:332p0 6/19/2007 6:16 PM Page 24 Volume 69, Number 7 July 2007 Summary Annual Reports for SIU PACIFIC DISTRICT PENSION PLAN and SIU PACIFIC DISTRICT SUPPLEMENTAL BENEFITS FUNDS, INC. —page 16 SL Achiever Returns from Voyage to North Atlantic A recent voyage to the North Atlantic provided Recertified Bosun Robert Lindsay with some incredible views of the SL Achiever covered in ice and other shots of fellow crew members at work during milder temperatures. The SL Achiever, operated by Maersk Line, Limited, is one of 13 additional ships gained under the Maritime Administration’s expanded Maritime Security Program (MSP) which runs from October 2005 until 2016. The MSP is a vital component of America’s national defense capabilities. The ships in the program contribute to the operation of a commercial U.S.-flag, U.S.-crewed fleet engaged in the international trade, thus ensuring the government’s access to these vessels during times of war or national emergency. Above: AB Aubrey “Red” Davis preps a void space for closing. At right: Using a skyclimber, AB Richard Gathers prepares the front of the house for painting. ABs Sherman Hudson (right) and Aubrey Davis are at work on the deck of the SL Achiever. Closing access to the SL Achiever’s ballast tank is AB Richard Gathers. AB Dave Steele cuts old handles from a damper wire. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 2007 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES CALIFORNIA NURSES ASSOC. JOINS AFL-CIO ANDRASICK, ARNTZEN, REINHART SELECTED FOR AOTOS AWARDS OVERSEAS LONG BEACH CHRISTENED CROWLEY WELCOMES ATB GULF RELIANCE PORT PERSONNEL COMPLETE WORKSHOP IN PINEY POINT SENATE VOTE IMMINENT ON FREE CHOICE ACT OPTIMISM FADES IN GROCERY TALKS G&H BOATMEN CYCLE FOR CHARITY SIU JOINS IN MARITIME DAY CEREMONIES IN CALIF., TEXAS CONGRESSMAN CUMMINGS HONORS MARINERS WITH SUPPORTIVE DECLARATION CEREMONY CONDUCTED FOR 6TH T-AKE SHIP USNS HENSON SAILS TO FINLAND HOSPITAL SHIP USNS COMFORT DEPLOYS MSC SAYS ‘HAPPY BIRTHDAY’ TO U.S. MERCHANT MARINE RECOLLECTIONS OF THE MERCHANT MARINE IN WORLD WAR II SL ACHIEVER RETURNS FROM VOYAGETO NORTH ATLANTIC Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 07/01/2007 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. 69, No. 7 2007 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/b880a33ab7584a3cfb1aace4be25d886.pdf fadd84b4c113cda6d35af060caff2fd9 PDF Text Text Volume 69, Number 6 June 2007 Seafarers Honored on National Maritime Day Ceremonies Reflect Storied Service, Ongoing Need for Strong Fleet The union on May 22 participated in the traditional Washington, D.C.-area National Maritime Day events, including ceremonies conducted by the U.S. Maritime Administration and the U.S. Military Sealift Command, respectively. Speakers cited the U.S. Merchant Marine’s historic role as the nation’s fourth arm of defense—and also stressed the importance of maintaining a strong American-flag fleet today. Above, Unlicensed Apprentice Veronica Hernandez takes part in MSC’s wreath-laying ceremony. Directly above, pictured at the MarAd event (front row, right to left) are SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez, Rev. James D. Von Dreele, U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor, SIU President Michael Sacco and Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton along with students from the Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. Rear Adm. Robert Reilly, commander, U.S. Military Sealift Command, starts an impromptu chat with some of the unlicensed apprentices, during which he encouraged them about their career choice. Turn to the back page for more coverage including the annual National Maritime Day proclamation from the White House. Crescent Crews Approve Contracts Seafarers employed by Crescent Towing recently approved new three-year labor agreements which secure wage increases and other gains while maintaining benefits. The contracts cover more than 150 SIU boatmen working for Crescent in New Orleans, Savannah, Ga. and Mobile, Ala. Some of the negotiators are shown in the photo at upper right: Deckhand Dan Hanbury, Crescent Representative Keith Glass, SIU Port Agent Ed Kelly, SIU VP Gulf Coast Dean Corgey, Crescent VP Prentiss Wilcutt, Captain Henry Tucker, Crescent VP Arthur Kulp, Engineer Kyle Tucker and Crescent President Scott Cooper. In the overlapping photo, standing left to right are Engineer David Findley, Deckhand Roy Trosclair Jr., Captain Mark St. Germain and Deckhand Kevin McDermott. Pictured on the dock are (from left) Engineer David Walker, Engineer Tommy Dickerson, Deckhand David Benson, Captain John Colombo and Deckhand Mark Usey. Page 3. SHBP Scholarships Awarded Pages 2, 7 Health Network Update Page 4 USNS Wright Feature Pages 12-13 �President’s Report Maritime’s Past and Future For many years, National Maritime Day has paid tribute to the men and women who went to sea before us. This year, the program in our nation’s capital was different. Yes, we paid our respects. But leaders from the government, industry and Congress proclaimed support for upcoming U.S.-flag projects as a way to ensure that our future will be even more secure than our past. While the historic role of the U.S. Merchant Marine certainly got its due this year, many of the Michael Sacco comments that stood out on May 22 addressed our industry’s potential growth rather than its past. Lt. Gen. Kenneth Wykle and Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton explained in interesting detail how rail and highway congestion, along with solidly projected growth in imports, translate into opportunities to build upon our maritime infrastructure. Now, I realize that studies about cargo imports and road traffic may not seem too exciting to every audience, and it’s probably tough to think about maritime job growth when you’re stuck between tractor trailers on a highway somewhere. But there’s a definite connection. As Lt. Gen. Wykle, the president of the National Defense Transportation Association, put it, congestion not only is the single biggest issue facing the maritime industry, it is the biggest issue facing the U.S. economy as a whole. He called for the development of a “marine highway system” spurred and supported by a public-private partnership. “We need to look at this as a long-term investment in America’s infrastructure and in job creation, not as an investment in capital assets,” he stated. “Moving cargo off the roads and rail systems, and onto vessels, would benefit multiple states and provide economic benefits to the entire nation. It would also benefit the environment by reducing emissions.” Connaughton challenged the industry to “have the courage to take advantage of opportunities” coinciding with economic growth and America’s dependence on maritime. He called the U.S. Merchant Marine the world’s best shipboard manpower, and said he believes there’s a real opening for us to play a growing role. Needless to say, I agree. I also fully support Congressman Gene Taylor’s sentiments that the American maritime industry is nothing short of vital when it comes to homeland security. Congressman Taylor cut right to the chase, noting that if we as a nation are serious about protecting our shores and projecting our strength, we’ve obviously got to maintain a strong American maritime industry—everything from domestic shipbuilding to laws that support the U.S.-flag fleet to a regulatory environment that promotes keeping a solid shipboard manpower pool composed of reliable, well-trained U.S. mariners. You don’t have to be a blind optimist to see the opportunities for growth. And you don’t have to be a security expert to understand why it makes sense to rely on American crews, sailing aboard American-flag ships, to carry our nation’s vital materiel. These opportunities are real, and the SIU, as always, will do our part to help ensure that the U.S. Merchant Marine enjoys a prosperous future—one that honors those who laid the foundation of our legacy. You Have to Play to Win Speaking of opportunities, I was pleased to read about the recent awarding of the annual Seafarers Health and Benefits Plans’ scholarships to six SIU dependents. And I was very disappointed to learn that no eligible Seafarers applied for the grants reserved for active SIU members. This is a great benefit available to our membership, one that can open doors and help people realize their goals. But like the old lottery slogan says, you’ve got to play to win. Or in this case, you can’t receive a scholarship if you don’t apply. Look for information about the scholarship program in future issues of the LOG, and listen for it at the monthly membership meetings. If you’ve ever thought about going back to school, this could be your chance. Volume 69, Number 6 June 2007 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 8990675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Deborah A. Hirtes; Associate Editor, Jim Guthrie; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2007 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG SIU President Represents Mariners At Historic White House Dinner The Seafarers International Union recently was represented during a widely publicized event—the May 7 White House State Dinner in honor of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. SIU President Michael Sacco and his wife, Sophie, by invitation from President George W. Bush, were among the 134 people afforded the honor of having a meal with the royal couple in the White House’s State Dining Room. “It was a real privilege for us to have the opportunity to meet and dine with world figures such as President Bush and Queen Elizabeth II,” President Sacco said, “but the reason we were there in the first place was because of the tremendous job that the SIU along with the rest of maritime labor has done over the years in answering the call to duty as part of the nation’s fourth arm of defense. “President Bush is aware of the numerous acts of bravery and sacrifices made by our members and by other U.S. mariners as they sailed aboard military ships involved in our nation’s wars of the past and also those of the present, including Operation Iraqi Freedom,” Sacco added. “The president supports and appreciates us.” The United States has no closer ally and friend than Great Britain, according to the White House. The nations share an exceptionally close relationship based on deep historical and cultural ties, a common language, shared values and interests, and a commitment to defend freedom around the world. The visit by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip marked an occasion to celebrate these enduring bonds. President Bush and the First Lady visited England in November 2003 and welcomed the opportunity to return that hospitality, which, as the Queen noted at that time, has been extended to seven of the president’s predecessors. President Bush during the dinner toasted the long and enduring alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom, according to the Voice of America. The president noted that the advance of freedom is the best hope for lasting peace in the world. “Based on our common values, our two nations are working together for the common good,” said President Bush. “Together we are supporting young White House photo by Lynden Steele The U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps marches across the South Lawn during the arrival ceremony for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh. democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan. Together we are confronting global challenges such as poverty and disease and terrorism. And together we are working to build a world in which more people can enjoy prosperity and security and peace.” The Queen’s last state visit to the United States occurred some 16 years ago. In her toast, she reflected on her youth during World War II, saying how important the American-British alliance was to her nation’s survival. “Tonight I would like to recognize that steadfast commitment your country has shown not just in the last 16 years, but throughout my life, in support of a Europe whole and free,” she said. An American and a British delegation represented their respective countries during the state dinner. Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and General Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were among the American delegation. Scores of diplomats, businessmen and members of Congress joined the SIU president on the guest list for the Bush’s first ever white tie event. Included were Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senator Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and former Secretary of State Colin Powell. Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and golfer Arnold Palmer were among the celebrities present. Committee Selects 6 Dependents For $20K Scholarships in 2007 For more than half a century, the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP) has awarded scholarships to deserving Seafarers as well as to spouses and dependents of SIU members. This year, at a May 27 meeting in Santa Rosa, Calif., the Plan selected six dependents as recipients for the coming school year—for a total monetary value of $120,000. No awards were given to active Seafarers. The scholarship winners are Sarah Abdelwahab, daughter of AB Mohamed Abdelwahab; Alice Cooper, daughter of tug boat captain James Cooper III; Nicole LaPointe, daughter of AB Robert LaPointe; Justine Lopez, daughter of Oiler Oswaldo Lopez; Marian O’Neill, daughter of QMED Guillermo O’Neill Jr.; and Jenna Stillman, daughter of AB Jerry Stillman. The scholarship recipients were selected by a panel of professional educators: Dr. Gayle A. Olson, University of New Orleans (retired); Dr. Trevor Carpenter, Charles County (Md.) Community College (retired); Dr. Charles Lyons Jr., American Association of Colleges and Universities; Father David A. Boileau, Ph.D., Loyola University; Dr. Keith Schlender, Medical College of Ohio; Dr. Louis Fernandez, provost and vice president of academic affairs, California State (San Bernardino) and Dr. Henry Toutain of Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota. See page 7 for brief descriptions of the backgrounds and educational goals of the six collegebound students. The selection committee met May 27 in Santa Rosa, Calif. to choose each of the 2006 scholarship winners. From the left are Plans Administrator Maggie Bowen; Dr. Keith Schlender, Dr. Gayle Olson, Dr. Louis Fernandez, Father David Boileau and Dr. Charles Lyons Jr. Not pictured but attending the meeting via conference call were Dr. Trevor Carpenter and Dr. Henry Toutain. June 2007 �Crescent Boatmen Ratify Contracts 3-Year Agreements Boost Wages, Maintain Benefits SIU boatmen employed by Crescent Towing in three southern states have overwhelmingly ratified new three-year contracts that call for wage increases and other gains while maintaining benefits. One agreement covers boatmen in the New Orleans area and in Savannah, Ga. The other applies to members in Mobile, Ala. The contracts virtually are identical except for minor provisions specific to the ports’ respective layouts. Altogether, more than 150 Seafarers are covered by the agreements, including approximately 130 in New Orleans and Savannah. Voting took place aboard the boats and at the SIU halls in New Orleans and Mobile. Approximately 95 percent of members voting in New Orleans and Savannah approved their new contact; in Mobile, the tally was 22-0 in favor. Negotiations started in March and ended in late April, as the old contract was about to expire. SIU Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey headed the union’s negotiating team. He described the sessions as “some of the more difficult and complicated negotiations we’ve seen. We hit a ‘perfect storm’ of sorts with rising benefit costs and a red-hot labor market in the Gulf, not to mention a very challenging regulatory environment. But everyone bargained in good faith, and at the end of the day we hammered out a contract that’ll enable crew members and families to rebuild their lives (continuing recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita). At the same time the company says they’re very optimistic about the future. We did something positive for a troubled region in our country.” Pictured from left to right are members of the union’s negotiating team for the New Orleans-Savannah agreement: Deckhand Doug Lewis, Captain Tim Gegenheimer, Chief Engineer Glen Richard, SIU VP Dean Corgey, SIU Port Agent Chris Westbrook and Captain/Deckhand Billy Barletto. Corgey added that the rankand-file members serving on the bargaining committees “hung in there, worked together and did the right things to get this contract done. The Crescent boatmen in all ports have always been some of the most stand-up union guys in the SIU, and I can tell you that the tradition if anything has grown stronger. We walked away with good relations with the company and we’re once again leaders in wages and benefits while allowing the company to maintain their competitiveness with the nonunion operators. In fact, Crescent has always been the dominant company in that region, and it’s not because they pay low wages or use cheap equipment. It’s because they have the best people, and this contract will attract more of the same.” Also serving on the union negotiating team were Mobile Port Agent Ed Kelly, New Orleans Port Agent Chris Westbrook, Deckhand Doug Lewis from Savannah, Engineer Glen Richard, Captain/Deckhand Billy Barletto and Captain Tim Gegenheimer from New Orleans, and Captain Henry Tucker, Engineer Kyle Tucker and Deckhand Dan Hanbury from Mobile. Besides increasing wages and maintaining medical and pension benefits, the new contracts also boost vacation pay and the grocery allowance, add a day to the bereavement allowance, and stipulate reimbursements for boatmen’s documentation, including license renewals, the TWIC and more. They also formalize a practice that has existed for years in which qualified deckhands, for extra compensation, relieve captains to allow the boats to potentially increase the amount of time they stay on duty. “We’re very happy,” said Gegenheimer. “We moved up in everything and it’s definitely a good contract. They were hardfought negotiations but we finally ironed it out.” Barletto noted that this was his first time serving on a negotiating committee. “I learned from the experience and it went well,” he said. “You got to learn from both sides of the table. We ended up with plusses and no negatives. You can’t make everybody happy but I think the majority are very pleased with the outcome.” Lewis noted that—as is the case in most if not all labor negotiations these days—medical benefits were a focal point of the Crescent talks. “I’m happy with what we got and I think all the other guys are, too,” he stated. “Everybody stuck together, and that’s what needs to happen in cases like this—and not just at Crescent Towing. If you’re not united, you might as well hang it up.” Westbrook described the May 15 as the U.S. Navy’s latest T-AKE ship, the USNS Richard E. Byrd, was launched during an The USNS Richard E. Byrd is launched during a May 15 ceremony in San Diego. June 2007 evening ceremony at the General Dynamics NASSCO shipyard in San Diego. The USNS Byrd is part of the Lewis and Clark class of dry cargo/ammunition ships owned and operated by the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) and crewed by SIU CIVMARS. It is the fourth vessel in what is expected to be an 11-ship fleet, and will deliver ammunition, provisions, stores, spare parts, potable water and petroleum products to the Navy’s carrier and expeditionary strike groups and other naval forces under way. According to MSC, T-AKEs have the largest cargo-carrying capacity and the largest flight deck of any combat logistic force ship afloat. (The agency also points out that “T-AKE” is pronounced as individual letters, without the hyphen.) The 689-foot USNS Byrd is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in November of this year and will be crewed by 124 civil service mariners and 11 military personnel. In announcing the launch last month, MSC noted, “These new ships will substantially upgrade the Navy’s ability to maintain its agreements as “something the membership, the union and the company can be proud of. It’s a win-win for everybody.” Kelly cited Corgey’s effective work throughout the negotiations, as did others. “In particular I think the unanimous vote in Mobile speaks volumes about the job that Dean did in these negotiations,” he said. SIU boatmen sail aboard Crescent tugs in the New Orleans area, in Savannah, Ga. and in Mobile, Ala. Newest Lewis and Clark Ship Launched The introduction of new tonnage into the SIU Government Services Division fleet continued The new contract brings a smile to Engineer Shawn Doyle aboard the tug Providence. forward-deployed forces, replacing aging, single-mission ammunition ships and combat stores ships that are nearing the end of their service lives.” The ceremony took place against a backdrop of fireworks, with nearly 1,500 people watching as the vessel slid into the water for the first time. Among the officials taking part in the evening’s festivities were Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter, MSC Commander Rear Adm. Robert Reilly, Jr. and Navy Program Executive Officer for Ships Rear Adm. Charles Goddard. The ship is named in honor of the U.S. Navy admiral who explored the South Pole and Antarctica. Byrd, a Medal of Honor recipient, led the first aerial expedition over the North Pole. Bolling Byrd Clark, Byrd’s oldest daughter, christened her father’s namesake by breaking the traditional bottle of champagne against the ship’s bow while the flag that her father hoisted in Antarctica nearly 80 years ago flew above on the foremast. “It is no accident that the ship you see before you is named for a Navy man whose horizon was literally anywhere in the world,” said Reilly in the ceremony’s principal speech. “This ship will always be on the move, carrying the strength of the U.S. Navy anywhere America’s warriors need it.” Meanwhile, one day after the launch, the shipyard announced the start of construction on the seventh T-AKE vessel. That platform is slated for delivery in the first quarter of 2009. Since June 2006, the USNS Lewis and Clark and USNS Sacagawea have been delivered and crewed up by CIVMARS. The third ship of the class, the USNS Alan Shepard, is scheduled for delivery by year’s end. Please be advised the SIU headquarters and all SIU hiring halls will be closed on Wednesday, July 4 for the observance of Independence Day (unless an emergency arises). Normal business hours will resume the following workday. Seafarers LOG 3 �ITF Negotiates Back Pay For 8 Filipino Crewmen International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) inspectors from the SIU recently secured more than $40,000 in back pay for eight Filipino crew members aboard the Safmarine Texas. The 18,030 dwt vessel, built in 1987, is owned by Swiss Marine, Inc., Piraeus, Greece. Although the ship does have an agreement with the ITF, the crew was being paid Filipino wages rather than the ITF wage scale. During a routine inspection in Houston, ITF Inspector Shwe Tun Aung was made aware of the discrepancy. Since the ship was sailing to Baltimore, he suggested that ITF Inspector Arthur Petitpas meet the vessel and negotiate with the captain and the company. Petitpas noted that the negotiations were fairly routine. The eight crew members who were on board the vessel were awarded $27,547.96 in back pay. Additionally, two of those eight had been on the ship during a previous voyage and were given an additional $12,889 to cover that time period. In the case of a breach of contract, the ITF can have the ship arrested. But since a contract was already in place aboard the Safmarine Texas, it was allowed to return to Houston, where the money was waiting for the men before heading to foreign shores. The SIU is affiliated with the ITF, a federation of more than 600 transport-worker unions in 140 countries. SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel is vice chair of the ITF’s Seafarers’ Section. With the assistance of ITF Inspector Shwe Tun Aung (second from left), crew members from the foreign-flag vessel Safmarine Texas were pleased to receive back pay when the ship docked in Houston. (Note: not all are pictured.) Lower Deductibles, Bigger Network Highlight CIGNA Move The Safmarine Texas operates under an ITF agreement, but crew members were not being paid in accordance with that contract. MSC Commander Tours Paul Hall Center On April 27, Rear Adm. Robert Reilly, commander, U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC), toured the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, located in Piney Point, Md. Among other stops, he briefly addressed students in different classes; took the helm in the full mission bridge simulator and checked out the other simulators; met with school personnel in the manpower and admissions offices, respectively; and observed hands-on training at the Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School, a component of the Paul Hall Center located near the main campus. Above: Rear Admiral Reilly speaks to students in the able-bodied seaman class. Instructor Bernabe Pelingon is in the background. Above: Instructor Jay Henderson (center) and Director of Training J.C. Wiegman point out some of the engine simulator’s features to Rear Admiral Reilly. Left: Pictured from left to right are American Service Technology CEO John Mason, SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez, Paul Hall Center Director of Training J.C. Wiegman, Rear Admiral Reilly, Paul Hall Center VP Don Nolan and Paul Hall Center Safety Director Jimmy Hanson. 4 Seafarers LOG A substantial decrease in medical deductibles is one of several promising features in the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan’s (SHBP) upcoming change to CIGNA HealthCare as the Plan’s network services provider. As previously reported, the switch takes effect July 1, 2007 and does not change Seafarers’ benefits. Participants are covered under the First Health Network through June 30. The SHBP Board of Trustees last month sent a letter to all active member participants spelling out details of the change. The letter also is available on the SIU web site (www.seafarers.org) in the “Member Benefits and Resources” section. Eligible pensioners whose primary coverage is through Medicare will receive a different explanatory letter because they won’t participate in CIGNA. However, if such retirees have eligible dependents not covered by Medicare, those dependents will be covered through CIGNA. The letter to active members in part states, “The Trustees completed an exhaustive search to improve network access, enhance access to stateof-the-art programs and ensure that quality service would be provided to the participants and their families. At the same time, it was critical that the new network provider be able to provide greater network discounts and care management savings to ensure the Plan’s fiscal integrity during these times that continue to challenge benefit plans throughout the country. “This change to CIGNA is a very positive one for the participants and the Plan. Please be assured that the medical benefits and benefit levels remain the same, while reducing Plan deductibles as of January 1, 2008. Eligible participants, as defined in the Rules and Regulations of the Plan, who use a provider or hospital within the CIGNA HealthCare Network, will incur no balance billing; however, claims will still continue to be processed and paid in accordance with the Rules and Regulations of the Plan. If your provider or facility is not in the CIGNA HealthCare network, then your claims will be processed as nonnetwork claims as they have in the past.” Following are excerpts from the letter sent to active members: New Deductibles Effective January 1, 2008, Plan medical deductibles will be reduced by 50% for CorePlus, Core, and Basic benefit levels. For Core and Basic, the new deductible will be $375 per participant, but not more than $1,125 per family. For CorePlus, the new deductible will be $250 per participant, but not more than $750 per family. There is no change to the prescription deductible. The prescription deductible will remain at $100 per participant, but not more than $200 per family. There is no change to the first day hospital- ization deductible of $450 and the Emergency Room co-pay of $300. New I.D. Cards and Claims Submission Procedures In order for providers to identify eligible participants in the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan as participants in the CIGNA HealthCare Network, new Medical Benefit I.D. cards must be issued. If you are an eligible participant in the Plan, a new CIGNA I.D. card will be sent to you in June. THIS CARD IS NOT VALID UNTIL JULY 1, 2007. You will need to use this card for all medical services rendered on and after July 1, 2007. The new card includes important benefits and claims submission information for the CIGNA Hospital and Medical Providers. If you do not receive a CIGNA I.D. Card by the end of June, and you believe that you are entitled to benefits under this Plan, please contact the Seafarers Claims Department at 1800-252-4674. Important Note: You should destroy your First Health Network Medical I.D. card after July 1, 2007 as it will no longer be valid as of that date. CIGNA HealthCare Network – A Vast Improvement in Network Access The new CIGNA program has in and out-of-network benefits just like our existing network provider. Under the new CIGNA network, you do not need a referral to see a specialist and you do not need to select a Primary Care Physician. The CIGNA network has the same freedom of provider choice as our current network provider. The new CIGNA network will provide you and your family with a number of enhancements as outlined below. Effective June 1, 2007, you can contact CIGNA at a special Seafarers’ pre-enrollment number, 1 800-564-7642, to determine if your provider is in the CIGNA network. Important Note: This phone number is only active from June 1 through June 30, 2007. After July 1, 2007, you will contact CareAllies (CIGNA) at 1-800-768-4695 to obtain provider information. You may also visit the CIGNA HealthCare web site at: www.cigna.com/SA-PPO2 to determine if your provider is in the CIGNA network. Important Note: The second-to-last letter in the CIGNA web address is the capital letter “O” rather than a zero, and the web address is case-sensitive. CIGNA has different networks within its organization so you should type in the entire web address listed above rather than going to the CIGNA home page. You may also access the CIGNA link through: www.seafarers.org/members. If your doctor/provider is not in the CIGNA network and you would like CIGNA to contact your doctor, please request a Provider Nomination form from the Seafarers Claims Department at 1800-252-4674. June 2007 �Annual Jones Act Report Upbeat OSG’s Whitworth says Domestic Fleet Is ‘Strong and Vibrant’ The American Jones Act fleet is “strong and vibrant,” with 39,156 vessels, a 59 percent increase during the past 40 years, according to Jonathan P. Whitworth, senior vice president of Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) and head of OSG America Inc. Whitworth’s remarks came May 1 during the release of a “State of the Jones Act” report at a luncheon sponsored by the D.C. Chapter of the International Propeller Club of the United States. The report was prepared by the Maritime Cabotage Task Force (MCTF), a national maritime organization focused on America’s domestic fleet. MCTF Chairman Philip M. Grill noted in the report, “Although the Jones Act governs domestic shipping, it plays a critical role in helping defend our nation from threats overseas. America’s Jones Act fleet remained on guard in 2006, moving U.S. troops and supplies around the globe…. “MCTF is confident that 2007 holds more good news for America’s Jones Act fleet and those who rely on its services. Foreign nations may seek to become a part of America’s billion-plus ton domestic maritime trade, but as long as the Jones Act remains the foundation of U.S. domestic maritime policy, this industry will remain Americanowned, American-built and American-crewed.” Part of Whitworth’s presentation addressed the common misperception that the U.S. flag industry is small and shrinking because observers tend to focus only on the self-propelled oceangoing part of the fleet. But the Jones Act fleet, which encom- Labor Promotes ‘Free Choice Act’ American Rights at Work on May 21 conducted “A Solution to the Middle Class Squeeze: The Employee Free Choice Act,” a special briefing and discussion on the important role the right to organize plays in maintaining the American middle class. Conducted at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., the meeting was attended by a bipartisan coalition of policymakers who support the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)—proposed legislation that, if enacted, would ensure that workers have a free choice and a fair chance to form a union. Among other presenters, the event’s principal speakers were Wade Henderson, president and CEO, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; and Mary Beth Maxwell, executive director, American Rights at Work. The EFCA, if enacted, would amend the National Labor Relations Act to establish an efficient system enabling employees to form, join or assist labor organizations. Additionally, it would provide for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts, and for other purposes. Hailed as organized labor’s top legislative priority, the EFCA (H.R. 800 and S. 1041), the bill on Feb. 5 was brought before the House of Representatives by Reps. George Miller (D-Calif.), Robert Andrews (D-N.J.), and Peter King (R-N.Y.). The measure on March 1 was passed in the House by a 241-185 margin. Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) on March 29 introduced the legislation in the Senate where it twice was read and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Momentum around the country continues to mount toward building a majority of support in the Senate for this critical bill. The measure already has picked up 46 other co-sponsors in the Senate, and a 48th senator has indicated he will vote for it. Further, a growing number of organizations outside of the labor movement support workers’ rights and the EFCA. Resolutions of official support for the EFCA have been passed by local governments in cities, counties and states coast to coast, ranging from Miami to Boston to Portland. ITF’s Cotton Honored in NY International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) official Stephen Cotton (left) was honored April 19 in New York City by the Seafarers & International House, a Christian mission for mariners. Here, he is congratulated by SIU President Michael Sacco. Cotton serves as secretary of the ITF’s Special Seafarers Department. He received the “Outstanding Friend of the Seafarers Award.” During the ceremony, Cotton discussed the host organization’s endeavors; the ITF’s UK-registered charity (the Seafarers Trust); the federation’s affiliates and network of inspectors; its participation in the International Bargaining Forum, and more. Seafarers & International House provides ship visitation and pastoral care to mariners. It also offers lodging for seafarers and other travelers. June 2007 Nearly 40 more are pending in places ranging from Los Angeles to Buffalo. Earlier this year, the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department weighed in with a resolution of support for the EFCA. The MTD noted that the right of workers to form unions and bargain collectively “is an internationally recognized human right that is essential to a free and democratic society. Unfortunately, sweeping changes in the international economic system, unfair management practices and loopholes in existing labor laws are threatening that right in the United States. While research shows that nearly 60 million U.S. workers would vote to form a union, many won’t be given that chance. This must change.” The EFCA would require all employers to abide by card-check recognition when more than 50 percent of the workers sign up for union representation. It also provides for mediation and arbitration in first contract situations and imposes stiffer penalties on employers who violate their employees’ right to organize. In promoting the legislation, the AFL-CIO recently cited a Cornell University scholar who studied hundreds of organizing campaigns and found that 92 percent of private-sector employers, when faced with employees who want to join a union, force workers to attend closed-door meetings to hear anti-union propaganda. An estimated 80 percent require supervisors to attend training sessions on attacking unions, and 78 percent require that supervisors deliver antiunion messages to workers they oversee. Studies also have shown 75 percent hire outside consultants to run anti-union campaigns, often based on mass psychology and distorting the law. Half of employers threaten to shut down partially or totally if employees join together in a union; in 25 percent of organizing campaigns, private-sector employers illegally fire workers because they want to form a union. Even after workers successfully form a union, in onethird of the instances, employers do not negotiate a contract. The EFCA is designed to remedy these problems. passes most of the American-flag fleet, is “growing in both size and carrying capacity, particularly among the largest cargo vessels,” he said, “and is among the largest in the world.” Whitworth also said that political support for the Jones Act has been crucial to the continued investment in this segment of the marine transportation system. “Without a stable legal regime and regulatory environment to ensure a level competitive playing field—which the MCTF has worked so hard to keep in place— investment in this industry would dry up,” he said. “There is clear recognition by our political leaders that a strong domestic maritime industry—vessels, crews, companies—is vital to U.S. economic and national security.” Whitworth noted that OSG has invested more than $2 billion in Jones Act assets over the last three years. That figure includes the 13 Jones Act product tankers on order, under construction, or recently delivered from Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, as well as an additional six articulated tug barges the company recently announced it will add to its Jones Act fleet. He also noted that over the last decade, numerous new containerships, cruise ships, fast ferries, offshore supply vessels, towboats, tugboats and barges have been added to the fleet. “The Propeller Club is a great public forum to discuss the maritime industry and its importance to the nation,” said Darrell Conner, president of the Propeller Club’s D.C. Chapter. “Mr. Whitworth’s presentation was enlightening and offered a new perspective on the domestic Jones Act fleet, showing that contrary to conventional perception that segment of the industry is dynamic and growing.” The MCTF hopes that the report will help educate the public and policy makers on the state of the domestic maritime industry by ensuring that decision-makers have a complete picture of the composition of the domestic maritime fleet. A copy of the entire report—in PDF format—can be found on the MCTF web site at www.mctf.com. The International Propeller Club of the United States, Port of Washington, D.C. is a grassroots, non-profit organization dedicated to the enhancement and wellbeing of all interests of the maritime community on a national and international basis. Its goal is to educate legislators and the public on the importance and necessity of all waterborne commerce. Observing Maritime Day on the Pless Seafarers and officers aboard the prepositioning vessel Maj. Stephen W. Pless conducted a National Maritime Day ceremony a bit early this year, casting adrift a ceremonial wreath in Busan, Korea on May 18. Pictured aboard the ship are (from left) Bosun Bernard Hutcherson, AB Denetrica Brooks and AB Brian Jones. Thanks to Capt. Robert Burke for relaying the photo to the LOG. (See back page for coverage of National Maritime Day ceremonies that took place in Washington, D.C.) Notice to CIVMARS Regarding Illness or Injury During a Voyage Recently the union has learned of members’ concerns about completing the proper paperwork to help ensure the processing of the appropriate workers’ compensation forms after a report of CIVMAR illness or injury during a voyage. The Federal Workers Compensation Program requires that CIVMARS follow certain rules and file certain forms exactly as spelled out under the provisions of the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA). Any CIVMAR who is injured, ashore or afloat, during a voyage should notify their MSO and get a copy of the written report filed by the MSO. Every injury or illness should be documented. CIVMARS should also contact MSFSC and ask to speak with the workers compensation department. Finally, CIVMARS should contact their union representative as soon as possible to learn more about the federal workers’ compensation system. Filing the forms and working through the procedures can be a very complicated process. In future issues of the LOG, the system will be summarized to help ensure CIVMARS know their basic rights and how to file the correct forms within the proper time frames. Seafarers LOG 5 �8 Seafarers Reach Pinnacle of Deck Training Addressing fellow Seafarers and unlicensed apprentices during the May membership meeting in Piney Point, Md., the union’s newest class of recertified bosuns urged one and all to take advantage of the opportunities available through the SIU and its affiliated school. The following bosuns (listed in the order in which they spoke at the meeting) completed the four-week recertification class at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education: John Knox, Burkley Cooper, Raymond Henderson, Ray Tate, Albert Williams, John Grosskurth, Thomas Grose and Rick James. The course, considered the top deck-department curriculum at the Paul Hall Center, blends hands-on training and classroom instruction. It also includes meetings with representatives from the Seafarers Plans and various SIU departments. Topics include fire fighting and other safety training; sealift operations; the amended STCW convention; small arms; computer skills; water survival; other international maritime conventions; the Seafarers Plans, and more. At the membership meeting (which took place May 7), Knox kicked off the graduation speech- Following graduation, the newly recertified bosuns are pictured at the Paul Hall Center along with family members and SIU officials. es by noting he joined the union in 1969 and has sailed around the world numerous times. He described his overall experience at the school as beneficial and noted it will help him do a better job aboard ship. Cooper, who has sailed with the union since 1996, thanked the Paul Hall Center instructors for doing “an excellent job. They were all great to work with and I learned a lot.” Henderson, a frequent upgrad- John Grosskurth (left) takes aim on the small arms range, under the guidance of Instructor Robbie Springer. Words of Advice And Encouragement In customary fashion, the latest group of Seafarers completing a recertification class offered brief but valuable counsel to the unlicensed apprentices attending last month’s membership meeting. Here’s a sampling from the recertified bosuns who graduated May 7 in Piney Point, Md. John Knox Study hard and work the same way. Never be afraid to ask questions. Burkley Cooper Study hard and learn to work with your classmates. Raymond Henderson I know it seems like you’re at the school a long time, but these instructors know what they’re talking about. On the ships, look, listen and learn. Ray Tate The sea is terribly unforgiving of carelessness. Pull your weight, get the training, and do more than just getting by. Albert Williams You’ve made a wise career choice. Study hard, learn to work together. On the ship, work hard, work safe and ask questions. John Grosskurth If you don’t ask, you may never know. You’re part of a family here. Thomas Grose You’re walking in 70 years of SIU tradition. Rick James It’s good to see the new faces coming into the union. Study hard and don’t hesitate to ask questions. 6 Seafarers LOG er who joined in 1994, said going all the way back to his experience as a member of trainee class No. 553, “The courses here are great and the teachers understand the subjects. Beyond that, the union has taken care of me and given me a job in which I can take pride and grow. The SIU has been great to me.” He cited the conflict resolution training as an especially valuable component of the recertification course. Tate first signed on with the SIU in 1986, sailing four years in the inland division before switching to deep sea. “I thank the instructors, administrators, fellow members and our union leadership,” he stated. “Our union gets stronger every year. The SIU has given me a good life.” He added that safety training was a highlight of the course— fire fighting, first aid, and small arms. Williams, who first sailed with the SIU in 1967, said the union remains “an important part of my life because of the job opportunities and the benefits.” He also described the school as “a comfortable learning environment for all mariners. The training I got here is everlasting and will help me perform my job better. I would encourage everyone to come here and take the training that’s offered.” Grosskurth joined the union in 1990. During his most recent experience at the Paul Hall Center, “I learned new skills and developed a deep respect for all Computer training (above and at left) is part of the four-week curriculum. those who make the SIU great. I enjoyed my stay and learned a lot.” Since joining the union in 1990, Grose had upgraded a halfdozen times before enrolling in the recertification class. “Piney Point is a family-friendly school,” he pointed out. “The SIU has helped me live a life of travel and adventure,” he continued. “Most people could only dream of such a life, and I wouldn’t trade the experience. Thanks to our union leadership, we have job security, a great med- Bosuns participate in water survival training. ical plan, and working conditions that are safe and reliable.” James, also a frequent upgrader and a Seafarer since 1991, described the SIU as “an institution that actually stands behind its membership. I thank our union leadership as well as the instructors here at the school.” He called the recertification training “the high mark for me in the SIU. It took years to get here and I feel I’ve gained the knowledge to do a better job on board ships.” Burkley Cooper (left) shows the ropes to Unlicensed Apprentice Amer Saleh. June 2007 �Six Scholarships Awarded to SIU Dependents Sarah Abdelwahab is graduating this year as a diploma candidate in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program at Southwest High School in Minneapolis, Minn., where she has been an outstanding student. After researching antibiotics at a microbiology camp at the University of Wisconsin last summer, she Sarah M. Abdelwahab became very excited about medical research and has focused her sights on attending medical school. On the way to that objective, she has applied to Cornell University (Ithaca, N.Y.), University of Minnesota (Minneapolis), Columbia University (New York) and the University of Chicago. “Learning about life at its simplest form is vital to increase our knowledge of life in its larger forms,” she wrote on her scholarship application form. “The sciences help humans understand new hazards and aid in determining the steps that should be taken. ... Additionally, I would like to become a pediatric cardiologist. Many children die of heart disease each year untreated, and without [access to medical care], these children do not get a chance to live.” While the IB curriculum takes a huge amount of time and effort, the 16-year-old also is very active with volunteer work, sports and other school activities. She has worked many hours volunteering at the public library, the Minnesota Historical Society, teaching tennis to children at an inner-city tennis program, and participating in Amnesty International. She has been a valuable member of the school’s tennis and badminton teams, is captain of the math team, editor of the school newspaper, member of the debate team and historian for the National Honor Society. Sarah Abdelwahab is the oldest of four children of Ekram Ahmed and Mohamed M. Abdelwahab. Her father joined the SIU in 1992 and sails as an AB, most recently aboard the Maersk Arkansas. Alice Gail Cooper is graduating this year from Duncan U. Fletcher High School in Neptune Beach, Fla. with a 4.7 GPA. She has dreams of becoming a writer and scholar of the English language and has applied to three schools in Florida: University of North Florida (Jacksonville), New College of Florida (Sarasota) and Flagler Alice Cooper College (St. Augustine). Following her undergraduate studies, she hopes to continue her education and receive a Ph.D. in English language—and “make my own name in the world.” The 18-year-old works hard in every aspect of her life, and it shows. She maintains a straight A average and this year received the National Merit Commended Scholar award for her SAT scores. She plays trombone and is band captain in her high school band. Additionally, she is an officer in the National Honor Society and in Mu Alpha Theta (the math honor society). Cooper has been a vital part of a Girl Scout troop for the past eight years and also is active in the community, displaying her concerns by monthly visits to the local Ronald McDonald House, beach clean-ups and helping support a family of eight (adopted by her Girl Scout troop four years ago). And, in her spare time, you can find her baby-sitting, house-sitting and pet-sitting for neighbors and friends. Alice Cooper (yes, she says, she does get a lot of reaction to her name by people saying, “Hey, did you know that your name is the same as that guy who sang ‘School’s Out’?”) is the daughter of Cora and James Martin Cooper III. Her dad, an SIU member since 1974, sails as a tug captain aboard Crowley Maritime Corp. vessels. Nicole K. LaPointe applied for the college scholarship last year but was not one of the selected students. That didn’t stop her from continuing her education at the University of Tampa, where she is majoring in government and world affairs, with a minor in French. She also June 2007 Fifty-four years after awarding its first scholarships, the Seafarers Health and Benefts Plan program is still going strong. In 1953, four full college scholarships were given out in the amount of $1,500 each, for a total of $6,000. This year, $120,000 is being divided up between six scholarship recipients. All are daughters of SIU members or pensioners. On this page are brief descriptions of the backgrounds and educational goals of the six college-bound students. related activities consist of ASB senator, Key Club, Fish Club (a Christian Outreach program), FAYA-Filipino awareness, Hop Hop Club, Spanish Club, MESA, homecoming royalty, and member of the tennis, cross-country, basketball and track and field teams. Justine Lopez is the daughter of Maria and Oswaldo Lopez. Her father, who joined the SIU in 2000, sails as an oiler, currently aboard Transoceanic Cable’s Tyco Dependable. hopes to master the French language and study abroad. “I hope to partake in the student delegation sent from the University of Tampa to Harvard University’s Model United Nations and to intern in Washington, D.C.,” she wrote on her application form. “With a bachelor’s degree in political science, I aspire to help solve international probNicole K. LaPointe lems by promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights. It may sound like a cliché, but I am sincerely interested in making the world a better place.” LaPointe graduated last year from York High School in York, Maine where, in addition to a challenging academic schedule, she also was active in a number of extracurricular activities and community service. She played varsity field hockey, junior varsity softball, earned induction into the school’s World Language Honor Society, served on the prom committee and took photos for the yearbook. She was an active member of Interact (a school community service organization), the St. Christopher’s Youth Ministry (where she helped rebuild houses in West Virginia in 2004), participated in church plays and mission trips and volunteered at the York Hospital. As a high school student, she also spent the summer months working as a take-out manager at a restaurant and during the school year worked part-time at Banana Republic as a sales associate. Nicole LaPointe will use her scholarship award to continue her studies at the University of Tampa or to attend the University of Texas at Austin or the University of New Hampshire in Durham. She is the daughter of Annette Bettencourt and Robert LaPointe, a 28-year veteran of the SIU who sails as an AB aboard Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company’s Padre Island. Marian O’Neill came to Kent Place School (an independent, nonsectarian collegepreparatory day school for young women) in Summit, N.J. through the New Jersey SEEDS Program (Scholars, Educators, Excellence, Dedication and Success). SEEDS identified her as being economically disadvantaged but academically Marian O’Neill able, and her college counselor agrees that SEEDS chose well. She graduated from the school this month. In her application letter, O’Neill states that “becoming a leader in my Kent Place School community has led me to pave future goals for myself.” Her interests lean toward the medical field. She plans to major in biology and minor in Spanish, eventually going to medical school. “By combining my interests in the life sciences and linguistics, I feel that I can make a difference both locally and worldwide. I would like to travel to poorer countries, in South America or Africa, and apply my medical skills there.” She has applied to New York University, Columbia University and Barnard College (all in New York) as well as Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. O’Neill, 18, is a member of the Spanish Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta (math honor society) and La Alianza (cultural heritage club). She played softball, was a mathematics and science peer tutor and a co-editor of the foreign language literary magazine, among other activities. Last summer she was accepted to a program at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey where she conducted research on the absorption of sugars in the rat small intestine and presented the results of her research in a final symposium. Marian O’Neill is the daughter of Maria Adorno and Guillermo O’Neill. Her father, who joined the union in 1959 and retired in 1995, sailed as a QMED. Justine Lopez has had to overcome many hardships and obstacles in her 18 years, but she has never let them hinder her passion for education. “Coming from a poverty-stricken country like the Philippines,” she wrote on her application form, “I built a thirst for life and always wanted to be successful.” Justin M. Lopez After coming to the United States and attending 15 different schools, she finally made her home at Henry Foss High School in Tacoma, Wash., from which she graduates this month. She stated that the most fulfilling experience she had at Foss was participating in ASB (Associated Student Body). It helped her realize her career choice—teaching. “At Foss, I was able to tutor kids after school, join sports teams, travel to statewide student conferences, join clubs and become a leader—fulfilling dreams I would never have been able to do if I had stayed in the Philippines. After realizing how important education is and how important it is to me, my dream is to become a teacher.” She also would like to minor in administration. The 18-year-old Lopez has applied to four Washington institutions: Seattle University, University of Washington, Western Washington University and Seattle Pacific University. Lopez has been a well-rounded student, taking the most rigorous coursework offered at Henry Foss High School. Her academic achievements include the National Honor Society, Student of the Month and Show Choir. School- A 2006 graduate of Hickory High School in Chesapeake, Va., Jenna Stillman has just finished her first year at Christopher Newport University (CNU) in Newport News, Va. The $20,000 scholarship will help her complete her studies in biology and environmental science. Eventually, she hopes to get a master’s degree in science and apply that to any future Jenna M. Stillman goals she develops in graduate school. In high school, O’Neill took many honors classes, was a member of the yearbook staff, played the viola in the school orchestra and was a passionate equestrian. She served as a 4-H camp counselor, helped with community clean-ups and volunteered at the Virginia Marine Science Museum. While at CNU, the 18-year-old was one of a select few students admitted to the University’s Leadership Program. The distinction of being a program scholar carries the responsibility to complete additional courses for a leadership minor and participate in numerous community service projects sponsored by the university. She also has involved herself in a number of campus activities, including election as class historian for the Class of 2010 and as historian of the CNU’s equestrian team. Additionally, she is developing a web site for the team. To help ends meet, O’Neill also waitresses part time at a local restaurant. Jenna Stillman is the daughter of JoAnne and Jerry Stillman. Her father joined the union in 1981. While not currently working due to a heart attack, he most recently sailed last year as an AB aboard Maersk Line, Ltd.’s USNS Sisler. Seafarers LOG 7 �Global Sentinel Dives into New Mission Editor’s note: This article was submitted by Chief Steward Shawn Fujiwara while aboard ship. The cable-laying project was successfully completed earlier this year, shortly after this piece was written. Since 1991 when the cable ship Global Sentinel first set sail, she has installed thousands of miles of fiber-optic cables on the floors of oceans all over the world. No job was too big for the mighty Sentinel and her crew. Now, off the coast of California, the CS Global Sentinel is being tasked with a very interesting installation— laying a new, first-of-its-kind power and fiber-optic cable. Specifically, a 10-kilowatt electrical power and fiber-optic cable Chief Steward Shawn Fujiwara for a power socket 52 kilometers into Monterey Bay, Calif. This will be the smallest yet one of the most important installations the ship has ever undertaken. For decades, scientists who wanted to study ocean changes and sea conditions had to rely on batteries to power their instruments, which were relatively short-lived. Now, that is about to change, thanks to years of development by the Monterey Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), and financial support from the National Science Foundation. In March 2007, the Global Sentinel and her crew will carefully lay 52 kilometers (32 miles) of power and fiber-optic cable the size of a garden hose in Monterey Bay. The cable will be laid from the shore end at Moss Landing to the resting place of a node about 3,000 feet beneath the waves, where various instruments can be plugged in and receive power on which to run and in turn send back live data via the fiber-optics to the shore station. Called MARS, short for Monterey Accelerated Research System, this will allow scientists access 24 hours a day, seven days a week over long periods to study the ocean in real time. The cable will follow the shelf along the north side of the bay and be buried about a meter beneath the sea floor to minimize the impact to sea life in the area. At the end of the cable will be a five-ton node where up to eight different sensors of all types can be plugged into the system. Some of the sensors to be installed are quake sensors to detect earthquakes along the earth’s plates; another will be a low-light camera, to peer into the darkness of the deep. To plug in a system, scientists will send down an ROV (remote operated vehicle) and connect the instruments into the socket that sits permanently on the shelf in 900 meters (about 3,000 feet) of water. The CS Global Sentinel is manned in all unlicensed departments by the SIU. Deck and engine officers are manned by the AMO, while ROV operators are from Tyco’s submersibles division. The various other technical personnel are from Tyco’s electronics divisions. The MARS project is to serve as a test bed for more extensive ocean observatories in U.S. and Canadian waters. To learn more Photo by Todd Walsh, MBARI The Global Sentinel launches a plow used to bury cable beneath the sea floor’s surface. Fiber-optic cable carries data (including video) from under the sea to the land station. about the MARS project, you can visit www.mbari.org/mars. A five-ton node with protecting casing can house different sensors used by scientists. A remote operated vehicle (ROV) is used to help install the new fiber-optic system. USNS Shasta Rescues 5 After Fire on Cargo Ship Illustration courtesy MBARI This artist’s rendering reflects the basic layout of the newly installed cable and instruments, and how data is transmitted back to shore. Union, School Thank Eglinton During the May membership meeting in Piney Point, Md., recently retired Paul Hall Center Director of Training Bill Eglinton (fourth from left) was recognized for his years of outstanding work. He received a ship’s wheel from the SIU and its affiliated school which in part read, “Like the U.S. Merchant Marine itself, for 34 years you have delivered the goods.” When presenting the wheel, SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez (third from left) noted that although Eglinton officially retired earlier this year, “We’re not letting him get away that easily. We all still benefit from his knowledge, expertise and dedication.” Eglinton continues looking out for mariners’ interests by serving on several key maritime committees and related delegations addressing (among other topics) mariner training and credentialing. Pictured at the membership meeting are (from left) SIU VP Government Services Kermett Mangram, SIU VP Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi, Tellez, Eglinton, SIU VP Contracts George Tricker and SIU President Michael Sacco. (An article about Bill’s retirement was published in the April LOG and remains available on line at www.seafarers.org.) 8 Seafarers LOG Members of the SIU Government Services Division sailing aboard the ammunition vessel USNS Shasta helped rescue all five mariners from a disabled cargo ship May 12 in the Western Pacific near Saipan, according to the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC). Just after sunset, the Shasta received a request from the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet Battle Watch Center to assist the ill-fated MV Haurosi, which had reported an engine room fire. Traveling at full speed, the Shasta made the 90mile voyage to the Haurosi’s location in about four hours, using the transit time to prepare the flight deck for helicopter operations and ready the Shasta’s towing and fire fighting equipment. “As we approached, we could see the crew on deck waving flashlights,” said R.J. Bellfi, the Shasta’s master. After refueling a U.S. Navy helicopter from Guam that was already on the scene, Shasta crew members dispatched a boarding team to the Haurosi in the MSC ship’s rigid-hull, inflatable boat. Upon boarding the 93-foot Haurosi, personnel from the Shasta saw that the fire had been extinguished, but the ship was adrift without propulsion or other power. The crew fared okay, however. According to one of the Shasta’s officers, “They were a bit exhausted, but appeared to be in good shape.” The Haurosi reportedly was five days into a voyage from Pusan to the Solomon Islands when the fire occurred. The Shasta set up temporary lighting to monitor the ship throughout the night. The following morning, in rain showers and gusty winds, the Shasta attached a tow line to the Haurosi and set course for Saipan, the nearest port. “We had a lot of rigging to accomplish to get the towing bridle aboard and in place,” said Bosun’s Mate Ronald Hanses, a key member of the boarding team. “Without mechanical power, it was a tough job pulling a towing rig from one ship to another. It helps to have that knack for improvising.” All five Haurosi crew members were transferred to the Shasta where they received general medical services, a hot meal, clean clothing and a place to sleep. Shasta crew members donated $800 for their counterparts from the Haurosi, all citizens of the Solomon Islands. The Shasta safely delivered the other ship and its crew to Saipan on May 14. “We were well-equipped and had the seamanship experience to provide assistance for this rescue,” said Bellfi. “There is a support network out there, always on watch, and we are part of it.” The 564-foot, 20,000-ton Shasta is one of MSC’s five ammunition ships and is one of 39 ships in the Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force program that provide logistics support to U.S. Navy warships operating in the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. The ship has a crew of 134 civil service mariners employed by MSC as well as two military personnel. The USNS Shasta is crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division. June 2007 �Maersk Crew Members Attend Safety Seminars Twenty-two crew members from Seafarers-contracted Maersk Line Limited last month attended safety seminars at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education (PHC) in Piney Point, Md. The Maersk group on May 9 completed the two-day class which honed as well as supplemented their individual safety skills. Among several other significant topics covered during the seminars, the mariners studied job safety analysis, risk of electrical shock, communications/leadership and harassment/discrimination. Maersk officials Capt. Robert Powell, Kim Estes and Ed Hanley, Cal Hayden, Dennis Houghton, Fred Olsen, Tom Ulrich and Dan Marsh each met with the mariners as did SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez. Additionally, Lois Stephenson and Jay Henderson of the PHC each conducted seminars. Those who successfully completed the training and the respective vessels on which they sail were: Bosuns Mark Coleman (USNS Pomeroy), Morris Foster (USNS Altair), Tim Girard (Maersk Alabama), James Gregory (USNS Charlton), Adrian Jones (USNS Pomeroy), Steve Kastel (Meteor), Clarence Poore (USNS Watson), Henry Peterson (USNS Watkins) and Denyse Sineath (USNS Loyal); AB Francisco Bravo (USNS Denebola); QMEDS Donald Christian (MV Maersk Virginia), John Collins (SL Pride), Ralph B. Garner (USNS Pomeroy), Jurgen Gottschlich (USNS Pollux), Michael Kirby (SL Achiever) and Michael Seyler (USNS Denebola); Chief Steward John L. Gibbons (PFC James Anderson Jr.); and SBs Shirley E. Adkins (USNS Soderman), Edward Banks (USNS Denebola), Ed Collins (SL Pride), Gerhard Schwarz (SL Quality) and Christopher Sykes (SSG Edward A. Carter). Each of the crew members was asked to complete a course evaluation form at the conclusion of their training. According to Maersk, the feedback was very positive for the entire program. Seafarers, Maersk officials and Paul Hall Center staff members are pictured at the school during a short break. Mariners said the training definitely would benefit them while performing their daily duties aboard their respective vessels. Maersk officials thanked the PHC staff for its contribution in making the entire experience a positive and successful one for the crew members. Safety training is a staple of many curriculums at the Southern Maryland-based maritime training complex. The school offers dozens of Coast Guard-approved classes concentrating on shipboard safety as well as specialized courses such as STCW Basic Safety Training (BST). Transportation Workers Rally in D.C. Thirty-nine students from the Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education on May 17 participated in the nationally publicized transportation workers rally on the National Mall. Clad in their trademark “Lundeberg Stetson” caps, the unlicensed apprentices from the Piney Point, Md.-based maritime training complex functioned as marshals and provided varying levels of security for the hordes of rally-goers and VIPs who turned out to support the event. Thousands of transportation workers dressed in red and blue shirts and their supporters came together to push for an end to federal policies which they sug- Above and below: Members from 26 unions—some from as far away as Hawaii, Alaska and Guam—demonstrated in the nation’s capital. gest put profits ahead of safety and security and which put corporate needs ahead of workers. The workers arrived from all across the country, including Alaska, Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam, to tell lawmakers and administration officials: “Enough Is Enough.” The rally was led by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), and was dubbed the Transportation Day of Action. Used as a forum to put transportation workers’ issues on the 2008 presidential agenda, those in attendance told presidential candidates that they will hold elected officials accountable. Workers—more than 1,000 in total—representing 26 unions turned out in support of the event. IAM President Tom Buffenbarger told the crowd that hundreds of thousands of workers have lost jobs, pensions and health care while CEOs and senior executives rewarded themselves with outrageous compensation packages. AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka stated that working people are responsible for electing the new Congress and that we will hold them accountable. “We’re here today to remind the members of the new Congress we elected last year that Labor 2008 is already under way,” Trumka said. “We’re here to remind them of the pledges of support they made on issues vital to the transportation workers who keep our country moving every day. We’re here to remind them of their commitments of support for our working families agenda: good jobs, decent wages, fair trade, better schools, secure retirement, affordable health care and the freedom of every worker to make their own decision to join a union.” Presidential candidates Senators Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Joseph Biden (D-Del.) and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) each addressed the attendees. Former North Carolina Senator John Edwards and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson appeared via video. Collectively, they told the crowd they will look after working people’s agenda in 2008 and beyond. In addition to the candidates, other members of Congress and former Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater spoke. Transportation workers asked the 2008 presidential candidates to promise to: Appoint individuals who support workers’ rights to national labor boards, such as the National Mediation Board (NMB), which oversees labor issues in the rail and airline industries. Workers assemble at the start of the demonstration. Protect and defend workers’ pensions. During the slew of airline bankruptcies in the past six years, 195,500 workers have lost their pension plans. After years of taking smaller paychecks to put more money into pension accounts, these airline employees saw their accounts liquidated. By terminating these employee pensions, airlines have shed more than $20 billion in costs. Promote and enhance Amtrak, America’s passenger rail system. Support aviation legislation that ensures good jobs in the private and public sectors, honors workers’ bargaining rights and strengthens the safety and security of the aviation system. Fight for laws that would make security training mandatory for front-line transportation workers. Counter the effects of globalization on the transportation industry, which include outsourced jobs and threatened safety and security standards. Boost investment in our public transportation, highway system and ports. Thousands of workers participated in the transportation workers rally May 17 in Washington, D.C. June 2007 Seafarers LOG 9 �USNS Watkins: A ‘Modern Marvel’ The SIU-crewed USNS Watkins was featured on the History Channel program “Modern Marvels: More Military Movers,” which aired April 21. The Watkins—one of 19 large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ships (LMSRs) in the Military Sealift Command (MSC) fleet— is operated by Seafarers-contracted Maersk Line Limited. The History Channel program spotlighted LMSRs as being the largest non-combatant ships in the military. Each of the vessels measures nearly a thousand feet in length (as big as many aircraft carriers) and can carry enormous amounts of cargo. Described by Modern Marvels producers as “the mother of all military movers,” the LMSR was one of six key military transportation platforms featured on the hour-long program. Also featured were the V-22 Osprey Aircraft, the Boeing CH-47 Chinook, the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker and the Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck. As stated in the Modern Marvels narrative: “Wherever they’re (LMSRs) deployed, they can make or break the fight.” LMSRs constitute one of MSC’s newest classes of ships and have significantly expanded the nation’s sealift capability. The ships can convey vehicles and equipment to support humanitarian missions as well as combat missions. The 15 new construction vessels (four others were converted) have a cargo carrying capacity of more than 380,000 square feet, equivalent to almost eight football fields. In addition, LMSRs have a slewing stern ramp and a removable ramp that services two side ports making it easy to drive vehicles on and off the ship. Interior ramps between decks ease traffic flow once cargo is loaded aboard ship. Two 110ton single pedestal twin cranes make it possible to load and unload cargo where shore-side infrastructure is limited or nonexistent. A commercial helicopter deck was added for emergency, daytime landing. Like most of the other LMSRs, the USNS Watkins is named after a Medal of Honor recipient. Army Master Sgt. Travis E. Watkins (1920-1950) was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for his gallant leadership when an overwhelming enemy force broke through Man Overboard: Memories from a 1958 Voyage The following story was told to Doris Robinson by her late husband, Milton Robinson, who was an SIU seaman. He joined the union in 1941 and retired in 1969. A previous story was printed in the May 2007 issue of the Seafarers LOG. This event occurred in the 1950s aboard the Arizpa, a cargo ship (owned by the Waterman Company from Mobile, Ala.) bound for Europe. I sailed as bosun that trip and was in charge of the working crew on the deck. That included everyone who performed the duties of painting, chipping, caring for the lines and anything that pertained to the maintenance of the vessel. One day, one of the crew A lifeboat was lowered from the side of the Arizpa in October 1958 (right) to rescue a fellow crew member who had jumped overboard. In photo below, the man has been rescued, and the lifeboat is being brought back on deck. Bosun Milton Robinson is top right, and the third mate, Mr. Hamilton, is standing at the deck’s rail at right. 10 Seafarers LOG members jumped over the side of the ship. We had already set sail and were out in the wide open seas between Mobile and the Florida coastline heading toward the Atlantic Ocean and Europe. One of the crew members in our department had been complaining that other members of the crew who were sleeping in the same quarters were threatening to throw him over the side. He had a very antisocial personality to start with and would not talk to anyone but me. It was a beautiful, clear day with calm seas when the shout came: “Man Overboard!” Oil was immediately poured over the sides of the ship to further calm the seas, and the lifeboats were made ready to go over the sides to rescue our shipmate. Two or three other crew members and myself were lowered over the side in a lifeboat, secure in our life jackets. We rowed out to the poor guy. He was pretty glad to take a helping hand, and he climbed aboard the lifeboat with us. When we all got back aboard the ship, the captain, of course, thought it best to confine the guy in a safe place, completely away from the other shipmates. He still would talk only to me, so I took him his meals and talked to him. We were not too far from Panama City, Fla., so we put in there to register him in a hospital for observation. But he was still very hostile. The third mate, Mr. Hamilton, and I were to take him handcuffed to the Marine Hospital for observation. But that was another harrowing experience. The man knew what was going on and naturally tried several times to escape from us. We did not put the handcuffs on him while we were all in the cab since we had him wedged between us. But as we exited the cab, he broke from us and made a dash for freedom, which resulted in me getting my shirt half-way torn off my back and abrasions on my arms. But I finally tackled him and we returned to the cab and arrived at the Marine Hospital. I know we must have all three looked pretty disheveled as we arrived at the hospital desk to register. All of us were promptly ushered in to see the doctor. The doctor came into the room, took one look at us and said, “Now, which one of you is the patient?” I guess we all did look a bit wild. Whenever I would see Mr. Hamilton after that, we would recall the happening as “just another shipboard incident,” although it could have been disastrous. The SIU-crewed USNS Watkins appears on the History Channel (above and at left). and isolated 30 men from his unit in Korea from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3, 1950. A non-combatant vessel, the USNS Watkins is the sixth in the Watson class of LMSRs. The gas turbine-powered ship is able to sustain speeds of up to 24 knots. Generally, LMSRs are prepositioned in the Indian Ocean near Diego Garcia or in reduced operating status in U.S. ports. Retired SIU Lakes Official ‘Skip’ LeBarron Dies at 71 David “Skip” LeBarron, a retired Seafarer and union official in the Great Lakes region, passed away Feb. 12 at Petosky (Mich.) Hospital following a long illness. He was 71. LeBarron joined the SIU in 1961 in Detroit. He sailed for many years with Dunbar & Sullivan Dredging Co. He was active in organizing drives and spent much of the 1970s serving as a Lakes-area official before returning to the boats as a mariner in 1978. He retired six years later, in 1984. Retired SIU Vice President Great Lakes Byron Kelley first met LeBarron in high school in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Both went to work in the inland division after graduation. “Skip was an excellent organizer, so much so that he was ‘borrowed’ for campaigns in the Gulf,” Kelley recalled. “He did an outstanding job representing the dredgemen on the Great Lakes, and he also had respect from the company people as well as that of the membership.” LeBarron’s daughter Cindy LeBarron sailed with and organized for the SIU. Manthei stated, “I know he loved being part of the union. He enjoyed the work and kept lifelong friends he met in the industry.” LeBarron was a U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean War. A native of Hancock, Mass., LeBarron moved to Michigan as a teenager. His wife preceded him in death, passing away in 2001. He is survived by a son, a daughter, a stepson, a stepdaughter, a sister and 11 grandchildren. With Seafarers on the Lakes This snapshot of SIU boatmen was taken in Detroit. Standing left to right are ABs Abdul Hussein, Adil Hussein, Jim Jasman, Jeff Davis and Jess Chalker. They are employed by Great Lakes Towing Company. June 2007 �East Coast — North Carolina These two photos were snapped aboard the MV Virginian when SIU representatives serviced the vessel March 14 in Sunny Point, N.C. The Virginian is a commerically owned and operated ship under contract to the Military Sealift Command. U.S. troops around the globe rely on the vessel to bring them supplies and equipment. It has a massive (800-ton) crane, one of the largest sea-going cranes in the world, which is able to lift up to 65 tons at a time. The ship also has huge cargo holds, a stern ramp that vehicles can drive up, as well as a heavy-lift capability that allows the ship to move oversized cargo. The Virginian recently completed a voyage to Italy, Germany and Kuwait. Enjoying lunch aboard ship are (left) STOS Matthew Green and (right) QMED Charles Hobbs and QMED Marc Poniatowski. Seafarers: From Coast to Coast to Coast Gulf Coast — New Orleans Port Agent Chris Westbrook (center) conducts a recent membership meeting at the SIU hall in Harvey. To his right is Chief Electrician Randy Clark, who was acting as recording secretary; and to his left is Patrolman James Brown. Ardeccia Hill is sworn in and receives her full “B” book from Patrolman James Brown in the New Orleans hall. Hill sails as an SA. U.S. Coast Guard Foundation Dinner, Honolulu Prior to a recent school board meeting, Seafarers—in conjunction with the state and local AFL-CIO—joined with other unions to rally in support of the United Teachers of New Orleans, who are organizing and taking a stand to show that the union is back and growing after Hurricane Katrina. At the far left is Steward Nadine Butler; next to her, holding the Seafarers sign, is SA Arnell George. Pacific Coast — Hawaii SIU officials and members were among the guests at a recent fundraiser for the Coast Guard Foundation, a not-for-profit group that raises money for scholarships for enlisted USCG men and women and to meet emergency family needs of Coasties. The dinner chair was Robert Kritzman of NCL America, and the keynote speaker was Sen. Daniel K. Inouye. It was the most successful fundraiser the Coast Guard Foundation has ever held in Honolulu. Chief Steward James Brockington (left), SEATU Rep Amber Akana (center) and SIU Rep Frank Iverson. SIU VP West Coast Nick Marrone (left) and SIU Rep Frank Iverson Below: SIU member Wilfredo “Stretch” Scales (left) takes the SIU oath and receives his “A” seniority book from Port Agent Neil Dietz in the Honolulu hall last month. Pictured April 15 in the crew mess on board the SIU-crewed Pride of America are (from left) SIU VP West Coast Nick Marrone, Bosun Rene Govico and Engine Delegate Joey Acedillo. The cruise ship was in Honolulu harbor that day. June 2007 SIU Recertified Steward Susan Bowman and QMED Ed Krebs Seafarers LOG 11 �Seafarers also helped mobilize the Wright in 2 Iraqi Freedom and in 2005 for hurricane relie Electrician Therman Ames takes an electrical inventory. Supporting Our Arm USNS Wright Mobilizes for M OS Stefra Strauser Right: The Wright is operated by SIU-contracted Crowley. AB John Frey proves to be a good sport when it comes to setting up photos for the LOG. 12 Seafarers LOG F or Seafarers aboard the USNS Wright, the vessel’s recent activation for an undisclosed military support mission was all in a day’s work. A shipboard visit early last month in Baltimore found the SIU members in all three departments efficiently prepping the aviation logistics support vessel even though they hadn’t been told the mission’s exact nature. Such discretion is common when merchant ships are activated for military purposes, whether the voyage turns out to be a relatively routine training exercise or something more. “I’m interested in seeing what’s going to happen, but we’ll do whatever we’ve got to do,” stated Bosun Tom Moore. “We’re securing the ship for sea even though we don’t know much about the mission. No matter what, we look forward to doing our part—working with the military personnel and doing whatever we can do to help.” Operated by Crowley, the Wright is one of two aviation logistics support ships in the U.S. Ready Reserve Force (RRF); the SIU-crewed Curtis is the other. It primarily functions as a helicopter repair vessel for the U.S. Marine Corps, and also can provide support for offshore helicopter activity. The Wright can house more than 300 people. The ship has other uses, too—it was mobilized for U.S. Gulf Coast hurricane relief in 2005. 2nd Cook Dennis Uchic Back in 2003, mariners fr Merchant Marine Expedition Administration in a shipboar were recognized for a 145-da troops in Operation Iraqi Fre spent in combat zones. During that mission, the v cated sealift for deployment intermediate maintenance ac transporting a helicopter plat and equipment for fixed-win More than 300 Marine Corps ship during the deployment, support of the Marine Aviatio teams aboard the ship fixed a their fellow armed forces per transported to and from the W The Wright, which has a f 602 feet long and has a beam can travel at 19 knots. Its dra es; its displacement is 23,800 QMED Steven Hos June 2007 �2003 for Operation ef. Chief Steward Rayfield Crawford med Forces QMED Ted Wallace Military Mission rom the Wright received the nary Medal from the U.S. Maritime rd ceremony in Baltimore. Seafarers ay deployment supporting U.S. eedom; most of that time was Right: QMED Ken Pell prepares to weld in the engine room. vessel provided rapid and dediof U.S. Marine Corps aviation ctivity. The assignment included tform, a complete repair shop, ng and rotary-wing aircraft. s personnel operated from the providing service and repair in on Combat Element. Repair an estimated 2,000 parts for rsonnel. Those pieces were Wright via helicopter. five-day activation period, is m of 90 feet, 2 inches. The ship aft is listed as 29 feet, 10 inch0 long tons. AB John Frey Left: AB Johnny Chavis (right) explains proper lead of wire rope through roller chock to OS Leonard Gregg. Bosun Tom Moore, SIU Port Agent Dennis Metz skins, QMED Ken Pell June 2007 Chief Cook Julie Dvoroznak AB Johnny Chavis Seafarers LOG 13 �Recollections of the Merchant Marine in World War II Editor’s note: The first two installments of retired Seafarer Albert Stimac’s experiences in the merchant marine appeared in the April and May Seafarers LOGs, respectively. He wrote about his training, his first ship, joining the SIU and the responsibilities of a member of the black gang. Following is a continuation of his experiences, including traveling in a convoy during World War II. They are the best recollections of his training and sea time from the end of 1943 to late 1946, so any inaccuracies in the details need not be brought to his attention. T his was my first convoy, and it was a different way of sailing. This convoy wasn’t too big—about 30 or 40 ships. It was more wide than long. The major factor in how fast the convoy traveled was how fast the slowest ship could go. So the convoy went at the speed set by the lead ship of the convoy. He sat in the first row and in the middle, with ships on both sides of him. I think we had five or seven ships across and four or five back. The problem was to keep all these ships in line as well as a certain distance behind each other. This was easy enough in good seas and clear weather. Things changed dramatically, however, on dark, moonless nights or when we ran into fog. Then the ships signaled each other by fog horns. So many short or long blasts identified your ship. Many mornings we woke up and found ships so close together you could holler to one another. And ships that were supposed to be on one side of a convoy ended up on the other side. As we sailed along, it would sometimes take half a day to get everybody all lined up again. For escorts, we didn’t have any ship larger than a destroyer. Mostly, they were made up of what they called escorts, much smaller vessels than destroyers. Their main purpose was to be fast and drop depth charges. Our biggest worry was to break down in the engine room. Then we were left by ourselves and given a certain amount of time to get fixed and running or the protecting escort would leave you. The only communication ships in the convoy had was by flags. No radio or that type of communication was allowed since subs could pick that up. We made it to England in about two weeks. At 5 or 6 knots, one did not travel over 7 or 8 miles an hour. We sat on the west side of England in a harbor full of other ships for a few days. Then we sailed up to what we found out was Scotland. Sat there for about a month just doing nothing. We were not allowed to go ashore. Everybody got a little edgy when we saw officers going ashore, staying all night and coming back in the morning. That was soon stopped, and only the captain, chief mate and chief engineer went ashore in the morning and returned in the afternoon. One morning on our watch, we were given orders to fire up the boilers to get our steam up and ready to sail. That night, we pulled anchor and took off. We had no idea where we were going. I was just getting off morning watch and going topside when I felt the whole ship shudder and heard a crunching sound. I scrambled up as fast as I could but could see nothing in the haze and choppy sea. And pretty soon, we just kept going along. I soon found out that we were in the English Channel and bound for France. D-Day had taken place a couple of weeks earlier, and we had hit an LST head on and sunk it. This type of craft was like a large triangular box that carried troops and supplies. They were flat bottomed and could go almost to shore to deliver men or materiel. Their size restricted any large amount of materiel they could carry. They were 14 Seafarers LOG mainly assault ships instead of cargo supply vessels. Then we found out we were on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, and the invasion was on. We anchored out about a mile and unloaded our cargo onto LSTs with our cargo booms. It took about a week to unload. It was a very unreal world at this time. Every once in a while, the anti-aircraft guns opened up from the battleships along the beach, and we would head for cover. We found out quickly that when you saw that first shell burst in the sky, pretty soon the shell burst would come down. It sounded like rain on a tin roof. You could get killed if you stayed in the open. Another odd sight was a lot of small balloons (150 feet long) were in the sky and were anchored by cable to the ground or ship. This kept the dive bombers and attack planes from coming in low to bomb the cargo ships. The cables would cut the wings off the planes if they hit them. I got the shock of my life the next morning when I looked over the side and wave that went ashore on Omaha Beach. I really was overwhelmed by the news and behaved badly. As I sat on my bunk too stunned to think, many of the men on the ship came in to console me and shake my hand. All the officers aboard also came and expressed their condolences. I stayed aboard until nightfall, and then I just had to get off that ship. I got paid the day after and then went home for a month. The draft board and Coast Guard gave me no problems on my extended time on shore. I went back to New York City and didn’t have any problem getting a ship since I had more shore time than anybody. When I got the oiler’s job I wanted, on the ship I wanted, the dispatcher asked if I could spend a minute with him. For some reason, he picked me out and started to inquire about my interest in the union. In my union book, he must have noticed I always paid my dues and that I had attended union meetings when I was ashore. The first one I attended was out of curiosity because it was just being formed National Archives, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration There were no guarantees of smooth sailing for convoy merchant vessels in World War II. could see bodies of men floating face down in the water. The tide going in and out moved these bodies all over. They were being scooped up by small landing craft that had flat bows that dropped down and could be used as ramps. It’s funny how one’s mind works and how these things just get accepted. I didn’t go ashore as we were forbidden to do so. But somebody always does it anyway. Some of the deck crew hopped into a cargo boat going ashore and they looked into German fortifications and wandered around a bit. They came back with stories about how things in the bunkers were just left there as if someone would come back and get them. They brought back some of the magazines, newspapers and other odds and ends. They also brought back a small dog. It must have been a pup. Never grew more than 12 inches tall and looked just like a large German Shepherd. In the end, I got some of the magazines. After we unloaded, we went back to Ireland and stayed for 36 hours. When we hit that other vessel going across to France, we made a large hole in our bow. It was too close to the waterline, so we had it cemented up as a temporary measure. In rough seas, one could take on water and sink. We didn’t have any problems going back, and it was exactly 90 days we were aboard ship with only one time ashore. And that was in Ireland while we were getting patched up. Usually when you hit the States, you get paid off and leave the ship or sign on again. This takes about four or five days after you dock. You also get your mail. I got a letter from my mother. I always opened them first. Found out that she had just been notified by the War Department that my brother had been killed. He was a machine gunner in the infantry, and his whole outfit was wiped out in the first and was very new. The meetings were really what the real world was all about. Although they were very local and argumentative, they were run by Roberts Rules of Order. If there were 50 or 100 guys at a meeting, one saw and heard 50 or 100 different individuals and ideas. One time we were discussing going on strike, and it was going to be the next day because all the negotiations had gotten the union nowhere. And steamship companies hated unions. So after much name calling and accusations of gutless leadership, we were given a place and time to meet. Our instructions were the following: (1) We would each be handed a white cap before the march, indicating our strike against shipping companies we had under agreement, (2) The plan was to march down a certain street in New York City to the shipping company offices and carry strike cards. Just in case the police or company goons tried to break up our march, we were told to keep going until we marched to a certain block, (3) In that block they would have pick handles secreted in the doorways of businesses, and (4) We would then pull out our white caps, put them on, grab a pick handle and start swinging. You hit anybody who didn’t wear a white cap.We also had problems with a competing union who we thought might join the fray. But as it turned out, the companies signed the new agreement, and we didn’t march. I suppose at this point, I should try to explain what merchant seamen were before the war started. The closest I can come to it, is comparing them to the socalled homeless of today’s day and age. They were losers or introverts with their own personal problems. Alcohol, drugs, one or two bottles a day of aspirin, hard stuff, mental problems and some prison time for various crimes. They had their own unspoken code of how you were on shore and how you acted aboard ship. Almost a contradiction in itself. On shore, you were a loner. Aboard ship, you were a team. If everybody didn’t carry his weight and more, you endangered everybody’s life. The only ones who had a hard time were the “druggies.” They usually cleaned up their act until we were out to sea and then got high. They were smart enough not to get too high, just high enough to keep them going and do their jobs. If it was a hard-core druggie or a long trip and they ran out of stuff, we had problems. The captain would order the purser to issue enough each day to keep them from freaking out. Then when we hit a port to discharge cargo, they put them ashore and they were eventually sent back to the States. Anyway, he pointed out in my dues book that I had been to the meeting for a strike. So he asked, how would I like to be the person to lead union meetings on the ship. It sounded interesting and harmless, so I agreed. I was asked if I knew how to hold a meeting. If I took the assignment, I should just ask the captain for permission and space to hold a meeting. This trip, we were bringing back about 250 German prisoners of war and carrying cargo. Things went well in the convoy and we had no breakdowns. I decided to hold a union meeting after about 10 days out. I went up on the officer’s deck and requested a talk with the captain. It was OK’d, and I went into his quarters. When I made my request to hold a union meeting as per the union contract, I thought he would have a fit. He looked at me so hard I felt he would strike me. When he could finally talk straight, he did give his permission. I was glad to get out of his quarters. The meeting was a novelty for those who attended, about 15 or so who were not on watch. I was about 23 years old at the time, and these guys had been sailing for years and were pretty beat up mentally and physically. It almost seemed like play acting because it didn’t seem real. But I have to give them credit. They respected the fact that I represented the union and was their spokesperson on board ship. I didn’t get any personal verbal abuse, but I heard plenty about this ship and that ship. Also about this mate or that chief engineer. We didn’t get much accomplished aboard ship, but everyone certainly knew I was union and had held a meeting aboard ship. Even to to all the officers, this was something new and almost unreal. The rest of the trip was uneventful and we unloaded the cargo and German prisoners of war in LeHavre, France. The German gun enplacements were still there on the sea walls extending 400 to 500 yards out from shore. Three or four of the prisoners were pretty cocky getting off the ship and giving the German salute going down the gangplank. They were in for a rude shock when they would get inland and see no more German army. The Red Cross was giving out coffee and doughnuts. It was dark and about 9 o’clock at night, and a couple of us thought we would go ashore and get some just for a change (even though we always had food in the fridge and coffee on board ship). We got a doughnut and a cup of coffee from one of the ladies. An older one walked up and asked who we were. We said we were merchant men off this ship. She said we were civilians and they only gave to servicemen in uniform. So they took our coffee and doughnuts back. Brother Stimac’s wartime recollections will continue in a future edition of the Seafarers LOG. June 2007 �Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea July & August 2007 Membership Meetings APRIL 16 — MAY 15, 2007 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals Totals Totals Totals All Departments 3 0 0 5 1 1 7 9 0 2 1 10 6 1 1 1 0 0 7 9 0 0 5 8 1 10 37 24 0 11 8 20 13 13 2 0 6 1 21 19 2 1 4 6 3 5 29 18 0 8 7 13 7 10 5 8 7 3 16 12 1 0 1 6 2 0 4 4 0 0 0 6 6 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 3 8 0 1 25 19 0 2 12 12 8 6 2 1 5 1 12 11 5 1 5 22 2 16 70 65 2 18 29 81 27 42 9 2 11 2 61 50 7 11 11 37 10 14 50 37 2 20 9 47 27 12 11 18 15 10 60 28 4 2 2 11 6 4 16 9 0 3 3 9 11 2 2 1 2 1 12 13 269 243 64 199 164 37 128 520 436 113 0 0 4 4 1 10 18 11 0 6 9 19 13 12 2 2 2 2 15 14 1 1 4 10 4 7 10 18 0 3 3 15 11 10 3 4 2 1 24 8 0 1 0 3 1 1 2 1 0 1 0 2 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 4 1 0 5 5 2 8 18 12 0 8 2 8 7 6 0 1 3 2 18 6 1 0 5 5 0 3 9 14 1 2 2 3 7 4 2 4 3 3 9 5 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 4 6 0 0 1 4 0 1 13 4 0 2 2 7 1 1 1 1 1 0 9 7 0 0 7 7 0 12 28 31 0 9 11 33 12 16 3 1 2 2 21 20 0 1 5 13 8 7 18 29 2 9 8 29 15 16 3 3 6 2 37 13 2 1 1 6 2 1 6 4 0 0 1 5 3 4 0 0 1 1 5 8 144 139 23 112 82 20 55 215 224 51 1 0 4 7 0 14 19 18 0 11 4 16 9 25 1 2 2 0 14 15 1 0 3 10 0 8 7 8 0 2 1 5 11 3 1 3 0 1 4 8 2 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 4 8 2 6 21 15 0 5 5 5 9 16 1 2 2 1 9 13 0 0 3 4 1 4 7 5 0 3 2 3 12 1 0 1 3 0 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 2 0 2 2 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 5 0 4 10 5 0 0 4 2 4 5 0 0 2 0 6 3 1 0 7 9 2 20 33 31 0 11 7 39 9 39 2 3 2 2 32 34 1 0 1 17 1 11 12 18 0 4 4 12 12 7 2 3 1 3 14 12 2 0 1 1 0 0 3 2 0 2 1 5 4 0 0 0 1 0 2 2 162 76 14 124 54 14 52 283 135 26 1 0 0 1 0 1 5 5 0 0 5 6 0 7 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 4 6 3 8 26 24 1 6 4 36 11 12 2 13 2 1 16 18 3 0 3 10 2 8 5 19 1 0 1 12 11 11 0 20 3 2 13 8 0 0 0 1 0 1 5 1 0 0 2 3 0 5 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 2 2 4 14 10 0 4 2 8 8 11 2 9 2 0 9 11 0 0 0 7 0 2 3 11 0 0 1 2 4 7 1 23 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 3 7 9 0 1 4 16 0 11 0 0 0 0 5 1 1 4 7 15 3 15 43 31 1 6 10 86 20 18 2 23 3 2 30 20 7 0 3 12 2 17 18 25 2 3 6 40 15 18 3 10 4 2 22 13 33 194 132 22 99 67 0 59 340 222 608 652 233 457 399 138 235 1,077 1,135 412 ENGINE DEPARTMENT Baltimore..............Thursday: July 5, August 9 Boston ..................Friday: July 6, August 10 Guam ....................Thursday: July 19, August 23 Honolulu...............Friday: July 13, August 17 Houston ................Monday: July 9, August 13 Jacksonville ..........Thursday: July 5, August 9 Joliet .....................Thursday: July 12, August 16 Mobile ..................Wednesday: July 11, August 15 New Orleans.........Tuesday: July 10, August 14 New York .............Tuesday: July 3, August 7 Norfolk .................Thursday: July 5, August 9 Oakland ................Thursday: July 12, August 16 Philadelphia..........Thursday: July 5* ..............................Wednesday: August 8 ..............................(*change created due to Independence Day) Port Everglades ....Thursday: July 12, August 16 San Juan ...............Thursday: July 5, August 9 St. Louis ...............Friday: July 13, August 17 Tacoma .................Friday: July 20, August 24 Wilmington...........Monday: July 16, August 20 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. STEWARD DEPARTMENT ENTRY DEPARTMENT *“Total Registered” means the number of Seafarers who actually registered for shipping at the port. **“Registered on Beach” means the total number of Seafarers registered at the port. June 2007 Piney Point ...........Monday: July 2, August 6 Algonac ................Friday: July 6, August 10 2 3 9 22 6 9 34 21 1 9 7 24 12 5 9 20 8 6 24 12 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 1 1 15 1 15 36 42 2 9 16 26 17 19 2 1 7 2 25 32 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs DECK DEPARTMENT Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Personals TO TESS FROM FRIENDS AT SANDHILL Tess, your friends at Sandhill miss you. Please write them at Sandhill Farm, RR1, Box 155-W, Rutledge, MO 63563. RONNIE DAVIS Cynthia is trying to find her “all-time favorite chief cook/steward, Ronnie Davis, from Lake Ponchatrain, La.” If anyone knows his whereabouts, please call Cynthia at (503) 791-4853 or e-mail her at cyn54a@charter.net. THOMAS (TOM) LYNCH Anyone knowing the whereabouts of Tom Lynch (last living/working in Slidell, La.) is asked to contact Margo at btomlou1924@aol.com. Coast Guard Announces Web Site for Mariners The U.S. Coast Guard last month launched a web site “to provide merchant mariners with real-time information on the status of pending mariner credential applications.” According to the agency, merchant mariners may check the status of application packages throughout the verification and approval process by logging onto http://homeport.uscg.mil/, clicking on the Merchant Mariners tab and then clicking on Merchant Mariner Application Status. In announcing the new site, the Coast Guard noted, “When application information is entered, Homeport will display the information submitted with the application package and current application status information. Mariner credentials that have already been issued will be displayed in Homeport as ‘issued’ for a 120-day period. Mariners who need additional information after visiting the web site can request additional information by telephone or email.” Seafarers LOG 15 �Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 27 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 House Committee Conducts Hearing On ‘Belated Thank You’ Legislation Unions, Former Sec. Mineta Express Strong Support The U.S. House of Representatives Veterans’ Affairs Committee on April 18 conducted hearings in Washington, D.C. to extend the 1944 G.I. Bill of Rights to the Merchant Mariners of World War II. U.S. Merchant Marine veterans unselfishly answered their country’s call to duty during WWII by moving troops, ammunition and other supplies around the war-torn world. Despite their unparalleled service and high fatality rate, merchant mariners were not recognized as veterans until 1988, decades after 11 million other combatants were classified as veterans. None of the benefits afforded millions of other veterans were given to mariners. They are now asking for a relatively small payment in lieu of the comparably generous benefits given to other veterans beginning so many years ago. In response to their request and to make amends, two bills currently are making their ways through the House and the U.S. Senate—House Bill H.R. 23 and Senate Bill S. 961—“A Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007.” If passed by both chambers and signed into law, the measure would provide benefits to certain individuals who served in the United States Merchant Marine (including the Army Transport Service and the Naval Transport Service) during World War II. Sponsored by Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.), H.R. 23 was introduced in the House on Jan. 4 and referred to committee. The latest major action on the legislation occurred during the April 18 hearings of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, which Filner chairs. H.R. 23 currently has 119 cosponsors. Sen. Nelson E. Benjamin (D-Neb.) sponsored S. 961 in the Senate. The measure was introduced and referred to Senate committee March 22. It was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Thirty-one senators have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill. “While it is impossible to make up for over 40 years of unpaid benefits, H.R. 23 will acknowledge the service of the veterans of the merchant marine and offer compensation,” said Filner in his opening remarks during the House’s April 18 hearing. “A wrong has existed for too long and it must be corrected. It is time our nation recognizes all of our veterans for their contributions to the successful outcome of World War II. President Washington got it right when he said, ‘The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country.’ It is time to make good on the promises that we have made to our troops and to our veterans. I am asking that the 110th Congress will finally correct the injustice inflicted on the United States Merchant Mariners and grant them the compensation and respect that they have rightfully earned.” SIU President Michael Sacco and three other presidents of American maritime labor organizations, in an official letter to Chairman Filner, voiced their strong support for H.R. 23. That correspondence, which was entered into the official record, in part said, “The organizations we represent have the privilege of including among our retired and active seagoing members individuals who served our country with honor and distinction during World War II, and their descendents. These World War II merchant mariners are truly representative of the ‘Greatest Generation,’ and we are extremely proud of them and the example they have set for all merchant mariners who continue to respond to our nation’s call whenever and wherever they are needed…. “We agree wholeheartedly with you that the enactment of H.R. 23 is necessary ‘to correct an injustice that has been inflicted upon a group of World War II veterans, the World War II United States merchant mariners….’ “There is not, nor should there be, any debate as to the invaluable service given by American merchant mariners during World War II,” the letter continued. “In fact, World War II merchant mariners suffered the highest casualty rate of any of the branches of the Armed Forces, other than the United States Marine Corps, as they delivered troops, tanks, food, fuel and other needed equipment and material to every theater. Enemy forces sank more than 800 merchant vessels between 1941 and 1944 alone.” Borrowing a quote from President Franklin Roosevelt who summed up the contributions of America’s World War II merchant mariners, the correspondence noted, “that they (World War II merchant mariners) have written one of its most brilliant chapters. They have delivered the goods when and where needed in every theater of operations and across every ocean in the biggest, the most difficult and most dangerous job ever taken….” “We believe our country has an obligation to the remaining World War II merchant mariners, and to the descendents of those who died during the war and since, to fully acknowledge their service and to give them the measure of benefit called for in H.R. 23. We ask you and your Committee to take the first step in righting this wrong by favorably reporting H.R. 23 to the House of Representatives for its consideration.” In addition to the signature of President Sacco, the letter also contained those of Thomas Bethel, president, American Maritime Officers; Timothy A. Brown, president, International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots; and Ron Davis, president, Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association. Former Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta was one of several witnesses to testify before the committee. Others included Sen. Ben Nelson; Veterans Administration Under Secretary for Benefits Admiral Daniel L. Cooper; Ian Allison, co-chair of the Just Compensation Committee of the United States Merchant Marine Combat Veterans; a number of United States Merchant Marine combat veterans and others. “Through my work with the Maritime Administration and the Academy (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy), I have come to know and respect America’s Merchant Marine and our nation’s mariners,” Mineta said during his formal comments “No finer example could be given of their historical selfless service to our country than their great sacrifices during World War II. “Time is running short to finally thank the merchant mariners of World War II,” Secretary Mineta concluded. “Let us not squander this opportunity.” PICS-FROM-THE-PAST In addition to its many other functions, the SIU hall has always served as a gathering place for Seafarers. These photos, taken from the LOG archives, indicate that card playing was one of the more popular activities for SIU members in years past. The photo at right was taken in 1961 at the Norfolk hall. From the left are Engineer C.O. Christie, AB Andy Solesbee and Steward John Dolan. The photo below (left) was shot in October 1962 in the Philadelphia hall. Clockwise, beginning with the man whose back is to the camera, are Deckhand Ralph Maranca, Chief Steward Gaston Saillard, Messman Estebon Oquendo and Third Cook Edward Bayne. The third picture was snapped, probably around the same time, in the Brooklyn hall. Pictured are steward department members Arnold Torella, Pete Gonzales and George Meltzer. SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with the LOG readership, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. June 2007 �Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA SALEH ALNAGIB, 65, joined the SIU in 1970. Brother AlNagib sailed primarily aboard vessels operated by CSX Lines. His first ship was the Los Angeles; his last was the Horizon Trader. Brother AlNagib was born in Arabia and shipped as a member of the engine department. He is a resident of San Francisco. ZAINE BASIR, 70, became a Seafarer in 1966. Brother Basir first sailed on the Steel Scientist. A native of Malaysia, he shipped in the deck department. Brother Basir most recently worked aboard the Maersk Virginia. He upgraded his skills on numerous occasions at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Brother Basir resides in New York. LEONCIO CASTRO, 65, joined the SIU in 1989 in Piney Point, Md. Brother Castro first shipped on the USNS Regulus as a member of the steward department. His most recent voyage was aboard the Overseas Luxmar. Born in Honduras, Brother Castro calls Houston, Texas home. JOEL CROW, 62, started his seafaring career in 1972. Brother Crow’s first voyage was on the President Johnson. Born in Russellville, Ala., he worked in the steward department. Prior to retiring, Brother Crow shipped aboard the Horizon Anchorage. He resides in Tacoma, Wash. WILLIAM DICKEY, 63, joined the SIU in 1967. Brother Dickey began sailing aboard the Western Comet in the deck department. He upgraded on three occasions at the Piney Point school. Brother Dickey, who was born in Cleveland, most recently sailed on the Florida. He makes his home in Deer Park, Texas. THOMAS KESERU, 71, began sailing with the union in 1991 from the port of New York. Brother Keseru’s first voyage was aboard the Gopher State. The engine department member most recently worked on the Maersk Alabama. Brother Keseru calls New Milford, Conn. home. ALFRED LANE, 63, was born in West Virginia and became an SIU member in 1967 in the port June 2007 of Jacksonville, Fla. He first shipped aboard an Isthmian Lines Inc. vessel in the engine department. Brother Lane often upgraded at the Paul Hall Center. He most recently sailed on the Sulphur Enterprise. Brother Lane is a resident of Jacksonville. RICHMOND MATTHEWS, 71, launched his seafaring career in 1979. He first sailed aboard the Overseas Washington as a member of the deck department. Brother Matthews upgraded frequently at the Piney Pint school. His last ship was the Motivator. Brother Matthews resides in Brooklyn, N.Y. MAURICE RICHARDSON, 65, joined the SIU in 1965. Brother Richardson first sailed aboard the Alcoa Explorer. The Louisianaborn mariner worked in the engine department. Brother Richardson’s most recent voyage was on the Boston. He calls Mobile, Ala. home. JOHN WOLFE, 55, embarked on his seafaring career in 1968 in the port of New York. Brother Wolfe’s first voyage was aboard the Steel Artisan. The New Jerse native sailed as a member of the deck department. Before retiring, Brother Wolfe worked on the Horizon Hawaii. He makes his home in Middletown, N.J. INLAND THOMAS ELLIS, 62, joined the SIU in 1983. Boatman Ellis initially shipped aboard the Seabulk Tanker. The deck department member upgraded his skills in 1995 at the Paul Hall Center. Boatman Ellis last sailed aboard a Crowley Towing Co. vesel. He continues to reside in his native Texas. JACK GONZALEZ, 62, was born in Puerto Rico. Boatman Gonzalez joined the SIU in 1986. He worked primarily aboard G&H Towing vessels. Boatman Gonzalez lives in Robstown, Texas. JAKE McCAULEY, 65, became a Seafarer in 1979. Boatman McCauley sailed primarily on vessels operated by NATCO, including the Sugar Island and the Dodge Island. He lives in Melbourne, Fla. RUFUS PRITCHETT, 66, joined the SIU in 1996 in the port of Philadelphia. Boatman Pritchett worked primarily aboard Crowley vessels. Born in Pennsylvania, he calls Salem, N.J. home. RAYMOND SIMMONS JR., 62, embarked on his SIU career in 1970. Boatman Simmons first sailed aboard a National Marine Services vessel. The Texas-born mariner most recently shipped with Civilian Towing. Boatman Simmons is a resident of Kirbyville, Texas. GREAT LAKES MICHAEL BROWN, 62, began his SIU career in 1967 in the port of Algonac first working aboard Michigan Interstate Railway vessels. He most recently sailed aboard a Luedtke Engineering Co. vessel. Brother Brown was a member of the deck department. He makes his home in Brimley, Mich. ALFRED SHANAHAN, 65, joined the SIU in 1969. Brother Shanahan first sailed in the deck department aboard the Reiss Brothers. Brother Shanahan resides in Surprise, Ariz. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust, recently went on pension. CHARLES ARCHIE, 55, became an NMU member in 1975. Brother Archie first sailed on the William J. Fields. He was a member of the steward department. Brother Archie, who was born in Galveston, Texas, most recently worked aboard the Delaware Trader. THOMAS CORRALES, 69, started his seafaring career in the port of Houston in 1980. Brother Corrales’ first voyage was on the Meadow Brooke. The Houston native last shipped aboard the Navigator. ROY JOHNSON, 70, began sailing with the union in 1965. His first ship was the Santa Isabel. Brother Johnson worked in both the deck and steward departments. Born in Southampton, England, Brother Johnson’s most recent voyage was on the Maersk Nebraska. He makes his home in Louisiana. PRITCHETT LOFTIN, 65, joined the union in 1967 in the port of New Orleans. Brother Loftin, who was born in Mobile, Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1946 The SIU pulled a complete work stoppage on all ships on June 6 to force the steamship companies to negotiate for new agreements. As a result of the stoppage, negotiations commenced with the operators on Tuesday, June 11. Among other things, the union was seeking establishment of a 40-hour work week. Ala., sailed in both the engine and steward departments. DENNIS McDANIEL, 66, embarked on his NMU career in 1966 in the port of San Francisco. He first sailed on the Leslie Lykes, working as a member of the engine department. Prior to retiring, Brother McDaniel shipped aboard the American Monarch. He is a native of Jefferson City, Mo. LONNY NETTER, 62, began his seafaring career in 1966 in the port of San Francisco. Brother Netter was born in New Orleans and sailed in the steward department. His first ship was the Mormac Pride; his last was the Sealift Atlantic. ALEXANDER REMBERT JR., 62, joined the NMU in 1967 in the port of New Orleans. Brother Rembert sailed in the engine department. He first worked on the Weslyn Victory. His most recent voyage was aboard the Lykes Motivator. Brother Rembert is a native of Mobile, Ala. JOSEPH SHEPARD, 57, was born in Louisiana and joined the NMU in 1973 in the port of New Orleans. He first sailed on the James Lykes. The steward department member most recently sailed aboard the Cape Kennedy. THAMES SOLOMON, 65, joined the NMU in 1967 in the port of New Orleans. Brother Solomon’s first ship was the Stella Lykes. Born in Louisiana. Brother Solomon’s most recent voyage was aboard the Prairieville. $3,728,745.85 in benefits for members and dependents.) 1973 By proclamation, President Nixon has opened the way for the first time to increased use of American-flag ships in the carriage of some of the nation’s oil imports by providing financial incentives to importers. Under terms of the proclamation, importers who use American-flag tankers to bring in motor gasoline or finished products or unfinished oil manufactured in the Virgin Islands, American Samoa or Guam get a special break on import fees. This Month In SIU History 1958 The annual report of the Seafarers Welfare Plan filed with the New York State Superintendent of Insurance shows that the Plan paid $1,418,578.27 in benefits to Seafarers and their families during the year 1957. The payments last year bring the total of benefits since the Plan began in June 1950 to slightly less than $9 million. The total of benefits paid out last year is almost $117,000 more than the year 1956 and a whopping $555,000 over 1955, reflecting the addition of new welfare benefits, year by year, and improvement of existing benefits. (Current-day editor’s note: In the month of April 2007, the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan paid out 1988 Frank Drozak, SIU president since 1980, died at his home June 11 following a long bout with cancer. He was 60 years old. Drozak’s career with the SIU spanned more than 40 years. He first shipped out from Mobile, Ala. in 1945. The former bosun fought in organizing drives in the 1950s, including the Cities Service and Isthmian beefs. He worked as a port agent in New York and Philadelphia…. Seafarers LOG 17 �Final Departures DEEP SEA TAMOTSU AKIYAMA Pensioner Tamotsu Akiyama, 85, passed away Oct. 24. Brother Akiyama joined the Marine Cooks and Stewards (MC&S) in 1954. He was born in Oregon and sailed as a member of the steward department. Brother Akiyama last worked aboard the Chief Gadao. He made his home in San Francisco and retired in 1979. CHARLES BORTZ Pensioner Charles Bortz, 81, died Oct. 14. Brother Bortz began his SIU career in 1952, first sailing aboard an Alcoa Steamship Co. vessel. Brother Bortz, who was born in Allentown, Pa., worked in the deck department. He wrote a few articles for the Seafarers LOG, including one in July 1984 about a cat on board the M/V Ranger. Brother Bortz most recently sailed on the Overseas Alice. He was a resident of Hellertown, Pa. and went on pension in 1991. WILLIAM CAMERON Brother William Cameron, 63, passed away Sept. 25. He became an SIU member in 1991, first sailing aboard the Ambassador. The engine department member’s last ship was the USNS Wright. Brother Cameron called Akron, Ohio home. COSTAS DAYOS Pensioner Costas Dayos, 80, died Oct. 19. Brother Dayos joined the SIU in 1961, first sailing aboard the Steel Architect in the engine department. He was born in Greece and continued to reside there. Prior to retiring in 1991, Brother Dayos shipped on the Ambassador. OXFORD GALE Brother Oxford Gale, 66, passed away Oct. 22. He was born in Honduras and joined the union in 1960. Brother Gale worked in the steward department. His last voyage was aboard the Yosemite. Brother Gale made his home in Miami, Fla. CHRISTOPHER GOLDSBURY Brother Christopher Goldsbury, 67, died Oct. 30. He embarked on his seafaring career in 1967. Brother Goldsbury first sailed on a Hudson Waterways vessel and was a member of the engine department. Brother Goldsbury’s most recent voyage was aboard the Horizon Crusader. He lived in Miami, Fla. WHITTEN HAMMOCK Pensioner Whitten Hammock, 78, passed away Oct. 31. Brother Hammock starting sailing with the union in 1952. His first ship was the James K. Walker. He shipped in the deck department. Brother Hammock 18 Seafarers LOG last sailed on a Michigan Tankers Inc. vessel. He settled in Brooklyn, N.Y. and started collecting his pension in 1977. PETER MARTI Pensioner Peter Marti, 82, died Sept. 13. Brother Marti joined the SIU in 1958 in the port of San Francisco. He first sailed aboard a Michigan Tankers Inc. vessel. Brother Marti, who was born in Switzerland, worked in the steward department. He last sailed aboard the Santa Magdalena. Brother Marti became a pensioner in 1988 and called Pleasant Hill, Calif. home. PERSING ORDANSA Pensioner Persing Ordansa, 84, passed away Sept. 26. Brother Ordansa joined the Seafarers in 1968 in the port of Baltimore. His first ship was operated by Pennsylvania Transport Co. Brother Ordansa was born in Hawaii. He most recently sailed in the engine department of the Franklin J. Phillips and retired in 1987. ROGER PLAUD Brother Roger Plaud, 59, died Oct. 20. He embarked on his seafaring career in 1989. Brother Plaud shipped in both the inland and deep sea divisions. He first worked with G&H Towing Co. in the deck department. Brother Plaud, who was born in Worcester, Mass., last sailed on board the El Morro. He was a resident of San Juan, P.R. RICHARD SHIKASHO Pensioner Richard Shikasho, 82, passed away Oct. 2. Brother Shikasho joined the union in 1961 in the port of San Francisco. The California native was a member of the steward department. Before retiring in 1980, Brother Shikasho shipped aboard a Michigan Tankers vessel. He lived in San Francisco. FRANCIS SPERRY Pensioner Francis Sperry, 81, died Oct. 31. Brother Sperry, who was born in Louisiana, first sailed in 1943 from the port of New Orleans aboard a Delta Steamship Lines vessel. He was a member of the deck department. Brother Sperry last shipped on the Patriot. He resided in Lutcher, La. and started receiving his pension in 1987. JULES STANN Pensioner Jules Stann, 79, passed away Sept. 5. Brother Stann became an SIU member in 1969 in the port of New Orleans. He was a Louisiana native and worked in the deck department. Brother Stann shipped in both the inland and deep sea divisions. He first worked aboard a Red Circle Transport vessel. Brother Stann’s most recent trip to sea was aboard the Green Island. He began his retirement in 1995 and made his home in New Orleans. LORENZO STIRPE Pensioner Lorenzo Stirpe, 84, died Oct. 24. Brother Stirpe joined the SIU in 1952 in the port of Mobile, Ala. He first sailed on vessels operated by Overseas Carriers Inc. Brother Stirpe was born in New York and worked in the engine department. His most recent voyage was aboard the Walter Rice. Brother Stirpe went on pension in 1981. He made his home in Theodore, Ala. INLAND JOHN HANKS Pensioner John Hanks, 81, passed away Oct. 10. Boatman Hanks was a Texas native. He began shipping with the SIU in 1951 in the port of Mobile, Ala. He first worked in the deep sea division on a Waterman Steamship Corp. vessel. Boatman Hanks’ most recent voyage was with G&H Towing. He started collecting his retirement in 1982. Boatman Hanks was a resident of Austin, Texas. JOSEPH ISTRE Pensioner Joseph Istre, 81, died Oct. 29. Boatman Istre launched his seafaring career in 1964. He sailed primarily in the deck department aboard Higman Barge Line vessels. Boatman Istre, who was born in Abbeville, La., called Kaplan, La. home. He became a pensioner in 1988. PAUL STRASZYNSKI Pensioner Paul Straszynski, 76, passed away Sept. 25. Boatman Straszynski joined the union in 1956 in the port of Baltimore. During his SIU career he sailed primarily aboard vessels operated by McAllister Towing of Baltimore. Boatman Straszynski was born in Maryland and worked in the deck department. He began his retirement in 1985 and made his home in Brooksville, Fla. GREAT LAKES STANLEY BLIX Pensioner Stanley Blix, 80, died Oct. 27. Brother Blix joined the SIU in 1963. He first shipped aboard an American Steamship Co. vessel. Brother Blix was born in Minnesota. His most recent voyage was on the Kinsman Enterprise. Brother Blix made his home in Wisconsin. ROBERT MALASKI Pensioner Robert Malaski, 86, passed away Oct. 23. Brother Malaski began his seafaring career in 1960 in the port of Fort Lauderdale. He sailed primarily in the engine department of vessels operated by Inland Lakes Management. Brother Malaski lived in his native state of Michigan. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust have passed away. FRANK BURTON Pensioner Frank Burton, 92, passed away July 22. Brother Burton joined the union in 1954 after serving in the U.S. Army. He initially sailed from the port of New York. Brother Burton, who was born in Oklahoma, worked in the steward department. His last voyage was aboard the American Legacy. Brother Burton went on pension in 1980. JESUS CAMACHO Pensioner Jesus Camacho, 74, died July 29. Brother Camacho became an NMU member in 1951. His first ship was the David T. Williams. Brother Camacho, who was born in Puerto Rico, last sailed aboard the Santa Clara. Brother Camacho began collecting his pension in 1974. sailed aboard the Ruth Lykes. Brother Patin became a pensioner in 1967. SATURNINO SALAVARIA Pensioner Saturnino Salavaria, 81, passed away July 9. Brother Salavaria, who was born in New York, first sailed on the Jonathan Elmer. He was a member of the steward department. Brother Salavaria most recently sailed aboard the Biddeford Victory. He started receiving his pension in 1970. WALTER SAMUELS Pensioner Walter Samuels, 89, died July 3. Brother Samuels joined the NMU ranks in 1943 in the port of Philadelphia. His earliest trip to sea was on the Paul Luckenbach, where he worked in the steward department. Brother Samuels last sailed aboard the Gulf King. He began collecting his retirement stipends in 1967. ISIDOR GRILES JAMES STOKES Pensioner Isidor Griles, 91, passed away July 25. Brother Griles started his NMU career in 1944 in the port of New York. He first shipped aboard the Samuel Nelson. Brother Griles was born in St. Croix. He last sailed on the American Reliance. Brother Griles retired in 1982. Pensioner James Stokes, 82, passed away July 7. Brother Stokes launched his NMU career in 1946 in the port of San Francisco. The steward department member first worked on the Nancy Lykes. Brother Stokes, who was born in North Carolina, last sailed aboard the African Mercury. He went on pension in 1971. CECIL JAUNDOO Pensioner Cecil Jaundoo, 81, died July 16. Brother Jaundoo, who was born in New York, donned the NMU colors in 1944 in that city’s port. He sailed as a member of the deck department. Prior to his retirement in 1967, Brother Jaundoo worked aboard the Santa Paula. MARIO PAIVA Pensioner Mario Paiva, 89, passed away July 31. Brother Paiva began his seafaring career in 1963 in the port of New York. He was a native of Portugal and shipped in the engine department. Brother Paiva’s first vessel was the Atlantic; his last was the Argonaut. He began receiving his retirement compensation in 1981. WILLIAM PATIN CARLOS TORRUELLAS Pensioner Carlos Torruellas, 84, died July 28. Brother Torruellas embarked on his seafaring career in the port of New York. He was born in Puerto Rico and shipped in the steward department. Brother Torruellas’ most recent voyage was aboard the Atlantic. He retired in 1970. Editor’s note: In addition to the individuals listed above, the following NMU members, all of whom were pensioners, passed away on the dates indicated. NAME AGE DOD Paul Banquis 78 July 22 Alvin Lewis 94 July 15 Victor Smith 82 July 30 James Sureatt 82 July 10 Pensioner William Patin, 78, died July 3. Brother Patin, who was born in Louisiana, first sailed on the Andrew A. Humpheys in 1947. He last June 2007 �Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. AMERICAN TERN (Osprey Ship Management), March 4— Chairman Juan L. Torres, Secretary Exxl C. Ronquillo, Engine Delegate Carlo M. Johnson, Steward Delegate David A. Brown III. Chairman noted that steward department doing a superb job, with great meals every day. Secretary thanked all unlicensed crew members for their cooperation keeping ship clean. No beefs or disputed OT reported. President’s report from most recent Seafarers LOG read and discussed. It was reported that new DVDs and TV for crew lounge had arrived. CAPE KENNEDY (Keystone Shipping), March 9—Chairman Donald Byrd, Secretary Eddie W. Taylor, Educational Director Tran P. Luu, Deck Delegate John A. Coleman Jr., Engine Delegate Joseph T. Previto, Steward Delegate Kelvin R. Burrell. Chairman talked about new physical guidelines soon to take effect and reminded everyone to take care of their bodies. Secretary urged everyone to work safely and make sure doors are closed, to prevent hand injuries. Educational director encouraged members to attend Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. to upgrade their seafaring skills. Anyone needing applications should see the electrician. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made for new antennae system (for international and world news) for lounges, an extra computer for email and the slop chest to sell satellite phones cards. Recommendation made to increase level of pension benefits. All departments were thanked for jobs well done. Next ports: Jacksonville, Fla.; New Orleans. HORIZON CONSUMER (Horizon Lines), March 25— Chairman Lawrence L. Kunc, Secretary Terry L. Allen, Educational Director Charles L. Wharton, Deck Delegate Sangie Mohamed, Steward Delegate Enrique A. Garrido. Chairman announced March 27 payoff before arrival in Oakland, Calif. He stated that vessel is due to lay up in May. He also reported that two new ships had joined the Horizon fleet, the Horizon Hawk and Hunter. Secretary reminded crew to have books ready for boarding patrolman upon arrival in Oakland. He also suggested they read Seafarers LOG to stay informed about the happenings in the union and in the maritime industry. Educational director advised mariners to upgrade skills at Piney Point school and keep documents current. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew given thanks for smooth, safe trip. Next ports: Oakland and Los Angeles, Calif; Honolulu. HORIZON PACIFIC (Horizon Lines), March 25—Chairman Salvador N. Villareal, Secretary Jose M. Bayani, Educational Director Irwin J. Rousseau, Deck Delegate Julius C. Udan, Steward Delegate Efren G. Ancheta. Bosun reported smooth sailing and no injuries. He announced March 30 payoff in Tacoma, Wash. and that next voyage would be 14 days on the Triangle Run (Tacoma, Honolulu, Oakland). Secretary expressed gratitude to all members for helping keep ship clean and safe. Educational director urged crew to watch expiration dates on needed shipping documents and renew early. Treasurer stated $351 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Bosun informed mariners of 150-day extension on changes to medical benefits, which will take effect January 2008. He also discussed new contract. Crew thanked steward department for job well done. HORIZON SPIRIT (Horizon Lines), March 25—Chairman Howard W. Gibbs, Secretary Edgardo G. Ombac, Educational Director Allen D. Parker. Chairman stated that vessel is going into shipyard April 17. He thanked crew members for following safety procedures and asked them to use tunnel during port operations. Secretary reported two more reliefs due aboard ship (8-12 watchstander and SA). Educational director recommended Seafarers check out courses available at union-affiliated school in Piney Point. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Thanks given to steward department for good food and plenty of cookies. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash.; Oakland, Calif.; Honolulu; Guam. INTREPID (Maersk Line Limited), March 23—Chairman Samuel H. Lampshire, Secretary James E. Harper, Engine Delegate Andrew J. Linares. Chairman urged crew members to take advantage of educational opportunities available at Paul Hall Center. Secretary advised everyone to pay close attention to documents: fully read and understand everything before you sign it. Educational director suggested members check expiration dates of MMDs. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendations made regarding improvements to pension, medical and dental benefits. Next port: Long Beach, Calif. LIBERTY SUN (Liberty Maritime), March 11—Chairman David N. Martz, Secretary Steward Tony Spain sent this photo of the galley gang aboard the MV Phillips to the Seafarers LOG. From the left are SA Norma Y. West, Spain, Chief Cook Marlon Battad, Assistant Cook Syed A. Murtaza and SA Michael D. Mayhew. Adrian L. Davis. Chairman advised crew to stay current on union issues by reading Seafarers LOG and knowing the contractual working rules and shipping rules. Secretary asked mariners to leave rooms clean for next person and turn in keys before departing. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Members requested second washing machine for crew laundry. Clarification requested concerning contractual allotments and how SIU/NMU merger would affect pension benefits. Vote of thanks given to the steward department. Next port: Houston. MOTIVATOR (Maersk Line Limited), March 29—Chairman Below: ABs aboard the Bonnyman complete helo operations. These photos were taken May 10 when Guam Port Agent Jeff Turkus conducted a shipboard union meeting. June 2007 OVERSEAS NEW ORLEANS (OSG Ship Management), March 23—Chairman Samuel Duah, Secretary Louins C. Johnson, Educational Director William P. Stone, Deck Delegate Michael Edwards, Engine Delegate Craig Croft, Steward Delegate Marlon E. Brown. Chairman advised members to have documents and dues ready for boarding patrolman. He spoke about new contract and suggested all members read and understand their rights. Secretary urged everyone to clean rooms and leave fresh linen for next mariner. Chairman Carlos Loureiro, Secretary Gregory S. Lynch, Educational Director Odilio G. Evora, Deck Delegate Ramon Guimba, Engine Delegate Marion E. Collins Jr., Steward Delegate Justo D. Reyes. Chairman reported ship would be out of service temporarily at the end of discharge for repairs to bow (caused by damage from the anchors) and again in late summer for maintenance to houses and decks. Secretary reminded all members about some of the rights of union members in good standing, including rights related to various shipboard communications and meetings. He encouraged them to remain aware of those rights along with the fact that they do have representation both aboard the vessel and ashore. Educational director advised members to check course offerings at Piney Point school. He also stressed importance of reading the Seafarers LOG to stay abreast of new rules and regulations. Treasurer noted that any purchases for vessel should have captain’s Aboard the MV Phillips Aboard the 1st Lt. Alex Bonnyman Setting up for helo operations are (from left) AB Rafael Gonzales, 3rd Mate Mathew Patriquin, Bosun Carnell Middleton, AB Frederick Grosbeier, Guam Port Agent Jeff Turkus, AB Tyrone Leonard and AB Wayne Green. Anthony Maben, Secretary Judi L. Chester, Educational Director Oswald N. Bermeo, Steward Delegate Marjorie Mack. Bosun discussed transportation problems at some terminals and stressed that something needs to be done about it. He also talked about new TWIC cards. Beef reported in deck department; no disputed OT in all departments. Seafarers requested clarification on disability benefits. Next ports: Charleston, S.C.; Houston; Norfolk, Va. He also talked about the importance of contributing to SPAD and its benefits to the membership. Educational director reminded crew to check expiration dates on z-cards and STCW documents. He suggested that everyone renew early to avoid last minute problems when shipping out. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Bosun read and discussed president’s report in March Seafarers LOG as well as communications received from headquarters. Suggestion made pertaining to improving medical coverage. Request made for satellite TV and refrigerators in all cabins. Crew also would like new sofa and chairs in crew lounge along with new VCR-DVD combo. Seafarers expressed gratitude to Recertified Steward Johnson, Chief Cook Brown and SA Wilson Penison for preparing great menus and meals during voyage. Next port: Lake Charles, La. WASHINGTON EXPRESS (Crowley Liner Services), March 27—Chairman Randall E. Evans Jr., Secretary Alvin E. Major, Steward Delegate Marie Mitchell. Chairman reminded those crew members getting off to make sure rooms are clean and have fresh linen for reliefs. Educational director advised Seafarers to check Seafarers LOG for Paul Hall Center 2007 course guide. Members would like refrigerators and fans in all rooms. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Communications were read and posted on bulletin board regarding TWIC program and NMU annuity plan. Next port: Houston. ALASKAN FRONTIER (Alaska Tanker Company), April 5— approval. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Ship plans to switch satellite service—from “Dish” to “Direct” in order to maintain reception throughout voyage. During out-of-service period this summer, company plans to have training in their Portland warehouse—most likely pertaining to safety. Mariners were asked to make sure washer/dryer doors are closed after each use and use properly designated machines (for clean clothes or dirty clothes). Vote of thanks given to steward department for good meals, and thanks to all for helping keep house clean. COMMITMENT (Maersk Line Limited), April 26—Chairman Edward J. O’Conner, Secretary Edgardo M. Vazquez, Educational Director Brian J. Sengelaub, Deck Delegate Edwin Ortega, Engine Delegate Jim Sieger, Steward Delegate Robert Arana. Chairman announced sanitary inspection in Newark, N.J. before payoff and thanked crew members for good trip. He stressed importance of staying abreast of TWIC updates and keeping dues current. Secretary reminded crew it is everyone’s job to separate plastics, paper and food. Educational director talked about upcoming benefits changes and encouraged mariners to take advantage of the upgrading courses available at the Paul Hall Center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Lengthy discussion was held concerning medical, dental and pension benefits. Vote of thanks given to steward department, and wishes for safe voyage to all Seafarers. Next ports: Newark; Charleston, S.C.; Houston. Seafarers LOG 19 �Letters to the Editor Editor’s note: The Seafarers LOG reserves the right to edit letters for grammar as well as space provisions without changing the writer’s intent. The LOG welcomes letters from members, pensioners, their families and shipmates and will publish them on a timely basis. Thanks and Best Wishes I have been employed for 30 years on an inland tug on the Mississippi River. It has been quite a joy and very rewarding. I wish to thank Crescent Towing and the personnel at SIU for all the benefits I’ve been assisted with. Good luck to all my fellow seamen. Al Schmitt New Orleans Seeking and Encouraging Support Surviving mariners who sailed in World War II are making efforts to receive compensation for our wartime service. We are doing so through a bill called the Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act. I encourage members and retirees alike to contact their elected officials and ask them to Know Your Rights support this bill. No matter what happens with the legislation, I would urge today’s mariners to understand the importance of a strong union. The support and participation of each member makes a difference. Think 10 or 20 or 30 years down the road and you’ll understand what I mean. For our group, who were brought up in the earliest days of maritime unions, the only thing that saved our butt was that the blue collar workers had a defined benefit pension plan. Keep an eye toward the future and support your union. Albert Stimac Seattle SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SIU PACIFIC DISTRICT SEAFARERS MEDICAL CENTER FUND This is a summary of the annual report of the SIU Pacific District Seafarers Medical Center Fund, EIN 942430964 for the year ended June 30, 2006. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement Benefits under the Plan are provided by the SIU Pacific District Seafarers Medical Center Fund, a trust fund. The value of Plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the Plan, was $(291,971) as of June 30, 2006, compared to $(216,505) as of July 1, 2005. During the Plan year, the Plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $75,466. During the Plan year, the plan had a total income of $533,248 including employer contributions of $507,132, earnings from investments of $266 and other income of $25,850. Plan expenses were $608,714. These expenses included $500,262 in administrative expenses and $108,352 in benefits paid to or for participants and beneficiaries. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report. 1 An accountant report; 2. Financial information and information on payments to service providers; and 3. Assets held for investment. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of the SIU Pacific District Seafarers Medical Center Fund, 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107; telephone (415) 3923611. The charge to cover copying costs will be $2.75 for the full annual report, or $.25 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the Plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the Plan and the accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the Plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report form the Plan administrator, these two statements and the accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the Plan, at 730 Harrison Street, Suite 400, San Francisco, CA 94107, and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of coping costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to Public Disclosure Room, Room N1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20210. Are You Receiving All Your Important Mail? In order to help ensure that each active SIU member and pensioner receives a copy of the Seafarers LOG every month—as well as other important mail such as W-2 forms, pension and health insurance checks and bulletins or notices—a correct home address must be on file with the union. If you have moved recently or feel that you are not getting your union mail, please use the form on this page to update your home address. Your home address is your permanent address, and this is where all official union documents will be mailed (unless otherwise specified). If you are getting more than one copy of the LOG delivered to you, if you have changed your address, or if your name or address is misprinted or incomplete, please fill out the form and send it to: Seafarers International Union Address Correction Dept. 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 or e-mail corrections to kclements@seafarers.org HOME ADDRESS FORM 6/07 (Please Print) Name: ___________________________________________________________________________ Phone No.: _______________________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ Social Security No.: ________ / ________ / ________ Active SIU Pensioner Book No.: ___________________ Other _______________________________________ This will be my permanent address for all official union mailings. This address should remain in the union file unless otherwise changed by me personally. 20 Seafarers LOG FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. June 2007 �SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. for most of 2007. All programs are geared to improve the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. FOWT June 18 August 13 October 8 July 13 September 7 November 2 Junior Engineer July 16 September 7 Machinist June 18 July 9 July 6 July 27 Marine Electrician September 24 November 16 Pumpman* July 9 July 20 July 30 August 10 June 11 August 6 October 1 October 29 June 29 August 24 October 19 November 16 (*must have tankerman familiarization/ assistant cargo (DL) AND machinist) Welding Safety Specialty Courses Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Advanced Fire Fighting July 9 July 20 Fast Rescue Boat June 22 October 26 June 25 July 23 August 27 June 29 July 27 August 31 Basic Safety Training Classes are conducted weekly July 9 August 3 Government Vessels GMDSS August 13 August 24 Lifeboatman/Water Survival June 25 August 6 September 17 October 29 July 6 August 17 September 28 November 9 June 25 July 16 August 6 September 17 November 5 June 29 July 20 August 10 September 21 November 9 Medical Care Provider July 23 July 27 June 4 October 8 June 15 October 19 Tankerman Familiarization/ Assistant Cargo (DL)* June 4 September 24 June 15 October 5 November 26 December 7 June 4 August 13 June 8 August 17 Start Date Date of Completion July 9 August 20 October 1 August 3 September 14 October 26 Automatic Radar Plotting Aids* (ARPA) (*must have radar unlimited) June 18 October 22 Celestial Navigation Course Able Seaman Radar Radar Renewal (one day) (*must have basic fire fighting) June 25 October 29 Tankerman (PIC) Barge* (*must have basic fire fighting) Steward Upgrading Courses Recertification Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations modules start every week. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward classes start every other week beginning June 11, 2007. Bosun October 8 November 5 Steward July 9 August 6 Academic Department Courses Engine Upgrading Courses Course Basic Auxiliary Plant Ops Start Date Date of Completion July 16 September 10 August 10 October 5 General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Date of Birth ______________________ With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twentyfive (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. BEGIN DATE COURSE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Seniority _____________________________ Department _____________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ U.S. Citizen: ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Yes No Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? Yes No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ June 2007 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 6/07 Seafarers LOG 21 �Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 685 — Graduating from the water survival course are unlicensed apprentices from class 685. They include (in alphabetical order) Christopher Caporale, Chase Chandler, Michael Chapman, Rovena Cornelius, Arthur Doherty, Tito DeAndrade, Max Garrett, Demetrius Green, Alvin Hansley, Samuel Harris Jr., Dwight Hunt Jr., Keith Ingram, Catherine Jones, Chantel Jones, Darein Matthews, Ravon Moore, Rhett Morgan, William Russell Jr., David Shrawder, Cornelius Smith, Danielle Smith, Zohar Soto-Hernandez, Awal Syiafullah, Caroline Thomas, Tabethia Twine, Iker Urruchi and Enrique Velez. (Note: not all graduates are pictured.) Tankerman (PIC) Barge — With instructor Herb Walling (far left) are April 20 graduates of the tankerman (PIC) barge course. Included are (in no specific order) Scott Melton, Elliott Talbot, Jeff Brown, Robert Bronzan, Stephen McGavock, Aron Morgan, Michael Santini, Gabor Gardonyi, Bill Marti, Kerry Noble, Chris Maibaum, Glenn Lane, Mike Meriwether, Darrell Corgatelli and Mitchel Gordon. Tanker Familiarization/Assistant Cargo (DL) — Completing this course April 13 are (in no specific order) Larry Martin, George Buisson, David Harvey II, Paul Amato, Khaled AlSayed, David Hudgins, Ernest Bohannon, Jeremy Williams, Lawrence Guerrero, Paul Pitcher, Larry Castaneda, Timothy Fogg, Maurice Baptiste, Getolio Medallo, Jorge Reyes, Jeffrey Pearce, Scott Salo, Kipling Wise II, Stephen Riccobene, David Brewster, Fausto Aranda and Corsino DaCruz. Their instructor, Herb Walling, is at far left. Advanced Fire Fighting — Graduating from this course March 30 under the instruction of Tom Cessna (second from left) are G&H Towing Co. boatmen (in no specific order) Matt Hargrove IV, Sean LaFrage, Jonathan Batten, Lionel Hall and William Riggs. Welding — Under the instruction of Buzzy Andrews (second from right) are students who completed the welding course April 27. They are (in no specific order) David Grasso, Ricardas Juska, Reginald Miller, Steven Blair and Lisa Harewood-Ramsey. Chief Cook — Students who completed the course for chief cooks in June are (in no specific order) Instructor/Chef John Dobson (left), Kurtis Witcher, Rafael Chow, Rudy Oliva, James Watkins and Suree Farrell. Computer Lab Classes Lifeboatman/Water Survival — Under the With instructor Rick Prucha (left) is Paul Pitcher, who recently completed a computer class at the Paul Hall Center. 22 Seafarers LOG instruction of Bernabe Pelingon (far left) are April 13 graduates of the lifeboatman/water survival course. They are (in no specific order) Michael Warner, Kwame Owusu, David Stavron, Daniel Stavron, Parris Mancuso, Perry Asuncion, Artur Symonowicz, Samuel Eshun, Wilfredo Guerrero and Roberto Nuñez. June 2007 �Paul Hall Center Classes Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations — Upgrading Advanced Fire Fighting — Completing the advanced fire fighting course April 27 under the instruction of Mark Cates are (in no specific order) Timothy Fogg, Samuel Levecque, Kipling Wise II, Samuel Thatcher, Khaled Al Sayed, Joshua Weir, Hugh McDowell, Michael Morita, Seller Brooks, Sean Grace, Eduardo Osorio, John Collins, Jeffrey Pearce and Sergio Ayala Diaz. Seafarers and those in the veterans program who completed this course April 20 are (in no specific order) Winter Meachan, Cortez Capers, Peter Rubio, Rick Jones, Pedro O’Campo, Ameon Fuller, Jessie Parente, Juan Norales, Billy Duenas, DeAnthony Owens, Mark Sawyer, Kareim Wright and Travis Green. Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations — Phase III students who completed this course April 20 are (in no specific order) Fred Green, Christopher McAfee, Catherine Jones, Charles Naze, Jesse Lewis, Travis Moody, Ronaldo Quinones, Dante DeMcCutac, William Cotea, Kendra Gardner, Joseph Jacobs and David McRoy Jr. Specially Trained OS — Phase III unlicensed apprentices who graduated April 20 from the STOS class are (in no specific order) Barry Burns, Patrick Brill, Gillis Angeron III, Quintonio Walden, Gil Quinones, Walter Nodora, Bradley Wade, Jason Devine, Nicholas Johnson, Edward Kelly, Samie Beckford, Michael Julien, Hussein Mohsen, Peter Dudoit III, Quince Harrington, Awal Syiafullah, Clarence Lee Jr., Arthur Doherty, James Knute, David Weeks and Joel Marcano. Their instructor, Stacey Harris, is standing at far right in the second row. STCW — Seafarers completing the STCW course March 20 are (in no specific order) Khaled AlSayed, George Buisson, Ron Dean, Andre Graham, David Harvey, Larry Martin, Milton Sivells, Victor Stewart and Kipling Wise. STCW — STCW — NCL, March 20: Brooke Ackerman, Michael Akers, Amanda Akins, Adam Allen, Anthony Ambrose, Malina Arevalo-Cruz, Ryan Bahler, Roderick Barron, Rachael Baysden, Trenell Bazile, Jason Beseda, Michael Brazzle, Annette Caine, Kathleen Capstick, Amber Carter, Paul Caviston, Carol Chase, Aaron Coteff, Patrick Curley and Kristen D’Angelo. NCL, March 29: William Cruz, Shirley Elaine, Steven Alqueza, Kefira Fields, Jessica Cottrell, Eric Clark, Ruth Grayson, Jennifer Bejar, Jame Aragon, Eugene Brooks IV, Anthony Gregory Jr., Lauren Colón, José Aguilar, Karla Byrum, Brooke Backus, Andrew Horn, Thomas Bonner, Damien Fraisse, Geoffrey Halstead. June 2007 STCW — NCL, March 29: Lonnie Jones Jr., Sean Zahm, Elizabeth Barnes, Amanda Howell, Andrae Roberts-Dukes, Jonathan Philpott, Lisa Wirsing and Jesse McKenzie. Their instructor, Mike Daras, is at far left. Seafarers LOG 23 �Volume 69, Number 6 June 2007 Summary Annual Report for SIU PACIFIC DISTRICT SEAFARERS MEDICAL CENTER FUND See page 20 Mariners Honored in D.C. Ceremonies T he U.S. Merchant Marine’s proud and important history was cited throughout this year’s National Maritime Day ceremonies in Washington, D.C. on May 22—but the featured speakers also emphasized the continuing need to maintain a strong American-flag fleet. The SIU participated in all three D.C.-area National Maritime Day events. The union delegation included SIU President Michael Sacco, Executive Vice President Augie Tellez, Vice President Contracts George Tricker and Assistant Vice President Ambrose Cucinotta. Students from the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education attended two of the ceremonies and were enthusiastically recognized by Rear Adm. Robert Reilly, commander, U.S. Military Sealift Command; and by U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton. The day’s events included a National Maritime Day observance hosted by the Maritime Administration at the Franklin Delano Roose- Rabbi Joshua Boettiger Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor Lt. Gen. Kenneth Wykle National Maritime Day, 2007 A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America America has a proud maritime history, and the United States Merchant Marine has played a vital role in helping meet our country's economic and national security needs. On National Maritime Day, we honor merchant mariners for their dedication to promoting commerce and protecting our freedom. During times of peace, the U.S. Merchant Marine helps ensure our economic security by keeping the oceans open to trade. Ships operated by merchant mariners transport goods across our Nation's waterways and on the high seas around the world to connect American businesses and consumers with valuable foreign markets and commodities. The skill and expertise of merchant mariners facilitates trade and helps to strengthen our economy. In times of war, the Merchant Marine is the lifeline of our troops overseas. By carrying critical supplies, equipment, and personnel, merchant mariners provide essential support to our Armed Forces and help advance the cause of freedom. Today, merchant mariners are supporting operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and their devotion to duty is a tribute to the generations of men and women who have served our Nation with courage and determination in every conflict in America's history. On this day, and throughout the year, America is grateful for their service. In recognition of the importance of the U.S. Merchant Marine, the Congress, by joint resolution approved on May 20, 1933, as amended, has designated May 22 of each year as "National Maritime Day," and has authorized and requested that the President issue an annual proclamation calling for its appropriate observance. NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 22, 2007, as National Maritime Day. I call upon the people of the United States to mark this observance by honoring the service of merchant mariners and by displaying the flag of the United States at their homes and in their communities. I also request that all ships sailing under the American flag dress ship on that day. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this eighteenth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first. GEORGE W. BUSH velt Memorial, and a memorial service and wreath-laying ceremony hosted by MSC at the Washington Navy Yard. In between, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Wykle, USA (Ret.) addressed a large gathering at a luncheon jointly sponsored by local chapters of the Propeller Club and the Kings Point Club. The featured speakers at MarAd’s ceremony were U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.), a longtime backer of the U.S. Merchant Marine; Rabbi Joshua Boettiger, great grandson of Franklin Roosevelt; and Administrator Connaughton. Addressing the crowd at MSC were Rear Admiral Reilly and Administrator Connaughton. FDR’s Legacy Boettiger noted that the MarAd ceremony marked the first time he had visited the FDR Memorial. The agency chose that site for the occasion because of the 32nd president’s work on behalf of the United States Merchant Marine Act of 1936 “and to honor his vision for the U.S. Merchant Marine and America’s maritime industry.” Boettiger told the audience, “Franklin Delano Roosevelt took great pride in the merchant marine of World War II. No doubt, he would be pleased at the recognition the merchant marine finally has gotten in the past 20 years” (a reference to awarding veterans’ status to mariners who sailed in the war). Taylor, always a no-nonsense speaker, said it’s time for America to prove that it truly values the maritime industry by supporting it. “If we’re really serious about homeland security, we must control our waterways, we must control the Jones Act,” Taylor stated. He added that the nation should invest in its shipyards and pointed out the historically proven dangers of exclusively relying on other nations to build and transport material. He said that in order to honor the mariners of World War II, America must commit to the industry’s future. “We have to recognize that 95 percent of everything going to the Middle East (for Operation Iraqi Freedom) goes by sea. In the future it’ll be the same way.” Connaughton, himself a former mariner, reminded those in attendance that Roosevelt “understood that mariners are vital to projecting America’s power…. Our challenge today is to find a vision for our industry as effectively as FDR did.” He described today’s U.S. seamen as “the best manpower in the world” and declared that the industry as a whole must “have the courage and vision to take advantage of opportunities” for growth. “The maritime industry has been at the forefront of America’s military campaigns from the Revolution to Iraq,” he added. “We must never forget that legacy.” Manpower Is Key Wykle, president of the National Defense Transportation Association, explained in detail his vision for how America can improve and expand on its maritime infrastructure. But, he also pointed out, “Maritime assets are meaningless After the ceremony at MSC, some of the dignitaries and other attendees gathered for this photo. Pictured in the front row (from left) are SIU VP George Tricker, Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton, SIU President Michael Sacco, Rear Adm. Robert Reilly, AMO President Tom Bethel and SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez. They are joined by students from the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. without the men and women who serve in the U.S. Merchant Marine. Maritime training and education are important to the longevity of the U.S. maritime industry…. The seafaring unions also play an integral part in training, recruiting and maintaining a viable U.S. maritime labor force.” He voiced support for the U.S. Maritime Security Program, which is crucial to keeping the American flag on deep sea commercial ships. “The expansion of the MSP demonstrates the continued recognition of the vital role the U.S. maritime industry assumes in our nation’s defense infrastructure,” Wykle said. “The MSP program is the most cost effective way for the Department of Defense to meet its military sealift needs. If DOD had to acquire or maintain those assets organically, it would cost billions of scarce defense dollars.” Bright Future During his welcoming remarks, Rear Admiral Reilly recognized the Paul Hall Center students and told the crowd, “By looking at them, it’s obvious our future is bright…. The merchant marine has been a crucial part of our security and prosperity from the beginning. It’s a great debt of gratitude we owe them.” Connaughton stated, “Probably the most important thing I have to say today is to veterans of the merchant marine, veterans of all the sea services and those on active duty: Thank you for your service. This industry has made great sacrifices, both in body and spirit, for this country.” At the heart of the ceremony was the presentation of three wreaths to commemorate mariners lost at sea— one of which was carried by Veronica Hernandez, a member of Class 694 at the Paul Hall Center. The wreaths were placed in front of the U.S. Merchant Marine bronze relief sculpture on the East Wall of the Navy Memorial following the ceremony. Retired NMU member Carlos Ralon, who sailed in the engine department during World War II, attended the MSC event. “You come with a smile on your face and leave with a tear in your eye—that’s the way I feel about this ceremony,” he said. “I feel very honored to be here to see a bunch of us civilians remembered for something we did so long ago.” Congress established National Maritime Day in 1933. SIU VP Tellez Addresses Industry Forum SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez (at podium) was a featured speaker May 21 at the North American Maritime Ministry Association’s National Maritime Day forum titled “Securing Seafarer Welfare: The Ship and Her People—Crewing in the 21st Century.” The forum presented speakers representing various segments of the maritime industry including labor, management, government, vocational training facilities, and ministerial groups. Tellez’s remarks included a candid look at the myriad training and credentialing requirements facing today’s mariners. Also pictured is Dr. Clay Maitland, seminar moderator. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 June 2007 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES SIU PRESIDENTS REPRESENTS MARINERS AT HISTORIC WHITE HOUSE DINNER CRESCENT BOATMEN RATIFY CONTRACTS 3-YEAR AGREEMENTS BOOST WAGES, MAINTAIN BENEFITS NEWEST LEWIS AND CLARK SHIP LAUNCHED ITF NEGOTIATES BACK PAY FOR 8 FILIPINO CREWMEN LOWER DEDUCTIBLES, BIGGER NETWORK HIGHLIGHT CIGNA MOVE ANNUAL JONES ACT REPORT UPBEAT LABOR PROMOTES ‘FREE CHOICE ACT’ GLOBAL SENTINEL DIVES INTO NEW MISSION USNS SHASTA RESCUES 5 AFTER FIRE ON CARGO SHIP MAERSK CREW MEMBERS ATTEND SAFETY SEMINARS TRANSPORTATION WORKERS RALLY IN D.C. USNS WATKINS: A ‘MODERN MARVEL’ RETIRED SIU LAKES OFFICIAL ‘SKIP’ LEBARRON DIES AT 71 MAN OVERBOARD: MEMORIES FROM A 1958 VOYAGE SUPPORTING OUR ARMED FORCES USNS WRIGHT MOBILIZES FOR MILITARY MISSION RECOLLECTIONS OF THE MERCHANT MARINE IN WORLD WAR II HOUSE COMMITTEE CONDUCTS HEARING ON ‘BELATED THANK YOU’ LEGISLATION MARINERS HONORED IN D.C. CEREMONIES Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 06/01/2007 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. 69, No. 6 2007 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/96f68f4d143d885afe0e7254ce39e5a1.pdf 7a42d5ac706773743d08a825af34ba03 PDF Text Text 42208p1,2,5,7,8,9,18,19:2007-May 4/28/2007 11:23 AM Page 1 Volume 69, Number 5 May 2007 The SIU-contracted Horizon Lines fleet recently added three new ships: the Horizon Hawk, Horizon Hunter and Horizon Eagle. Two more new vessels (the Horizon Falcon and Horizon Tiger) are scheduled to join the fleet this month. n i o et J s e l l e F s s s e e V n i L w e N izon r o H Pictured clockwise from upper left: Part of the Horizon Hawk’s engine room; the Horizon Hawk in Guam; AB Ali Saeed aboard the Horizon Hunter on the West Coast; (from left) SIU VP West Coast Nick Marrone, Recertified Bosun Barry Hamm and SIU Asst. VP Nick Celona on the Horizon Hawk; and Retired General John Handy (left), now executive vice president at Horizon Lines, with SIU Port Agent Jeff Turkus at a ceremony in Guam for the Horizon Hawk. Page 3. Seafarers-Crewed Ships Load U.S. Army Cargo Vessels Headed for Iraq in Support of U.S. Troops SIU Welcomes Yorktown Express The upgrading of the U.S. Maritime Security Program (MSP) fleet continued last month as the SIU-crewed Yorktown Express joined it. Pictured aboard the vessel are (from left) QEE Niles Jacobsen, DMAC Christopher Zaucha and DMAC Mohammad Kahn. Page 3. Pride of Hawaii News Page 2 Three SIU-crewed ships last month took on U.S. Army cargo in Savannah, Ga. for transport to Iraq. The American Tern (operated by Osprey Ship Management) and the USNS Watson and USNS Charlton (both operated by Maersk Line, Limited) loaded materiel belonging to the Third Infantry Division’s Second Brigade Combat Team and Combat Aviation Brigade of Ft. Stewart/Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., which will deploy to Iraq later this year. At left, the Charlton loads a Bradley fighting vehicle. Above, a Chinook helicopter is lifted aboard the Watson. Page 4. Summary from NMU Plans Page 6 CIVMARS Honored Page 7 �42208p1,2,5,7,8,9,18,19:2007-May 5/1/2007 11:52 AM Page 2 President’s Report Still Proud—And Still Optimistic There’s a lot to digest with last month’s announcement about the temporary re-flagging of NCL America’s SIUcrewed Pride of Hawaii starting early next year (see story, this page). And while there’s no use in sugarcoating any of it, when I look at the big picture involving the NCL America fleet, I know there is well-founded cause for optimism. If you’re new to our union or for some Michael Sacco other reason are unfamiliar with the NCL America ships, here’s the short version. Our country went from having no deep sea U.S.-flag cruise ships in the wake of September 11, 2001 to adding three new American-flag vessels under the NCL America banner, beginning in 2004. It took a lot of work to make that happen, and it took cooperative efforts from maritime labor, the company, supporters in Congress and others. As expected, there were growing pains, both for the company and its contracted unions, including the SIU. But by early 2006, with the Pride of Aloha and Pride of America in service and the Pride of Hawaii almost ready to sail, we had turned a corner. Customer satisfaction was up. Bookings were solid. Crew turnover on the hotel side was stabilizing. (Turnover generally has never been a problem on the marine side.) The NCL America ships were having a major, positive impact on the economy, particularly in Hawaii. Things changed when the Pride of Hawaii joined the fleet in 2006. An unexpected surge in foreign-flag competition and a general downturn across the entire cruise-ship industry played key parts in the company’s financial losses for last year. In fairness, those weren’t the only issues. While operations were proceeding relatively smoothly with two ships, the jump to three vessels probably spread certain resources a little too thin. Again, we’ve been down this road before, and I know we have what it takes to succeed in the long run. As we learned with the so-called white ships in Hawaii many years ago (the old Independence and Constitution), it takes time to build up a steady manpower pool in this segment of the industry. But it can and will be done. As you can imagine, the decision concerning the Pride of Hawaii led to an intense series of meetings and phone calls, both internally for the SIU and with us and NCL America. What I took from those meetings is this: We all agree that too much work went into this program to simply give up. We all agree that eligible crew members who want to continue working for NCL will be given that opportunity—almost certainly aboard the other Pride ships. And we all agree that it is completely realistic to believe that NCL America will succeed as a two-ship fleet in the short run and then as a larger fleet over the long haul. Speaking for every SIU official, I can promise our membership we’re not going to stand around and do nothing. We’ve already intensified our efforts to continue to keep this fleet a success, and we will exhaust every resource if that’s what it takes. “Aloha” means both hello and goodbye. We said an aloha greeting last year to the Pride of Hawaii, and we’ll say a temporary aloha farewell to the ship early next year. I already look forward to once again saying a great big “Aloha!” when we welcome her back into the U.S.-flag fleet. Volume 69, Number 5 May 2007 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 8990675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Deborah A. Hirtes; Associate Editor, Jim Guthrie; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2007 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG Pride of Hawaii Scheduled for Temporary Move to Europe NCL Emphasizes Ship’s Withdrawal Is Interim Emphasizing long-range optimism about its American-flag component, NCL Corporation—parent company of SIU-contracted NCL America—on April 10 announced the temporary withdrawal of the Seafarers-crewed Pride of Hawaii from the Hawaii market effective February 2008. The ship will be deployed to Europe for the summer of 2008 as part of Norwegian Cruise Line’s foreign fleet, in an effort to offset financial losses. While the move is a setback to the U.S. fleet and to NCL America’s contracted unions (the SIU, the Seafarers Entertainment and Allied Trades Union, and the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association), the company stressed its continued commitment to its other American-flag vessels—Pride of Aloha and Pride of America—along with plans to return the Pride of Hawaii to U.S. registry. For crew members, the news certainly wasn’t all bad. During shipboard meetings April 10 in Hawaii conducted by union officials and company executives, Pride of Hawaii mariners were assured that continued employment opportunities will be available aboard the two remaining U.S.-flag ships as well as (for those interested) on the rest of the NCL fleet. They also were informed that the unions and NCL America have agreed to “stay-on bonuses” for crew members aboard the Pride of Hawaii on or before April 10 (and also for eligible mariners on leave or vacation at that time). NCL President and CEO Colin Veitch said of the withdrawal, “We take this action with regret, but sure in the knowledge that a temporary retrenchment is the right thing to do for the good of the business and the good of Hawaii in the long run. We remain committed to building a strong U.S.-flag cruise business home ported in Hawaii, and we need to make sure that our other two ships are able to achieve acceptable profitability before we can confidently reintroduce Pride of Hawaii.” In a news release, the company pointed to its “substantial” monetary losses in 2006 (reported earlier this year) which “have been caused by down- ward pricing pressure in the Hawaii market following the addition of Pride of Hawaii to the fleet last summer, and the steep increase in the amount of foreign-flag competition entering the Hawaii market from the West Coast.” According to Veitch, NCL America has grown very quickly over three years, and its competitors have also surged, starting in 2006. “Clearly we are victims of our own success,” Veitch stated. “We have demonstrated that Hawaii is a highly attractive cruise destination and Hawaii now has four times as much capacity serving it in 2007 as it did in 2004 when we started NCL America. “We are now very hopeful that this latest measure will make the critical difference in ensuring the success of this important venture. We continue to have a vision of a strong domestic cruise industry in Hawaii and firmly believe that the combination of steps we have now taken will result in a strong NCL America delivering the best cruise itinerary anywhere in the world with the very highest standard of service at sea,” Veitch concluded. U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), a key figure in the rebirth of the deep sea U.S.-flag cruise industry, said, “I am proud of the great strides made, through the robust growth of a cruise ship sector, to further diversify Hawaii’s tourism industry, making our island state the fastest growing domestic cruise destination in North America. Since NCL America’s entrance into the market in 2004, Hawaii’s cruise capacity has quadrupled. There is no doubt that I am disappointed with NCL’s announcement to temporarily withdraw the Pride of Hawaii from Hawaii waters. It was a very difficult decision that President and CEO Colin Veitch had to make for the good of the overall company as he and his corporate team work to further grow demand in the Hawaii market. I respect his decision and look forward to the day that we will be able to welcome the Pride of Hawaii back to Hawaii’s shores, hopefully in the not too distant future.” Union Submits More Comments About TWIC, MMC Programs The union last month continued gathering information and making its voice heard on both the Transportation Worker Identification Credential program (TWIC) and the Merchant Mariner Qualification Credential (MMC). The SIU on April 10 hosted a meeting at its headquarters featuring a presentation by representatives from Deloitte & Touche, a Lockheed Martin subcontractor responsible for parts of the TWIC program. An extensive questionand-answer session immediately followed. Representatives from several other U.S. maritime unions and from their respective associated schools also participated in the meeting, as did officials from the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center Two days later, the union submitted testimony to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which conducted a hearing on TWIC implementation. Later in the month, the SIU and five other maritime unions jointly submitted comments responding to a supplementary notice of proposed rulemaking covering the MMC—a credential eventually intended to replace the current merchant mariner document/z-card. Seafarers will be required to carry a TWIC by Sept. 25, 2008, but in the meantime may use their Some of the participants are pictured at the April 10 TWIC meeting at SIU headquarters in Camp Springs, Md. valid merchant mariner document along with a second form of identification to meet the requirements of the TWIC law (which stem from both the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 and the SAFE Port Act). It is anticipated that the final rulemaking on the MMC won’t take effect until approximately August 2008. Initial issuance of that credential will continue over a five-year period starting around that same time in 2008. Meanwhile, the initial roll-out of the TWIC program has been plagued by delays and technical problems. At the Senate committee hearing on April 12, lawmakers admonished representatives from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) for missed deadlines; it now appears likely that the program’s initial phase won’t be implemented until late summer or fall, when it was supposed to have begun by last month. In its testimony for that same Senate hearing, the SIU reiterated its position that where U.S. seafarers are concerned, a relatively simple modification to the current mariner credential would fulfill federal mandates without any compromise whatsoever to shipboard or port security. “The complicated and burdensome process finalized by the agency is both unnecessary for merchant mariners and may essentially prove disruptive to maritime commerce,” the union stated. “As we have repeatedly advocated, the SIU strongly recommends that the current merchant mariner Continued on page 7 May 2007 �42208p3,4,6,10_17,20_24:2007-May 5/1/2007 12:05 PM Page 3 Horizon Lines Adds New Vessels Fleet Revamp Means Net Gain of at Least 1 Ship New tonnage and job security for Seafarers both received a boost recently with the entry of three U.S.-flag vessels into the SIU-contracted Horizon Lines fleet. Two of the vessels, the Horizon Hawk and the Horizon Hunter, called on the port of Tacoma, Wash. March 30 and April 6, respectively, following their voyages from the Far East. The third vessel, the Horizon Eagle, entered service April 10. The remaining two vessels, the Horizon Falcon and the Horizon Tiger, are slated to enter service by the end of this month. Horizon last year chartered the five U.S.-flag vessels for 12-year terms from subsidiaries of Ship Finance International, Ltd in Pictured in the crew mess aboard the Horizon Hunter are (from left) Recertified Bosun Loren Watson, QEE Joseph Egan, QMED Stephen Roberts, Recertified Steward Jennifer Jim, SA Steven Wasch, AB Stephen Czaple and Recertified Bosun Glenn Christianson. New ATB Freeport Welcomed by SIU More employment opportunities for Seafarers recently presented themselves as SIU-contracted U.S. Shipping Partners LP (USS) put its newest articulated tug-barge (ATB)—the Freeport —into operation. The new double-hulled platform will be used in the USS domestic coastwise trade in refined petroleum products and chemicals. The Freeport is the first in a series of four ATBs which USS has committed to building over the next three years. The vessels will be constructed by Manitowoc Marine Group (barge component) of Marinette, Wis. and Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc. (tug component) of Panama City, Fla. Upon completion, each ATB will feature a flexible cargo system capable of carrying a broad spectrum of refined petroleum products and chemicals, a fuelefficient main engine and hull design which will allow service speeds generally in excess of standard ATB designs. All four vessels will have carrying capacities of approximately 160,000 barrels, be operated by USS and manned in all unlicensed positions by members of the SIU. Each platform carries a price tag of about $65 million. An ATB consists of a tank vessel (barge) and a large, powerful tug that is positioned in a notch in the stern of the barge. The tug propels and maneuvers the barge. Unlike an integrated tug-barge (ITB) where the tug and barge are locked together in a rigid connection and became one unit for practical purposes, the ATB has an articulated or “hinged” connection system between the tug and barge, which allows movement in one axis, or plane in the critical area of fore and aft pitch. USS also has nine 49,000 dwt double-hulled petroleum product tankers on order at General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) in San Diego, Calif. Delivery of the first ship in the series is expected in the second quarter of 2009. The tankers also will be manned in all unlicensed positions by the SIU and be timechartered to U.S. energy firms for periods of three to 10 years, according to USS. The company currently operates the ITBs Baltimore, Groton, Jacksonville, Mobile, New York and Philadelphia. USS also operates the tankers Chemical Pioneer, Charleston, Houston (formerly the USNS Gus Warren Darnell, a T-5 replacement tanker that had operated for many years under Military Sealift Command) and the Sea Venture—all of which are under SIU contract. U.S. Shipping Partners is a leading provider of long-haul marine transportation services, principally for refined petroleum products, in the U.S. domestic coastwise trade. The company is also involved in the coastwise transportation of petrochemical and commodity chemical products. Please be advised the SIU headquarters and all SIU hiring halls will be closed on Monday, May 28 for the observance of Memorial Day (unless an emergency arises). Normal business hours will resume the following workday. May 2007 order to replace and add to the platforms already in its current fleet. All five of the Hunter class vessels are of proven international design and have a service speed of 23 knots. The vessels—each a 2,824 TEU (20-foot equivalent unit) containership—were built by South Korea-based Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. The maiden voyage of the Hawk in March officially launched Horizon’s enhanced Transpacific-1 (TP1) service between the mainland United States, Guam, Micronesia and Asia. This new tonnage upgraded the carrier’s previous TP1 component that served the lane with five Jones Act-qualified vessels. (The Jones Act covers ocean cargo services to and from Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, as well as cargo moving between other U.S. origin and destination ports, ensuring those cargoes are carried on vessels crewed, built, flagged and owned American.) Redeploying the carrier’s Jones Act vessels from previous TP1 service to trade routes that require the U.S.-built vessels provides additional capacity and adequate ships to meet the future needs of Horizon Lines’ customers well into the future, a company news release said. The introduction of this new tonnage also allows the company’s other Jones Act vessels to be available as reserve capacity to meet seasonal The Horizon Hunter is part of an influx of new vessels. and dry-dock needs, as well as to respond to potential new opportunities such as coastwise container services. Once all of the new tonnage is in place (expected by this July), Horizon Lines will be operating at least 17 Seafarers-crewed vessels—a net gain of one ship, according to a Horizon Lines spokesman. The company added that the possibility exists that they will find This is a ballast water control console business for one or more aboard the Horizon Hawk. ships currently scheduled for Oakland, Hawaii, Guam, Hong lay-up. By July, Horizon Lines’ ships Kong and Kaohsiung); two will are slated to be deployed as fol- sail from California to Hawaii; lows: Two will sail from Tacoma one will sail from Elizabeth, N.J. to Hawaii; four will sail from to San Juan; two will sail from Tacoma to Alaska; five (the Jacksonville to San Juan; and one newest ships) will sail on the will sail from Houston to San Transpacific route (Tacoma, Juan. Yorktown Express Joins U.S. MSP Fleet The modernization of the SIUcrewed U.S. Maritime Security Program (MSP) fleet continued on schedule last month as the containership Yorktown Express became part of it. SIU Port Agent Georg Kenny represented the union and joined other industry representatives during the April 9 ceremony in Norfolk, Va. in which the vessel officially took its place in the MSP flotilla. Operated by Seafarers-contracted Marine Personnel and Provisioning for Hapag-Lloyd USA, the Yorktown Express replaced the Livorno Express. It became the fourth of five vessels slated to flag American and enter service under this phase of an MSP modernization program which commenced last year. Previously, the Philadelphia Express, St. Louis Express and Washington Express each flagged U.S. in exchange for older platforms. The Charleston Express next month is slated to join the AB Richard O’Brien is on gangMSC fleet as a replacement for way watch. the aging CP Navigator. The Yorktown Express is 798 feet long with a beam of 105 feet, 8 inches. It was built in 2002, delivered in early 2003 and is equipped with four cargo cranes. Like its sister ships, it can sail at greater than 21 knots, has a TEU capacity of 3,237 Steward/Baker Margie Leite, and boasts a gross Chief Cook John Plakas ABs Michael Weber and Vernon Goddard perform preventive maintenance aboard the Yorktown Express. registered tonnage of 40,146. The MSP has been a key element of America’s economic and defense security since its enactment in 1996. The original 10year program provided limited funding for 47 U.S.-flag commercial vessels, particularly containerships and roll-on/roll-off vessels, which were available to the Department of Defense in times of war or national emergency. A 10-year extension of the MSP was signed into law in late 2003 with the expanded program starting as the old one expired in October 2005. Among other enhancements, the current MSP increases the number of participants to 60 ships and provides financial assistance to construct five tankers in the United States that are capable of carrying military petroleum products during a war. Seafarers LOG 3 �42208p3,4,6,10_17,20_24:2007-May 4/28/2007 12:38 PM Page 4 SIU Ships Head for Iraq In Support of U.S. Troops Three SIU-crewed vessels last month loaded U.S. Army cargo in Savannah, Ga. for transport to Iraq. The American Tern (operated by Osprey Ship Management) and the USNS Watson and USNS Charlton (both operated by Maersk Line, Limited) took on materiel from April 3 through April 13. The cargo belongs to the Third Infantry Division’s Second Brigade Combat Team and Combat Aviation Brigade of Ft. Stewart/Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., which will deploy to Iraq later this year. Altogether, the Seafarerscrewed vessels loaded approximately 3,500 pieces of cargo. The containership American Tern, a privately-owned ship under longterm charter to MSC, utilized three shipboard cranes to load 550 items consisting mostly of 20-foot containers. The large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ships USNS Watson and USNS Charlton loaded helicopters, Humvees, tanks, trucks and more. According to MSC, the ships are moving enough equipment to fill nine football fields. “We are able to load these LMSRs so quickly because we have a precisely coordinated plan for maneuvering tanks, trucks and other rolling stock through the system of internal ramps linking the ships’ seven wide-open cargo decks,” said Tom D’Agostino, the MSC representative who oversees such operations at three major ports on the East Coast. Since Sept. 11, 2001, MSC has transported 95 million square feet The American Tern docks at the ocean terminal in Savannah, Ga. to take on cargo. of dry cargo and 10 billion gallons of fuel—more than 90 percent of all military cargo deployed in support of the global war on terrorism, according to the agency. Much of that materiel has been delivered by Seafarerscrewed ships. Numerous military officers have commended the U.S. Merchant Marine’s role in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. Among the most recent such comments were remarks by Gen. Norton Schwartz, commander, U.S. Transportation Command, and Lt. Gen. Robert Dail, head of the Defense Logistics Agency. Addressing the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department executive board meetings in March, Schwartz said that troop support is “all about chartering the direct course to deliver military power in the quickest, most efficient, most businesslike manner wherever and whenever the nation calls on us to serve. I’m taking no chances at all by telling you that we’re going to continue to depend on you—all of you Photos by Tom D’Agostino, MSC A Blackhawk helicopter is loaded onto the USNS Watson. The American Tern’s shipboard cranes were utilized to load containers. —to make that projection of American power possible. The vast majority of how we get things done is through sealift.” Dail said he has seen firsthand the materiel delivered to U.S. troops overseas that moved by ship, and those sights helped reinforce his belief that America’s maritime capabilities “are critical to our national defense and security. I have seen the trust and confidence that is built between our nation and our troops, knowing that wherever they are, we will deliver the goods to them and we will get them there and bring them home.” Bill Introduced to Improve U.S. Mariner Credentialing Legislation aimed at improving the licensing and credentialing process for merchant mariners was introduced in the House of Representatives on March 20 by U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette (ROhio), ranking Republican on the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee. U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) and U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.) also immediately sponsored the legislation. The Merchant Mariner Credentials Improvement Act of 2007 includes provisions identified by shippers, merchant mariners and other maritime workers intended to help ensure greater efficiency and eliminate unnecessary and redundant procedures in the existing credentialing process administered by the U.S. Coast Guard. “It is apparent that the evaluation process for mariner credential applications has become unnecessarily elaborate and time-consuming for all involved,” said LaTourette. “This bill will streamline the existing credentialing process to minimize procedural errors that prevent merchant mariners from carrying on with their important work and to allow the Coast Guard to improve its capabilities to manage the program.” The bill contains the following provisions: Remedies the problem of “license creep” by making all renewals effective on the date that the previous license expires. Prohibits the Coast Guard from charging a fee for any credential that is not issued within 30 days after the application is complete. 4 Seafarers LOG Prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from fingerprinting an individual separately for both the merchant mariner credential and the Transportation Worker Identity Credential (TWIC). Allows the Secretary of Homeland Security to grant a one-year extension on credentials to help the Coast Guard address any backlog created by the process of consolidating records at the National Maritime Center and the new requirements for physical examinations. Allows new mariners on offshore supply vessels and towing vessels to work on a temporary basis while approval of a mariner credential application is pending, but only after the DHS determines that the worker does not pose a safety and security risk. Requires a report to: (1) expand a pilot program which helped mariners complete application forms, (2) simplify the application process so that errors occur less frequently, (3) provide mariners with a notice of status of their applications, and (4) require documentation to be stored in electronic format. Requires a report on ways to address the projected future shortage in merchant mariners. Requires a report on altering merchant mariner documents to make them TWIC- and International Labor Organization-compliant, including adding a biometric identifier to the card. With the battleship USS New Jersey in the background, the new SIU-crewed tugboat Duty is shown sailing between Philadelphia and Camden, N.J. Express Marine’s Newest Addition Is Tugboat ‘Duty’ Seafarers-contracted Express Marine recently added the new tugboat Duty to its fleet. The boat is crewed by SIU members as well as members of the American Maritime Officers. According to the company, the Duty is a general purpose tug with wide-ranging capabilities. The boat may be used for harbor docking as well as coastal and deep sea towing. The tug also is designed to handle inland and coastal barges “on hip, by wire or notch towing.” It also can go offshore “in notch or wire-tow mode.” The Duty will be based in Philadelphia and will handle tows from the Hampton, Va. area north to New England. Built in Pensacola, Fla., the Duty was delivered to Express Marine in December 2006. The boat is 102 feet long and 32 feet wide, with a depth of 14 feet, 9 inches and a draft of 13 feet. The company lists the boat’s bollard pull at 83,000 pounds and its “free running speed” at 12 knots. Following are some additional specifications on the tug provided by Express Marine: Continued on page 9 May 2007 �42208p1,2,5,7,8,9,18,19:2007-May 5/1/2007 11:59 AM Page 5 Free Choice Act Introduced in Senate Sen. Kennedy Articulates Need to Strengthen, Protect Workers’ Rights Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, on March 29 introduced the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) in the U.S. Senate. The bill, S. 1041, is the Senate’s companion to HR 800. Regarded by some as the most important labor law reform legislation to come on the radar in more than 70 years, the legislation on March 1 passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 241-185. It then moved to the Senate where it was twice read before committee. As of press time for this edition of the Seafarers LOG, however, the bill has been idle. The Senate on April 16 returned to work from Easter recess but so far has not acted on the measure which would strengthen the middle class by giving workers the freedom to choose union representation. The legislation also would rein in the employer harassment, intimidation and anti-worker tactics that tens of thousands of workers encounter every year when they try to form unions. In introducing the legislation to the full Senate, Senator Kennedy told his colleagues that the EFCA is essential to help working families get their fair share of our economic prosperity. During his opening statement, the senior senator from Massachusetts said in part, “For far too long, we’ve acquiesced in a lopsided economy that benefits wealthy individuals and corporations, but not America’s working families. Tens of millions of our men and women are working harder than ever, but they aren’t receiving their fair share of the economy they helped do so much to create and sustain.” Kennedy told his colleagues that over the past six years, corporate profits have increased 65 percent and productivity is up 18 percent. During the same period, however, he said that household income has declined and the wages of working Americans have been stagnant. “Six million have lost their health insurance,” Kennedy said. “Their retirement is uncertain as well—only one in five workers today has a guaranteed pension. In short, working families are finding that the American dream is beyond their reach. This injustice is worsening each year, and it is time for Congress to deal with it.” The senator suggested that the best way to ensure that employees receive their fair share of America’s prosperity is to give them a stronger voice in the workplace. “Unions were fundamental in building America’s middle class, and they have a vital role today in preserving the American dream for working families,” Kennedy said. “Unions can make all the difference between an economy that’s fair, and an economy where working people are left behind,” he continued. “Union wages are 30 percent higher than non-union wages. Eighty percent of union workers have health insurance, compared to only 49 percent of non-union workers. Union members are four times more likely to have a secure, guaranteed pension.” Senator Kennedy said that in view of the state of affairs, it is small wonder that most American workers want union representation. “The question is why don’t more of them have it?” he said. He told those in the Senate chamber that “the reason is clear. In 2005 alone, more than 30,000 workers were illegally fired or retaliated against for attempting to exercise their right to have a union in their workplace. Every 17 minutes, a worker is fired or punished in some illegal way for supporting a union. Unscrupulous employers routinely break the law to keep unions out—they intimidate employees, harass Shipyard Workers Ratify Contract More than 6,000 members from 15 unions on April 5 started returning to their jobs at the Ingalls Shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. after being on strike for more than three weeks. The work stoppage at the Northrop Grumman Ship Systems yard ended following the workers’ ratification of the terms—by a 3 to 2 margin—of a new three-year agreement. Published reports indicated that metal trades workers approved the contract with a 60 percent vote, while 67 percent of electrical workers voted yes. The workers, many of them still struggling to recover from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, went on strike March 8 after rejecting two previous offers from Northrop Grumman. They were demanding greater wage increases with no hikes in health care premiums. They walked out after twice decisively voting down contract proposals from the company. The last offer shortened the term of the contract from four to three years but still would have raised wages by only $2.50 an hour by 2009 and would have increased health care premiums by 50 percent while still leaving workers without dental or vision coverage. May 2007 them, and discriminate against them. They shut down whole departments—or even entire plants—to avoid negotiating a union contract. It’s illegal and unacceptable, but it happens every day.” The senator told his colleagues that the current system clearly is broken. “It can’t stop these illegal, anti-worker, anti-labor, antiunion tactics that take place every day. The penalties are so minor that employers treat them as just another cost of doing business. “Even when workers succeed in forming a union, they often can’t obtain a first contract because management stonewalls them and refuses to negotiate,” Kennedy said. “Half of all cases alleging that employers refused to bargain are filed during first-contract negotiations—and in most of those cases the National Labor Relations Board finds an unfair labor practice.” The senator said that year after year, Congress has refused to act against these union-busting tactics that now are all too familiar in the workplace. “It’s time to listen to the voice of America’s working men and women, and give them what they want and deserve—a fair voice in the workplace and a fair chance at the American dream,” he said. Concluding his remarks, Kennedy noted, “This essential legislation will strengthen protections for workers’ freedom to choose union representation. It will restore their democratic right to join together for better wages, better benefits, and better working conditions. It will help millions of working men and women to build a better life for themselves and a better future for their children.” Elsewhere, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said that with the EFCA, the Senate has “a historic chance to make sure that America works the way it should for everyone. “A union card is the straightest ticket into a middle class lifestyle with a decent standard of living and the ability to provide for your family,” stated the labor federation president. “But for too long now, working people have been denied the opportunity to have a union because corporations flagrantly and routinely violate workers’ freedom to form unions, and the law is helpless to stop them.” Meanwhile, support for the legislation is growing among elected officials. According to the AFL-CIO, almost 20 municipalities, counties and state legislative bodies already have approved resolutions supporting the legislation, including state houses in Kentucky, Michigan and West Virginia, the Minnesota Senate and the Democratic Non-Partisan League caucuses in both houses of the North Dakota legislature. In addition, supportive resolutions are still pending in 13 states, three counties in Maryland and in Los Angeles, Southfield, Mich., and Albuquerque. Congressional Hearing Examines Dangers on Foreign-Flag Cruises A gigantic number of people—more than 12 million worldwide by some estimates—annually take to the high seas aboard foreign-flag cruise ships in search of carefree vacations. All too often, though, a significant number of these passengers experience serious problems, as detailed in a recent spate of media coverage. Some have endured degrading or otherwise distressing incidents up to and including sexual assault and rape. Others have been involved in accidents which resulted in debilitating injuries. Then there are those who disappeared or became murder victims. Today nearly all the ocean cruise lines employ passenger ships registered under flags of Employees at other Northrop shipyards along the Gulf Coast in Gulfport, Miss., and in Avondale and Tallulah, La. approved labor contracts earlier this year. The month-long Pascagoula strike is the longest work stoppage at the plant in more than seven years. “We are proud of the solidarity and commitment that the workers put on the line to bring about the kind of agreement that both the union and the company can be proud of,” said Ron Ault, president of the AFL-CIO Metal Trades Department. “The workers won additional security against the volatility of the Gulf’s economy. The company will benefit from increased productivity, efficiency and enhanced morale.” “Our members, who are still suffering from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, have stood up and refused to be victims any longer,” says IBEW International President Ed Hill. Among the pact’s highlights are base wage increases amounting to $3.78 per hour over the life of the agreement; shift premiums of 80 cents an hour; attendance bonuses with the potential to earn an additional $1,040 annually; cost-of-living allowances in the second and third year; fixed health care premiums in the third year of the contract; increases in pension benefits; and additional vacation and holidays. various foreign countries and fly so-called flags of convenience. Of the more than 125 vessels operating in the lucrative cruise industry, only a few currently fly the U.S. flag. Between the years 2000 and 2005, the FBI investigated more than 300 violent crimes aboard foreign-flag cruise vessels—but less than 15 percent of the cases resulted in successful prosecution, according to the bureau’s data. Criminal convictions were secured in only seven percent of 135 rape cases, 20 percent of 64 non-sexual assault cases, and 16 percent of 25 murder cases investigated by the FBI during the five-year period. No convictions were won in 30 missing person cases. Although the foregoing numbers are far from epidemic, they are considerable enough to potentially generate a sense of uneasiness among potential passengers as well as stakeholders in the multibillion dollar cruise industry. The incidents also have incited hearings in the halls of the U.S. Congress where representatives are considering legislation that would require cruise ships that dock in the United States to immediately notify local law enforcement officials of any crimes that occurred aboard the ship or any instances of passengers going overboard. The latest of the hearings (one also was conducted last year) took place March 27 in Washington, D.C. During those proceedings before the House Transportation maritime subcommittee, Ross Klein, a Canadian university professor of social work who has written extensively on the cruise industry, told those in attendance that one’s risk of being sexually assaulted is as much as 50 percent higher on a cruise ship than in the average American city. In hearings that took place in early 2006, Dr. James Fox told the subcommittee that the rate of sexual assault on cruise ships is 17.6 per 100,000 passengers. Fox was hired by the cruise lines to develop crime rates for the March 7, 2006 Congressional hearings. Klein’s testimony, however, indicated that the actual crime rate for sexual assaults aboard cruise ships nearly triples Fox’s estimates at 48.065 per 100,000. According to Klein’s findings: The annual rate of all sexrelated shipboard incidents (per 100,000) was 161.996. Incidents of sexual assaults (per 100,000) was 48.065 The rate for sexual assaults in U.S. cities (per 100,000) was 32.200. In elaborating on the implications of his findings, Klein told the subcommittee, “The numbers indicate that the cruise industry has a problem and they (cruise line officials) appear either unwilling or unable to deal with it.” The professor’s subsequent testimony provided evidence to support the prevailing belief that foreign-flag cruise ship passengers in fact are ill served, sometimes fatally so, by the current security efforts of some cruise lines. Committee Chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) at the outset of the latest hearing told his colleagues that most Americans don’t understand the legal complexities that are connected to prosecuting crimes that happen on cruise ships outside of the U.S. territorial limits. Cummings was alluding to the fact that many crimes are committed on cruises while the ships are traveling outside the 20-kilomeContinued on page 9 Seafarers LOG 5 �42208p3,4,6,10_17,20_24:2007-May 5/1/2007 12:06 PM Page 6 Commendation Given to Participants in Alaska’s Hiring Program The Seafarers International Union was specifically mentioned in a formal certificate of commendation recently issued by the 25th Alaska State Legislature in honor of the 10th anniversary of Alaska’s Jones ActLocal Hire Initiative. Nearly 400 Alaskan residents, including displaced fishermen and veterans, have been able to take advantage of some part of this initiative to provide them with quality training and jobs in the maritime industry. The SIU and its contracted companies in the Jones Act trade—including Alaska Tanker Company, Crowley Marine, Horizon Lines, Totem Ocean Trailer Express and Seabulk, Inc.—have helped provide steady employment opportunities aboard Jones Act and other U.S.-flag vessels to those in Alaska’s Department of Labor training programs. Their success has led to additional initiatives and partnerships focused on providing training grants, college scholarships and apprenticeships to Alaskan natives throughout the state, including the endowment of a $2 million scholarship fund by a Ketchikan resident for Ketchikan high school graduates who wish to pursue a maritime career. As noted in the above commendation, this “public/private/labor partnership that has evolved into the Ketchikan-based SeaLink, Inc. has among the highest placement and graduation rates of any Alaska Department of Labor training program in our state.” NMU PENSION, ANNUITY & 401(K) PLANS AND NMU VACATION PLAN Trustee, Administration and Summary of Material Modifications for the Year 2006 THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES – Co-Chairmen EMPLOYER TRUSTEES UNION TRUSTEES Thomas Murphy Marine Personnel & Provisioning, Inc. 1083 N. Collier Blvd, PMB #387 Marco Island, FL 34145 (941) 393-0435 David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer Seafarers International Union of N.A. AGLIWD/NMU 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 AMENDMENTS & OTHER ITEMS NMU Pension Plan, Annuity Plan and 401(k) Plan: During 2006, the Board of Trustees adopted several amendments of significant importance to the membership and the Plans. Generally the amendments: 1. Adds Eligibility of a deferred vested pension to the Reciprocal Agreement with the Seafarers Pension Plan. 2. Provides for the changes in the regulation promulgated by the Department of Treasury. 3. Provided for a change in the name of the Plan to NMU Pension Plan, NMU Annuity Plan and Seafarers 401(k) Plan effective January 1, 2007. NMU Vacation Plan: 1. Provides for a change in the entitlement to vacation benefits (i.e. those with thirty days or more of Covered Employment) shall forfeit such benefits unless an application to collect such benefits is made within two years or on December 31, 2008, whichever is later. 2. Provides for the Merger of the NMU Vacation Plan into the Seafarers Vacation Plan as of January 1, 2007. ADMINISTRATOR Miriam Bove NMU Benefit Plans 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 A LOS QUE HABLAN ESPANOL Esta noticia contiene informacion importante sobre sus derechos como marinero bajo los planes del Plan NMU Pension, Annuity, y Vacation Plan. Si tuviera usted dificultades para comprender alguna parte de esta noticia se la explicara la misma en espanol. Esta ayuda podra recibirla en persona en la oficina principal del Plan, ubicada en el numero 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Las cartas en espanol deberan ser dirigidas a la oficina del Plan de Maryland. Las llamadas telefonicas para solicitar ayuda en espanol deberan tambien ser hechas a la oficina del Plan en Maryland, cuyo numero de telefono es: 1301-899-0675. 6 Seafarers LOG Notice/Reminder Anthrax Immunization Program Resumption As previously announced, the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC), at the direction of the Department of Defense, has resumed the Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program for individuals in high-risk areas and performing certain roles. According to the directive signed by the undersecretary of defense, civilian and contract mariners sailing aboard MSC ships in the Central Command area of responsibility or the Korean Peninsula for 15 or more consecutive days are required to resume anthrax immunizations, except as provided under applicable medical and administrative exemption policies. Additionally, according to MSC, “Any mariner not subject to the mandatory program who has received at least one dose of anthrax vaccine in the past will be allowed, if desired, to voluntarily complete the six-shot anthrax vaccination series and receive any boosters as required by the Food and Drug Administration-approved dosing schedule. Individuals will be notified by their chain of command if the shots are required. Navy medical personnel will give the vaccinations either aboard MSC ships, in MSC workspaces or at military medical treatment facilities.” Additional information is available on line at: www.anthrax.mil Among many other items, that site contains a government brochure (in PDF format) covering some of the basics about anthrax, the vaccine, possible side effects, categories of eligibility and more. The link for that brochure is: http://www.anthrax.mil/documents/996AvipTrifold.pdf Copies should be available at all SIU halls. Seafarers may contact their port agent for more information. Also, CIVMARS may contact Navy Ensign Robert Hicke at Robert.hicke@navy.mil or (757) 443-5769. All other mariners may contact MSC Force Surgeon Capt. Dwight C. Fulton at Dwight.fulton@navy.mil or (202) 685-5135. SEAFARERS APPEALS BOARD ACTION #435 Effective March 1, 2007, Seafarers Appeals Board Action #435 amended the shipping rules to mandate seamen permanently employed must complete the specialty course for their specific rating in order to retain their permanent position. Specialty courses required for the ratings of Chief Electrician, QMED Electrician, QMED/Electrician relief, Electrician, and Engine Maintenance/Electrician Relief are affected by this Action as follows. 1. The specialty courses required for the ratings of Chief Electrician, QMED Electrician, QMED/Electrician Relief, Electrician, and Engine Maintenance/Electrician Relief shall be defined as Marine Electrical Maintenance and Refrigerator Container Advancement Maintenance Specialty Course. 2. Effective March 1, 2007, seamen awarded any of the above mentioned positions must have successfully completed (at any time) these specialty courses in order to be considered in compliance with this Rule. 3. Seamen currently employed in any of the above mentioned ratings in a permanent capacity shall be required to have successfully completed the specialty courses identified above by July 1, 2009 in order to retain their permanent assignment, provided such courses are offered. Yearly Statements Mailed To SMPPP Participants The mailing of annual statements from the Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan (SMPPP) to Plan participants was completed last month, according to SMPPP Administrator Margaret Bowen. Based on year-end reports received from Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, SMPPP investment manager, the Plan continues to perform well despite ongoing market volatility. Interest earned on the accounts during 2006 was 10.16 percent; the total amount in all accounts was more than $49.6 million. The SMPPP originated in 1996, as the SIU successfully negotiated the new benefit into the standard freightship and tanker agreements. The SMPPP subsequently has been included in other SIU contracts. Approved by the Internal Revenue Service, the SMPPP is an individual interest-earning investment account funded by a daily contribution made by an SIU-contracted company on behalf of a Seafarer who is working for that employer. SIU members may make voluntary contributions to their respective accounts through a Vacation Plan deduction or via checks sent directly to the Plan. The SMPPP is completely separate from a member’s defined benefit pension. Under the SMPPP, members who became participants on or after July 1, 2006 and who have completed at least three years of service have a right to a percentage of their “Employer Contribution Account” as follows: three years of service equals 50 percent; four years of service equals 75 percent; five or more years of service equals 100 percent. Participants are immediately vested for the employee contribution segment of their respective accounts as soon as the first such contribution is made. Those who became participants before July 1, 2006 were vested from the first day money was received on their behalf. Unlike the Seafarers Pension Plan, there is no minimum amount of sea time needed to receive the money from an SMPPP account. Seafarers can collect the funds from their SMPPP account when they reach retirement age, become totally and permanently disabled, or leave the industry. Widows/widowers may collect the funds in the event of their spouse’s death. May 2007 �42208p1,2,5,7,8,9,18,19:2007-May 4/28/2007 11:31 AM Page 7 SIU CIVMARS Win Food Service Awards Members of the SIU Government Services Division recently were recognized by the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) for outstanding work in the steward department. The fleet replenishment oilers USNS Laramie and USNS Yukon received MSC’s Capt. David L. Cook Awards “for exceptional food service,” according to the agency. The awards were presented March 31 during festivities in Kansas City, Mo. CIVMARS and hundreds of military guests attended. The Laramie was selected from MSC’s “large ship East Coast” category while the Yukon was chosen from the “large ship West Coast” field. In announcing the recognition, MSC noted, “The food service award is an important one. The health and morale of MSC’s approximately 5,000 civil service mariners hinges in large part on the quality of the meals prepared for them by their ship’s food service team.” Accepting the awards this year on behalf of their ships were Tyrone Trotman, supply officer aboard the Laramie, and Victorino Damasco, chief steward aboard the Yukon. Damasco, a Seafarer who has sailed with MSC since 1994, had 28 years of prior food service experience in the U.S. Navy. “During all my years in the Navy, none of my ships ever won the Navy’s food service excellence award,” said Damasco. “My first objective when I joined MSC was to win its award—and now we have!” The award is named for the late Navy Capt. David L. Cook, former MSC director of logistics from 1995 to 1998, who was a catalyst in improving all aspects of the food service operations aboard MSC ships. According to Roberta Jio, chief of MSC’s food service policy and procedures, competition for the award was intense. “The problem in selecting the best was compounded by the fact that all of our food service teams are good,” said Jio. “But to be the best means that the winning teams really had to exhibit stellar performance in their food service programs.” To win the annual award, MSC civil service mariner-crewed ships submitted a nomination package describing its food service programs to a Military Sealift Fleet Support Command committee. Once the nominations were reviewed, MSFSC sent five nominations to a team of judges. This year’s judges—Jio, International Food Service Executive Association Executive Chef Nydia Eckstrom and Navy Medical Officer Lt. Mary Graves —then visited the finalists to More Kudos For Ericsson service mariners and a military detachment of 23 active-duty Navy sailors—was cited for its crew’s work in preventing pollution, ensuring readiness in responding to environmental issues, conserving resources and complying with environmental regulations. While the ship voluntarily met standards stricter than required by the Navy, it also ensured that each mariner received special training in environmental management, used environmentally friendly chemicals and conducted monthly spill drills. As a result, in two years, the Ericsson transferred almost 82 million gallons of fuel in 353 separate fuelings at sea without a significant mishap. The Secretary of the Navy Environmental Awards program recognizes Navy and Marine Corps individuals, teams, ships and installations for exceptional environmental stewardship. In a congratulatory message to the Ericsson crew, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Installations and Environment B.J. Penn said, “Your accomplishments are outstanding in their own right and exemplify the Department of the Navy’s commitment to environmental stewardship.” The award will be presented at a ceremony in June in Washington, D.C. The Ericsson is one of 14 fleet replenishment oilers that provide fuel to Navy combat ships and jet fuel for aircraft aboard aircraft carriers. Info Gathered on TWIC, MMC mentation of the MMC for at least one year after TWIC implementation. “We also recommend that the MMC as proposed should be redesigned to include a biometric identifier so as to become compliant with all relevant international conventions, especially International Labor Organization Convention No. 180 (ILO C185). Such a modification would allow the MMC to serve as the Seafarers Identity Document under ILO C-185, important to U.S. mariner shore leave in foreign ports and for which the TWIC will not suffice. We agree with the MERPAC (Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee) recommendation of a passport-style MMC with a page dedicated to the Seafarers Identity Document and conforming with ILO requirements.” As previously reported, the SIU will publicize information on the TWIC and MMC as it is released by the various agencies involved, including the firm details of when, where and how to apply for a TWIC. Meanwhile, questions about the TWIC may be emailed to the Coast Guard at uscg-twic-helpdesk@uscg.mil. The phone number for the TSA’s TWIC help desk is 877-6872243, and the TSA’s TWIC web site is located at http:// www.tsa.gov/. The fleet replenishment oiler USNS John Ericsson, crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division, has received the 2006 Secretary of the Navy Environmental Quality Small Ship award, the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) announced. The Ericsson earlier this year had earned an environmental award from the Chief of Naval Operations. That honor made the vessel eligible for the more recent award. The 678-foot ship—recently operating out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and crewed by 81 civil Continued from page 2 document be altered or modified to include an encoded biometric, to be used as a biometric transportation security card in lieu of the TWIC, especially since the Coast Guard recognizes the MMD as an identity document. We question the need for yet another document that the merchant mariner must obtain and carry when the current and timetested merchant mariner document may be adapted to encapsulate an encoded biometric. “The SIU believes that with a security vetting process (threat assessment), preferably initiated by the Coast Guard, the biometric MMD would adequately respond to the mandate of the MTSA for a biometric transportation security card, given the fact that the Coast Guard advises that a security assessment is not required for the mariner population who have an MMD issued after Feb. 3, 2003, implying that those mariners have undergone a full security vetting by the Coast Guard and therefore need not undergo a TWIC security assessment. The SIU urges the committee to consider this simplified approach for merchant mariners who are required to hold merchant mariner documents instead of acceding to the TSA May 2007 implementation process as enunciated in its final rule.” In response to the supplementary notice about the MMC, the SIU submitted joint comments along with the American Maritime Officers; Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association; Marine Firemen’s Union; Masters, Mates & Pilots; and Sailors’ Union of the Pacific. Those comments read in part, “The Coast Guard should not lose sight of the fact that this rulemaking comes in the context of serious new challenges for mariner recruitment, training and retention. Regulatory changes related to the International Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW) have stressed the skilled labor pool, and the future impact of the TWIC and the Coast Guard’s new physical evaluation standards are likely to put further pressure on available supply of qualified mariners. Since the TWIC is a pre-requisite for the MMC, we think SNPRM’s expected August 2008 effective date is too soon. At minimum, it should become effective only after the TWIC implementation is complete in September 2008. But since the full effect of the TWIC on the regulated population might not be felt for many months, we urge the Coast Guard to delay the imple- CIVMARS Victorino Damasco (center) and Tyrone Trotman (right) accept the Capt. David L. Cook Awards for food service excellence on behalf of fellow crew members from the USNS Yukon and USNS Laramie, respectively. Presenting the awards March 31 in Kansas City, Mo. is Navy Capt. William Brown, Fleet Forces Command director of logistics. determine the winner. The judges spent a full day on each of the ships, looking at food preparation, administration, management, safety, facilities, equipment and utensils, training, sanitation and shipboard waste management. In addition to the public recognition received during the awards ceremony, winning food service teams will receive cash bonuses and will have the opportunity to participate in advanced culinary training. Calif. Grocery Negotiations Resume Despite anti-worker tactics by some of its contracted companies in Southern California, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) is trying to secure a fair labor agreement for tens of thousands of members employed at California’s big three grocery chains. As this issue of the Seafarers LOG went to press, the UFCW was negotiating a new contract with Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons that would govern pay and benefits for 65,000 grocery workers at 785 stores from Bakersfield, Calif. to the Mexican border. The same three chains were involved in the 140-day strike and lockout that idled more than 70,000 union workers from October 2003 to February 2004. The bitter strike was first called against Safeway’s Vons stores, and then Ralphs and Albertsons locked out their union workers. The trouble was triggered mostly by health care issues, which still agitate the industry. Three years ago UFCW union members eventually voted to accept a contract that restructured wages and health benefits for new hires. Now, more than half the local workers at Albertsons, Ralphs and Vons are on the new, lower tier of wages, which tops out at $15.10 an hour, compared to $17.90 an hour for workers on the higher tier. Most of the second-tier workers don’t get health insurance through their employer. This contract expired March 5 but has been extended twice. Negotiations broke down April 4 in the midst of growing tensions over the threat of a strike by the union and an employee lockout by the companies. UCFW members in March voted to strike Albertsons. Labor officials did not set a date for any job action but indicated they wanted to give negotiations more time. The grocery chains countered by signing an anti-labor pact in which they agreed to lock out union employees within 48 hours of a strike against any one of the companies. The anti-worker agreement also called for the chains to provide financial assistance to any of the companies struck by the union. “The supermarkets are up to their old tricks,” said UFCW International Vice President and Region 8 Director Shaun Barclay. “This pact fits the same pattern of their actions three years ago when they forced UFCW members and their families into the streets and disrupted shoppers for nearly five months in a grab to end meaningful health care coverage for employees.” The union pointed out that Stater Bros. and Gelson’s—two smaller Southern California regional chains—and the UFCW have reached model agreements, providing wage increases, the end to second-class status for new workers and a return to providing affordable, quality health coverage for all employees. Supervalu, Kroger and Safeway all enjoy annual sales that are 10 to 20 times bigger than Stater Bros. and Gelson’s, the UFCW noted. The smaller chains don’t have the economies of scale in their warehousing and distribution networks, nor do they have the clout with major manufacturers and vendors that the national chains command, the union reported. And they face the same non-union competition in the Southern California market that is overwhelmingly unionized. “Given that the big grocers say they want to ‘serve the interests of our employees, customers, and companies,’ it’s a no-brainer for these national companies to reach a settlement along the lines of the Stater Bros. and Gelson’s agreements,” said Barclay. “They’re making record profits and hold dominant positions in markets across the country where they operate.” He continued, “But forming this (anti-labor) pact speaks louder than words. It certainly appears that the big grocers have no interest in recognizing UFCW members for their partnership in the impressive success of their companies. It seems they have no interest in the effects their position will have on employees, families, shoppers and communities.” Negotiations resumed April 16. Seafarers LOG 7 �42208p1,2,5,7,8,9,18,19x:2007-May 5/1/2007 12:01 PM Page 8 Aker Philadelphia Shipyard Reaches More Milestones Union-contracted Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, Inc. during the last few months has been in the headlines and making industry news about new builds and agreements for additional construction. That noteworthy trend continued March 28 as the yard announced the signing of another significant pact. The state-of-theart shipyard, through its subsidiary Aker American Shipping, on that date signed an accord with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. Ltd., which extended the provisions of an existing agreement. Included in the updated arrangement are not only additional tankers but also possibilities for building containerships. Under an agreement signed in 2004, Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) has been providing design and procurement services for a series of ten 46,000 dwt tankers currently being constructed at the shipyard in Philadelphia. The new agreement covers an Hull number 007, which will be the third tanker in the series, is quickly taking shape. additional six tankers, which mirrors an agreement in principle for additional charters with Seafarers-contracted Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. (OSG) that Aker American Shipping announced in February, as well as exclusive rights for containerships. “With our first product tanker delivered and four more already under construction, our shipyard is planning for the future,” said President and CEO of Aker American Shipping Dave Meehan. “We have agreements in place for a series of up to 16 product tankers and are preparing for the possibility of returning to another arena where we have proven ourselves—container vessels. “As with the product tankers, we will continue to apply flexibility and creativity in vessel ownership,” Meehan added. “Hyundai Mipo Dockyard has been an excellent partner and is a premier provider of vessels in their market. Likewise, Aker American Shipping is determined to become a premier player in the U.S. Jones Act market, and, working together, we are strengthening both the Jones Act U.S.-flag vessels are being built in Philadelphia for Seafarers-contracted OSG. market and shipbuilding expertise in the United States.” Meanwhile, Aker on March 23 announced two other milestones in its tanker program. Hull 006, the second product tanker in the series, has been floated from its berth in the yard’s building dock. The ship is scheduled for completion this summer. Additionally, steel cutting recently began for Hull 009, the fifth vessel in the series, marking start of production on that ship. With two other tankers also in production, the yard now once again has four of the 600-foot long MT 46 Veteran Class tanker vessels under construction. The second tanker in OSG’s Aker Philadelphia series is transferred from the building dock. Pride of Aloha Snapshots Chief Carpenter Dennis Remetio sent this collection of pictures from the Pride of Aloha, one of the Seafarerscrewed cruise ships operated by NCL America. “I encourage all SIU members in their work and send regards to everybody in the union,” he wrote. Kudos for Seabulk Challenge Seafarers At right is 1st Asst. Carpenter Jose Dizon (left) and Chief Carpenter Dennis Remetio. AMO Captain Kelly Sweeney recently submitted these photos taken aboard the tanker Seabulk Challenge back around the turn of the year. During the voyage, “I was, as always, impressed with the professionalism and hard work of my shipmates,” Sweeney noted. Pictured are (top photo) AB John Yi (several hundred miles from arrival at Barber’s Point, Hawaii); (below left) DEU “MoMo” Mohamed, whom shipmates credited with an excellent job keeping the engine room clean; and Sweeney, who in addition to making a living at sea is scheduled to write a regular column in Professional Mariner magazine starting in August. He concluded: “I hope to keep in contact with all of you through my writing or at captsweeney@professionalmariner.com.” Chief Carpenter Dennis Remetio (in photo above and kneeling in the photo at right) helps repair the flooring with some of the assistant carpenters aboard ship. Left: Assistant carpenters gather inside the carpentry shop afer a fire drill. Right: Bosun Renato Govico works with an OS in refinishing the floors. 8 Seafarers LOG May 2007 �42208p1,2,5,7,8,9,18,19:2007-May 4/28/2007 11:52 AM Page 9 USNS Stockham Rescues 20 Helicopters Save Aid Workers from Stranded Freighter Helicopters from the Seafarerscrewed prepositioning vessel USNS Fred W. Stockham rescued 20 people from a Taiwaneseflagged vessel that ran aground on a coral reef near the Gizo harbor in the Solomon Islands in the late hours of April 12, according to the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC). Most of those rescued were New Zealand Red Cross and aid workers who were in the area to provide assistance to victims of the tsunami that struck the region April 2. Earlier in the week, the Stockham was directed to the Solomon Islands to prepare for support operations assisting relief efforts on the ground. The crew received a distress call from the Gizo port authority requesting they provide assistance to a 200foot freighter named Yun Fa. After running aground, the vessel was foundering in nearly 12-foot waves and had become unseawor- The SIU-crewed USNS Stockham, part of MSC’s prepositioning fleet, recently saved 20 people from a stranded vessel in the Solomon Islands. thy. The Gizo port authority requested that Stockham provide helicopter assistance to rescue the aid workers and one severely injured crew member. “When the distress call was made, the ship’s crew and military detachment were quick to respond and well prepared to handle the crisis,” said the Stockham’s civilian master, Capt. Perry Seyler. “I’m very proud of the ship’s surgeon and the members of the helicopter detachment, who put themselves in harm’s way to rescue the aid workers and the crew member.” The Stockham’s surgeon departed on the ship’s seven-passenger HH-60 helicopter within an hour of the distress call, and minutes later arrived in the vicinity of the Yun Fa. He treated injuries, and the 20 people were brought aboard the helicopter using the helicopter’s external hoist. The helicopter then flew to Gizo, where the passengers were met by local police and medical personnel to receive further assistance. Foreign-Flag Cruise Dangers Examined Continued from page 5 ter-wide U.S. territorial limits. Since the vast majority of ships fly under foreign flags—such as the Bahamas or Panama—they are not under U.S. jurisdiction once they leave U.S. waters. To make matters worse, the FBI says that for several reasons, cruise ship crimes are difficult to prosecute. Evidence and testimony is hard to gather in cruise ship crime cases because, while the vessels carry security crew members, they do not have law enforcement professionals and crime scene technicians aboard. An investigation cannot begin until the ship reaches port, and evidence can deteriorate or be compromised in the interim. In addition, the FBI’s jurisdiction is limited because the ships are not registered in the United States. The FBI can investigate if a cruise ship crime involves a U.S. citizen or if the ship is leaving or entering a U.S. port when the incident occurs. When crimes occur on the high seas, however, jurisdiction falls most often to authorities in the nearest foreign port of call. Furthermore, officers and crew members aboard foreignflag cruise ships hail from many foreign countries that often shield them from prosecution by U.S. authorities. “The jurisdiction Tugboat Duty Added to Fleet Continued from page 4 Engines—Two Cat 3512B turbo charged marine diesels, 1,500 hp each @ 1,600 rpm. Propulsion—Two SteerProp Model SP 14 Azimuth Propulsors (Z-Drive) with Model HJ 3-5 Kort Nozzles turning 1.9 meter diameter four-blade nickel/aluminum propellers featuring Centa composite shafting. Towing—At stern, JonRie Series 500 Single Drum Towing Winch with 2,200 feet of two inch tow wire, 82,500 pounds, 60 feet per minute, brake load 275,000 pounds. Electric/ hydraulic winch powered from one of the generator diesels. Tanks—43,700 gallons diesel fuel, 2,400 gallons combined lube and hydraulic oils, 4,900 gallons potable fresh water. Wheelhouse—Conventional wheelhouse equipped with custom-made, closed-circuit TV system for tug security and safety. Also equipped with Sperry May 2007 Navipilot 4000 Autopilot with Navigat X MK1 gyro compass system, two Furuno 25 kW BB radars and MX Marine Model MX420/2 DGPS system. According to the company, great attention was paid to “crew comfort and safety features” including an engine room firesuppression system and emergency tow pin release system designed to prevent deckhands from being exposed to heavy seas if they have to quickly disconnect. Headquartered in Camden, N.J., Express Marine is familyowned and has been in business for more than 100 years. It has a fleet of eight tugs and 30 barges, and specializes in coal tows to power plants along the Northeast Coast. The company also provides ship docking and general towing, both coastal and offshore. Another new tug is being built in Pensacola for Express Marine and is slated for delivery later this year. It is slightly smaller than the Duty but will have many of the same features. issue is very tricky and a tangled web,” Salvador Hernandez, a deputy assistant director at the FBI, told the subcommittee. In acknowledging the difficulties formerly cited, cruise ship operators who appeared during the hearing announced a new voluntary agreement with the FBI and U.S. Coast Guard that would improve and standardize crime reporting. Under the agreement, cruise lines would immediately report violations of U.S. laws taking place outside of U.S. waters. Several lawmakers lauded the effort but suggested that crime reporting should be mandatory, not voluntary. Officials from the FBI and Coast Guard also applauded the new steps but said there are still complex jurisdictional problems to overcome. Cummings said that the subcommittee would give the cruise industry and federal law enforcement agencies six months from the date of the hearing to ascer- U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Andrew Meyers A Taiwanese vessel is shown stuck on a reef in the waters around the Solomon Islands, after her crew was rescued the night before by a U.S. Navy helicopter deployed aboard the USNS Stockham. Operated by Seafarers-contracted Keystone Shipping for MSC, the Stockham is a government-owned, roll-on/roll-off and containership crewed by civilian mariners. When the rescue took place, the ship also was carrying more than 100 military personnel. SIU members sailing aboard the Stockham during the rescue were: Bosun Neil Sullivan, ABs Ira Thomas Jr., Frank Guido, Guy Butler Jr., Munassar Ahmad and Robert Butler, Electrician Robert Ott, Chief Storekeeper Bennie McKnight, QMEDs Alan Nelson, Robert Lee, Ernesto Acosta and Philip Zalewski, Chief Steward Robert Easley, Chief Cook Vernon Thibodeaux, Assistant Cooks Robert Brooks Jr. and Saleh Sewileh, SAs Mahmood Monassar, Saleh Omar and Breon Saunders, GVAs Charles Parker, Michael Sivells and Harrison Hawkins and GUDE Towfiek Ahmed. tain the merits of the voluntary agreement. At the conclusion of that time period, another hearing will take place. Besides testimony from experts, cruise industry stakeholders, the FBI and U.S. Coast Guard, members of the subcommittee listened to accounts from cruise ship victims. One victim, 36-year-old Laurie Dishman, a resident of Sacramento, Calif., was overcome by tears time and again as she recounted how she last year was raped by a cruise ship employee while aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise to the Mexican Riviera. “The terror of that experience still overwhelms me,” she said, but the events that later transpired were almost as bad. Dishman testified that the cruise line did virtually nothing to respond to her situation. She was given a garbage bag and told to collect evidence from the scene— including giving herself a “rape kit” exam. According to several sources, even after Dishman identified her attacker as a ship janitor who also was working as a security guard, the man continued to work on the ship. “The feeling was like nobody was helping me. Everything was slow-motion and they were trying to figure out how to protect themselves,” she said. Gary Bald acknowledged problems in the company’s response to Dishman and said the business has improved security and has taken steps to ensure that in the future, victims are given better information and support and crime scenes are secured. Bald is senior vice president of global security for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “It was our intention and desire to assist her in every way we could,” Bald said. “I feel we accomplished that in some respects but in others I feel we came up short.” After the ship docked in Los Angeles, the FBI presented Dishman’s case to the U.S. attorney, who chose not to prosecute for lack of evidence. Dishman is suing Royal Caribbean. Important Notice—SHBP Switching to CIGNA Effective July 1, the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP) will switch to a new affiliation with CIGNA HealthCare, replacing the current affiliation with First Health Network. The move follows an exhaustive search by the SHBP Trustees to improve network access, enhance access to state-of-the-art programs and ensure that quality service will be provided to Seafarers and their families. Additional details will be published in upcoming editions of the Seafarers LOG and also will be included in letters scheduled to be mailed beginning in May to all SHBP participants. New enrollment cards also will be mailed to participants in time to make the switch. The new affiliation with CIGNA does not change Seafarers’ benefits and for the most part is expected to be seamless. CIGNA is a larger network than First Health, but many health care providers participate in both networks— meaning the vast majority of Seafarers won’t need to change doctors in order to remain in the SHBP-affiliated network. For example, approximately 90 percent of the SHBP claims processed in 2006 came through medical offices affiliated with CIGNA. “The Plan anticipates that the new affiliation will be the best of both worlds: better and wider coverage for Seafarers and their families, and cost-savings for the SHBP,” said Seafarers Plans Administrator Maggie Bowen. “Also, individual savings should be realized because of the larger network and related discounts that might be offered by a particular physician.” Seafarers may check with their respective health care providers to determine if they are in the CIGNA network, or may go on line for that information. A link to CIGNA’s web site with access to a current list of providers may be found at www.seafarers.org/members/. A toll-free phone number with access to provider information is being established and will be included in future communications. The correct CIGNA web address is http://www.cigna.com/SA-PP02 Please note that the second-to-last letter in the CIGNA web address is the capital letter “O” rather than a zero, and also note that the web address is case-sensitive. To avoid confusion, Seafarers are urged to type in the entire web address rather than going to the CIGNA home page, partly because CIGNA has different networks within its organization. Or, they may simply access the link through: www.seafarers.org/members/ Seafarers LOG 9 �42208p3,4,6,10_17,20_24:2007-May 4/28/2007 10:51 AM Page 10 Around the Port of Jacksonville Left: Seven Seafarers were sworn in at a recent membership meeting in the port of Jacksonville. SIU Patrolman Randy Senatore (standing left) delivered the oath to GUDEs George Pobee, Anthony Sumlar, Wade Jordan, Stephen Jenkins; and OMUs Florencio Marfa, Nat Lamb and Danilo Martin. Crew members aboard the Crowley tug Centurion Thornton Elliott (left), safety director in the port of Jacksonville, takes an order for additional manpower while Patrolman Randy Senatore ships AB Michael J. Pockat II to the Cleveland. Alfred G. Lane receives his first pension check from Safety Director Thornton Elliott on March 13. Lane, who retired in February, sailed in the engine department. Crew members aboard the Crowley tug Sentry What’s Happening in Philly? A Well-Deserved Retirement Philadelphia Port Agent Joe Mieluchowski (right in both photos) presents Phil Yaros (in photo at left) and Rufus Pritchett with their first pension checks. Yaros sailed as an AB in the deep sea division while Pritchett sailed inland in the deck department. STOS Norman Dize loads stores onto the tug Sentry with a forklift truck. Walking in Solidarity Wearing their union colors (and white caps), Seafarers in the port of Philadelphia joined with other unions March 15 in support of IBEW Local 614’s rally for a fair contract with Exelon/PECO. PECO, a unit of Exelon Energy Delivery, is Pennsylvania’s largest utility operator of electric and natural gas. Frank Kuders, president and business manager for Local 614, stated, “We’ve actually been in negotiations with Exelon/PECO for two years . . . and we feel that it’s been going on for entirely too long.” The employees represented by Local 614 say that Exelon’s business plan is cutting corners for shortterm profits by reducing the payroll (and thereby jeopardizing reliable service and employee safety) and reducing the benefits. Employees currently pay 20 percent of their medical costs and up to 100 percent for other benefits. 10 Seafarers LOG The tugs Sentry and Ensign are tied up alongside each other. Crew members aboard the Crowley tug Ensign May 2007 �42208p3,4,6,10_17,20_24:2007-May May 2007 4/28/2007 11:03 AM Page 11 Seafarers LOG 11 �42208p3,4,6,10_17,20_24:2007-May 4/29/2007 11:58 AM Page 12 Seafarers Participate in Operation ‘De The SIU-crewed vessels USNS Paul Buck and American Tern, both part of the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) fleet, recently participated in Operation Deep Freeze, the annual resupply mission to the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station in Artarctica. The USNS Paul Buck, a tanker operated by Ocean Shipholdings, Inc., arrived Feb. 1 and pumped off 162,000 barrels of fuel for equipment ranging from generators to helicopters. Once the Paul Buck departed, the American Tern, operated by Osprey-Acomarit Ship Management, docked at McMurdo’s ice pier to deliver 29,000 tons of equipment, food and other supplies—the life-sustaining cargo for McMurdo’s research scientists and residents. This was summer in Antarctica, so there was continuous sunlight for the around-the-clock operations. Phil Corl, the bosun aboard the Buck (who sent these photos to the Seafarers LOG), noted that it was much colder this trip than the previous one in 2005. Both ships encountered severe weather, rough seas, high winds and small icebergs en route to McMurdo, but both made it on time. Two icebreakers, the U.S.Coast Guard’s Polar Sea and Swedish icebreaker Oden had begun work in December to break a channel through 18 miles of ice that separated the open water from the pier. Corl said that the day they left McMurdo, it was -23 degrees F, with a 17-knot wind. “Thank God and Ocean Ships for the insulated suits and little chemical hand warmers that were handed out,” he said. He also noted that it was so cold that one of the main ballast line valves froze in the closed position and had to be replaced. “Not a job for the weak of heart,” he said, “but the operation itself went flawlessly.” MSC has participated in Operation Deep Freeze every year since the station was established in 1955. The icebreaker Polar Sea pulls up alongside the Paul Buck. The men in the engine room (from left) DEU Wally Kassem, QMED Orlando Pajarillo and DEU Dave Ruggirello had to make an impromptu grappling hook (right) to pull big chunks of ice from between the ship and the ice pier before they could dock. It was so cold that one valves froze and h AB Carlos Machado-Gomez AB Adam Riley Chief Cook Wally Saul Jr. helped keep the crew’s morale up with his gourmet meals and positive attitude. 12 Seafarers LOG AB Carlos Machado-Gomez May 2007 �42208p3,4,6,10_17,20_24:2007-May 4/29/2007 11:59 AM Page 13 Deep Freeze’ “We traveled pretty much around the world to deliver the load,” noted Bosun Phil Corl. The map, above, shows the exact route. Posing on the deck of the USNS Paul Buck after completion of a successful mission are (from left) AB Derik Rye, SA Ramon Hernandez, Steward Asha Stryker, AB Carlos Machado-Gomez, QMED Orlando Pajarillo, UA Chris Caporale, DEU Wally Kassem, QMED Jonathan Miller, AB Adam Riley, GVA Al Young, Bosun Phil Corl, AB Al Wambach, DEU Dave Ruggirello, Chief Cook Wally Saul Jr., Pumpman Arthur Hurd and AB Stag Rye. k. The scenery of Antarctica from the ship was spectacular. Nobody can say that QMED Jonathan Miller was never in Antarctica! Here’s the proof. “After all the travel and adventure, we found it heartwarming to see the U.S. Coast Guard ship (icebreaker) and all of the good things that it represented to us,” stated Bosun Philip Corl. one of the main ballast line and had to be replaced. After tying up to the ice pier, the crew put fenders in place to accommodate the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Sea, coming alongside. The USNS Paul Buck is tied up at the ice pier. AB Derik Rye AB Stag Rye May 2007 Seafarers LOG 13 �42208p3,4,6,10_17,20_24:2007-May 4/28/2007 12:40 PM Page 14 Recollections of the Merchant Marine in World War II Editor’s note: The first installment of retired Seafarer Albert Stimac’s experiences in the merchant marine appeared in last month’s Seafarers LOG. He wrote about his training, his first ship and then joining the SIU. Following is a continuation of his experiences, beginning with the job call in the union hall. They are the best recollections of his training and sea time from the end of 1943 to late 1946, so any inaccuracies in the details need not be brought to his attention. Some [of the ships requesting crews at the job call] were old rust buckets, as they were called, from World War I or before—all the way up to high-speed turbines that had 600 pounds dry super-heated steam. The word dry was used because if there was a leak in the line somewhere, you couldn’t see the steam coming out. It could cut off your arm or hand if you extended it to try and feel the hot steam. So a pine stick was used instead, and the sap would boil out of it if it was hit by the steam. Because of the war effort, you had no idea of what type of ship you picked out. Only numbers were allowed on the cargo they carried. They gave us no hint where we were going, either, but somebody usually knew the number codes and designations because they had had the same code on a previous ship. I was in the black gang and always tried to sign on with the highest rating I could. Watertender was lower than an oiler and got paid less. A junior engineer had more responsibility and got still more pay. So one picked what class he could hold. If you were the first one to sign on, and got there first, you got the single bunk. The other side had two bunks—upper and lower. The second guy aboard usually took the bottom bunk, and the third guy got the top bunk. The same went for which watch you worked. A watch was considered a four-hour period of time worked. It was four hours on and eight hours off. The best watch was 8:00 to 12:00. Then 12:00 to 4:00 and 4:00 to 8:00. You worked two, four-hour watches in a 24-hour period. The deckhands slept three in a fo’c’sle (room), and the black gang did likewise. There were three watertenders in one room and three oilers in another. Once in a while, on new ships, they carried a junior engineer. They were classified as officers, so they slept on the main deck area. Anyway, I needed to grab another ship because of lack of money. I could have stayed on the same ship if I wanted to, but I wanted to get a better and newer ship. One just took one’s chances. After I sailed three or four trips, I learned all the tricks employed in getting the better ships to sign up on. The most obvious ones were the Liberty ships built by Kaiser Shipyards. They all had a person’s name, like the SS John Henry, SS William Smith, etc. These were the most simple ships made. It was like a barge with a bow on the front of it. Made of 3⁄4inch steel plate, built in sections and then welded together. Each had a simple triple expansion steam engine for power. On a good day, it could get up to 76 revolutions per minute and go about 6 or 7 knots loaded. That’s with the wind and seas at your back. I threw in my card for the first black gang opening the next day. The best I could get after sitting around all day was as a fireman/watertender. If I thought I was going to improve my lot on my next ship, I was in for a big surprise. This one was worse and older than my first ship. I found out it originally had a teakwood deck, and when it was taken out of storage, they put on a steel deck. It was a very narrow ship, maybe 25 feet or so 14 Seafarers LOG across and 250 to 300 feet long. The engineroom was out of the 1920s with huge double-ended fire-tube boilers. This means that at 10 feet in diameter, the flames of fire went through the tubes and heated the water into steam. The newer boilers had water tubes with the fire cell around them. You had to be careful with these because if the boiler tubes ran dry, you could melt one and blow up your boiler. They also were quick to heat up and raise steam so you could sail in a few hours. The fire-tube ones with all that water in them took at least 24 hours to get 200 pounds of steam up. It got hot in the engineroom! We stood under a 6-foot diameter flue that picked up air from the deck as you went along and was supposed to cool us down. Each boiler had three burners on each end, so you had to change 12 burners every watch (four hours). You took the nozzle off and wire-brushed the carbon deposits and shined them up and then deck crew who usually knew first where they thought we were headed and what we carried for transport. They were topside all the time and had closer contact with the officers, purser, radioman and cooks. All of them had big ears and watchful eyes on everything. We also had “sea lawyers” just like in prison with their “jail-house lawyers.” They gave out lots of information freely. Most of it was just their opinion and half-true at best. Sitting there, doing nothing, I found out just how devious the human mind can be. Somebody had figured out the cargo code of what we were carrying. The most startling was a locked container area that was supposed to have watches and jewelry in it. Then, next thing I knew, I was being offered the opportunity to buy cigarettes —by the gross (144 cartons to the box), Arrow undershirts and shorts as well as socks. I didn’t smoke, so I refused the cigarettes, and none of the underwear fit me. A fireman and watertender aboard a Liberty ship had to adjust numerous valves and watch many gauges, because boilers allowed to run dry would explode. Official training aid photo, U.S. Maritime Service, Sheepshead Bay, NY cleaned out the hole in the nozzle head. The hottest we got was 168 degrees. So you tried to stay under the air vent all the time and drink boiling hot tea, which felt cool. When we went between the boilers to change burners, we really moved! Maximum was about seven minutes to shut off the burner, pull it out, stick in a new one and secure it, then back through the boilers to the air vent. We found out we were going to go to the Panama area to one of the small banana belt countries. We sailed down the East Coast and then into the Caribbean. If I remember correctly, we broke down about 20 or 25 times. Sometimes for just one-half hour or so, and other times for two or three hours. We made it pretty smoothly to the tip of Florida and then really got in trouble sailing toward Cuba. Had bad engine trouble and had to pull into Guantanamo Harbor in Cuba. That was a two-week stay until we got parts from the States. We were not allowed to go ashore, but the captain and officers went ashore every night in the captain’s launch. This made for a lot of hostility with the ordinary seamen. The captain warned us about swimming or going ashore in a makeshift contraption. Said the bay was full of sharks. So to test this out, the deckhands got some meat from the cooks and tied it to a meat hook (usually used to hang quarters of meat or half a pig). They used a winch with a steel cable and dropped the bait. It took about two minutes before the sharks smelled the blood and fresh meat. They got one—about five feet long— and winched it up on deck. The deckhands tried to kill it with a hatchet, to no avail. Finally, an officer who had to stay aboard and watch the crew took out a 45 pistol and shot it. A knife would not cut the skin. Finally, we got a fire axe and chopped it up and had lots of fun feeding it to the other sharks. Nobody ever made an attempt to swim ashore while we were there. But human nature being what it is, some of the crew found other ways to occupy their time. Basically, it was the At the time, I did not know that cigarettes were a chief barter item around the world. We could buy them for 60 cents a carton and sell them overseas for $2 or more per carton. Even a single cigarette was of value. Everybody wanted American cigarettes. They were better than the foreign currency and more stable. Later, I would buy my one carton a week allotted me on the ship, so I always had five or six cartons I could use for barter instead of cash. American money was also better than any foreign monies. Another good item was booze. You could buy name brands in the States from $3 to $5. GIs overseas paid up to $30 per bottle. I didn’t care to get involved in that business. But . . . back to the ship’s activities. In one day, many of the crew had underwear, socks and cigarettes under bunks or stuffed in their lockers. Nobody found any jewelry or watches. The boom came down when the captain found out about the break-in and looting. Had us all on deck and raised Cain, hollering and shouting. Said if it wasn’t all put back by the next morning, the FBI, CIA, Army Intelligence was coming aboard for a search. And if anything was found on us or we were involved in any way, it was BIG TROUBLE. Our papers would be pulled, and we would serve time. The word got out around the ship about the tides—when it would be high tide and when it would be low tide. Nobody was stupid enough to return the goods because they all knew the officers would be on alert. And once they got one guy, he would readily name others to save his own butt. So the word was, toss everything overboard after 10 o’clock when the tide was at its highest. Then, when the tide went out, it would wash all the contraband out of the harbor and into the sea. Everyone went to bed well pleased by getting rid of the evidence. But as things go sometimes, you are misinformed or given poor information. We got both. When we looked over the side, the whole bay was filled with cartons and boxes of cigarettes and Arrow shorts, socks and undershirts. The tide information was just the opposite of what the men were told. And so the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. It was amazing how quickly we got our needed parts for engine repair and sailed out of the harbor. Made it to Panama OK and unloaded our ship. Not having badly needed war materiel, it took about five days. I forget which one of the small countries around Panama we were headed to next. Anyway, they had a revolution going on. Somebody got hold of some army trucks and machine guns and took over. Somebody said they had a revolution every 30 days in this area, and it was no big deal. We made it back to New York with not too many problems. After I got paid, I took a trip home as I hadn't been there for six months. After three weeks at home, I headed back to New York City to grab another ship. Since I had a lot of shore time, I got to pick out a ship right away and signed on as an oiler. We were in port another week or so before sailing out to join up with a small convoy. We knew then we were going to the European war zone as we headed toward Newfoundland. This was a Liberty ship and, besides the holds being full, we carried different trucks up on deck, on the covers of the cargo holds. So we sat pretty low in the water. Being the oiler on a Liberty ship was a pretty easy job. Your biggest responsibility was to see that none of the bearings got hot. The vessel had a triple expansion steam engine. You oiled the top of the crankshafts every 20 minutes. Your oil can was just the ordinary kind that held about a quart of oil and had a long spigot on it. To oil, you held the can in the palm of your hand with the spigot between your fingers. The crankshafts would come up and down at a maximum of 78 times a minute. So you had to get the rhythm to follow up the crank and then squirt the oil into an open wick oil cup. Five or six squirts and on to the next crank. There were three crankshafts with a cup on each side. We cut the nozzle short to about four inches long. Originally, it was eight inches long or so and tapered, the smallest part on the end. The further down we cut it, the more oil came out on each squirt. This was done on the top grate. On the lower grate or deck, you felt the bearings that were connected to the driveshaft. The cranks sat in an open oil pan and contained about 50 gallons of oil. We would mix it half and half with just plain water. As the cranks turned, they made an emulsion that was a good enough lubricant to oil the bearings—and saved a lot of money. To feel the bearings, you waited for the crank to come around. You would put your hand between the crank and the piston rod. Your hand had to remain flat and your arm in rhythm with the crank coming around. After you missed the slot of where to stick your hand a couple times, you learned real quick how to do it properly. The only place one got a little nervous was going down the shaft alley to check the bearings. The driveshaft was about 16 inches or so in diameter and was made up of sections. There were about three or four bearings and they were immersed in oil in a bearing case. The shaft alley wasn’t very big. Just long. From the engineroom to the propeller in the stern, maybe seven feet or so high and six feet wide. With huge bearing cases to hold the shaft, one didn’t have too much to do, and one did not want to be caught in there if an accident happened. Brother Stimac’s wartime recollections will continue in a future edition of the Seafarers LOG. May 2007 �42208p3,4,6,10_17,20_24:2007-May 4/28/2007 12:43 PM Page 15 Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea June & July 2007 Membership Meetings MARCH 16 — APRIL 15, 2007 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals Totals Totals Totals All Departments Algonac ................Friday: June 8, July 6 1 1 2 7 5 1 7 2 0 1 1 4 6 2 2 0 0 0 4 5 0 0 5 3 1 4 31 18 1 8 7 31 8 19 2 0 4 2 27 20 1 4 4 5 2 8 21 17 2 5 8 16 8 8 1 13 7 5 18 10 0 0 0 3 0 1 3 2 1 0 0 4 5 2 1 0 0 0 2 4 0 1 5 5 0 0 31 9 0 4 5 22 8 7 3 0 2 2 24 12 7 1 10 18 2 15 83 57 0 23 26 83 24 40 9 1 15 2 63 40 8 11 8 27 9 9 54 40 3 23 16 43 31 22 8 7 14 9 68 33 2 2 3 15 7 2 17 7 1 1 4 10 12 4 1 0 2 1 15 12 283 236 51 191 163 28 140 519 443 118 New York .............Tuesday: June 5, July 3 0 0 9 8 2 5 16 20 0 6 3 16 3 9 2 1 4 2 20 7 1 0 2 7 5 4 10 18 1 5 5 14 6 4 2 4 4 2 14 7 1 0 0 6 2 0 4 4 0 0 0 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 6 8 0 0 1 4 2 7 10 14 2 6 5 15 7 5 2 2 1 1 7 6 1 1 1 3 2 5 7 9 0 3 2 4 7 6 0 3 2 1 16 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 2 1 4 0 1 0 2 1 3 12 10 0 1 5 7 10 0 1 0 2 2 8 2 1 0 11 9 1 13 32 36 0 13 8 31 10 15 1 1 5 2 27 15 0 0 7 9 5 4 19 37 3 8 10 22 14 14 2 3 8 6 28 14 2 0 2 7 2 1 6 4 0 0 1 4 5 3 1 0 0 1 9 11 Norfolk .................Thursday: June 7, July 5 133 115 38 97 79 16 67 231 213 59 0 0 5 6 2 8 19 18 0 3 6 19 7 15 1 4 1 2 20 19 0 0 1 12 1 5 6 4 0 3 3 8 8 5 0 1 0 1 7 5 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 1 1 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 155 70 18 ENGINE DEPARTMENT Baltimore..............Thursday: June 7, July 5 Boston ..................Friday: June 8, July 6 Guam ....................Thursday: June 21, July 19 Honolulu...............Friday: June 15, July 13 Houston ................Monday: June 11, July 9 Jacksonville ..........Thursday: June 7, July 5 Joliet .....................Thursday: June 14, June 12 Mobile ..................Wednesday: June 13, July 11 New Orleans.........Tuesday: June 12, July 10 Oakland ................Thursday: June 14, July 12 Philadelphia..........Wednesday: June 6 ..............................Thursday: July 5* ..............................(*change created due to Independence Day) Port Everglades ....Thursday: June 14, July 12 San Juan ...............Thursday: June 7, July 5 St. Louis ...............Friday: June 15, July 13 Tacoma .................Friday: June 22, July 20 Wilmington...........Monday: June 18, July 16 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. STEWARD DEPARTMENT 0 0 0 1 0 4 11 11 0 5 4 13 5 17 0 1 0 1 8 16 0 0 0 7 1 3 3 6 0 3 3 2 5 3 0 0 1 0 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 2 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 6 4 0 3 6 11 4 7 1 1 2 0 6 8 0 0 8 16 4 12 42 29 0 9 11 33 9 39 2 5 3 3 31 38 0 0 2 12 3 9 15 22 0 7 9 10 15 5 1 3 3 2 16 13 1 0 1 2 0 0 3 4 0 1 1 7 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 97 45 12 62 294 147 29 Personals NEFDALI COLON Your friends Wilson Garcia and Nefdali Santana would like to hear from you. You may call Wilson at (787) 370-3239 or Nefdali at (787) 836-4449. New Orleans-Area REC Moves to Mandeville The U.S. Coast Guard’s New Orleans regional examination center (REC) recently relocated. The new REC address and phone number follow: ENTRY DEPARTMENT 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 4 0 1 1 3 0 5 0 0 1 0 4 2 0 2 4 7 0 6 21 6 0 6 8 37 16 13 2 2 2 0 14 9 0 1 0 7 0 5 11 14 0 3 6 23 15 8 2 26 0 0 5 8 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 1 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 9 4 1 5 5 16 6 9 0 6 1 0 8 6 0 1 0 1 0 2 6 6 0 1 3 3 11 4 0 26 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 10 8 0 1 4 15 0 9 0 0 1 0 6 2 4 5 7 14 4 14 38 30 0 5 10 71 20 22 2 19 3 1 27 18 7 1 0 18 0 12 17 24 1 8 6 41 18 22 4 14 1 0 13 18 27 155 134 16 77 70 0 59 314 225 598 576 241 401 364 126 269 1,103 1,117 431 *“Total Registered” means the number of Seafarers who actually registered for shipping at the port. **“Registered on Beach” means the total number of Seafarers registered at the port. May 2007 Piney Point ...........Monday: June 4, July 2 1 8 5 11 5 10 27 19 2 14 4 29 14 10 5 4 7 7 36 18 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C 4 0 6 10 2 8 53 29 0 14 14 44 9 21 7 1 9 0 32 20 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs DECK DEPARTMENT Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C USCG Regional Examination Center 4250 Hwy 22, Suite F Mandeville, LA 70471 Phone: (985) 624-5700 Fax: (985) 624-5757 REC staff email addresses are the same as before. Since Hurricane Katrina destroyed the New Orleans East REC facility, the REC staff worked from temporary locations in Morgan City and Metairie, La.; Houston; and Memphis, Tenn. According to the agency, the new REC is easy to reach from Interstate 12 or Interstate 10 via the Causeway Bridge, Causeway Blvd., US-190 exits. The REC’s hours of operation in Mandeville are 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on Friday. The office will remain open for limited services during lunch hour. Testing will be conducted during the same hours, but the latest time to start a new exam is 2:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and noon on Friday. Seafarers LOG 15 �42208p3,4,6,10_17,20_24:2007-May 4/28/2007 Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 27 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 12:51 PM Page 16 ‘Belated Thank You’ Legislation Reintroduced in House and Senate U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (DCalif.) on Jan. 4 introduced a bill (H.R. 23) before the House of Representatives in the 110th Congress to amend title 46, United States Code, and title II of the Social Security Act. A similar bill (S.961) was presented to the Senate on March 22 by Senators Ben Nelson (DNeb.), Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) H.R. 23 had been introduced in the 109th Congress as well, but no action was taken before adjourning for the year. Titled the “Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act of 2007,” H.R. 23 directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to pay a monthly benefit of $1,000 to certain honorably-discharged veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine who served between Dec. 7, 1941 and Dec. 31, 1946. This is the same period as all other veterans’ benefits, from which merchant mariners were excluded until 1988. The bill also stipulates that any surviving wife of a qualified veteran also shall be eligible to receive the same benefit as the veteran. When he first brought the bill before the House of Representatives in 2004, Filner noted that World War II Merchant Mariners suffered the secondhighest casualty rate of any of the branches of service while they delivered troops, tanks, amphibious craft, airplanes, jeeps, ammunition, PT boats, gasoline, aviation fuel, trucks, medicines and food rations to every theater of the war from Normandy to Okinawa. Compared to the large number of men and women serving in World War II, the numbers of merchant mariners were small, but their chance of dying during service was extremely high. Enemy forces sank more than 800 ships between 1941 and 1944 alone. Merchant mariners remained in war zones long after the fighting troops came home to enjoy the benefits of the GI Bill, which was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944. At that time the president said, “I trust Congress will soon provide similar opportunities to members of the merchant marine who have risked their lives time and time again during the war for the welfare of their country.” But when he died, mariners were denied their benefits, including unemployment, education, Meetings in the Port of Houston GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr. Bldg., Suite 103B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 Above: SIU Vice President Dean Corgey (standing fourth from left) addresses a December 2006 meeting of the Houston Chapter of the American Merchant Marine Veterans (AMMV) to update them on current affairs in the Merchant Marine and U.S.-flag maritime industry. The group meets monthly at the Port of Houston Seamen’s Center and includes retired WWII merchant marine vets as well as retired licensed and unlicensed mariners. Any retired members interested in joining their local AMMV should contact their port officials for additional information. JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 Left: At a recent membership meeting in Houston, VP Dean Corgey is flanked by Bosun Monte Pereira (left) and shoregang Bosun John Cain. NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG home or small business loans, priority for postwar jobs and medicare care for disabilities. Perhaps the most valuable of the denied rights was the free college education, which the U.S. Department of Commerce has valued at $300,000 in increased lifetime earnings. Filner pointed out that when merchant mariners were not included in the GI Bill of Rights, “The merchant marine became the forgotten service.” He said, “The fact that merchant seamen had borne arms during wartime in the defense of their country did not seem to matter.” Many WWII mariners finally received veterans’ recognition in 1988, along with access to what Filner described as a “watered-down” GI Bill. It took another 10 years to extend the cutoff date for recognition of mariners as veterans so it matched the date utilized by the military. The pending bill will try to rectify some of these shortcomings. As a member of the U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Filner observed back in 2004—and it still holds true today—“While it is impossible to make up for over 40 years of unpaid benefits, I propose a bill that will acknowledge the service of the veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine and offer compensation for years and years of lost benefits. The average age of (World War II) merchant marine veterans is now 81. Many have outlived their savings. A monthly benefit to compensate for the loss of nearly a lifetime of ineligibility for the GI Bill would be of comfort and would provide some measure of security for veterans of the U.S. Merchant Marine.” The list of supporters of H.R. 23 continues to grow at a rapid pace. There are now 84 cosponsors of the bill. As chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Filner held a hearing April 18 to receive additional testimony on this important and long-overdue legislation. Seafarers are encouraged to write to their U.S. senators and representatives asking for their support of H.R. 23 and S.962. PIC-FROM-THE-PAST This photo was sent to the Seafarers LOG by retired SIU member Robert S. Gordy of Owings Mills, Md. It was taken April 22, 1967 aboard Curtis Bay Towing’s tug Kings Point. From the left are Mate Norman Pokrywka, Capt. Edward Bromwell, Deckhands Robert S. Gordy and John Carr, and Engineer “Reds” Forrester. All of the crew were charter members of the SIU-IBU. The “V” is for victory after a sixmonth strike was settled. The strike was led by Earl “Bull” Shepard, the port agent in Baltimore, and was backed by the entire SIU until victory was declared. The Kings Point, a 2,400 hp tug, was part of Curtis Bay’s Blue Diamond Fleet. May 2007 �42208p3,4,6,10_17,20_24:2007-May 4/28/2007 1:41 PM Page 17 Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA JAMES BALL, 66, began sailing with the SIU in 1970 from the port of San Francisco. Brother Ball, who was born in Wyoming, worked in the steward department. He first shipped aboard a vessel operated by Michigan Tankers Inc. In 2000 and 2001, Brother Ball upgraded his seafaring skills at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. His most recent voyage was on the Grand Canyon State. Brother Ball calls Seattle home. PAUL CHARLEY, 66, began his seafaring career in 1966. Born in Alabama, he first sailed aboard the Del Mar. Brother Charley upgraded his skills often at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. He most recently worked on the 2nd Lt. John Paul Bobo. Brother Charley makes his home in Mobile, Ala. THOMAS LASATER, 56, joined the SIU in 1969. Brother Lasater first sailed aboard the Mobilian as a member of the deck department. He upgraded on numerous occasions at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Brother Lasater, who was born in California, most recently worked on the Brenton Reef. He resides in Downington, Pa. ANTONIO MARTES, 65, joined the SIU in 1967. Brother Martes was born in Puerto Rico. He first sailed aboard the Steel Scientist. His most recent voyage was on the Express. Brother Martes was a member of the engine department. He makes his home in Brooklyn, N.Y. ANTONIO RIOS, 50, embarked on his seafaring career in 1982. Brother Rios first sailed aboard the Del Sol. The steward department member attended classes frequently at the Piney Point school. Brother Rios, who was born in Puerto Rico, worked aboard the Alliance New York prior to retiring. He is a resident of Carolina, P.R. FREDERICK SHANNON, 65, donned the SIU colors in 1998. Brother Shannon first sailed as a member of the deck department aboard the Franklin T. Phillips. He was born in Texas City, Texas and upgrad- May 2007 ed his skills on two occasions at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Shannon’s most recent voyage was aboard the Sirius. He resides in Dickinson, Texas. Brown’s first voyage was on the Mayo Lykes. He was born in Meridian, Miss. Prior to retiring, Brother Brown shipped aboard the Lykes Liberator. PABLO VAZQUEZ, 65, joined the SIU in 1966. His first ship was the Western Hunter. Brother Vazquez shipped in the engine department. A native of Puerto Rico, he upgraded his skills in 2000 at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Brother Vazquez most recently worked aboard the Horizon Producer. He continues to live in Puerto Rico. BELL COLOMBO, 71, was born in the Dominican Republic. Brother Colombo began sailing with the NMU in 1969. His first vessel was the American Liberty; his most recent was the Nebraska. PHILLIP YAROS, 65, began shipping with the Seafarers in 1991. The Pennsylvania native first sailed aboard the Cape Nome. He most recently worked on the USNS Mendonca. Brother Yaros attended classes at the Piney Point school on three occasions. He makes his home in Erma, N.J. RIZAL COLON, 68, launched his NMU career in 1963 in San Juan, P.R. Brother Colon first shipped aboard the USNS Mission Santa Ynez. The New York native worked in the engine department. Brother Colon most recently sailed on the Maersk Alabama. INLAND ERNEST BRYAN, 68, joined the SIU ranks in 1996. Boatman Bryan shipped primarily on vessels operated by Crowley Liner Services. Born in New Jersey, he calls Hazelton, Pa. home VIRGINIA MILLER, 69, started sailing with the SIU in 1995. Sister Miller was a member of the steward department. She shipped primarily on board Orgulf Transport Company vessels. Sister Miller calls Paducah, Ky. home. Editor’s note: The following brothers and sister, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust, recently went on pension. WILLIAM BIONDIE, 64, joined the NMU in 1966. He first shipped from the port of New York as a member of the steward department aboard the Constitution. Brother Biondie is a native of Dayton, Ohio. He most recently sailed on the Endurance. RICHARD BOYD, 67, became an NMU member in 1963. Born in Charleston, S.C., Brother Boyd first worked aboard the Metapan in the steward department. AVELL BROWN, 61, started his seafaring career in 1979 in the port of Mobile, Ala. Brother DENNIS GAFFNEY, 57, joined the NMU ranks in 1981 in the port of San Francisco. Brother Gaffney was born in Staunton, Brother Gullette most recently shipped on the Intrepid. Va. He first sailed aboard the China Sea. Before retiring, Brother Gaffney worked on the Alaskan Navigator. JESUS GARCIA, 61, embarked on his seafaring career in 1965 in the port of New York. Brother Garcia first worked aboard the Mormac Rio. The Puerto Rico native most recently shipped on the Enterprise. JOHN GEEDMAN, 65, joined the NMU in 1975, initially sailing from the port of New York. Born in Bayonne, N.J., Brother Geedman first worked aboard the Export Bay as a member of the deck department. WILLIAM GULLETTE, 66, donned the NMU colors in 1969 in the port of Mobile, Ala. Brother Gullette’s first voyage was aboard the Leslie Lykes. Born in Alabama, he sailed as a member of the steward department. Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1945 NEW YORK, May 14 – Victory in Europe will have no immediate effect on shipping, and any future falling off will be gradual, government authorities said today. The demand for space to move personnel and cargoes will continue, and a natural increase in transport to the Pacific was developing, that will require all the tonnage that can be spared from the Atlantic. It was announced recently that Europe would require some 12 million tons of food alone in the next year. This was more than a third of the total dry cargo export from this country in the last peace year, 1939. Not only will cargo ships be needed, but personnel transport requirements will increase rather than diminish, it was said. The War Department will be depending upon merchant shipping, including SIU-manned vessels, to move millions of men from Europe to the Pacific theatre, to ship out fresh troops, to return home from the battlefields discharged and furloughed servicemen and the wounded. TORBIO MENDOZA, 66, began his NMU career in 1960 in the port of Houston. Brother Mendoza first sailed on the Keystoner. The steward department member, who was born in Texas, most recently worked aboard the Cape Vincent. GEORGIANNA YOUNG, 61, joined the NMU in 1979 in the port of Mobile, Ala. Sister Young sailed as a member of the steward department. She is a native of Alabama. In addition to the individuals listed above, the following NMU pensioners retired on the dates indicated. NAME AGE Antonio Beof 67 Kenneth Bunn 55 Joseph Hirtle 56 Frank Papez 71 EDP March 1 May 1 Jan. 1 Jan. 1 Senators Vance Hartke, Ted Kennedy and Daniel Inouye also called for a stronger American-flag merchant fleet in speeches before the convention. 1977 A new age in American merchant shipping will be born in the weeks ahead at a sprawling shipyard in the old New England town of Quincy, Mass. where SIU members will crew up the first liquefied natural gas carrier ever built in the Western Hemisphere. This incredible ship, named after the zodiac sign Aquarius, marks the advent of a new breed of U.S.-flag sailing vessel and a new trend in merchant shipping that may someday change the entire makeup of the American merchant fleet. The 936-foot Aquarius is the first of 12 U.S.flag LNG tankers scheduled to be built at the General Dynamics Shipyard in Quincy. She has a 25-year charter to haul liquefied natural gas from Indonesia to Osaka, Japan. This Month In SIU History 1997 1965 The 12th biennial convention of the Seafarers International Union of North America was conducted in Washington from May 26 through June 1. The highlight of the convention’s first day came when AFL-CIO President George Meany pledged that the federation would go “down the line” and support maritime labor’s fight to preserve American ships, manned by American seamen at American wage levels. He laid the responsibility for the decline of U.S. maritime at the door of the Departments of Agriculture, Defense and State, whose policies weaken rather than help American shipping. The SIU’s newest hall officially opened on May 20 when President Michael Sacco and Executive Vice President John Fay toured the facility in Anchorage, then attended a shoreside reception to launch the union’s newest initiative in Alaska. “We are opening this hall in Anchorage to show how committed the SIU is to Alaska and its growing maritime industry,” Sacco noted. “With this facility, we can help members and their families who live in this state with any questions they may have concerning their benefits. This hall will also help us in another way—recruiting young Alaskans who want to join the SIU and the U.S. Merchant Marine.” Seafarers LOG 17 �42208p1,2,5,7,8,9,18,19:2007-May 4/28/2007 12:21 PM Page 18 Final Departures DEEP SEA JOHN ASHLEY Pensioner John Ashley, 76, passed away Sept. 10. Brother Ashley launched his seafaring career in 1964. The New York-born mariner initially sailed in the engine department of a CSX Lines vessel. Brother Ashley retired in 1995; he last shipped aboard the Achiever. He called Houston home. ROCCO CARUSO Pensioner Rocco Caruso, 83, died Sept. 10. Brother Caruso joined the union in 1948 in the port of New Orleans. His first ship was the John B. Waterman. Brother Caruso was born in Italy and sailed in the deck department. He last worked aboard a Michigan Tankers Inc. vessel. Brother Caruso went on pension in 1979. He lived in Baltimore. JAMES GARD Pensioner James Gard, 78, passed away Sept. 21. Brother Gard, who was born in Fort Pierce, Fla., began sailing with the SIU in 1946 in the port of Baltimore, Md. Brother Gard’s first voyage was on a Waterman Steamship Corp. vessel. The steward department member’s last voyage was aboard the Horizon Crusader. Brother Gard became a pensioner in 1988. He resided in his native state. HARRY JONES Pensioner Harry Jones, 67, died Aug. 21. Brother Jones started sailing with the Marine Cooks and Stewards in 1962 in the port of San Francisco. He was born in Tennessee and worked in the steward department. Brother Jones last worked on the President Roosevelt. He made his home in Randallstown, Md. and began receiving his pension in 1997. TIMOTHY LARUE Brother Timothy Larue, 47, passed away Aug. 3. He joined the SIU in 1979. Brother Larue’s first voyage was aboard the Boston. He worked as a member of the deck department. Brother Larue most recently shipped on the Atlantic. The West Virginiaborn mariner made his home in Jacksonville, Fla. CHARLES MacDONALD Pensioner Charles MacDonald, 79, died July 1. Brother MacDonald joined the SIU in 1953. The Canadian-born mariner initially 18 Seafarers LOG sailed on board a Sprogue Steamship vessel. Brother MacDonald was a member of the deck department. His last voyage was aboard the Innovator. Brother MacDonald retired in 1988. He was a resident of Las Vegas. VINCENTE ORTIZ Pensioner Vincente Ortiz, 79, passed away Sept. 8. Brother Ortiz commenced his seafaring career in 1958. His first ship was the Santa Maria; his last was the Samuel L. Cobb. Brother Ortiz, who was born in Puerto Rico, worked in the steward department until 1993, when he went on pension. He lived in West Palm Beach, Fla. ANTHONY PALINO Pensioner Anthony Palino, 79, died Aug. 7. Brother Palino was a native of New Jersey. He became a member of the SIU in 1947 in the port of Baltimore. Brother Palino’s first voyage was on the Steel Navigator. He sailed in the deck department, most recently aboard the Horizon Trader. Brother Palino called Fort Lauderdale, Fla. home. He started collecting compensation for his retirement in 1991. HERIBERTO VAZQUEZ Pensioner Heriberto Vazquez, 77, passed away Aug. 19. Brother Vazquez began his seafaring career in 1957. His first trip to sea was on the Banner, where he sailed in the engine department. Brother Vazquez’s last voyage was aboard the Carolina. He was a resident of his native Puerto Rico and became a pensioner in 1994. JOHN WALKEN Pensioner John Walken, 93, died Sept. 8. Brother Walken joined the SIU in 1951 in the port of New York. He first sailed aboard an A.H. Bull Steamship Company vessel in the deck department. Brother Walken, who was born in Germany, last shipped on board the Resource. He lived in Howell, N.J. and went on pension in 1979. 1983, Brother Williams sailed on the Long Island. He lived in Brookhaven, N.Y. KIRBY WRIGHT Pensioner Kirby Wright, 80, died Aug. 23. Brother Wright became an SIU member in 1947 in the port of Norfolk, Va. His first ship was the Steel Survey. Brother Wright, who worked in the deck department, last sailed on the Voyager. He resided in his native state of North Carolina and began receiving his retirement pay in 1985. INLAND ROBERT HIEL Pensioner Robert Hiel, 70, passed away Sept. 1. Boatman Hiel started his seafaring career in 1978 in Detroit. He sailed in both the inland and Great Lakes divisions. Boatman Hiel’s first ship was the Niagara. Born in Detroit, he was a member of the steward department. Boatman Hiel most recently shipped on an OLS Transport vessel. He retired in 2002 and made his home in Punta Gorda, Fla. CLAUDIE JONES Pensioner Claudie Jones, 64, died Aug. 3. Boatman Jones donned the SIU colors in 1967. His first trip was on a Dixie Carriers vessel. Boatman Jones was a member of the deck department. He was born in North Carolina and made his home in Leesburg, Ga. Boatman Jones went on pension in 1997. JOHN NOLDE Pensioner John Nolde, 82, passed away Aug. 18. Born in Pennsylvania, Boatman Nolde joined the union in 1943 in the port of New York. He initially shipped on the Southern District. Before retiring in 1982, he worked aboard an Interstate Oil Transport Co. vessel. Boatman Nolde was a resident of Philadelphia. JOSEPH PULLEN Pensioner Joseph Pullen, 83, died Aug. 2. Boatman Pullen launched his SIU career in 1951 in the port of New Orleans. His first voyage was aboard the Zane Grey. Boatman Pullen last sailed on a Gulf Canal Lines vessel. Boatman Pullen, who called Westwego, La. home, started collecting his pension in 1989. WILLIAM WILLIAMS Pensioner William Williams, 85, passed away Sept. 28. Brother Williams was born in Virginia. He embarked on his seafaring career in 1947 in the port of Norfolk, Va. Brother Williams initially shipped aboard the Sandchief. He was a member of the deck department. Prior to retiring in GREAT LAKES HOMER BUCK Pensioner Homer Buck, 73, died Oct. 8. Brother Buck embarked on his SIU career in 1961, joining in the port of Detroit. He was a native of Altoona, Pa. and worked in the deck department. Brother Buck first sailed aboard an American Steamship Company vessel. His last voyage was aboard the Saint Clair. Brother Buck started collecting his pension in 1996. He lived in Cleveland. PAUL CREGUER Pensioner Paul Creguer, 81, passed away Sept. 12. Brother Creguer joined the union in 1965 in the port of Fort Lauderdale. He was born in Elkton, Mich. and worked in the deck department. Brother Creguer first sailed on the Huron Portland Cement. His last voyage was aboard the J.A.W. Iglehart. Brother Creguer became a pensioner in 1990. He made his home in Oscoda, Mich. STEVEN LUKOWSKI Brother Steven Lukowski, 48, died July 20. He joined the SIU in 2001 in Detroit. Brother Lukowski’s first ship was the Richard J. Reiss. He was a member of the steward department. Brother Lukowski most recently shipped aboard the Adam E. Cornelius. He was a resident of Alpena, Mich. GEORGE MILLER Pensioner George Miller, 78, passed away July 2. Brother Miller was born in Lewistown, Pa. and began sailing with the union in 1963 in the port of Detroit. Brother Miller initially worked aboard a Rockport Steamship Company vessel. The deck department member last shipped on the American Mariner. Brother Miller retired in 1992. He called Mifflin, Mass. home. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust have passed away. FRANK THEILER JOSE ALVARADO Pensioner Frank Theiler, 73, passed away Sept. 27. Boatman Theiler was a Texas native. He began sailing with the SIU in 1962. Boatman Theiler shipped primarily on vessels operated by Galveston Wharves. He retired in 1998 and made his home in Rural, Texas. Pensioner Jose Alvarado, 93, passed away June 18. Brother Alvarado joined the NMU in 1945 in the port of Baltimore, Md. The Puerto Rico-born mariner first sailed on the Lincoln Steffen. Brother Alvarado, who last sailed on a Mormac Isle vessel, became a pensioner in 1967. THOMAS KANE Pensioner Thomas Kane, 81, died June 16. Brother Kane embarked on his seafaring career in 1965, initially sailing from the port of San Francisco. His first ship was the American Contractor. Brother Kane, who was born in Sacramento, Calif., last shipped aboard the Admiralty Bay. He retired in 1987. VINCENT MEDEIROS Pensioner Vincent Medeiros, 84, passed away June 26. Brother Medeiros was born in Hawaii and joined the NMU in 1941, first shipping on the Ivy Harbor. He went on pension in 1978. YU TANG Pensioner Yu Tang, 81, died June 15. Brother Tang donned the NMU colors in 1963, first sailing aboard the Hope. He was born in China. During his seafaring career, Brother Tang worked in the steward department. His last voyage was on the American Marketer. Brother Tang began receiving his retirement pay in 1986. ARCHIBALD TROTT Pensioner Archibald Trott, 98, passed away June 28. Brother Trott joined the NMU in 1947 in the port of New York. His first trip to sea was on the Lady Somers. Brother Trott was born in the West Indies and shipped in the steward department. Prior to retiring in 1972, he sailed aboard the Mormac Sky. JAMES WHITFIELD Pensioner James Whitfield, 80, died June 16. Brother Whitfield became an NMU member in 1944 in the port of New York. The New Haven, Conn. native worked in the engine department. Brother Whitfield last worked on the Santa Cruz. He began collecting his pension in 1970. May 2007 �42208p1,2,5,7,8,9,18,19:2007-May 4/28/2007 12:30 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. CHEMICAL TRADER (Intrepid Ship Management), March 27— Chairman Raymond A. Tate, Secretary Rocel C. Alvarez, Deck Delegate Francis Johnson, Engine Delegate Carlos Ventura, Steward Delegate Manes Sainvill. Chairman announced April 1 payoff in Lake Charles, La. Secretary expressed gratitude for help in keeping mess hall and house clean. Educational director encouraged mariners to contribute to SPAD and upgrade skills at Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. He also discussed new ID cards (TWIC). No beefs or disputed OT reported. Letter read from Port Everglades patrolman pertaining to vacation policy. Next ports: Tampa, Fla.; Lake Charles. GALENA BAY (OSG Ship Management), March 27— Chairman Al Caulder, Secretary Fausto D. Aranda, Educational Director Mark E. Sawin. Chairman announced arrival in Tampa, Fla. and expected union representative to come aboard. Secretary thanked DEUs for job well done. Educational director requested clarification regarding cost of living increases for pension benefits. He also stressed importance of upgrading skills at Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward department was thanked for great food. GLOBAL SENTINEL (Transoceanic Cable Company), March 6—Chairman Timothy B. Fogg, Secretary Shawn R. Fujiwara, Educational Director Lothar Wick, Deck Delegate David L. Parks, Engine Delegate Gary M. Bartlett, Steward Delegate James M. Callahan. Chairman talked about the upcoming MARS cable installation project. He also read report from headquarters pertaining to sleep deprivation and reminded all Seafarers to get proper amount of rest. Educational director urged Seafarers to check document expiration dates. He noted it is taking 4-6 months to renew documents, sometimes longer. Mariners can renew documents one year in advance. Treasurer stated $3,500 in ship’s fund. Cigarettes will be sold only when ship is at sea (per directive of captain). No beefs or disputed OT reported. Communications were posted as they were received. Suggestions were made concerning contract and lowering retirement age. Members also requested clarification on manning scale for crew when ship goes out on projects. With such a large crew, members were asked to help keep areas clean, especially laundry room and crew lounge. Next ports: San Francisco; Portland, Ore. HORIZON CONSUMER (Horizon Lines), March 25— Chairman Lawrence L. Kunc, Secretary Terry L. Allen, Educational Director Charles L. Wharton, Deck Delegate Sangie Mohamed, Steward Delegate Enrique A. Garrido. Chairman announced March 27 payoff before arrival in Oakland, Calif. He informed crew members that May 2007 ship is due for layup in May. Two new ships have joined the fleet, the Horizon Hawk and Horizon Hunter. Secretary advised crew to have books ready for patrolman upon arrival in Oakland and to read Seafarers LOG to keep informed of union and maritime issues. Educational director encouraged mariners to upgrade skills at Paul Hall Center and keep all paperwork in order. No beefs or disputed OT reported. disputed OT reported. Vote of thanks to chief steward and his galley gang. Next ports: Jacksonville; San Juan, P.R.; Elizabeth, N.J. HORIZON HAWK (Horizon Lines), March 26—Chairman Steven L. Bush, Secretary Donald C. Spangler, Engine Delegate Samuel Garrett, Steward Delegate Kenneth E. Huddleston. Chairman reported dryer was out of order and there are no spare parts. Electrician is working on problem, and it will be brought to captain’s attention. Secretary welcomed everyone aboard ship’s first crossing and thanked them for working so hard to bring Hawk into service. Educational director advised Seafarers to stay up to date on upgrading opportunities available at Paul Hall Center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendation made to have option of direct deposit for vacation pay as well as numerous sug- MAERSK NEBRASKA (EShips), March 19—Chairman Frederick L. Gathers, Secretary Luis A. Caballero. Chairman expressed need to retain copy of SIU minutes and standard freighter agreement aboard ship. Educational director urged crew to read Seafarers LOG to find out information about courses offered at Piney Point. Beefs and disputed OT reported in deck department. Crew requested clarification on transportation to and from vessel. Request made for new DVD player in crew lounge and new refrigerator for pantry. MAERSK VERMONT (E-Ships), March 25—Chairman Jim Joyce, Secretary Robert J. Bostick. Chairman encouraged Seafarers to contribute to SPAD. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew members expressed concern over the condition of rooms at payoff. Suggestion made to have vacation checks sent home and to increase pension payments. Next port: New York. Aboard the Global Patriot The Seafarers pictured here were aboard the Global Patriot when union representatives from the port of Norfolk serviced the vessel March 14 in Sunny Point, N.C. Oiler Jeffrey Murray Oilers Spencer Reed and Bentley Arrundell ABs Steven Kroner, Rotilio Alvarez and Arnel Resurreccion Bosun John Habib and AB James Ray Crew members were thanked for smooth and safe trip. Next ports: Oakland; Los Angeles; Honolulu. HORIZON HAWAII (Horizon Lines), March 18 – Chairman Antonio M. Mercado, Secretary Joseph J. Gallo Jr., Educational Director Roy S. Frett Jr., Deck Delegate Isaac Vega-Mercado, Engine Delegate Mohamed M. Hadwan, Steward Delegate Jorge R. Salazar. Chairman thanked everyone for working together as a team and announced April 6 payoff in Jacksonville, Fla. He asked crew to have union books and dues ready for boarding patrolman and also warned Seafarers to keep MMDs and passports current or chance losing a job. Secretary thanked fellow crew members for smooth, safe voyage and reminded them to “Be alert; don’t get hurt.” Educational director advised mariners to upgrade skills at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point. No beefs or gestions for improvements as ship settles into a routine. HORIZON PRODUCER (Horizon Lines), March 2— Chairman Joseph R. Colangelo, Secretary William J. Bunch, Educational Director Angel S. Hernandez, Deck Delegate Cleofe B. Castro. Chairman informed crew payoff would take place after union meeting. Ship has just returned from foreign articles and must clear customs and immigration in San Juan before they can go ashore. Educational director encouraged members to contribute to SPAD and renew documents before they expire. Treasurer stated $6,186.85 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendations were made to increase pension and medical benefits. Request made for new chairs in crew lounge and crew mess as well as box springs in crew rooms. QEE Terry Wilcox OVERSEAS HOUSTON (OSG Ship Management), March 4— Chairman Timothy D. Koebel, Secretary Ekow Doffoh, Educational Director Edward Self, Deck Delegate Paul Hackney, Engine Delegate Anjwar Brooks, Steward Delegate Hayes Johnson. Chairman stated captain will purchase adapters (not converters) for 220 outlets. E-mail will come online March 5 and there is now a proper mailing address. He also let crew know that e-deposits are available and gave steps to follow to initiate it. Mariners were asked to refrain from talking in hall and playing TVs or music at high volume from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. Educational director discussed TWIC information from February Seafarers LOG. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestions made to increase medical benefits, reinstitute penalty meal hours and standardize all contracts. Bosun reminded crew of SIU’s traditional mess room courtesies: no hats, tanks tops or flip flops. Next ports: Texas City, Texas; Port Everglades, Fla.; Charleston, S.C. QUALITY (Maersk Line Limited), March 30—Chairman William M. Richards, Secretary Franklyn J. Cordero, Educational Director Rudolph C. Maycock. Chairman announced New Jersey payoff along with a crew change. He thanked all departments for safe trip and for helping keep rooms and main house clean. Secretary reminded departing members to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen for next person. He also advised everyone to check expiration dates on all documents. Educational director noted the importance of upgrading skills at Piney Point and contributing to SPAD. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward department thanked for excellent meals. LIBERTY (Interocean American Shipping), April 1—Chairman Erik P. Penia, Secretary Stephen A. Bird, Deck Delegate Paul M. McDonell, Engine Delegate Bernard Corbett, Steward Delegate Raford Nixon. Chairman spoke about how ARC and Interocean American Shipping have grown in recent years—a positive sign. Secretary requested information about status of new contract and discussed need for continual upgrading of skills to keep up with ever-changing industry. Treasurer noted arrival of two new pieces of gym equipment. The gym is looking good, and the crew is reaping the rewards. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made that laundry machines be fixed or replaced and that transformers be installed in each cabin so crew can use their 110v gear. Bosun thanked galley gang for good food and keeping up morale. Next port: Baltimore, Md. MAERSK MISSOURI (Maersk Line Limited), April 1—Chairman Felix A. Santiago, Secretary Billy Gigante, Educational Director Hiawatha J. Williams, Deck Delegate Paul I. Castillo, Steward Delegate Brian T. McEleney. Chairman reported good voyage with good crew and announced April 2 payoff in Elizabeth, N.J. Educational director encouraged members to take advantage of educational opportunities available at Paul Hall Center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Vote of thanks given to steward department for job well done. Next ports: Elizabeth; Norfolk, Va.; Charleston, S.C. SEABULK ARCTIC (Seabulk International), April 4—Chairman Juan Castillo, Secretary Allan W. Bartley, Educational Director Salome Castro, Deck Delegate Steven E. Dubley, Engine Delegate Melgar D. Daguio, Steward Delegate Enrico S. LaMarca. Chairman discussed new contract, which will be retroactive to Oct. 1, 2006. Secretary thanked crew for helping keep mess hall clean. He also praised Chief Cook LaMarca for great meals and GVA for keeping house so clean. Educational director asked everyone to check document dates and renew early, not when they are just about to expire. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Mariners requested new washer and dryer combo in crew laundry. Members were asked to return DVDs when finished viewing them. Next ports: Port Angeles and Anacortes, Wash.; Valdez, Alaska. Seafarers LOG 19 �42208p3,4,6,10_17,20_24:2007-May 5/1/2007 12:09 PM Page 20 Letters to the Editor Editor’s note: The Seafarers LOG reserves the right to edit letters for grammar as well as space provisions without changing the writer’s intent. The LOG welcomes letters from members, pensioners, their families and shipmates and will publish them on a timely basis. Memories from 1943 Voyage The following story (and many others) was told to me by my late husband, Milton Robinson, who was an SIU seaman. He joined the SIU in 1941 and retired in 1969. He was very proud of the SIU because he was “in” on the early days. Of course, during that time, many labor unions were formed for the working men and women of the day. Shipwrecked I signed on to the Liberty ship SS James Withycombe as boatswain in Mobile, Ala. on Nov. 16, 1943 along with other guys making up the crew from Mobile. She was loaded with cargo. We sailed south from Mobile toward the Panama Canal en route to a port in the Far East. Approaching the Canal was a stretch of seas marked “shallow” and “not navigable.” We became too close to these waters during a terrible storm and unfortunately were grounded. We were to be rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard. The order came: “Abandon ship!” The Coast Guard was standing by very shortly and threw us ropes, buoys and other equipment for the rescue. We could take nothing with us except the clothes on our backs. The last to leave the ship were the captain, first mate and me. There was no thought of anything but getting off the dangerous vessel that was being battered by the wind against the rocks and the treacherous seas. The Coast Guard let us off at the nearest island that was occu- pied by a U.S. Navy base, and they had a clothing store there that furnished clothes for the Navy personnel. So, our “wardrobes” consisted of Navy outfits in various sizes and ranks. We had quite a hilarious time or two when we would be mistaken for Navy officers and get saluted. Later we were flown back to Tampa by the steamship company, paid off and returned to our home port of Mobile. There, we registered at the SIU hall and sailed on another trip out. There was never a time in my life that was fearful of the sea, or regretted my service as a merchant mariner. In fact, even during times of war, I still loved the open seas. The foreign countries and the many interesting people I met were unforgettable. As told by Milton Robinson To his wife of 64 years, Doris Robinson Mobile, Alabama SIU President’s Column Hits Mark Thank you for the wonderful, straightforward article on the condition of America and outsourcing (President’s column, April 2007 issue). After seven years as a reservations agent in a call center specializing in the hospitality industry, the reservations department where I worked was let go due to the outsourcing of our jobs to New Brunswick, Canada. The database department was outsourced to India. As a result, approximately 120 American jobs are gone. The company started to push for outsourcing about five years ago and sent other clients up to Canada for reservations. At that time there were no layoffs but still the jobs are sitting in Canada. We were given a 60-day notice. We were continually being thanked for the great job we had done—in writing and with a catered lunch—and were Know Your Rights even told we were welcome to attend the annual employee appreciation party where the management arranging the outsourcing (and so proud of the job we were doing) attended. We endured people from India wandering around the office while employees were told to teach them their jobs. “Morally bankrupt” is such an appropriate term in describing outsourcing. Meanwhile, the replacements from India just weren’t “getting it” and still needed to be trained. Some database management personnel stayed behind and some of the employees scheduled to be laid off March 9 were asked to stay and help finish the training. It’s one thing when you are told that you must train a replacement and you do it because you don’t want to be let go without that severance package. It’s another thing to smile and go out to lunch with your replacement while they’re stealing your job. The article mentioned America West and U.S. Airways. My concern is this: Why did they really bring reservations back to the U.S.? If it’s the language barrier, what is to prevent management from considering Canada in the future? It’s still cheap labor but now you have people who speak the English language and can be understood. Where do we go from here? Companies are importing foreign labor illegally and American jobs are being exported. I boycott American-based companies that outsource their reservations/customer service departments. The conflict with American-based hotels is that they do employ American workers—union and non-union. All Americans owe a debt to all true, strong and upstanding union members. Fran Codispoti Scottsdale, Arizona Are You Receiving All Your Important Mail? In order to help ensure that each active SIU member and pensioner receives a copy of the Seafarers LOG every month—as well as other important mail such as W-2 forms, pension and health insurance checks and bulletins or notices—a correct home address must be on file with the union. If you have moved recently or feel that you are not getting your union mail, please use the form on this page to update your home address. Your home address is your permanent address, and this is where all official union documents will be mailed (unless otherwise specified). If you are getting more than one copy of the LOG delivered to you, if you have changed your address, or if your name or address is misprinted or incomplete, please fill out the form and send it to: Seafarers International Union Address Correction Dept. 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 or e-mail corrections to kclements@seafarers.org HOME ADDRESS FORM 5/07 (Please Print) Name: ___________________________________________________________________________ Phone No.: _______________________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ Social Security No.: ________ / ________ / ________ Active SIU Pensioner Book No.: ___________________ Other _______________________________________ This will be my permanent address for all official union mailings. This address should remain in the union file unless otherwise changed by me personally. 20 Seafarers LOG FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. May 2007 �42208p3,4,6,10_17,20_24:2007-May 4/28/2007 12:33 PM Page 21 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. for most of 2007. All programs are geared to improve the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. FOWT June 18 August 13 October 8 July 13 September 7 November 2 Junior Engineer July 16 September 7 Machinist June 18 July 9 July 6 July 27 Marine Electrician September 24 November 16 Pumpman* July 9 July 20 July 30 August 10 Advanced Refrigerated Container May 21 June 15 Welding May 7 June 11 August 6 October 1 October 29 May 25 June 29 August 24 October 19 November 16 (*must have tankerman familiarization/ assistant cargo (DL) AND machinist) Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman May 28 July 9 August 20 October 1 June 22 August 3 September 14 October 26 Automatic Radar Plotting Aids* (ARPA) (*must have radar unlimited) June 18 October 22 June 22 October 26 Celestial Navigation July 9 August 3 GMDSS August 13 August 24 Lifeboatman/Water Survival May 14 June 25 August 6 September 17 October 29 May 25 July 6 August 17 September 28 November 9 Radar June 4 October 8 June 15 October 19 Radar Renewal (one day) June 25 October 29 Safety Specialty Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Advanced Fire Fighting July 9 July 20 Fast Rescue Boat May 21 June 25 July 23 August 27 May 25 June 29 July 27 August 31 Basic Safety Training Classes are conducted weekly Government Vessels May 14 May 28 June 25 July 16 August 6 September 17 November 5 May 18 June 1 June 29 July 20 August 10 September 21 November 9 Medical Care Provider July 23 July 27 Tankerman Familiarization/ Assistant Cargo (DL)* June 4 September 24 November 26 June 15 October 5 December 7 June 4 August 13 June 8 August 17 (*must have basic fire fighting) Tankerman (PIC) Barge* Steward Upgrading Courses (*must have basic fire fighting) Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations modules start every week. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward classes start every other week beginning April 30, 2007. Engine Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Basic Auxiliary Plant Ops May 21 July 16 September 10 June 15 August 10 October 5 Bosun October 8 November 5 Steward July 9 August 6 Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Recertification Date of Birth ______________________ With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twentyfive (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. BEGIN DATE COURSE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Seniority _____________________________ Department _____________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ U.S. Citizen: ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Yes No Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? Yes No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ May 2007 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 5/07 Seafarers LOG 21 �42208p3,4,6,10_17,20_24:2007-May 4/30/2007 3:38 AM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 684 — Graduating from the water survival course are unlicensed apprentices from class 684. They include (in alphabetical order) Diego Barbosa, Patrick Brill, Theodore Butler, William Cruz, Felix DeArmas, Dante DeMcCutae, Jarrod Fluitt, Fred Green, Daniel Griffin, Anthony Hill, Joseph Jacobs, Arthur Jones, James Knute, Clarence Lee Jr., Clayton Lupton, Christopher McAfee, Joshue McAtee, David McRoy, Pascal Moise, Travis Moody, Walter Nordora, Vivian Norfleet, Gil Quinones, Ronaldo Quinones, Junior Tanaka, David Weeks and Dominique Wilson. AB — Receiving certificates for completion of the AB course March 30 are (in no specif- ic order) Rolando Salamat, Raul Vargas, Algernon Reed, Dominic Gilmartin, Kevin Stehlik, Jeffery Griffin, Michael Moody, Steven Blair, Maxine Howard, Samuel Thatcher, James Alaniz, Ian Chin, Marvin Herman III, Christen Christensen, Joseph Brown, Nicasio Arzu, Juan Ortiz and Richard Perez. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is at far right. Cargo Handling — Students in the mates program recently completed FOWT — Upgrading Seafarers who completed the FOWT course March 23 are (in no specific order) Nicholas Bridges, Nicholas Gattuso, Drew Barth, Edwin Feliciano, Derek King, Christina Earhart, Jimmie Williams Jr., Theo Martin, Antoine Best, Jeffery Novak, Mervin Cruzat, Marion Cruzat, Catherine Clark, Lee Patrick, Dallon Garnett, Richard DeLaCruz, Timothy Hetz, Michael Lais, Reginald Miller, LeGarrius Jones, Jamal Ricks, Melvin Ratcliff Jr., David Grasso, Peter McGlow and Peter Garwood. cargo handling as well as coastal navigation. They are (in no specific order) Adam Emanuel, Robert Stone, Philip Wright, David Lane II, Darrel Konce, Clyde McNatt, Joey Lupton, Jay Templet, Scott Chew, Kesse Kesse and James Raney. Their instructor, Stacey Harris, is second from left. Z-Drive — Under the direction of Mike Smith (far left) are boatmen from Express Marine who graduated from the Zdrive training March 9. They are (from the left) Doug Covil, Gil Pruitt, Jonathan West, Keith Kirkeide, Jeffrey Fackett and Capt. Greg Brooks (who also instructed the course). STCW — Computer Lab Classes With instructor Rick Prucha (back row,center) are students who recently completed computer classes at the Paul Hall Center. Showing their certificates of achievement are (from left, seated) Paul Amato, Emilia Woodin and Muniru Adam and (from left, standing) Stephen Riccobene and Roger Dillinger Jr. 22 Seafarers LOG Seafarers completing the STCW course March 20 are (in alphabetical order) Yunlay Bridges, Larry Florip, Christopher Follmar, Arthur Horner, Getolio Medallo, Abraham Mills and Jessie Parente. Welding — Under the instruction of Buzzy Andrews (fourth from right) are March 2 graduates of the welding class (in alphabetical order) Muniru Adam, Roger Dillinger Jr., Nicholas Dippel, Lawrence Guerrero, Cynthia Harris, Mark Kane, Stephen Riccobene and William Scott. May 2007 �42208p3,4,6,10_17,20_24x:2007-May 5/1/2007 12:56 PM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes Chief Cook — Students who completed the course for chief cooks in May are (from the left) Abdmutaali Muhammad, Luisa Oben, Robeson Carrier, Benny Samosan, Cynthia Espinda, Instructor/Chef John Dobson, Ismael Garayua, Alyxsi Alexander and Javier Delosreyes. Radar — G&H Towing boatmen who completed the radar course March 16 under the instruction of Herb Walling (far right) are (in no specific order) William Riggs, Jonathan Batten, Sean Lafrage, Albert Tircuit III, Matthew Hargrove IV and Lionel Hall. Junior Engineer — Tanker Familiarization/Assistant Cargo (DL) — Two classes of Phase II apprentices graduated March 16 from tankerman assistant courses. They are (in no specific order) Gillis Angeron III, Sheldon Brittain, Dante McCutac, Ronaldo Quinones, Charles Naze, Paul San Nicolas, David Weeks, James Knute, Kendra Gardner, Patrick Brill, Destinie LeBlanc, Peter Dudoit III, Hussein Mohsen, Awal SyiaFullah, Travis Moody, Ekedra Turner, Quintonio Walden, Arthur Doherty, Pascal Moise, Jojuan Carey, Jason Devine, Anson John, David McRoy Jr., Junior Tanaka, Clarence Lee Jr., Joseph Jacobs, Christopher McAfee, Quince Harrington, Theodore Butler, Edward Kelly, Jesse Lewis, Fred Green, Bradley Wade, Nick Johnston, Gil Quinones, Walter Nodora, Vivian Norfleet, Joel Marcano, Catherine Jones, William Cotea and SIU upgrader Reynaldo Bangcot. With their instructor Jay Henderson (far left) are Seafarers who completed the junior engineer course March 2. They are (in no specific order) Robert Bruning II, Orlando Herrera, Stephen Riccobene, Antoine Rainey, Brandon Granger, Greg McKinnon, Reginald Glover, James Oling, Muniru Adam, Daryl Thomas, Jim Brown, Jerome Culbreth, Nicholas Collins, Cynthia Harris, Scott Spilman, James McDade, Lon Molnar, Yuriy Khitrenko, Roger Dillinger Jr., Anthony Alibah, Reginald Colbert, Terrance Colbert and Antonio Watson. STCW — STCW — NCL, March 20: Natalie Acosta, Daniel Armendariz, La’Triva Ashe, Brock Aston, Jennifer Baltes, Matthew Bendus, Edward Bersamin, Juan Bishaw, Carly Black, Rikki Bowers, Karen Bowman, Meg Brigowatz, Janine Bryant, Christopher Budding, Justin Bultz, John Casey, Amanda Chedester, Darnita Clonts, Grant Coates, Jay Cole, Cristin Collier and Andreas Corbett. STCW — NCL, March 20: Robin Kent, Kate Krieg, Anthony Kupkowski, Roxie Lara, Joseph Lewis, Karen Limpert, Sherian Lutton, Ryan MacDonald, David McCollum, Peter Medellin, Chaunci Peeples, Brenda Pettit, Kenneth Porter, Reba Repinski, Desirae Rhoads, John Richardson, Shanna Richardson, Christopher Riess, Danny Rios, Stephanie Robinson and Jeffrey Roloff. May 2007 NCL, March 20: Brittney Coursey, Sterling Cuffee, Lee Eliason, Nakethia Evans, William Frazelle, Jacquelyn Fulton, Paul Gerischer, Stefanie Glidden, Heriberto Graniela, Scott Hake, Monica Hanks, Mackenze Harris, Sharnon Harris, Allison Haynes, Andrew Houser, Llamar Jackson, Paul Janusky, Kelly Jendeski, Curtis Johnson, Kenyatta Johnson, Elizabeth Jones and George Kauffman. STCW — NCL, March 20: Nancy Chapman, Abigail Coleman, Whitney Edghill, Darlene Labrador, Joseph Mauro, Kathy Sandrock, Quae Simpson, Dawn South, Brandon Stone, Tiffany Stone, Brandice Sykes, Matthew Toves, Donald Voss and Krystal Walters. Their instructor, Mike Daras, is at far left. Seafarers LOG 23 �42208p3,4,6,10_17,20_24x:2007-May 5/1/2007 1:42 PM Page 24 Volume 69, Number 5 May 2007 National Maritime Day May 22, 2007 In memory of American seafarers who lost their lives in service to their country. Smooth Sailing Aboard USNS Loyal SIU-Crewed Surveillance Ship Bolsters MSC Special Mission Fleet T he SIU-crewed USNS Loyal is an oceanographic surveillance vessel that is part of the U.S. Military Sealift Command’s Special Mission Ships Program. SA John Seibel recently submitted the photos accompanying this story, following a voyage aboard the Loyal, which is operated for MSC by SIU-contracted Maersk Line, Limited. He noted that due to the nature of some of the assignments given to surveillance ships, crew members discuss few if any specific details of those missions. However, he did say that during the recent voyage, which included stops in Okinawa and Yokohama, Japan, “we had a very good Bosun Denyse Sineath handles the ship’s crane during a loading operation. and hard-working SIU crew. Everyone did their jobs with the professionalism that’s expected of us. It was smooth sailing all the way.” According to MSC, the Loyal is one of five oceanographic surveillance vessels in the agency’s 23-ship Special Mission Program. Altogether, those ships “provide operating platforms and services for unique U.S. military and federal government missions. Oceanographic and hydrographic surveys, underwater surveillance, missile flight data collection and tracking, acoustic surveys and submarine support are just a few of the specialized services this program supports. Special mission ships work for several different U.S. Navy customers, including The Seafarers-crewed USNS Loyal the Naval Sea Systems Command and the Oceanographer of the Navy.” MSC further notes that ships in the Special Mission Program average 25 days at sea and five days in port each month. Survey ships including the USNS Loyal “study the world’s oceans using multi-beam, wide-angle, precision hydrographic sonar systems to collect bathymetric data” and listen for undersea threats. The Loyal is 235 feet long and has a beam of 93 feet, 6 inches. The ship has a 25-foot draft and a displacement of slightly less than 3,400 long tons. Its speed is listOilers Robert Scott (left) and Noland Earl ed at 9.6 knots. Chief Steward Natalie Nunes whips up a fine breakfast for the hungry crew. Chief Cook Velicia Williams prepares a vegetable dish for the lunch crowd. Oiler Pete Gerber SA John Seibel Taking a quick break are (from left) AB Beverly Williams, Bosun Denyse Sineath and OS Dan Stavron. Seafarers secure the gangway in the port of Naha, Okinawa. Cheerfully waiting in the chow line are Navy Master Chief Johnson (left) and Navy Technician Mica Ingram (right) along with Chief Mate Stephen Reynolds. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 May 2007 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES PRIDE OF HAWAII SCHEDULED FOR TEMPORARY MOVE TO EUROPE UNION SUBMITS MORE COMMENTS ABOUT TWIC, MMC PROGRAMS HORIZON LINES ADDS NEW VESSELS NEW ATB FREEPORT WELCOMED BY SIU YORKTWON EXPRESS JOINS U.S. MSP FLEET SIU SHIPS HEAD FOR IRAQ IN SUPPORT OF U.S. TROOPS BILL INTRODUCED TO IMPROVE U.S. MARINER CREDENTIALING EXPRESS MARINE’S NEWEST ADDITION IS TUGBOAT ‘DUTY’ FREE CHOICE ACT INTRODUCED IN SENATE CONGRESSIONAL HEARING EXAMINES DANGERS ON FOREIGN-FLAG CRUISES SHIPYARD WORKERS RATIFY CONTRACT NOTICE/REMINDER ANTHRAX IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM RESUMPTION YEARLY STATEMENTS MAILED TO SMPPP PARTICIPANTS SIU CIVMARS WIN FOOD SERVICE AWARDS MORE KUDOS FOR ERICSSON CALIF. GROCERY NEGOTIATIONS RESUME AKER PHILADELPHIA SHIPYARD REACHES MORE MILESTONES USNS STOCKHAM RESCUES 20 SEAFARERS PARTICIPATE IN OPERATION DEEP FREEZE RECOLLECTIONS OF THE MERCHANT MARINE IN WORLD WAR II ‘BELATED THANK YOU’ LEGISLATION REINTRODUCED IN HOUSE AND SENATE SMOOTH SAILING ABOARD USNS LOYAL Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 05/01/2007 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. 69, No. 5 2007 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/122a9f50d2e37ef116533a370068d626.pdf 1e5ff5432e3583d43c86257648d1134b PDF Text Text 41545_P01-5_7_14_18_19x:1545p00 3/27/2007 3:20 PM Page 1 Overseas Shipholding Orders 3 New ATBs Page 3 Volume 69, Number 4 April 2007 MTD Spotlights Progress, Opportunities U.S. Military Officials Emphasize Solid Backing for American-Flag Fleet The Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO executive board meetings took place March 1-2 in Las Vegas. Representatives from Congress, the administration, the military, the maritime industry and the labor movement addressed the board on a wide range of key topics, including the importance of the U.S. Merchant Marine and House passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Pictured at the meetings, clockwise from upper left are: U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (left) with SIU VP Gulf Coast Dean Corgey; U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie and MTD President Michael Sacco (who also is president of the SIU); some of the board members and guests; and Gen. Norton Schwartz, commander, U.S. Transportation Command and MTD President Sacco. Coverage begins on page 3 and continues on pages 11-14. Paul Hall Center Adds Liquefied Gas Simulator SIU-Crewed Cape Washington Saluted for Latest Mission The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education has added a state-of-the-art liquefied gas (LG) cargo simulator. The simulator offers comprehensive training in LG familiarization, LG specialization and LG safety. Below, instructor Jim Shaffer (standing) helps student Nicholas Bridges use the simulator. Page 6. Following a recent deployment supporting American troops in Iraq, the Cape Washington early last month arrived in snowy Baltimore. QMED George Murphy (below right) was among the crew members commended by the U.S. Maritime Administration for their service. The ship is operated by SIU-contracted Crowley Liner Services. Page 24 (back page). TWIC Fees Published House Passes EFCA Page 2 Page 5 WWII Remembrance Page 10 �41545_P01-5_7_14_18_19x:2007-March 3/27/2007 2:15 PM Page 2 TSA Publishes TWIC Fees President’s Report Working for Working Families Both at the Maritime Trades Department executive board meetings last month and the AFL-CIO executive council meetings that followed, I joined with many other union presidents and other labor officials in helping re-focus and define the key goals of our movement. This is a constant, necessary exercise that helps ensure we’re all on the same page. On the surface, it usually involves routine procedures like adopting resolutions or passing policy statements. But those declarations are just the tip of the iceberg. They’re summaries that reflect detailed plans and deep commitments by our Michael Sacco unions, our state federations and central labor councils and other bodies dedicated to improving the way of life enjoyed by working families. Taking part in those meetings, it can be a lot to digest. Whether we’re tackling maritime issues like the Jones Act and the Maritime Security Program, or broader subjects such as health care and the right organize, it is important work that requires serious attention, planning and action. Nevertheless, a couple of the newest statements that jumped out at me were ones that covered the basics. One was an MTD statement about “outsourcing.” When we first heard that term many years ago, it probably didn’t hold much meaning. Today, of course, we know it’s a dirty word. Outsourcing is a tricky way of describing job losses, lower wages and disappearing benefits. It means class warfare as companies send good middle-class jobs overseas, all in the name of greater profits for CEOs and stockholders. In part, outsourcing explains why we hear rosy reports about the overall economy, while at the same time struggling homeowners try to decide between paying their electric bill and refilling their prescriptions. Outsourcing has cost millions of middle-class workers the livelihood for which they trained. Many of the first factory workers caught up in outsourcing went back to school for new jobs they were told are better suited for the global economy. They took classes to learn about computers and new work in that field. They were part of the high-tech boom of the mid- and late 1990s. Then a not-so-funny thing happened. Companies discovered that those jobs could be outsourced, too. And what advice is being given to those who have been outsourced a second time? Get over losing your job and train for one in the new global economy. It’s a grim picture but not one totally without hope. For instance, you may have read or heard about the fact that when America West completed its takeover of US Airways, the new company’s top officials realized that outsourced overseas call centers weren’t getting the job done. They reversed course and re-opened a call center in North Carolina. The MTD-affiliated Communications Workers represented the workers at the original call center and that union once again represents those women and men. The company noted it may cost more to pay the American workers, but it cost less overall because the job was done right the first time. At the risk of saying, “We told you so,” they could have saved themselves a lot of time and money by listening to those of us in the trade union movement in the first place. Sending jobs overseas to take advantage of workers in lands without labor laws is penny-wise but pound-foolish. Beyond that, it’s morally bankrupt. As we said in our MTD statement, “The great American and Canadian economies were built on the back of the middle class. These working men and women made the cars, appliances, clothing and other goods the world craved. It should be no different today. Companies deserve to make a profit, but the middle class deserves to reap their share of the rewards. They should not be cast aside as an expendable cost of business. They should be respected for what they can and do bring to a company’s bottom line.” In that same vein, the AFL-CIO executive council adopted a six-point plan to promote domestic job creation and keeping good jobs at home. Our position included that good-paying jobs with adequate health care and retirement benefits shouldn’t merely be goals—they should be realities in today’s America. We can get there by promoting true partnerships between labor, management and government. We can get there by ensuring that workers enjoy the fundamental freedom to join unions and by holding corporations accountable for their actions under our laws and standards. We can get there by protecting workers’ rights in all trade agreements and by rebuilding our manufacturing base. We can get there by providing important public services to all Americans, especially education for our children and care for those most in need. We can and will get there through solidarity and hard work. It’s a tall order, but I have no doubt the labor movement is up to the task. Volume 69, Number 4 The Federal Register dated March 20, 2007 includes a rule from the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration spelling out user fees for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential. The standard fee will be $137.50. The reduced fee for applicants who have completed a “prior comparable threat assessment” is $105.25. The text of the rule appears below. Mariners with a current z-card/merchant mariner document are eligible for the reduced-fee TWIC, but those individuals should note that such a credential may not be valid for the full five years. Rather, it will expire when the “threat assessment” on the z-card/merchant mariner document expires, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Mariners will have the option of applying for a standard-fee TWIC, which would be valid for five years. In other TWIC news, the SIU is scheduled to host a meeting in early April at its headquarters building in Camp Springs, Md. involving the TWIC contractor, other maritime unions and other affected parties. The first part of the TWIC program itself was set to launch late last month, despite a lag in information on applying for the credential. Mariners will be required to carry a TWIC by September 2008. In the meantime a valid z-card along with a second form of identification will be considered as meeting the requirements of the TWIC program. For the latest information, visit the TSA’s TWIC web site at www.tsa.gov/twic and the Coast Guard web site http://homeport.uscg.mil/. Additionally, the union continues to post updates at www.seafarers.org, normally in the “Heard at Headquarters” and Seafarers LOG sections. Seafarers also are encouraged to check with their port agent from time to time for updates. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Transportation Security Administration ACTION: Rule. SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Coast Each year, in accordance with the SIU Constitution, rank-andfile Seafarers are elected by their fellow members to serve on a financial committee. The group is tasked with examining the union’s finances for the prior calendar year and then formally reporting its findings to the SIU secretary-treasurer. Subsequently, the committee’s report is read in all ports at the union’s monthly membership meetings and presented for membership approval. The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org 2 Seafarers LOG SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Background The Department of Homeland Security, through TSA and the U.S. Coast Guard, published a final rule on January 25, 2007 that establishes requirements for merchant mariners and workers who need unescorted access to secure areas of maritime facilities and vessels. These individuals must successfully complete a security threat assessment conducted by TSA and hold a TWIC that TSA issues in order to enter secure areas without escort. As required by sec. 520 of the 2004 DHS Appropriations Act, Pub. L. 108–90, TSA must collect user fees to cover the costs of implementing the TWIC program, including the cost to enroll all applicants, complete security threat assessments, provide an appeal and waiver process, and issue biometric credentials. Continued on page 14 Rank-and-File Financial Committee Approves Union’s Records for 2006 April 2007 The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 8990675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Deborah A. Hirtes; Associate Editor, Jim Guthrie; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2007 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. Guard, published a final rule on January 25, 2007 that establishes requirements for merchant mariners and workers who need unescorted access to secure areas of maritime facilities and vessels. These individuals must successfully complete a security threat assessment conducted by TSA and hold a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) in order to enter secure areas without escort. As required by statute, all TWIC applicants must pay a user fee to cover TSA’s costs to enroll applicants, complete security threat assessments, and issue biometric credentials. With this notice, we announce the user fees as follows: The total standard fee for a TWIC applicant is $137.25 and the reduced fee for applicants who have completed a prior comparable threat assessment is $105.25. DATES: Effective March 20, 2007. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christine Beyer, Office of the Chief Counsel, TSA–2, Transportation Security Administration, 601 South 12th Street, Arlington, VA 22202–4220; telephone (571) 227–2657; facsimile (571) 227–1380; e-mail Christine.Beyer@dhs.gov. Last month, seven Seafarers fulfilled this constitutional mandate by reviewing the SIU’s financial records for the year 2006. The committee found those records in good order. Serving on the committee were ABs Jerry Costello, Kim M. Brown, Nick Milosevic and Chris Nardone, QMED/Electrician Dave Sexton and Stewards Jerome Davis and Samuel Raines. “We did a thorough review and found everything in good shape,” said Costello, who chaired the committee. “The committee consisted of a good group of rank-and-file members and they all did very well.” In its report, the committee wrote, “We find that the Headquarters of the Union is taking all steps possible to safeguard Union funds and to see that the disbursements of the Union are in accordance with the authority delegated to them and that, at the same time, there is a striving effort to increase day-to-day efficiency of our operation.” The committee worked at SIU headquarters during the first full week of March. Article X, Section 14-c of the SIU Constitution spells out the duties of the annual financial committee as well as rules and procedures for electing the committee. At right, members who served on the financial committee are pictured with SIU officials last month at union headquarters. Standing from left are Assistant VP Ambrose Cucinotta, AB Nick Milosevic, AB Kim M. Brown, AB Jerry Costello, Recertified Steward Jerome Davis, QMED/ Electrician Dave Sexton, Steward/Baker Samuel Raines, AB Chris Nardone and SecretaryTreasurer David Heindel. In photo above, committee members near the end of their review. April 2007 �41545_P01-5_7_14_18_19x:2007-March 3/27/2007 2:16 PM Page 3 U.S. Fleet’s Importance, Labor’s Vitality in Focus at MTD Meetings Buoyed by strong words of support from guest speakers and news that the U.S. House of Representatives had passed a key labor-backed bill, the Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO executive board meetings March 1-2 in Las Vegas were characterized by great energy and wellfounded optimism. Representatives from Congress, the administration, the military, the maritime industry and the labor movement addressed the board. Most discussed the U.S. Merchant Marine’s ongoing role in bolstering national and economic security. Many talked about grassroots political action and how it has helped put the labor movement in better position to promote a pro-worker agenda. Additionally, the guest speakers and MTD President Michael Sacco, who also serves as president of the SIU, examined other important topics including promoting U.S.-flag LNG vessels See pages 11-14 for full coverage of the MTD meetings and U.S. crews; the U.S. Maritime Security Program; domestic shipbuilding; the Transportation Worker Identification Card program and its related Merchant Mariner Qualification Credential initiative; port dredging; infrastructure development; container taxes; keeping good jobs in the U.S.; MTD President Michael Sacco (right) welcomes AFL-CIO SecretaryTreasurer Richard Trumka. Good News Comes in Threes: OSG Orders Jones Act ATBs The unprecedented Jones Act fleet expansion by SIUcontracted Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG), which commenced in April 2005, continues full speed ahead with the recent announcement of additional vessel orders. The New York-headquartered conglomerate on March 6 announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to build three new articulated tug barges (ATBs) for service in the Jones Act market. Each of the new ATBs will boast a 290,000-barrel capacity and be connected to a different 12,000 horsepower tugboat. The units carry individual price tags of $90 million and are slated for delivery from late 2009 through late 2010. Bender Shipbuilding & Repair Co., Inc., in Mobile, Ala. will build the tugboats while its affiliated company, Florida’s Tampa Bay Shipbuilding & Repair Company, will construct the barges. These latest vessel orders come on the heels of, and in addition to, previous orders for three new 335,000-barrel April 2007 ATBs by OSG. Those vessels, which will come from the same builders, will be delivered this year and into 2008. Additionally, OSG officials in February announced that they had signed an agreement in principle under which Aker Philadelphia Shipyard will construct up to six additional Veteran-Class product tankers. This agreement calls for three ships, includes options for three more and came in the wake of a 2005 agreement which had Aker building 10 Veteran-Class OSG tankers with deliveries to be complete in 2010. OSG’s diversified U.S.-flag fleet offers unique, flexible benefits to customers who require different transport options within the U.S. Jones Act market. According to OSG, the three new ATBs will add 148,200 deadweight tons to the company’s U.S.-flag fleet. Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. is one of the largest publicly traded tanker companies in the world. the Employee Free Choice Act (passed in the House on March 1); support for U.S. troops; trade agreement standards; cabotage laws and more. The MTD consists of 24 international unions (including the SIU) and 19 port maritime councils in the United States and Canada representing approximately 5.5 million working men and women. In order of appearance, the following people addressed the executive board: U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton; Gen. Norton Schwartz, commander, U.S. Transportation Command; Alaska Tanker Co. President and CEO Anil Mathur; Lake Carriers’ Association President James Weakley; U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Devon Brennan; U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (DMiss.); AFL-CIO SecretaryTreasurer Richard Trumka; Lt. Gen. Robert Dail, director, Defense Logistics Agency; U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (DHawaii); and U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.). In his opening remarks, Sacco pointed to orders for new U.S.flag ships to be constructed in Philadelphia and San Diego, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley mixed in some humorous comments along with serious remarks about labor-backed candidates and their responsibilities to advance the interests of America’s working families. MTD President Michael Sacco is seated at right. respectively, as representative of the progress than can be made by MTD affiliates working together. “That’s what I call great news,” he said, while also acknowledging there have been some rough spots along the way. “Union workers building unioncrewed, American-owned, American-flag ships.” SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez (right) is pictured with Lt. Gen. Robert Dail, director of the Defense Logistics Agency. Powell, Ware Appointed To SIU Assistant VP Slots Two SIU officials recently were selected for appointment to the office of assistant vice president. They are Archie Ware, formerly the port agent in Jacksonville, Fla., and Bryan Powell, who previously worked as port agent in Tacoma, Wash. Ware was appointed to the post of SIU assistant vice president for contracts and contracts enforcement while Powell was named SIU assistant vice president of the West Coast. Ware replaces the late Brother Steve Judd who passed away in March 2006; Powell fills the slot vacated by former Asst. VP West Coast Don Anderson who retired in October. Ware embarked on his career with the Seafarers in 1978, joining in the port of New York. The Brooklyn, N.Y. native sailed in all three shipboard departments but eventually chose the deck department, earning his AB ticket in 1982. He completed bosun recertification at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in 1994. Prior to assuming duties as port agent in Jacksonville in 2005, he served in the same capacities at the ports of Houston and San Francisco. “I would like to thank the Bryan Powell Archie Ware entire union membership for everything they have done for me and my family over the years,” Ware said. “I consider everyone in the SIU as my family.” Powell launched his career with the SIU in late 1993 in the port of Piney Point, Md. After graduating from the unlicensed apprentice program at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center, Powell was ready to experience life at sea. His initial years were spent in the engine department; he later moved into the steward department where he sailed for the next six years. During this time, Powell advanced to the rating of steward/baker and in 1999 decided to upgrade his skills at the Paul Hall Center. It was at that junc- ture that he came ashore to work as a union official. Since that time, Powell has worked as a union representative in various ports, including headquarters, Piney Point, Houston, Jacksonville and Wilmington. In 2002, he was appointed port agent in Tacoma. He remained in that post until being tapped for appointment to his current position. “I was honored to receive this appointment, and greatly appreciate the confidence and support I have received from President Mike Sacco, the executive board and the membership,” Powell said. “It is an honor to serve the union.” Powell is working on the completion of his MBA degree from the University of Phoenix. Seafarers LOG 3 �41545_P01-5_7_14_18_19:2007-March 3/23/2007 2:30 PM Page 4 SIU’s Vincenzo Appointed To State Labor Committee SIU Safety Director Joe Vincenzo recently was appointed to the Washington State Labor Council’s Education, Training and Apprenticeship Committee. Vincenzo, based at the SIU hall in Tacoma, Wash., is scheduled to serve a three-year term on the committee ending Dec. 31, 2009. The council is affiliated with the AFL-CIO. The committee meets quarterly, in conjunction with Washington State Apprenticeship and Training Council meetings in various locations around the state. The committee concentrates on public and vocational education and statewide apprenticeship programs. Vincenzo started sailing with the SIU in 1991 in the port of Honolulu as a member of the engine department. His first vessel was the cruise ship Constitution. He sailed with American Hawaii Cruises until June 1995 when he returned to the University of Massachusetts in Boston. After completing his bache- SIU Tacoma Safety Director Joe Vincenzo lor’s degree, Vincenzo worked as a legal manager for a few years before returning to sea in 2000. He most recently sailed as a QMED aboard ASMEA’s Jack Lummus, then came ashore in 2003 to work for the union. The Washington State Labor Council represents and provides services for hundreds of local unions and trade councils throughout Washington state. Its core programs are legislative advocacy, political action, communications and media relations, and assistance with organizing campaigns. Notice Anthrax Immunization Program Resumption On March 7, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense issued a memo directing the immediate resumption of the Anthrax Vaccine Immunization Program. The SIU has been informed that, effective immediately, the U.S. Military Sealift Command is resuming anthrax immunizations for personnel embarked on MSC vessels, including civilian and contract mariners, until further notice. Seafarers are advised to check with their port agent for additional information. Retired Matson President Mulholland Dies at 65 Charles Bradley Mulholland III, 65, former president and chief executive officer of Seafarers-contracted Matson Navigation Co., died Feb. 20 in Oakland, Calif., from complications of cancer. He was 65. “Brad Mulholland had a remarkable career with Matson,” said James Andrasick, president and CEO of Matson, who succeeded Mulholland. “His achievements were impressive and far-reaching. Equally impressive, Brad had a warm, personable style that touched everyone he knew. He was always ready and eager to share his vast knowledge of our industry and he had a natural gift as a teacher and mentor.” Mulholland was respected and liked by SIU officials and members who knew him. He was a fourth-generation Californian and was known as C.B. or Brad. 4 Seafarers LOG He was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Seal Beach, Calif. After graduating from the University of Southern California in 1965 with a bachelor’s degree in economics, the selfproclaimed “surf bum” went to work at Matson’s offices in Wilmington, Calif. as an assistant booking clerk. Mulholland rose through the ranks of the San Francisco-based shipping line and was promoted to head of the freight division in 1979. He became president of the company’s terminal subsidiary in 1986. Some four years later in 1990, Mulholland was named president of Matson; he became CEO in 1992. By the time he retired in 2004 Mulholland was executive vice president of Alexander and Baldwin (A&B), Matson’s parent company based in Honolulu. He later was board vice chairman of Matson SIU members and officers aboard the LTC John U.D. Page are pictured with a plaque signifying the “Constant Care Award” for safe operations. SIU-Crewed Page Honored Crew Recognized for Consistently Safe Operations The SIU-crewed LTC John U.D. Page recently was recognized for its outstanding record of safe operations. The Page is part of the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command fleet and is operated by Seafarerscontracted Maersk Line, Limited (MLL), which is based in Norfolk, Va. The honor, the “Constant Care Award,” was established last year to recognize vessels within the MLL fleet that have operated for at least five years without a lost time accident (LTA). According to the company, the award is named after part of a 1946 quote from Maersk founder A.P. Moller, who said, “No loss should hit us which can be avoided with constant care.” It also serves to focus ongoing attention on safety. Maersk reported that on Jan. 28, 2007, the award formally was presented to the Page by Port Engineer Pablito Pakingan while the vessel was at anchor in Diego Garcia, British East Indian Ocean Territory. Captain Kurt Breitfeller, the ship’s master, accepted the award on behalf of the vessel’s crew and officers. The captain challenged his crew to move forward with this safety culture and instill it on each and every vessel on which they serve in the future, according to a written communications from Navigation as well as a director of both companies. Mulholland’s career was marked with new and innovative initiatives, including pioneering the concept of ocean carriers leasing and managing their own terminals to improve shipping services. Matson moved to an “open-top” configuration of its ships during Mulholland’s tenure as a senior executive, according to Honolulu’s Pacific Business News, and the company’s intermodal division, today called Matson Integrated Logistics, was nurtured under his management. “Customers today want more than shipping,” Mulholland told the publication during a 2002 interview when Matson’s logistics operation expanded. “This gives our customers more reasons to use us. It also gives us another chance to make money.” In 1999, he led a joint venture between Matson and Stevedoring Services of America (SSA Marine), a marine terminal operator and stevedore company. The company combined port operations on the West Coast and con- The LTC John U.D. Page the company. The Page is one of two ammunition ships operated by Maersk for MSC. Of course, other Seafarers who sailed aboard the Page during the previous five years also share in the credit, but those on board the vessel when the award was presented were: Bosun Jerry Sobieraj, ABs Eugene Evans, Oleg Pankratov, Jeffrey Pearce, Stephen Snapp, Steve Wilson, Russell Luther and Timothy Heil, QMEDs Carlos Perez and Kevin McArdell, QMED/Electrician Ronnie Day, Steward/Baker Joseph Jones, Chief Cook Gary Ramirez and GUDEs Saeed Alahmadi and Anthony Moore. tinues to be successful today. “He was passionate about Matson and his service to Hawaii,” said Jon Hemingway, chief executive officer of SSA Marine, who has been friends with Mulholland for 16 years. “He was a progressive thinker and a change agent in his industry and company.” Mulholland also exuded integrity, and was straightforward and honest throughout his career, Hemingway said, adding that Mulholland always treated co-workers and service providers with respect, no matter what position they held. In 1996, Mulholland received the Admiral of the Ocean Sea Award from the United Seamen’s Service. He also served as an industry spokesman on key issues such as the Jones Act and the U.S. Merchant Marine’s importance to national and economic security. Mulholland was a lifetime member of the National Defense Transportation Association and served on the boards of the Pacific Maritime Association, the Brad Mulholland was respected throughout the maritime industry. San Francisco Bay Area Council and the National Maritime Museum Association in San Francisco. He also served for 10 years on the Mainland Distribution Committee of the A&B Foundation, the company’s charitable giving arm. Mulholland is survived by his wife, Leslie, and two grown children, Sara and Mark. Funeral services were private. April 2007 �41545_P01-5_7_14_18_19:2007-March 3/23/2007 2:30 PM Page 5 House Passes Employee Free Choice Act The U.S. House of Representatives, following more than five hours of historic debate, on March 1 passed H.R. 800, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA). The act requires employers to recognize a union when a majority of workers sign up for representation—a procedure that would eliminate many of the delays and illegal employer abuses that routinely happen in the current union election process. The EFCA also increases the penalties for employers who violate worker rights and provides for the arbitration of first contracts if the employer and union fail to reach agreement after a year of bargaining. The measure passed by a margin of 241-185 with bipartisan support. Labor leaders and congressional supporters hailed the vote as the most important labor law reform legislation in 70 years, an answer to the declining fortunes of middle-class workers and the growing income divide. AFLCIO President John Sweeney said the House vote “…marks a momentous turning point in the growing movement to restore our nation’s middle class. Today, the voices of tens of millions of working people who deserve the right to make a free choice to bargain for a better life have been heard and heeded on Capitol Hill. Because of today’s vote, the future looks a little brighter to all Americans who have watched corporations celebrate record profits, but have themselves been shut out of the party, left with stagnant wages and facing soaring costs. “A union card is the single best ticket into the middle class and, thanks to the Employee Free Choice Act, working people may finally have the chance to be part of a union,” the AFL-CIO president concluded. “Congress today has recognized that collective bargaining is critical in this democracy as it is in every other democracy around FINAL NOTICE Economic Pride Adjustments Crew members employed aboard the vessels named below at any time during the specified dates may be due an Economic Price Adjustment (EPA), as per stipulations in the respective agreements with the ship operators which existed at that time. To verify employment, please forward copies of discharges or pay vouchers to the contracts department at the union’s headquarters: 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Members writing to the contracts department should include their current address. Upon receipt of the employment verification, monies due, if any, will be processed and sent to the address specified in the letter mailed to the contracts department. Please note that the dates listed below—from the late 1980s—are correct. The union published multiple notices concerning the EPA beginning in 1989 and received responses from many but not all eligible crew members. AMSEA MV 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez January 1, 1987-December 31, 1989 MV 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo PFC Dwayne T. Williams MV Jack Lummus MV William R. Button January 1, 1988-December 31, 1989 MAERSK MV 1st Lt. Alex Bonnyman MV PVT Harry Fisher MV Cpl. Louis Hauge Jr. MV PFC William Baugh MV PFC James Anderson January 1, 1988-December 31, 1989 OCEAN SHIPHOLDING MV Paul Buck MV Samuel Cobb 1987, 1988 and up to March 31, 1989 MV Gus Darnell January 1, 1989-March 31, 1989 MV Lawrence Gianella MV Richard Matthiesen 1988 and up to March 31, 1989 WATERMAN Sgt. Matej Kocak Pfc. Eugene Obregon Maj. Stephen W. Pless January 1, 1989-December 31, 1989 Please note this is the final notice that will appear and any outstanding claims must be received by June 30, 2007 to be evaluated. April 2007 the world,” said Larry Cohen, chair of the AFL-CIO Executive Council Committee on Organizing. Cohen, who also is president of the Communications Workers of America, continued, “Passage today of the Employee Free Choice Act by the House of Representative is a first step toward restoring the core of the preamble of the National Labor Relations Act passed 70 years ago that commits our government to promote collective bargaining in the workplace, not an endless legal battle with management declaring war on their own employees.” “The Employee Free Choice Act puts democracy back in the workplace so the decision to join a union can be made by the workers the union would represent,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (DCalif.) told colleagues. “This is the standard right that we routinely demand for workers around the world. We should accept no less a standard here in America.” The EFCA has strong bipartisan support with 233 co-sponsors. Some House members made it clear that the purpose of the bill was not pro-union or pro-business, but pro-worker. During the debate on the House floor, House Speaker Pelosi said, “Democrats believe we must make our economy fairer. We took the first step in our first 100 hours, with a strong bipartisan vote to increase the minimum wage. And today, we take the next step, with a strong bipartisan vote to ensure that America’s working families have the right to organize. “The right to organize means a better future for them, and for all of us,” Pelosi continued. “It means a future that is economically and socially just, a future where the workplace is safe, a future where our retirement is secure. Many of the benefits all workers enjoy today . . . are the result of the struggles of organized labor. Their victories have not just benefited union workers, but all workers. Unions have helped make America the most prosperous, most productive nation in the world, with a vibrant middle class so essential to our democracy.” A large segment of America’s business community attacked the bill and lobbied heavily against it. Some called it the “Employee Intimidation Act” and others falsely claimed that the EFCA would eliminate the secret ballot provision that’s currently in place. Rep. Phil Hare (D-Ill.), who worked for 13 years in a gar- ment factory, called the allegations a smokescreen. The real issue, he said, is whether workers can have the opportunity to improve their lives and the future for their children. “I would not be here today as a member of the United States Congress if it were not for my union,” he said. “My union helped me send my kids to college. It helped me buy a house…. But sadly more and more Americans are seeing these opportunities slip away.” The EFCA is a key priority for working families. The AFL-CIO sent more than 5 million e-mail messages to online activists on the Employee Free Choice Act. During a week of action, workers in more than 100 cities met with members of Congress and community leaders to push for passage of the act. Actions included conferences, worker roundtables, rallies and other gatherings, with workers and union and community leaders meeting with at least 130 members of Congress. The legislation now will move to the U.S. Senate where it faces an uncertain future. U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) said he will introduce the bill in the Senate soon, where it will likely face a filibuster. Chaotic Runaway-Flag Saga Reinforces ITF’s Effectiveness The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is worth its weight—if not significantly more—in gold for mariners around the world. That point was driven home once again in February when ITF inspectors in England successfully brought an end to a tense and potentially hostile situation by negotiating the payment of back wages owed crewmen aboard the Merchant Brilliant. The Latvian-owned, Jamaican-registered RO/RO vessel on Feb. 20 was arrested in Belfast, Ireland when ITF inspectors discovered that the vessel owners had failed to make good on a previous payment of more than $150,000 that in December 2006 had been ordered by the Irish Court. The chain of events that followed this discovery would keep many in the worldwide maritime community anxious if not outright jittery for the next several days. While in port, crew members claimed they were owed $200,000 in back pay and sought assistance from the ITF. Irish ITF Inspectors Ken Fleming and Bill Anderson dispatched to the vessel in hopes of negotiating a speedy settlement. The resulting talks between the ITF and the owners of the vessel, ADG Ship Management SIA, ended in dispute. ADG insisted that the previous wages already had been paid while the federation argued otherwise. Norfolk Lines, the company that had chartered the Merchant Brilliant for its freight services, intervened and requested that the crew continue its voyage despite not having being paid. Under protest, the crew—a combination of 20 Russians and Latvians— agreed to leave the Belfast area and sail the vessel to Heysham, England on condition that Fleming and Anderson accompanied them. Upon its arrival at Heysham, however, Norfolk Lines took the Merchant Brilliant off of charter and completely disassociated itself with ADG. Consequently, the harbor master insisted that the Merchant Brilliant leave port to make way for other vessels. After complying with the harbor master’s directives and sailing some three miles out from port, the vessel anchored. Talks then resumed between the ITF inspectors and two owner-appointed Russian representatives. On two occasions, the discussions again proved fruitless. At that juncture, according to reports, 10 of the crew members barricaded themselves into a room after the Russian representatives made threats against them, their homes and families. ITF Inspectors Fleming and Anderson joined the crew, one source said, feeling that their presence might help protect them. An agreement on the back wage issue finally was reached at around noon the following day (Feb. 21), but the promised cash was nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, while negotiations had been ongoing, seven of the crew had thrown in the towel, stating that they had had enough. According to Fleming, they were mainly the most recently hired, were owed less and largely were putting on acts because of a mixture of the intimidation to which they had been subjected and their belief that the company was never going to pay them, regardless of what they promised. The remaining crew members were told that if they wanted to get paid, they’d have to return to Belfast, not Heysham where they were first told to collect it. They were then told that another vessel would fetch their money and that it would be in Heysham. Finally, they were told that the owners would return the following day and pay up themselves. Fleming, however, discovered that the owners a day earlier already had remitted the money and further that it was aboard the Merchant Brilliant. Despite its less-than-stellar record of keeping promises in the past, ADG on the afternoon of Feb. 22 finally made good on its obligation and paid the crew members their wages. It took place while the Merchant Brilliant was en route to port in Heysham. Fleming, who witnessed the payoff, said, “This is the first major step in settling this ugly dispute and putting it behind us. The next step is to get all the crew members on their way home.” The crew was flown to Russia on Feb. 23 aboard flights arranged by the ITF. Most of them departed England during the early morning hours; one flew out at around 2 p.m. “This case is over,” said Fleming. “The crew is safe and homeward bound.” According to the British Rail Maritime and Transport Union, a similar dispute arose with ADG in November 2006. The Merchant Brilliant’s sister ship, the Merchant Bravery, was detained in Dublin by the Irish High Court until arrears were paid to the crew. Crew members involved in that episode, however, told ITF inspectors that they were later forced to give the money back. The Merchant Bravery no longer operates in Irish waters. Seafarers LOG 5 �41545_P6_8-13_15-17_20-24x:2007-March 3/27/2007 2:20 PM Page 6 Training Director Eglinton Retires Duties Greatly Evolved During 34 Years in Piney Point When Bill Eglinton first drove to the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. for a job interview, he pulled off the road twice to call and ask if he’d missed the turnoff. He was told to keep driving south. That happened in early 1973, shortly before Eglinton became an instructor at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education (then known as the Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship). Since then, the school has grown tremendously—and, for better or worse, many of the pastoral areas nearby have given way to development. One could say Eglinton’s duties underwent an even more radical expansion and change since those first days as an instructor. Between then and his official retirement last month, he became a respected and wellknown representative for U.S. mariners on numerous high-level domestic and international maritime bodies. At the school, he most recently served as director of training—a position he filled since 1980. His commitment to the union, school and industry in general didn’t end upon his retirement. With mariners facing (among other upcoming challenges) the new TWIC and merchant mariner credential programs, Eglinton will remain available for freelance assignments—a development sincerely appreciated by SIU officials. “Bill’s always been a good guy and done a good job, but I Newly retired Director of Training Bill Eglinton says his fondest memories “are from teaching. I truly loved it.” think what really needs to be said is that his duties went far beyond being a vocational director,” stated Paul Hall Center Vice President Don Nolan, who worked with Eglinton for 34 years. “When you think of all those acronyms—MERPAC, NMSAC, ITF and many others —you get an idea of how much he has meant to the school and the union, because he’s served on all of them. We wish him the best, but he’s really not going away. No one could fill those shoes.” SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel often worked with Eglinton on international maritime matters. “He was very instrumental in STCW negotiations, protecting our seafarers during those talks,” Heindel recalled. “He did a great job of educating not only our member- QMEDs Receive Full Books During the February membership meeting in Piney Point, Md., QMEDs Scott Spilman and Antoine Rainey received their full union books. In photo above, SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez administers the oath to Spilman (left) and Rainey. Pictured in the group photo below are (from left) VP Contracts George Tricker, President Michael Sacco, Spilman, Rainey, SecretaryTreasurer David Heindel, Tellez and VP Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi. ship but the U.S. public in general about compliance. Bill also played a big role looking out for U.S. mariners right after 9/11. Of course, he helped many Seafarers upgrade their skills throughout the years.” Assistant Director of Training J.C. Wiegman pointed to the school’s progress under Eglinton as evidence of his effectiveness. “The accomplishments are many, from tanker safety programs to the TRB (training record book, which Eglinton developed) and the implementation of STCW,” Wiegman noted. “In between regulatory requirements, there were cruise ships and militarycontracted company needs that were met, plus inland programs. The school upgraded by adding a fire fighting facility, full mission bridge simulation, engine room simulation and supporting programs just to name a few of his many achievements as director of training. I wish him fair winds and following seas.” Born in Claremont, N.H., Eglinton graduated from the Calhoon MEBA Engineering School in 1972 and later earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland in 1983. Since 1991, he has served as a member of U.S. delegations to International Maritime Organization meetings conducted in London. He was appointed by U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to serve on the Coast Guard’s Maritime and Homeland Security task group. He also has authored marine engineering books. A retired member of the U.S. Naval Reserves, Eglinton continues serving on working groups with the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the Coast Guard’s National Maritime Security Advisory Committee and (separately) Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (MERPAC), among other endeavors. At the Paul Hall Center, he was instrumental in the school’s obtaining degree-granting status (associate’s degrees in nautical science and marine engineering, respectively). He also developed or assisted in putting together the School Adds Liquefied Gas Simulator A cutting-edge liquefied gas (LG) cargo simulator has been installed at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. Developed by Transas, a highly regarded company, the simulator offers comprehensive training in LG familiarization, LG specialization and LG safety. “The simulator is a competency- and assessmentbased training system,” noted J.C. Wiegman, assistant director of training at the Paul Hall Center, which is located in Piney Point, Md. “What this means for students is they will learn or hone the ability to load and unload a vessel with liquid gas cargo. This simulator has a lot of features. It’ll help them with system alignment, cargo-pump operation, loading and discharge alignment, the ballast system, inert gas system and all the auxiliary systems necessary to complete the evolution, whatever the operation may be. It also will help students understand the volatility of the cargo.” The LG simulator’s components are wide-ranging but thorough. For instance, there is a segment covering load-control systems with sub-categories as follows: trim, draft, heel and stability; shearing force; bending moment calculation; cargo and ballast-level calculation; oil temperature effect on ullage (unfilled space in a container of liquid); and trend operation. When utilizing the simulator to study cargo plan The simulator, developed by Transas, incorporates all the newest technology. 6 Seafarers LOG center’s curriculums for LNG ships, welding, refrigeration, diesel and third assistant engineer, to name but a few. “My most cherished memories are from teaching,” Eglinton said. “I truly loved it. Watching students suddenly get that ‘Bingo! I got it!’ look on their faces cannot be replaced by any other line of work.” Reflecting on his career, Eglinton mentioned many challenges and some daunting tasks. But there were lighthearted moments, too. His funniest experience took place in the early 1990s while teaching crowd control aboard an American Hawaii Cruises vessel. “I went aboard in Portland, Ore. and had five days to instruct the unlicensed crew—two classes of 25 per day,” he remembered. “On the last day, I walked into the auditorium and there were only about 16 people seated for the class. I did all the lectures first and then started the roleplaying—how to handle drunken passengers, hysterical parents looking for their children, etc. “When I asked for a volunteer to role-play an inebriated passenger, immediately there were 16 falling-down-drunk students in front of me. I then asked for someone to be a distraught parent, and promptly had 16 people giving Academy Award performances. They suddenly stopped upon seeing my bewildered look, as I’m looking around for the Candid Camera, and laughingly explained that they were the ship’s entertainment crew: actors, actresses, singers, band members. Yeah, they got me!” Instructor Jim Shaffer (standing) assists student Mervin Cruzat on the new liquefied gas simulator. overviews, students also will learn about cargo operations planning, cargo type control, cargo data control and alarms in abnormal situations. Additional topics that will be taught by using the simulator include the following (among others): Ballast system (ballast operation, gravity flow, flow animation and valve dynamics); after-peak part of cargo system (discharge, loading, pump activity, striping pumps and emergency procedures); terminal connections (discharge, loading, flow animation, terminal connection, berth, cargo type selection and emergency procedures); inert gas plant (inert gas generation; gas cooling, drying and blowing; gas freeing operation and auxiliary operation); inert gas distribution line (tank inerting, in-tank atmosphere control, and pressure breaker operation); load control system (shearing force, bending moment calculation, cargo and ballast level calculation, oil temperature effect on ullage, and trend operation); cargo plan overview (cargo operations planning, cargo type control, cargo data control, and alarm in abnormal situations); and forepick part of cargo system (discharge, loading, flow animation, pump activity, striping pumps and emergency procedures). Current Paul Hall Center classes that can take advantage of the new simulator include tankerman assistant-LG and tankerman-PIC-LG. April 2007 �41545_P01-5_7_14_18_19x:1545p00 3/27/2007 2:18 PM Page 7 SIU Stewards’ Recipe for Success Features Hard Work, Persistence been sailing for 26 years and has gone around the world twice. “I want to personally thank the SIU and the school for giving me this opportunity to come and attend the recertification course,” he said. “I’d like to give a special thanks to President Michael Sacco and the staff around him for the hard work they do. Without them we would not be as strong as we are now. To continue to be strong, we have to perform our jobs as professional sailors. “To the trainees,” he concluded, “always do your part and learn to work together as a team. Without teamwork you will fail.” Wehr joined the SIU in 1992 and was a member of trainee class 502. “At that time, I was far away from home and looking for something different to do,” said Wehr, whose home port is Jacksonville, Fla. “After grading from Piney Point, they flew me to Singapore. To say the least, it opened my eyes to the true scope of the world around me.” He then offered his gratitude for his training experience. “This is a tremendous facility. Only through dedication, hard work and loyalty would it stand the test of time. So thanks to all who year in and out make this school the crowning jewel of the SIU.” After telling the trainees how fortunate he was to have had someone to teach him about the inner workings of the steward department and the history of the SIU, Wehr advised them that productivity on the job was key. “The bottom line is getting the job done, professionally and efficiently,” he said. “Effectively doing your jobs reflects well on our work force and our union. The steward recertification course, like most of the other classes offered at the Paul Hall Center, blends hands-on training with classroom instruction. Topics and training components include communications, computer lab, first aid and CPR, fire fighting, small arms training, sanitation, international maritime conventions and much more. As the students approached the culmination of their training, they met with representatives of the union’s various departments at headquarters, including the contracts department, Seafarers Plans and others. They also toured Washington, D.C. and visited the AFL-CIO and the Maritime Trades Department. Vernon Wallen Lewis Johansen Allan Bright Jimmie Reddick Graduates Credit Union, School for Facilitating Advancement Hard work, persistence and sacrifice all were key ingredients extolled by the union’s eight newest recertified stewards as they formulated their individual recipes for advancement up the food preparation and galley supervision ladder. Each of them reached their respective culinary apexes in the union last month when they graduated from the steward recertification course at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Stewards Allan Bright, Jerome Davis, Lewis Johansen, Mohamed Kamer, Jimmie Reddick, Vernon Wallen, Daniel Wehr and Emmanuel Zephyr each completed the program, a four-week curriculum considered top instruction for mariners in the steward department. Five of the eight briefly shared their experiences, respective backgrounds and perspectives on the class with rank-andfile members, upgraders and unlicensed apprentices during remarks at the March SIU membership meeting in Piney Point. The remaining three (Kramer, Reddick and Wallen) departed early and were not available to offer comments. While their details varied, each of the stewards expressed appreciation for how the union not only helped them find their niche, but also enabled them to earn a good living and provide for their families. They also credited the school for helping them advance in their ratings. Davis, who hails from New York, was the first to address those in attendance. “I began my Daniel Wehr Recertified stewards and SIU officials gather for photo at union headquarters in mid-February. Pictured from left to right are Vernon Wallen, Allan Bright, Jerome Davis, Jimmie Reddick, SIU President Michael Sacco, Emmanuel Zephyr, Mohamed Kamer, Daniel Wehr, Lewis Johansen, SIU VP Rene Lioeanjie and SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel. career in 1977 in Brooklyn with the former NMU,” he said. Davis, who still sails out of the port of New York, has upgraded at the school on two previous occasions. Leadership and its value was the single most important thing he learned from the course, he told fellow members. He also said the course enhanced his appreciation for discipline, teamwork and hard work. “Setting a good example for others is always important in our chosen profession,” Davis said. “And I think it’s important to take time out to share your life experiences with others, especially with unlicensed apprentices and upgraders. “I’ve seen a lot of my childhood friends fall by the wayside over the years,” he said, “I don’t want that to happen to any of you.” Davis concluded his remarks by thanking the SIU and NMU for keeping him “safe, out of trouble and (from) becoming a victim of the mean city streets” over the years. Davis also thanked SIU President Michael Sacco and his staff for recognizing “the importance of getting young as well as older people involved in a profession that yields great opportunities for a lifetime.” Bright joined the union 30 years ago in St Louis and graduated from trainee class 235. Stewards hone their skills at the Paul Hall Center’s culinary lab April 2007 “The SIU has been good to me over the years,” said Bright. “I have ups and down in my life, but knew I could always depend on the SIU to be there for me and get me a job. During my career, I have been on a lot of different ships from the old tankers to the most modern vessels in the fleet. “This whole experience of upgrading has been very educational to me,” Bright continued. “Everything from learning how contracts work to going to Washington D.C. and to headquarters to learn how SPAD works was very interesting.” Addressing the trainees, Bright said, “Things have changed a lot since I came into the union, but the demands are much the same. When you go out there, work hard, ask questions, have fun, save your money and donate to SPAD because it gets us jobs.” The SIU is the second career at sea for Johansen, whose home port is Tacoma, Wash. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he joined the union in 1991 in Seattle, Wash. “One of the careers is still going on and I hope it continues for a very long time,” he said. Johansen thanked the entire Paul Hall Center staff for his upgrading experience and what he learned. “My knowledge has been greatly enhanced and I will always value the things you taught me.” Johansen sent a special thanks to his wife and daughter, and to his son who is serving in Iraq. He concluded by asking all present to keep the people of New Orleans and the armed forces in Iraq in their prayers. Zephyr launched his career as a merchant mariner with NMU. “I think the merger of the NMU into the SIU was the best thing that ever happened to us,” he said. “Everything is much better now and the union is stronger. Zephyr, who sails out of Wilmington, Calif., said he has Seafarers LOG 7 �41545_P6_8-13_15-17_20-24x:1545p0 3/27/2007 2:25 PM Page 8 Government Services Division States Case in Hotel Dispute On Feb. 15 and 16, an arbitration hearing between the SIU Government Services Division and Military Sealift Fleet Support Command took place at the SIU hall in Norfolk, Va. The hearing signaled a continuation of union efforts to help ensure that CIVMARS aren’t required to stay in substandard hotels selected by MSC. Consistent with the normal schedule in arbitration hearings, a ruling isn’t expected until later this spring or summer. “This hearing was an example of the consistent hard work and dedication on the part of the SIU in looking after and aggressively defending the best interests of Government Services Division mariners,” said Bosun’s Mate William Bushey, who participated in the hearing. The following individuals also represented the union at the hearing: Assistant Vice President Government Services Chester Wheeler, SIU Tacoma Safety Director Joe Vincenzo, Patrolman Maurice Cokes, AB Denise Seaman and Union Counsel Deborah Kleinberg. Vice President Government Services Kermett Mangram assisted in the preparation for this matter. CIVMARS typically have to perform certain shoreside functions required by the agency as they rotate on and off ships. During those periods and as they get ready to accept a shipboard assignment, CIVMARS are required to stay at hotels selected Retired NMU President Shannon Wall Dies at 87 Shannon J. Wall, retired president of the National Maritime Union (NMU), passed away Feb. 2 at his home in Sequim, Wash. due to natural causes. He was 87. Wall served as NMU president from 1973 until his retirement in 1990. He was the union’s second president, succeeding Joseph Curran. In addition to advocating for a strong U.S.-flag fleet, he was very active in the long, ultimately successful fight to secure veterans’ status for U.S. mariners who sailed in World War II. “I worked with Shannon since 1959 and he was a personal friend,” noted SIU Vice President at Large René Lioeanjie, who served as president of the NMU from 1997 until that organization merged into the SIU’s Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District in 2001. “We started organizing in the federal service after President Kennedy signed the order allowing civil servants to join unions (in 1962). We also organized elsewhere.” Additionally, Lioeanjie recalled frequently working with Wall under the auspices of the International Transport Workers’ Federation. “He was a good person to Shannon J. Wall in 1987 work with,” Lioeanjie added. “Shannon was very suave, refined and intelligent. He always used to say, ‘I forgive but I don’t forget.’ I never heard him shouting or cursing…. We went all over the world together.” SIU Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, also an NMU official when the unions merged, worked with Wall from 1954 until Wall’s retirement. “For the most part he kept to himself, but he was intelligent and was respected,” Stewart said. “He knew what he was doing. He was responsible for by MSC. The dispute centers on the agency signing an agreement with a particular hotel in Norfolk. The union charged that the hotel posed substantial health and safety risks to the hundreds of civil service mariners who stayed there at any time during the period from Oct. 1, 2005 to Jan. 18, 2007. Some of those mariners had to stay at the hotel for up to eight weeks. During the hearing, the union noted, “The substantial hours worked aboard a vessel, the high operational tempo that CIVMARS must meet, the stress of the job, limited opportunities for liberty and long stretches of isolation all contribute to the need for CIVMARS to be in top physical many of our organizing campaigns, especially with the Military Sea Transportation Service” (the forerunner to today’s Military Sealift Command). Newspaper accounts of Wall’s life credited him with being politically active on behalf of the U.S. Merchant Marine. Among many other activities, he served on a high-level commission appointed by President Reagan to study and report on the merchant marine’s role in national defense. He also chaired the AFL-CIO Maritime Committee. Wall sailed as a mariner during World War II. He came ashore in 1951 to work as an NMU patrolman in San Francisco. He moved up through the ranks, including stops in San Pedro, Calif., Baltimore and New Jersey, and was elected the union’s national vice president in 1958. He was elected secretary-treasurer in 1966. As president, he was a driving force in the NMU’s controversial merger with District 1/MEBA in 1988. That merger was dissolved in 1993. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Lucy; two sons, Sean and Kevin; a daughter, Maureen Hope Wall; and three grandchildren. The family asks that memorials be sent to the United Seamen’s Service, 635 Fourth Ave., Ground Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11232. Promoting SIU, Maritime The union recently participated in the ninth annual maritime career day in Seattle sponsored by the Odyssey Maritime Discovery Center. SIU Representative Ryan Palmer (above) manned the SIU booth as upwards of 1,000 guests visited the center, located on the city’s central waterfront. Some of those guests are pictured at left. In photo above, left, Rich Berkowitz (left), director of the Pacific Coast office of the Transportation Institute, shares a discussion about U.S.-flag maritime employment opportunities with Odyssey Career Day participants. 8 Seafarers LOG Working together in preparation for the mid-February hearing in Norfolk are (seated, from left) VP Government Services Kermett Mangram, Assistant VP Chester Wheeler, Safety Director Joe Vincenzo, (standing) Bosun’s Mate William Bushey, Union Counsel Deborah Kleinberg, Patrolman Maurice Cokes and AB Denise Seaman. and mental condition prior to leaving for an assignment on a vessel. These are just some of the important reasons that the hotel assignment can make such a difference in personnel readiness.” The union charged that the hotel in question—the Days Inn Military Circle on Chambers Street in Norfolk—posed numerous health and safety problems, including reports of bedbugs, roaches and rats, rooms with mold, unsanitary housekeeping practices and unsafe surroundings. The union is requesting the arbitrator award a monetary remedy for CIVMARS required to stay at the Days Inn Military Circle. As of mid-March, as a result of the advocacy efforts of the union and East Coast CIVMARS, MSC has contracted with new hotels in Norfolk and New Jersey. East Coast CIVMARS will now be assigned to clean, safe and suitable hotels. Those lodgings meet the same standards as the hotels which house West Coast CIVMARS—a major union goal which has now been accomplished. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class John L. Beeman The USNS Ericsson (right), crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division, awaits the guided missile destroyer USS Hopper for an underway replenishment last September in the Pacific Ocean. The Ericsson recently earned an environmental award from MSC. USNS Ericsson CIVMARS Earn Environmental Award Members of the SIU Government Services Division sailing aboard the USNS John Ericsson helped earn an environmental award from the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC), the agency announced in late February. Ericsson crew members earned a 2006 Environmental Quality Small Ship award, noted Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Mullen. The 678-foot ship—recently operating out of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii—was crewed by 81 civil service mariners and a military detachment of 23 active-duty Navy sailors. The vessel’s crew was cited for its work in preventing pollution, ensuring readiness in responding to environmental issues, conserving resources and complying with environmental regulations. While the ship voluntarily met standards stricter than required by the Navy, it also ensured that each mariner received special training in environmental management; used environmentally friendly chemicals; and conducted monthly spill drills. As a result, in two years, the Ericsson transferred almost 82 million gallons of fuel in 353 separate fuelings at sea without a significant mishap. The Chief of Naval Operations Environmental Awards recognize ships, installations and individuals or teams for their environmental stewardship. As a result of this selection, the USNS Ericsson will compete in the Secretary of the Navy Environmental Awards, according to MSC. In a message to crew members, Mullen extended his personal congratulations and noted the winners “have demonstrated that our Navy has among the finest environmental programs in the world.” The award is scheduled to be presented at a ceremony in June in Washington, D.C. The USNS Ericsson is one of 14 fleet replenishment oilers that provide fuel to Navy combat ships and jet fuel for aircraft aboard aircraft carriers. April 2007 �41545_P6_8-13_15-17_20-24x:1545p0 3/27/2007 2:39 PM Page 9 Maritime Labor Mourns Loss of Tal Simpkins Talmage E. “Tal” Simpkins, who spent more than 50 years promoting both U.S. maritime labor and the entire seafaring community, died March 11 at Fairfax (Va.) Hospital due to injuries sustained in an auto accident the previous month. He was 79. Simpkins served the industry in many capacities, including as an official with the National Maritime Union beginning in 1970. At the time of his death, he was in his 18th year as president of United Seamen’s Service, an organization that provides health, welfare and recreational services to American and international mariners at eight overseas ports. In 2006, he had retired from his position as executive vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based Labor Management Maritime Committee. He also served for many years as the director of the AFLCIO Maritime Committee. SIU Vice President at Large René Lioeanjie (president of the NMU from 1997 until that organization merged into the SIU in 2001) remembered Simpkins as a versatile official with a penchant for organizing campaigns. He particularly cited Simpkins’ strong work in Panama, where he was instrumental in advancing workers’ rights. “He was a great person, and his death is a shock to me,” said Lioeanjie. “He was very wellknown and well-respected in Panama and throughout the rest of our industry. He was always supportive. My condolences go out to his family.” “He was a wonderful man who cared deeply about the maritime industry,” said SIU Government Services Representative Kate Hunt. “He was USNS Shugart Delivers Experimental Navy Ship The SIU-crewed USNS Shughart was diverted from its routine supply mission in early February to help the Navy’s Office of Force Transformation in moving the Stiletto, its experimental “M-ship,” from San Diego to Norfolk, Va. Designed and built by the Pentagon’s Office of Force Transformation to test the way riverine and coastal operations are conducted, the Stiletto is the first and largest carbon fiber ship built in the United States. The ship’s M-shape and lightweight hull give it the air of a stealth aircraft and make it ideal for navigating shallow waters to detect mines and support special operations missions. Since its launch in January 2005, the Stiletto has participated in joint military training off the coast of California. At 88 feet long and weighing 60 tons, the experimental trimaran is considered too small to make a transoceanic journey on its own power, so the Shughart’s cranes lowered the Stiletto onto specially designed steel supports that had previously been welded to the deck of the Military Sealift Command’s large, mediumspeed, roll-on/roll-off (LMSR) vessel. The supports were capped with soft wood to cradle the hull of the Stiletto during its transport over the ocean and through the Panama Canal. The complex operation also required that the Military Sealift Command build a spreader bar to link the Shughart’s two on-board cranes, which, working as a pair, allowed them to lift more than the 50-ton limit each crane could hoist on its own. “It’s exciting to do something that hasn’t been done before,” said Capt. Albert Earl Bergeron, the ship’s civilian master, as the piggy-backed ship departed Feb. 5 for Norfolk. “Our number one mission was to do the lift safely without causing any damage to the hull.” The USNS Shughart is one of 19 LMSRs owned and operated by the Military Sealift Command to provide afloat prepositioning of equipment and supplies in strategic areas around the world. there for some of the early fights and responsible for a lot of the positive legislation for the guys in the government fleet. Tal was around for a long time, and he truly helped advance the rights of American merchant seamen.” SIU Vice President at Large Charlie Stewart stated, “I hold Mr. Simpkins in the highest esteem. He was a good friend and a loyal part of our organization. He came there when things were rough, and he did an excellent job. He was a great guy—very helpful, very good for us.” John Bowers, president of the International Longshoreman’s Association, said, “Tal Simpkins generously gave of his expertise, time and true dedication to maritime labor during his half-century of commitment to the benefit of our industry. His voice in Washington will be missed as will his leadership of United Seamen’s Service during difficult years of transition.” A native of Goreville, Ill., Simpkins attended school in Illinois and in 1945 enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. After completing basic training at Parris Island, S.C., he received a fleet appointment to the United States Naval Academy in 1946, and was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps on November 26, 1947 He enrolled at the University of Maryland in 1948, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1952. Upon graduation, he worked in advertising Tal Simpkins is pictured in early 2006 attending MTD executive board meetings in San Diego. SIU VP René Lioeanjie is seated at his immediate right; SIU VP Charlie Stewart is at far left. and insurance, until joining the AFL-CIO Maritime Committee in 1956 In 2002, Simpkins was awarded a special United Seamen’s Service Admiral of the Ocean Sea Award (AOTOS) in recognition of his dedicated career benefiting American seafaring labor. In addition to his long commitment to USS, Simpkins served on the Military Sealift Command’s National Defense Executive Reserve Unit; was a member of the U.S. Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotiations and Trade Policy; was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve on the National Advisory Council on Continuing Education; and was a member of the U.S. delegation to the International Load Line Convention in 1966. He also was active on many local government boards in Prince George’s County, Md. for many years. Tal Simpkins is survived by his wife, Heidi. He was preceded in death in 1996 by his first wife, Irene Ann, whom he married in 1947. They had one son, Talmage E. Simpkins, Jr. (Buddy). In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be sent to United Seamen’s Service, 635 Fourth Ave., Ground floor, Brooklyn, NY 11232. Meeting with Political Allies in Austin SIU Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey recently traveled to Austin to attend the Texas AFL-CIO legislative meeting and reception. He also visited the state Capitol to discuss maritime issues. The legislature is currently in session until the end of May. With Corgey (at left in the two photos at left) are (top photo) Rodney Ellis (D), senator for the district in which the union hall is located and a good friend of the SIU, and (bottom photo) Senator John Whitmire (D), dean of the state Senate and an avid union supporter. Directly below with Corgey is Representative Alma Allen (D) of Houston, a great friend of labor. Although the operation was quite complex, it took just a little more than 90 minutes to move the experimental Navy ship from the water onto the deck of the SIU-crewed Shughart. April 2007 Seafarers LOG 9 �41545_P6_8-13_15-17_20-24qxp:2007-March 3/23/2007 2:38 PM Page 10 Recollections of the Merchant Marine in World War II Editor’s note: Retired Seafarer Albert Stimac was born and raised in northern Minnesota in an area north of Duluth known as the Iron Range. During World War II, workers in that region supplied more than 600,000 tons of iron ore for the war effort. Stimac grew up around unions, thanks in part to the National Labor Relations Act, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935. Stimac worked one season in the open-pit iron ore mines but was injured. He subsequently joined a friend headed toward the West Coast, where he secured employment at Boeing in a unionized pattern-makers shop. Stimac was too young to join the U.S. Armed Forces when the war broke out, so he went to the Pearl Harbor Navy shipyard and worked in the pattern-making department there for a year. He didn’t weigh enough to get into the service at first—but finally succeeded in shipping out. This is the first installment of his experiences in the merchant marine. They are the best recollections of his training and sea time from the end of 1943 to late 1945, so any inaccuracies in the details need not be brought to his attention. simple triple expansion steam engine. We never seemed to tie in what we learned on one piece to the complete operation of an engine room. When we started, we were informed that we would see it all come together in four, five or six weeks. It all depended on the person we were. Amazingly enough, they were right. Boy, was I proud when it hit me one day how everything worked together. In between learning one’s chosen job, we had to get in shape physically. It was always marching briskly or double-timing in. We only had to jump off the edge of the pool with all this gear on. To demonstrate how safe it was, one of the instructors climbed up 30 feet to the rafters and jumped in feet first. This was to build up our confidence. It was still quite a shock to your mental abilities even when you only had to jump off three feet at poolside. The scary part was when the splash sent a trickle of water from around your neck into the suit and down your body. The last test that we had to pass was jumping feet first off a 20-foot tower. The 1943 – Training I came home from a year in Pearl Harbor weighing 122 pounds. The draft board thought I had tuberculosis and let me stay home for three months to gain weight. No success. On the ship back to the States from Pearl Harbor, however, I had met a deckhand from the Merchant Marine who also was from Minnesota. I had no stomach for the Navy after living in Honolulu for a year. I knew I would be in big trouble if I had to go into the military. Too free-spirited and could see a lot of futility in that kind of living. I was interested in the Merchant Marine way of life with more freedom, independent living and really contributing to the war effort to defeat Germany and Japan. I went down to Duluth, Minn. while recuperating at home and found the Merchant Marine recruiting office. But I couldn’t get up to 132 pounds to be accepted. Since one got weighed with just his shorts on, the recruiter told me to pick up all my clothes and follow him to the next room. On the way, he stopped by a desk. He said his hands were full and would I carry some documents for him that were on the desk. When we got to the room, he turned and said, “Let’s weigh you one more time to make sure.” Sure enough, with all my clothes and the documents I was holding, I weighed well over 132. I was on my way to the Merchant Marine Academy in Sheepshead Bay, New York City! In basic training, one had three choices. Topside or deck as a deckhand; kitchen detail as a messman; and engine room below deck, referred to as “the black gang.” I chose the black gang because I would be sheltered from the weather. I didn’t know a thing about how a ship was provided with machinery to push it through the water. We were divided into groups of 32 or so men. We all learned how to put our left foot forward at the same time. After a couple weeks of marching four to six times a day, we got pretty good and started to take pride in our group. We liked showing off some of the more complex marching maneuvers we had mastered. The first time I saw a real triple expansion steam engine that was set up for training really amazed me. I thought, I’ll never get through this course. I was amazed with the unique system that was set up to train us. It was all piece training. You were given lessons and instructions on a piecemeal basis, whether it was on pumps, pipes, steam, boilers, oiling generators or understanding this 10 Seafarers LOG This old photo was taken of Albert Stimac on a trip from France to New York in rough weather. The ship was riding high with no cargo, only seawater for ballast—and the ship made only four miles in 24 hours. wherever we went. A most funny but satisfying experience was getting nine guys into a lifeboat—a big heavy wooden one with 12 oars. There were four guys on each side and one standing up on the stern giving directions and holding an oar for steering. You learn fast how to work together and forget your problems. Fortunately, we practiced in a calm bay from a dock. But in January or February, that sea water still is really cold when splashed on you or running down your arm. If we thought this was bad, we were surprised to be loaded on a ship one morning and taken out as far as the entrance to the bay. Out there, we could feel the wind and waves. On our abandon ship drill, we had to lower the lifeboat ourselves and climb down a net rope into the boat while it moved up and down in the waves. We had a pretty good crew and didn’t have too many problems. There were a few who lost control and were swept out to open waters. They would get towed back in the captain’s launch. It was a very wet trip if the seas were heavy. A couple guys standing on the stern got swept overboard and had to be rescued. They ended up in sick bay. This happened because rowers on one side were ordered to row and the other side had to hold their oars. All this while they were pulling with all their weight to turn the boat in the opposite direction. This made a temporary catapult out of the steering oar. If you kept hanging on to the oar or didn’t change your stance, over the side you went. Our last major hurdle to pass before we could get approved to ship out took place in the pool. We had to know how to swim. That was easy for me. Then they gave us lifesaving suits—very heavy rubber outfits that encased your entire body with just your head exposed—but not completely! You had a hood that came up and was tied to cover all of your head except your face. The suit weighed about 20 or 25 pounds. First you put on all your clothes. Then a life jacket. And then you had to try and get into the suit and zip it up. The reason for all the clothing was the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. Even with all this gear, you had to be rescued within 15 minutes or so if you fell exact form was with a life jacket on, you held your arms firmly folded against the life jacket. You also firmly held the jacket right next to your chin and had to be in that position when you jumped. If you didn’t hold on tight to the jacket, you would go right through it when you hit the water. It took all I could do to complete this test. There were always one or two in a group of 50 or so who would get to the top of the platform and then refuse to jump. But there were a couple big, husky lifeguards who tossed you off if you didn’t. Our training lasted three months. Then they found a berth for me on an old rust bucket. I went on as a fireman-watertender at $90 per month. (We got double pay in a war zone; half pay in a semi-war zone.) First Trip My first trip was to Trinidad to pick up bauxite ore used to make aluminum. We carried wheat and flour and other basic goods. We sailed down the East Coast and then over to Trinidad to Port of Spain. This ship was a real rust bucket. The engine was one of the first low-pressure turbines. The throttle was stuck and only opened so far. So we had to tie down the pop-off valves on the boilers and get another 20 or 30 pounds of steam to go faster. When we did that, we put bigger tips on the oil burners to get a hotter fire for more steam. Our next problem was not to have the stacks smoke because submarines would be able to spot us. The only problem was that the air fan could not blow enough air to burn clean, and we left a trail of black smoke you could see for 15 miles. We were running with two other rust buckets and, if lucky and wide open, we could make 8 or 9 knots. Being the youngest and last guy on board just before they sailed, I got the top bunk and worst watch. The 12-4, 4 on and 8 off. We had just left the East Coast off the Carolinas, and I was napping after supper so I could stay awake on my night 124 watch. I heard a knock on the door and said “Come in.” I was very surprised to see an officer there. I later found out it was the captain. He told me not to get off the bunk but that he had something to tell me. “Don’t get excited, but look out the porthole and you’ll see a submarine sailing along with the three of us.” I looked out and there was a submarine out there going parallel with us. I could see it very plainly. The captain told me to get my survival gear ready and put on my life jacket. He left. I did put on my life jacket and went back to sleep. I later learned that all the rest of the crew was made up of old-timers and I was the only one out on his first trip. Nobody bothered to talk or associate with me up until that time. I guess that because I didn’t panic and went back to sleep, I was OK. At least after that, they would say hi or comment on the sea or the weather or something. The thing that struck me about Trinidad was the culture and lifestyle. Almost like in the movies. Tropical isle, English in charge and blacks unloading the cargo. The utter poverty struck me the most. One English officer with his riding crop tucked under his arm controlled the whole loading area. The black crews were made up of eight men and they unloaded each hold. They had a leader for each group. When it was time to eat, the leader would hand out food that he had scavenged from our garbage cans. One area spilled a 50-pound sack of flour. It split open and some flour was on the deck. The first mate got the OK to let the workers on the ship have it to bring home. Instead of taking it home, they ate it raw . . . all the time looking about to see if the English officer was around. They would not try to take any home or sneak it off in their clothes. Of course, that would be hard to do as they all wore shorts of some kind and no shirts. We bought new Levi pants to give them, and they would cut the legs off and tie a string around them. Then they would toss them over the side and let the sea water make them look old. The trip back to New York was uneventful. It was a short trip, so $90 a month didn’t amount to very much for a six-week trip. Once we were paid off and left the ship, we used all our own money for living, room, board and travel, as well as clothes, etc., so I grabbed the first ship I could sign on for. I joined a union for seamen called the Seafarers International Union, SIU. When you wanted to ship out, you went to the union hall and signed in. With that, you received a card with your name and date on it. This would specify how long you were ashore since you were last on a ship. When you wanted to ship out, you went to the union hall and looked at the “board.” This was a large black slate board like you had in school. In chalk, there were a number of ships listed that were looking for specific vacancies for qualified men on their ship. They were listed in three categories: Mess—cooks, dishwashers, etc.; Deckhands—men who worked on deck; and the Black Gang—firemen/watertenders, oilers and junior engineers. They usually called jobs on the hour, but if badly needed, jobs were called continually. When they read off a job you wanted for the job class you could perform, you went up to the counter and tossed in your card. If you had been on shore the longest, you got the first pick. You were then informed where the ship was docked and the pier number. The black gang had non-officers from the union. There would be three of each class—three firemen/watertenders, three oilers and sometimes three junior engineers. It would all depend on the type of ship you picked out. Brother Stimac’s wartime recollections will continue in a future edition of the Seafarers LOG. April 2007 �41545_P6_8-13_15-17_20-24x:1545p0 3/27/2007 2:44 PM Page 11 MTD Executive Board Meeting Military Leaders: U.S. Mariners Crucial to Defense Capabilities Gen. Schwartz, Lt. Gen. Dail Reaffirm Value of U.S.-Flag Fleet The heads of the U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), respectively, recently made strong statements reflecting their appreciation for the U.S. Merchant Marine’s key role in national security. Gen. Norton Schwartz, commander, TRANSCOM, and Lt. Gen. Robert Dail, who’s in charge of the DLA, addressed the MTD executive board meetings in Las Vegas. Schwartz spoke on March 1 and Dail offered remarks the next day. Both men made it clear that America’s reliance on sealift isn’t about to change, including dependence on civilian mariners. “It’s all about chartering the direct course to deliver military power in the quickest, most efficient, most businesslike manner wherever and whenever the nation calls on us to serve,” stated Schwartz. “I’m taking no chances at all by telling you that we’re going to continue to depend on you—all of you—to make that projection of American power possible. The vast majority of how we get things done is through sealift.” Dail said that when it comes to sealift, U.S. maritime labor is “absolutely critical to that capability. The work that you have done with the Maritime Security Program, the Jones Act and many of the other national security programs in the maritime industry have given us this capability. We need to continue our commitment between government, labor and industry to underscore this capability, make sure it doesn’t get put on the back burner, and make sure it’s there for us tomorrow.” Dollars and Sense General Schwartz cited practical economic reasons why maintaining a strong U.S. fleet makes sense for the country. “We are counting on you to continue to play this very important role, and we know you’ll always be our shipmates.” —Gen. Norton Schwartz April 2007 combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 has moved via U.S.-flag sealift. “Our alliance is constant and “Every rank-andfile member of your Maritime Trades Department membership has a deep love of country.” —Lt. Gen. Robert Dail Gen. Norton Schwartz credits the U.S. Merchant Marine for its efficiency and reliability. While the need for adequate sealift capability is a given, so too is the desire to achieve that goal efficiently. For example, he noted that 10 U.S.-flag military support ships were underway on missions that very day—seven from the commercial sector, three from the government-owned fleet, all crewed by civilian mariners. “A good way to get our minds around what this implies is that only about 21 percent of the shipping that we use is owned by the U.S. government,” Schwartz explained. “The other 79 percent is present in U.S. flags in American commerce. I think the ships that you sail aboard clearly represent one of the most costeffective of expenditures people have figured out how to make in government.” He pointed to the U.S. Maritime Security Program (MSP) and its related Voluntary Intermodal Sealift Agreement (VISA) as a prime illustration. If the government were tasked with replicating the vessels and infrastructure now available to the military via the MSP and VISA, it literally would cost tens of billions of dollars, Schwartz stated. Instead, those programs function for a fraction of that cost, and they help ensure the continued existence of a well-trained pool of reliable U.S. mariners along with dozens of privately owned, militarily useful American-flag ships. “The truth of the matter is that in many ways you can do business much better than we can in government and that’s why the teamwork here is so very important and why a fully funded Maritime Security Program is important to the defense community,” he said. Additionally, Schwartz pointed out that more than 90 percent of the materiel that has entered we’re all pulling on the same rope,” he concluded. “The bottom line I hope you will carry away from this is that we are much about being accountable. We are certainly interested in Lt. Gen. Robert Dail (left) is pictured with MTD and SIU President Michael Sacco immediately after addressing the executive board. investing in you as partners in America’s maritime strength. We are counting on you to continue to play this very important role, and we know you’ll always be our shipmates.” Answering the Call Dail noted that he formerly served as deputy commander at TRANSCOM and has long been acquainted with the maritime Continued on page 14 Congressional Reps Point to Free Choice Act, 2006 Elections as Proof of Labor’s Vitality Fair Treatment for Maritime Workers Vowed Three members of Congress spoke at the MTD executive board meetings, and while each representative took a unique approach, they all highlighted the importance of unions and the power of solidarity in addition to expressing support for maritime. Addressing the board March 2 were (in order) U.S. Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii) and Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.). ‘A Friend in Washington’ Rep. Thompson chairs the House Homeland Security Committee. He emphasized his gratitude to the union movement for its consistent support. “I would not be in Congress had it not been for the working men and women of this country,” he stated. “For that, I thank you and I’ll never ever forget you…. You have a friend in Washington.” He spoke about several important maritime matters, including a frank assessment of the myriad regulations affecting workers who must access ports as part of their jobs. “With port security, we plan to fix it but we plan to do it right,” he commented. “With respect to the TWIC card, sooner or later we’ll get it right. We’ll roll out some things to get it right, but I want you to help us get it right. My door is open. We now have a committee that will work with people with respect to what the problems are.” Thompson said that when it comes to American-flag vessels, “you’re preaching to the choir, U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (right) showed up early and took in some of the meeting. He’s pictured here with SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel. MTD and SIU President Michael Sacco (right) welcomes U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson to the meetings. whether it’s LNG facilities coming on line and the fact that many of those people ought to be Continued on page 14 Many audience members thanked U.S. Rep. Shelly Berkley (left) for her remarks, including SIU Philadelphia Port Agent Joe Mieluchowski. Seafarers LOG 11 �41545_P6_8-13_15-17_20-24x:1545p0 3/27/2007 3:23 PM Page 12 MTD Executive Board Meeting Maritime Administrator Discusses Agency Reorganization, New Opportunities for U.S. Seafarers In his first formal address to the MTD executive board, U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton—who began serving in that position last summer —wasted no time candidly describing several very newsworthy developments involving the agency. Connaughton spoke to the board March 1, within a few days of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters having approved a reorganization of the Maritime Administration (MarAd). “It’s the first reorganization of our agency in 50 years,” noted Connaughton, a veteran of both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard as well as a graduate of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. As part of the restructuring, MarAd this month was scheduled to move into new offices near the Washington Navy Yard. “What that reorganization will entail is essentially focusing on four main areas,” Connaughton said. “The first area is to deal with some of these broader transportation and infrastructure problems at our ports. I think everyone understands that we’re facing greater congestion and we’re facing issues on infrastructure investment, and MarAd needs to play a much stronger role in doing that. “The second area is getting more involved in helping industry deal with the issues of environmental safety and security compliance challenges because right now I think everyone understands that these issues are looming larger and larger for our industry and for our nation,” he continued. “We have a lot of regulatory agencies but we don’t have that many that are out trying to help people get through some of these hurdles and that is what we are going to be focusing on.” He said a third area of focus “is a traditional MarAd function,” namely supporting the U.S. military through the utilization of a strong U.S. Merchant Marine. The fourth endeavor involves efforts to improve an oftenrepeated frustration within the maritime community. “The one area that we really need to focus on is promoting the American industry,” Connaughton asserted. “All of our promotional programs are essentially stand-alone, and the question is how do we get them to work better together— whether it’s supporting shipyards, supporting operators, supporting our labor and training programs, U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton or whether it’s out there doing more work on the Jones Act-compliance issues. “So what were going to be doing is actually consolidating and placing all these programs into one office with one leader whose job it is to go out and advance the American industry and make all our promotional programs work better together. A part of that will be for the first time we’re going to have a workforce development program and we’re going to work very closely with you all…. The issue is for us, what can we do as a government agency to help in the development of the workforce so we make sure that the younger people end up joining our industries and making sure that they end up having a career?” Another key topic Connaughton addressed is the burgeoning liquefied natural gas (LNG) trades. He pointed out that MarAd is responsible for the licensing of offshore LNG facilities, and that in 2006 Congress “provided some statutory provisions that ask that we include consideration of whether they are Americans or not Americans involved in these operations in us actually issuing licenses. It was not a mandatory requirement that Americans be brought on board the vessels, but [the provisions asked] us to take that into consideration.” Since then, he said, MarAd has received commitments from several LNG applicants who will utilize crews consisting—at minimum—of 25 percent American mariners. “They’ve also agreed that 10 percent of the vessels they charter in—even if they don’t own them—will be Americans as well.” He mentioned that the agency opened a Federal Register docket on this issue to ask for comments “and we had over 1,000 comments come in, with 99.9 percent being very supportive of this effort.” (Both the SIU and MTD submitted comments.) Subsequently, MarAd conducted meetings with maritime training facilities including the Paul Hall Center to start or continue developing LNG curriculums and career paths. Turning his attention toward the Jones Act (which mandates that domestic waterborne commerce takes place on vessels crewed, owned, built and flagged American), Connaughton said the longstanding law offers a “great opportunity” for the Department of Transportation to ease highway and rail congestion. “We’ve identified some carriers that will expand the use of the waterways to take trucks off the road and actually start to see more coastwise trades in the future,” he stated. “What’s interesting about this is that the trucking industry is very supportive because they’re having some difficulties because of all this congestion. And we think this is a great growth opportunity for the (maritime) industry in the future, and so we’re very much encouraged by it.” He concluded by emphasizing the importance of maintaining strong domestic shipbuilding and ship repair capabilities “for commercial and for military reasons.” Trumka: Political Action Vital for Workers AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka covered many topics when addressing the MTD executive board March 2 in Las Vegas, but he particularly emphasized the importance of political action for America’s working families. Trumka spoke to the board one day after the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)—legislation that would restore fairness in the process whereby workers may choose union representation. “The first thing I want to do is thank everybody in this room that worked hard to get that done and make it possible,” Trumka said while addressing an audience of approximately 200 people, including presidents of MTDaffiliated unions—among them SIU President Michael Sacco, who also is president of the MTD. “It’s the first time since the fall elections that we’ve been able to flex our muscles just a little bit. We swamped the House of Representatives with phone calls, with faxes, with e-mails, with our shining faces, and we hosted events in 93 cities last week with members of Congress who showed up.” 12 Seafarers LOG AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka Trumka described the grassroots action leading to House passage of the EFCA as a “federation-wide effort with all of our affiliates involved.” But he also said that those activities marked both a continuation of labor’s efforts prior to last year’s elections as well as a portent of the continuous exertion needed leading up to Election Day 2008. “It makes the work that we have to do over the next two years even more important,” Trumka declared. “If we don’t shore up our working family majority in the House and the Senate … then these guys are going to finish wrecking what was the strongest economy in the history of the world. And that is just inexcusable.” He candidly pointed out that after the most recent AFL-CIO convention (summer 2005), “when several of our largest unions disaffiliated, people began whispering about the future of the labor movement. They began to question whether we could get it all together for the most important election that working people have faced in probably the last three or four decades. “Not only did we get it together, not only did we win back the House and the Senate, but we won all six of the state minimumwage initiatives that we sponsored. We took back control of six state legislatures and we won some very tough governors’ races.” Trumka mentioned that although the disaffiliations hurt, the unions remaining the AFLCIO “wasted no time crying crocodile tears. We made the adjustments that had to be made. We initiated a solidarity charter program that brought 2,600 locals of the disaffiliated unions back into our state and local organizations, and we took off running with the most aggressive, well-financed off-year political program that the labor movement has ever had.” The education and mobilization efforts worked. Trumka told the audience that the weekend before last year’s elections, more than 300,000 union volunteers went door-to-door in their neighborhoods to help get out the vote. Additionally, one of every four voters at the polls came from a union household, and 75 percent of them voted for labor-endorsed candidates. “We put down our marker once again as the most powerful single organization in the pro-worker political movement,” he said. The federation secretary-treasurer also shared a compelling personal story reflecting the fact that advancing a pro-worker agenda is far more than a statistical exercise. In May 2006, Trumka said, his son brought home a number of teammates from his college football team for a visit. While working through the daunting logistics of helping prepare breakfast for all those football players, Trumka looked up at them and was struck by “that special sparkle that they have in their eye because they really don’t know what’s about to hit them when they go out the door (after graduation). I’m looking through the door at them—all 14 of them—and I started thinking that my generation isn’t leaving them an America that had the same kind of opportunity as the America that we walked into when we came out of school or came out of the service. And I made up my mind that day that every single minute of the rest of my life I was going to work to change the policies of this country so that that generation can have the same type of America that we did. Not stagnating wages but wages that are growing because productivity is growing and you’ve earned part of the pot. Not 46 million people without health care, but everybody having health care and having a better chance at life. Knowing that I was going to do better than my dad, and my dad did better than my grandpap who came here on a boat…. “I look forward to that fight for that next generation and the generation that’s coming. They deserve better than what is in front of them if we do nothing.” April 2007 �41545_P6_8-13_15-17_20-24x:1545p0 3/27/2007 3:23 PM Page 13 MTD Executive Board Meeting LCA President Urges Government Action on Lakes Dredging Crisis As Seafarers prepared to start another sailing season on the Great Lakes, the head of the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) updated the MTD executive board on the growing dredging crisis in that region. If left unchecked by the federal government, the dredging problem will hinder the economic development of an entire region and threaten countless transportation and manufacturing jobs, said James Weakley, president of both the LCA and the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force (GLMTF). The LCA is composed of U.S.-flag shipping companies operating primarily on the Great Lakes, while the GLMTF is an association of maritime organizations, including several MTD affiliates, dedicated to preserving the integrity of the Jones Act while advancing policies aimed at strengthening the Great Lakes maritime industry. Modernizing Great Lakes ports to make them more competitive or even just preserving their long-term viability has proven difficult given the reflexive hostility of some environmental groups. According to Weakley, these organizations fail to realize that without economic advancement, “we cannot make progress on the environment.” Both the LCA and GLMTF are committed to ensuring the viability of the Great Lakes maritime and manufacturing industries. In an era of globalization, these industries, Weakley asserted, “are the last vestige of goodpaying jobs. And good-paying jobs depend on transportation efficiency.” Globalization and the failure of many environmental organizations to understand the importance of economic development are only two components of the crisis affecting the Great Lakes maritime industry. The third one ATC President Stresses Safety, Partnership Anil Mathur, president and CEO of SIU-contracted Alaska Tanker Company (left), told the MTD executive board that a big reason for ATC’s outstanding safety record is its partnership with maritime labor. Mathur presented SIU President Michael Sacco and MEBA President Ron Davis with plaques commemorating ATC’s recent achievement of five years without a losttime injury anywhere throughout its fleet. “This company is a lot stronger for that partnership,” he stated. is the failure of the federal government to provide the region with a fair share of investment. Part of the problem, he noted, is due to the historical cycle of water levels. Until a decade ago, water levels remained high. This allowed the federal government to ignore port modernization; many dollars that should have gone to Great Lakes dredging projects went to other regions and other modes of transportation. When water levels began to plummet, the government didn’t adjust its capital investment strategy. “I believe our transportation policy favors our land-based modes,” Weakley said. “You can just look at the money where that goes, and our river-based systems. Not that those are necessarily bad things, but I think it puts our business at a disadvantage and it also ignores some of the economics and physics that should promote our marine transportation modes.” The result is that many Great Lakes ships have been forced to sail lighter than fully loaded, which creates an unhealthy economic environment. That means even before they sail, U.S.-flag vessels on the Great Lakes begin with one strike against them. One needs only to look at the following statistics to know what is at stake. The Great Lakes region generates: 70 percent of all domestic steel manufacturing; 70 percent of all North American automobile manufacturing; and 55 percent of all heavy manufacturing. All in all, the Great Lakes region annually generates 200 million tons of cargo. Weakley asked executive Lake Carriers’ Association President James Weakley board members and guests to contact their elected officials and educate them about the fact that waterborne transportation is extremely effective. For instance, one Great Lakes shipload is equal to 700 railroad cars. It takes 2,800 trucks to carry that same amount of cargo. The bottom line is that the Great Lakes region gets shortchanged, he noted. Congress needs to set aside an additional $300 million just to restore Great Lakes channels to autho- rized dimensions that have been mandated. Putting the dredging crisis in context, Weakley stressed, “It’s about jobs. Transportation is about jobs.” Weakley also relayed this quote from late last year by U.S. Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), a longtime supporter of the U.S.flag fleet: “It is incomprehensible to me that ships that depart our Minnesota harbors cannot carry full loads of iron ore and low-sulphur coal because the Army Corps of Engineers does not get enough money to maintain the system. This waterway is too important a part of the national transportation infrastructure to be treated like a poor relation. In the next Congress, I will do everything in my power to bring our fair share of federal dollars back to the Great Lakes.” Weakley added, “I happen to believe that those people that have walked away from the manufacturing sector in America are making a tremendous mistake. We won World War II with our manufacturing might, and we’re going to win this war on terrorism with our manufacturing might.” USCG’s Brennan Tackles TWIC Questions It’s probably no overstatement to suggest U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Devon Brennan (right) took on one of the more daunting challenges during the MTD meetings – namely, answering questions from the audience about the Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC) program and its related Merchant Mariner Qualification Credential (MMC) initiative. After his formal presentation, Brennan gamely responded to numerous questions and reminded board members and guests that additional, updated information may be found on the internet at www.tsa.gov/twic and http://homeport.uscg.mil/ MTD Board Continues Pro-Worker, Pro-Maritime Agenda The Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO consists of 24 international unions (including the SIU) and 19 port maritime councils in the United States and Canada representing approximately 5.5 million working men and women. The MTD executive board met March 1-2 in Las Vegas, where board members and guests addressed many key issues that affect the maritime community and all working families. The articles on pages 11-14 are based on remarks and policy statements presented at the meetings. These two photos show some of the guests. April 2007 Seafarers LOG 13 �41545_P01-5_7_14_18_19:2007-March 3/23/2007 2:30 PM Page 14 MTD Executive Board Meeting Military Leaders Laud U.S. Merchant Marine Continued from page 11 industry’s role in U.S. national and economic security. He further stated that the labor movement is “critical to our efforts here in the Department of Defense.” Looking back at the merchant marine’s role throughout history, he recalled, “Eisenhower, Truman, Roosevelt— they’ve all accurately described the contributions that you make to our national defense. ‘Irreplaceable’ was their term. Post-World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Balkans, the first Desert Storm, Desert Shield, then the Persian Gulf. You were there. You made us a success. You were our partner. We could trust you with the very livelihood that our troops needed to conduct the business that the national leaders told us to do. “And since 9/11, maritime and other affiliated memberships have been active in helping us protect our great American life, helping us execute the global war on terror,” he continued. “You’ve also helped us to respond in our greatest role—in our greatest character—and that is our response to natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina.” Dail called attention to the fact that many trade unionists have answered their nation’s call not only as part of the fourth arm of defense, but through military service. He described them as “great patriots,” noting they have served and continue serving in reserve forces and in the National Guard. “They have deployed overseas. They have seen action. They have served to a very high standard of honor. They have bravely and courageously served their nation. And I thank you for making it so important of a value for the men and women that serve in your ranks that they would want to serve their country in uniform. One thing I have come to know as I have been with you over these several years is that that every rank-and-file member of your Maritime Trades Department membership has a deep love of country. And it’s underscored every time I meet one of them as I move around and go out across the world.” Dail said he has seen firsthand the materiel delivered to U.S. troops overseas that moved by ship, and those sights helped reinforce his belief that America’s maritime capabilities “are critical to our national defense and security. I have seen the trust and confidence that is built between our nation and our Congressional Reps Support Unionism Continued from page 11 American…. At a minimum, you can’t just come to our shores without respecting our workers and the fact that we do good jobs, too.” He described the U.S. maritime industry as “vital to our homeland security,” and vowed that supporters in Congress won’t “let people legislate your members out of business. If you have hard-working people who work every day and have been working that way for a long time, we’re not interested in pushing them out now under the guise of homeland security.” Thompson concluded by noting his “100 percent” voting record in support of labor and added, “I’ll continue to do that…. We have an opportunity to do good. The public voted for it in November. Now it’s our job to carry it out. I look forward to doing that with your help.” ‘Just a Start’ Rep. Abercrombie is chairman of the House Armed Forces Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces. He said that passage of the Employee Free Choice Act in the House a day earlier came about because union members helped elect pro-worker legislators in November 2006. When the bill was approved, “What I thought to myself was, this is just a start,” Abercrombie stated. “This is the first chance that we’ve had in years to be able to actually organize workers and not have them intimidated and shoved around, fired, kicked to the side, smashed under. Yesterday was tangible proof to all the membership and their families that if they get together, they all register, they all vote, we can win.” He emphasized that for working families, political elections should center on critical issues and who will stand up for workers’ interests. “This is about the working men and women of this country and whether they’re going to have their health care, whether they’re going to have their wages and benefits, whether they’re going to have their retirement, whether everything that they worked for is going to be undermined, whether everything that the American labor movement has stood for is going to be compromised,” he stated. Abercrombie assured the board that labor-backed candidates will not forget that support, and also noted the strong turnout at the polls by union families. “We proved in November 2006 that we can win when we stick together. We proved that even though the number of working people organized is at its lowest point, that we’re on our way up, and that the voting demographics are double what the population demographics are when it comes to voting,” he said. “When we double up in the labor movement, we win.” Lastly, he stressed unity as a key to progress. “You’ve got to have organized labor and somebody looking out for you collectively to make sure that the individual doesn’t get done in,” Abercrombie said. “That’s what the Maritime Trades Department is about. It’s a collective endeavor—all of us pulling together.” When the promise of a better job in California surfaced, the family packed all their belongings into a U-Haul connected to their car and started traveling west. Along the way, “we decided we would stop in Las Vegas for the night. We never left.” In part, that’s because her father joined a culinary union through which he secured employment as a waiter at the old Sands Hotel. Union representation made all the difference, Berkley said. “On a waiter’s salary in a union town, my dad made enough money to put a roof over our head. We bought a home, we developed roots in this community, and we belonged here. So he put a roof over our head, food on the table, clothes on our back and two daughters through college and law school. That’s not so bad on a waiter’s salary. And the only reason he was able to do that was because of a strong union in a union town.” Fast-forward the previous day’s debate The Union Difference As stated in the final rule, the fee is made up of three segments: Enrollment Segment; Full Card Production/Security Threat Assessment Segment; and FBI Segment. Most applicants will pay the Standard TWIC Fee, which includes all three segments. However, applicants who have completed a comparable threat assessment, such as the threat assessment TSA conducts on commercial drivers with a hazardous materials endorsement, will pay the Reduced TWIC Fee. These applicants are not charged for the FBI Segment and pay a reduced fee for the Full Card Production/Security Threat Assessment Segment. In the preamble of the final rule, we discussed the potential range of fees that would be charged for each Segment but did not publish specific fees for each Segment in the final rule text because the contract for enrollment and card production services was not finalized at that time. We explained that when the contract was executed and final fee amounts determined, we would publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing them. TSA has executed the contract for TWIC enrollment and card production and, with this notice, announces the final fee amounts. Rep. Berkley serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. She related a personal story that reflects how union jobs help sustain an economically healthy middle class—long considered the backbone of the economy, but currently at risk. Berkley recalled that some 43 years earlier, her father worked as a waiter in upstate New York. His job offered no medical insurance or other benefits and didn’t pay well. “What he made that night was what we spent the next day,” she said. Notice: Hurricane Relief Benefit for Pensioners In September 2005, in the immediate aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, a subcommittee of the Seafarers Pension Plan authorized SIU pensioners to apply for a one-time payment of $750 for hurricane relief. Because applications for this benefit have virtually ceased, the Plan Trustees have decided to accept applications only until April 30, 2007. Applications received after that date will be denied. As noted in an earlier communication to the union halls, SIU officials who have eligible pensioners in their respective port areas may encourage them to apply before April 30. If they have already received the benefit, they are not entitled to apply again. 14 Seafarers LOG troops, knowing that wherever they are, we will deliver the goods to them and we will get them there and bring them home.” He concluded, “We all in the military leadership have a strong commitment to labor, government and industry relations, forming a capability that is second to none. Thank you for your leadership, your friendship and your commitment to the partnership.” on the Employee Free Choice Act, and it was clear to Berkley that workers deserve a fair chance to choose union representation. “When I talk about the labor movement and the unions that are sticking up for working men and women across this great country of ours, I think of my dad,” she said. “I think of him making a living and I think of him wanting a piece of the American dream for his children. That is not asking too much. “I have never heard a union member, certainly not my father, begrudge the bosses of the corporations their money,” she added. “All he wanted for his family was good job security, decent wages, good benefits, good health care and to be able to take his family on vacation a couple times a year. That, my friends, is what the union movement represents to me. The very foundation upon which this country was formed—a strong working class country of middle class Americans that do the right thing, care about their families, care about their communities, care about this country, and help build it and will continue to help it grow through the generations to come.” TSA Publishes TWIC Fees Continued from page 2 The Enrollment Segment fee is $43.25, the Full Card Production/Security Threat Assessment Segment fee is $72, and the FBI Segment fee is $22. Therefore, the total Standard TWIC Fee is $137.25 ($43.25 + 72 + 22). For applicants who have completed a prior comparable threat assessment, there is no FBI Segment fee and the Card Production/Security Threat Assessment Segment fee is $62. Therefore, the total Reduced TWIC Fee is $105.25 ($43.25 + 62). As stated in the final rule, the fee for a replacement credential is $36, but we do not believe that amount adequately funds TSA’s card replacement costs. Our calculations indicate that $60 is the correct amount for card replacement costs and invited comment on that issue. The comment period for increasing the card replacement fee closed on February 26, 2007. We will examine all comments received and determine the final card replacement fee. We will amend the rule text to include all of the fees discussed in this notice and the card replacement fee, so that they will appear in the Code of Federal Regulations, at 49 CFR 1572, subpart F, Fees for Security Threat Assessments for Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). April 2007 �41545_P6_8-13_15-17_20-24qxp:2007-March 3/23/2007 2:40 PM Page 15 Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea May & June 2007 Membership Meetings FEBRUARY 16 — MARCH 15, 2007 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals Totals **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C 2 1 1 9 2 3 11 5 1 1 3 7 10 3 0 0 2 1 7 7 1 1 6 11 0 9 33 29 0 10 7 28 6 11 2 0 7 2 23 29 1 3 5 11 5 2 18 15 3 8 6 14 13 7 1 6 4 5 22 17 2 0 1 2 0 1 2 2 0 0 4 8 5 2 1 0 0 0 8 7 0 0 3 5 1 0 12 19 0 2 7 10 4 5 1 1 3 0 13 9 4 1 10 14 2 12 66 50 1 20 26 78 24 40 5 0 13 4 62 48 9 10 9 23 6 14 52 40 3 14 19 40 28 20 5 17 15 9 55 29 2 4 1 11 2 2 14 11 3 2 4 22 15 4 1 0 3 1 16 12 270 276 76 215 166 45 95 480 417 130 0 0 2 4 0 8 17 20 1 10 4 15 8 4 1 2 0 1 13 9 1 2 5 5 0 5 9 16 1 7 3 8 11 11 1 3 2 3 17 10 2 0 1 1 0 0 4 1 0 0 1 0 2 4 1 0 0 2 3 4 119 120 26 ENGINE DEPARTMENT 0 0 2 5 0 5 14 17 0 3 4 11 5 8 2 1 0 0 15 10 1 1 3 6 0 3 11 10 0 5 2 5 11 4 1 1 2 1 9 10 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 3 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 5 1 1 1 0 0 1 7 10 0 0 2 6 1 2 3 0 0 0 13 6 1 0 7 9 0 16 26 31 2 13 10 33 12 12 1 2 2 1 17 16 1 1 8 6 3 7 19 30 2 6 8 17 13 19 1 3 7 5 32 13 2 0 2 4 0 1 8 2 0 2 2 2 3 5 1 0 0 3 6 8 102 86 20 54 211 201 51 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 0 0 2 8 1 4 22 12 0 5 7 17 5 23 1 1 1 2 11 17 0 0 1 6 2 4 10 16 0 7 6 2 11 3 0 1 4 1 9 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 1 3 0 4 3 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 139 88 18 Port 1 0 1 1 1 5 17 9 1 4 5 16 6 14 0 2 1 0 13 18 1 0 1 4 0 4 2 4 0 5 1 7 9 3 0 0 1 0 5 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 5 6 0 3 2 9 3 6 0 1 0 0 4 2 1 0 5 12 2 9 39 24 0 11 12 32 8 46 3 3 2 2 21 36 1 0 3 9 3 11 14 26 0 6 10 4 15 5 1 2 4 1 11 16 1 0 0 2 0 0 8 3 0 3 1 4 3 0 0 1 0 0 3 1 115 51 13 44 268 142 30 Baltimore..............Thursday: May 10, June 7 Boston ..................Friday: May 11, June 8 Guam ....................Thursday: May 24, June 21 Honolulu...............Friday: May 18, June 15 Houston ................Monday: May 14, June 11 Jacksonville ..........Thursday: May 10, June 7 Joliet .....................Thursday: May 17, June 14 Mobile ..................Wednesday: May 16, June 13 New Orleans.........Tuesday: May 15, June 12 New York .............Tuesday: May 8, June 5 Norfolk .................Thursday: May 10, June 7 Oakland ................Thursday: May 17, June 14 Philadelphia..........Wednesday: May 9, June 6 Port Everglades ....Thursday: May 17, June 14 San Juan ...............Thursday: May 10, June 7 St. Louis ...............Friday: May 18, June 15 Tacoma .................Friday: May 25, June 22 Wilmington...........Monday: May 21, June 18 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. Personals LOOKING FOR CONTACTS Edward Soltesz is hoping to hear from anyone who sailed with his cousin, Steven Sheros, or who shipped aboard a Luckenbach Steamship Company vessel in the spring of 1946. You may call Soltesz at (419) 627-8200 or write him at 409 52nd Street, Sandusky, OH 44870. RAY ROBINSON (formerly of Florida) Please contact Ms. Elyse Walters, your daughter. She has been trying to get in touch with you. Her address is 5620 Rushmere Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23464; telephone (757) 479-9512 or (757) 724-3976 (cell). Attention Seafarers: ENTRY DEPARTMENT Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington 0 0 0 0 0 3 6 2 0 0 0 12 0 5 0 0 0 0 5 0 2 2 5 5 1 8 14 15 1 4 5 43 11 14 1 28 1 1 17 10 5 0 0 4 0 9 8 13 1 3 3 18 10 12 4 18 2 0 7 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 1 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 1 3 0 2 5 18 8 0 1 1 14 6 4 0 8 2 0 9 11 1 0 1 2 0 6 4 7 0 1 1 5 10 1 1 9 1 0 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 10 5 0 2 3 17 0 7 0 0 0 0 6 1 5 3 4 11 4 13 34 33 1 7 8 68 17 25 1 25 3 1 24 19 8 1 1 14 0 12 23 21 2 7 5 31 20 21 3 16 1 0 13 14 Totals 33 188 121 17 93 60 0 55 306 213 561 672 241 449 396 138 193 1,014 1,066 424 Totals All Departments Piney Point ...........Monday: May 7, June 4 Algonac ................Friday: May 11, June 8 DECK DEPARTMENT 6 7 8 16 4 3 36 26 2 12 11 21 23 11 4 22 7 5 34 18 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Trip Reliefs 2 0 8 6 1 3 42 32 1 12 11 35 19 24 4 0 7 3 33 27 Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C *“Total Registered” means the number of Seafarers who actually registered for shipping at the port. **“Registered on Beach” means the total number of Seafarers registered at the port. April 2007 Seafarers LOG 15 �41545_P6_8-13_15-17_20-24qxp:2007-March 3/23/2007 Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 27 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr., Suite 101B 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96910 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 2:40 PM Page 16 World War II Liberty Ship to Set Sail in August The SS John W. Brown, one of only two World War II-era Liberty ships still in operation, is slated in August to sail from its home port in Baltimore to New England on a series of six-hour day cruises. Additionally, it will hold open houses in three ports in Maine and Massachusetts. (The Jeremiah O’Brien in San Francisco is the other Liberty ship still sailing.) With an all-volunteer crew (ranging in age from the 20s to the 80s—none of whom ever sailed on the Brown but some who sailed on other Liberty ships during the war), the 441-foot operating museum ship will carry up to 730 passengers as it departs Baltimore Aug. 11 on its “Yankee Adventure Voyage” and returns home Aug. 30. In between, the Liberty ship will stop at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Bourne (on the Cape Cod Canal); Portland, Maine; and Boston. Whether in port or at sea, history lessons are a large part of the self-guided ship tours. Michael J. Schneider, chairman of Project Liberty Ship, Inc., will narrate the trip and preside over the “Living History” cruise atmosphere from his background as a commander of a U.S. Navy frigate and officer on three Navy submarines. (He also does watches as a fireman/watertender in the ship’s engine room.) Capt. George L. Maier is master of the vessel and is a professional deck officer who made 89 roundtrip crossings of the North Atlantic on passenger and cargo ships of the United States Line. The chief engineer is DeLacy L. Cook who sailed on U.S. Line ships in the engine room in all theaters of operation in World War II. It won’t be all narration of historical events during the course of the six cruises. There will be re-enactments: of Army troops, President Roosevelt, Gen. Douglas MacArthur, and Abbott and Costello, as well as a Glenn Miller-style band and singing groups that will highlight some of the classic Big Band music of the ’40s. Friendly planes such as a vintage P-51 fighter will chase a Messerschmitt or other Restored to steaming condition in 1991, the World War II Liberty ship SS John W. Brown is scheduled to sail from Baltimore to New England in mid-August. The vessel is crewed entirely by volunteers. replica enemy airplane hired to fly over the deck. The biggest thrill for passengers, however, may just be the knowledge that they are steaming along on a real wartime ship powered by its original triple-expansion steam engine and No 2 diesel fuel oil. During the early years of World War II, enemy U-boats, aircraft and mines seriously crippled the Allied cause by sinking a huge number of merchant ships carrying vital military equipment, supplies and troops. In order to build ships faster than the enemy could sink them, the United States, under the leadership of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, organized an emergency shipbuilding program which, between 1941 and 1945 produced more than 2,700 Liberty ships. The Brown was built in Baltimore in 1942. About 200 of these Liberty ships were lost in the war to the enemy, weather, error or faulty construction. Many sailed commercially after the war. Some-sixty-five years later, only the John W. Brown survives as an operating ship on the East Coast. The crew and other dues-paying mem- bers of Project Liberty Ship own the nonprofit vessel, named for John Brown, the man who helped establish Local 4 of the Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America at the Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. After being rescued in 1988 from a Virginia maritime graveyard by a group of Maryland seamen, the Brown has been on more than 70 voyages since being made ready to sail once again in 1991, including a summer-long tour in 2000 of Lakes Ontario and Erie and the St. Laurence River. The ship’s home is Pier One, Clinton Street in Baltimore. Project Liberty Ship is a non-profit, taxexempt, volunteer organization formed in 1978 to preserve the vessel. To find out more about this cruise (and others), or to become a member or make a contribution toward the preservation of the John W. Brown—write to Project Liberty Ship, Box 25846, Highlandtown Station, Baltimore, MD 2122-0546, or check out their Web site at www.liberty-ship.com. PICS-FROM-THE-PAST NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG These photos were sent to the Seafarers LOG by Leon Jekot of Jefferson City, Tenn. The one on the left was taken in 1969 when he was the bosun’s mate aboard the Long Lines on a cable-laying operation. “When the cable we carried and laid ran out,” Jekot wrote in a note accompanying the photos, “it was buoyed off, to be picked up later when we had more cable.” Someone had to be lowered over the side onto the buoy to retrieve it. “No one spoke up. It looked like fun...so I said I’d go. What made it interesting was the fact that when the ship pulled away and left me on that buoy, it brought home the reality of being alone, really alone, on that object in the middle of the ocean, not to mention the enormous size of the fish underneath it. I couldn’t believe I did it. Everything turned out all right and we finished the lay, but it was an experience I won’t forget.” The other photo was taken in 1965 aboard the SS Suzanne, a C2 freighter carrying a load of flour to Syria. Jekot was an AB on that vessel. “It’s a type of ship one doesn’t see or work aboard anymore,” he stated. “With all the rigging, I thought it would be interesting to have some of the sailors of today see what we had to work with back then. Things that sailors don’t do much of anymore, like rigging and splicing the lines and wires for the gear, and what I was doing that day in port: cleaning the chain locker. It turned out to be a real nasty mess after we left. The flour got wet, and it took up to a week to clean it off the ship. It was everywhere.” April 2007 �41545_P6_8-13_15-17_20-24qxp:2007-March 3/23/2007 2:41 PM Page 17 Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA ANGEL ANGLERO, 62, began his seafaring career in 1987 in Puerto Rico. Brother Anglero first sailed on the Osprey. He was born in Mayaguez, P.R. On two occasions, Brother Anglero attended classes at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. He shipped in the engine department in both the deep sea and inland divisions. Brother Anglero’s most recent voyage was aboard the Horizon Fairbanks. He makes his home in Carolina, P.R. GEORGE BARBER, 62, is a New York native. Brother Barber joined the SIU in 1966. He initially shipped in the Great Lakes division on the Red Arrow, but most of his seafaring career was spent in the deep sea division. He last sailed on the Comet. Brother Barber upgraded his skills at the Piney Point school in 1983 and 2000. He lives in San Diego. EDMUND ERDT, 68, became an SIU member in 2001. Brother Erdt sailed primarily aboard Seabulk Tanker vessels in the engine department. His first ship was the Seabulk Trader; his last was the Seabulk Mariner. Brother Erdt, who was born in Poland, calls Williamsville, N.Y. home. TONY GONZALEZ, 47, began his seafaring career in 1980. Brother Gonzalez first sailed on an El Paso Southern Tanker Company vessel. He upgraded on numerous occasions at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. Brother Gonzalez, who was born in New York, worked as a member of the engine department. His most recent voyage was aboard the San Juan. Brother Gonzalez is settled in Puerto Rico. JOHN KONETES, 61, joined the union in 1964. Brother Konetes initially worked aboard the Steel Advocate. The deck department member was born in North Carolina. In 1995 and 2003, Brother Konetes upgraded at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. He most recently shipped on the Cape Lambert. Brother Konetes is a resident of Wilmington, N.C. ALLEN LEWIS SR., 65, joined the SIU in 1958. Brother Lewis’s first voyage was aboard the Export Leader. He was born in Pennsylvania and sailed in the deck department. Brother Lewis most recently worked on the Montpelier Victory. He makes his home in Jacksonville, Fla. April 2007 JOSE LIND, 62, began sailing with the SIU in 1978. Brother Lind’s first voyage was aboard the Overseas Alaska. He was born in Puerto Rico and worked in the deck department. Brother Lind enhanced his seafaring skills at the Piney Point school in 2000 and 2003. His most recent trip to sea was on the Horizon Crusader. Brother Lind lives in Yabucoa, P.R. ROBERT PABON, 66, became a Seafarer in 1991 in the port of Jacksonville, Fla. Brother Pabon upgraded his skills in 1997 and 2000 at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. He sailed primarily aboard Interocean American Shipping vessels, including the Cape Fear and the El Morro. Brother Pabon, who was born in New York, calls Jacksonville home. DENNIS WHALEN, 65, embarked on his seafaring career in 1969. Brother Whalen first shipped aboard the Cape Washington in the engine department. The Yonkers, N.Y. native last sailed on the Philadelphia. He now resides in Portland, Ore. Boatman Golden’s first trip to sea was aboard a Plymouth Towing Company vessel. Born in Wilmington, N.C., he most recently sailed aboard an Interstate Oil Transportation vessel. He now lives in Grantsboro, N.C. DONALD LASH, 62, joined the SIU in 1999. Boatman Lash shipped primarily aboard vessels operated by Allied Transportation Company. The deck department member attended the Paul Hall Center in 2002 to upgrade his skills. Boatman Lash makes his home in Murrells Inlet, S.C. LEVY LAWRENCE JR., 62, began his seafaring career in 1979. He sailed primarily on vessels operated by Allied Transportation Company. Born in North Carolina, Boatman Lawrence upgraded his seafaring skills in 1997 and 2002. He makes his home in Norfolk, Va. WILLIAM McDONALD, 57, joined the SIU in 1969. Boatman McDonald shipped primarily aboard vessels operated by Cape Fear Towing. He took advantage of the educational opportunities available at the Seafarers-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. in 2001 and 2002. Boatman McDonald continues to reside in his native state of North Carolina. ALBERT SCHMITT, 58, is a native of Louisiana. Boatman Schmitt became an SIU member in 1967 in the port of New Orleans. He attended classes on numerous occasions at the Piney Point school. During his seafaring career, Boatman Schmitt worked primarily aboard Crescent Towing and Salvage Company vessels. He continues to live in Louisiana. RAYMOND SIMMONS JR., 62, embarked on his SIU career in 1970. Boatman Simmons first sailed aboard a National Marine Services vessel. The Texas-born mariner most recently worked aboard the Seabulk Tanker. Boatman Simmons is a resident of Kirbyville, Texas. DELMAS TYLER JR, 62, joined the SIU in 1987. Boatman Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. DARRYL WHITE, 51, was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. Brother White joined the SIU in 1978, first sailing on the Cove Leader. He was a frequent upgrader at the unionaffiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Brother White, who sailed in the engine department, last shipped aboard the USNS Bob Hope. He makes his home in Norfolk, Va. DWIGHT WUERTH, 55, joined the SIU ranks in 1978 in the port of San Francisco. Brother Wuerth enhanced his skills often at the Paul Hall Center. His first trip to sea was on the Santa Mercedes. Brother Wuerth was born in Florida and shipped as a member of the steward department. Prior to retiring, he worked aboard the Overseas New Orleans. Brother Wuerth continues to make his home in Florida. INLAND GEORGE DAVIS, 62, started his seafaring career in 1983. Boatman Davis’s first voyage was on a Steuart Transportation Company vessel. In 1993 and 1997, he attended the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. to upgrade his skills. Boatman Davis was born in North Carolina. He last sailed aboard a Maritrans Operating Company vessel. Boatman Davis is a resident of Davis, N.C. BENDERS GOLDEN, 62, became a union member in 1970. 1953 With just three days to go to strike deadline, the Cities Service Oil Company yielded completely to all SIU demands and signed the standard SIU tanker agreement, retroactive to January 1, 1953. The contract was signed on Friday, April 17, a few hours after the Seafarers LOG came out with news about the SIU’s full strike preparations and pledges of support received from shore-side Cities Service unions such as the Lake Charles Metal Trades Council, AFL, representing Cities Service employees at the Lake Charles refinery and the Louisiana State Federation of Labor. The refusal of the membership and the union negotiating committee to accept anything less than a full settlement paid off after several weeks of negotiations at which the company unsuccessfully argued for special treatment. Tyler was born in Maryland and worked in the deck department. He sailed primarily aboard vessels operated by the Association of Maryland Pilots. Boatman Tyler calls Crisfield, Md. home. BENJAMIN WHALEY, 62, was born in South Carolina. Boatman Whaley began sailing with the SIU in 1976 from the port of Houston. He worked primarily aboard Marine Contracting and Towing Company vessels. Boatman Whaley settled in Wadmalaw Island, S.C. THOMAS ZEHNER, 66, joined the SIU in 2001 in the port of Mobile, Ala. Boatman Zehner initially sailed aboard Crowley Towing and Transportation Company vessels. The deck department member, who was born in New Orleans, now makes his home in Pensacola, Fla. GREAT LAKES LEONARD KAUTI, 65, began sailing with the SIU in 1987, first working on the Charles E. Wilson. Brother Kauti, who was born in Wisconsin, attended classes at the Paul Hall Center in 2002. Brother Kauti most recently sailed aboard the Indiana Harbor. He is a resident of Superior, Wis. fleet, would not only pay dividends to the government in the form of lower cargo preference costs, but would restore our tramp fleet to a position in which, even while carrying cargo at lower rates, it could operate profitably.” 1980 Members of the SIU joined picket lines in San Francisco recently, to show solidarity with unions striking local TV station KRON. Local unions belonging to the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) have been on strike for nearly three months, seeking improved wages and working conditions. The management of the TV station had publicly claimed that the striking unions did not have the support of organized labor in San Francisco. The SIU’s response was to publicly demonstrate that the IBEW and AFTRA certainly did have labor’s support by joining the picket line. This Month In SIU History 1965 The Seafarers International Union of North America told a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee recently that the cost to the government of shipping government-generated cargoes could be substantially reduced by building new Americanflag bulk carriers which would be able to carry these cargoes at low rates and still operate gainfully. “We believe,” said the SIU in a written statement to the Subcommittee on Federal Procurement and Regulation, “that a vigorous and affirmative policy by the government, to facilitate the construction of a new bulk carrier 1997 In an endeavor described by the U.S. Coast Guard as “an extraordinary display of seamanship” and a “nearly impossible rescue,” the SIU-crewed Sea Wolf saved six people stuck in a disabled sailboat, despite 30-foot seas and 50-knot winds. The rescue happened April 2, approximately 280 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., where the containership maneuvered alongside the 34-foot sloop Allegra and helped its passengers to safety. Seafarers LOG 17 �41545_P01-5_7_14_18_19:2007-March 3/23/2007 2:31 PM Page 18 Final Departures DEEP SEA RAYMOND FASSLER Pensioner Raymond Fassler, 80, passed away Aug. 26. Brother Fassler joined the union in 1978 in the port of San Francisco. He first sailed on the Santa Maria as a member of the steward department. Brother Fassler was born in California. Prior to retiring in 1992, he worked aboard the Overseas Juneau. Brother Fassler made his home in Huntington Beach, Calif. SHERMAN JONES Pensioner Sherman Jones, 75, died Aug. 13. Brother Jones began his career with the Marine Cooks & Stewards (MC&S) in 1958 in the port of San Francisco. The steward department member called Oakland, Calif. home. Brother Jones started collecting his retirement in 1980. ELI KRALICH Pensioner Eli Kralich, 84, passed away Aug. 8. Brother Kralich became a Seafarer in 1966. He first sailed aboard the Brigham Victory. Brother Kralich was a deck department member. His last voyage was aboard the Beaver State. Brother Kralich resided in his native state of Pennsylvania. He went on pension in 1987. PHILIP MAECHLING Pensioner Philip Maechling, 77, died Sept. 19. Brother Maechling was born in New Orleans. He began his seafaring career in 1947 on a Delta Steamship Lines vessel. Brother Maechling worked in the deck department. His concluding journey was aboard the Edward Rutledge. Brother Maechling settled in Louisiana. He began receiving compensation for his retirement in 1981. RICHARD MANALO Brother Richard Manalo, 62, passed away Aug. 5. He joined the SIU in 1988 initially sailing on the USNS Triumph. Brother Manalo, who was born in the Philippines, sailed in the steward department. His last ship was the Overseas Ohio. Brother Manalo made his home in Shoreline, Wash. EFRAIN MARTINEZ Pensioner Efrain Martinez, 82, died August 30. Brother Martinez started his seafaring career with the MC&S in the port of San Francisco. He shipped as a member of the steward department. Brother Martinez continued to live in his native Puerto Rico. He retired in 1974. TIBURCIO RAGUINDIN Pensioner Tiburcio Raguindin, 87, passed away Aug. 22. Brother Raguindin embarked on his SIU career in 1967. His first voyage was aboard a vessel operated by Hudson Waterways Corporation. Brother Raguindin, who was born in the Philippines, sailed in the engine department. His final voyage was aboard the 18 Seafarers LOG Overseas Washington. Brother Raguindin became a pensioner in 1984 and settled in Carson, Calif. and settled there. Boatman Feagin began collecting his pension in 1982. WILBUR HAUGHWOUT BERNARD ROMBACH Pensioner Bernard Rombach, 72, died Aug. 22. Brother Rombach began his seafaring career in 1969 in the port of San Francisco. His first ship was the Santa Magdalena; his last was the President Truman. Brother Rombach worked in the steward department. Born in Germany, he called San Francisco home. Brother Rombach started receiving his retirement pay in 1996. Boatman Wilbur Haughwout, 62, died Aug. 18. He started shipping with the union in 1960. Boatman Haughwout was born in Elizabeth, N.J. He began his seafaring career working on a Baltimore & Ohio Railroad of New York vessel. Boatman Haughwout most recently sailed on a vessel operated by New York Dock Railway Company. He made Simpsonville, N.C. home. WALTER HENRY ELMOOR STEWART Pensioner Elmoor Stewart, 72, passed away July 3. Brother Stewart joined the union in 1959 in the port of San Francisco. His first voyage was on the Del Mar. Brother Stewart was a member of the engine department. Before retiring in 1959, he shipped out on the Endurance. Brother Stewart was a resident of San Francisco. INLAND EDWARD CLINE Pensioner Edward Cline, 77, died Aug. 12. Boatman Cline joined the SIU in 1967, initially working aboard a Tangier Marine Transportation vessel. He last sailed on an Interstate Oil Transportation Company vessel. Boatman Cline, who was born in Ohio, resided in Baltimore. He went on pension in 1991. ALVIN COOLEY Pensioner Alvin Cooley, 82, passed away July 3. Boatman Cooley was born in Mississippi. He first sailed with Colle Towing Company as a member of the deck department. Boatman Cooley’s last voyage was aboard a National Marine Service vessel. He began collecting his retirement stipends in 1989. Boatman Cooley made his home in Leakesville, Miss. RAYMOND DABNEY Pensioner Raymond Dabney, 82, died July 23. Boatman Dabney joined the union in 1956 in the port of Baltimore. He worked primarily aboard vessels operated by Charles H. Harper and Associates. Boatman Dabney was born in Virginia. The deck department member went on pension in 1982. He lived in Barhamsville, Va. BERRY FEAGIN Pensioner Berry Feagin, 88, passed away June 21. Boatman Feagin became an SIU member in 1964. He first sailed aboard a vessel operated by Inland Tugs in the engine department. Boatman Feagin last worked aboard a Southern Ohio Towing vessel. He was born in Paducah, Ky. Pensioner Walter Henry, 81, passed away July 29. Boatman Henry was born in Ohio. He embarked on his seafaring career in 1979 initially working aboard a Dixie Carriers vessel. Boatman Henry sailed in both the inland and deep sea divisions. His most recent voyage was on the USNS Altair. Boatman Henry started receiving compensation for his retirement in 1991. He lived in Sealy, Texas. NEWMAN JONES Pensioner Newman Jones, 85, died July 9. Boatman Jones began sailing with the SIU in 1970 in the port of Philadelphia. He worked primarily aboard vessels operated by Gellenthin Barge Lines. Boatman Jones was a Virginia native. The Parksley, Va. resident retired in 1984. FLOYD LOLLEY Pensioner Floyd Lolley, 77, passed away July 31. Boatman Lolley joined the Seafarers in 1973. He worked primarily aboard Dravo Basic Materials Company vessels. Boatman Lolley was born in Alabama. He went on pension in 1992. Chickasaw, Ala. was home to Boatman Lolley. HOWARD OCHS Pensioner Howard Ochs, 85, died July 23. Boatman Ochs began his seafaring career in 1956 in the port of Baltimore. Born in Maryland, Boatman Ochs worked primarily aboard Moran Towing of Maryland vessels. He became a pensioner in 1982. Boatman Ochs was a resident of Glen Burnie, Md. ily aboard Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Company vessels. Boatman Powell was born in North Carolina. The deck department member went on pension in 1980. Boatman Powell made his home in Hampton, Va. CARMELO SALAMAN Pensioner Carmelo Salaman, 67, died Aug. 2. Boatman Salaman was born in Puerto Rico, which is also where he joined the union in 1976. He sailed primarily on vessels operated by Crowley Towing and Transportation of San Juan. Boatman Salaman was a member of the steward department. He began collecting his pension in 2000 and lived in Bayamon, P.R. JOHN YOUNG Pensioner John Young, 75, passed away July 30. Boatman Young joined the SIU in 1953, first sailing aboard an Alcoa Steamship vessel. He was a Mississippi native. Prior to his retirement in 1993, Boatman Young shipped aboard a Dravo Basic Materials Company vessel. He resided in Mobile, Ala. GREAT LAKES SAID ALTAIRI Pensioner Said Altairi, 74, died July 8. Brother Altairi, who was born in Yemen, launched his seafaring career in 1967. Brother Altairi sailed in both the Great Lakes and inland divisions. The deck department member’s first ship was the American Seaocean. Brother Altairi last worked aboard the Bob-Lo Island. He went on pension in 1997 and called Dearborn, Mich. home. Pensioner Paul Powell, 81, passed away Oct. 22. Boatman Powell joined the SIU in 1960. He worked primar- Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust have passed away. VERN ARMSTRONG Pensioner Vern Armstrong, 89, passed away June 23. Brother Armstrong joined the NMU in 1949 in the port of San Francisco. He worked in all three departments during his seafaring career. Brother Armstrong was born in San Diego, Calif. Before retiring in 1975, he sailed aboard the Export Freedom. SAMUEL CABERRA Pensioner Samuel Caberra, 77, died June 1. Brother Caberra was born in Puerto Rico. He joined the NMU in 1960 initially shipping from the port of New York. Brother Caberra’s first ship was the American Scout. The steward department member retired in 1987. JAMES CHEATHAM SR. Pensioner James Cheatham Sr., 77, passed away June 26. Brother Cheatham became an NMU member in 1965 in Seattle, Wash. His first ship was the Texaco Delaware. Brother Cheatham shipped in the engine department. He last sailed aboard the American Trader. Brother Cheatham began collecting his pension in 1987. JOHN FITZGERALD Pensioner John Fitzgerald, 71, passed away Aug. 14. Brother Fitzgerald became a member of the SIU in 1967. He initially worked aboard a vessel operated by Peter Kiewit Sons. Brother Fitzgerald sailed in the deck department. His last voyage was aboard a Luedtke Engineering vessel. Brother Fitzgerald was a resident of Chicago, Ill. He started receiving his retirement compensation in 1996. ALI HUBABI PAUL POWELL vessels as a member of the steward department. Brother Hubabi, who settled in Sanaa, Yemen, retired in 1996. Pensioner Ali Hubabi, 74, died June 21. Brother Hubabi started sailing with the SIU in 1963 in the port of Duluth, Minn. He worked primarily aboard Great Lakes Associates VICTORIO CORRALES Pensioner Victorio Corrales, 85, died June 3. Brother Corrales joined the NMU in 1945. He was born in Costa Rica and sailed in the engine department. Brother Corrales’ last voyage was on the Gulf Merchant. He retired in 1983. ROSARIO RANNO Pensioner Rosario Ranno, 82, passed away June 13. Brother Ranno joined the NMU in 1944, first sailing from the port of New York. The steward department member, who was born in Middletown, Conn., last sailed aboard the Christopher Lykes. He went on pension in 1979. April 2007 �41545_P01-5_7_14_18_19:2007-March 3/23/2007 4:41 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. CHARLESTON (U.S.S. Transport), Feb. 25—Chairman Elkanah B. Ladia, Secretary Michael M. Amador, Deck Delegate Eddie Major, Engine Delegate Philip Diego. Chairman encouraged all members to attend SIU meetings, whether at sea or ashore. They are the proper time to addresses any beefs. Educational director recommended mariners upgrade skills at Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. and check to make sure that all required shipping documents are current. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion made to increase pension benefits and modify prescription coverage. Next port: Houston. CHEMICAL TRADER (Intrepid Personnel & Provisioning), Feb. 25—Chairman Raymond A. Tate, Secretary Rocel C. Alvarez, Educational Director Troy D. Banks, Deck Delegate Francis C. Johnson, Engine Delegate Lebindra B. Mahavaj, Steward Delegate Manes Sainvil. Chairman announced Feb. 28 payoff in Tampa, Fla. He thanked crew for another safe voyage—790 days without a lost-time incident. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Clarification requested on which holidays are observed. Vote of thanks given to steward department. Crew members voted to have HBO put back in line-up of satellite stations. HARRIETTE (Sealift), Feb. 4— Chairman Sean M. Ryan, Secretary George Quinn, Educational Director Joseph M. Tuata. Chairman stated ship to discharge cargo in New Orleans and then pay off in Houston. He thanked crew for enjoyable voyage. Educational director encouraged members to upgrade frequently at union-affiliated school in Piney Point. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Thanks given to steward department for their hard work. Next port: Durban, South Africa. HORIZON ANCHORAGE (Horizon Lines), Feb. 4— Chairman Daniel W. Seagle, Secretary Amanda F. Suncin, Educational Director Brian S. Leach, Deck Delegate Frank Bermudez, Steward Delegate Joel P. Crow. Chairman announced Feb. 5 payoff at sea and docking two days later in Tacoma, Wash. Secretary advised Seafarers to upgrade skills at Paul Hall Center and urged them to contribute to SPAD, which in turn helps our union leaders fight for better ships and jobs. Educational director reminded crew members to check document expiration dates. No beefs or disputed OT reported. President’s report from January Seafarers LOG read and discussed. Crew expressed appreciation for strong union leaders. HORIZON HAWAII (Horizon Lines), Feb. 7—Chairman Antonio M. Mercado, Secretary Carlos H. Sanchez, Educational April 2007 Director Roy S. Frett Jr., Deck Delegate Isaac Vega, Engine Delegate Keithley Andrew, Steward Delegate George R. Salazar. Chairman announced Feb. 9 payoff at sea and thanked all departments for working well together. He asked crew to have union books and dues ready for boarding patrolman in port of Jacksonville. Secretary thanked deck department and bosun for great job painting main deck. room. Vote of thanks given to entire steward department. HORIZON PACIFIC (Horizon Lines), Feb. 20—Chairman Rufino J. Giray, Secretary Robert P. Mosley, Educational Director Irwin Rousseau, Deck Delegate Julius C. Udan, Engine Delegate Ali Hussin, Steward Delegate Thomas C. Ferrell. Bosun stressed importance of contributing to SPAD and how it benefits the membership. He also urged members to check in with customs/immigration before leaving ship and make sure to stop by the union hall to re-register. Those getting off should leave room neat and supplied with clean linen for next person. Secretary led discussion on new TWIC card and informed Seafarers of on-line site. He also talked about upgrading at Paul Hall Center and of keeping all documents current. Treasurer stated $341.26 in cook-out fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. President’s report in Seafarers this month. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Chairman read and discussed presidents report from latest Seafarers LOG.. Members requested new lamp shades and artwork for common areas and rooms. Crew thanked steward department for job well done. Next ports: Tacoma; Oakland, Calif. HORIZON TRADER (Horizon Lines), Feb. 4—Chairman Gregorio C. Cudal, Secretary Kevin M. Dougherty, Educational Director Joseph H. Brown, Engine Delegate Mohamed M. Abdulla, Steward Delegate Sam K. Rashid. Bosun announced payoff at sea prior to arrival in Oakland, Calif. He informed members of increase in union dues and days of seatime required to keep benefits. Educational director recommended eligible members attend school in Piney Point for recertification. Treasurer stated $700 in crew fund; some money was spent to buy bench press. It was suggested to save toward cost Cape Jacob Seafarers Recognized Two SIU members recently received commendations for their good work aboard Matson’s Cape Jacob. They are SAs David Mohamed (center in photo above left) and Bruce Davidson (second from right in photo above right). According to the company, Mohamed received Matson’s “Inspiration Award” for his outstanding contribution to the vessel’s steward department. “David is a hard worker who demonstrates exceptional thoughtfulness and consideration towards the rest of the crew,” a Matson official noted in a communication to the Seafarers LOG. That same individual said of Davidson, who was named “Steward of the Quarter,” “Bruce is a hard worker and gives special attention to maintaining a safe work environment aboard the ship.” Both Seafarers are pictured with Capt. Tom Stapleton (left) and Capt. Morgan McManus (far right). Chief Steward Jane Altieri is at far left in the photo that includes Davidson. The vessel (right) is part of the RRF but is activated for duty with MSC’s prepositioning program. Educational director encouraged mariners to check out wide variety of courses offered at Piney Point school. He also reminded them to keep documents current or chance losing out on a job. Renewals often take a long time, so Seafarers should start the process well in advance. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestions made regarding medical benefit requirements and raising pension benefit. LOG was read and discussed. Crew thanked President Sacco and his staff for their hard work. Steward department was thanked for great menus and cook-outs. Captain congratulated Seafarers for good job on sanitary inspection. All crew members were asked to keep noise down while watchstanders are resting. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash.; Oakland, Calif.; Hawaii; Guam; Hong Kong. HORIZON KODIAK (Horizon Lines), Feb. 11—Chairman Christopher K. Pompel, Secretary Wanda J. Glinke, Educational Director Brian J. Sengelaub, Deck Delegate Robert H. Brown, Engine Delegate Ralph D. Thomas, Steward Delegate Thomas M. Kelly. Chairman announced Feb. 11 payoff at sea with arrival in Tacoma three days later. He reminded crew to wear hard hats and safety vests on deck while in port. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew members were asked to be considerate of others and not slam doors in laundry HORIZON SPIRIT (Horizon Lines), Feb. 15—Chairman Howard W. Gibbs, Secretary Scott A. Opsahl, Educational Director Robert L. Stafford, Deck Delegate Rene V. Rafer, Engine Delegate Gordon L Hiltbruner. Chairman announced Feb. 17 payoff in Tacoma, Wash. He informed crew of DVD storage space in steward’s office. Secretary expressed gratitude to fellow crew members for helping keep pantry and mess hall clean. Educational director advised Seafarers to check expiration dates on all necessary documents needed to ship. Treasurer stated $30 in ship’s fund of satellite TV system. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Computer monitor was broken during heavy seas; new one to be installed and secured shortly. It was noted that crew lounge does not have TV reception in port. Steward assistant requested everyone put dirty linen in proper bags and not store personal food in crew mess reefer (use refrigerators in rooms). Next ports: Oakland and Los Angeles, Calif.; Honolulu. LIBERTY SPIRIT (Liberty Maritime), Feb. 4—Chairman Jimmie L. Scheck, Secretary Randy A. Stephen, Educational Director David M. Tillman, Deck Delegate Ronald Owens, Steward Delegate Andres L. Caballero. Chairman thanked crew members for safe, smooth voyage and announced Feb. 7 payoff in Portland, Ore. Secretary advised members to keep up with changes in dues amounts and benefit requirements. He informed them he has application forms for all benefits, including medical, dental and vacation. Educational director discussed importance of keeping track of expiration dates on required shipping documents. He also encouraged crew to upgrade ratings whenever possible. Beef reported in deck department; no disputed OT in all three departments. Request made for new washer and dryer as well as new mattresses for crew rooms. Chairman thanked all departments for performing their jobs very well and completing another successful voyage. MAERSK VERMONT (Maersk Line Limited), Feb. 3—Chairman James L. Joyce Jr., Secretary Robert J. Bostick, Educational Director Michael T. Gaciala. Chairman led discussion about importance of SPAD. Educational director recommend all members improve job performance by attending classes at Paul Hall Center whenever possible. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew suggested having vacation checks sent to their homes or deposited directly into their bank accounts. Clarification requested on restriction to ship in Haifa. Vote of thanks given to steward department for being a good feeder. Suggestions given as to improvements in ship’s gym and increase in pension payments. Next ports: New York; Norfolk, Va.; Savannah, Ga. USNS FRED STOCKHAM (Keystone Shipping), Feb. 9— Chairman Andy Barrows, Secretary Robert L. Easley, Educational Director Robert A. Ott, Steward Delegate Vernon S. Thibodeaux. Chairman requested clarification on tour of duty aboard the Stockham as well as manning scale for steward department. Secretary urged Seafarers to upgrade whenever possible at SIUaffiliated school. Educational director advised crew members to stay informed about new TWIC cards and other information. Treasurer stated $3,000 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Members would like copy of written evaluation of ship given by Keystone. Crew also requested new mattresses, books, movies and lounge. Next port: Guam. HORIZON RELIANCE (Horizon Lines), March 4—Chairman Douglas Buchanan, Secretary Paula S. Kaleikini, Educational Director Randy D. Clark, Engine Delegate Erwin C. Udan. Chairman announced payoff at sea en route to Tacoma, Wash. He informed crew they will have rough weather most of the way home and asked them to secure everything. Secretary reported new refrigerator for mess hall scheduled to arrive in Tacoma. Educational director thanked both apprentices for working so hard during their time aboard vessel. Treasurer stated $1,000 in ship’s fund. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash.; Oakland, Calif.; Honolulu; Guam. MAERSK NEVADA (Maersk Line Limited), March 3—Chairman Thomas W. Grosskurth, Secretary Dulip Sookhiram, Educational Director Albert Riollano, Engine Delegate Andy F. Iliscupidez. Chairman congratulated crew on no lost3-time injuries and advised them to check expiration dates on all required shipping documents. Educational director urged all mariners to take advantage of educational opportunities available at Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward department given vote of thanks for excellent food. Next port: New York. Seafarers LOG 19 �41545_P6_8-13_15-17_20-24qxp:2007-March 3/23/2007 2:42 PM Page 20 For Your Maritime Reading Pleasure . . . A number of books recently have been published or reprinted that may appeal to Seafarers and others interested in the seafaring life. Good Shipmates “Good Shipmates, The Restoration of the Liberty Ship John W. Brown, Volume Two: 19952006.” Written by Ernest F. Imhoff with a foreword by Russell Baker (Pulitzer Prize-winning author and columnist), this is the second volume of history written by the former Baltimore Sun editor and current volunteer on the Liberty ship John W. Brown. Through more than 200 interviews with fellow volunteers on the ship, Imhoff captures their adventures and life lessons in a colorful mosaic of hard work, volunteerism, camaraderie and inspiration. In the process, he carries the reader along on a fascinating voyage, one that describes veterans and others who ignore broken and diseased backs, knees, hips and eyes, and work with never-say-die spirits to help save a piece of American history. The John W. Brown is one of only two remaining Liberty ships of the 2,710 that were built during World War II. It still operates and sails today as a living history museum, a tribute to the American know-how that won the war, and to the “good shipmates” that brought that spirit to their ship, preserving a special part of history for generations to come. Good Shipmates runs 416 pages with more than 100 illustrations and sell for $24.95. Available from your local book store or directly from the publisher, The Glencannon Press, P.O. Box 1428 El Cerrito, CA 94530; tel. (800) 711-8985. A Careless Word “A Careless Word . . . A Needless Sinking.” This is the 8th reprinting of this book, written by Capt. Arthur R. Moore. The book is a treasure of reference material—a documented account, under one cover, of the catastrophic losses suffered by the American-flag Merchant Marine, both in ships and personnel, during World War II. It is a valuable research tool for anyone interested in the American Merchant Marine and the wartime service and sacrifice of our seamen. Capt. Moore has devoted more than 30 years gathering data pertaining to the very important and vital role played by the U.S. Merchant Marine in winning the war. They were a critical part of the “bridge of ships” that supplied our military forces worldwide. It is the story of the valiant seamen and Navy gunners who served and died without recognition and the ships on which they sailed. The names of lost seamen are recorded by vessel along with, in many cases, a photo of their ship and details of the battle action. Additional illustrations bring the magnitude of this tragedy to light. The Dennis A. Roland Chapter of the American Merchant Marine Veterans has produced a limited number of this 8th printing. Copies of the large, fivepound volume are offered at a cost of $85 (plus $5 shipping and handling). Quotes for multiples copies and foreign delivery may be obtained from: American Merchant Marine Veterans—Dennis A. Roland Chapter, P.O. Box 306, Midland Park, NJ 07432. At All Costs “At All Costs: How a Crippled Ship and Two Merchant Mariners Turned the Tide of World War II,” written by Sam Moses, published by Random House. This book tells the story of Operation Pedestal, a supply convoy sent to rescue the strategically important island of Malta from surrender to the Axis forces during World War II. It specifically focuses on two American merchant seamen, Fred Larsen and Francis “Lonnie” Dales, who helped repair the anti-aircraft gun on a crippled oil tanker (and its cargo of 13,000 tons of fuel) in the middle of the Mediterranean and led a handful of men in fighting off enemy planes for days. Operation Pedestal involved 14 merchant vessels guarded by 64 warships. Thirteen ships were lost and approximately 350 men were killed. The actions of these two young men earned them the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal “for heroism above and byond the call of duty.” Although both men have since died, Moses talked to their widows and, among other resources, also listened to a taped interview with Larsen about the operation that had been recorded by a Newark chapter of the merchant marine. As of mid-March, the book was available on amazon.com for $17. Life of a Bluenose “Life of a Bluenose” is the first published book written by SIU member Robert Gary Haller. At just 15 pages long, it is an autobiographical account of Haller’s seafaring career, starting with his arrival as a 16-year-old for training at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. Haller proudly recognizes the contributions of his family in the Merchant Marine and in service to their country. His three older brothers (Chuck, Joe and John) had gone through the school; his younger brother Mike also joined up. His father served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. The title comes from the “Bluenose Certificate” which is awarded to someone crossing the Arctic Circle for the first time. The book is dedicated to his brother Chuck who died at the age of 46. His ashes are buried beneath a plaque at the school in honor of his 30 years in the Merchant Marine. The book is published by Dorrance Publishing, (412) 288-4543. It sells for $8. Are You Receiving All Your Important Mail? In order to help ensure that each active SIU member and pensioner receives a copy of the Seafarers LOG every month—as well as other important mail such as W-2 forms, pension and health insurance checks and bulletins or notices—a correct home address must be on file with the union. If you have moved recently or feel that you are not getting your union mail, please use the form on this page to update your home address. Your home address is your permanent address, and this is where all official union documents will be mailed (unless otherwise specified). If you are getting more than one copy of the LOG delivered to you, if you have changed your address, or if your name or address is misprinted or incomplete, please fill out the form and send it to: Seafarers International Union Address Correction Dept. 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 or e-mail corrections to kclements@seafarers.org HOME ADDRESS FORM 4/07 (Please Print) Name: ___________________________________________________________________________ Phone No.: _______________________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ Social Security No.: ________ / ________ / ________ Active SIU Pensioner Book No.: ___________________ Other _______________________________________ This will be my permanent address for all official union mailings. This address should remain in the union file unless otherwise changed by me personally. 20 Seafarers LOG Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. April 2007 �41545_P6_8-13_15-17_20-24qxp:2007-March 3/23/2007 2:42 PM Page 21 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. for most of 2007. All programs are geared to improve the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Junior Engineer July 16 September 7 Machinist June 18 July 9 July 6 July 27 Marine Electrician September 24 November 16 Pumpman* July 9 July 30 July 20 August 10 Refrigeration Engineer April 23 June 1 Advanced Refrigerated Container May 21 June 15 Welding April 9 May 7 June 11 August 6 October 1 October 29 April 27 May 25 June 29 August 24 October 19 November 16 (*must have tankerman familiarization/ assistant cargo (DL) AND machinist) Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman April 16 May 28 July 9 August 20 October 1 May 11 June 22 August 3 September 14 October 26 Automatic Radar Plotting Aids* (ARPA) (*must have radar unlimited) June 18 October 22 June 22 October 26 Celestial Navigation July 9 GMDSS Lifeboatman/Water Survival Safety Specialty Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Advanced Fire Fighting April 16 July 9 April 27 July 20 Fast Rescue Boat May 21 June 25 July 23 August 27 May 25 June 29 July 27 August 31 August 3 Basic Safety Training Classes are conducted weekly August 13 August 24 Government Vessels April 2 May 14 June 25 August 6 September 17 October 29 April 13 May 25 July 6 August 17 September 28 November 9 May 28 June 25 July 16 August 6 September 17 November 5 June 1 June 29 July 20 August 10 September 21 November 9 Medical Care Provider Radar June 4 October 8 June 15 October 19 April 30 July 23 May 4 July 27 Radar Renewal (one day) June 25 October 29 Tankerman Familiarization/ Assistant Cargo (DL)* April 2 June 4 September 24 November 26 April 13 June 15 October 5 December 7 June 4 August 13 June 8 August 17 (*must have basic fire fighting) Tankerman (PIC) Barge* Steward Upgrading Courses (*must have basic fire fighting) Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations modules start every week. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward classes start every other week beginning April 2, 2007. Recertification Bosun April 9 October 8 May 7 November 5 Steward July 9 August 6 Engine Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Basic Auxiliary Plant Ops May 21 July 16 September 10 June 15 August 10 October 5 FOWT April 23 June 18 August 13 October 8 May 18 July 13 September 7 November 2 Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Date of Birth ______________________ With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twentyfive (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. BEGIN DATE COURSE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Seniority _____________________________ Department _____________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ U.S. Citizen: ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Yes No Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Yes Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ April 2007 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 4/07 Seafarers LOG 21 �41545_P6_8-13_15-17_20-24x:1545p0 3/27/2007 3:13 PM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes AB — Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 683 — Graduating from the water survival course are unlicensed apprentices from class 683. They include (in alphabetical order) Fernando Abuan, Francis Brown, Ja’Quaral Carroll, Lawrence Cormier, Peter Dudoit III, Timothy Foster, Andrew Fung, Dominic Gordon, Quince Harrington, Paul Hart, Edward Kelly, Joel Marcano-Lopez Sr., Terrell McMillian, Hussein Mohsen, Renard Murphy, Charles Naze, Tashara Newton, Johnnie Owens Jr., Rodney Payne, Kenneth Sumner, Bradley Wade, Teena Werner, Lee Weygandt and Phillip Ziegert. (Note: not all are pictured.) Receiving certificates for completion of the AB course Feb. 16 are (in no specific order) David Anderson, Shawana Mills, Stephen McGruder, Jeffry Cesvet, Jesse Willard, Thomas Jarrett, Richard Moore, Jeremy Finley, Timothy Kauble, Christopher Vincenzo, Patrick Tucker, Wayne Altoonian, Richard Kight, Brendan O’Brien, John Galatioto, Christopher Bryant, Ryan Scott and Annie Walker. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is at far right. Advanced Fire Fighting — Government Vessels — Upgrading Seafarers who completed the government vessels course Feb. 23 are (in no specific order) James Callahan, William Burdette, Juan Bernal-Helices, Dorkucho Tanihu, Towfiek Ahmed, Glenn Davis, Patrick Tucker, Richard Moore and Pete Hernandez. Their instructor (not pictured) was Mark Cates. Academic — Rahul Bagchi recently completed two collegelevel courses at the Piney Point school: College mathematics II (Math 102) and American government (POL 101). Bagchi, who ships in the engine department, is the recipient of the 2006 SIU threeyear college scholarship. He has been accepted by the State University of New York Maritime College in the Facilities (Stationary) Engineering Program and expects to start school in New York in the fall. We wish him the best of luck in using this scholarship to further his maritime career. With him in the photo are instructors Peggy Densford (left) and Rick Prucha. Graduating from the advanced fire fighting course Feb. 16 are (in no specific order) Robert Kirk, Cameron Miller, Joseph Murphy, Milton Walters, Anthony Pacely Jr. and Shawn Waring. Their instructor (not pictured) was Mark Cates. Welding — Under the instruction of Buzzy Andrews (center, back row) are March 2 graduates (in alphabetical order) Jaime Colon, Abdulwali Eljahmi, Jason Femminineo, Joseph Krajnik, Yaser Mohamed, Timothy Reiman and Michael Sinclair. Computer Lab Classes With instructor Rick Prucha, standing in each photo, are students who recently completed computer classes at the Paul Hall Center. Showing their certificates of achievement are (from left) Seafarers Domingo Leon Jr.; Rahul Bagchi and Steve McGruder; and unlicensed apprentice Andres Nunez. 22 Seafarers LOG April 2007 �41545_P6_8-13_15-17_20-24x:1545p0 3/27/2007 3:13 PM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes Coastal Navigation — Students in the Mates Program recently completed coastal navigation as well as the cargo handling and the stability courses. They are (in no specific order) Adam Emanuel, Robert Stone, Philip Wright, David Lane II, Darrel Konce, Clyde McNatt, Joey Lupton, Jay Templet, Scott Chew, Kesse Kesse and James Raney. Their instructor, Mike Smith, is at far right. Tankerman (PIC) Barge — With instructor Herb Walling (back row, second from right) are Feb. 23 graduates of the tankerman (PIC) barge course. Included are (in no specific order) Lawrence Lewis, Robert Sandman, Owen Gallagher, Joel Patzer, Christopher Vincenzo, Shawn Waring, Roy Carey, Grant Fedukovich, Donald Autery and Reynaldo Bangcob. Specially Trained OS — Two STOS classes that graduated Feb. 23 are pictured here. They include (in alphabetical order) Abdo Ahmed, Paul Amato, Brian Awde, Justin Beal, Cameron Benson, Ja’Quaral Carroll, Lawrence Cormier, William Cruz, Pedro DeJesus, Jarrod Fluitt, Philip Gallagher, Clayton Lupton, James Luttrell, Ryan McElroy, Renard Murphy, Sadeq Nasser, Johnnie Owens Jr., Rolando Salamat, Terrance Shinn, Stefra Strauser, Steven Szymanski, Eric Thomas, Teena Werner, Jake Wheeler and Phillip Ziegert. Their instructors were Stacey Harris (fourth from right) and Stan Beck (far right). Tanker Familiarization/Assistant Cargo (DL) — Upgrading Seafarers who completed this course Feb. 23 are (in no specific order) John Groom, Gary Hirsch, Jeffery Martin, Vincent Hamm, Laurent Abad, Mario Ferrer, Arthur Quinney III, Thaddeus Jalvia, Roger Steel, Thomas McClintock and Shane Mackey. Their instructor, Jim Shaffer, is at far right. Lifeboatman/Water Survival — Upgrading ABs who graduated from the lifeboatman/water survival course March 2 are (in no specific order) Kevin Stehlik, Rolando Salamat, James Orlanda, Joselito Beof, Nicasio Arzu, German Guity, Durlas Ruiz, Chris Christensen, James Donohue, Joseph Brown, Fermin Baltazar, Ernest Bohannon, Corsino Dacruz, Jose Garcia, Charles Bennett, Juan Ortiz and Michael Moody. STCW — NCL, March 8: Corrina Grover, James Hackl, Constance Hall, Reshan Hart, William Hildebrandt, Lauren Hollenstein, Orale Hood, Jeffrey Hubert, Arnold Impat, David Ingram, Bryan Iseli, Derric Johnson, Matthew Johnson, Lamar Jordan, Chelsey Key, Jayce Kielich, Jennifer Kliegl, Jessica Laing, Manuel Lazar Jr., Meryl Levine, Gregory Lindesay and Bryan Mash. April 2007 STCW — NCL, March 8: Fazli Azizi, Zachary Balstars, Jan-Ember Bartolome, Ashley Black, Oreatha Bowman, Jaonte Boyd, Leslie Britts, David Brodowski, Marcialyn Camacho, Keiana Carter, Bentley Cherry, Larry Cuestas, Emiliano DeJesus Jr., Corelle DeChane, Sterling Ellis, Mathias Enderle III, Emily Entley, Kimika Frater, Andrea Fusco and Angel Garcia-Edie. Seafarers LOG 23 �41545_P6_8-13_15-17_20-24qxp:2007-March 3/23/2007 2:44 PM Page 24 Volume 69, Number 4 April 2007 Upgrading at the Paul Hall Center Take advantage of the upgrading courses available at the Paul Hall Center. See page 21 for a schedule of upcoming classes. RRF Ship Returns from Middle East Mission Cape Washington Completes Most Recent Deployment in OIF The SIU-crewed Cape Washington, part of the RRF, successfully completed a recent mission supporting American troops in Iraq. Cape Washington QMED/ Electrician Eric Mentzer proudly displays his full union book, which he received last month. T he SIU-crewed Cape Washington recently returned from a deployment supporting U.S. troops in Iraq. The vessel, operated by Crowley Liner Services, arrived in Baltimore in early March. Representatives from the U.S. Maritime Administration came aboard and issued medals and certificates to Seafarers for their service. The Cape Washington is part of the Ready Reserve Force (RRF), a fleet of civilian-crewed ships owned by the Maritime Administration. At least 40 RRF ships have participated in missions supporting U.S. troops in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. A roll-on/roll-off ship, the Cape Washington is 697 feet long, with a beam of 105 feet, 11 inches and a draft of 38 feet. The ship’s speed is listed at 14.9 knots. The vessel has been activated multiple times during Operations Enduring Freedom/Iraqi Freedom. When they aren’t deployed, RRF vessels typically are kept pier-side in reduced operating status, with a skeleton crew on board. The mariners monitor operating systems and help ensure that the ships are ready for smooth acti- AB Mrimri Farah (left) and GVA Michael Alghafeili, like their fellow crew members from the Cape Washington, received U.S. Merchant Marine Expeditionary Medals and corresponding certificates from the U.S. Maritime Administration after finishing the deployment. vation whenever the call is received. Various RRF ships have different activation periods—anywhere from four to 20 days, although they normally are ready to mobilize ahead of schedule. The Cape Washington has a five-day activation period. Upon activation, RRF ships come under the operational control of the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command. The agency notes that RRF vessels “normally are maintained at ports close to potential military load-out sites on U.S. coasts….” In addition to mobilizations for current and recent missions in the Middle East, RRF ships historically have been very active in many types of deployments including humanitarian efforts. Among other voyages, RRF ships—many of them crewed by SIU members—were activated in the 1990s for the Persian Gulf War; for humanitarian efforts in Somalia and Central America; to support United Nations and NATO actions in Bosnia; and for Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti. The photos on this page were taken March 7 in Baltimore. GVA Jaqueline Elsworth Chief Steward McKinley Jones SA Jose Ramos Some of the Seafarers and officers from the Cape Washington are pictured in the crew mess. Right: QMED Justin Van Pelt QMED George Murphy � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 April 2007 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES TSA PUBLISHES TWIC FEES RANK-AND-FILE FINANCIAL COMMITTEE APPROVES UNION’S RECORDS FOR 2006 U.S. FLEET’S IMPORTANCE, LABOR’S VITALITY IN FOCUS AT MTD MEETINGS GOOD NEWS COMES IN THREES: OSG ORDERS JONES ACT ATBS POWELL, WARE APPOINTED TO SIU ASSISTANT VP SLOTS SIU’S VINCENZO APPOINTED TO STATE LABOR COMMITTEE SIU-CREWED PAGE HONORED RETIRED MATSON PRESIDENT MULHOLLAND DIES AT 65 HOUSE PASSES EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT CHAOTIC RUNAWAY-FLAG SAGA REINFORCES ITF’S EFFECTIVENESS TRAINING DIRECTOR EGLINTON RETIRES DUTIES GREATLY EVOLVED DURING 34 YEARS IN PINEY POINT SCHOOL ADDS LIQUEFIED GAS SIMULATOR SIU STEWARDS’ RECIPE FOR SUCCESS FEATURES HARD WORK, PERSISTENCE GOVERNMENT SERVICES DIVISION STATES CASE IN HOTEL DISPUTE RETIRED NMU PRESIDENT SHANNON WALL DIES AT 87 USNS ERICSSON CIVMARS EARN ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD MARITIME LABOR MOURNS LOSS OF TAL SIMPKINS USNS SHUGART DELIVERS EXPERIMENTAL NAVY SHIP RECOLLECTIONS OF THE MERCHANT MARINE IN WORLD WAR II MTD EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING MILITARY LEADERS: U.S. MARINERS CRUCIAL TO DEFENSE CAPABILITIES GEN. SCHWARTZ, LT. GEN. DAIL REAFFIRM VALUE OF U.S.-FLAG FLEET CONGRESSIONAL REPS POINT TO FREE CHOICE ACT, 2006 ELECTIONS AS PROOF OF LABORS’ VITALITY MARITIME ADMINISTRATOR DISCUSSES AGENCY REORGANIZATION, NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR U.S. SEAFARERS TRUMKA: POLITICAL ACTION VITAL FOR WORKERS LCA PRESIDENT URGES GOVERNMENT ACTION ON LAKES DREDGING CRISIS WORLD WAR II LIBERTY SHIP TO SET SAIL IN AUGUST RRF SHIP RETURNS FROM MIDDLE EAST MISSION Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 04/01/2007 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. 69, No. 4 2007 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/b0fbadad6b8cbb586f8c26be0f798681.pdf 94bb704453782554774ceabae2da6c03 PDF Text Text 40749_p1,4,6,7,8,10,11,12,17,18,19,20X:2007-March 2/22/2007 7:14 PM Page 1 Volume 69, Number 3 March 2007 More Tankers d e r e rd O Aker Philadelphia to Build up to 6 Additional Ships for OSG SIU-contracted Overseas Shipholding Group on Feb. 7 announced it has signed an agreement through which Aker Philadelphia Shipyard will construct up to six additional Veteran-Class tankers. OSG will operate those ships in addition to 10 other tankers already being built at the yard. The first in the class—the Overseas Houston—is pictured above while on sea trials in mid-December. Page 3. Prepositioning Ships Play Vital Role in U.S. Sealift Capability U.S.-flag prepositioning ships like the Franklin J. Phillips (pictured in photos at right) are vital to America’s capacity to quickly, safely and reliably deliver materiel during contingencies, notes the U.S. Military Sealift Command. Pictured at far right are members of the Phillips’ deck gang (from left): Bosun Robert Buzard, AB Ruben Gamboa, AB Jim Stetter, AB Ethan Mims, AB Ron Rizzuto and AB Roy Rhodes. Additional details about the prepositioning program and more photos appear on pages 10 and 11. Houston-Area SIU Members March In Historic Parade Honoring Dr. King Approximately 20 Seafarers and SIU officials from the Houston area on Jan. 15 participated in the first ever national AFL-CIO observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in Texas. Seafarers also took part in related events in Houston throughout the week, including community service projects. Pictured at the parade are members and officials along with AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Rich Trumka (fourth from right). SIU VP Gulf Coast Dean Corgey is next to Trumka, fifth from left. Page 4. Pro-Labor Bill Re-Introduced Page 5 Photos from Petty’s Island Page 20 �40749_p2,3,4,9,13,14,15,16X:2007-March 2/22/2007 6:56 PM Page 2 President’s Report U.S. Crews Belong on New LNGs Although I’ve never pretended to be impartial on the subject, I’ve always been very sincere in my belief that SIU members are the besttrained, safest and most productive unlicensed mariners in the world. I’m equally truthful in saying that when it comes to reliability, qualifications and a proven track record, I believe you simply can’t do better than the U.S. Merchant Marine as a whole. We in the SIU have a well-earned reputation of making sure our members have received state-of-theart training as well as the latest information before Michael Sacco climbing the gangway. Whether it’s STCW training or tankerman courses or background checks or some other requirement, it seems we’re constantly being tested, both literally and figuratively. It hasn’t always been easy, but we’ve met every challenge. Our rankand-file members have delivered. Our affiliated school, the Paul Hall Center, has been nothing short of vital in helping ensure that SIU members don’t just meet the minimum requirements, but instead have access to the absolute “latest and greatest” training tools and techniques. Our contracted companies, of course, are key partners in this effort, too. They have a lot at stake, and they are willing to invest in vessel and mariner safety by supporting cutting-edge SIU and Paul Hall Center training initiatives. Many times, our members receive training before it is government-mandated. As the saying goes, we’re ready, willing and able to deliver the goods, anytime, anywhere. And we happen to believe we can do it better and safer than anyone else. With that in mind, it was heartening to read last month about strong support for using American crews in conjunction with new U.S.-based LNG projects that are right on the horizon. Specifically, U.S. Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce and Homeland Security Committees, and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick both spoke out in favor of utilizing U.S. mariners aboard all ships calling on new LNG terminals in their state. Congressman Markey said, “While tougher screening and security measures were put in place for these (LNG) vessels following 9-11, I do believe that use of U.S. crews would help increase confidence in the safety and security of LNG shipments into the Commonwealth. In the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks, we found out those LNG tankers docking at the Everett terminal had been used to smuggle aliens into the U.S. and that one of them was later implicated in the Millennium bombing plot.” Governor Patrick stated, “The safe and secure transportation of liquefied natural gas is critical to the wellbeing of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The use of U.S. citizen crews will help to accomplish this critical obligation…. The use of U.S. citizen crew members on these vessels will help to best serve the Commonwealth.” As you probably know, Massachusetts isn’t the only state pursuing possible new opportunities involving LNG terminals. But it is welcome news, to say the least, to see their elected officials taking such a strong stand in favor of U.S. crews. I’m sure our entire industry appreciates the vote of confidence. Meanwhile, SIU members should know that this union is ready to take advantage of new openings aboard LNG ships. Among other efforts, we are updating our LNG training program, including installation of an LNG simulator at the Paul Hall Center. Stay tuned. Bethel is National President of American Maritime Officers The American Maritime Officers (AMO) recently announced that Thomas J. Bethel was elected by a unanimous vote of the union’s National Executive Committee to complete the fouryear term of former AMO National President Michael McKay. McKay was re-elected as national president by the AMO membership in 2006. McKay resigned his position Jan. 8, 2007 after being convicted of multiple felonies in a federal trial. Bethel was re-elected as AMO national executive vice president in the union’s 2006 election. The AMO National Executive Committee Jan. 8 designated Bethel by unanimous vote to complete McKay’s term, which began Jan. 1, 2007. AMO National Secretary-Treasurer Jose Leonard, AMO Great Lakes Vice President Daniel Smith, AMO Deep-Sea Vice President Joseph Gremelsbacker and AMO Vice President at Large Edward Kelly supported Bethel to serve as AMO national president. Bethel vowed to work closely with rank-and-file AMO members to “right the ship” in the wake of the criminal case against McKay, the union reported in its monthly newspaper. “I have every confidence in the AMO membership, and I want all AMO members to know with absolute certainty that they can have every confidence in me and in the new national executive board of our union,” Bethel said Jan. 8. “The membership’s trust in us will not be squandered.” Michael McKay and his brother, former AMO National Secre- AMO National President Thomas J. Bethel tary-Treasurer Robert McKay, were convicted of several felonies Jan. 5 in United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. SIU Ships Deliver in Operation Deep Freeze Two SIU-crewed ships recently overcame severe weather to deliver vital cargo in “Operation Deep Freeze,” the annual resupply mission to the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station in Antarctica. The American Tern (operated by OspreyAcomarit Ship Management) and the USNS Paul Buck (Ocean Shipholdings, Inc.) sailed through rough seas and high winds and around small icebergs to reach McMurdo Station, according to a report by the U.S. Military Sealift Command. The National Science Foundation used two icebreakers, USCGC Polar Sea and Swedish icebreaker Oden, which began work in December to break a channel through 18 miles of ice that separated the open water from the pier. The SIU-crewed ships followed that channel. “They made it on time and did their job,” noted Larry Larsson, Deep Freeze Project manager at MSC’s Sealift Logistics Command Pacific, speaking of the civilian-crewed U.S. vessels. The American Tern, a dry cargo ship, arrived at the base Feb. 4 and spent the next few days offloading more than 29,000 tons of equipment, food and other supplies. The ship then spent another three days loading cargo for a return trip to the United States, with a stop in New Zealand. This shipment was to include ice core samples that will provide scientists studying global climate change with information about the composition of the atmosphere hundreds of thousands of years ago. The tanker Paul Buck had arrived at the station Feb. 1 and pumped off 162,000 barrels of fuel for equipment ranging from generators to helicopters. Tim Pickering, MSC cargo project officer, said ships like the Seafarers-crewed vessels used in Operation Deep Freeze are vital in keeping the base running. “Air Force cargo planes make hundreds of trips a year to McMurdo, but without the use of ships, it would not be possible to move the large quantities of supplies needed to keep the station operating,” he said. Cape Taylor Crew Honored Remembering Peter Finnerty Our industry suffered a big loss last month when Peter Finnerty, a great advocate for the U.S.-flag fleet, died unexpectedly at age 64. Peter spent most of his career with SIU-contracted Sea-Land, where he worked for 30 years advancing not just the interests of his company but those of the whole U.S. Merchant Marine. He was a respected, recognized figure when it came to promoting Peter Finnerty U.S. maritime policy. He was a great American—a hard worker and someone you could trust. On behalf of the entire SIU, I extend our condolences to Peter’s family, along with our thanks and admiration for his lifetime of dedicated work. He was a friend and he will be missed. Volume 69, Number 3 March 2007 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 8990675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Deborah A. Hirtes; Associate Editor, Jim Guthrie; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2007 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG The U.S. Maritime Administration late last year honored crew members from the Cape Taylor, operated by SIU-contracted Crowley Liner Services. A ceremony took place in Houston when the ship returned from a lengthy deployment in Kuwait. The Cape Taylor had been mobilized in support of U.S. troops serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pictured above after the ceremony are Seafarers, SIU VP Gulf Coast Dean Corgey (seventh from right), SIU Assistant VP Jim McGee (far right) and the ship’s master, M. Darley (next to Corgey). The SIU members recognized by the Maritime Administration include Bosun Kirk Pegan, ABs Daniel Carman, Adiawor Otumfo, Eberto Castro, Desta Gebrai, Joseph Merriweather and David Graves, GVA Deck Leandro Cacho, Electrician Jerome Dooms, Oilers Romuald Marlinski, Elmer Rochez and Adriano Coutinhou, GVA Engine Egbert Campbell, Steward/Baker Joseph Pittman, Chief Cook Pedro Castillo and SAs Adam Saleh and Younis Saleh. March 2007 �40749_p2,3,4,9,13,14,15,16X:2007-March 2/22/2007 6:57 PM Page 3 Aker Philadelphia to Build More Tankers Seafarers-Contracted OSG Will Operate New Veteran-Class Vessels Several noteworthy stories emerged last month from unioncontracted Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, but for Seafarers, the biggest report undoubtedly was the joint announcement by the yard and SIU-contracted Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) concerning additional new builds for the Jones Act trade. The company and the shipyard on Feb. 7 announced they had signed an agreement in principle through which Aker Philadelphia will construct up to six additional Veteran-Class product tankers. The agreement calls for three ships and includes options for three more vessels. “Both OSG and Aker Philadelphia are demonstrating their commitment to the U.S.-flag fleet,” said SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez. “The SIU in turn will proudly continue living up to our commitment to provide well-trained, reliable, safe and productive unlicensed crews for these new vessels.” That announcement wasn’t the only good news. Two days later, the SIU-crewed Overseas Houston—the first in the Veteran-Class series—was delivered. Additionally, in early February the shipyard and the Philadelphia Metal Trades Council announced that a new collective bargaining agreement between the union and the shipyard had been ratified by the Philadelphia Metal Trades membership. The new agreement followed months of determined negotiations between the yard and union leadership and will be effective through Jan. 31, 2011. Gary Gaydosh, president of the Philadelphia Metal Trades Council, stated, “Having this new agreement in place helps the shipyard and union work together to ensure a bright future for shipbuilding in Philadelphia. I believe it is a good agreement for both parties.” Dave Meehan, Aker Philadelphia Shipyard president and CEO, said, “Our union employees are the backbone of our shipyard, and their hard work and dedication to their crafts are evidenced in the ships we build. This agreement speaks to the commitment of both parties to work together building on our accomplishments to date and looking to the future. It provides a foundation for continuing our solid relationship through the entire ten tanker build program.” The tanker program first was announced in April 2005 as a series of 10 ships scheduled for completion in 2010. OSG subsequently indicated a desire to expand the program. When the first tanker was delivered last month, Eric Smith, chief commercial officer and head of government affairs for OSG America, commented, “OSG America is very excited to have taken delivery of the Overseas Houston today. Our relationship with Aker American Shipping is excellent. We use our combined resolve to deliver new Jones Act tonnage to our customers like Shell who will employ this vessel for many years to come.” The Overseas Houston was USNS Mary Sears Locates Black Boxes from Flight 574 The SIU-crewed USNS Mary Sears in late January located two flight recorders from the Indonesian jet that crashed into the sea on New Year’s Day with 102 people aboard. The plane—an Adam Air Boeing 737—ran into bad weather including winds up to 80 mph and changed course twice before disappearing from radar off the coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia. No bodies were recovered. According to a written message from the master of the USNS Mary Sears (an oceanographic survey ship operated by Horizon Lines), the vessel was assigned to participate in recovery operations after initial search-and-rescue efforts by Indonesia were unsuccessful. “On arrival in the search area, USNS Mary Sears used her hullmounted equipment to search the bottom,” Captain James Mixon wrote. “Due to water depths in excess of a mile, this equipment was not sensitive enough to distinguish details. The vessel entered a local port and loaded more specialized equipment. USNS Mary Sears, along with the other five T-AGS 60 class vessels were designed to be easily and quickly altered to meet the demands of varying mission profiles. Two days after departing with the additional search equipment, the signals March 2007 The hull of the second tanker in the series (above) is nearing completion with only two sections remaining. As of early February, the deckhouse had been mounted atop the ship and was undergoing outfitting, while the piping systems in the engine room and main deck were being completed. slated to sail from the yard to the Gulf of Mexico where it will soon begin service transporting refined petroleum products for Shell Oil Company under that company’s time charter agreement with OSG. There are three other product Paul Hall Center to Offer Helo Fire Fighting Course The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in late January hosted a two-day meeting on behalf of the U.S. Military Sealift Command aimed at finalizing a draft curriculum for a maritime helicopter fire fighting course. Subsequently, the school submitted the curriculum to the agency for its anticipated approval, possibly with minor modifications. The one-day course to be offered by the Paul Hall Center (located in Piney Point, Md.) is intended primarily for merchant mariners (including CIVMARs) sailing aboard military support ships, particularly vessels equipped with flight decks. Representatives from the following organizations participated in the curriculum-development meeting: MSC; Calhoon MEBA Engineering School; MITAGS; Texas A&M; Elkins Marine Training International; RTM Star Center; and the Paul Hall Center. Abundant information is included in the course, which emphasizes hands-on training and also includes classroom instruction. Main topics include fire chemistry; flight quarters organization; personal protective equipment; fire fighting equipment; helicopter types; and helicopter fire fighting tactics (including practical exercises on combating engine fires, cargo fires and more). The Seafarers-crewed USNS Mary Sears assisted in an international operation to find the flight data recorders from a downed Indonesian jet. from the black boxes were located.” He further noted that MSC commended the efforts of everyone aboard the USNS Mary Sears. “The crew of Mary Sears’ ability to quickly and flawlessly shift missions was a direct reflection of its readiness and training,” Mixon added. “The Mary Sears was recognized for the superb efforts and professionalism of everyone involved.” Seafarers sailing aboard the USNS Mary Sears during the mission included Bosun Harlan Hulst, ABs Carlos Castillo, Kelly Doyle and Marco Figueroa, STOSs Brian Jackson and Thomas Tramutola, QMEDs Daryl Moore and Jim Farmer, Chief Steward Donna Saling, Chief Cook Anthony Jacobson, GVAs Shabbah Shaibi and Roberto Nunez, Chief Storekeeper Nels Nelson and MDR James Bryant. According to news reports, Indonesian authorities planned to attempt retrieval of the flight data recorders but weren’t certain the operation would be successful, given the ocean’s depth. tankers in the series currently under production at the yard. Each of the new tankers will be 600 feet long and capable of transporting 330,000 barrels of petroleum products. Each vessel will weigh 46,000 deadweight tons (dwt). The Paul Hall Center’s helicopter fire fighting course will emphasize hands-on training. This photo was taken in late January at the center’s Joseph Sacco Fire Fighting and Safety School. Participating in the curriculum meeting are (from left) Barry Van Vechten, Kyrm Hickman and Bob Smith. Van Vechten and Smith are from the Calhoon MEBA Engineering School, Hickman is from MSC. Seafarers LOG 3 �40749_p1,4,6,7,8,10,11,12,17,18,19,20:2007-March 2/16/2007 6:49 AM Page 4 Houston Seafarers Honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Some 20 Seafarers in Houston two months ago secured their places in history by participating in the first ever national AFLCIO observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in Texas. While recognizing his contributions to the nation and to humanity as a whole, the federation’s observance primarily was focused on the slain civil rights leader’s solidarity with the union movement. At the time of his assassination in 1968, Dr. King was in Memphis supporting sanitation workers who were fighting to form a union. In the spirit of remembering that support, various events involving international union leaders, membership mobilizations, worker education and advocacy, and community service projects were conducted. “We can’t just celebrate Martin,” said the Rev. Joseph Lowery, president emeritus, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), in remarks he made during opening ceremonies. “We must use this holiday as an opportunity to challenge our nation to honor its commitment to King’s vision of equality.” Lowery, with King, cofounded the SCLC. In addition to Lowery, the list of guest speakers making appearances during the events included: AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka; AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson; Bill Lucy, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees; Norman Hill, president emeritus of the A. Philip Randolph Institute; and Nat LaCour, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda ChavezThompson (center) was keynote speaker during the civil rights forum’s workshop on unions and immigrant workers. With Chavez-Thompson are Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (ALPA) Executive Director Gloria Caoile and ITF Inspector Swhe Aung, who also serves as an ALPA representative. American Federation of Teachers. Officials from the Texas AFLCIO, the Harris County Central Labor Council and unions affiliated with the federation also participated in the week’s events. Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey and Assistant Vice President Gulf Coast Jim McGee headed the contingent of SIU officials and rank-and-file members who participated in various activities staged during the Jan. 11-15 celebration. Both marched in the Martin Luther King Grande Parade. They were joined by other SIU officials from the Houston hall and members who proudly displayed the SIU colors. Among those joining Corgey and McGee were: ITF Inspector Swhe Aung, Patrolmen Mike Russo and Jimmy White, Skhin Naing, Jose Clotter, Ronald Davis, Ralph Moore, James Wheat, William Sowell, Stephen Treece, Frank Strong and Andrew Lopez. As a group, they all marched behind the AFL-CIO float. The federation’s parade entries also included two city sanitation trucks which served as reminders to onlookers that Dr. King was assassinated while working to help sanitation workers in their struggle to gain union representation. White, who also serves as SIU safety director in Houston, and Aung, a rep for the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, repre- Dredging Ambrose Channel SIU Representative Jack Sheehan recently met with SIU members aboard the dredge Liberty Island in New York Harbor after the vessel had completed a segment of operations in Ambrose Channel. Pictured clockwise from upper left are the Liberty Island; Mate Rob Ellingson; Captain Dick Roel; and SA Carlos David with Steward Karen Mischel. 4 Seafarers LOG SIU VP Gulf Coast Dean Corgey (right front) and SIU Assistant VP Gulf Coast Jim McGee (left front) lead a contingent of rank-and-file union members during the Jan. 15 Martin Luther King Grande Parade in Houston. The group also included Swhe Aung, Mike Russo, Jimmy White, Skhin Naing, Jose Clotter, Ronald Davis, Ralph Moore, James Wheat, William Sowell, Stephen Treece, Frank Strong and Andrew Lopez. sented the union during a civil rights forum, a lead event during the week. Each attended a workshop which focused on attacks on voting rights. Featured events during the rest of the week—in addition to the parade and forum—included reports on the AFL-CIO’s Rebuilding New Orleans Projects; updates on Zimbabwe trade unions; community service projects; and worship services. AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson (left) chats with Houston Patrolman Jimmy White following her presentation. 2007 Union Show Returns to Cincinnati The 2007 America @ Work, AFL-CIO Union Industries Show is slated for June 15-17 in Cincinnati’s recently modernized Duke Energy Convention Center. Sponsored annually by the AFL-CIO Union Label and Service Trades Department (UL&STD), the Union Industries Show is an expo of the best products and services America has to offer. Everything scheduled to be on display—including goods and services by Seafarers-contracted NCL America and the SIU-affiliated United Industrial Workers (UIW)—will be made and produced by union workers. The show has run for nearly 70 years, with the exception of the World War II era when operations were suspended. The 2007 event will mark the fifth occasion that the show has visited Cincinnati, site of the first Union Industries Show in 1938. It returned in 1958, 1980 and 1990. Coming off a successful 2006 event in Cleveland in which 10 SIU/UIW-contracted companies displayed their products and services for more than 200,000 show-goers, the 2007 show will feature an even larger display of union-made-in-America items. Cars and trucks from the big-three auto makers—Ford, General Motors and Daimler Chrysler—as well as thousands of appliances, household products, boats, motorcycles, clothing, consumer goods, and food products will be available for public scrutiny. Craft booths will feature live demonstrations of skills and crafts by iron workers, bricklayers, cement masons, roofers, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and many others. Trainers from dozens of apprenticeship programs will be on hand to talk about craft careers. Exhibition booths staffed by union workers will be spread across the Duke Center’s 200,000 square-foot hall. Guests are invited to participate in free raffles which are slated to be conducted throughout the three-day show. Typically, those raffles include bags of groceries, electronic products, appliances, automotive products, sporting equipment, autos and a spectacular HarleyDavidson motorcycle. UL&STD representatives, in what will be the last big meetings leading up to the June show, on April 17 will meet with returning and prospective exhibitors in Cincinnati to preview details of the event. The show will be free of charge and open to the pubic. Show hours are from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. March 2007 �40749_p2,3,4,9,13,14,15,16X:2007-March 2/22/2007 7:00 PM Page 5 Employee Free Choice Act Re-Introduced in House ‘Card Check’ Legislation Would Restore Fairness Far too often, America’s workers unfairly experience significant difficulties when they want to exercise their right to bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions, according to the AFL-CIO. A December 2006 poll by Hart Research reported that given a fair chance, 60 million workers in the U.S. would form or join a union. For this reason, Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) early last month introduced H.R. 800, the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), in the U.S. House of Representatives. The proposed measure—which if passed would make it considerably easier for people to join unions—is identical to legislation introduced in the House (H.R. 1696) and Senate (S. 842) last year. The bill, sometimes called “card check” legislation, has 230 House co-sponsors, or more than half the 435 members. “Today the procedures for forming a union and bargaining for better wages and benefits are stacked against the workers,” Miller, who chairs the House Committee on Education and Labor, said during a Capitol Hill press conference Feb. 7, one day after introducing the measure. “The Employee Free Choice Act is very simple. It says that if a majority of workers in a workplace sign authorization cards in support of a union, they get a union. That’s it.” Currently, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRA) requires that decisions on union representation be conducted through a system of secret ballot elections. Employees must first present “show of interest” cards to the NLRB and demand an election. Regardless of the number of cards, the employer can force an election. In a workplace with 100 workers, even if 100 of those workers sign cards stating plainly that they want the union to represent them, an election must still take place if the employer demands it. Far too often, as frequently reported by the labor federation, that’s where the problems escalate—not because of any wrongdoings or shortcomings on the part of unions or prospective members, but rather because of stall tactics, intimidation and firings by antiunion, anti-worker employers. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, who also spoke during the Capitol Hill news conference said, “The current system for forming unions and bargaining is badly broken. Every day, corporations harass, intimidate and even fire people who try to form unions to bargain for better wages and benefits. They deny employees the freedom to decide for themselves whether to form unions. And when they do that, they deny working men and women the freedom to pursue a better life. We must change the system.” Rep. Robert Andrews (D-N.J.), who chairs the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions, said he was confident Government Publishes TWIC Rule, MMC Update As anticipated, the Federal Register dated January 25 contained a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking for the consolidation of merchant mariner qualification credentials, abbreviated as MMC. It also contained the final rule for phase one of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential or TWIC program. The government is accepting comments on the supplemental notice for the MMC until April 25, 2007. The final rulemaking on the new mariner credential isn’t expected to take effect until approximately August 2008. Initial issuance of that credential will continue over a five-year period beginning around that same time in 2008. This means that until the proposed MMC regulation is final, Seafarers should continue to apply for z-cards/MMDs, licenses, CORs and STCW endorsements under the current system. As previously reported, U.S. mariners eventually will be required to carry both a TWIC and an MMC, while the current mariner qualification documents and licenses are phased out. The published summary of the TWIC rule states, “Those seeking unescorted access to secure areas aboard affected vessels, and all Coast Guard credentialed merchant mariners must possess a TWIC by September 25, 2008.” Maritime unions including the SIU had urged the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration to add a biometric identifier to the current z-card and thereby let it also function as a TWIC. The supplemental notice goes into detail about why that request was rejected. Essentially, the notice states it would be too costly to add a biometric identifier to the existing z-card. It also indicates that the government doesn’t believe a z-card (even with a biometric identifier) fulfills the mandate of the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, which is the legislation behind these programs. However, on a potentially very important note, the notice more than once indicates a strong willingness to work toward incorporating the MMC information onto a TWIC in the years ahead, so that eventually mariners would end up with one credential for everything. (If this happens, it undoubtedly will be years in the making—but the supplemental notice does indicate acknowledgement on the government’s part that the one-credential system for mariners has merit.) Among many other points, the supplemental notice stated the following: March 2007 There will be more than 125 TWIC enrollment centers. The MMC rule proposes to remove the requirement that mariners appear at an REC. The format of the MMC hasn’t been finalized. The Coast Guard also is considering a different format of the MMC for officers and ratings. The Coast Guard will work to ensure that the TWIC is accepted by the international community as a “replacement MMD for shore leave.” “The TWIC/MMC enrollment process would work like this: To begin, a mariner would have the option of going online to provide preenrollment information for the TWIC to reduce the amount of time at the TWIC enrollment center. They would then travel to one of the many TWIC enrollment centers to be fingerprinted, photographed, show proof of ID and complete the TWIC application process. At any time after they have applied for their TWIC, the mariner would be able to mail his or her MMC application to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard would then contact TSA to obtain electronic copies of the applicant’s fingerprints, photograph, ID, and if applicable criminal record, FBI number and proof of alien status. If an examination is required, the mariner would be contacted to schedule the examination after the initial evaluation is completed. Once the TWIC has been issued, the MMC application approved, and the examination(s), if necessary, are completed, the MMC would be mailed to the applicant. The RECs would remain open and mariners would be allowed to apply in person or seek assistance from REC personnel if they choose.” The union will continue monitoring and publicizing information on the TWIC and MMC as it is released by the DHS, TSA and Coast Guard— including when, where and how to start applying for a TWIC. As reported in the February LOG, questions concerning the TWIC may be emailed to the Coast Guard at uscg-twic-helpdesk@uscg.mil. The phone number for the TSA’s TWIC help desk is 877-687-2243, and the TSA’s TWIC web site is located at http://www.tsa.gov/. A list of Coast Guard RECs is located at: http://www.uscg.mil/stcw/mmic-regions.htm. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney that the bill likely would pass, noting, “We’ll get it through the House.” If approved in the House, the EFCA will head—pending passage in the Senate—to the president’s desk. He added, “I believe that restoring workers’ free choice, through the Employee Free Choice Act, is the only way to ensure that they have the right to bargain for fair wages and benefits. It is imperative that Congress take this action for all middle class Americans and particularly for the over 60 million nonunion workers who seek nothing more than decent wages and healthcare.” Sen. Edward Kennedy (DMass.) promised the bill would be introduced soon in the Senate, noting “the Senate is a couple of weeks behind” the House when it comes to putting the bill on the legislative agenda. But Kennedy made it clear that he intends to fight for the bill in the Senate, where experts believe it will be tougher to gain a majority vote. If passed, the EFCA would make the process of choosing a union more fair by: Establishing stronger penalties for violation of employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during firstcontract negotiations. Providing mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes. Allowing employees to form unions by signing cards authorizing union representation. BLS Releases Annual Data on Unions The number of union members in the United States declined in 2006 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual union membership report, but union members continued to earn significantly higher wages than their unrepresented counterparts. Released Jan. 25, the government account states that union membership last year dropped from 12.5 percent of all workers in both 2004 and 2005, to 12.0 percent of all workers last year. These figures translate into a decline of more than 325,000 to 15.4 million in all wage and salary workers in the country. When it came to income, full-time wage and salary workers who were union members had median usual weekly earnings of $833, compared with a median of $642 for wage and salary workers who were not represented by unions. Last year, the union membership rate for government workers (36.2 percent) was substantially higher than for private industry workers (7.4 percent). Within the public sector, local government workers had the highest union membership rate, 41.9 percent. This group includes occupations such as teachers, police officers and fire fighters. Among major private industries, transportation and utilities had the highest union membership rate, at 23.2 percent, followed by construction (13.0 percent). Within the information industry, telecommunications had a 20.7 percent union membership rate. Financial activities had the lowest unionization rate in 2006—1.9 percent. In occupational groups, education, training, library occupations (37.3 percent) and protective service occupations (34.7 percent) had the highest unionization rates in 2006. Higher than average union membership rates also were registered in transportation and material moving occupations (18.5 percent), construction and extraction occupations (17.6 percent), installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (15.8 percent), community and social services occupations (15.6 percent), and production occupations (15.5 percent). Sales and related occupations (3.1 percent) and farming, fishing and forestry occupations (3.5 percent) had the lowest unionization rates. The largest numbers of union members lived in California and New York. Just under half of the 15.4 million union members in the U.S. lived in six states (California, 2.3 million; New York, 2.0 million; Illinois, 900,000; Michigan, 800,000; New Jersey, 800,000; and Pennsylvania, 700,000). Among the five states reporting union membership rates below 5 percent in 2006, North Carolina and South Carolina continued to post the lowest rates (3.3 percent each). The next lowest rates were recorded in Virginia (4.0 percent), Georgia (4.4 percent), and Texas (4.9 percent). While news of the decline in union membership last year is far from a positive development, its timing perhaps is not all bad in that it underscores the need to restore fairness in the nation’s labor laws. Specifically, it comes as organized labor is pushing for the passage of legislation in Congress that would make it easier for workers to form unions (see related story, this page). That proposition, the Employee Free Choice Act, would permit workers to form unions simply by signing a card or petition. It would also impose stronger penalties on employers who violate labor laws and would allow for arbitration to settle first contract disputes. Seafarers LOG 5 �40749_p1,4,6,7,8,10,11,12,17,18,19,20:2007-March 2/16/2007 7:07 AM Page 6 At Sea and Ashore . . . With the SIU The SIU-crewed USNS Harry L. Martin’s “Repel Boarders” team poses on the ship’s deck after a drill. Seafarers pictured include ABs Allan Marshall and Kathleen Kemp, QMED Kerry and Steward Baker Greg Johnson. Also shown are members of the ship’s Nepalese private security force: Sgt. Tika Ram Rai with his squad, including officers Khem Bahadur Angdembe, Kajiman Rai and Hari Bahadur Gurung. These men are all retired members of the famed British fighting unit “The Gurkha Rifles.” Thanks to Recertified Bosun Mike Hester for sending this photo to the LOG. “Hats off to the steward department,” wrote Robert Lee, captain aboard the SIU-crewed USNS Lawrence Gianella. “The members of the department have answered the call to duty in grand fashion. The skills of each and every member of the department have been greatly appreciated by the crew, and we all have new waistlines to prove it.” From the left are GSU John Rascon, Chief Cook Gerald Joseph, SIU Apprentice Tabethia Twine, Chief Steward David Belle and GSU Carlos Balado-Hernandez along with some freshly baked desserts. Capt. Lee also recognized the great work by GSU William Carter, who went on vacation just before this photo was taken. Jack Wyatt (right), a captain at Crowley for more than 30 years, has retired to the Florida Keys, where he plans to do a lot of fishing. Here, he receives his first pension check from SIU Safety Director Kevin Marchand at the Ft. Lauderdale hall. 6 Seafarers LOG SIU Baltimore Port Agent Dennis Metz (right) keeps Seafarers’ interests front and center as he meets with the newly elected Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, who represents Maryland’s 2nd district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Pelosi, who is a representative from California, was born and raised in Baltimore. Seafarer Jimmy Gray (left) received many beautiful and thoughtful gifts at his recent retirement party. Gray worked for more than 22 years at Crowley Tug and Towing in the Los Angeles/Long Beach harbor as an AB/Deck Utility and Engine Utility. Helping Gray celebrate this milestone are (above, from left) Capt. Ed Brady, Capt. Mike Wilson, Engineer Deso Hrboka, Gray, Engineer Arsen Perhat, Capt. Rick Cavalier, Deckhand Mike Privette and Capt. William Privette. A union meeting recently took place aboard the USNS Benavidez. Included among those in attendance (shown in these three photos) were Recertified Bosun Thomas Minton and Recertified Steward Fernando Guity. The 950-foot vessel, which is in the Military Sealift Command fleet, was en route to the Middle East. March 2007 �40749_p1,4,6,7,8,10,11,12,17,18,19,20X:2007-March 2/22/2007 6:54 PM Page 7 Making the Holidays Special On the Alaskan Navigator eing away from home for long periods of time is hard enough; being away from home over festive holidays like Christmas and New Year’s can often be especially challenging. Donnell (Don) Lewis, who is sailing as chief steward aboard the Alaskan Navigator, recognized the need to create a little bit of home for his fellow crew members over the holidays. Along with Chief Cook Craig Lundberg and Steward Assistant Norberto Cacpal, the galley gang went all out to make the days special, including a wide assortment of delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner selections. The dinner entree on Christmas Day included grilled filet mignon and fresh lobster. Lobster Alfredo and steak kabobs were B the New Year’s Day choices. Lewis wrote a poem that sums up his feelings about working on Christmas. Winter to Fall Being aboard an oil tanker in the middle of winter is the last place that I wanted to be; I’d rather be far, far away from here with family and friends you see, but then there’s 30 other men who perhaps feel the same way that I do; if not me, then who?...and being aboard ship on Christmas Day ain’t really nothing new, my kids are grown and on their own, my wife is at peace and life is sweet...so here I am, yet once again touring from winter to fall; if you’re not going to do something right, then don’t do it at all, as my father used to say; so here’s a menu, to those of you who must sacrifice time away on Christmas Day. Chief Cook Craig Lundberg arranges the Christmas lunch buffet. Steward Assistant Norberto Cacpal (left) holds a freshly baked crabshaped cheese bread while Chief Steward Don Lewis stands in front of the turkey Wellington and two desserts: a strawberry cheese cake and a kiwi cheese cake. Lunch on Christmas Day included fresh Alaskan king crab (above) in addition to smoked red salmon and roasted turkey Wellington. Below is a fresh strawberry coffee cake along with an assortment of holiday cookies. March 2007 Special menus were printed up for the Christmas and New Year’s Day meals. WWII/Korean War Merchant Marine Veteran Celebrates 85th Birthday Editor’s note: Marlen Buttke celebrated his 85th birthday on Dec. 17, 2006, surrounded by friends and family. He shared the following summary of his 10 years of service in the U.S. Merchant Marine, which was sent to the Seafarers LOG by his oldest daughter, Joy Berry. I began my seaman’s training in December of 1942 at Sheepshead Bay, N.Y. and graduated the following May with basic endorsements and a lifeboat ticket. My first trip was on Bull Line’s Governor John Lind. We went through the Davis Strait to Baffin Island and unloaded the cargo ourselves. Then it was on to Hudson Bay, where we converted the ship to haul grain. Next, we carried wheat to Baltimore. Twelve ships were lost between Greenland and Newfoundland by torpedoes from subs. During the rest of the war, I sailed mostly to England and the Mediterranean. We lost 18 ships off the coast of Italy to planes. My last trip to Europe during the war was to Cherbourg (France). At that time, the U.S. was sending 2,000 bomber flights per day into Germany. The only things coming back were rockets and buzz bombs. Seeing no German planes were returning, we realized the war in Europe was over. After that, I requested ships that were bound for the Pacific Ocean and helped load cargo onto a Liberty ship headed for Okinawa. After a very eventful trip to Okinawa, due to some “error of judgment,” each of us was rationed to a half-bucket of water per day. In Eniwetok, the unlicensed crew was charged with mutiny. One guy per watch was left aboard ship; the rest were taken to prison. I remained on board. The captain tried to get crews from the Navy and the union to sail the ship, but they wouldn’t send him anyone, so he had to take the crew back from prison. From Eniwetok, we went to the Caroline Islands where we picked up gunners and operators for the equipment we had on board ship. Escorted by U.S. Navy destroyers, we saw a light come on under our ship. We Marlen Buttke celebrates his 85th birthday with family and friends. believe subs were using our ship for cover. We were in Okinawa 26 days and averaged two or three suicide attacks per day. When we returned to the Caroline Islands, the captain knew supplies were on the way but did not wait for them. We left Okinawa and headed for San Pedro. I signed onto a Waterman ship, the MV Bowline Knot. I was in the crow’s nest the day the war was over. U.S. planes were flying under me, waving up at me. The captain called up to me to get down from the crow’s nest. “The war is over!” We celebrated the rest of the day. After that, I went to Manila, unloading penicillin that was in a small refrigerator hold. We loaded barbed wire and then went to Nagasaki, but we didn’t need the barbed wire; the Japanese were real friendly. They say 60,000 people were killed there. There was a big hospital made up of 11 buildings, but the patients, nurses, everyone was dead where they stood or lay. I don’t believe the atom bomb should ever be used again. In 1950 I went around the world on the Steel Age. Then to Korea on the Robin Hood or Robin Grey on Christmas Eve of 1951. We helped evacuate Hungnam (North Korea). In January, on the same trip, we took refugees out of Inchon (South Korea). I made one more trip to South and East Africa and then retired in the spring of 1952. Buttke’s daughter, Joy, writes that after leaving the Merchant Marine, he bought a farm in South Dakota within 10 miles of the farm on which he was raised. He married Mickey and they had five children. Buttke farmed for 15 years. They sold the equipment and livestock but continued to live on the farm. He then went to work for a stone quarry for 18½ years before retiring. But not one to remain idle, Buttke worked part time for the Farm Service Agency as a fieldman for 16 years and retired once again, at age 80. A couple years ago, Buttke and his wife moved from their farm to the nearby town of Milbank. They have been married 54 years and have 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Buttke looks forward to each and every issue of the Seafarers LOG—and to his weekday games of pinochle at the local community center. This photo of Nagasaki was taken by Marlen Buttke after the atomic bomb. Buttke was one of the first Americans to view the horrific scene. Seafarers LOG 7 �40749_p1,4,6,7,8,10,11,12,17,18,19,20:2007-March 2/16/2007 Taking on stores aboard the El Yunque are (from left) Chief Cook Adalberto Colon, AB Frank Sanchez, Unlicensed Apprentice Farren Blackwell, SA Alex Vasquez and Chief Steward Johnnie McGill. 10:23 AM Page 8 AB Ricardo Quinones readies the Horizon Discovery’s gangway to go ashore in Jacksonville. ACU Jaime Cayonte arrives at the Jacksonville hall, hoping to throw in for a job on an upcoming voyage. Around the Port of Jacksonville Recertified Bosun Pat Ray prepares the gangway aboard the Horizon Discovery. L ocated on Florida’s north Atlantic Coast, the port of Jacksonville serves the state and the nation as a shipping point for the movement of goods all over the world and as a gateway to Puerto Rico. This keeps SIU Jacksonville Port Agent Archie Ware and his staff at the union hall very busy. The photos on this page represent just some of the ships that have been met recently by representatives from the Jacksonville hall, including the El Yunque, Overseas Luxmar, Horizon Discovery, Independence and Horizon Crusader. Jacksonville Port Agent Archie Ware (right) meets with Joseph Grandinetti, a QEE on the El Yunque. Right: Crew members on the car ship Independence Holding a copy of the ship’s minutes is Jonny Cruz, chief steward on the Overseas Luxmar. Crew members on the El Yunque Right: AB J. Calix (left) assists Recertified Bosun Pat Ray with the Horizon Discovery’s gangway. SA Esther Wilkes cleans dishes aboard the Horizon Discovery. The Horizon Discovery’s chief cook is Tracey Newsome. Left: Crew members on the Horizon Crusader Right: Crew members on the Overseas Luxmar Aboard the Horizon Crusader is the ship’s committee: (from left) Recertified Steward Joseph Emidy, Recertified Bosun Roan Lightfoot and Electrician Morris Jeff. 8 Seafarers LOG Getting ready for the lunch crowd on the Overseas Luxmar is SA Adolfo Bermudez. Lunch is being prepared aboard the Overseas Luxmar by Chief Cook Leoncio Castro. March 2007 �40749_p2,3,4,9,13,14,15,16:2007-March 2/21/2007 9:26 AM Page 9 Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea April & May 2007 Membership Meetings JANUARY 16 — FEBRUARY 15, 2007 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals All Departments TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Trip Reliefs **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C DECK DEPARTMENT 2 2 3 14 1 18 36 25 1 13 13 39 11 20 2 0 10 2 40 29 4 5 5 12 8 10 29 22 5 12 16 24 11 15 2 6 6 5 41 19 1 1 0 5 0 0 7 6 1 0 3 12 10 3 0 0 0 2 14 6 281 257 71 1 0 4 4 0 5 13 16 0 6 10 20 8 7 1 1 3 0 15 9 0 0 4 3 2 4 15 26 2 2 7 9 9 12 2 1 4 3 20 12 0 1 2 3 0 2 6 2 1 1 0 3 7 1 1 2 0 0 2 7 123 137 41 0 0 1 6 4 9 25 21 1 9 3 22 8 27 3 4 1 1 15 23 0 0 1 6 2 9 4 17 0 3 6 9 9 1 1 2 0 0 8 9 1 0 2 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 183 87 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 2 4 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 2 3 2 1 6 5 7 25 23 0 4 4 27 7 13 0 6 2 0 12 15 26 613 1 0 2 10 3 8 25 25 1 7 16 28 12 25 2 0 6 0 23 22 2 4 1 8 5 5 23 16 1 7 8 19 10 7 3 9 5 3 24 11 0 1 1 2 1 0 4 5 1 2 2 1 5 1 0 0 1 3 4 3 Algonac ................Friday: April 6, May 11 0 2 0 0 0 3 16 14 0 2 8 13 3 5 1 1 2 1 21 15 3 2 9 20 1 20 67 58 0 20 28 85 17 34 3 0 15 4 63 59 6 6 8 21 6 16 46 36 4 15 19 41 27 16 6 2 14 13 51 38 3 4 1 5 1 0 9 12 2 1 4 23 13 3 2 1 1 2 17 14 216 171 37 107 508 391 118 0 0 4 5 0 6 9 17 0 4 4 10 11 11 0 2 5 0 9 9 0 0 1 4 1 2 11 11 1 3 1 5 11 5 3 1 4 2 11 6 0 1 1 1 0 2 2 0 1 2 0 3 3 0 0 2 1 1 2 4 0 0 0 5 0 2 6 9 1 1 1 3 2 3 1 0 5 1 11 2 1 0 8 12 0 12 28 28 0 11 13 35 7 17 3 3 3 0 22 18 1 0 8 10 4 8 22 32 1 4 8 16 16 15 1 1 6 4 25 18 0 0 3 4 0 4 10 2 0 3 2 11 7 2 1 0 0 0 5 12 ENGINE DEPARTMENT 106 83 26 53 221 200 66 0 0 1 3 2 7 13 15 0 4 4 13 7 13 2 3 0 0 17 18 0 0 0 7 1 7 3 8 0 1 2 4 8 3 1 2 3 2 4 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 5 8 0 0 2 7 2 5 1 0 0 0 5 8 2 0 4 8 2 13 42 27 1 12 11 35 12 42 3 5 3 2 26 44 2 0 3 12 2 13 10 17 0 6 6 10 14 6 1 3 1 0 10 16 1 0 1 2 0 0 5 2 0 3 2 3 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 1 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 122 58 11 46 294 132 28 7 1 0 10 1 6 11 8 0 5 4 11 18 7 1 35 0 0 12 11 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 3 2 0 4 0 0 1 0 2 2 0 1 1 4 1 3 11 12 0 1 3 17 6 7 0 9 2 0 4 8 1 0 0 3 2 6 4 2 0 1 2 1 8 5 1 33 0 1 10 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 10 5 0 3 4 15 0 4 0 0 0 0 6 3 3 5 3 11 5 14 42 33 0 8 5 68 15 20 0 7 3 1 28 21 10 1 2 16 0 13 29 24 1 7 6 40 27 13 1 7 0 0 16 12 162 148 19 90 83 0 52 292 225 643 275 463 402 157 206 1,075 1,015 437 ENTRY DEPARTMENT Piney Point ...........Monday: April 2, May 7 Baltimore..............Thursday: April 5, May 10 Boston ..................Friday: April 6, May 11 Guam ....................Thursday: April 19, May 24 Honolulu...............Friday: April 13, May 18 Houston ................Monday: April 9, May 14 Jacksonville ..........Thursday: April 5, May 10 Joliet .....................Thursday: April 12, May 17 Mobile ..................Wednesday: April 11, May 16 New Orleans.........Tuesday: April 10, May 15 New York .............Tuesday: April 3, May 8 Norfolk .................Thursday: April 5, May 10 Oakland ................Thursday: April 12, May 17 Philadelphia..........Wednesday: April 4, May 9 Port Everglades ....Thursday: April 12, May 17 San Juan ...............Thursday: April 5, May 10 St. Louis ...............Friday: April 13, May 18 Tacoma .................Friday: April 20, May 25 Wilmington...........Monday: April 16, May 21 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. Inland Career Opportunities: Immediate Job Openings The SIU has immediate openings in the inland division. Interested individuals who possess either a 1,600-ton master’s or mate’s license (with near coastal or ocean endorsements) along with an Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (OICNW) STCW certificate; or a designated duty engineer (DDE) 5,000 hp or greater license are encouraged to contact Bart Rogers at the union’s manpower office at (301) 994-0010, extension 5317, for additional information. In Texas, the SIU has immediate openings aboard harbor tugs. Interested individuals who possess either a mate’s or master’s license (inland) greater than 200 GRT with a towing endorsement, or are licensed as a chief or assistant engineer (6,000 hp or greater) are encouraged to contact Jim McGee at the SIU hall in Houston. The phone number is (713) 659-5152. *“Total Registered” means the number of Seafarers who actually registered for shipping at the port. **“Registered on Beach” means the total number of Seafarers registered at the port. March 2007 Seafarers LOG 9 �40749_p1,4,6,7,8,10,11,12,17,18,19,20:2007-March 2/16/2007 2:33 PM Page 10 Materiel aboard a prepositioning ship The Sgt. Edward A. Carter, Jr. The PFC William B. PREP SIU Sa AB Jim Stetter Bosun Robert Buzard, AB Ruben Gamboa, AB Jim Stetter, AB Ethan Mims, AB Ron Rizzuto and AB Roy Rhodes Special thanks to Third Mate Ed McDonnell for providing the photos on these two pages. Most of the shots show crew members and activities from aboard the prepositioning ship Franklin J. Phillips late last year in Diego Garcia. The ship is operated by SIU-contracted Maersk Line, Limited. As with all vessels, steward department members aboard the Phillips play a key role in helping maintain good morale throughout the ship. 10 Seafarers LOG AB Ron Rizzuto March 2007 �40749_p1,4,6,7,8,10,11,12,17,18,19,20:2007-March 2/16/2007 10:15 AM Page 11 Helo ops and lighterage aboard the PVT Franklin J. Phillips m B. Baugh POSITIONING POWER Sails Strategically Stationed Ships Strengthening Sealift America’s sealift capabilities depend on many factors, including reliable U.S. crews, adequate numbers of vessels, laws that help sustain a viable private U.S.flag maritime industry, and effective partnerships between the military and various segments of that industry. One important but sometimes publicly less-noticed component of U.S. sealift capacity is the U.S. Military Sealift Command’s (MSC) prepositioning program, which the agency describes as “an essential element in the nation’s triad of power projection into the 21st century – sea shield, sea strike and sea basing.” The term “prepositioning” refers to ships that remain at sea, normally fully loaded and ready to sail at a moment’s notice so that vital materiel can be safely delivered to U.S. forces. SIU members sail aboard most of MSC’s 35 prepositioning vessels, which are strategically located around the world. (Two are in reduced operating status in the U.S.; the rest are fully crewed and deployed.) SIU-crewed prepositioning ships support the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps and the Defense Logistics Agency. The vessels provide “the military equipment and supplies for a contingency forward deployed in key ocean areas before it is needed,” according to MSC. Afloat prepositioning started in the early 1980s as a simple but important means of delivering the goods as quickly as possible. Today, MSC prepositioning ships are located all over the globe, in areas such as the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean and Guam, the agency notes. The vessels include a mix of chartered commercial ships, activated Ready Reserve Force vessels and other U.S. government-owned ships. U.S. civilian mariners sail aboard each type of platform, including tankers, RO/ROs, containerships and aviation logistics support vessels. Bosun Bernard Baker and AB Louis Scull Electrician Troy Ancar DEU Abdelhak Moutmir Chief Steward Raymond Alexander and SA Adobea Boateng DEUs Gustavo Brown and Damion Vaughn AB Emilio Abreau March 2007 When Chief Steward Tony Spain (above right) and Chief Cook Marlon Battad (photo above left) want fish on the menu, they sometimes take matters into their own hands. Seafarers LOG 11 �40749_p1,4,6,7,8,10,11,12,17,18,19,20:2007-March Seafarers International Union Directory Michael Sacco, President 2/16/2007 10:46 AM Page 12 With Seafarers in the Port of Norfolk, Va. Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 In January, the SIU welcomed three new full book members at the hall in Norfolk, Va. while also expressing best wishes for happy retirements to two other Seafarers who completed their respective maritime careers. Above left, Port Agent Georg Kenny swears in full book members (from left) SA Shanita Daniel, SA Peggy Young and Steward/Baker Robert Greenwood. At right, AB/Tankerman James Kruger receives his first pension check. Below, AB/Tankerman William Matthews Sr. (second from right) is joined by family members and Kenny as he also receives his first pension check. Matthews and Kruger both sailed with Penn Maritime. BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 27 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 Attention Seafarers: Help SPAD Help You! GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr., Bldg. B, Suite 103 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96931 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 PIC-FROM-THE-PAST NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 12 Seafarers LOG This photo was sent to the Seafarers LOG by Ruby Higham of Kemah, Texas, the widow of Armon Higham, a charter member of the SIU who died February 5, 1998. Mrs. Higham wrote that her husband, who was called “Jimmy,” is the 5th person from the left in the back row. She doesn’t know any of the other attendees at the SIU Crews Conference in Piney Point, Md. in 1970, but is hopeful someone will see himself pictured. Armon Higham joined the union in 1938 in the port of Mobile, Ala. Born in New York, he worked in the steward department, last sailing as a chief steward. During his career, he was active in union organizing drives and beefs and attended this educational conference at the school. He began receiving his pension in July 1971. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with the LOG readership, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. March 2007 �40749_p2,3,4,9,13,14,15,16:2007-March 2/21/2007 10:06 AM Page 13 Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA JOSE CASTRO, 65, joined the SIU in 1982. Brother Castro’s first ship was the Point Julie. The Hawaii-born mariner worked in the engine department and upgraded on three occasions at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Brother Castro most recently sailed on the Commitment. He calls Houston home. LUIS COLON, 62, began his seafaring career in 1971, initially sailing on the Guayama. Brother Colon was born in Puerto Rico and shipped in the deck department. He most recently sailed on the San Juan. Brother Colon continues to live in Puerto Rico. CHARLES CLACKLEY JR., 63, joined the SIU in 1990. Brother Clackely initially sailed in the engine department on board the Eugene A. Obregon. He was born in Alabama and upgraded at the Paul Hall Center on two occasions. Brother Clackley most recently worked aboard the USNS Stockham. He is a resident of Dothan, Ala. HERBERT DAVIS, 51, joined the union in 1978 in Piney Point, Md. Brother Davis first worked aboard a Southern Ohio Towing Company vessel. The steward department member upgraded on numerous occasions at the Piney Point school. Brother Davis last shipped on the Atlantic Forest. Born in Norfolk, Va., he calls Hazelwood, Mo. home. RONALD DAVIS, 57, began sailing with the SIU in 1967. Brother Davis’s first trip to sea was aboard the Wayne Victory. He was born in Mississippi and worked in the deck department. Brother Davis last sailed on the Galena Bay. He is a resident of Gulfport, Miss. RALPH EGELAND, 65, became a Seafarer in 1969. Brother Egeland’s first voyage was on the Mohawk. Born in Minnesota, he shipped in the deck department. In 1974 and 2000, Brother Egeland upgraded his skills at the Piney Point school. Prior to retiring, he worked aboard the Comet. Brother Egeland calls Deming, N.M. home. KENNETH HERZSTEIN, 65, embarked on his seafaring career March 2007 in 1991. Brother Herzstein first sailed on the Overseas Juneau. The deck department member was born in San Francisco. Brother Herzstein’s most recent voyage was aboard the Meteor. He upgraded his seafaring skills at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Brother Herzstein resides in Oxnard, Calif. A.T. SALYARD, 65, started shipping with the SIU in 1965. Brother Salyard worked in both the inland and deep sea divisions during his career. He first sailed aboard an ISCO vessel as a member of the engine department. Brother Salyard upgraded at the Piney Point school in 1978. His last trip to sea was on the Seabulk Tanker. Brother Salyard makes his home in Bakersfield, Calif. SALEH SOOFI, 65, joined the SIU in 1994 in the port of New York. Brother Soofi’s first voyage was aboard the Independence. He upgraded his skills at the Paul Hall Center in 2003. Brother Soofi most recently sailed aboard the Franklin J. Phillips. Born in Yemen, he calls Detroit home. KLAUS TANKERSLEY, 59, was born in Germany and joined the SIU in 1968. Brother Tankersley’s first ship was the Albany. He sailed in the deck department, most recently on the USNS Dahl. Brother Tankersley upgraded on numerous occasions at the SIUaffiliated school. He is now a resident of Thailand. JOHN VIERRA, 65, began sailing with the Marine Cooks & Stewards in 1978 in the port of San Francisco. Brother Vierra, who was born in Oakland, Calif., worked primarily aboard Matson Navigation Company vessels in the steward department. He makes his home in Hayward, Calif. INLAND CHARLES CHAMBERLIN, 62, became an SIU member in 1963 in the port of Philadelphia. Boatman Chamberlin initially shipped aboard a Taylor Marine Towing vessel. The Pennsylvania native upgraded his skills at the Seafarersaffiliated school in 1974 and 1989. Boatman Chamberlin’s most recent voyage was aboard a McAllister Towing of Philadelphia vessel. He lives in Haddon Heights, N.J. MARLIN MILLER, 55, joined the SIU in 1978. Boatman Miller worked primarily aboard Crowley Towing & Transportation vessels. Born in Ohio, he was a frequent upgrader at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. Boatman Miller calls Neptune Beach, Fla. home. sailed primarily aboard Crowley Towing & Transportation of Jacksonville vessels. In 2001 and 2004, Boatman Wyatt attended classes at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. He resides in Miami. LOUIS GREEN JR., 58, launched his seafaring career in 1968. Boatman Green’s first ship was operated by Atlantic Carriers Inc. The deck department member, who was born in Florida, most recently sailed aboard the Dodge Island. He makes his home in Jacksonville, Fla. EDWARD PACE JR., 55, was born in Florida. Boatman Pace started his seafaring career in 1969, initially sailing aboard a Southern Carriers Corporation vessel. He upgraded often at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point. Boatman Pace most recently worked aboard a Penn Maritime vessel. He is a resident of Portsmouth, Va. RUSSELL BROWN, 56, joined the SIU in 1977. His first voyage was on the J.J. Hutchison. Brother Brown was born in Flint, Mich. and sailed as a member of the deck department. Prior to his retirement, Brother Brown sailed aboard the H. Lee White. He now makes his home in Alger, Mich. WILLIAM MAHONEY, 62, joined the union in 1988. On two occasions, Boatman Mahoney upgraded his seafaring skills at the Piney Point school. He worked primarily aboard Maritrans Operating vessels. Boatman Mahoney resides in Clearwater, Fla. JERRY WHITLEY, 65, embarked on his seafaring career in 1968. Boatman Whitley first shipped in the deep sea division on the Penn Sailor. His final excursion was aboard a Mariner Towing vessel. Boatman Whitley lives in Lake Wales, Fla. JACK WYATT, 61, joined the SIU in 1982. Boatman Wyatt, who was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1946 Voting on the ships of the Isthmian Steamship Company in the National Labor Relations Board election commenced on March 29. The first ship to be voted was the SS Mobile City, in New Orleans on March 29. Within a few days, ballots were cast on the Wm. N. Byers in Galveston, the Nicaragua Victory and the Mandan Victory in Baltimore, the Thomas Cresap in New York and the Marine Fox in Seattle. All reports indicated a favorable SIU vote. GREAT LAKES JOHN GOFORTH, 67, commenced his seafaring career in 1963, initially shipping aboard an American Steamship Company vessel. Brother Goforth, who was born in North Carolina, most recently sailed on the William Roesch. Brother Goforth resides in McMinnville, Tenn. Year” by the Anti-Defamation League of B’Nai B’rith at a testimonial dinner conducted in New York City on March 21. The presentation to Hall was “in recognition of his devoted efforts and leadership in helping to build a world of freedom, equality and justice.” Joseph Kahn, chairman of the board of SIU-contracted Seatrain Lines, in presenting the award to the SIU president, cited his contributions to organized labor as well as his efforts in furthering the brotherhood of man. Honorary chairman of the presentation ceremonies was AFL-CIO President George Meany. This Month In SIU History 1957 The 43-man crew of a Liberian tanker was rescued by the SIU-manned Claiborne after a fire and two explosions flooded the vessel, causing her to sink in the Gulf of Mexico. The tanker Perama had reported that she was sinking fast after an explosion in her pumproom on March 18, some 150 miles southwest of St. Petersburg, Fla. The tanker was en route from Thomas Haven, England to Galveston, Texas with a cargo of soybean oil…. The Waterman freighter Claiborne went to the aid of the stricken vessel and picked up her crew. Members of the Claiborne gang manned a lifeboat and succeeded in attaching a towline to the sinking ship. However, the line later broke and further attempts to salvage the quickly sinking vessel and her cargo had to be abandoned. 1968 SIU President Paul Hall was named “Man of the 1997 The U.S. Coast Guard in March formally gave its consent for the use of the training record books (TRB) developed recently by the SIU and the Paul Hall Center for issuance to all deep sea, Great Lakes and inland Seafarers. The books are scheduled to be printed in April and will be distributed by the Paul Hall Center’s admissions office…. In a letter verifying the agency’s acceptance of the TRB, the Coast Guard pointed out that an interim final rule is due in April that will require the use of such credentials. “I am impressed that you have not let the rulemaking process discourage you from working with the companies that have contracts with the SIU to develop a TRB which will not only meet STCW requirements but will be useful for other purposes,” wrote Coast Guard Captain R.L. Skewes in the letter of acceptance to the center. Seafarers LOG 13 �40749_p2,3,4,9,13,14,15,16:2007-March 2/21/2007 1:12 PM Page 14 Final Departures DEEP SEA PRINCE BAKER Pensioner Prince Baker, 89, passed away June 2. Brother Baker became an SIU member in 1945 in the port of Baltimore. He first sailed on a vessel operated by M.J. Troy Inc. as a member of the steward department. Brother Baker was born in Arkansas. His last trip to sea was aboard the Overseas Marilyn. Brother Baker retired in 1990 and settled in Leesville, La. JAMES BOND Pensioner James Bond, 83, died June 1. Brother Bond joined the union in 1946 in the port of Baltimore. His first voyage was aboard an A.H. Bull Steamship Company vessel. Brother Bond, who was a Baltimore native, shipped as a member of the deck department. He last sailed on the Seamar. Brother Bond went on pension in 1994 and called Baltimore home. ANTHONY BURRELL Brother Anthony Burrell, 39, passed away June 29. He launched his seafaring career in 1990, first sailing aboard the USNS Kane. Brother Burrell, who was born in Louisiana, most recently worked on the Atlantic Forest. Brother Burrell made his home in Westwego, La. BRYAN ELLIS KENNETH STRATTON Brother Bryan Ellis, 36, passed away July 5. He joined the SIU in 1993. Brother Ellis’ first trip to sea was on the Eugene A. Obregon. The Michigan-born mariner sailed in the steward department. Brother Ellis most recently shipped aboard a Waterman Steamship Corporation vessel. He resided in Fenton, Mich. Pensioner Kenneth Stratton, 50, passed away July 8. Brother Stratton joined the SIU in 1972 at the maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. His first ship was the Brooklyn. Brother Stratton sailed in the engine department. Born in Boston, Mass., he most recently worked aboard the Humacao. Brother Stratton, who was a resident of Daytona Beach, Fla., retired in 2003. ROBERT MARTINEZ Brother Robert Martinez, 62, died June 16. He joined the Marine Cooks & Stewards (MC&S) in 1990 in the port of San Francisco. Brother Martinez first worked aboard the Independence. Born in California, he was a member of the steward department. Brother Martinez’s last voyage was on the APL Philippines. He made his home in Gig Harbor, Wash. LESTER MOORE Pensioner Lester Moore, 88, passed away July 24. Brother Moore initiated his SIU career in 1948. His first ship was operated by Seatrain Lines Inc. Brother Moore was a member of the engine department. The Texas native last sailed aboard a Cove Shipping Company vessel. Brother Moore was a resident of Livingston, Texas. RAFAEL QUESADA Brother David Camacho, 56, died July 17. He began sailing with the SIU in 1977. Brother Camacho’s earliest trip to sea was aboard the Walter Rice. The steward department member, who was born in Puerto Rico, last sailed on the Developer. He was a resident of St. Augustine, Fla. Pensioner Rafael Quesada, 91, died July 16. Brother Quesada joined the SIU in 1951 in the port of New York. He first sailed on an A.H. Bull Steamship Company vessel. Brother Quesada, who was born in Puerto Rico, shipped in the steward department. Prior to his retirement in 1980, he worked aboard the Horizon Anchorage. Brother Quesada continued to live in Puerto Rico. FRANK COSTANGO TEODORO RUIZ Pensioner Frank Costango, 79, passed away June 23. Brother Costango joined the SIU ranks in 1962 when he first sailed aboard the Alcoa Pointer. He was born in Delaware and shipped in the steward department. Brother Costango’s most recent voyage was aboard the ITB Groton. He started receiving his retirement compensation in 1995 and continued to live in his native state. Pensioner Teodoro Ruiz, 92, passed away July 13. Brother Ruiz embarked on his SIU career in 1940 in the port of New York. He sailed in both the inland and deep sea divisions. Brother Ruiz’s first ship was operated by Edgewater Terminal Corporation. The deck department member was born in Puerto Rico but called San Antonio home. Brother Ruiz was last employed on the Humacao. He went on pension in 1979. DAVID CAMACHO WILLIAM DAVIS Pensioner William Davis, 75, died July 29. Brother Davis embarked on his seafaring career in 1966, first sailing on the OMI Sacramento. He was born in Durham, N.C. and shipped in the deck department. Brother Davis last worked aboard the Worth. He became a pensioner in 1995 and continued to call Durham, N.C. home. 14 Seafarers LOG CHARLES SIMPSON Pensioner Charles Simpson, 96, died June 1. Brother Simpson initially sailed with the MC&S in 1962 from the port of San Francisco. He worked aboard Delta Steamship Line vessels for the duration of his career to include the Santa Mercedes and the Santa Mariana. Brother Simpson was a member of the steward department. He continued to live in his native state of California. Brother Simpson began collecting his retirement pay in 1984. GOUMAS STYLIANOS Pensioner Goumas Stylianos, 81, died June 28. Brother Stylianos began shipping with the Seafarers in 1960 from the port of New York, first working aboard a vessel operated by Texas City Refining Inc. Brother Stylianos last sailed on the Elizabeth. He became a pensioner in 1985 and made his home in Greece. MARCOS SUAREZ Brother Marcos Suarez, 44, passed away June 8. He joined the SIU in 1999. Brother Suarez worked in both the deep sea and inland divisions. His first voyage was on NPR’s San Juan. Brother Suarez was a deck department member. The New Yorkborn mariner last sailed aboard a Crowley Towing of Jacksonville vessel. Brother Suarez resided in Puerto Rico. He went on pension in 2003. ALFONSO TUCKER Pensioner Alfonso Tucker, 77, died June 26. Brother Tucker was born in Georgia. He launched his MC&S career in San Francisco. Brother Tucker was a resident of California. He started receiving his retirement compensation in 1977. MICHAEL WILEY Brother Michael Wiley, 61, passed away June 26. He joined the union in 1978, first sailing aboard the Overseas Juneau. Brother Wiley was born in Washington and worked in the deck department. His last voyage was on the Horizon Anchorage. Brother Wiley called Everett, Wash. home. JEROME WILLIAMS Brother Jerome Williams, 48, died July 17. He began his seafaring career in 1979 in Piney Point, Md. Brother Williams’ first ship was the Connecticut; his last was the Overseas Arctic. The deck department member, who was born in Louisiana, continued to live in that state. KALEB YAFAI Pensioner Kaleb Yafai, 72, passed away July 26. Brother Yafai joined the SIU in 1967. Born in Yemen, he shipped in the engine department. Brother Yafai’s first trip to sea was aboard the TransOneida. Before retiring in 1996, he sailed on the Overseas Chicago. Brother Yafai settled in Newark, Del. INLAND HENRY BIGHAM Pensioner Henry Bigham, 79, died June 5. Boatman Bigham began his seafaring career in 1951. He initially sailed on vessels operated by Doric Shipping Corporation. Boatman Bigham, who was born in North Carolina, last worked aboard a Mariner Towing vessel. He retired in 1991 and continued to make his home in North Carolina. ALICK HELGREN Pensioner Alick Helgren, 88, passed away June 25. Born in Texas, Boatman Helgren joined the union in 1950 in the port of Houston. He shipped primarily aboard G&H Towing vessels. Boatman Helgren went on pension in 1980 and made his home in Austin, Texas. OSCAR LIND Pensioner Oscar Lind, 98, died June 13. Boatman Lind was born in Galveston, Texas. During his SIU career of 24 years, he worked primarily aboard Sabine Towing Company vessels. In 1972, Boatman Lind started collecting compensation for his retirement. He was a resident of Houston. JAMES SHIFFLETT Boatman James Shifflett, 53, passed away June 12. He became a union member in 1977. Boatman Shifflett worked primarily aboard Maritrans Operating Company vessels. He sailed in the deck department. Boatman Shifflett, who was born in Harrisonburg, Va., called Louisiana home. JOHN TANNER Pensioner John Tanner, 78, passed away July 7. Boatman Tanner joined the union in 1974 while at the Piney Point school. He first sailed aboard a Steuart Transportation vessel as a member of the engine department. Boatman Tanner was born in Illinois but called Portsmouth, Va. home. He retired in 1998. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust have passed away. WILLIAM BEREZNIK Pensioner William Bereznik, 88, died May 11. Brother Bereznik became an NMU member in 1963, initially sailing aboard the Robert E. Hopkins. He was born in Bayonne, N.J. Before retiring in 1983, Brother Bereznik worked on the American Legion. BUSTER BISHOP Pensioner Buster Bishop, 82, passed away May 11. Brother Bishop was born in Arkansas. He joined the NMU in 1946; his first ship was the Francis Wilson. Brother Bishop’s last voyage was aboard the John Lykes. He became a pensioner in 1967. GERALD JOHNSON Pensioner Gerald Johnson, 73, died May 26. Brother Johnson first sailed with the NMU in 1980 on the Pioneer Commander. He was born in Kershaw, S.C. Brother Johnson went on pension in 1997. His most recent voyage was aboard the Baltimore Trader. LEO MADRETSMA Pensioner Leo Madretsma, 83, passed away May 10. Brother Madretsma embarked on his NMU career in 1947, first sailing from the port of New York on the Brazil. He worked in the engine department. In 1987, Brother Madretsma began receiving compensation for his retirement. BERNARDO MORALES Pensioner Bernardo Morales, 87, died May 12. Brother Morales joined the NMU in 1967 in the port of New York. The Puerto Rico-born mariner last worked aboard the American Pioneer. Brother Morales started collecting his pension in 1987. MARCUS TUCKER Pensioner Marcus Tucker, 81, passed away May 21. Brother Tucker joined the NMU in 1958 in the port of New York. His first ship was the Contessa; his last was the Cape Domingo. Brother Tucker was a member of the steward department. He retired in 1991. Editor’s note: In addition to the individuals listed above, the following NMU members, all of whom were pensioners, passed away on the dates indicated. NAME AGE DOD Blake, Calvin 82 July 30 Martinez, Felix 78 Oct. 23 Johnson, Everett 60 June 18 Peterson, Aubrey 81 July 15 Scales, Raymond 74 Oct. 19 March 2007 �40749_p2,3,4,9,13,14,15,16:2007-March 2/21/2007 10:54 AM Page 15 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. COMET (Maersk Line Limited), Dec. 26—Chairman Jay C. Dillon, Secretary Roderick L. Clay, Educational Director Marc Hoffman, Deck Delegate John N. Villarta, Engine Delegate Andrew Linares. Chairman announced Jan. 4 payoff and asked crew members to turn books over to boarding patrolman. Secretary reminded Seafarers to follow safety procedures at all times. Educational director advised everyone to upgrade at Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. No beefs; disputed OT reported in deck department. Crew read and discussed benefit booklet received from headquarters. Clarification requested about time off after the 75 days has been established for rotary jobs. Members suggested purchase of new toaster and microwave; new washing machine is on the way. EL YUNQUE (Interocean American Shipping), Dec. 31— Chairman Frank L. Thompson, Secretary Johnnie B. McGill Jr., Educational Director Joseph C. Grandinetti, Deck Delegate Anthony L. Sumlar, Engine Delegate Nat N. Lamb, Steward Delegate Adalberto Colon Rosa. Chairman talked about importance of reading monthly Seafarers LOG. Secretary encouraged mariners to take advantage of training available at Piney Point facility to help strengthen our industry. Educational director reported smooth sailing. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next port: Jacksonville, Fla. GALENA BAY (OSG), Dec. 31 —Chairman Lawrence H. Zepeda, Secretary Tyler N. Laffitte, Deck Delegate Sinclair Oubre. Secretary thanked crew for helping keep TV room clean and for separating discarded paper from plastic products. Educational director urged mariners to upgrade seafaring skills at the SIU-affiliated school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Vote of thanks given to steward department for excellent Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday feasts. HORIZON KODIAK (Horizon Lines), Dec. 31—Chairman Christopher K. Pompel, Secretary Veronika K. Cardenas, Educational Director Brian J. Sengelaub, Engine Delegate Ralph D. Thomas, Steward Delegate Thomas M. Kelly. Chairman discussed changes in new contract. He reminded crew that safety vests and hard hats must be worn when going to and from vessel. Secretary talked about importance of following safety procedures. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew members thanked Tacoma Seafarers Center for Christmas presents and gave a March 2007 thumbs-up to steward department for job well done. Suggestions were made regarding medical plan and eligibility. INTREPID (Maersk Line Limited), Dec. 18—Chairman Abdulla R. Alwaseem, Secretary James E. Harper, Educational Director David Fricker, Deck Delegate Joemar P. Abagat, Engine Delegate Romeo N. Rivera. Chairman thanked crew members for job well done. Secretary reported that satellite phone and cards have been received but stated problem exists in connecting for service. Treasurer noted $1,300 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew members requested fans for rooms and new radio/CD player. They also would like to see more engine department classes offered at Piney Point. Recommendations made regarding pension, medical and dental plans. Next port: Long Beach, Calif. ITB PHILADELPHIA (USS Transport), Dec. 30—Chairman Joseph J. Caruso, Secretary Dana A. Paradise, Educational Director Joseph L. McCrosky, Engine Delegate Roque L. Lambert, Steward Delegate German Solar. Chairman thanked all departments for working well together and asked that everyone help keep ship clean. Secretary asked members to see him for any needed forms. Educational director advised crew to upgrade at Piney Point school to keep up with the changing industry. He also stressed need to check document expiration dates. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Discussion held regarding high satellite bills; recommendations were made for ways to lower future bills. Request made for new washing machine. Vote of thanks to steward department for job well done. Next ports: Norco, La.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla. MAERSK VERMONT (E-Ships Inc.), Dec. 24—Chairman Cecil M. Yearwood, Secretary Paul H. Isherwood, Educational Director Rudolph C. Maycock, Deck Delegate Richard E. Sandiford, Steward Delegate Jerry E. Stuart. Chairman reported smooth sailing. He thanked steward and deck departments for excellent work. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Deck department requested clarification from company as to proper attire while working on deck (e.g., coveralls, safety shoes, gloves, back brace, etc.) Clarification also requested on time for loading stores. Delegate Leo Castro. Chairman informed crew that letter pertaining to needed repairs was sent. He expressed his gratitude to crew for great trip. Secretary encouraged mariners to support SPAD and keep all necessary shipping documents current. Educational director advised members to ask for relief on time and continue upgrading skills at Seafarers-affiliated school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made for new gym equipment as well as new washers and dryers. Steward department was thanked for excellent Thanksgiving Day meals. Next ports: New York; Corpus Christi and Beaumont, Texas; Israel. OVERSEAS NEW ORLEANS (OSG), Dec. 31—Chairman Fred N. Cintorino Jr., Secretary Gregory Johnson, Educational Director Larry F. Phillips, Deck Delegate Doyle W. Stanley, Steward Delegate Arnulfo Lacayo. Chairman talked about safety precautions when working on deck and in engine room. He advised all members to read contract and check with delegate if there is something you do not understand. Secretary reminded mariners departing vessel to make sure rooms are clean and supplied with fresh linen. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew was asked to prepare for fire and boat drill. Suggestions made regarding improvements to pension, health, dental and death benefits. Steward department given vote of thanks for job well done. Next ports: Lake Charles, La.; Tampa, Fla. SANTA CRUZ (Waterman Steamship Corporation), Dec. 10 —Chairman Samuel Reed III, Secretary John D. Bukowsky, Educational Director Glenn A. Snow, Deck Delegate Adel Alameri, Engine Delegate Adam W. Mliczewski, Steward Delegate Bridgett L. McIntosh. Chairman read letter from headquarters concerning TV, microwave and DVD player (issues which had already been resolved). He stressed need to focus on work and job safety, especially when working long hours with quick turnaround. Secretary reported that some requested food items are very expensive or unavailable in the Persian Gulf region. Educational director encouraged Seafarers to enhance skills at Paul Hall Center to increase earnings. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion was made to lower seatime requirements for pension benefits. Crew members thanked union for pay raises in new standard contract. Bosun requested that a Kool-Aid fountain be placed in the pantry. Cook and steward asked to have a steam table installed in galley. Question raised about potability of water from tanks. Next port: Shuwaikh, Kuwait. USNS BOB HOPE (American Overseas Marine), Dec. 14— Chairman Eugene T. Grantham, Secretary John W. Hale, Educational Director David M. Dunklin, Deck Delegate Raymond Johnson, Engine Delegate Arthur Shaw. Chairman reported good trip and great crew. Secretary urged mariners to take advantage of courses offered at Piney Point training school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made for washing machine in engine room specifically for washing greasy clothing. USNS STOCKHAM (Keystone Shipping), Dec. 10—Chairman Andrew B. Barrows, Educational Director Lawrence D. Miller, Deck Delegate Jason A, Powell, Engine Delegate Karim Elgallad. Chairman talked about importance of contributing to SPAD and the increase in seatime required to maintain benefits. He complimented crew for job well done and explained rotation schedule. Educational director advised mariners to upgrade and keep documents current. Treasurer stated $1,200 in ship’s fund. No beefs; disputed OT reported in deck department. Crew discussed group III personal sharing rooms and that they should be informed by hall before coming aboard. New mattresses are on order. CHEMICAL TRADER (Intrepid Personnel & Provisioning), Jan. 6—Chairman Michael D. Wittenberg, Secretary Josue L. Iglesia, Educational Director Michael L. Williams. Secretary asked crew not to use galley as passageway. Educational director encouraged mariners to donate to SPAD and upgrade skills at Paul Hall Center. Treasurer stated $840 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendation made pertaining to eligibility for pension benefits. Vote of thanks given to steward department. Next port: Tampa, Fla. HORIZON PACIFIC (Horizon Lines), Jan. 15—Chairman Rufino J. Giray, Secretary Robert P. Mosley, Educational Director Ursel R. Barber, Deck Delegate Julius C. Udan, Engine Delegate Ali Hussin, Steward Delegate Thomas C. Farrell. Bosun discussed importance of contributing to SPAD and how it benefits the membership. He also urged members to check in with customs/immigration and to check with boarding patrolman before leaving ship. Those going ashore should make sure room is clean for next person. Secretary suggested crew members make sure dues are paid up and drug tests are up to date. Treasurer stated $256 in cook-out fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward Mosley thanked Chief Cook Cheryl Hawkins and SA Farrell for great job throughout the holidays. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash.; Oakland, Calif.; Hawaii; Guam; Taiwan. Smooth Sailing on Horizon Hawaii SIU deck department personnel help keep the Horizon Hawaii sailing smoothly. Pictured at left are (clockwise from top) ABs Edgardo Martinez Espada, Pat Lavin and Macario “Mac” Torre. The photos were taken last October while the ship was on its run from Jacksonville, Fla. to San Juan, P.R. to Elizabeth, N.J. OVERSEAS LUXMAR (OSG), Dec. 3—Chairman Charles H. Foley, Secretary Jonny Cruz, Educational Director Nelson S. Lazo, Deck Delegate Luis Martinez, Engine Delegate Mohamed I. Ahmed, Steward Seafarers LOG 15 �40749_p2,3,4,9,13,14,15,16X:2007-March 2/22/2007 7:28 PM Page 16 Letter to the Editor Editor’s note: The Seafarers LOG reserves the right to edit letters for grammar as well as space provisions without changing the writer’s intent. The LOG welcomes letters from members, pensioners, their families and shipmates and will publish them on a timely basis. Remembering Red To the LOG and all the seafaring brothers who knew Red Campbell: I knew Red Campbell since 1945 when I left the Army Transport Service to join the SIU. Red was one of the nicest people I have ever known. He was a good SIU union man. Whenever we’d meet, he always shook my hand and smiled and asked how I was doing, no matter how busy he was. Red seemed more like a flesh-and-blood brother to me, and not just an SIU brother. While I never heard anyone say anything bad about him, I wanted to say something good—and I’m sure a lot of other seafaring brothers felt the same way, though many of them already have crossed the final bar. The late SIU President Paul Hall was the same way. He never forgot a face and he always had time for me. I was surprised that he remembered I came from the Know Your Rights Norfolk, Va. area. In fact, I liked all of the old officials. They were good people and I’m proud to have known them. I’m also proud to have spent most of my life in the SIU before retiring in 1987. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Bruce E. Knight Chesapeake, Virginia Angus “Red” Campbell, retired SIU vice president contracts, died last September at age 84. His obituary was published in the November issue of the LOG and remains available on the SIU web site, www.seafarers.org FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Dig up some SIU treasures online at the Slop Chest: www.siustore.com Visit the store and place your order today. Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. Are You Receiving All Your Important Mail? In order to help ensure that each active SIU member and pensioner receives a copy of the Seafarers LOG every month—as well as other important mail such as W-2 forms, pension and health insurance checks and bulletins or notices—a correct home address must be on file with the union. If you have moved recently or feel that you are not getting your union mail, please use the form on this page to update your home address. Your home address is your permanent address, and this is where all official union documents will be mailed (unless otherwise specified). If you are getting more than one copy of the LOG delivered to you, if you have changed your address, or if your name or address is misprinted or incomplete, please fill out the form and send it to: Seafarers International Union Address Correction Dept. 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 or e-mail corrections to kclements@seafarers.org HOME ADDRESS FORM 3/07 (Please Print) Name: ___________________________________________________________________________ Phone No.: _______________________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________ Social Security No.: ________ / ________ / ________ Active SIU Pensioner Book No.: ___________________ Other _______________________________________ This will be my permanent address for all official union mailings. This address should remain in the union file unless otherwise changed by me personally. 16 Seafarers LOG CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. March 2007 �40749_p1,4,6,7,8,10,11,12,17,18,19,20:2007-March 2/16/2007 11:58 AM Page 17 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE Junior Engineer July 16 September 7 Welding March 12 April 9 May 7 March 30 April 27 May 25 The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. for the first few months of 2007. All pro- Safety Specialty Courses grams are geared to improve the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Start Date of Course Date Completion Basic Safety Training - AB March 5 Marcy 9 Basic Safety Training - FOWT May 21 May 25 Government Vessels March 19 May 14 April 6 June 1 Tankerman Familiarization/ Assistant Cargo (DL)* April 2 June 4 April 13 June 15 Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Deck Upgrading Courses Course Able Seaman Lifeboatman/Water Survival -Steward (*must have basic fire fighting) Start Date Date of Completion March 5 April 16 May 28 March 30 May 11 June 22 April 2 May 14 April 13 May 25 Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations modules start every week. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward classes start every other week beginning March 5, 2007. Engine Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Basic Auxiliary Plant Ops March 26 April 20 May 21 June 15 FOWT April 23 June 18 May 18 July 13 Marine Electrician March 12 May 4 Additional courses will be announced in the next issue of the Seafarers LOG. UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Date of Birth ______________________ With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twentyfive (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. BEGIN DATE COURSE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Seniority _____________________________ Department _____________________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Deep Sea Member Lakes Member Inland Waters Member If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. U.S. Citizen: Yes No Home Port _____________________________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? Yes No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? Yes No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? Yes No Firefighting: Yes No CPR: Yes No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ March 2007 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 3/07 Seafarers LOG 17 �40749_p1,4,6,7,8,10,11,12,17,18,19,20:2007-March 2/16/2007 12:21 PM Page 18 Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 682 — Graduating from the water survival course are unlicensed apprentices from class 682. They include (in alphabetical order) Gillis Angeron III, Justin Beal, J.K. Borden, Sheldon Brittain, Jojuan Carey, William Cotea, Eugene Davis Jr., Jason Devine, Arnold Fernandez, Kendra Gardner, Kieran Green, Anson John, Destinie LeBlanc, Jonathan Luna, Kermit McCalpin, Andre Mitchell, Cameron Newberry, Jeremy Pace, Brent Poitras, Paul San Nicolas, Terrance Shinn, Eric Thomas and Quintonio Walden. Government Vessels — Phase III unlicensed apprentices who completed this course Feb. 9 are (in no specific order) Terrance Shinn, Renard Murphy, Ryan McElroy, Eric Thomas, Johnnie Owens, James Hall, Joherky Concepcion, Lawrence Cormier, Cameron Benson, Phillip Ziegert, Jake Wheeler, William Cruz, Teena Werner, Stefra Strauser, Justin Beal, Philip Gallagher, Brian Awde, Ja’Quaral Carroll, Steven Szymanski, Hospicio Lupisan Jr., Fernando Abuan, Michael Mayhew, Teddy Ramos-Zayas, Andrew Fung and Andrew Andrini. Their instructor, Stan Beck, is at far left. Celestial Navigation — With instructor Stacey Harris (center) are upgrading students who completed the celestial navigation course Feb. 9. They are (in alphabetical order) Andy Ashworth, Christopher Gustafson, Rusty Kaufman and Brian McLarnon. Left: Students who recently completed computer classes at the Paul Hall Center are (seated, from left) Rodulfo Pardilla and Jayson Ray. Their instructor, Rick Prucha, stands in back. Right: Receiving his certificate in January from Instructor Rick Prucha is Unlicensed Apprentice Andres Nunez. Seafarers LOG Advanced Fire Fighting — Graduating from this course Jan. 26 are (in no specific order) James Orlanda, Vincent Mull, Robert Paton, Charles Bennett, Wesley Slattery, Chris Schneider, Edgar Pacana, Winston Restauro, Steve Barrows and Ron Sagadraca. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Medical Care Provider — Completing the medical care provider course Feb. 2 are (in no specific order) Robert Paton, Gregory Carroll, Chris Schneider, Allen Pryor, Tracy Hill, David James, Paul Voisin, James Buckowski and Peter Frigoletti. (Note: Not all are pictured.) Any student who has Computer Lab Classes 18 ARPA — Receiving certificates for completion of the ARPA course Feb. 2 are (in no specific order) Hector Concepcion, Owen Gallagher, Gil Hernandez, Kenneth Johnson, Mikhail Kozlov, Joel Patzer, Scott Salo and Erick ToledoColon. Their instructor, Mike Smith, is fourth from the left. registered for a class and finds—for whatever reason—that he or she cannot attend, please inform the admissions department so that another student may take that place. March 2007 �40749_p1,4,6,7,8,10,11,12,17,18,19,20:2007-March 2/16/2007 12:36 PM Page 19 Paul Hall Center Classes Welding — Under the instruction of Buzzy Andrews (second from left) are students who completed the welding course Feb. 2. They are (in alphabetical order) Domingo Leon Jr., Vernal Marshall and Shawn Sayers. Chief Cook — Students who completed the course for chief cooks in January are (from the left) Brittney Lewis, Kenneth Smith, Instructor/Chef John Dobson, Abdu-Azeem Bin-Ladin and Lorraine Keelan. Radar — The eight Seafarers completing the radar course Jan. 26 are (in alphabetical order) Hector Cumba Concepcion, Peter Frigoletti, Owen Gallagher, Gil Hernandez, Mikhail Kozlov, Joel Patzer, Jayson Ray and Erick Toledo-Colon. Their instructor, Mike Smith, is at far left. STCW — STCW — NCL, Jan. 25: Franklin Ada, Ashley Archer, Christopher Bakutis, Marilyn Banks, Michael Brown, Suzette Brown, Omalto Canterbury, Christina Capobianco, Joel Castro, Henrryk Cid, Markida Clawson, Jamie Davis, Anthony Diaz, Blasita Diggs, Marissa Duran, Justin Eldridge, Mioka Ellis, Patricia Fonville, Losoni Freeman, Jared Gabbard, Tyler Gilbert, Calvin Green, Johnathan Gruwell and Ronald Gunter Jr. STCW — STCW — NCL, Feb. 1: Brian O’Rourke, Abbey Patchett, Carlee Peszko, Darnita Phillips, Daniel Pia Jr., Mechelle Rice, Gregory Rider, Jeremiah Sanders, Melanie Scoma, Anthony Scotino, Denielle Seguin, Darrell Shandor, Derrick Smith, Matthew Stehlik, Kim Stroud, Gale Teel, Sharon Thackeray, Fayelene Thompson and Janaya Urritia. NCL, Jan. 25: Brittany Phillips, Jennifer Pintar, Vincent Pompo, Natali Recalde, Jillyan Rodgers, Fernando Rosas, Christopher Saltzmann, Paul Scanlan, LaShawnda Scott, Christopher Sicard, Antoinette Simon, Sean Smith, Robert Snethen, Eden Stein, Barbra Taylor, Michael Tocco, Christopher Torbik, Georgina Turla, Robert Tyus Jr. and Roy Vidal. NCL, Feb. 1: Jason Angus, Carmen Anton, Alvin Atkinson, Rebecca Behrman, Richard Branthoover, Joshua Burwell, Elizabeth Cabaniss, Leah Canino, Jerzy Chachaj, Jacob Clapham, Breanna Conklin, Nolan Cook, Aimee Cormier, Jenifer Dayo, Emiteria DeVeyra, Manoch Deekhieo, Eric Dooley, Francis Dupont, Nadiya Edwards, Todd Elder and Veronica Erdel. March 2007 Seafarers LOG 19 �40749_p1,4,6,7,8,10,11,12,17,18,19,20:2007-March 2/16/2007 1:03 PM Page 20 Volume 69, Number 3 March 2007 ATTENTION SEAFARERS Check all your shipping documents to be sure they are up to date and not about to expire. You can’t sail without them! Working at the Petty’s Island Terminal John Smith P etty’s Island is a 292-acre island in the Delaware River between Camden, N.J. and Philadelphia. Crowley Maritime Corp., a Seafarerscontracted company, operates a terminal there. The photos on this page show some of the SIU members on the job at that facility. Cecil Williams Paul Hart Jim Rutter Right: Union Steward Chris Nardone John Chapin Jim Connors Ed Haywood Left: Scott Smith John Haller Pat Farley Dennis Saggese Bill Rushon � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 March 2007 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES BETHEL IS NATIONAL PRESIDENT OF AMERICAN MARITIME OFFICERS SIU SHIPS DELIVER IN OPERATION DEEP FREEZE AKER PHILADELPHIA TO BUILD MORE TANKERS SEAFARERS-CONTRACTED OSG WILL OPERATE NEW VETERAN-CLASS VESSELS USNS MARY SEARS LOCATES BLACK BOXES FROM FLIGHT 574 HOUSTON SEAFARERS HONOR DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. 2007 UNION SHOW RETURNS TO CINCINNATI EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT RE-INTRODUCED IN HOUSE GOVERNMENT PUBLISHES TWIC RULE, MMC UPDATE BLS RELEASES ANNUAL DATA ON UNIONS MAKING THE HOLIDAYS SPECIAL ON THE ALASKAN NAVIGATOR WWII/KOREAN WAR MERCHANT MARINE VETERAN CELEBRATES 85TH BIRTHDAY WORKING AT THE PETTY’S ISLAND TERMINAL Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 03/01/2007 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. 69, No. 3 2007 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/084faa4f78ce3fd268111b22ec1a1c83.pdf a1420a4c7203510c9f56a3c8a1084707 PDF Text Text Volume 69, Number 2 February 2007 SIU-Crewed ‘Duck Boats’ Coming to New York City Duck boats have been around since World War II, but they’re new to New York City and the SIU. Seafarers at New York Splash Tours will operate the company’s new “AquaBus” fleet, consisting of amphibious vehicles offering land and water trips in the city and on the Hudson. The newly contracted company’s first boat is pictured at left. Page 3. Paul Hall Center’s Deck Simulation Programs Upgraded Mariners Eventually Will Need TWIC, MMC Page 3 Mike Smith, an instructor at the SIUaffiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md., puts the institution’s new Electronic Navigation Lab Simulator through some of its paces. To find out more about the simulator and its capabilities, turn to page 6. SIU Snapshots from the Lakes Seafarers helped wrap up the 2006-2007 Great Lakes sailing season in mid-January. Pictured at left is AB Hasson Oudeif aboard the American Spirit. More photos and details about the season may be found on page 24. SIU Welcomes U.S. Troops Aboard Alliance New York SIU members and officers from the car carrier Alliance New York recently welcomed U.S. troops on board for a holiday feast while the vessel was docked in Kuwait. A few of the 50 or so military personnel are pictured at right. Page 2. Tax Tips Pages 12-13 Holiday Photos Galore Pages 8-11 Scholarship Reminder Page 20 �President’s Report Shipboard Fatigue Must Be Addressed Seafarers understand that there’s an inevitable amount of risk that comes with working in our industry, whether it’s on the rivers, the Great Lakes, the coasts or the open seas. On multiple fronts, our union consistently strives to minimize or eliminate those dangers—through safety training and education, cooperatively working with our contracted operators, and partnering with others in the maritime industry, including the Coast Guard. Some risks, perhaps most notably the weather, Michael Sacco are obvious and uncontrollable. A recent study commissioned by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) examines a far more subtle but also key hazard. In January, the ITF released the results of a six-year analysis into the role that fatigue plays on the people who crew the world’s merchant vessels. To better appreciate the study’s findings, I think it’s appropriate to briefly step back and touch on some of our industry’s history. It wasn’t until the earliest years of the 20th century that the American public started becoming aware of the perils facing American citizens who chose a career at sea. In those days, mariners basically signed their lives away to have a shipboard job. They were worked hard for little pay. They faced dangers from abusive shipowners and officers, from disease and from the sea itself. For the most part they had no voice on the job and no chance to improve their situation. These were among the many reasons that mariners organized and formed unions, including the forerunner of today’s maritime unions—the International Seamen’s Union. Led by Andrew Furuseth, the ISU worked with legislators in Washington to craft the Seamen’s Act of 1915, which outlawed many of the tactics used to imprison American mariners aboard ships. Full steam ahead to the 21st century. This time, the abuses are being laid upon desperate mariners from poor nations around the world. Like their American predecessors, these crew members from faraway lands face abuse and exploitation daily—usually far from the eyes and ears of anyone who might try to help. Thankfully, the ITF (to which the SIU is affiliated) continues its commendable, necessary role of shining a light on the daily troubles of these workers. Last month, in announcing the report on shipboard fatigue, the ITF noted that airline crews covered by the International Civil Aviation Organization average between 70 and 100 hours a month of flight time. Yet, the research pointed out that maritime regulation allows crew members to work up to 98 hours a week. Titled Adequate Crewing and Seafarers’ Fatigue: The International Perspective, the 74-page report shows how long stretches at sea can affect a mariner’s mental and physical health, which can lead to accidents and other safety concerns. Among its findings, the study revealed that one in four seafarers responding said they had fallen asleep on watch. Nearly half the respondents reported working at least 85 hours a week, and half also said their working hours had increased during the past 10 years despite new guidelines and regulations intended to combat fatigue. More than a third said their working hours sometimes posed a danger to their vessel’s safe operations. The report concludes that the maritime industry and its regulators must acknowledge that serious risks and consequences are undeniable when vessels are crewed by fatigued mariners. Among these dangers are potential for economic and environmental disasters, economic losses due to fines and increased insurance premiums, and serious health implications for the mariners themselves. The SIU joins with the ITF in calling for immediate action to end the plight faced daily by men and women who simply are trying to make a living for themselves and their families. All work is important and all people should be treated with dignity. That treatment must include proper rest—and fair oversight to ensure it. Volume 69, Number 2 Alliance New York Hosts Troops For Informal Holiday Gathering Seafarers and officers from the car carrier Alliance New York on Dec. 28 welcomed U.S. military personnel on board for an informal holiday feast while the vessel was docked in Ash Shuaybah, Kuwait. Approximately 50 U.S. troops dined aboard the roll-on/roll-off ship, which is enrolled in the U.S. Maritime Security Program (MSP). “The crew went above and beyond making the troops feel at home and providing them a release for the holidays,” said Bob Wellner, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Liberty Global Logistics, the vessel operator. The following SIU members were sailing aboard the Alliance New York when the event took place: Bosun Thomas Flanagan, ABs Jerry Foke, James Wilby, Jack Jackson and Christopher Brady, GUDEs Zamalo Only and Antony Arzu, OMU Clay McIver, Chief Steward Peter Williams, Chief Cooks Bruce Johnson and Henry Greene, GSTU Jose Santos, and UAs Corey Overbeck, Ravon Moore The Alliance New York is part of the U.S. Maritime Security Program. and Arthur Jones. The ship’s master, Costas Balomenos, said the steward department “went all out and did a spectacular job.” In a message to the company, Balomenos noted, “We went through four prime roasts and 25 pounds of ribs, plus a lot of homemade pastries and baked goods. A big hit was some of the soldiers taking frozen U.S. milk from our storing home with them…. We had the cadets and unlicensed apprentices giving tours of the ship. The steward wrapped up ‘doggie bags’ of food and dessert favorites for many. The troops made our port stay, and I think we made their day.” The captain added that they presented the troops with holiday gift bags, including extras to be taken to other soldiers who didn’t attend the meal. Built in 2005, the Alliance New York is 665 feet long and has a beam of 105.8 feet. The dieselpowered vessel (19,217 hp) has a speed of 20.5 knots and a total deck area of nearly 585,000 square feet. These four photos show some of the U.S. troops who enjoyed a meal on the SIU-crewed Alliance New York. The gathering took place Dec. 28 in Kuwait. Senator Akaka Visits SIU Hall February 2007 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 8990675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Deborah A. Hirtes; Associate Editor, Jim Guthrie; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2007 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) stopped by the SIU hall in Honolulu on Dec. 13 to thank Seafarers for strongly supporting his successful reelection campaign. He told SIU members and port officials that the tough primary campaign re-energized him for the upcoming Congressional session and he looked forward to returning to the Senate as part of the majority party. SIU Port Agent Neil Dietz reports that the senator “took time to speak with each of the members in the hall and to especially thank Seafarer Robert Borro, who was very active in the senator’s campaign.” Pictured above right at the hall (from left) are Cheryl Hawkins, Hiruy Amanuel, Erni Lizada, Ely Hermano, Jose Dizon, Robert Borro, James Shepard, Senator Akaka, Dale Graham and Emilio Ababa. Shown in photo at left are Seafarer Borro and Senator Akaka. February 2007 �SIU’s Newest Boat Is Just Ducky ‘AquaBus’ Travels by Land and Water in New York While there’s nothing unusual about the SIU aggressively pursuing new shipboard job opportunities, the union’s latest gain definitely includes some uncommon features. Seafarers at New York Splash Tours will operate the new “AquaBus” fleet, which the company describes as “unique halfboat, half-bus amphibious vehicles offering New York City’s first ever land and water visitor experience, starting in April.” Employees at New York Splash Tours late last year voted for SIU representation. As this issue of the LOG went to press, they were very close to finalizing their first contract. The company already possesses one AquaBus and is building several more. “This is a great opportunity for our union to expand into a new segment of the industry,” said SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker. “The boats certainly are eye-catching.” SIU Vice President Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi noted that while the AquaBus’ unusual features and informal name (duck boats) inevitably have led to a good-natured joke or two, Seafarers are quite serious about safely operating them, whether on the water or the street. The U.S.-built AquaBus fleet, constructed to meet rigid safety and environmental standards, “has been designed to evoke the memory of Henry Hudson’s famous ship, The Half Moon,” the company noted. The “Splash Tour” route itself starts in Times Square, on the east side of Broadway between 47th and 48th Streets and navigates the streets of Manhattan to the waters of the Hudson River. At the edge of the Hudson, the boat will enter a theater for a multi-media experience simulating Henry Hudson’s journey, complete with the sights and sounds—and rushing wind—of an Atlantic sea voyage. Then the boat splashes into the Hudson River for a view of the New York skyline. After returning to land, the AquaBus travels back to Times Square. The total trip time is approximately one hour. Each AquaBus can accommodate 47 passengers plus two crew members. The tours will operate from April through December. More information is available on line at www.newyorksplashtours.com. While the duck boats are new to New York, many other cities already have them, including Boston, Philadelphia, Seattle and Atlanta. The design was covertly crafted during World War II, when such vehicles were used for transporting goods and troops across land and water as well as traversing beaches in amphibious attacks. It is estimated that General Motors built more than 21,000 of the crossover vehicles by late 1945. After the war, according to an article in Smithsonian magazine, many of the duck boats “would end their days rusting away on Pacific battlefields or in forgotten storage depots in Europe. Those that made it back to the United States joined the gargantuan postwar garage sale. Some DUKWs served as rescue vehicles for fire departments in flood-prone towns. Hundreds were converted to oddlooking dump trucks or wreckers, and some went to sea. In California in the late 1940s, hunters of basking sharks harpooned their enormous prey from DUKWs.” Although some of the history is sketchy because of its stealthy start, it is commonly believed that each letter in DUKW reflects a specific component. The letter D represents the year 1942; U stands for utility (amphibian); K means front-wheel drive; and W indicates two powered rear axles. Seafarers show off the new AquaBus in front of the SIU hall in Brooklyn, N.Y. Pictured from left to right are Michael Noodt, Daniel Cumberland, Bonnie Young, Melissa Stephenson, SIU Patrolman Joe Baselice, John Murray and Albert James. The new SIU-crewed “duck boats” will offer tours of New York City on land and water. TWIC and MMC: What Seafarers Should Know (for Now) As this edition of the LOG went to press in late January, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was expected to issue a final rulemaking for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program along with a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking covering the merchant mariner qualification credential (MMC). Eventually, U.S. mariners will be required to carry both a TWIC and an MMC, while the current z-card/MMD and STCW certificate will be phased out along with licenses. Earlier last month, the DHS issued an advance copy of the final rule for the TWIC program, which is supposed to improve port security by checking the backgrounds of workers before they are granted unescorted access to secure areas of vessels and maritime facilities. The TWIC itself will be an ID card that includes a biometric identifier, in this case a fingerprint. The MMC is envisioned as a paper document containing information about an individual mariner’s work qualifications. The advance copy of the final rule spanned 469 pages but didn’t include regulations on the card readers themselves, nor specific instructions on how or where to apply for the card. Nevertheless, between that copy and various communications from the U.S. Coast Guard, this much has been stated by the government: „ From the date the final rule is published in the Federal Register (expected to have taken place by the end of January), mariners have 20 months to secure a TWIC. Meanwhile, a valid z-card/ MMD will be considered as meeting the requirements of the TWIC program, provided it is supplemented by a second form of government-issued ID such as a driver’s license. Please be advised that SIU headquarters and all SIU hiring halls will be closed Monday, Feb. 19, 2007 for the observance of Presidents’ Day. Normal business hours will resume the following workday. February 2007 „ Detailed information on how and where to apply for a TWIC is supposed to be included in subsequent notices from the government. However, the enrollment process will start no sooner than March 2007 in a small number of ports, with gradual expansion nationwide. The rollout schedule will be posted to the TWIC web site: www.tsa.gov/twic „ The final rulemaking on the MMC isn’t expected to be published until at least summer 2008, and initial issuance of that credential will continue over a fiveyear period. This means that until the proposed MMC regulation is final, Seafarers should continue to apply for zcards/MMDs, licenses, CORs and STCW endorsements under the current regulations in 46 CFR parts 10 and 12. It also indicates that the MMC will be phased in over five years. „ Because mariners undergo a securityrelated background check as part of their Coast Guard application process, they are eligible to obtain a reduced-fee TWIC. If a mariner exercises this option, the Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA, which oversees the TWIC program) will use the Coast Guard’s security assessment, which is valid for five years. The mariner’s TWIC, therefore, will expire on the same date as their z-card. (Essentially, the TWIC assessment would be timelimited so that the TWIC expires when the mariner’s z-card expires.) Obtaining a TWIC with a full five-year validity period will require paying the full fee and undergoing a new TSA security assessment. „ This may change in the final rule, but the advance copy reported that the fee for a TWIC card will be between $139 and $159 (for cards that are good for five years). The TSA proposes that workers with current, comparable background checks (including one for a zcard) will receive a discounted fee of between $107 and $127. The exact amount of the fee will be finalized once a contract is awarded in early 2007. A subsequent Federal Register Notice will be issued at that time. „ The cost of the MMC “will be the same as the cost of the current mariner docu- mentation. The only change will be the removal of additional issuance fees ($45) as there will no longer be multiple credentials to issue.” „ If the MMC proposed regulation is fully implemented, mariners would be able to apply for original, renewal, duplicate and raise-in-grade MMCs entirely by mail, without having to visit a Coast Guard regional examination center. Most or all of the information currently submitted in person at one of the 17 RECs already would have been submitted at one of the 125 or so TWIC enrollment centers when an individual applied for a TWIC, removing the need (though not eliminating the option) to apply for an MMC in person. „ The Coast Guard will provide a 90-day comment period on the supplemental proposed MMC rulemaking project and encourages public comment. The government estimates that approximately 750,000 workers eventually will need to carry a TWIC, including U.S. mariners. The new credential was mandated in the Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) of 2002. Notices of Proposed Rulemakings were issued last year, and the SIU formally submitted comments in early July 2006. Additionally, the SIU joined with other U.S. maritime unions in crafting related testimony presented July 20 to the U.S. Mariners May Pay User Fees Online The U.S. Coast Guard last month issued a news release stating that merchant mariners “are now able to pay user fees for the evaluation of applications, examinations, issuance of licenses and merchant mariner documents online at http:// www.pay.gov/ “Pay.gov allows secure electronic payments to federal government agencies,” the release continues. “Payments can be made directly from an individual’s bank account or by credit or debit card, enabling mariners to quickly pay user fees and have proof of payment. This new method of paying user fees is part of the Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center (NMC) restructuring and centralization project to improve service to mariners and to increase the efficiency of the application review and approval process. For More Information „ The union will provide regular updates on both the TWIC and MMC in the Seafarers LOG, on our web site (www.seafarers.org, normally in the “Heard at Headquarters” section), and at the monthly membership meetings. Port agents will be informed of any new developments, so Seafarers may check with them from time to time. „ Questions concerning the TWIC may be e-mailed to the Coast Guard at: uscg-twic-helpdesk@uscg.mil „ The phone number for the TSA’s TWIC help desk is 877-687-2243 „ The TSA’s TWIC web site is located at http://www.tsa.gov/ „ A list of Coast Guard RECs is located at http://www.uscg.mil/stcw/mmic-regions.htm House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation. (The subcommittee is part of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.) Maritime unions including the SIU have emphasized that they fully embrace strong shipboard and port security measures, but that such regulations must not cause undue burden on mariners or other transportation workers, nor should they disrupt commerce. “Mariners may continue to pay user fees in person at Coast Guard Regional Examination Centers. Regional Examination Centers also offer assistance in using pay.gov.” The web address listed in the press release (www.pay.gov) is for a general page provided by the Treasury Department explaining the “pay.gov” system. It includes an internal link to a list of participating federal agencies, and from there it takes a few more clicks to reach the Coast Guard’s “merchant mariner user fee payment” entry page. Once you’ve opened the page with the list of agencies, start by clicking on “D” for Department of Homeland Security, then click on Coast Guard, then click on the merchant mariner page. To go straight to the merchant mariner page, type in the following URL: https://www. pay.gov/paygov/ forms/formInstance.html?agencyFormId=4795779 Seafarers LOG 3 �USNS Cobb Rescues Refugees The keen eye of an on-watch able bodied seaman aboard the SIU-crewed USNS Samuel L. Cobb late last year more than likely saved the lives of eight Cuban refugees. AB Paul Moss on Sept. 27 was pulling his onwatch shift on the bridge of the Ocean Ships, Inc.operated vessel as it was en route to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. At about noon, Moss caught glimpse of a small boat in the distance through his binoculars. Although his field of vision was limited, he could distinguish vessel occupants waving their hands in apparent attempts to get help. Third Mate John Arnold notified Captain Carmen Ciccone of the situation. Within minutes, the captain altered course and headed the Cobb straight toward the refugees’ location. Once in position, Cobb crew members initiated rescue operations. Everything was over about one hour later when all eight of the small boat’s occupants—seven men and one woman—were safely on the deck of the Cobb. Spanish-speaking crew members from the Cobb learned that the freedom seekers had been floating around for 15 days and were out of food and water. After providing other relevant information about their situation, the refugees were given food and whatever other provisions they required to make their stay aboard the Cobb as reasonably comfortable as possible. At about 10 p.m. the same day, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Dallas rendezvoused with the Cobb. Captain Ciccone relinquished custody of the Cobb’s guests to the Coast Guard; the vessel then returned to its normal course. Seafarers aboard the Cobb at the time of the rescue operations included: Bosun Aristeo Padua, ABs Nestor Luzon, Jesley Callum, Jefferson Julian, Paul Moss and Jonathan Nielsen; DEUs Romulo Arzu-Ruiz and Winston Rankin; QMEDs Terence Newman and Terry Dyson; Steward/Baker Cesar Delacruz, Chief Cook Leonida Peligrino and GSUs Osman Alvarez and Robeson Carrier. The Cobb is a T-5 tanker operated by Ocean Ships for the U.S. Military Sealift Command. The ship is 615 feet long with a beam of 90 feet. MSC lists the vessel’s draft as 36 feet, its displacement as 41,500 long tons and its speed as 16 knots. President Ford Moved Swiftly For Mariners in Mayaguez Incident The United States Merchant Marine and the American maritime community as a whole lost an eminent ally with the death of President Gerald R. Ford in December. The 38th President of the United States, Ford died peacefully Dec. 26 at his home in Rancho Mirage, Calif. at 6:45 p.m. California time, according to a statement released by the late president’s family. He was 93. No cause of death was given. President Ford is best remembered in the maritime community for his efforts in response to the May 12, 1975 seizure of a U.S.flag, SIU-crewed container vessel in Southeast Asia. Believing that the Sea-Land Service-operated SS Mayaguez was being used to transport military equipment to Vietnam, the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia ordered the vessel be seized while it was operating in recognized international sea lanes. The Mayaguez’s commercial crew of 39—including 28 Seafarers—was taken captive and held prisoner. U.S. military surveillance aircraft discovered the vessel was then moved to and anchored at Koh Tang, an island located some 50 miles off the southern coast of Cambodia near that country’s shared border with Vietnam. Regarding the seizure incident as an act of piracy, President Ford ordered a military response to retake the vessel and its crew. He directed that the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea be moved into the area and that a substantial number of U.S. Marines from Okinawa, Japan and Subic Bay in the Philippines be deployed to Utapao Air Base in Thailand. In response to President Ford’s actions, then-SIU President Paul Hall sent a telegram to the White House, declaring: “The military seizure by the Cambodian Government of the SS Mayaguez is a violation of the concept of freedom of the seas and is a hostile and unfriendly act. We share your view that this is a piratical act. We want you to know that we fully support your firm and positive action and we are confident that your efforts to protect the American citizens and the vessel involved will be in this country’s 4 Seafarers LOG Gerald Ford (at podium), who was then vice president-designate, addresses the SIU convention in November 1973 in Washington, D.C. SIU President Paul Hall is seated at right. best interests.” Hall also sent individual telegrams to the families of the captured Seafarers who were aboard the Mayaguez, expressing the union’s deep concern over the situation and the safety of the crew. The resulting battle to rescue the crew—who unknown by military planners had been held aboard a fishing vessel but released prior to the start of hostilities—left 41 military members dead or missing and another 50 wounded. The crew on May 14 was returned aboard the USS Wilson shortly after American military action was carried out by combined Marine and Air Force units. The Seafarers who made up the unlicensed portion of the Mayaguez crew when it was seized were: „ Deck department: Jack Mullis, Salvator Puntillo, Earl Gilbert, William MacDonald, Gerald Bayliss, Thomas LaBue, John Doyle, Herbert MacDonald, Polo Russi Vazquez, Geraldo Lopez and Anastacio Sereno. „ Engine department: Wilfred Friedler, Wilfredo Reyes, Americo Faria, Robert Phillips, Awat Sulaimen, Frank Conway, Robert Zimmerman, Carlos Guerrero and Stephen Zarley; and „ Steward department: Andy Anderson, Guillermo Reyes, Angel Rios, Bill Bellinger, Munasser Omer, Francis Pastrano, Darryl Kastl and Kassim Saleh. The SIU and the entire maritime community extend its condolences to President Ford’s widow and his family. Both will forever be indebted to him for his tough leadership during a time of crisis and unwavering resolve to fight for our merchant mariners and safely return them home. Ford was born Leslie Lynch King Jr., in Omaha, Neb. on July 14, 1913. He was renamed for his step-father, Gerald Ford, who married the former president’s mother after her divorce. After being the captain of his high school football team, Ford landed a football scholarship to the University of Michigan. As a Wolverine, he played center and starred on two national championship teams. He graduated in 1935 and, after turning down offers to play professional football, attended Yale Law School. The late president graduated in the top third of his class in 1941. He joined the Navy in 1942, saw wartime service in the Pacific as a lieutenant commander aboard an aircraft carrier and left the Navy in 1946. He practiced law before winning a congressional seat in 1948. In 1973, Ford was in his 13th term as a Michigan congressman and was the House Republican leader when former President Richard Nixon appointed him vice president. Ford became president on Aug. 9, 1974 immediately following Nixon’s resignation. President Ford was laid to rest Jan. 3 in Grand Rapids, Mich. on the grounds of his presidential museum. The interment followed eight days of mourning that spanned the country, from California to the nation’s capital and back to the late president’s boyhood home. Ford’s casket traveled more than 2,700 miles prior to reaching its final destination. The SIU-crewed tanker USNS Samuel L. Cobb is part of the U.S. Military Sealift Command fleet. Maersk Alabama Seafarers Brighten Holidays for Kids Donations Lift Spirits of Orphans The true spirit of giving was personified by crew members aboard the SIU-contracted Maersk Alabama when they made the holiday season very special for a group of orphaned children in Tanzania. Crew members late last year purchased and donated more than $1,400 worth of food, personal hygiene products, disinfectants, laundry and bedding items for the 95 residents of a children’s home in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Alabama Chief Mate Brian Mossman—with the assistance of Tanzania-based Maersk Agents Thomas Odeny and Isaac Mbugi—did much of the groundwork to make the project possible, including contacting officials at the orphanage to ascertain specifically what items were most needed. Among those in demand were rice and beans, cooking oil, vegetables, toothpaste, aspirin, laundry soap and sheets and mosquito nets for more than 50 bunks. Since the kids rarely have the opportunity to eat meat, the crew also pitched in so that Odeny and Mbugi could buy two goats for the children’s Christmas dinner. SIU members aboard the Alabama at the time of the goodwill gesture included: Bosun Jose F. Caballero, ABs Goducel P. Pascua, Johney August IV, William J. Schuppman, Sacarias Suazo, Syed A. Mehdi, Nieves Nunez, Maamor Mia, El-Sayed Mohamed, Jordan Polon and Pedro Campos; GU Fadel Ghaleb; QMEDS Seller T. Brooks, Tesfaye Gebregziabher and Alfredo Cuevas; GVAs Salah Saeed Saleh and Husain Salah; SBs Roger G. Griswold and Zein Z. Achmad; and Chief Cooks Alba Luz Ayala and Ali B. Hydera. The entire project was a great success to the entire crew, according to Maersk Alabama Capt. Kevin McHugh. “Since we could not celebrate with our families out here at sea, this was our Christmas present to the orphans as well as to ourselves,” he said in electronic correspondence from aboard the vessel. “Even though Christmas is now over, the officers and crew are still coming to me wanting to visit the kids and continue to help the orphanage when possible,” McHugh concluded. Seafarers and officers from the Maersk Alabama donated to an orphanage in Tanzania to help brighten the holidays for children living there, some of whom are pictured at left. It’s Never Too Late . . . At the January membership meeting in Piney Point, Md., Fernando Abuan (third from left), a Phase III unlicensed apprentice, was presented with his high school diploma from the state of Maryland. On hand to congratulate him were SIU officials (from the left) Executive Vice President Augie Tellez, Vice President Joseph Soresi, Vice President George Tricker, President Michael Sacco and Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel. February 2007 �New Study Reinforces Need for Employee Free Choice Act Employer Interference in Union Elections Often Is Out of Control Union leaders for years have spoken out about some U.S. employers resorting to aggressive and sometimes illegal tactics to prevent employees from conducting union membership drives. While it probably won’t surprise many people in the labor movement, a new report from an independent, nonpartisan think tank spells out the breadth and severity of such violations. The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), established to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people’s lives, issued the report titled Dropping the Ax: Illegal Firings During Union Election Campaigns. The study says that about one in five union organizers or activists can expect to be fired as a result of their union organizing. The paper by John Schmitt and Ben Zipperer— utilizing published data from the National Labor Relations Board, which runs union elections and is the agency that resolves management-union disputes—found a steep rise in illegal firings of prounion workers in recent years. “Aggressive actions by employers—often including illegal firings—have significantly undermined the ability of U.S. workers to unionize their workplaces,” said Schmitt, CEPR senior economist and lead author of the paper. “With the legal penalties for such actions being so slight, employers can break the law to head off organizing efforts and face almost no real repercussions.” The paper found that firings of pro-union workers involved in union election campaigns are approaching the peak reached Seafarers and other trade unionists march in Washington, D.C. Dec. 8 during a rally supporting the Employee Free Choice Act—a bill that would give workers a fair chance to vote for union representation. during the 1980s of one in 42. Currently, the probability of a pro-union worker being fired is a one-in-53 chance—far greater than the rate at the end of the 1990s, when it was only one in 87. The paper also revealed that the number of successful union elections has significantly declined, partly as a result of the increase in illegal firings. If only 10 percent of pro-union workers are active campaign organizers, almost one in five union activists were fired illegally in 2005. An earlier study by the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Center for Urban Economic Development also found shocking amounts of employer resistance during organizing drives: „ 30 percent of employers fire pro-union workers „ 49 percent of employers threaten to close a worksite when workers try to unionize Philly Hall Hosts Governor Rendell Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell (center) is greeted by SIU Patrolman Robert Wisler (left) and SIU member William Kelly during a November 2006 meeting with Democratic ward leaders at the SIU hall in Philadelphia. In addition to ward leaders (photo below), the meeting attracted a healthy contingent from the local neighborhood as well as the media (camera at left). February 2007 „ 82 percent of employers hire union-busting consultants to fight organizing drives „ 91 percent of employers force employees to attend antiunion meetings one-on-one with supervisors. “Our research clearly shows that firings, bribes and threats are pervasive,” said Nik Theodore, director of the Center for Urban Economic Development. “These actions greatly impede workers’ ability to form unions.” The timing for the release of the foregoing reports could not have been more opportune for labor and its supporters. One came about one year prior to the mid-term elections and the other just prior to the convening to the new Democratic-controlled 110th Congress, which among other working families issues likely will consider the Employee Free Choice Act. Initially introduced April 9, 2005 as bipartisan legislation in the 109th Congress by Sens. Edward Kennedy (DMass.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Reps. George Miller (DCalif.) and Peter King (R-N.Y.), the act would give workers a fair opportunity to choose union representation. Once law, it would: „ Certify a union as the bargaining representative if the National Labor Relations Board finds that a majority of employees in an appropriate unit has signed authorizations designating the union as its bargaining representative. (The bill also requires the board to develop model authorization language and procedures for establishing the authenticity of signed authorizations.) „ Provide that if an employer and union are engaged in bargaining for their first contract and are unable to reach agreement within 90 days, either party may refer the dispute to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) for mediation. If the FMCS has been unable to bring the parties to agreement after 30 days of mediation the dispute will be referred to arbitration and the results of the arbitration shall be binding on the parties for two years. Time limits may be extended by mutual agreement of the parties. (This is a significant stipulation because some employers have resorted to extreme stall tactics in firstcontract negotiations—a desperate and unfair attempt to deny their employees’ votes for union representation.) „ Provide that just as the NLRB is required to seek a federal court injunction against a union whenever there is reasonable cause to believe that the union has violated the secondary boycott prohibitions in the act, the NLRB must seek a federal court injunction against an employer whenever there is reasonable cause to believe the employer has discharged or discriminated against employees, threatened to discharge or discriminate against employees or engaged in conduct that significantly interferes with employee rights during an organizing or first contract drive. „ Increase the amount an employer is required to pay when an employee is discharged or discriminated against during an organizing campaign or first contract drive to three times the amount of back pay. „ Provide for civil fines of up to $20,000 per violation against employers found to have willfully or repeatedly violated employees’ rights during an organizing campaign or first contract drive. Mineta Joins Horizon Lines Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta last month was elected to the board of SIU-contracted Horizon Lines. Effective Jan. 1, Mineta filled a vacancy created by the resignation from the board by Admiral James Holloway (USN-Retired). The former transportation secretary currently is vice chairman of Hill & Knowlton, a well-known communications consultant. His distinguished career includes 20 years in the U.S. House of Representatives representing the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, the chair of the National Civil Aviation Review Commission and cabinet service under the last two United States presidents. Mineta joined the administration of President George W. Bush in January 2001 and was the longest serving Secretary of Transportation in the history of that cabinet post. He also served as U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Bill Clinton. Prior to joining the Clinton Administration, he was vice president of Lockheed Martin. During his years as transportation secretary, Mineta was an outstanding advocate of the U.S. Merchant Marine. He seldom missed an opportunity to voice and reiterate his strong support for the U.S.-flag maritime industry. “Rarely in our history has the importance of our maritime operations been so clear or the opportunities for mariners so great,” Mineta said during his June 2004 graduation address at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y. “For the first time in recent memory, we are adding demonstrably to the number of ships Former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta sailing under the American flag,” he continued. “In the past two years, our efforts have attracted three modern and militarily useful vessels to the U.S.-flag fleet. Additionally, thousands of new sea-going jobs will be created when three new U.S.-flagged cruise ships are placed in service,” Mineta said. SIU President Michael Sacco once described Mineta as “a tremendous ally through his years of public service in both the Congress and the Clinton and Bush Administrations.” Charles G. (Chuck) Raymond, chairman and CEO of Horizon Lines, stated, “Norm Mineta has a wealth of knowledge of our nation’s commercial opportunities as well as the strengths and opportunities in our national transportation system,” Mr. Raymond said. “He will be an invaluable source of energy and guidance as we look to the future.” Seafarers LOG 5 �Paul Hall Center Adds ‘E-Nav Lab’ Training Upgrade Bolsters School’s Deck Simulation Programs Instructors and staff at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. recently installed upgrades in the school’s deck simulation programs. In a move designed to keep deck department students abreast of the latest innovations in maritime technology, the institution’s vocational staff in August unveiled their new Electronic Navigation Lab (E-Nav Lab), the latest addition to the Lindsey Williams Shiphandling Simulator and Bob McMillen Annex. The new E-Nav Lab provides functionality that supports deck officer training in a number of areas associated with “officer in charge of a navigational watch” (OICNW) program development including: Electronic Chart/ ECDIS, Automatic Identification System (AIS) GPS, LORAN C, Radar, ARPA, Echo Sounder, and navigation software. As a result of this upgrade, students working in a simulated environment now will be able to reinforce classroom theory by engaging in real-time navigation exercises. The instructor-led exercises are designed around a concept of managing all the electronic navigation equipment that typically is found on a modern integrated bridge. After mastering the basic principles involved in the various equipment packages, students then develop voyage plans, store these plans electronically, check them for safety parameters, and implement them during interactive exercises with up to five bridge stations working simultaneously. Additionally, they scrutinize their progress on ECDIS displays while using radar and ARPA overlay to monitor the movements of other vessels in the exercise area. When activated, the AIS display provides students with detailed information pertaining to the identity, nationality, routing and movements of traffic vessels visible on Radar/ARPA displays. GPS, Loran C, auto pilot functionality, and echo sounders all contribute to the equipment’s increased realism. As exercises proceed, alarms must be answered and navigation situations with other vessels must be resolved. Bridges are connected with closed loop VHF using real communication equipment. Designed and developed by TRANSAS USA, the new system was installed by NavSim services. It was up and running last year when SIU President Michael Sacco hosted President George W. Bush during a Labor Day visit to the Paul Hall Center. The equipment was a central feature of President Bush’s tour of the training facility. He showed great interest in the integrated bridge concept and enthusiastically participated in piloting exercises. Recent years have ushered in many technological advances which have affected the way mariners practice navigation while aboard merchant ships. The foregoing additions to the Paul Hall Center’s E-Nav Lab and updates to the full mission simulator will enable the institution’s training staff to continue its delivery of relevant training and provide students the skills they need to understand and manage the technologically complex navigation tools found aboard today’s ships. Instructor Mike Smith (pointing in photo above) explains a display on the Electronic Navigation Lab (E-Nav Lab) simulator to upgrader Hector Cumba, who sails with Crowley. The E-Nav Lab simulator program, whose opening window appears below, is the latest addition to the Lindsey Williams Shiphandling Simulator and Bob McMillen Annex at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Seafarers Should Take Note of Canadian Port Security Seafarers sailing aboard vessels destined for Canadian ports could encounter difficulties gaining entry into the country depending on their personal backgrounds. Our neighbors to the north—as part of their port security structure—have some extremely rigorous prerequisites that must be satisfied before vessels and mariners are permitted entry at their ports. As reported last year in the LOG, the strict enforcement of these requirements periodically was the source of negative consequences for ships in the U.S.-flag maritime industry. Such continues to be the case as isolated incidents still occur at certain ports. Fundamentally, Canadian port officials will not allow anyone who has (in their eyes) seriously breached the law—including individuals with DUI/DWI convictions—to enter their country. Vessels carrying crew members with criminal records to Canadian ports therefore could be subject to various penalties by the Canadian government. According to the Web site of Canada’s Consulate General in New York: “Members of Inadmissible Classes include those who have been convicted of minor offenses (including shoplifting, theft, assault, dangerous driving, unauthorized possession of a firearm, possession of illegal Thanking the Leadership At the January membership meeting in Piney Point, Md., Instructor Bernabe Pelingon (right) noted that SIU officials often thank the rank-and-file members for their hard work in helping make and keep the union strong. He wanted to turn the tables and thank the leadership, with President Michael Sacco at the helm, for their many accomplishments over the years. On behalf of the SIU members and their families at Piney Point, Pelingon expressed his appreciation to Sacco by presenting him with a wooden nameplate, beautifully carved and crafted in the Philippines. 6 Seafarers LOG substances, etc.), or of indictable criminal offenses (including assault with a deadly weapon, manslaughter, etc.). As well, those who have been convicted of driving while intoxicated (DWI) are considered Members of an Inadmissible Class. Driving while under the influence of alcohol is regarded as an extremely serious offense in Canada. “Those who have received traffic violations (including parking/speeding tickets, etc.) and other minor violations (i.e., littering, etc.) most likely will NOT be prohibited from entering Canada. Similarly, those who have juvenile convictions (convictions for crimes committed while under age 18) most likely will NOT be prohibited from entering Canada unless they could have been tried as an adult for their offenses.” The site further states that individuals who have been convicted of an offense in Canada and who wish to return to that country first must apply for a pardon from the Clemency and Pardons Division of the National Parole Board. Those unable to obtain pardons may still apply for a temporary resident permit. The Canadian regulations have been reexamined and recirculated within parts of the U.S.flag maritime industry in an effort to comply. In addition, the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System last March issued a notice to mariners titled “Pre Entry Information Required from ForeignFlag Vessels” that spells out Canada’s requirements. It should be pointed out that while the entry regulations basically are clear-cut and “to the letter,” their actual enforcement often varies from location to location. Captains of the various ports enforce the statutes autonomously, which means that what may constitute a glitch for a mariner in one port may not be a problem at all for him or her at another. Taken a step further, it also could mean that just because a mariner gained access in one port does not mean that he or she automatically will be granted access at another location. Talks are ongoing between American Maritime Association member companies and the Canadian government on the consequences of these regulations and specifically what can be done to diminish their negative effect on the U.S.-flag industry. In the meantime, SIU officials urge all mariners who may seek entry into a Canadian port to obtain passports (which eventually will be required to re-enter the U.S.). Mariners also are encouraged to contact the Canadian Consulate well in advance to ensure that all information pertaining to their backgrounds are such that no problems will be encountered. The contact information for the New York office is follows: Consulate General of Canada 1251 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020-1175 Telephone: (212) 596-1628 Fax: (212) 596-1790 e-mail: cngny@international.gc.ca Desserts a Hit Aboard Liberty Chief Steward Lonnie Jones submitted these photos after a recent voyage aboard the Liberty. “I had a good crew in the galley. They did a very good job,” Jones noted. The daily variety and multitude of homemade pastries proved particularly popular with the unlicensed crew and officers alike, according to the chief steward. French bread and pizza were among other items enthusiastically gobbled up. Jones is pictured above (center) with Chief Cook Bruce Johnson (left) and SA Warren Bradford, and (inset) displaying a couple of the many dessert choices. February 2007 �USNS Rappahannock Rescues 3 Fishermen The USNS Rappahannock, crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division, rescued three Filipino fishermen found clinging to their overturned boat off the coast of the Philippines on Dec. 19, according to the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC). The Rappahannock, a fleet replenishment oiler, was operating in the South China Sea when the ship’s crew spotted flashing lights from a small, overturned vessel just minutes before midnight. Rappahannock crew members were dispatched in a rigid-hull inflatable boat to pull the three fishermen from the rough waters. Once aboard the Rappahannock, the rescued men were examined by medical personnel, clothed and fed. All three were reported uninjured. “It’s like a miracle. They were all lucky to survive for several days,” said Jeremy Guida, one of 85 civil service mariners who crew the Rappahannock. The men were transferred from the ship to authorities at Subic Bay on the morning of Dec. 19. The Rappahannock is one of MSC’s 14 fleet replenishment oilers, which provide fuel to deployed Navy ships, dramatically extending the time a Navy battle group can stay at sea. In addition to the Rappahannock’s CIVMAR crew, a small Navy contingent also is on board to support supply coordination and helicopter operations. When the rescue occurred, the Rappahannock was conducting routine replenishment operations in the area. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Thomas J. Holt The USNS Rappahannock prepares to conduct a replenishment at sea. The photo was taken late last year. The Rappahannock is crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division. CIVMAR News Change in Promotion Board Procedures USNS Sacagawea Starts Sea Trials The USNS Sacagawea, the second ship of the U.S. Navy’s new T-AKE-class of resupply vessels, is pictured Dec. 13 departing from the NASSCO Shipyard in San Diego for “builder’s sea trials.” For three days, shipyard personnel tested the vessel’s systems and demonstrated its readiness for delivery to the Navy this summer. The T-AKE vessels will be crewed by members of the SIU’s Government Services Division. Construction of the USNS Sacagawea began in September 2004. The vessel is 689 feet long, displaces nearly 41,000 metric tons and will travel at speeds up to 20 knots. After a series of discussions, the union’s Government Services Division and the U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) have agreed to a new process regarding promotion applications for CIVMARS who would like to apply for career-advancing positions within the agency. Effective Jan. 1, 2007, MSC’s Employment Division will begin accepting promotion applications only during the period between the opening and closing dates of announcements. Previously, applications were accepted any time, as long as they were postmarked by the closing date. CIVMARS at sea will receive Promotion Opportunity Announcements approximately 30 days in advance of the opening dates via distribution to the vessels. The promotion application period will remain open for a minimum of 14 days. Announcements will be readily available on the designated shipboard official bulletin boards, or may be found at www.msc.navy.mil. (Leave and Earnings Statements will include a notice reminding employees to check the web site, except during pay periods when MSC must post special notifications such as open season, etc.) The union encourages CIVMARS to bring all their employment-related documents or copies of these documents and their work history with them each time they leave for assignment. Having this information in hand will allow CIVMARS to submit applications from the vessel via fax or e-mail. If mariners are forwarddeployed, regular mail may no longer be an appropriate method of sending an application since it must be received within the two-week period. The ship’s purser may help transmit the information to the Promotion Board personnel in a timely manner. CIVMARS should get a copy of their transmission information from the vessel to demonstrate that the application was sent within the allotted time. If mariners experience difficulties aboard the vessel with this process, they are asked to advise their union representative immediately. CMPI 610 Negotiations Union and MSC representatives are meeting with the help of a Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services mediator to settle ground rules for the CMPI 610 negotiations. Ground rule negotiations are important discussions that are conducted to determine the how the parties will conduct the substantive negotiations concerning premium, overtime and penalty pay provisions of CMPI 610. There is one large issue that remains between the parties: how CIVMARS will participate in the discussions. The union believes that CIVMARS representing each department should take part in CMPI 610 discussions for the entire series of negotiations. In part because this provision hasn’t been negotiated in more than 20 years, the union also believes that CIMVARS should participate in person and that their expertise is needed at the negotiation table to ensure the parties have all the information about how work and pay rules are currently applied on MSC vessels. MSC believes that CIVMARS should play a more limited role in the negotiations in person and has suggested that participation may be supplemented by having CIVMARS dial into the negotiations by phone. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the Federal Services Impasse Panel may be requested to hear the matter and decide which set of proposals should be adopted. CIVMARS on East Coast Assigned to Upgraded Hotel A long-awaited change finally is occurring. As a result of union and CIVMAR advocacy, East Coast CIVMARS will enjoy an upgrade in the hotels CIVMARS must use when assigned to training or the CSU. Beginning Jan. 18, CIVMARS will be assigned to the “Triple Diamondrated” Doubletree Hotel in Virginia Beach and three backup hotels of similar quality in the Norfolk area. Understanding that habitability issues ashore and afloat are a top priority for the SIU and the CIVMARS it represents has led to other improvements as well—CIVMARS at training courses in New Jersey will also be assigned to an upgraded facility. MSC is seeking new hotels for CIVMARS receiving training in that state. The union is waiting to hear from MSC as to when that new contract will be awarded. The hotel issue continues on the legal track as the union filed an unfair labor practice against MSC for failing to negotiate with the SIU regarding the hotel selection. The union believes that MSC should fulfill its legal obligations to negotiate over this very important condition of employment for all CIVMARS. Seafarer Saluted on Cape Jacob SIU member Salah Omar (third from left in photo at left) recently was recognized by Seafarers-contracted Matson for excellent shipboard work. According to Capt. Tom Stapleton, Matson’s program director for government services, Omar was named “Steward of the Quarter” for “outstanding contributions and cando attitude.” Pictured at left aboard the Cape Jacob recently in Japan are (from left) SA Bruce Davidson, SA Isaka Koanda, Assistant Cook Omar, Steward Baker Scott Dottino, SA Mohamed Omar and Chief Cook Erik Loret. Right: Also shown aboard ship are Omar, Stapleton and Grady Byrd of the Maritime Administration. Matson presented Brother Omar with a plaque and certificate. February 2007 Seafarers LOG 7 �Spending the Holidays at Sea and Ashore Christmas Aboard the Alaskan Explorer Happy holidays from the steward department aboard the Alaskan Explorer. From the left (back row) are Chief Cook David Vaughn, Recertified Steward Brian Burchette, Apprentice Benny Wright and (front) GSU Amin Saleh. AB Zaid Muthala gives his approval for the delicious Christmas Day meal. Apprentice Benny Wright watches as Chief Cook David Vaughn pulls the lobsters from the oven for dinner. Also on the dinner menu were crab stuffed mushrooms, filet mignon, twice-baked potatoes, mushroom risotto, steamed asparagus and kernel corn with fresh dinner rolls and, of course, a wide assortment of desserts. Capt. Earl Sheesley samples some of Chief Cook David Vaughn’s baked Virginia ham. Recertified Steward Brian Burchette has the dessert line under control—everything from cookies, fudge, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, caramel apple pie, baklava, an assortment of candies and nuts, and more! Thanks to Recertified Steward Brian Bruchette for sending these photos of Christmas 2006 aboard the ATC Alaskan Explorer in Port Angeles, Wash. Thanksgiving in the Port of Fort Lauderdale Apprentice Benny Wright creates a waffle masterpiece for the holiday breakfast (which also included Eggs Benedict with croissants and fresh cinammon rolls). Thanksgiving Day festivities—complete with a traditional holiday meal—were held Nov. 22 at the SIU hall in Fort Lauderdale. GSU Amin Saleh serves up some sparkling cider. 8 Seafarers LOG February 2007 �Spending the Holidays at Sea and Ashore Thanksgiving in the Jacksonville Hall Lemont Fountain and Chief Cook Isaac Newsome Fahtima Mims and Port Agent Archie Ware Chief Cook Gloria Baker and Chief Steward Grady Ingram Administrative Assistant Carmen Rodriguez (center) and her family Jacksonville Port Agent Archie Ware (left) and Lester Williams, labor relations manager at Crowley OMU Jermaine Love and AB James Rush Margaret Reasoner, Crowley; Port Agent Archie Ware; Jacquelyn Smith, Crowley; SIU Rep Tony Elliott Right: Chief Cook Isaac Newsome and his mother, Lois. OMU Nat Lamb, OMU Greg Holsey and AB Travis Kirkland In the serving line: SREC Michael Amador, GUDE Justin Ravnell and AB Donley Johnson ABs Donley Johnson, Paul Dooley and Kurt Bruer Oiler Tommy Ealdama, AB Arturo Orcino and AB Arsenio Omabao Magnus Lindeback, CEO, Coastal Maritime; Karen Shuford, executive assistant, SIU port of Jacksonville; Kathy Wiley, CFO, Coastal Maritime; and Bud Underwood, human resources and security, Coastal Maritime GUDE Roslyn Warner and Paul Williams Right: Chief Cook Richard Jones, OMU Stephanie Brown and SREC Gerald Kirtsey Chief Cook Shirley Bellamy ABs Ferdinand Lugo and Juan Rochez Tim Methvin QMED David Terry, AB Rubin Mitchell and AB Benjamin Bess. Bess helped decorate the hall and clean the galley. Safety Director Randy Senatore, Scott Boatright and Anthony Brown. Boatright and Brown are UIW shop stewards at Coastal Maritime. In the background is Linell Coleman. Lemont Fountain helped cater the party. GUDE Abdulla Gobah, Recertified Steward John McGill and AB Angelo Wilcox February 2007 Waiting in line: AB Kurt Bruer, GUDE Christopher Cash, AB Paul Dooley and AB Wilbur Pantin VP Kermett Mangram and Port Agent Archie Ware Seafarers LOG 9 �Spending the Holidays at Sea and Ashore Christmas in the Norfolk Hall Chief Cook Marie Mitchell and SA Ruden Perez AB Tim Heil, AB Gary White, QMED Randolph Petterson and QEE Wendell Brown SA Delicia Cross and Gov’t Services Rep Maurice Cokes Left: Miliah Cunanon Right: Elvira Cunanon and QEE Rudy Cunanon SA Herminio Pagan, Chief Cook William Brainard, Mr. Peet (father of Carmus Peet) and QMED Carmus Peet Retirees Larry McCombs and Randolph Archer SB Army Joe Leake (who catered the meal) and Ethel Brooks, Norfolk secretary Thanksgiving Aboard the Overseas Philadelphia Norfolk Port Agent Georg Kenny and his nephew, Phillip Higham Right: Guest Al Picott, SIU Vice President Kermett Mangram, Chief Cook Frank Washington, GUDE Harold Langly and Mr. Johnson (the brother of BB Johnson from the shore gang) Thanks to John L. Frey for sending these photos from Thanksgiving Day on the Overseas Philadelphia. OS Dionce Bright, OS William Bolden, OS Anthony Clemmens, Storekeeper Arica Shaw and AB Jonathan Davis 10 Seafarers LOG Bosun Thor Young with Baron and Gracie-May February 2007 �Spending the Holidays at Sea and Ashore Thanksgiving in the San Juan Hall Enjoying the Thanksgiving dinner at the San Juan hall are AB Kevin Gonzalez, Bosun Noel Otero, Pensioner Tyson and Assistant Port Agent Luis Roman. Thanksgiving in the Houston Hall Posing for a quick picture during the Thanksgiving dinner festivities in Houston are (from left) Bosun Monte Pereira, SIU Vice President Dean Corgey and Bosun John Cain. Music helped make the dinner more festive. Included in the music-making are Bosun Rafael Franco, Bosun Robert Flores and his son, AB Angelo Acosta and OMU Orlando Pagan. Helping out during the event are (from left) SIU Assistant Vice President Jim McGee, Steward/Baker Henry Manning, William Sowell, Chief Cook Mary Brayman, Vice President Dean Corgey, retired Chief Cook Joe Clark and retired Bosun Ralph Moore. AB Adiener Alfaro and his wife showed off their new baby at the Thanksgiving Day celebration. Above and below: Members and guests enjoy selecting from a wide variety of delicious choices as they celebrate the bounty of Thanksgiving. Amanda Crespo, the daughter of Port Agent Amancio Crespo, gets a large cup of soda to drink with her dinner. Bosun Luis Perez, who worked on the shore gang, receives his first pension check from Port Agent Amancio Crespo. Perez worked more than 45 years as an SIU member. February 2007 Seafarers LOG 11 �WHAT’S N EW F OR 2 006? Here are some of the changes that will take effect in 2006, along with changes that remain in effect from 2005 from the Hurricane Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act, the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005, the 2005 Energy Tax Incentive Act, the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, and other tax law changes. Standard Mileage Rates — The 2006 rate for business use of your vehicle is 44.5 cents a mile. The 2006 rate for use of your vehicle to get medical care or to move is 18 cents a mile. The special standard mileage rate in effect for 2006 for the cost of operating your car for providing charitable services solely related to Hurricane Katrina is 32 cents per mile. Exemption — The amount you can deduct for each exemption has increased from $3,200 in 2005 to $3,300 in 2006. You lose all or part of the benefit of your exemptions if your adjusted gross income is above a certain amount. The amount at which the phase-out begins depends on your filing status. For 2006, the phase-out begins at: „ $225,750 for married people filing jointly and qualified widow(er) with dependent children; „ $188,150 for a head of household; „ $150,500 for single taxpayers; and „ $112,875 for married persons filing separately. Credit for Federal Telephone Excise Tax Paid — In the past, you paid a federal excise tax that was assessed on your toll calls based on how far the call was being made and how long you talked on that call. Phone companies have been given notice to stop assessing this tax as of Aug. 31, 2006. If you paid the federal excise tax on your long distance or bundled telephone service, you may be able to request a standard credit between $30-60 on line 71 of the 1040. If you file short form 1040A, you will use line 42. If you do not file a tax return, you may still request the credit using form 1040 EZ-T. On this form, the credit will be entered on line 1a. The amount of the standard credit depends on the amount of exemptions you entered on your 1040, line 6d: Exemptions: 0-$0; 1-$30; 2-$40; 3-$50; 4-$60 If you have already received a credit form from your phone company, you may not receive this credit on your tax return; and if you receive this credit on your tax return, you may not request a credit from your phone company. If you wish to claim actual expenses paid as opposed to the standard amount above, you may do so by filing Form 8913. This is a refundable credit, which means you get this money no matter how your tax return works out. It will either reduce the amount you owe or add to your refund. Direct Deposit of Refunds — If you choose direct deposit of your refund, you may be able to split the refund into two or three accounts. Increased Age Limit for Kiddie Tax — The age of minor children whose investment income is subject to tax at the parent’s rate has increased from under age 14 to under age 18. This means that unearned investment income above $1,700 or a child under age 18 will be exposed to the parent’s marginal income tax rate. Alternative Motor Vehicles — You may be able to take a credit if you place an alternative motor vehicle (including a qualified hybrid vehicle) or alternative fuel vehicle refueling property in service in 2006. See Forms 8910 and 8911. You can no longer take a deduction for clean-fuel vehicles or refueling property. Credit for Higher Education Tuition — For 2006, the maximum Hope credit has increased to $1,650. The maximum Lifetime Learning Credit remains at $2,000. These amounts are doubled for students attending an eligible education institution in the Gulf Opportunity Zone. These credits are for both returning and new students. Charitable Contributions — Beginning Aug. 17, 2006, any donations of clothing and household items won’t be deductible unless the donated items are in good used or better condition. This means that the IRS may deny a deduction for any item that has minimal monetary value. However, this rule does not apply to a contribution of any single item for which a deduction of more than $500 is claimed and for which you include a qualified appraisal and Form 8283 with your tax return. Beginning in 2007, you may no longer deduct contributions made in cash or by check unless you can produce a bank record or a receipt, letter, or other written communication from the charitable organization. This should include the organization’s name and address, the date and location of the gift, and a description of property. This requirement applies regardless of the amount of the donation. Earned Income Credit (EIC) — You may be able to take the EIC if: „ A child lived with you and you earned less than $36,348 ($38,348 if married filing jointly) or „ A child did not live with you and you earned less than $12,120 ($14,120 if married filing jointly) The maximum Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) you can have and still get the credit also has increased. You may be able to take the credit if your AGI is less than the amount in the above list that applies to you. The maximum investment income you can have and still get the credit has increased to $2,800. Uniform Definition of a Qualifying Child — In 2005, to simplify the tax law, the definition of a ‘qualified child’ changed for taxpayers who claim a child as a dependent, elects Head of Household status, or takes the Earned Income Credit, Child Tax Credit, Child or Dependent Care Credit. To meet this new definition, the 12 Seafarers LOG person needs to be your child, sibling (or descendent of either), adopted or foster child. The child must be under either (1) age 19; (2) under age 24 if a student, or (3) any age if permanently and totally disabled. Also, the child must be either a citizen, resident or national of the United States and must have the same principal place of abode as the taxpayer for more than one-half of the year. The child must not provide more than one-half of his/her own support for the year. Foster Child — New rules apply to determine who is a foster child and when a foster child can be used to claim certain benefits. To claim a foster child as a qualifying child for any tax benefits, the child must be placed with a taxpayer by an authorized placement agency or by judgment, decree or other order of any court of competent jurisdiction. A foster child no longer qualifies a taxpayer to use qualifying widow(er) filing status. Tuition and Fee Deduction — Individuals may be able to deduct up to $4,000 if Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is not more than $65,000 ($130,000 if married filing jointly), or deduct up to $2,000 if AGI is higher than that limit but not more than $80,000 ($160,000 if married filing jointly). The following highlights some of the most important provisions of the Hurricane Katrina Act and Gulf Opportunity Zone Act affecting individual taxpayers: In general, non-business casualty losses are deductible as itemized deductions to the extent they exceed 10 percent of adjusted gross income plus $100. However, these limitations are suspended for losses resulting from the hurricane and incurred in the disaster area. The 10 percent penalty imposed on premature withdrawals from IRA and other qualified retirement plans is waived for victims of a hurricane. Such individuals may withdraw up to $100,000 from those plans without penalty for distributions made after August 25, 2005 and before January 1, 2007. Also, the threshold limitations for loans from qualified employer plans for hurricane victims are increased to $100,000 or 100 percent of the account balance effective for loans made on or after September 23, 2005 and before January 1, 2007. Tax credit for the installation of non-business energy property — Starting in 2006, a tax credit is available to individuals for the installation of non-business energy property, such as residential exterior doors and windows, insulation, heat pumps, furnaces, central air conditioners and water heaters. The credit is limited to a lifetime maximum of $500. The credit breaks down as follows: $200 of the credit can be based on expenditures for windows; $50 of the credit on any advanced main air circulating fans; $150 on any qualified natural gas, propane, or oil furnace or hot water boiler; and $300 of the credit on any item of energy-efficient building property. Tax credit for residential alternative energy equipment — A tax credit is available to help individuals pay for residential alternative energy equipment. The credit is 30 percent of the cost of eligible solar water heaters, solar electricity equipment and fuel cell plants placed in service in 2006 and 2007. The maximum credit is $2,000 per tax year for each category of solar equipment, and $500 for each half kilowatt of capacity of fuel cell plants installed per tax year. Six-month Automatic Extensions — Beginning with 2005 returns due in 2006, individuals will be able to file Form 4868 to get an automatic six-month extension of time to file. Previously, only corporations could request an automatic six-month extension, and other taxpayers were required to file for two extensions. Also, almost all states have indicated that they are following the IRS’s lead. Donations of Automobiles — Starting in 2005, there is a limit on the charitable contribution of used motor vehicles (with a claimed value in excess of $500) to the gross sales price received by the charity for the subsequent sale of the donated vehicle, rather than the fair market value. A charitable organization must provide the donor with Form 1098-C. Combat Pay — Some military personnel receiving combat pay get larger tax credits because of two law changes. The new law counts excludable combat pay as income when figuring the Child Tax Credit and gives the taxpayer the option of counting or ignoring combat pay when figuring the Earned Income Trax Credit. Counting combat pay as income when calculating these credits does not change the exclusion of combat pay from taxable income. Sales Tax Deduction — Taxpayers who itemize deductions will have a choice of claiming a state and local tax deduction for either sales or income taxes on their 2006 return. The IRS will provide optional tables for use in determining the deduction amount, relieving taxpayers of the need to save receipts throughout the year. Sales taxes paid on motor vehicles and boats may be added to the table amount, but only up to the amount paid at the general sales tax rate. Taxpayers will check a box on Schedule A, Itemized Deductions, to indicate whether their deduction is for sales or income taxes. TA X TIPS FOR As the LOG went to press, Congress was continuing to work on other ta check www.irs.gov befo Also, you may be mailing your return to a different address this year be you received an envelope with your tax package, please use it. Otherw HOW TO PREPARE A TAX RETURN Step 1. Get all records together. ‹ Income Records. These include any Forms W-2, W-2G and 1099. ‹ Itemized deductions and tax credits. ‹ Medical and dental payment records. ‹ Real estate and personal property tax receipts. ‹ Interest payment records for items such as a home mortgage or home equity loan. ‹ Records of payments for child care so an individual could work. Step 2. Get any forms, schedules or publications necessary to assist in filing the return. IRS Publication 17 entitled “Your Feder al I ncom e Tax f or Individuals” is the most comprehensive guide the agency has issued this year. Most IRS offices and many local banks, post offices and libraries have publications designed to provide individuals with information on correctly filing tax returns. Also, you may access the IRS web site at www.irs.gov for forms, instructions and publications. Step 3. Fill in the return. Step 4. Check the return to make sure it is correct. Step 5. Sign and date the return. Form 1040 is not considered a valid return unless signed. A spouse must also sign if it is a joint return. Step 6. Attach all required forms and schedules. Attach Copy B of Forms W-2, W-2G and 1099R to the front of the Form 1040. Attach all other schedules and forms behind Form 1040 in order of the attachment sequence number. If tax is owed, attach the payment to the front of Form 1040 along with Form 1040-V (original only). Write name, address, phone number, Social Security number and form number on your check or money order. Payment also can be made by credit card. You may use American Express, Discover, Visa or Master cards. To pay by credit card, call the toll-free number 1-800-272-9829 or 1-888-729-1040 or visit web sites www.officialpayments.com or www.pay1040.com. There is a fee charged based on the amount you are paying. Rounding Off to Whole Dollars: Cents may be rounded off to the nearest whole dollar on the tax return and schedules. To do so, raise amounts from 50 to 99 cents to the next dollar. For example, $1.39 becomes $1 and $1.50 becomes $2. Fast Refund: Taxpayers are able to request direct deposit of their tax refunds by filling out lines 74b, 74c and 74d on their Form 1040. Line 74b is for the bank’s routing number. Line 74c indicates the type of account, and line 74d is the taxpayer’s account number at the bank. When tax returns are filed electronically, a refund will be received in about 3 weeks, or in 2 weeks if it is deposited directly into a savings or checking account. For a charge, many professional tax return preparers offer electronic filing in addition to their return prepara- tion services. If an individual prepared his or her own return, a preparer or transmitter in their area can file the return electronically. For a list of who can file a tax return electronically in any given area, visit the IRS web site at: www.irs.gov. WHAT ARE CONSIDERED DEDUCTIONS AND CREDITS Personal Exemption Amount: The deduction for each exemption—for the individual, his or her spouse and dependents has increased to $3,300 per person. In 2006, the exemption deduction for high income taxpayers may be reduced or eliminated if their adjusted gross income exceeds certain threshold amounts. A child cannot claim an exemption on his or her return or qualify for a higher education credit if the child’s parents claim a dependency exemption for their child. Standard Deduction Has Increased: The standard deduction, or dollar amount that reduces the amount that is taxed, has increased for most people (see box on this page). Because of this increase, it may be to an individual’s benefit to take the standard deduction this year even if that person has itemized deductions in the past. Personal Interest Deductions: For 2006, personal interest cannot be deducted. Personal interest includes interest on car loans, credit cards, personal loans and tax deficiencies. Interest on Secured Loans Deductible: Interest paid on mortgages or investments is 100 percent deductible. Union Dues Deduction: Union dues, including working dues, are deductible only if they exceed 2 percent of adjusted gross income. If they do, only the portion over the 2 percent is deductible. SPAD contributions have never been deductible. Club Dues Deduction: No deduction is permitted for club dues; however, dues paid to professional or public service organizations are deductible for business reasons. Deductions Subject to 2 Percent of Adjusted Gross Income: These include investment advisory fees, trustee’s administrative fees, legal expenses that are paid to produce taxable income, unreimbursed employee expenses, safe deposit box rental and tax preparation fees. Deducting Work-Related Expenses: Expenses associated with a seaman’s work may be considered tax deductible. However, no expense can be deducted for which a seaman has been reimbursed by the employer. Travel to the union hall to register or travel to the union’s designated medical facility to take the required physical and drug tests are examples of expenses which are work-related but not reimbursed by the company. Members of the galley crew may deduct the costs of knives and other equipment they personally own but use when on a ship performing their work duties. The purchase of work-related clothing and other gear, as long as it is truly for work and not paid for by the employer, are likely to be considered tax-deductible. Deducting Work-Related Car Ex- STANDARD DEDUCTION This is the standard deduction chart for most people. If a taxpayer is 65 or older or blind, there are additional standard deductions ($1,000 for a married person or “spouse” or $1,250 for an unmarried person). Note that the personal exemption deduction is $3,300. Filing Status Standard Deduction Single. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,150 Married filing joint return or qualifying widow(er) with dependent children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,300 Married filing separate return . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $5,150 Head of household . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7,550 February 2007 p a re m m d c th d P w u m e e n to In a e k lo re e e D W p th th o th e a e in d th a T (J w fu T m d it d ra In h a L 2 it $ in in E e to in in a q c D p b a e a in fy ta $ c p a c th in r T s fo D N S In d th is is ta S C w U �R MA RINERS ax law changes which may impact your 2006 income taxes. Please ore filing your return. ecause the IRS has changed the filing location for several areas. If wise, see Where Do You File? on the back cover of the instructions. penses: Use of a personally-owned automobile in work-related travel can esult in deductible expenses. Two methods can be used to compute automobile expenses—either listing a standard mileage rate or determining actual cost. On the tax return due April 16 of his year, the IRS is accepting a standard mileage rate of 44.5 cents per mile. Parking fees and tolls can be added when using the standard mileage rate. If using actual expenses, information must be available on all operating-related costs for the vehicle, including interest, insurance, taxes, licenses, maintenance, repairs, depreciation, gas, oil, olls and parking. n either the standard mileage rate or the actual cost method of determining car expenses, accurate records should be kept. The IRS recommends keeping a og book or diary listing all expenses elated to travel. Only work-related expenses not reimbursed by an employer can be claimed. Deducting Work-Related Meals When Traveling: Workers in transportation are allowed a special rate on he meal allowance of $52 per day in he continental U.S. and $58 per day outside the continental U.S. Otherwise he IRS standard meal allowance is generally $39. In some locations it is $45, and in Hawaii and Alaska it is computed differently. Travel expenses, includng meals, can only be deducted if directly related to one’s work and if hey have not been reimbursed from any other source. There has been a tax court case Johnson v. Comm. 115 TC210[2000]) where a merchant seaman was denied a ull deduction for the full M & IE rates. The court ruled that in situations where meals are provided at no cost, the incidental expense rate allowable as an temized deduction is limited to $3 a day (in the continental U.S.) and rates anging from $1 to $53 in other areas. n lieu of these rates, to the extent you have receipts, a higher deduction amount may be allowed. Limit on Itemized Deductions: In 2006, itemized deductions may be limted for individuals earning more than $150,500 of federal adjusted gross ncome (or $72,250 if married and filng separately). Earned Income Credit: A refundable earned income credit (EIC) is available o certain individuals who have earned ncome and meet certain adjusted gross ncome thresholds. For tax year 2006, an individual does not have to have a qualifying child to be eligible for this credit if certain conditions are met. Different credit percentages and phase-out percentages are provided based on the taxpayer’s income level and the number of qualifying children eligible, if any. The maximum credit allowed is as follows: Taxpayers with ncome less than $12,120 and no qualiying children—$412 maximum credit; axpayers with income less than $32,001 and with 1 qualifying child—$2,747 maximum credit; taxpayers with income less than $36,348 and with 2 or more qualifying children—$4,536 maximum credit. If he earned income credit reduces the ncome tax liability below zero, a efund will be granted by the IRS. Taxpayers should use form 1040, schedule EIC to see if they are eligible or the credit. Dependent’s Social Security Number: Each dependent must have a S oc i al Secu r ity n u m ber (SSN ). ndividuals may get a SSN for their dependent by filing Form SS-5 with heir local Social Security Adminstration office or calling the Adminstration at 1-800-772-1213. It usually akes about two weeks to receive a SSN. Child Tax Credit: In 2006, taxpayers who have a qualifying child who is a U.S. citizen and for whom the taxpayer February 2007 may claim a dependency exemption and who is less than 17 years old, are entitled to the child tax credit. The amount of the credit is $1,000 per child. The credit begins to phase out when modified Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) reaches $110,000 for joint filers, $75,000 for single taxpayers or $55,000 for married taxpayers filing separately. Credit for Higher Education Tuition: Individuals may be able to take the “HOPE” credit for tuition and related expenses paid for oneself, spouse or dependents to enroll at or attend an eligible educational institution (i.e., college or graduate school or vocational training). The HOPE credit provides a maximum allowable credit of $1,650 per student for each of the first two years of postsecondary education. For qualified expenses paid after Jan. 1, 2006, taxpayers can take the “Lifetime Learning Credit,” that is a credit of 20 percent of qualified tuition expenses paid by the taxpayer for any year (after that date) the HOPE credit is not claimed. This credit is not limited to the first two years of postsecondary education. Also, no credits are available for expenses of a student in any year that tax-free distributions from an education IRA are used to pay the student’s expenses. These credits are subject to income limitations. The phaseout of the credits begins for single taxpayers when modified AGI reaches $45,000, and completely phase out when modified AGI reaches $55,000. For joint filers, the phaseout range is $90,000 to $110,000. The HOPE and Lifetime Learning Credit are not available to taxpayers married filing separately. In 2006, the Lifetime Learning Credit will be $2,000. Student Loan Interest: Taxpayers may be able to deduct up to $2,500 of interest paid for qualified education expenses for oneself, spouse or dependents. The deduction is allowed in figuring adjusted gross income. Individual Retirement Accounts: ‹ Education IRAs – Taxpayers can contribute up to $2,000 each year to an Education IRA for a person under age 18. The contribution is not deductible. Earnings on the contribution will be distributed tax-free provided that they are used to pay the beneficiary’s postsecondary education expenses. However, the exclusion is not available for any year in which the HOPE credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit is claimed. ‹ Traditional IRAs – The contribution limit to a traditional IRA in 2006 is $4,000. If a taxpayer reaches age 50 before 2007, the most that can be contributed will be $5,000. Modified Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) phaseout range increased to $50,000-$60,000 for single, head of household, and $75,000-$85,000 for married couples filing jointly or qualifying widow(er). Also, solely for the purpose of figuring the $100,000 modified AGI limit on eligibility to make qualified rollover distributions from a Traditional IRA to Roth IRA, minimum required distributions from IRAs and other qualified plans received in tax year beginning with 2006 are excluded from modified AGI. ‹ Roth IRAs – The maximum total yearly contribution that can be made by an individual to a Roth IRA is $4,000. Roth IRAs are subject to income limits. The maximum yearly contribution is phased out for single taxpayers with an Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) between $95,000 and $110,000, for joint filers with an AGI between $150,000 and $160,000, and for married filing separately with an AGI between $0 and $10,000. Although the contributions are not deductible, the distributions may be tax-free depending on when and why they are made. ‹ Penalty-Free IRA Distributions – The additional 10 percent tax penalty on an early distribution from an IRA may not apply if you pay higher education expenses for yourself, spouse or your children or grandchildren. The tax penalty also may not apply if you pay expenses related to the purchase of a home by a first-time homebuyer. Only $10,000 during the individual’s lifetime may be withdrawn without a penalty for this purpose. Also, the tax penalty does not apply to distributions for an individual’s disability, medical care, or to a beneficiary after death of the individual. OTHER TAX INFORMATION Private Delivery Services: Tax returns and extensions can be mailed through private delivery services such as Airborne Express, DHL Worldwide Express, Federal Express and United Parcel Service. Forms of Payments: One can pay the Internal Revenue Service through credit cards, debit cards, charge cards, bank check or money order. WHICH RECORDS TO KEEP Keep records of income (such as receipts), deductions (for example, canceled checks) and credits shown on the tax return, as well as any worksheets used to figure them, until the statute of limitations runs out for that return, usually 3 years from the date the return was due or filed, or 2 years from the date the tax was paid, whichever is later. However, it is recommended that all records be kept for about 6 years. Some records should be kept even longer. For example, keep property records (your home, stocks) as long as they are needed to figure the basis of property. Change of Address: If an individual has changed his or her address from the one listed on that person’s last tax return, IRS Form 8822 should be filled out and filed with the agency. Death of a Taxpayer: If a taxpayer died before filing a required return for 2006, the taxpayer’s personal representative (and spouse, in the case of a joint return) must file and sign the return for that person. A personal representative can be an executor, administrator or anyone who is in charge of the taxpayer’s property. WHICH INCOME TO REPORT In addition to wages, salaries, tips, unemployment compensation, capital gains, dividend payments and other income listed on the federal tax return, the following kinds of income must be reported: ‹ Jones Act settlements for lost wages. ‹ Amounts received in place of wages from accident and health plans (including sick pay and disability pensions) if employer paid for the policy. ‹ Life insurance proceeds from a policy cashed in if the proceeds are more than the premium paid. ‹ Canceled debts ‹ State income tax refunds ‹ Rents ‹ Repayments ‹ Royalties ‹ Unemployment benefits ‹ Profits from corporations, partnerships, estates and trusts. ‹ Endowments. ‹ Original Issue Discount. ‹ Distributions from self-employed plans. ‹ Bartering income (fair-market value of goods or services received in return for services). ‹ Tier 2 and supplemental annuities under the Railroad Retirement Act. ‹ Lump-sum distributions. ‹ Gains from the sale or exchange (including barter) of real estate, securities, coins, gold, silver, gems or other property (capital gains). ‹ Accumulation distributions from trusts. ‹ Prizes and awards (contests, raffles, lottery and gambling winnings). ‹ Earned income from sources outside the United States. ‹ Director’s fees. ‹ Fees received as an executor or administrator of an estate. ‹ Embezzled or other illegal income. WHICH INCOME NEED NOT BE REPORTED The following kinds of income do not need to be reported on the federal tax return: ‹ Benefits from government welfare programs. ‹ Jones Act settlements for injuries, pain, suffering, medical costs. ‹ Maintenance and Cure. ‹ Workers’ compensation benefits, insurance, damages, etc. for injury or sickness. ‹ Disability retirement payments (and other benefits) paid by the Veterans’ Administration. ‹ Child support. ‹ Gifts, money or other property inherited or willed. ‹ Dividends on veterans’ life insurance. ‹ Life insurance proceeds received because of a person’s death. ‹ Amounts received from insurance because of loss of the use of a home due to fire or other casualty to the extent the amounts were more than the cost of normal expenses while OVERSEAS AT TAX TIME Should Seafarers find themselves overseas and seeking IRS forms or assistance, U.S. embassies and consulates are equipped to provide some taxpayer-related services. At a minimum, IRS forms are available at all U.S. embassies and consulates located in: Berlin, Germany; Caracas, Venezuela; London, England; Mexico City, Mexico; Nassau, Bahamas; Ottawa, Canada; Paris, France; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Rome, Italy; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Sydney, Australia; Tokyo, Japan. living in the home. ‹ Certain amounts received as a scholarship. FILING AN EXTENSION Taxpayers can get an automatic 6month extension if, no later than April 16, 2007, Form 4868 will be filed with the IRS. It is important to remember that a 6-month extension to file does not extend the time to pay the taxes. Form 4868, when sent in, must be accompanied by all tax monies due to the U.S. government. WHERE IS MY REFUND? In 2004, the IRS launched a new program that allows taxpayers to trace their refunds online. If taxpayer(s) have not received a refund check within 28 days from the original IRS mailing date, information can be accessed through the web site at www.irs.gov. To get the refund status, taxpayers will need to provide the information from their tax returns. You should know your Social Security Number (or IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number), Filing Status (Single, Married Filing Joint Return, Married Filing Separate Return, Head of Household, or Qualifying Widow(er)) and the Refund amount (It is important to enter the refund amount exactly as it is shown on your return). WHY SEAFARERS MUST PAY STATE INCOME TAX Federal law prohibits employers from withholding state and local taxes from the wages of mariners working aboard U.S.-flag ships. Specifically, the law [46 USCA 11108(11) ] provides that “no part of the wages due or accruing to a master, officer or any other seaman who is a member of the crew on a vessel engaged in the foreign, coastwise, intercoastal, interstate or non-contiguous trade shall be withheld pursuant to the provisions of the tax laws of any state, territory, possession or commonwealth, or a subdivision of any of them, but nothing in this section shall prohibit any such withholding of the wages of any seaman who is employed in the coastwise trade between ports in the same state if such withholding is pursuant to a voluntary agreement between such seaman and his employer.” The law, however, does not exempt seamen from paying state and local taxes. Mariners, just like any other citizens of any given state, must meet their obligations to the government of the area in which they live. Each state has a set of criteria to determine whether an individual is a resident of that state. A seaman should check with a state tax office if he or she is unsure about residency status. For example, in California during the early 1970s, a case before the California State Board of Equalization stated that a merchant seaman—despite the fact that he was on a ship for 210 days of the year—was a resident of the state for tax purposes. The board took into consideration the fact that the seaman owned a home in California and maintained a bank account in a California-based bank. Additionally, each state has established conditions under which non-residents of that state must pay a portion of state tax if such an individual earned income from a source based in that state. Many states allow a credit in the amount an individual must pay the state if that person has already paid taxes in another state. In 2000, President Clinton signed into law the bipartisan Transportation Worker Tax Fairness Act, a measure aimed at providing “equitable treatment with respect to state and local income taxes for certain individuals who perform duties on vessels.” The law, which took effect Nov. 9, 2000, stipulates that pilots and other mariners “who perform regularly assigned duties while engaged as a master, officer or crewman on a vessel operating on the navigable waters of more than one State” shall be subject to state income tax only in his or her residential state. If any questions arise regarding residency and state tax issues, mariners should telephone the taxpayer assistance office in the state in which they reside. WHERE TO GET INFORMATION General Information: 1-800-829-1040 may be called for general information. IRS staff answer questions 24 hours a day. Publications: Call 1-800-829-3676 to order current and prior year forms, instructions and publications. Walk-In Help: IRS representatives are available in many IRS offices around the country to help with tax questions that cannot be answered easily by telephone. To find the location of an IRS office, look in the phone book under “United States Government, Internal Revenue Service.” Telephone Help: The IRS is prepared to answer questions by phone. Through the agency’s taxpayer information service, publications covering all aspects of tax-filing can be ordered. The federal Tele-Tax system has recorded tax information covering about 150 topics. 1-800-829-4477 is the IRS’s auto- mated Tele-Tax system. When calling from a touch tone phone, the number “9” will repeat the topic and the number “2” will cancel the topic. To listen to a directory of topics after the introductory message finishes, dial 123. You can also check the status of your refund. This telephone service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Personal Computer: Access the IRS’s internet web site at www.irs.gov to: download forms, instructions and publications; see answers to frequently asked tax questions; search publications on-line by topic or keyword; figure your withholding allowances using their W-4 calculator, check the status of your 2005 refund, send the IRS comments or requests for help via e-mail; and sign up to receive local and national tax news by e-mail. Send IRS Written Questions: Written questions regarding the tax returns can be sent directly to an IRS District Director (listed on the tax form). Include a Social Security number with the letter. Seafarers LOG 13 �partnership between the NPMHU and the AFL-CIO.” Hegarty added, “Mail Handlers have a long history with the federation, with our first affiliation beginning nearly 70 years ago, and we certainly look forward to a long and productive relationship well into the future.” The Mail Handlers are a major postal union, with more than 47,000 regular members and more than three times as many associate members. The Mail Handlers’ Union’s original affiliation with the AFLCIO dates back to the 1930s. They continued that affiliation through the Laborers, following their merger with the Laborers in 1968, up until the time the Laborers left the AFL-CIO in May 2006. The AFL-CIO represents 10 million working men and women nationwide and has 54 affiliate unions, including the SIU. The executive council statement authorizing the re-issuing of national charters can be found on the AFL-CIO web site, www.aflcio.org. rescue helicopter radioed the person was in deep hypothermia but alive, and had he been in the water five more minutes he would not have survived. An hour and 10 minutes elapsed since the Overseas Joyce crew members witnessed Ocean Challenger sink beneath cold Gulf of Alaska seas. The Coast Guard confirmed the one person just pulled alive from the water wore a survival suit. Soon after two others were also located and hoisted up by the rescue helicopter; but these individuals wore only life jackets and did not survive the cold water. One individual remained missing. The search continued as ships and aircraft, now including the USCG cutter Monroe and containership R.J. Pfiefer, exchanged information to narrow down the likely location of the missing man. Though the Overseas Joyce crew had stood in the cold Gulf of Alaska wind and spray for hours, thoughts were far from their own minor discomforts. As the steward department quietly passed the word that a hot breakfast was available on the bridge and a single pot meal was ready in the galley, no one rotated from their stations. All eyes were fixed on a dark gray ocean. All thoughts and prayers were with the men and the families of the men who would never return home from sea. Shortly before noon, the U.S. Coast Guard on-scene commander released the ship to continue its voyage and the Overseas Joyce resumed its track toward Unimak Pass with a quiet crew. No one felt heroic. Mail Handlers Union Rejoins AFL-CIO The AFL-CIO recently reported that the National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU, part of the Laborers) has rejoined the federation. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney presented a charter to the NPMHU’s officers on Dec. 12. The Mail Handlers are the first union to take advantage of the AFL-CIO executive council’s decision in August to authorize Sweeney to re-issue charters to unions which were once independent affiliates and now want to return to the AFL-CIO, even though they are part of unions that recently disaffiliated. (SIU President Michael Sacco serves on the federation’s executive council.) “The union movement is strengthened by the Mail Handlers’ decision to rejoin the AFL-CIO, which will bring together all the major postal workers’ unions and benefit working families nationwide,” said Sweeney. After the Mail Handlers expressed interest in rejoining the Federation, Sweeney consulted with the union leadership, the Laborers, the AFL-CIO executive council and the other postal unions to make their reaffiliation possible. NPMHU National President John Hegarty said that he is delighted with this direct affiliation agreement, indicating that he is “confident that nearly 50,000 Mail Handlers across the country will benefit from this continuing Overseas Joyce Helps Save Life, But Alaska Tragedy Claims 3 Editor’s note: This article was submitted by an individual from the Overseas Joyce who requested his name be withheld so as not to give the appearance that he or any of the crew sought individual recognition for their efforts. The LOG respects and follows those wishes in this case and also recognizes the story’s sensitivity, even while preferring to publish a crew list. According to the sender, later the same day of the rescue, the Overseas Joyce was directed by its weather-routing service to take refuge in Dutch Harbor, Alaska because another hurricane-force storm was forecast to cross its track. There it was learned a Discovery Channel film crew had been aboard the rescue helicopter. Footage of the actual search and rescue operation may be seen in an upcoming episode of “Deadliest Catch” airing sometime in March. The SIU-crewed car carrier Overseas Joyce, on its normal trade route from the U.S. to Japan, was approaching Unimak Pass in the Aleutian Islands on the morning of Oct. 18. The ship, using weather-routing services, passed close to the Shumagin Islands in order to gain a lee from high winds as a severe low pressure system was forecast to reach hurricane strength and pass south of the vessel. The previous evening was a long, storm-tossed night as the storm system made an unexpected turn and moved directly north of the ship, bringing with it 60-knot winds and 40-foot seas. After the crew endured a sleepless night, dawn brought slightly improved conditions. Though winds veered and weakened somewhat, the storm dragged with it heavy 30-foot swells and bowpounding waves. In these conditions, shortly after sunrise, the bridge watch team spotted a small fishing boat less than a mile off the starboard bow; heavy seas made the small vessel look even smaller. The fishing boat, later identified as the 50-foot Ocean Challenger, labored as it broached and foundered to the seas. Moments later the fishing vessel went over on its side as a “Mayday” call came over the radio. It was a chilling and brief transmission, a message no one in this brotherhood of the sea ever wants to hear. Ocean Challenger was going down, and its four-person crew was abandoning ship. Aboard the Overseas Joyce all hands woke up to the ship’s emergency signal, the deck gang taking lookout stations covering all 14 Seafarers LOG points of the horizon, the engineers readying machinery for maneuvering speeds, the steward department standing by to assist. Within minutes of the Ocean Challenger’s call for help, everyone was at their stations, and contact was made with the U.S. Coast Guard facility at Cold Bay, Alaska. Then, five minutes after sighting, the Ocean Challenger sank beneath wind-blown seas, leaving a debris field of fishing buoys and deck gear. By this time the Overseas Joyce was less than a mile away, yet no survivors were seen—only debris scattered through breaking waves marked with dense streaks of foam. The orange canopy of a life raft emerged from the water, apparently automatically released as the fishing boat sank, but hopes diminished when no one was seen attempting to crawl inside. The raft looked too light as it was blown easily across cresting waves. The ship moved in closer, making tight round turns around the datum where Ocean Challenger went down. Extreme conditions prevented launching boats, which would only jeopardize more lives. As the ship completed its first turn, lookouts shouted “man in the water off the starboard bow,” and the ship maneuvered to make this first spotted survivor pass down the starboard side close aboard. Those leaning over the bridge wing clearly saw a man, no life jacket, no survival suit, and only wearing what appeared to be white long johns. He clutched a small plastic barrel or bucket and seemed to look up at the ship as the ship’s crew called out words of encouragement and threw a survival suit, life ring and a marker buoy. Crew members moved aft with the person in the water as he passed down the side of the ship as the ship began to double back. By now 20 minutes had passed and concern increased. The air temperature was in the mid-forties with a wind chill at freezing, and the ocean was cold and churning; a U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter was still more than 40 minutes away. Then, a few hundred yards away, two figures, heads above water were spotted. Lookouts pointed, bearings were called out, and the ship turned taking 40-degree rolls through steep troughs. Several bolts that had held some of the ships gear securely for years sheered off. All eyes remained focused and hope increased as lookouts saw what appeared to be arms waving. But as the ship turned to close the dis- tance, heavy rolls, breaking seas and bright sunlight robbed the lookouts’ sight of the survivors. The Overseas Joyce continued turning slowly through the area attempting to relocate the three people already seen and making all efforts to spot the fourth. Search efforts intensified with the arrival of a U.S. Coast Guard C130 search plane. The SIUcrewed containership R.J. Pfiefer announced it, too, was en route, diverting from its position 30 miles away. Just as lookouts spotted another person in the water several hundred yards off the starboard beam, the U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter radioed it was approaching the area. Not sure if this person sighted was one of the three previously seen or the fourth crew member of the Ocean Challenger, this man clearly wore a survival suit, orange hood over his head. The ship successfully got in close keeping the man in sight and deployed a life ring and marker buoy just upwind. Voices rose in excitement as the person swam vigorously, twice disappearing under huge breaking waves, toward the life ring as the rescue helicopter zeroed in on his position aided by the marker buoy. All watched as the helicopter lowered a rescue swimmer into the water. Moments later this survivor was pulled to warmth and safety. The Checking in from the Steven L. Bennett Chief Steward Toney Morris submitted this photo of Seafarers in the crew mess aboard the Captain Steven L. Bennett in Diego Garcia. The photo was taken in mid-December. Morris noted the mariners were “enjoying a light moment after lunch.” The Bennett is a containership operated by Sealift Inc. for the U.S. Military Sealift Command. Strong Start for Mariner Outreach System The U.S. Maritime Administration’s Mariner Outreach System (MOS) is just six months old, but it has “clearly gained acceptance with the seafaring community,” the agency reported in the December edition of its newsletter. According to MarAd, the system provides mariners who agree to participate an opportunity to review their qualifications and sea service and update their contact information. Described by the agency as user-friendly, the MOS allows access by mariners via the following secure internet web site: https://mos.marad.dot.gov. Using the MOS in no way obligates mariners, according to MarAd officials. However, mariners’ participation in the MOS will improve the Maritime Administration’s ability to understand and communicate with mariners. Additionally, the MOS provides the agency with a means of monitoring their availability. As of October 1, 2006, 25 percent of mariners with a valid U.S. merchant mariner’s document had consented to participate. Anne Dougherty, a program analyst in MarAd’s Office of Sealift Support, said many of the mariners on file had previously agreed to participate in an earlier tracking system before the MOS internet portal was launched. She points out, however, that gaining the volunteer participation of some 10 to15 new mariners who register each week, for a program that has no money to advertise its existence but just depends on word of mouth, is very good. “We are working hard to get the word out and appreciate the incredible support we have received from the maritime labor unions and our industry partners,” she said. “Our goal is to use MOS to better understand what is happening with the pool of United States mariners so we can work with our industry partners to identify and address the specific issues that have a negative impact on the mariner pool.” Prior to going “live” with the new system last year, program officials put it through a stringent test and evaluation sequence. Several aspects of the system were put through the paces at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Upgrading Seafarers provided input and feedback to members of the MarAd contingent during the tests. The testing went well and all major problems with the new system were rectified. The MOS went on line as scheduled. “I would like to extend our most sincere thanks to Seafarers International Union for their assistance with testing the Mariner Outreach System,” wrote Taylor E. Jones II, director, MarAd Office of Sealift Support, in a letter to the school. “The enthusiasm and support provided by Mr. Bart Rogers and the Paul Hall Center staff were directly responsible for the success of the testing. The input provided by the SIU mariners was invaluable in helping us to create an accurate, user-friendly system that will be valuable to U.S. mariners worldwide.” February 2007 �Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea March & April 2007 Membership Meetings DECEMBER 16, 2006 — JANUARY 15, 2007 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals All Departments 1 0 8 9 3 5 32 29 0 6 20 45 11 20 6 0 7 1 24 35 3 1 2 14 2 10 21 18 2 3 6 25 18 5 5 13 10 3 23 14 2 3 1 1 2 0 3 7 2 3 1 11 3 0 1 4 2 1 8 9 TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 2 0 1 7 1 5 27 12 0 6 15 25 15 9 7 1 5 2 25 18 262 198 64 183 0 0 8 7 0 9 15 21 0 3 4 18 8 8 1 2 1 0 7 9 1 0 5 8 2 3 10 9 0 3 2 11 12 4 2 1 4 1 12 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 6 1 0 2 1 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 3 4 0 0 4 1 2 7 14 12 0 5 5 15 10 4 2 1 1 1 10 7 121 94 24 2 0 5 2 0 10 19 9 0 1 10 15 7 12 2 2 2 0 19 18 2 0 2 10 0 5 4 9 0 0 1 4 11 3 1 1 4 1 3 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 5 0 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 Trip Reliefs DECK DEPARTMENT 1 5 4 19 4 2 24 12 2 5 8 10 15 13 4 9 5 2 24 8 176 2 2 0 1 2 1 6 7 1 1 2 5 4 1 1 4 2 0 7 3 52 101 70 137 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 2 0 0 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 6 18 0 0 2 2 0 1 5 10 0 1 2 9 3 4 1 0 1 0 7 5 53 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 1 0 3 2 1 12 17 9 0 2 5 14 4 15 2 2 3 1 15 12 0 0 0 8 0 2 7 7 0 2 2 3 12 4 0 0 3 0 4 3 135 66 21 120 57 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 1 0 1 1 5 0 4 0 0 1 0 2 2 0 1 5 3 1 7 17 13 0 2 8 25 10 9 0 21 3 0 12 11 2 0 2 8 0 6 16 15 1 2 3 11 18 9 0 3 0 2 9 5 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 5 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 3 3 1 2 2 18 5 0 3 6 11 11 7 0 12 2 0 3 4 23 148 112 15 541 506 221 419 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 3 1 15 0 0 1 1 0 2 6 5 0 2 2 4 3 7 0 1 3 0 8 7 2 0 10 17 5 16 68 62 1 19 32 82 22 50 4 0 13 2 53 61 6 8 5 26 4 13 45 30 0 15 12 45 28 10 10 5 14 11 43 36 2 4 2 3 3 1 16 15 2 3 3 17 10 2 2 2 3 3 12 14 519 366 119 0 0 9 15 0 12 30 32 0 10 10 32 12 22 2 4 5 0 19 18 1 0 6 13 4 7 25 23 0 6 5 20 24 10 4 1 6 6 23 17 0 0 2 4 1 4 8 1 0 4 2 13 5 3 1 0 1 1 5 14 232 201 69 2 0 6 8 1 16 31 26 0 11 12 36 15 34 3 5 3 1 31 42 2 0 3 15 2 11 13 13 0 7 2 9 15 10 1 3 4 2 8 9 0 0 0 1 0 0 5 4 1 4 2 3 5 0 0 0 0 3 2 3 52 283 129 33 0 0 0 3 0 2 5 4 0 1 1 4 8 5 0 15 0 1 9 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 12 3 0 2 4 13 0 9 0 0 1 0 4 3 1 7 4 14 1 16 34 30 1 6 6 76 20 21 3 10 4 1 24 17 8 0 4 14 2 18 30 25 2 3 8 39 30 18 2 7 0 1 20 11 93 61 0 53 296 242 396 146 242 1,087 992 463 ENTRY DEPARTMENT *“Total Registered” means the number of Seafarers who actually registered for shipping at the port. **“Registered on Beach” means the total number of Seafarers registered at the port. February 2007 Piney Point ...........Monday: March 5, April 2 Algonac ................Friday: March 9, April 6 0 1 1 12 0 1 26 9 0 5 7 19 5 7 3 1 3 1 23 13 ENGINE DEPARTMENT 0 0 1 3 4 2 5 13 0 3 3 8 7 5 2 0 3 0 9 2 **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C Baltimore..............Thursday: March 8, April 5 Boston ..................Friday: March 9, April 6 Guam ....................Thursday: March 22, April 19 Honolulu...............Friday: March 16, April 13 Houston ................Monday: March 12, April 9 Jacksonville ..........Thursday: March 8, April 5 Joliet .....................Thursday: March 15, April 12 Mobile ..................Wednesday: March 14, April 11 New Orleans.........Tuesday: March 13, April 10 New York .............Tuesday: March 6, April 3 Norfolk .................Thursday: March 8, April 5 Oakland ................Thursday: March 15, April 12 Philadelphia..........Wednesday: March 7, April 4 Port Everglades ....Thursday: March 15, April 12 San Juan ...............Thursday: March 8, April 5 St. Louis ...............Friday: March 16, April 13 Tacoma .................Friday: March 23, April 20 Wilmington...........Monday: March 19, April 16 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. Personals Irvin Crutchlow Loyd Ange would like to hear from you. You can write him at 842 Esconditas Place, Pensacola, FL 325063717; or call him at (850) 549-3226. Correction An article in the January 2007 LOG about pierhead jumps and meds contained an inaccurate statement in the 2nd column. It says, “…the member can call his or her doctor for the required medication, pick it up, pay for it out of pocket and then submit the receipt to the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP) for reimbursement.” The Claims department does not process out-of-pocket prescription claims. Any prescription reimbursement requests must be sent to Prescription Solutions and they will process it at their reimbursement rates and send a check to the member. The member should submit a “Direct Member Reimbursement” form with their prescription receipt and send both items to Prescription Solutions. The form is available on Prescription Solutions’ Web site (www.rxsolutions.com/a/login/ Login_MIDDOB.asp?NextPage=23). Attention Seafarers: S P A D Help Keep America’s Maritime Industry Strong. Contribute to SPAD. Seafarers LOG 15 �Seafarers International Union Directory NMU Monthly Shipping & Registration Report DECEMBER 16, 2006 — JANUARY 15, 2007 Michael Sacco, President TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Group I Group II Group III Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Trip Reliefs REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Group I Group II Group III Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Port Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Boston 3 0 0 1 0 0 3 10 4 2 Houston 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 13 1 2 Jacksonville 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 1 0 1 Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 27 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr., Bldg. B, Suite 103 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96931 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Group I Group II Group III Seafarers LOG DECK DEPARTMENT New Orleans 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 13 3 2 New York 3 0 0 4 0 0 8 30 26 0 Norfolk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tacoma 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 Wilmington 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 Totals 7 0 0 6 0 0 31 70 34 7 Port ENGINE DEPARTMENT Boston 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1 1 Houston 1 0 0 2 0 0 2 3 0 0 Jacksonville 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 New Orleans 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 1 1 New York 2 0 0 4 0 0 1 14 5 0 Norfolk 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Tacoma 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Wilmington 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 Totals 3 0 0 6 0 0 8 32 7 2 Port STEWARD DEPARTMENT Boston 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 3 1 Houston 1 0 0 2 0 0 3 11 1 0 Jacksonville 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 New Orleans 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 2 New York 0 0 1 1 0 1 5 17 25 0 Norfolk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tacoma 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wilmington 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Totals 3 0 1 4 0 1 11 39 30 3 13 0 1 16 0 1 50 141 71 12 Totals All Departments PICS-FROM-THE-PAST These photos were sent to the Seafarers LOG by Jerry Lopez of Georgiana, Ala. AB John Kelly They were taken aboard the SS Hastings (a former (Waterman Steamship Corp.) on a trip that began patrolman in New York or Baltimore Sept. 21, 1966 and paid from Mobile), off in New York Jan. 2, 1967 after traveling to left, and OS Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Jordan, Sudan, Jerry Lopez French Somalia, Ethiopia and Iran. Lopez, who were on the 812 watch signed on in Mobile, Ala., sailed as an OS. aboard the After leaving the Navy in 1965, Lopez joined the Hastings. SIU in 1966 and went through training at the New Orleans hall. His first ship was the SS Robin Trent on which he made his first around-the-world voyage. “My shipmates helped me to adjust from military to merchant seaman life,” he wrote, “and I have to tell you, it was a great time in my life, and I learned to appreciate the SIU and the ability to have representation and a contract to live and work by.” In the 1970s Lopez attended electronics training and has worked in that field since. Left: This is a view from the bow, looking aft, as the ship transited the Suez Canal. Right: The bosun and 4-8 OS lean on one of the Suez line handler’s boats. These boats were picked up at the start of the canal transit. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with the LOG readership, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. February 2007 �Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA KASSEM ABDULLA, 57, began shipping with the SIU in 1969 from the port of San Francisco. Brother Abdulla’s first ship was the Steel Direct. The engine department member, who was born in Yemen, most recently sailed on the Horizon Consumer. Brother Abdulla resides in San Francisco. HESSIN ASUMARI, 74, joined the SIU in 1967, initially sailing aboard the Fair Isle. A native of Yemen, Brother Asumari upgraded his skills at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. in 1999 and 2000. Prior to his retirement, Brother Asumari shipped on the ITB Groton. He calls Tulare, Calif. home. SOLOMON BENJAMIN, 65, began his seafaring career in 1970. Brother Benjamin first worked aboard Seatrain Lines vessels. The Louisiana-born mariner upgraded his skills on two occasions at the Piney Point school. Brother Benjamin’s most recent voyage was on the Cape Fear. He lives in Gretna, La. TULIO GOMEZ, 69, joined the SIU in 2001. Brother Gomez shipped primarily aboard vessels operated by Marine Personnel and Provisioning, most recently the Cape Domingo. Born in Honduras, he worked in the steward department. Brother Gomez makes his home in Kissimmee, Fla. CURTIS JACKSON, 60, became an SIU member in 1967, initially sailing aboard a Calmar Steamship Company vessel. Brother Jackson upgraded on numerous occasions at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. He was born in Florida and shipped in the engine department. Before retiring, Brother Jackson worked on the Sirius. He continues to reside in Florida. SHEILA LEWIS, 51, hails from Louisiana. Sister Lewis joined the Seafarers in 1986; her first voyage was aboard the USNS Regulus. She upgraded her skills February 2007 often at the Paul Hall Center. Sister Lewis was a member of the deck department and last shipped on the Houston. She is a resident of Livingston, La. ROBERT MULL, 73, joined the SIU in 1960 in the port of New York. Brother Mull sailed in the deck department of both deep sea and inland division vessels. His earliest trip to sea was aboard the Sentry. Brother Mull is a native of North Carolina. He most recently worked on a Crowley Towing vessel. Brother Mull calls Newton, N.C. home. JUAN ROCHEZ, 65, was born in Honduras. Brother Rochez became an SIU member in 1990, first sailing aboard the Independence. He was a frequent upgrader at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Brother Rochez most recently shipped on the Overseas Philadelphia. He makes his home in Kingwood, Texas. GUILLERMO THOMAS, 64, started his employment with the Seafarers in 1970 aboard a vessel operated by Crowley Towing & Transportation Company. Brother Thomas was born in Eagle, Texas and was a member of the steward department. He last sailed aboard the Intrepid. Brother Thomas upgraded his seafaring skills often at the Piney Point, Md. school. He makes his home in New Mexico. JOHN TRENT, 64, joined the SIU in 1964. His first ship was operated by Hudson Waterways. Brother Trent, who was born in Arkansas, worked as a member of the engine department. He upgraded frequently at the Paul Hall Center. Brother Trent’s most recent voyage was aboard the Overseas New Orleans. He lives in Florida. ANTONINO UDAN, 65, joined the SIU in 1983. Brother Udan initially shipped on the Constitution in the deck department. His most recent voyage was aboard the Horizon Pacific. Brother Udan calls Ewa Beach, Hawaii home. WILLIAM WALES, 65, began sailing with the SIU in 1968 from the port of Seattle. Brother Wales first worked on the President Adams. The steward department member attended the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. on three occasions. Brother Wales’ most recent voyage was aboard the Westward Venture. The Texas native now resides in Seattle. JOHN WHITING, 65, became a union member in 1964, first sailing aboard a U.S. Steel Corporation vessel. Brother Whiting makes his home in Palmdale, Calif. ROY ZANCA, 65, was born in Louisiana and began his seafaring career in 1995 in the port of New Orleans. He first shipped aboard the USNS Antares as a member of the engine department. Brother Zanca upgraded his skills often at the Piney Point school. He most recently worked on the USNS Pomeroy. Brother Zanca is a resident of New Orleans. INLAND VERTIS BELCHER, 62, joined the union in 1970 in the port of New Orleans. Boatman Belcher sailed primarily aboard Moran Towing Company vessels. Born in Florida, he currently resides in Pylesville, Md. LYMAN LAWRENCE, 70, began sailing with the SIU in 1974. Boatman Lawrence worked aboard Virginia Pilot Corp. vessels. He lives in his native state of Virginia. JOHN RIDLEY, 61, began his seafaring career in 1987. Boatman Ridley worked primarily aboard ships operated by Red Circle Transport. In 2000, he enhanced his seafaring abilities at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Boatman Ridley makes his home in Baton Rouge, La. STEVEN MATTISON, 54, was born in Iowa. Boatman Mattison joined the SIU in 1986 in the port of Baltimore. He first went to sea aboard a vessel operated by Moran Towing of Maryland. Boatman Mattison was a member of the engine department; he upgraded his skills in 2001 at the Paul Hall Center. Boatman Mattison most recently sailed on the Eva. He calls Dickinson, Texas home. WILLIAM SOUTHARD, 62, joined the SIU in 1962 in the port of Philadelphia. Born in Pennsylvania, Boatman Southard initially sailed on a Meyle Towing vessel. In 1985 and 1990, he attended classes at the Piney Point school. Boatman Southard’s most recent voyage was aboard a vessel operated by Moran Towing of Philadelphia. He continues to live in Pennsylvania. Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1942 During the last week of February, the SIUcrewed S.S. Marore was attacked about midnight by three German submarines. Even though she was torpedoed and hit by over 100 shells, the entire crew escaped in lifeboats. One of the boats rigged a sail and made port at Cape Hatteras. The other two boats, containing 25 men, were spotted by a Navy plane which directed a ship to their rescue. regime. In a joint position, the International Longshoremen’s Association, the National Maritime Union and the Seafarers International Union of North America said that the time for “pussyfooting is long past” and that they would soon begin “protest demonstrations” in all U.S. ports against vessels of those nations which permit trade with North Vietnam. This Month In SIU History 1955 The membership of the Seafarers International Union, Atlantic & Gulf District, ratified a newly negotiated contract clause establishing a seniority hiring provision with contracted companies. The new hiring system involves three classes of seniority. Men sailing before Dec. 31, 1950 got “A” ratings; men sailing regularly since Jan. 1, 1951 were rated Class “B” and men who had no time aboard SIU ships before Jan. 1, 1955 or who had not shipped regularly during the periods to cover classes A and B received a “C” rating. In the future, seamen with “A” ratings will receive preference over the other two categories for job calls and the “B” rated seamen will receive preference over “C” men. 1966 JAMES PARISI, 62, joined the SIU in 1980. Boatman Parisi initially worked with Gloucester Fisherman’s Fund vessels. Prior to his retirement, he shipped aboard a Homeport Inc. vessel. Boatman Parisi is a resident of Gloucester, Mass. Three AFL-CIO maritime unions have charged that the U.S. State Department’s recently announced blacklist of ships trading with North Vietnam will not deter shipowners or their governments from supplying the North Vietnamese The joint union position was set forth in a telegram to President Lyndon B. Johnson on February 14. Identical wires were also sent to Commerce Secretary John Connor, Labor Secretary Willard Wirtz and Secretary of State Dean Rusk. 1997 The Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education has enhanced and expanded its curriculum for entry-level mariners. For years, the trainee program exclusively has consisted of 12 weeks of training at the center’s Lundeberg School of Seamanship. Now, following an extensive internal review of the class, the revised program will feature 90 days of shipboard training plus increased schooling at the center in Piney Point, Md. Overall, the new curriculum will last about 2.5 times as long as the old class…. Many of the revisions were made so that students may comply with amendments to an international maritime treaty governing the methods used to train and certify merchant mariners. Parts of that agreement—the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for mariners (STCW)—took effect February 1, and other segments will be phased in during the next few years. Seafarers LOG 17 �Final Departures DEEP SEA FREDERICK BENEDICT Pensioner Frederick Benedict, 84, passed away March 31. Brother Benedict started sailing with the Seafarers in 1951 from the port of San Francisco. He sailed primarily aboard vessels operated by Interocean American Shipping. Brother Benedict was born in Pennsylvania and worked in the steward department. He retired in 1987 and made his home in Reno, Nev. NORMAN CARLSON Brother Norman Carlson, 66, died March 21. He joined the SIU in 2002, first shipping aboard the USNS Heezen. Brother Carlson, who was born in Seattle, last sailed on the Eric G. Gibson. He was a resident of Fox Island, Wash. ROBERT CLIFFORD Pensioner Robert Clifford, 68, passed away May 27. Brother Clifford joined the union in 1963 in Detroit, Mich. He shipped as a member of the deck department in both the inland and deep sea divisions. Brother Clifford initially worked aboard vessels operated by Rockport Steamship Company. The Michigan-born mariner’s last voyage was aboard the USNS Washington. Brother Clifford, who went on pension in 2000, called Houston home. ROBERT COOK Pensioner Robert Cook, 78, died April 6. Brother Cook launched his seafaring career in 1946 in the port of New York. His first trip was aboard a Sinclair Oil Corporation vessel. Brother Cook, who was a native of Wisconsin, sailed in the steward department. His most recent voyage was on the Penny. Brother Cook began receiving his retirement pay in 1994. He resided in Baltimore, Md. LEO CRONSOHN Pensioner Leo Cronsohn, 77, passed away March 3. Brother Cronsohn joined the SIU in 1951 in the port of Seattle. The steward department member, who was born in New York, sailed primarily aboard vessels operated by Waterman Steamship Corporation. Prior to his retirement in 1997, Brother Cronsohn worked on the Robert E. Lee. He lived in Las Vegas. RICHARD DIXON Brother Richard Dixon, 79, died March 14. He embarked on his SIU career in 1966, initially sailing on a Columbia Steamship vessel. Brother Dixon was born in Illinois. His last voyage was aboard the Maj. Stephen W. Pless. Brother Dixon shipped in the steward department. He made his home in Compton, Calif. HERBERT EHMSEN Pensioner Herbert Ehmsen, 78, passed away Aug. 18. Brother Ehmsen was born in New Jersey and joined the union in 1947 in the port 18 Seafarers LOG of New York. Brother Ehmsen was a member of the deck department. Before retiring in 1988, he sailed on the Kaimoku. Brother Ehmsen continued to live in his native state. DONALD FOSTER Pensioner Donald Foster, 89, died May 23. Brother Foster began sailing with the Seafarers in 1951 from the port of New York. He first worked aboard an American Dredging Company vessel. Brother Foster shipped in the steward department, most recently aboard the USNS Potomac. He was born in Ohio and made his home in Texas City, Texas. Brother Foster became a pensioner in 1982. ALI MOHAMED Pensioner Ali Mohamed, 66, passed away April 12. Brother Mohamed began his SIU career in 1963, first sailing on the Marine. He was a member of the steward department. Brother Mohamed’s last voyage was aboard the Defender. He was a resident of Garden Grove, Calif. Brother Mohamed started collecting his pension in 1994. CALVIN “COTTON” MORRIS Greece, he continued to live there. Brother Saslos began collecting his retirement in 1979. EMIL SPODAR Pensioner Emil Spodar, 82, passed away Oct. 5. Brother Spodar embarked on his seafaring career in 1947 in the port of New York. The engine department member’s first ship was the Oremar; his last the Del Sol. Brother Spodar, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, called Florida home. KEVIN SULLIVAN Brother Kevin Sullivan, 42, died May 7. He was born in California and joined the union in 2004 in the port of Wilmington, Calif. Brother Sullivan worked primarily aboard Alaska Tanker Company vessels during his seafaring career, most recently on the Alaskan Explorer. He was a resident of Carson, Calif. FRANK UNGER Pensioner Frank Unger, 82, passed away April 17. Brother Unger started sailing with the Seafarers in 1956. The Pennsylvaniaborn mariner worked in the deck department. Brother Unger first shipped aboard a Waterman Steamship Corporation vessel. His final voyage was on the Horizon Kodiak. Brother Unger resided in Carson City, Nev. and went on pension in 1989. ROY WATFORD Pensioner Calvin Morris, 82, died Nov. 11. Brother Morris joined the SIU in 1951, initially sailing in the deck department on a Delta Steamship vessel. He was born in Missouri. Prior to his retirement in 1984, he worked aboard the Overseas Juneau. Brother Morris resided in Fresno, Calif. Pensioner Roy Watford, 77, died March 23. A native of Alabama, Brother Watford became an SIU member in 1953 in the port of Mobile. His first voyage was on the Alcoa Planet, on which he sailed in the deck department. Brother Watford’s last voyage was aboard the Dodge Island. He retired in 1983 and continued to live in Alabama. RALPH MURRAY SHUEY WONG Pensioner Ralph Murray, 81, passed away Oct. 9. Brother Murray joined the union in 1945 in the port of Norfolk, Va. He first sailed aboard a Sinclair Oil Corporation vessel. Brother Murray was a Virginia native and shipped in the deck department. He last worked aboard the Voyager. Brother Murray went on pension in 1988. He made Las Vegas his home. Pensioner Shuey Wong, 79, passed away April 1. Brother Wong joined the Marine Cooks & Stewards (MC&S) in 1978 in the port of San Francisco. The steward department member initially shipped on board the Kopaa. Brother Wong, who was born in California, last worked on the Mahi-Mahi. He began receiving compensation for his retirement in 1997 and made his home in San Francisco. NIKOLAOS SASLOS Pensioner Nikolaos Saslos, 79, died May 22. Brother Saslos became an SIU member in 1962 in the port of New York. He worked in the engine department, first sailing on the Rocky Point. Brother Saslos’ last voyage was aboard a Michigan Tankers vessel. Born in Athens, INLAND WILLIAM OWENS Pensioner William Owens, 81, passed away May 2. Boatman Owens was born in Virginia. He became an SIU member in 1961 in the port of Norfolk, Va. Boatman Owens shipped aboard vessels operation by Moran Towing of Virginia throughout his career. He became a pensioner in 1987 and resided in Virginia Beach, Va. PERRY KEENE Boatman Perry Keene, 58, died May 26. He started his seafaring career in 2002. Boatman Keene sailed primarily on Penn Maritime vessels. He called Lutz, Fla. home. GREAT LAKES MOHAMMED ELJANNY Pensioner Mohammed Eljanny, 75, died March 13. Brother Eljanny joined the SIU in 1970. Born in Arabia, he sailed in the engine department. Brother Eljanny’s first vessel was the Adam E. Cornelius; his last the JAW Iglehart. He started collecting payment for his retirement in 1995. Brother Eljanny lived in Sanaa, Yemen. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust, have passed away. JOHN CAMACHO Pensioner John Camacho, 78, passed away March 26. Brother Camacho began shipping with the NMU in 1947 from the port of New York. The Puerto Rico-born mariner sailed in the engine department. Brother Camacho’s first ship was the Gulf Gem. He became a pensioner in 1970. LESLIE COPE Pensioner Leslie Cope, 79, died April 19. Brother Cope joined the NMU in 1944 in Detroit, Mich. His first ship was the William D. Crawford. Brother Cope was born in Michigan and worked in the deck department. He last sailed on the Charlotte Lykes. Brother Cope went on pension in 1992. JOSEPH EAGAN Pensioner Joseph Eagan, 86, passed away April 24. Brother Eagan was born in New York and joined the union in 1987. His first ship was the Exanthia. Prior to his retirement in 1987, Brother Eagan shipped on the Letitia Lykes. FLOYD GREENWAY Pensioner Floyd Greenway, 82, died April 21. Brother Greenway joined the NMU in 1944 in the port of New York. His earliest journey was aboard the Abner Doubleday. Brother Greenway, who was born in Salem, Va., last sailed on the Green Forest. He went on pension in 1976. EUGENIO JUAN Pensioner Eugenio Juan, 82, passed away May 6. Brother Juan launched his NMU career in 1944, sailing from Tampa, Fla. aboard the Harjurand. He was born in Cuba and last worked on the Santa Paula. Brother Juan started collecting his pension in 1968. TOMAS MONTALVA Pensioner Tomas Montalva, 86, died April 12. Brother Montalva became an NMU member in 1945 in the port of New York. He first worked aboard the Pierre L’Enfant in the steward department. Brother Montalva’s last voyage was on the Lash Italia. He retired in 1972. JAN MULLER Pensioner Jan Muller, 82, passed away April, 22. Brother Muller joined the NMU in 1943, initially shipping from Boston, Mass. He first worked aboard the Cape Neddick. Brother Muller, who was born in Poland, sailed in the steward department, most recently on the United States. He became a pensioner in 1970. PERCY PEARSON Pensioner Percy Pearson, 99, died April 26. Born in South Carolina, Brother Pearson joined the NMU in 1940. His first ship was the Cubore. Brother Pearson shipped in the steward department. Before retiring in 1967, he sailed on the Australian Gem. LINDSEY SCOTT Pensioner Lindsey Scott, 83, passed away March 20. Brother Scott began his NMU career in 1944 in Tampa, Fla. The steward department member first worked aboard the Wanks. Brother Scott’s last voyage was on the Texaco Maryland. He went on pension in 1985. PETRONIO SILVA Pensioner Petronio Silva, 94, died March 30. Brother Silva began sailing with the NMU in 1941 from the port of San Francisco. He was born in the Philippines and worked in the steward department. Brother Silva’s last voyage was aboard the Sinclair Texas. He started receiving compensation for his retirement in 1973. WILLIE WILLIAMS SR. Pensioner Willie Williams, Sr., 83, died March 16. Brother Williams joined the NMU in 1942 in the port of Mobile, Ala. The engine department member first shipped on the Chippewa. Prior to retiring in 1971, Brother Williams sailed aboard the Texaco Mississippi. February 2007 �Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication.. ASCENSION (Sealift), Dec. 6— Chairman Gene A. Butson, Secretary William E. Knorr, Deck Delegate Spencer J. Brooks. Chairman announced Dec. 6 arrival in Cape Canaveral, Fla.; payoff to take place following completion of sanitary inspections. Secretary asked crew members to report safety hazards to department heads immediately and urged them not to be afraid to speak up during safety meetings. “The life or limb you save may be your own or your fellow seafarer’s.” Bosun encouraged all mariners to attend classes offered at Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew would like visit from patrolman. COMMITMENT (Maersk Line Limited), Dec. 19—Chairman Edward J. O’Conner, Secretary Stephanie L. Sizemore, Educational Director Dennis R. Baker, Deck Delegate Greg Johnson, Steward Delegate Elsayed T. Amasha. Chairman stated sanitary inspection would take place Dec. 21 and asked everyone to make sure rooms are clean. He informed seafarers that Dec. 23 payoff would take place in Newark, N.J. Educational director stressed need for safety when walking around dock area; cords and hoses present tripping hazards. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Communications from headquarters read and posted. Recommendation was made to increase pension benefits and reduce seatime needed to qualify. Crew expressed concerns about getting enough medicine for trips. Vote of thanks given to steward department for great food and extra effort. Next ports: Elizabeth City, N.J; Charleston, S.C.; Houston. GLOBAL SENTINEL (Transoceanic Cable Ship), Dec. 4 —Chairman Lee Hardman, Secretary Vicki L. Haggerty. Chairman informed members of Christmas party to be held Dec. 8, which will be paid out of the crew’s fund, including Christmas trees and wreaths. Captain Thomas expressed gratitude for great job on audit. Bosun discussed new TWIC document. Secretary reported crew laundry moved from mess hall to room 603. Treasurer stated $4,000 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Motion made to change rotation schedule and raise transportation rate from Tacoma to ship. Thanks given to the steward department for good work. HORIZON CONSUMER (Horizon Lines), Dec. 3—Chairman Manolo V. Delos Santos, Secretary Terry L. Allen, Educational Director Thomas M. Flynn, Deck Delegate Sangie Mohamed, Steward Delegate Jessy G. Sunga. Chairman thanked crew members for smooth trip and announced Dec. 4 payoff upon arrival in Oakland, Calif. Secretary urged everyone to clean rooms and make sure they’re ready for next person to move in. February 2007 Educational director advised all mariners to know the contract and upgrade skills at Piney Point school whenever possible. No beefs or disputed OT reported. President’s report from Seafarers LOG was read and discussed. Seafarers requested list of Coast Guard-approved medications so there would be no problems when taking drug test. Vote of thanks to steward department for nice Thanksgiving spread. Next ports: Oakland and Los Angeles, Calif.; Honolulu. HORIZON ENTERPRISE (Horizon Lines), Dec. 22—Chairman Anthony R. Carvalho, Secretary Rang V. Nguyen, Educational Director Michael J. Wells, Deck Delegate Earl Sparkes, Engine Delegate Roy L. Scott, Steward Delegate Vince Grande. Chairman informed crew of Dec. 23 arrival in Tacoma, Wash. Educational director urged mariners to check z-cards and STWC documents for expiration dates and renew early to avoid problems when trying to ship out. No beefs or disputed OT reported. It was stated that English is to be spoken during working hours and meal times. Captain reminded crew to mintain proper conduct at all times. Next ports: Tacoma; Oakland, Calif.; Hawaii. HORIZON PACIFIC (Horizon Lines), Dec. 11—Chairman Steve L. Bush, Secretary Robert P. Mosley, Educational Director Ursel R. Barber, Deck Delegate Augustus C. Udan, Engine Delegate Prentiss R. Smith, Steward Delegate Regalado M. Bayan. Chairman talked about importance of donating to SPAD and how it benefits the membership. He also encouraged members to check in with customs and immigration, as well as with SIU patrolman, when coming ashore. Those mariners departing vessel are asked to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen for next person. Secretary and educational director advised members to update skills at Paul Hall Center and to make sure drug test, shipping documents and dues are current. Treasurer stated $320 in cook-out fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Bosun read and discussed president’s report from October Seafarers LOG. Crew gave vote of thanks to President Sacco and his staff for job well done. Crew members expressed gratitude to steward department for great menus and cook-outs. Captain congratulated crew on successful sanitation inspection. Everyone aboard was asked to keep noise down while watchstanders are sleeping. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash.; Oakland, Calif.; Hawaii; Guam; Taiwan. HORIZON SPIRIT (Horizon Lines), Dec. 8—Chairman Howard W. Gibbs, Secretary Edgardo G. Ombac, Educational Director Robert L. Stafford. Chairman informed mariners of Dec. 9 payoff. He thanked everyone for following safety proce- dures and reminded them to use tunnel during cargo operations, especially in Hong Kong. Secretary said new mattress were on order. Educational director informed members that new class schedule for 2007 was available in Seafarers LOG. Treasurer stated $193 in video fund; new movies to be purchased next trip. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Thanks given to steward department for good food, especially the barbecue, and clean mess hall. HORIZON TACOMA (Horizon Lines), Dec. 2—Chairman Joseph Artis, Secretary Lincoln E. Pinn Jr., Educational Director Donald D. Williams Jr. Bosun announced Dec. 5 payoff upon arrival in Tacoma, Wash. He urged crew members to keep dues paid and support SPAD. Educational director encouraged members to take advantage of training offered at Piney Point school. “It’s never too late to learn something new.” No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward department was thanked for job well done and for keeping ship clean. LIGHTNING (Maersk Line Limited), Dec. 1—Chairman Romeo L. Lugtu, Secretary Ernest Polk, Educational Director Dimarko L. Shoulders, Engine Delegate Peter E. Sternberg, Steward Delegate Mario A. Firme Jr. Chairman reported smooth, safe voyage. He asked crew to leave clean linen and supplies for next mariner when going ashore. Educational director encouraged members to upgrade skills at SIUaffiliated school in Piney Point, Md. and check expiration dates on MMDs. Treasurer stated $512 in ship’s fund. New refrigerator was purchased with money from ship’s fund (which will be reimbursed by the company). No beefs or disputed OT reported. New locks were put on movie store room. Crew expressed gratitude to steward department for wonderful Thanksgiving Day meals. Next ports: Los Angeles and Oakland, Calif. MAERSK GEORGIA (Maersk Line Limited), Dec. 10—Chairman Carlton P. Hall, Secretary Kristin L. Krause, Deck Delegate Joel Cadarea, Steward Delegate Breon A. Lucas. Chairman reported smooth voyage. Educational director urged Seafarers to upgrade skills at Paul Hall Center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendation made regarding improving medical benefits. Next ports: Charleston, S.C., Norfolk, Va.; Newark, N.J. OVERSEAS MAREMAR (OSG Ship Management), Dec. 15— Chairman Stephen J. Argay, Secretary Theodore E. Quammie, Educational Director Anthony N. Jones, Deck Delegate Llyod F. Stock, Engine Delegate Roy P. Martinez, Steward Delegate Eduardo R. Elemento. Chairman discussed needed repairs with chief engineer. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendations made to improve prescription plan. Request made for juice machines, commercial style coffee pot and more outlets in mess halls. Vote of thanks given to steward department for great job. Next port: Houston. PRIDE (Maersk Line Limited), Dec. 8—Chairman John A. Ellias Jr., Secretary Norman A. Jackson, Educational Director Ronald M. Pheneuf, Engine Delegate Humberto G. Lopez, Steward Delegate Obencio M. Espinoza. Bosun announced Dec. 10 payoff. Seafarers were asked to check pay vouchers for transportation reimbursement; it should be $45 from Houston and $40 from Jacksonville, Fla. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Water cooler in need of repair, and ice machine does not work at sea. Crew thanked steward department for excellent Thanksgiving dinner. SULPHUR ENTERPRISE (LMS Ship Management), Dec. 17— Chairman Ray A. Waiters, Secretary Darryl K. Goggins, Educational Director Dale D. Nesfield, Deck Delegate Joel H. Fahselt, Steward Delegate John A. Stephen. Chairman updated crew on port delays. Secretary reminded crew members getting off to clean rooms and leave fresh linen for next person. Educational director talked about importance of upgrading skills at Paul Hall Center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew requested refrigerators for all crew rooms. Thanks given to steward department for job well done. Next port: Galveston, Texas. WASHINGTON EXPRESS (Marine Transport Lines), Dec. 3 —Chairman Zeki Karaahmet, Secretary Frances J. Dvoroznak, Educational Director George W. Bieselin, Steward Delegate Kathryn S. Hanson. Chairman talked about issues pertaining to trash separation. He also encouraged members to contribute to SPAD. Secretary announced Dec. 12 payoff in Houston. Educational director advised Seafarers to upgrade skills at Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Inquiry was made as to when new dues amount goes into effect. Thanks given to steward department for job well done on first voyage of the Washington Express. Next port: Charleston, S.C.; Houston. WESTWARD VENTURE (Interocean American Shipping), Dec. 3—Chairman Tom M. Arriola, Secretary Robert S. Davis. Bosun discussed letter from military authorities restricting everyone to ship in Kuwait. Treasurer stated $600 in ship’s fund. No beefs; disputed OT reported in all departments due to port issue. Chairman requested new mattresses and box springs for crew. Next port: Beaumont, Texas. Sea Trials on the Overseas Houston The newly built Overseas Houston went on sea trials in early December. This is the first double-hulled product tanker in a 10-ship series being constructed for SIU-contracted Overseas Shipholding Group at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. AB Bill Yurick Steward/Baker Ekow Doffoh Chief Cook Hazel Johnson Seafarers LOG 19 �Know Your Rights Letters to the Editor Editor’s note: The Seafarers LOG reserves the right to edit letters for grammar as well as space provisions without changing the writer’s intent. The LOG welcomes letters from members, pensioners, their families and shipmates and will publish them on a timely basis. to SIU Vice President Dean Corgey, Assistant Vice President Jim McGee, G&H Towing and once again to Janice for their kindness and friendship. May God bless all the mariners and the SIU. Fond Memories and Thanks On March 6, 2006, my husband, Capt. James C. Oliver, “crossed the bar.” I had openheart surgery three months prior to his passing, and times were very rough. I want to thank the Seafarers Union for their kindness and their expertise in handling the paperwork. I cannot say enough good words about Janice (Hunicke) in the Houston office, who helped me through this difficult time and who is such a kind and good friend. She knew I needed help and made sure that everything was as easy as possible during this stressful time. I want to say “thank you” to the union for being there when I needed them. I was married to Jim for 51 years and he had been an SIU member for nearly 61 years. He was a great seaman and an honest, good, hardworking man. He made us a good living both as a deep sea mariner and as a tug captain on the Houston Ship Channel. He served in World War II with the merchant marine and managed to escape death on several occasions. He faithfully read the Seafarers LOG and when he saw the new tugs that were being put into service he always said, “Boy, what I could do with one of those!” What I would give to see him steering one of those boats today. Special thanks to SIU President Michael Sacco, whom I met with his brother on a few occasions at the Houston office while with Jim. My appreciation Welcome Ashore I write to express my most sincere thanks to all the staff at Camp Springs and Piney Point and thanks to God for the years of having the privilege of sailing the Seven Seas. I sailed for 28 years. You name it, I’ve done it and seen it, and I enjoyed every voyage. I plan on becoming the captain, engineer and steward of my own ship called the Dock III. Anyone wanting to sail with me up and down the coast, call me at 757-639-DOCK (3625). I will miss you all and will never forget beating all you guys at the job calls (smile). Scholarship Deadline Is Just Around The Corner P Georgette Oliver Timpson, Texas Darryl White Norfolk, Virginia Dream Realized I first went to sea in February 1961 and have worked in all departments. I sailed on foreignflag ships off and on until the early 1980s. My first U.S. port was Galveston, Texas, and at that time I said to myself, “I would like to live in the U.S. and work Retiring QMED/Electrician Darryl White joined the SIU through the trainee program in 1978 under the late Ken Conklin. on a U.S.-flag ship.” I came here in 1983 and went to the U.S. Coast Guard but couldn’t wait for a ship. I had to take a land job but still kept in mind my dream to work on a U.S.-flag ship. Finally, in 2005, I retired from my land job and then went to school to secure the proper maritime paperwork. Then I went to the SIU. My first U.S.-flag ship was the MV Honor. My second was the MV Liberty. My rating is GUDE. Thank God I am living my dream, and God has blessed us with the merchant marine system. I wish Jamaica had the same system for mariners as the U.S. Please give me a space in the LOG—my lifelong dream finally came true. Vincent Keating Bronx, New York Seafarer Vincent Keating is pictured last May aboard the Liberty in New York Harbor. Two months remain until the April 15 deadline for receipt of scholarship applications from Seafarers as well as from their spouses and dependent children who wish to continue their education at the college level beginning in the fall of 2007. Three scholarships are being set aside for SIU members—one for $20,000 and two each for $6,000. Additionally, five grants will be awarded to SIU spouses and dependents, each in the amount of $20,000. Time is running out to take advantage of this generous benefit provided by the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan, so send away now for an application booklet. Name __________________________________________________________________________ Mariner's Social Security Number __________________________________________________ Street Address __________________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip Code______________________________________________________________ ( ) Telephone Number ______________________________________________________________ † Self † Dependent Mail this completed form to Scholarship Program, Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. 2/07 20 Seafarers LOG TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 lease send me the 2007 SIU Scholarship Program booklet which contains eligibility information, procedures for applying and a copy of the application form. This application is for: FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. The annual financial committee will be elected during the March 5 headquarters membership meeting to review the 2006 records. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. February 2007 �SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE Welding February 12 March 12 April 9 May 7 The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. for the first few months of 2007. All pro- Safety Specialty Courses grams are geared to improve the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. March 2 March 30 April 27 May 25 Course Start Date Date of Completion Basic Safety Training - AB February 26 March 2 Basic Safety Training - FOWT May 21 May 25 Government Vessels March 19 April 6 Tankerman Familiarization/ Assistant Cargo (DL)* February 12 April 2 February 23 April 13 February 19 February 23 (*must have basic fire fighting) Deck Upgrading Courses Start Date Date of Completion March 5 April 16 May 28 March 30 May 11 June 22 Lifeboatman/Water Survival February 19 April 2 May 14 March 2 April 13 May 25 Radar Renewal (one day) February 5 Course Able Seaman Tankerman (PIC) Barge* (*must have basic fire fighting) Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations modules start every week. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward classes start every other week beginning February 5, 2007. Engine Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Basic Auxiliary Plant Ops March 26 April 20 May 21 June 15 FOWT February 26 April 23 March 23 May 18 Marine Electrician March 12 May 4 � UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Deep Sea Member † Lakes Member Date of Birth ______________________ † Inland Waters Member † If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____________________________ Department _____________________ U.S. Citizen: Yes † No † Home Port _____________________________ Additional courses will be announced in the next issue of the Seafarers LOG. With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twentyfive (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. COURSE BEGIN DATE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? † Yes † No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? † Yes † No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? † Yes † No Firefighting: † Yes † No CPR: † Yes † No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ February 2007 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 2/07 Seafarers LOG 21 �Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 681 — Graduating from the water survival course are unlicensed apprentices from class 681. They include (in alphabetical order) James Abilad, Fayed Ahmed, Rachel Alarcon, Andrew Andrini, Brian Awde, Brandon Bosch, Kevin Daughtry, Alphonso Dawson Jr., Billy Hill Jr., Nicholas Johnston, Michael Mayhew, Ryan McElroy, Gregory McNiel, Klayton Menter, Romann Mosley, Juan Ortega Jr., Dennis Platt, Steven Szymanski, Gemini Tacang, Lawrence Todd Jr., Thomas Tramutola, Ekedra Turner, Chantavia Wells, Jake Wheeler and Robert York. Marine Electrician — Receiving certificates for completion of the marine electrician course Dec. 15 are (in no specific order) Michael Kirby, Steven Haver, Clifford McGinnis, Dominic Whitty, Herman Castrol, Olson Thorne, William Watterson III, Kenneth Green, Victorino Viernes, Melgar Gaguio and Robert Norris. Their instructor, Jay Henderson, is standing fourth from right. Tankerman Familiarization/Assistant Cargo (DL) — Nov. 27 graduates of this class include upgrading Seafarers (in no specific order) Gil Hernandez, Karl Mayhew, Allan Oculam, Michael Papaioannou, Earl Jones, Romeo Escalera, Josan Constantin, Steven DeLuca, Richard Crutchfield, Gerald Alford, Tim Chalano, Felix Garcia, Terrence Carmody, David James, Brian Freme, Emilio Gonzalez and Stephen Snapp. Their instructor, Jim Shaffer, is at far right. Advanced Fire Fighting — Advanced Fire Fighting — Graduates of the advanced fire fighting course that ended Jan. 12 are (in no specific order) Kenneth Washington, Damon Parker, Melvin Smith, Brad Neathery, Phillip Harmon, Martin Allred, Nick Keklikos, Desmond Sealy and (not pictured) Ronnie Hadnott. Their instructor (not pictured) was Mark Cates. Graduating from this course Dec. 8 are (in no specific order) Leon Satterthwaite, Frank Bennett, Donald McGraw, Johnny McKee, Kenneth Laws, Darrell Sutton, Domingo Mireles, Cameron Miller, Sergio Giusti, Gerald McIntyre, Walter Ritvalsky, James Atwell, Stig Sasse Jr., Tina Knox and Robert Joyce. Any student who has Computer Lab Classes Left: Students who completed computer classes Nov. 25 att the Paul Hall Center are (from left) Allan T. Oculam, Instructor Rick Prucha, Thomas L. Cyrus Jr. and Gil P. Hernandez. Right: Receiving their certificates in January from Instructor Rick Prucha are Karl Mayhew and Jayne M. Peterson. registered for a class and finds—for whatever reason—that he or she cannot attend, please inform the admissions department so that another student may take that place. 22 Seafarers LOG February 2007 �Paul Hall Center Classes Meteorology (left photo) and Ship Construction and Stability (right photo) — On Aug. 18, students in the Mates Program completed the ship construction and stability course, and on Aug. 25 they finished the meteorology course. The upgrading Seafarers are (in alphabetical order) Conrado Abinuman Jr., Andrew Ashworth, Dominic Bailey, Christopher Bartholmey, Christopher Gustafson, Rusty Kauffman, Bert Lupton, Brian McLarnon, Nebojsa Milosevic and Robert Wallace. Stacy Harris (standing second from left in the second row) was the instructor in the ship construction course, along with James Mixon (standing left in the back row. Lee Chesneau (far right) was the instructor in the meteorology course. Tankerman Familiarization/Assistant Cargo (DL) — Two classes of Phase III apprentices graduated Jan 19 from tankerman assistant courses. They are (in no specific order) Fernando Abuan, Andrew Fung, Hos Lupisan Jr., Teddy Ramos, Robert Miskel Jr., Andrew Andrini, Joherky Concepcion, Lee Weygandt, Lawrence Cormier, Eric Thomas, Benjamin Grace, Scott Thompson, Patrick Lefevre, Michael Mayhew, Stefra Strauser, Cameron Benson, Ja’Quaral Carroll, Jake Wheller, William Cruz, Timothy Foster, Re’Nard Murphy, Rodney Payne, Phillip Ziegert, Philip Gallagher, Francis Brown, Brent Poitras, Brian Awde, Jeremy Pace, Eugene Davis Jr., Marcus Brown, Tyrone Ellis, Fayed Ahmed, Kevin Daughtry, Terrance Shinn, Kenneth Sumner, Steven Szymanski, Ryan McElroy, Johnnie Owens Jr., Cameron Newberry, James Luttall Jr., Seth Burton, Ryan White, Justin Beal, Alex Roel, Lawrence Todd Jr., James Burton and Teena Werner. Lifeboatman/Water Survival — Jan. 19 graduates of this class include (in no specific order) Annie Walker, Terry Murley, Christopher Bryant, Abdulmoghni Said, Pedro DeJesus, Patrick Tucker, Towfiek Ahmed, Jerry Estenso, Abdo Ahmed and Richard Moore. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is at far right. STCW — NCL, Dec. 8: Evett Bell, Aleksey Berzon, John Biondi, Roderick Cabral, Nicholas Carlin, William Ceaser, Denise Coleman, Jennifer Colvin, Lisa Cordero, Christopher Cowan, David Cowan, Wanda Cowan, Stephanie Cramer, Alex Dennison, Rodney Dill, Thomas Divis, Andrew Dow, Francisco Espinoza, David Fox and Rufino Gonzales Jr. February 2007 STCW — NCL, Dec. 8: Kathryn Hatcher, Bradford Jeffcoat, Andrew Klekamp, Keri Koo, Josh Krauter, Janet Kunzmann, Yaku Ledbetter, Stephon Lobato, Ezequiel Macias Troncoso, Eric Martin, William McCord, Jean Memnon, Bonifacio Muelle, Austin Nolasco, Lesley Nuno, David O’Neill, Joshua Perry, Jacqulinne Rambo, Gregory Recano, Thomas Ruef and David Ruluked. STCW — NCL, Dec. 8: Sita Schlosser, Michael Scott, Christopher Simonsen, Tara Smith, Suzanne Sorenson, Joseph Tauriello Jr., Jeffrey Uhrinek Jr., Ernesto Vera, Nam Vu, Colleen Weigel, Joshua Winters, Nathaniel Ward, Brian Powell and Shawntee Medeiros. Seafarers LOG 23 �Volume 69, Number 2 February 2007 DUE IN APRIL Applications f or S IU S cholarship — page 2 0 Income T axes — See T ax T ips f or M ariners on p ages 1 2 a nd 1 3 Lakes Shipping Season Winds Down U Lawrence Willbanks, Tugboat Mark Hannah nseasonably warm weather this winter on the Great Lakes led to a slightly GUDE Hadi is in the bosun’s chair on the Cornelius. earlier-than-normal layup beginning the first week of January. Todd Brdak, SIU port agent in the port of Algonac, Mich., noted that unusual warmth and wind-free conditions in December meant no delays for SIU-crewed ships. As a result, with their cargoes already delivered, vessels started laying up two to three weeks ahead of their usual respective schedules. The Soo Locks closed in the pre-dawn hours of Jan. 16, signaling the traditional end of the season. Seafarers crew more than 20 Lakes ships along with dozens of tugboats, ITBs and ferries. The larger vessels transport cargoes including iron ore, limestone, cement, sand and salt. According to figures published by the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA), the 2006-2007 sailing season was a mixed bag. For instance, shipments of limestone on the Great Lakes totaled 39 million net tons in 2006, an increase of 3.3 percent compared to 2005. However, for most of 2006, shipments were slightly behind the previous year; but, much calmer weather in November and December allowed loadings to rebound significantly, erase the deficit, and then exceed the 2005 total. The association also noted that in terms of the 5-year average, 2006 limestone shipments were again roughly 3.3 percent ahead of the pace. Coal shipments were down slightly from the prior season, though better than the trade’s five-year average. The LCA (whose members include SIU-contracted companies) also cited the Lakes “dredging crisis” and plummeting water levels on Lake Superior as affecting shipments. For Seafarers, it added up to a fairly routine season. SIU ships, tugs and ITBs transport various cargoes on the Lakes, including coal, limestone and more. Pictured at the hall in Algonac are (from left) Port Agent Todd Brdak, AB John Clark, Representative Don Thornton, AB/Wheelsman Richard Bockert, Bosun Mike Schaff, AB David Greig, AB/Wheelsman Larry Dahl and Representative Monte Burgett. AB David Greig paints aboard the Walter McCarthy. The Cleveland ties up. Bosun Jared Smith, Adam E. Cornelius Lakes Seafarer Answers the Call OS Saleh Amed stands on the tug Cleveland. Dean Parks (pictured late last year at Fort Dix, N.J.) is an SIU member and a member of the U.S. Army Reserve. His Reserve unit recently was mobilized for assignment in Iraq, where Parks is serving as an artillery specialist. Last October, Parks earned his FOWT endorsement through the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education. He most recently sailed as a gateman with American Steamship Co. Seafarer Saeed Saleh (left) receives his full SIU book at the Algonac hall. Swearing him in is Representative Monte Burgett (right), while Port Agent Todd Brdak observes. The tank-cleaning crew on the Burns Harbor includes (from left) GUDEs Ahmed Algalham, Hesham Hussein and (kneeling) Taha Mohamed, 2nd Mate Matt Bassett and GUDE Mohamed Ali. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 February 2007 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES ALLIANCE NEW YORK HOSTS TROOPS FOR INFORMAL HOLIDAY GATHERING SIU’S NEWEST BOAT IS JUST DUCKY TWIC AND MMC: WHAT SEAFARERS SHOULD KNOW (FOR NOW) MARINERS MAY PAY USER FEES ONLINE USNS COBB RESCUES REFUGEES MAERSK ALABAMA SEAFARERS BRIGHTEN HOLIDAYS FOR KIDS PRESIDENT FORD MOVED SWIFTLY FOR MARINERS IN MAYAGUEZ INCIDENT NEW STUDY REINFORCES NEED FOR EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT EMPLOYER INTERFERENCE IN UNION ELECTIONS OFTEN IS OUT OF CONTROL MINETA JOINS HORIZON LINES PAUL HALL CENTER ADDS ‘E-NAV LAB’ SEAFARERS SHOULD TAKE NOTE OF CANADIAN PORT SECURITY USNS RAPPAHANNOCK RESCUES 3 FISHERMEN MAIL HANDLERS UNION REJOINS AFL-CIO OVERSEAS JOYCE HELPS SAVE LIFE, BUT ALASKA TRAGEDY CLAIMS 3 STRONG START FOR MARINER OUTREACH SYSTEM LAKES SHIPPING SEASON WINDS DOWN Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 02/01/2007 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. 69, No. 2 2007 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/2dedbdc31795a84772f731e11abf5fb7.pdf 4d19c4c346cbf99ceaa964bf7af4b6b1 PDF Text Text 39917_P01_24.qxp 12/21/2006 4:30 PM Page 1 Volume 69, Number 1 January 2007 Paul Hall Center 2007 Course Guide The SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education provides comprehensive curriculums for mariners at each stage of their careers, from entry-level training to license programs. The school also offers academic support including GED and college degree programs. Course descriptions and dates are featured in an eight-page section starting on page 9. Pictured at right are students in a few different classes conducted at the Piney Point, Md. facility. Oakland Hall Welcomes House Speaker Pelosi Traditional Thanksgiving Event Gets Strong Turnout House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (at podium, above) was the featured guest at the SIU’s traditional pre-Thanksgiving gathering on the West Coast, which took place Nov. 21 at the new hall in Oakland, Calif. Approximately 250 people turned out for the 16th annual event (some of whom are pictured at right). Pictured above are (from left) U.S. Rep. George Miller, U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, SIU VP West Coast Nick Marrone, Speaker Pelosi, SIU Asst. VP West Coast Nick Celona, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums and San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris. Page 7. Safety Milestone for ATC Third T-AKE Ship Christened Page 2 Page 5 SIU’s Year in Review Page 24 �39917_P01_24x.qxp 12/27/2006 12:12 AM Page 2 President’s Report Security and Fairness Some of our retired Seafarers recall that during World War II, they had to pass a very strict physical exam in order to qualify for a merchant mariner credential. They had to walk through the door to the doctor’s office. Then, depending on who was giving the exam, they usually had to show evidence of breathing. An exaggeration? Barely, from what I’ve heard over the years. Despite the loose entry requirements, somehow the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II—including thousands of SIU memMichael Sacco bers—pulled off arguably the most important sealift mission in history. They were all volunteers and they all have my utmost respect, especially the many thousands who made the ultimate sacrifice. When it came to seamanship, they were second-to-none. From a paperwork standpoint, things are slightly more complicated nowadays, as mariners have to jump through many hoops long before climbing the gangway. It probably won’t become any easier with the TWIC and proposed new physical exam guidelines right on the horizon. In any case, the SIU continues to push for fair treatment not only for our members but for all mariners as these new regulations and guidelines are formulated. We will maintain those efforts however long it takes, working cooperatively with the rest of maritime labor and with the Department of Homeland Security, including the U.S. Coast Guard, to the greatest possible extent. The bottom line is that we always have been proponents of strong shipboard security and safety, including appropriate requirements for the men and women of the U.S. Merchant Marine. But those rules must be reasonable for everyone, from mariners to port workers to ship operators to the people who enforce them. There’s too much at stake for our government to rush finalizing any regulations or guidelines just for the sake of meeting a deadline. It has to be done right. At the same time, legitimate security enhancements are important for America’s safety, and they should be put into place in timely fashion. Finding the middle ground in that scenario is a challenge for government and industry alike. Success in 2006 The SIU met with much success throughout the previous year, a fair amount of which is detailed elsewhere in this edition of the LOG. We did it in part by sticking with a tried and true formula—one that first and foremost features the world’s safest, best-trained, most reliable unlicensed crews. It’s because of the outstanding work done by you, the rank-and-file Seafarer, that this administration can build on our foundation and continue securing new shipboard jobs and better contracts. I particularly want to thank and recognize those members who in 2006 sailed in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom as well as in hurricane relief missions along the Gulf Coast. Also, thanks to those members, including our brothers and sisters in the Government Services Division, who mobilized for humanitarian missions around the world. You all did a great job maintaining the U.S. Merchant Marine’s traditional role as America’s fourth arm of defense. Of course, as Seafarers know well, political action also remains essential to maintaining a strong U.S.-flag fleet. The SIU continued supporting pro-maritime candidates in 2006, many of whom were elected or re-elected in November. I believe the makeup of the next Congress is positive for our industry, and I remain optimistic about future opportunities for the SIU. Here again, our members deserve credit for their grassroots political support and their voluntary donations to SPAD. As we move forward in 2007, the SIU remains dedicated to providing more new opportunities and protecting Seafarers’ jobs. We remain committed to meeting our manpower obligations in every segment of the industry. We remain steadfast in working with our affiliated Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Maryland to help ensure that the school always offers state-of-the-art training. With your continued support, I’m excited about 2007 and what it will bring for our union. On that note, I wish every Seafarer and retiree and SIU family a safe, healthy, productive Happy New Year. Volume 69, Number 1 January 2007 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 8990675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Deborah A. Hirtes; Associate Editor, Jim Guthrie; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2007 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG Alaska Tanker Company’s Latest Safety Milestone Is a Biggie: 10 Million Injury-Free Man Hours SIU-contracted Alaska Tanker Company (ATC) continues to help set the worldwide standard for excellence in shipboard safety and environmental performance in the maritime tanker industry. The Beaverton, Ore.-based business recently added yet another signpost to its already impressive list of accomplishments when it registered 10 million man hours without a lost-time injury. This latest milestone covers five years of operations throughout the company’s SIU-crewed fleet and recognizes ATC’s achieving the highest levels of safety and environmental performance while transporting Alaska North Slope crude oil from Valdez, Alaska to refineries in Washington state, California and Hawaii. ATC operates six Seafarers-crewed vessels including the four new Alaska Class tankers built in San Diego: the Alaskan Legend, Alaskan Frontier, Alaskan Explorer and Alaskan Navigator, along with the Denali and the Prince William Sound. ATC President and CEO Anil Mathur credited the SIU for substantially contributing to the company’s outstanding safety record. “Our relationship with the Seafarers International Union has been crucial to our joint success,” he said. “The SIU leadership has an enlightened and long-term view of what is best for their membership. This view matches our view in ATC. We both see safety as deeply personal and not about statistics. Safety is about taking care of ourselves every day, so we can live full lives and earn a good living for our loved ones. Our seafarers have responded with maturity and responsibility to the work environment we have jointly created. The Pictured at a mid-November event in Washington, D.C. celebrating Alaska Tanker Company’s latest safety milestone are (from left) SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez, ATC Labor Relations Director Bill Cole, SIU President Michael Sacco and ATC President and CEO Anil Mathur. world-class achievement of completing 10 million man hours without a lost-time injury truly belongs to the workforce. It has been made possible by the core values we all share.” SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez said the latest milestone “very clearly should not be taken for granted. Ten million man hours without a lost-time injury is a great achievement—one that reflects well on the SIU members who crew their ships, the safety training that many of them have received at the Paul Hall Center, and of course the company. No pun intended, this kind of record doesContinued on page 4 SIU-Crewed Wilson Deploys Peacekeeping Cargo to Lebanon The U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC) recently reported that Indonesia’s army teamed up with forces from the U.S. Navy, Air Force and Army to deploy peacekeeping cargo for duty in Lebanon, with an assist from SIU members. Beginning Nov. 2, about 200 pieces of equipment, painted bright white with U.N. markings, were loaded aboard the SIUcrewed SS Wilson, operated by Sealift, Inc. Later in the month, 850 Indonesian troops flew to Lebanon to meet up with their equipment and join the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. According to MSC, the Wilson was making a routine port visit for supplies in Cape Town, South Africa, when it received the call to head to Jakarta. This was not the ship’s first visit to that city —the Wilson visited the port in both 2003 and 2005 to deliver bulk rice for the United Nations’ World Food Program. “While the news came as a surprise to the crew, we are honored to support such an important Photos Courtesy MSC Indonesian army vehicles, repainted with U.N. peacekeeping force markings, are pictured pier-side near Jakarta prior to loading aboard the SIU-crewed Wilson (visible in background). mission,” said Paul Mallory, master of the vessel. Indonesia will join 20 other nations supporting the U.N. in Lebanon who are expected to remain there for up to one year. Russian-built BTR-80A armored personnel carriers, as well as 5ton trucks, trailers, patrol vehicles, ambulances, construction equipment, water tanks and shipAn ambulance is loaded aboard the Wilson. ping containers containing various supplies were loaded aboard the Wilson during around-theclock cargo operations at the Tanjug Priok port just outside of Jakarta. The ship got underway for Lebanon Nov. 4. Personnel from the U.S. Army’s Surface Deployment and Distribution Command under the command of Army Lt. Col. Colice Powell, performed the advance planning with the Indonesian army. “We worked with the Indonesian army for several weeks to coordinate the arrival of cargo at the port as well as to develop a plan to load it aboard the vessel,” Powell said. The ship arrived at Tanjug Priok during the early hours of Nov. 2. Shipboard cranes began hoisting cargo aboard at 10 a.m. that day. After discharging its cargo, the 607-foot vessel began a long voyage to Beirut. January 2007 �39917_P01_24x.qxp 12/27/2006 12:22 AM Page 3 Union: Medical NVIC Needs Second Opinion SIU Submits Detailed Recommendations on Proposed Guidelines The SIU in late November formally submitted comments on a proposed U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) navigation and inspection circular (NVIC) designed to spell out medical and physical evaluation guidelines for merchant mariner credentials (Docket No. USCG 2006-25080). While crediting the Coast Guard for soliciting comments and agreeing with the agency about the need for appropriate shipboard safety measures, the union voiced numerous concerns about potential unintended consequences that may stem from the draft NVIC. When the NVIC was issued in September, the unofficial word initially was that the document simply specified the normal past practices for mariners who take physicals in order to secure or renew their merchant mariner document (MMD), also called a z-card. However, while not questioning the agency’s intent, the SIU along with other maritime unions immediately recognized that the draft NVIC would significantly expand the list of poten- tially disqualifying medical conditions. The SIU worked with the AMO, MEBA and MM&P in reviewing the NVIC and crafting early strategies to help ensure appropriate revisions. In essence, each of the unions said that the NVIC goes too far, even while generally agreeing with its goals. “This is believed to be the first time a NVIC has been opened for public comment, and the Coast Guard should be applauded for doing so,” stated SIU SecretaryTreasurer David Heindel. “It’s safe to say that maritime labor only asks that the end result be fair for everyone.” Comments were filed on behalf of both the SIU and the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP) by Kenneth B. Miller, MD, medical director of the SHBP. The SIU’s remarks and recommendations included the following: „ In accordance with existing federal laws, develop a privacy policy to protect the rights of the individual mariner that is included in the NVIC, along with a statement indicating that mariners won’t face discrimination because of disabilities. „ The NVIC should clearly spell out basic elements of the appeals procedure for mariners. For instance, “It would be important for mariners and their physicians to know, at the outset, that any appeal must be filed in writing within 30 days, that the timeframe may be extended upon written request with good cause and that the initial action (denial) stands while the appeal is reconsidered, unless the denial is stayed by the USCG…. Given the unusually short timeframe for filing an appeal, it is unnecessarily burdensome to expect that a mariner or a physician be required to search for the critical information which may determine whether or not a mariner can retain his credential to be employed.” „ Recognize and act upon potential problems stemming from the use of Federal Newer Ship Joins MSP Fleet Washington Express Flags U.S., Replaces Liberator The SIU-crewed Maritime Security Program fleet recently became more modern as the containership Washington Express replaced the older Liberator (formerly the Stella Lykes). A ceremony took place Nov. 14 in Norfolk, Va. SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez and Vice President Government Services Kermett Mangram were among those representing the union. The Washington Express, operated by Seafarers-contracted Marine Personnel and Provisioning, registered under the U.S. flag earlier in November. The ship is 798 feet long with a beam of 105 feet, 8 inches. Built in 2002 and delivered in early 2003, the vessel is equipped with four cargo cranes and can sail at greater than 21 knots. It has a TEU capacity of 3,237 and gross registered tonnage of 40,146. Additionally, the Washington Express is the third of five vessels operated by Marine Personnel and Provisioning for Hapag Lloyd USA that are replacing The Washington Express, pictured in Norfolk, Va., is part of the Seafarerscrewed MSP fleet. older ships in the MSP fleet. Previously, the Philadelphia Express and the St. Louis Express, respectively, flagged U.S. in exchange for older vessels. This year, the Yorktown Express and Charleston Express are scheduled to join the Seafarers-contracted MSP fleet by late May. The MSP has been a key element of America’s economic and defense security since its enactment in 1996. The original 10year program provided limited funding for 47 U.S.-flag commercial vessels, particularly containerships and roll-on/roll-off vessels, which were available to the Department of Defense in times Standing aboard the newly reflagged ship are (from left) AB Gil Fucanan, AB Roberto Gonzalez, SIU Norfolk Safety Director Samuel Spain and AB Ciriaco Bonilla. Please be advised that SIU headquarters and all SIU hiring halls will be closed Monday, Jan. 1, 2007 for the observance of New Year’s Day, and Monday, Jan. 15 for the observance of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday (unless an emergency arises). Normal business hours will resume the following workday. January 2007 of war or national emergency. A 10-year extension of the MSP was signed into law in late 2003, with the expanded program starting as the old one expired in October 2005. Among other enhancements, the current MSP increases the number of participants to 60 ships and provides financial assistance to construct five newly built tankers in the United States that are capable of carrying military petroleum products during a war. Officials from the SIU, Paul Hall Center, Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan, Maritime Trades Department, AMO, MEBA, and MM&P meet in Washington, D.C. in late November to take a closer look at the proposed NVIC. Aviation Administration (FAA) physical exam guidelines in the maritime industry. “Inasmuch as the genesis and basis for Encl. #3 (the list of potential disqualifiers) was the rather detailed and comprehensive standards contained in the FAA regulations rather than a more traditional set of maritime related standards, there is a persistent concern that items in Encl. #3 will generate large numbers of waiver requests, costs and delays in medical follow-up, etc. Since everyone involved in the process up until this point has invested significant efforts in adapting the FAA standards to the maritime work environment, it is critical that the USCG recognize that a significant amount of discretion must be exercised in the adherence to such a detailed set of standards. Such discretion must be exercised at all levels of review including the initial examining physician, the initial and final medical reviewers at the National Maritime Center (NMC) and the reviews that may take place in the appeals process. In accordance with the general principles as outlined in the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), each case must be handled on a case-by-case basis without application of absolute or inflexible automatic disqualifications.” „ Rewrite the list of potentially Seafarers Approve Committee Report During the December membership meetings, the SIU membership approved the tallying committee’s report which concerned ratification of 11 constitutional amendments. As previously reported, the tallying committee— composed of rank-and-file Seafarers—was elected by fellow members Nov. 6, 2006 in Piney Point, Md. The committee subsequently tabulated the ballots cast by union members in voting on proposed SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU constitutional amendments. The tallying committee report was submitted to the secretarytreasurer and was mailed to each port later in November. It was presented last month at the membership meetings. The report indicated that each of the amendments was approved by the membership, in each case by substantial majority. Voting on the proposed amendments took place disqualifying conditions, because the initial draft in places is repetitive and overly complex. In an introduction to a section titled “Technical Comments,” Miller states, “Theoretically, many of the conditions listed in this enclosure, if taken to the extreme, could possibly be determined to either represent a ‘significant impairment of functional status’ or present ‘a risk of sudden incapacitation’. Unfortunately, very little actual data exists in the medical literature to support such theoretical assumptions for many of the listed conditions. Therefore, it is even more critical that the NMC and the USCG be very thoughtful in their justification that such risks actually exist to the extent that a waiver should be denied.” He concluded, “The new USCG draft NVIC represents a major departure from current practice which may have farreaching effects upon the entire maritime community…. The challenge for medical reviewers at the NMC will reside in the application of the medical guidelines in the NVIC in a fair and consistent manner in accordance with generally accepted principles within current medical practice…. We look forward to our continuing involvement in the review process.” The SIU’s comments are posted in their entirety at www.seafarers.org in the “Heard at Headquarters” section. Sept. 1-Oct. 31, with Seafarers securing ballots from union halls and mailing them to the bank depository. Three of the amendments related to the creation of a new class of union member for retired SIU brothers and sisters. Among other things, these retiree members will receive the Seafarers LOG each month, and their annual dues rate was set at $5 per member. Other amendments included a modification of the types of mail services that may be utilized for union election cycles (reflecting the increased use of overnight mail and similar services and the decline of telegrams); elimination of the position of vicepresident at large from the list of elected officers (to take place after the positions are vacated by current officeholders); a change in the port address of the San Francisco hall; establishing the annual dues amount for active members as $500; tying wage increases for elected officials to those contained in the standard tanker and freightship agreements; and requiring that candidates for full book membership have paid an initiation fee of $1,000, except as otherwise provided in the union constitution. Seafarers LOG 3 �39917_P01_24.qxp 12/21/2006 4:30 PM Page 4 Florida Monument Honors WWII Mariners An American Merchant Marine Memorial which recognizes the contributions and sacrifices of civilian seaman during World War II formally was dedicated outside the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. on Nov. 11. Some 200 people, including members of the SIU, merchant marine veterans of World War II, veterans of other wars, and family members of each group turned out for the dedication. The event honored an exceptional group of seamen: U.S. Merchant Mariners who delivered cargo and troops to battle zones during the war. Although an estimated 9,300 mariners made the supreme sacrifice during the campaign and 12,000 more were wounded, their contributions over the years at The monument features the U.S. Merchant Marine seal and a likeness of the Liberty ship John W. Brown. times had been forgotten. “They had been responsible for piloting slow-moving cargo vessels and delivering goods and troops during World War II,” wrote Elizabeth Baier, a staff writer who covered the monument dedication for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, “but no one knew who they were.” These brave mariners were considered civilian volunteers, not soldiers or sailors, Baier noted. The memorial, a handsomely fashioned section of black marble, is the end result of a great deal of hard work by members of the Gulfstream Chapter of the American Merchant Marine Veterans. Under the leadership of Joe Colon, president, AMMV, Gulfstream Chapter, members and community supporters raised nearly $13,000 to fund the memorial. The SIU supported the project. The memorial itself contains quotes from President Roosevelt, General Eisenhower, Winston Churchill and General MacArthur; statistics about the U.S. Merchant Marine in World War II; the U.S. Merchant Marine logo; and a likeness of the Liberty ship John W. Brown. “For me personally, this is about getting the recognition that we didn’t get when the war was over,” Colon told Baier. He said that of the 250,000 civilian sea- Active and retired Seafarers join SIU officials at the dedication. Pictured from left to right are Keith Bitran, Emanuel Paul, Johnny Oscar, Terry Abbott, Port Agent Kenneth Moore, John Davis, Joe Gutierrez, Safety Director Kevin Marchand, Jose Smith, Regina Ewing, Wilfredo Lansangan, Fred Hayston, Gerardo Vega and Alex Yekimenko. men who served during World War II, an estimated 10,000 today are still alive and about 1,000 live in Florida. Florida resident Dick Parrish, a veteran mariner who served for two years during World War II, attended the ceremony and openly shared his views about the monument. “It’s absolutely beautiful,” the 78-year-old veteran seaman told Baier. “It’s taken a long time to get this recognition.” More than 1,200 SIU members gave their lives in World War II. The U.S. Merchant Marine’s contributions to the war effort are reflected in part by the statistics contained on the new momument. Dhooge Named to Governor-Elect’s Transition Team; Westbrook Appointed to Maritime Security Committee SIU New Orleans Port Agent Chris Westbrook recently was appointed to the Area Maritime Security (AMS) Executive Steering Committee for the New Orleans area, while SIU Boston Port Agent Gerard Dhooge was named to the transition team for Massachusetts Governor-elect Deval Patrick and Lt. Governor- elect Tim Murray. Dhooge, who also serves as president of the Maritime Port Council of Greater Boston and New England Area, will work alongside a diverse team of prominent Bay State residents— corporate executives, environmentalists, community activists, labor officials and others. In ATC’s Outstanding Safety Record Continued from page 2 n’t happen by accident—it happens because we all share a real commitment to safety, and we work together to reach our goals.” Last year, the Alaska State Legislature honored ATC for its consistently outstanding record, presenting a declaration commending the company for its safety-related efforts and achievements. The declaration noted that since 2002 (and as of The Alaskan Legend (pictured during construction early last year) is the newest doublehulled tanker in ATC’s fleet. 4 Seafarers LOG last summer, when it was presented), ATC ships safely carried 43.6 billion gallons of crude oil with just 27.2 gallons of hydraulic oil escaping to the sea (as a consequence of storm damage). The United States Coast Guard recognized ATC’s outstanding performance in 2004 when the company was awarded the Benkert “Osprey” Gold Award. In 2003, ATC earned a major Washington state award for excellence in marine safety and environmental stewardship. recent years, under his guidance, the Boston port council has been involved in urging the state government to adopt energy policies to promote a cleaner environment, a stronger economy and more job opportunities for Massachusetts workers. Patrick, who served as assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Clinton administration, was elected in November. He is the second AfricanAmerican to be elected governor of a U.S. state. Westbrook’s invitation from the U.S. Coast Guard cited the SIU official’s “skills, experience and expertise in the maritime field, and the vital service your participation will contribute to the safety and security of the nation’s ports and waterways.” He is president of the Maritime Port Council of Greater New Orleans and Vicinity and also serves on the executive boards of the Greater New Orleans Central Labor Council and the New Orleans State AFL-CIO, respectively. According to Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations (Section 103, part 310), responsibilities of an Area Maritime Security Committee include identifying critical port infrastructure and operations; identifying risks (threats, vulnerabilities, and consequences); determining mitigation strategies and implementa- Chris Westbrook Gerard Dhooge tion methods; developing and describing the process to continually evaluate overall port security by considering consequences and vulnerabilities, how they may change over time, and what additional mitigation strategies can be applied; and providing advice to, and assisting the port captain in developing the formal AMS plan. AMS committees (at all ports where they exist) also serve as a link for communicating threats and changes in MARSEC Levels, and disseminating appropriate security information to port stakeholders. Several other SIU officials in recent years also accepted invitations to serve on AMS groups in their respective regions, all of which are voluntary. They include SIU Vice President Gulf Coast Dean Corgey (HoustonGalveston), Vice President Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi (Port of New York/New Jersey), Baltimore Port Agent Dennis Metz, Hawaii Port Agent Neil Dietz and Boston Port Agent Dhooge (Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts AMSC). Additionally, SIU SecretaryTreasurer David Heindel serves as first vice chair of the International Transport Workers’ Federation’s Seafarers’ Section, a body that performs considerable work on maritime security; and Paul Hall Center Director of Training Bill Eglinton serves on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Maritime Security Advisory Committee. January 2007 �39917_P01_24x.qxp 12/27/2006 12:39 AM Page 5 3 T-AKE Ship, USNS Alan Shepard, Christened rd More SIU jobs came on line Dec. 6 with the christening of the USNS Alan Shepard (T-AKE 3), the U.S. Navy’s newest combat logistics ship. The vessel, which will be crewed by Seafarers in the union’s Government Services Division, was launched at the General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) yard in San Diego. It was named in honor of New Hampshire native Alan Shepard, the nation’s Ship’s sponsor and oldest daughter of Rear Adm. Alan B Shepard, Laura Shepard Churchley (right), breaks a bottle of champagne over the bow of MSC’s advanced auxiliary dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS Alan Shepard at the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company. first man in space. John H. Sununu, a three-term governor of New Hampshire and former White House Chief of Staff, served as the ceremony’s principal speaker. Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of Shepard and the ship’s sponsor, christened the vessel by breaking the traditional bottle of champagne against it during the morning ceremony. Two former Apollo astronauts—William Anders and Eugene Cernan—also were among the more than 2,000 people who attended the ceremony. A native of Derry, N.H., Alan Shepard (1923-1998) joined the Navy in 1944. He was selected as one of the original seven Mercury astronauts in 1959. Shepard made two space flights, including the third successful lunar landing. He retired from NASA and the Navy as a rear admiral in 1974. Shepard was awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and received two NASA Distinguished Service Medals. He spent his post-NASA career in business and for several years ran the Mercury Seven Foundation, a non-profit organization now called the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, which provides college science scholarships. The USNS Alan Shepard is the third ship of an expected class of 11 dry cargo-ammunition ships for the Navy. The first ship of the class, USNS Lewis and Clark, was delivered to the Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC) on June 20, 2006, and the USNS Sacagawea was christened June 24. The T-AKE class incorporates international marine technologies and commercial ship-design features, including an integrated electric-drive propulsion system, to minimize operating costs over its projected 40-year service life. Construction of the Alan Shepard began in September 2005. When it joins the MSC fleet later this year following a series of tests and sea trials, its primary mission will be delivering food, ammunition, fuel and other provisions to U.S. combat ships at sea. The 689-foot-long, 42,000-ton ship has modular cargo holding and handling systems onboard and can carry more than 6,600 tons of dry cargo and nearly 23,500 barrels of fuel. A day after the christening, NASSCO announced the start of construction on the sixth T-AKE ship, scheduled for delivery to the Navy in the fourth quarter of 2008. MSC operates approximately 110 non-combatant, civiliancrewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, chart ocean bottoms, conduct undersea surveillance, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world and move military equipment and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces. Many of those MSC ships are crewed by SIU members. USNS Dahl Seafarers Embody Spirit of Giving Mariners Donate Gifts for Kids at Saipan Shelter Seafarers and officers from the USNS Dahl recently sacrificed time and money to help make the holidays brighter for those less fortunate. According to a report from the vessel (which is operated by SIUcontracted Maersk Line, Limited for the U.S. Military Sealift Command), the mariners donated $2,400 to the Guma Esperanza shelter in Saipan—a facility offering various support services primarily for victims of domestic violence and the homeless. The funds were used to buy gifts for all 72 kids at the shelter along with holiday decorations and food. It all started with a shipboard discussion about how to spend some or all of the money that crew members had earned via a quarterly safety award. The mariners quickly decided to “do some good” and reached out to a local priest at the Kristo Rai Parish on Saipan, who told them about the shelter. With a big assist from the ship’s agent, the crew rounded up gifts in a couple of days (versus the couple of weeks it would have taken on their own, according to the shipboard communication). The crew initially had been U.S. Navy photos by Alexis R. Brown The USNS Alan Shepard is launched into the San Diego Bay shortly after the ship’s christening ceremony Dec. 6. The ship will be crewed by members of the SIU’s Government Services Division. Steward James McLeod and Bosun Herman (Willie) Reynolds get into the holiday spirit. surprised to learn that so many children were at the shelter. When the priest told them they could prioritize—meaning some would go without presents—the mariners immediately came through with additional donations. As one mariner from the Dahl put it, “Sister Carol told us that she was on the verge of tears the whole time she watched us wrapping gifts, and that we should understand that we were giving to the ‘poorest of the poor’ on the island and it will absolutely make their holiday. Needless to say, it made me very proud to be part of the Dahl family.” Seafarers aboard the Dahl during this period included Bosun Herman Reynolds, ABs Robert Cullifer, William Johnson, Michael Praslicka, John Kolodziej and Timothy McHale, OSs Natalie Tremblay, Samuel Thatcher and Samir Beckford, QMEDs Kenneth Lockhart, Brent Morris and Scott Martin, QEE Alexander Zharkoff, Wiper Eric Martin, Steward/ Baker James McLeod, Chief Cook Abraham Mills, SAs Jose Clotter and Bryan Coleman and Chief Storekeeper Roberto Castaneda. Crew members get together with shelter residents for this snapshot after wrapping gifts for the kids. January 2007 Solidarity Charter Program Extended Through 2008 The AFL-CIO Executive Council on Nov. 14 renewed the federation’s solidarity charter program, allowing locals of disaffiliated unions to continue participating in local, state and regional AFL-CIO labor bodies. The council extended the solidarity charter program through the end of 2008. “We need to ensure that the labor movement stays unified at the state and local level by extending the solidarity charter program,” said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney during a meeting of the executive council, the 46-member leadership body of the AFL-CIO, which includes SIU President Michael Sacco. The AFL-CIO has issued more than 2,500 charters to more than 1,300 local unions, who often affiliate at both the state and local level. The program was launched in August 2005 and had been set to expire at the end of 2006. “During this past year (2006), maintaining unity at the grassroots level has enabled our local central bodies and state federations to remain strong voices for the union movement … in our communities and in our state governments,” read the statement on solidarity charters released by the executive council. “The value of a united movement was seen clearly in the recent elections…. Local unions that would not have been able to participate in labor’s mobilization instead were key partners in a stunning set of labor-led victories.” The statement pointed out that the program has had some problems, such as the fact that the AFL-CIO and the disaffiliated unions have still not reached a “fair share” agreement on the disaffiliated national unions helping to fund the local bodies. There has also been some attempted raiding among unions, which is prohibited under the solidarity charters. “The charters allow us to continue to work together. Most of the disaffiliated unions’ locals have affiliated with us. They’ve been active in our political programs and our issue work,” said Shar Knutson, chairwoman of the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation. “Solidarity charters are essential for us,” said Charlie Flemming, president of the AtlantaNorth Georgia Labor Council. “We’re in a ‘right- to-work’ state. We can’t do what we need to do without all the unions. We have to have the community, the religious groups, everybody.” Seafarers LOG 5 �39917_P01_24x.qxp 12/27/2006 2:04 AM Page 6 Assistant VP Don Anderson Retires from SIU With 33 years as an SIU official, Assistant Vice President Don Anderson, 56, retired Oct. 31, 2006. Originally from Missouri, Anderson began sailing aboard inland tugs in 1969 and came ashore in St. Louis in 1973, working as a patrolman and organizer. He continued to help with organizing drives in St. Louis, Houston and Port Arthur, Texas. In 1986 he became port agent in Wilmington, Calif. and was appointed assistant vice president in charge of the West Coast, also in ’86. For the last 10 years, he has been working in the port of Tacoma, Wash. Anderson last addressed the membership at the monthly meeting in Tacoma on Oct. 20, and six days later was given a proper SIU send-off, complete with a buffetstyle luncheon/barbecue at the hall. Tacoma Port Agent Bryan Don Anderson is joined by Bosun Mickey Earhart and other SIU members as they enjoy good food and lively conversation at the barbecue held in honor of Anderson’s retirement after 33 years as an SIU official. Powell presented Anderson with a ship’s wheel from SIU President Michael Sacco and the union’s executive board for his many years of service, in addition to a number of other mementos from the staff and local membership. Powell said “Donnie has dedicated the past 33 years of his life to the SIU, serving our membership and furthering its interests. There are few among us who have not benefited from the efforts of people like Don and his willingness to go the extra mile. The staff and the membership here, I know, will miss him. He is a friend, a brother and a colleague to all of us, and on a personal note, the best fishing competition I have ever had. “We wish him fair winds and calm seas and a happy and healthy retirement,” Powell concluded, “and look forward to his continued involvement with the union as a retiree member!” “Donnie was a dedicated official who always looked out for the membership’s best interests, both on and off the job,” stated SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Hein- Tacoma Port Agent Bryan Powell (left) presents Anderson with a ship’s wheel for his many years of service to the SIU. del. “He opened his home to many seafarers who needed a place to sleep or may have just needed a meal, and it didn’t matter whether he knew them or not. If you were lucky, while staying with Donnie, he may have taken you to his favorite fishing hole to catch a huge Texas bass. “I would like to wish him well in his retirement,” Heindel concluded. “He will surely be missed by all!” When Vice President Contracts George Tricker became a patrolman in the port of Wilmington, he was taught the ropes under Anderson’s leadership. Tricker ex- 2006 — A Re v i e w o f t he Ye a r firmed Sean Connaughton as the new administrator of MarAd. Continued from page 24 aboard the USNS Spica and the Mt. Whitney. New mattresses and dressers were provided to MSC mariners, increasing the habitability and comfort aboard the vessels. The SIU with the assistance of proactive CIVMARS prompted MSC to change inadequate and unsafe hotels in Earle, N.J. and Norfolk, Va. The changes should take place in early 2007. As a result of the deaths of two CIVMARS using man-lift equipment, the union has spent and will continue spending much time and effort to upgrade safety procedures for all CIVMARS engaged in high-risk work. Communication is another very big issue addressed in 2006 and will continue in 2007. CIVMAR “e-grams” were introduced and widely applauded as a way to get union news to CIVMARS in between Seafarers LOG deliveries to the ship. (If you would like your address on the e-gram list, please send your e-mail address to civmarsup- With heavy hearts and appreciation for all they gave to the union and the industry as a whole, the SIU said goodbye to too many friends in 2006. That list included Brother Ron Emory and two officers who perished Jan. 18 in the tragic sinking of the tug Valour off the coast of Cape Fear, N.C.; SIU Assistant Vice President Contracts Steve Judd, 45; retired UIW Assistant Vice President Robert O’Keefe, 76; retired Port Representative Edward Smith, 79; Paul Hall Center Instructor Larry Malone, 65; retired Paul Hall Center official Bill Saul, 80, an industry pioneer; retired NMU Secretary-Treasurer Thomas Martinez, 88; retired Vice President Contracts Red Campbell, 84; and retired Seafarers Vacation Fund employee Louis Bush, 88. port@seafarers.org) The union also is gathering information and crafting proposals to address MSC’s limitation of internet access to private email servers for CIVMARS. Additionally, the SIU has been successful in assisting CIVMARS who were subjected to adverse actions or disciplinary proceedings, working with MSC to diminish the punishment and save jobs. All of these efforts increase the union’s costs of representation. CIVMAR dues have been increased slightly to cover rising expenses in the amount of $19.23 per pay period. Other Important News The AFL-CIO, to which the SIU is affiliated, announced a billion-dollar revitalization program for the Gulf Coast. The federation announced that for the first time in six years, the number of people belonging to unions increased in 2005. The Paul Hall Center conducted shipboard safety training on the Cape Washington and Cape Wrath in Baltimore. The school announced revised matrixes designed to help engine-department mariners advance their careers. Overall, more than 7,000 students trained at the Paul Hall Center last year. Democrats gained majorities in the House and Senate. Newly elected leaders reflect a strong pro-maritime background. Through its affiliation with the International Transport Workers’ Federation, the SIU assisted in getting back pay and other reparations for crews from the Panamanian-flag gambling ship Island Casino; the Taxiarchis Sierra, a Cyprusflagged bulker; and the Trinity Sierra, also a Cyprus-flagged bulker, among others. Dollar amounts in those cases totaled several hundred-thousand dollars. MSC welcomed Rear Adm. Robert D. Reilly Jr., who succeeded the retiring Vice Adm. David L. Brewer as commander of the agency. The Senate on Aug. 3 con- Final Departures pressed thanks to his former supervisor for the countless lessons he learned and wished Anderson “continued health and happiness in your retirement.” In reminiscing about his past 33 years with the union, Anderson stated, “I have always held it to be most noble to be so involved in the labor movement and, in particular, the SIU. It is amazing to me when I look back on times past and realize how far we have come as a union and as in industry. “I can’t express in words alone how very proud I am to have been a part of the opportunities, growth and prosperity that has availed itself to us all over the years.” There’s no question about what Anderson will be doing in his retirement. He and his wife, Joyce, have a business at home specializing in preparing tax returns for seamen. Additionally, they live on a 20-acre farm in Washington state with four of their six children (the two others live nearby), so there will always be something to keep them occupied. Don’s wife, Joyce, joined in the retirement celebrations. With Ghouls Aboard the Sumner Taking a Pierhead Jump; Need Meds? When a Seafarer is at the hiring hall and a job comes up, usually there is no problem making it to the ship within the span of a few hours. But when medication is a concern, the situation becomes a bit more problematic. With the current prescription mail order program (Prescription Solutions), Seafarers can get 90 days worth of their maintenance medicines, which is usually adequate. But if they are going to be on a ship for six months, for example, and have only a 30-day supply of medicine on hand, what can they do? There is no perfect solution in this case. If they want to take the job and they do need a drug refill, there are a couple options. Time is of the essence in taking a pierhead jump. A member can obtain a prescription override form at the port office for required medications, immediately call their doctor and have him or her call in a new prescription to a nearby participating pharmacy, and then pick it up. As a last resort for late evening or weekend pierhead jumps, 6 Seafarers LOG the member can call his or her doctor for the required medication, pick it up, pay for it out of pocket and then submit the receipt to the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP) for reimbursement. It may happen that the doctor is not in the office that particular day, but by already having developed a relationship with one’s caregiver, this should not be a problem. The Seafarer should communicate with his or her doctor beforehand, finding out the best way to contact the doctor after hours and on weekends in such cases. That could eliminate problems such as the one involving a pierhead jump. The SHBP will do what it can to assist each SIU member in this predicament, but, ultimately, it is the responsibility of every Seafarer to be ready to take a shipboard job when it comes along. And that means being prepared by having the names, addresses and telephone numbers of their doctors and local pharmacies as well as a list of the medications they take. Seafarers aboard the USNS Sumner got into the Halloween atmosphere with a breakfast menu featuring eyes to order, steamed spider legs and grilled bat, among other, um, delicacies. The descriptions, of course, were tongue-in-cheek, but the actual food proved tasty as usual. Pictured aboard the vessel are (from left) OS Ray Roldan, GVA Dom Dalmacio, Chief Cook George Creekmore, Chief Steward Wanda Glinke and GVA Jim Hurtt. Not pictured is GVA Frank Cacayuran. (The chief steward swears that isn’t Brother Frank’s head on the platter.) Thanks to Sumner Master Fred Smallwood for forwarding the photo, taken while on survey operations in the East China Sea. January 2007 �39917_P01_24.qxp 12/21/2006 4:31 PM Page 7 New Location, Same Great Tradition For SIU’s West Coast Thanksgiving T Seafood from Jack London well,” said Celona. “The event he 16th installment of the Square catered the occasion. lasted from 11:30 a.m. until 2 SIU’s annual preAttendees included Speaker p.m. and no one left hungry, Thanksgiving feast in the Pelosi and U.S. Reps. Barbara that’s for sure. We had a tradiSan Francisco area proved enorLee, Jerry McNerney and tional Thanksgiving menu and, mously popular, upbeat—and as always, much of the success is George Miller; Oakland Mayor filling, according to SIU Ron Dellums; San Francisco due to the many rank-and-file Assistant Vice President West District Attorney Kamala Harris; SIU members who donated their Coast Nick Celona, who closely San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne time and talents for worked with the committee that Hayes-White; San Francisco the occasion. I organized the event. Superior Court Judge the can’t thank There was one big Honorable Charlene Mitchell; them change for the 2006 Admiral Frank Johnston, the enough.” gathering: For the Western Region director for the He first time, it took U.S. Maritime Administration; said that place at the new and James Bartha, Western many of SIU hall in Region Oakland, Calif., chief of because the union Left: House Speaker Nancy contracts for last summer Pelosi addresses the crowd at MarAd. moved out of its the Oakland hall. Also in old hall in San attendance Francisco. were repreHowever, the nine sentatives miles separating those from the 1st buildings certainly didn’t hurt Battalion, attendance or enthusiasm for 14th Marine the traditional get-together, Regiment; which featured Seafarers, SIU the U.S. retirees, members of Congress, Coast the mayor, military personnel Guard; from the Marine Corps and unions Coast Guard, and other friends including from the labor movement, the Sheet business community and local Metal government. Workers, The Nov. 21 feast also was Carpenters, a historic occasion in that keynote speaker Nancy Pelosi Guests Peggy Hardy, Clara Curry, Tracey Moore (secretary Fire (D-Calif.) made her first public at Oakland hall, standing), Brooklyn Moore Fighters, address since becoming Police Speaker of the House. the guests were getting their first Officers Association, Laborers, “We had about 250 people in looks at the Oakland hall, and IBEW, ILWU, Plumbers, San attendance and it went very the reviews were favorable. Francisco Bar Pilots, Sugar “Everyone liked the Workers, Theatrical Stage old place in San Employees, Sign Display & Francisco, but the Allied Crafts Local Union, compliments for the AMO, MEBA, MFOW, and new building were MM&P; maritime companies plentiful,” he stated. Horizon, Matson, Crowley, “The most frequent Armada Shipping, APL and comments were that Starlight Marine; Art the new hall is mod- Pulaski, executive ern and has a unique secretary-treasurer feel.” of the California The move also Labor Federadidn’t prevent tion; and Jack Alioto’s Restaurant Tatum, retired on Fishermen’s NFL star and San Francisco Fire Department Captain Jim Wharf from assistfounder of the Vannucchi, SIU Assistant VP Nick Celona, ing with the event, Jack Tatum Firefighters Union Local 798 President John as they’ve done for Fund for Hanley many years. Scott’s Youthful Diabetes. SIU Electrician Ian Hindley (right) joins members of the 1st Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment in presenting the colors. Pilar Schiavo, political director, San Francisco labor council; Leonard Stefanelli, VP of NorCal and member of Cow Palace board of directors; Honorable Charlene Mitchell, San Francisco Superior Court judge Theatrical Stage Employees Executive VP Eddie Powell (far left, partly cropped); San Francisco Bar Pilots President Peter McIsaac; USCG Captain Gerald Swanson, chief of Prevention Division; USCG Chaplain Brian Younger Right: San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White Nick Celona, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums, Nick Marrone Congressman Jerry McNerney, Congressman George Miller, SIU Assistant VP Nick Celona, Congresswoman Barbara Lee, SIU VP West Coast Nick Marrone Left: Matson Director of Vessel Operations and Labor Relations Jack Sullivan, MarAd Western Region Director Admiral Frank Johnston, USCG Captain Gerald Swanson, MarAd Western Region Chief of Contracts James Bartha, San Francisco Bar Pilots President Peter McIsaac, Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums Seafarers and guests enjoy good food and good company at the Oakland hall’s pre-Thanksgiving event. January 2007 Seafarers LOG 7 �39917_P01_24.qxp 12/21/2006 4:31 PM Page 8 IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING NMU VACATION FUND BENEFITS November 20, 2006 Dear Fund Participant: The NMU Benefit Plans are pleased to inform you that, effective January 1, 2007, the NMU Vacation Fund (the “NMU Fund”) will merge into the Seafarers Vacation Fund (the “SIU Fund”). The Board of Trustees of each of the Funds anticipates that the merger will be mutually beneficial for all Fund participants. Benefits Under the NMU Fund as of December 31, 2006 Up to and including December 31, 2006, if you have thirty (30) days of covered employment for which you have not yet collected a vacation benefit from the NMU Fund, you will be eligible to apply for such earned and uncollected benefits from the SIU Fund at any time on or before December 31, 2008. Please be aware that the SIU Fund allows participants to collect accrued vacation benefits while working in covered employment and, thus, you will be eligible to collect the vacation benefits that you accrued under the NMU Fund at any time before January 1, 2009 even if you continue to work in covered employment. However, on January 1, 2009, all uncollected vacation benefits that you accrued under the NMU Fund will expire. Participation in the SIU Fund If you have an uncollected vacation benefit under the NMU Fund as of December 31, 2006, you will be eligible to begin accruing vacation benefits under the SIU Fund beginning on January 1, 2007, pursuant to the terms of the SIU Fund’s Plan. (A copy of the SIU Fund’s Summary Plan Description, which will govern your benefits, will be provided to you by the SIU Fund Office.) If you do not have an uncollected vacation benefit under the NMU Fund as of December 31, 2006, you must become eligible to participate in the SIU Fund before you may begin accruing benefits under the SIU Fund in accordance with the terms of the SIU Fund’s Plan, including by satisfying the rule that requires sixty (60) days of covered employment prior to the commencement of participation. Applying for Benefits Whether you are applying for your vacation ben- efit earned under the NMU Fund or a benefit earned under the SIU Fund following the merger, beginning on January 1, 2007 you will be required to apply for your benefits from the SIU Fund, and all benefits to which you are entitled will be payable by the SIU Fund. If you have already applied for a benefit from the NMU Fund prior to the merger date, with payment to begin following the merger date, the benefit will be paid by the SIU Fund. * * * The Board of Trustees of the SIU Fund reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to amend, modify or terminate the plan of benefits (including with respect to benefit levels and eligibility requirements), at any time and for any reason, consistent with the terms of any applicable collective bargaining agreement. It has been a pleasure to serve you over the years. We know that the Board of Trustees of the SIU Fund looks forward to administering your benefits. For more information about the SIU Fund benefits, please contact the plan administrator at (301) 8990675. Sincerely, Board of Trustees NMU Vacation Fund This Notice describes changes to the benefits provided under the NMU Vacation Plan (the “Plan”) which will take effect on January 1, 2007. This summary is intended to satisfy the requirements for the issuance of a Summary of Material Modification (“SMM”) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”). You should take the time to read this SMM carefully and keep it with your copy of the Summary Plan Description (“SPD”). If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact the NMU Fund Office at 360 West 31st Street, New York, NY 10001, or by phone at (212) 337-4900 before December 31, 2006, or the SIU Fund Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746, or by phone at (301) 899-0675 as of January 1, 2007. This SMM is intended to provide you with an easy-to-understand description of certain changes to the Plan. While every effort has been made to make this description as complete and as accurate as possible, this SMM, of course, cannot contain a full restatement of the terms and provisions of the Plan. If any conflict should arise between this summary and the Plan, or if any point is not discussed in this SMM or is only partially discussed, the terms of the Plan will govern in all cases. April 15, 2007 Is the Scholarship Deadline No matter what your qualifications or needs are, no one can be awarded an SIU scholarship without filling P out an application and mailing it to the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan by April 15. That leaves three months in which to apply for one of the eight scholarships being given out this year—so don’t put it off any longer. First, obtain a scholarship program booklet, which spells out eligibility requirements and procedures for applying. It also includes a copy of the application form. You may get the booklet in any SIU hall or by requesting one by completing the coupon below and mailing to the address listed. The application form is very straightforward. But the entire application package contains a number of additional items that must accompany the form and may take a little time to collect. They include: autobiographical statement, photograph, certified copy of birth certificate, high school transcript and certification of graduation or official copy of higher school equivalency scores, college transcript, letters of reference and SAT or ACT results. This is a great opportunity for Seafarers or their dependents who would like to continue with their education at the college level. Don’t delay. Send for your program booklet today. lease send me the 2007 SIU Scholarship Program booklet which contains eligibility information, procedures for applying and a copy of the application form. Name __________________________________________________________________________ Mariner's Social Security Number __________________________________________________ Street Address __________________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip Code______________________________________________________________ ( ) Telephone Number ______________________________________________________________ This application is for: † Self † Dependent Mail this completed form to Scholarship Program, Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. 1/07 8 Seafarers LOG Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. January 2007 �39917_P01_24x.qxp 12/27/2006 2:19 AM Page 9 Paul Hall Center School Supplement This handy version of the Paul Hall Center’s catalog is printed in the Seafarers LOG as a convenience to SIU members. Please keep it for reference. NOTE: Prerequisites for all upgrading courses in the SHLSS catalog include being 18 years old, holding a U.S. Merchant Marine Document, passing a physical exam, and English language proficiency. Paul Hall Center Course Guide for 2007 T his year marks the 40th anniversary of the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, and the school enters 2007 fully focused on continuing to deliver the world’s best-trained mariners. Located in Piney Point, Md., the school offers approximately 50 U.S. Coast Guard-approved classes—the most such courses provided by any maritime school in the nation. With a strong emphasis on hands-on training, the school offers everything from entry-level programs to upgrading classes to license preparation to academic support and more. Students also may receive college credit recommendations for successfully completing certain sanctioned courses. In recent years, the center has answered America’s heightened security needs by implementing comprehensive maritime safety and anti-terrorism training for every student who passes through the front gate. For example, the school added a small-arms range approved by the U.S. Military Sealift Command (along with accompanying curriculums) and then in early 2005 became the first facility to offer a vessel security officer course approved by the U.S. DECK DEPT. Ratings Forming Part of a Navigational Watch/Able Seaman Applicants completing our 4-week Ratings Forming Part of a Navigational Watch/Able Seaman program satisfy: (1) the training, seagoing service, and assessment requirements of 46 CFR 12.05-3(c) and Section A-II/4 of the STCW Code, Mandatory Minimum Requirements for Certification of Ratings Forming Part of a Navigational Watch;—AND—(2) if presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, the written examination requirements of 46 CFR 12.05-9 for the “Deck General & Navigation General” and “Deck Safety & Rules of the Road” exam modules for any Able Seaman endorsement and the practical (knot tying) examination requirements of 46 CFR 12.05-9 for any Able Seaman endorsement PROVIDED that all other requirements of 46 CFR Subpart 12.05, including sea service, are also met. The course consists of hands-on training and classroom work covering deck seamanship, rules of the road, marlinespike seamanship, helmsmanship, cargo handling, safety, fire fighting, emergency procedures, first aid, anchoring, and mooring, and aids to navigation. Prerequisites: Sea service, Water Survival (Lifeboatman), STOS Special: 12 months’ service on deck, 2 months’ sea service under the supervision of the Master, the OIC of the navigational watch, or qualified ratings (STCW) Limited: 18 months’ service on deck, 2 months’ sea service under the supervision of the Master, OIC, or qualified ratings. Unlimited: 3 years’ deck, 2 months’ sea January 2007 Maritime Administration. Those are just two examples among many that illustrate the Paul Hall Center’s commitment to offering the most useful, important, up-to-date training anywhere in the industry. The school also has been a leader in providing STCW-mandated training, and was the first to publish a Coast Guard training record book to meet international shipping regulations. Similarly, the school was among the first maritime facilities to provide shiphandling simulators for training, and it was the first to offer an oil-spill prevention and containment class. Additionally, the Paul Hall Center was the first to institute an EPA-certified refrigerant handling class both on and off campus. It also was the first to establish a culinary institute dedicated to food preparation aboard ship. With the rebirth of the American-flag deep sea cruise ship industry, the school has developed new courses and built additional facilities specifically to help meet the manpower needs of this important component of the U.S. fleet. An overview of many of the courses available at Piney Point is service under the supervision of the Master or OIC Bridge Resource Management Applicants completing our 30-hour Bridge Resource Management course satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(o) and the requirements of Section B-VIII/ 2, Part 3-1 of the STCW Code. Bridge Resource Management-Unlimited is designed for persons with significant shipping experience who hold or are seeking a U.S. Coast Guard license. This course fulfills the training requirements of effective bridge teamwork as set forth in STCW 95, A-II/1, A-II/2, and B-VIII/2 and 46 CFR 10.25 and 10.209. Prerequisites: Radar Unlimited, ARPA, License of 200 Gross Tons or greater OR seeking an original third mate or limited license Bridge Resource Management (1600 Tons or less) Students who successfully complete this course will have the knowledge and experience needed to continually reassess the allocation and use of bridge resources using bridge management principles. Applicants completing our 26-hour Bridge Resource Management (1600 Tons) course satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(o) and the requirements of Section B-VIII/2, Part 3-1 of the STCW Code. THIS APPROVAL IS LIMITED TO SERVICE UPON VESSELS OF NOT MORE THAN 1600 GROSS TONS (DOMESTIC). Prerequisites: Radar Unlimited, ARPA, License of 200 gross tons or greater OR in the process of getting license contained in this eight-page section and also appears on the web site www.seafarers.org, in the Paul Hall Center section. Students should note that courses and class dates may change due to the manpower needs of SIU-contracted companies. Therefore, Seafarers should check the latest issue of the Seafarers LOG for the most up-to-date class listings. Schedules also are available on the web site. The basic eligibility for SIU members who want to upgrade at Piney Point includes 125 days’ sea time in the previous year, one day of sea time in the last six months prior to the date the class starts, a copy of their z-card (front and back), a copy of the identification page of their union book, plus any other course-specific requirements. If the course mandates a U.S. Coast Guard test to acquire the endorsement, then the upgrader must meet all Coast Guard requirements prior to taking the class. Some courses have other specific requirements which are printed in bold. For more information about the Paul Hall Center or any of its courses, contact the Admissions Office, Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075, or call (301) 994-0010. Celestial Navigation Applicants completing our 126-hour Celestial Navigation course with a passing grade of at least 80% satisfy the Celestial Navigation training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). In conjunction with this course, any approved instructor is authorized to sign-off for a successful demonstration on the students’ “Control Sheets” for the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-1-1A; OICNW-1-1B; OICNW-11C; OICNW-1-1D; OICNW-1-1E and OICNW-1-1F. The course covers the areas of celestial navigation required for licensing as a second or third mate unlimited and for all limited licenses. Students are instructed in latitude observations by sun and Polaris, running fixes by sun, stars, and planets, compass error by amplitude and azimuth, star identification, and care and use of the sextant. Prerequisites: ARPA, Radar Observer, Scientific calculator skill, time/speed/distance formula Electronic Chart Display Information Systems (ECDIS) Applicants completing our 35-hour Electronic Chart Display Information Systems (ECDIS) course are considered to have successfully demonstrated the competencies “Plan and Conduct a Passage and Determine Position: Thorough Knowledge of and Ability to Use ECDIS” of Table AII/1 of the STCW Code AND “Determine Position and the Accuracy of Resultant Position Fix: Position Determination Using ECDIS With Specific Knowledge of its Operating Principles, Limitations, Sources of Error, Detection of Misrepresentation of information and Methods of Correction to Obtain Accurate Position Fixing” of Table A-II/2 of the STCW Code. The course provides training in the basic theory and use of electronic chart display and information systems (ECDIS) for those who will be in charge of a navigational watch on vessels equipped with ECDIS. Students learn to use, update, and verify electronic chart information. The training comprises all safety-relevant aspects and aims beyond the use of operational controls. All theoretical aspects and major characteristics of ECDIS data, such as data contents, system integration, information layers, and data updating, are covered in depth. Prerequisites: General Admission requirements; ARPA certificate; Radar certificate; Terrestrial Navigation training for license preparation; USCG-approved STCW Basic Safety Training course Electronic Navigation Any applicant who has successfully completed our 40-hour Electronic Navigation course will satisfy the Electronic Navigation training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). The practical assessments in this course will be accepted as the equivalent of the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-1-4A; OICNW-1-4B;OICNW-1-4C; and OICNW-1-4D. Applicants who have successfully completed your course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service Fast Rescue Boats Applicants completing our 30-hour Fast Rescue Boats course satisfy the requirements of Table A-VI/2-2 of the STCW Code, Specification of the Minimum Standard of Competence in Fast Rescue Boats. The Paul Hall Center’s Fast Rescue Boats course trains students to handle and take charge of fast rescue boats during or after launch in adverse weather and sea conditions. Students learn how to operate a fast rescue boat engine, use all locating devices, including communication and signaling equipment between the rescue boat and a helicopter and the ship, and how to Continued on next page Seafarers LOG 9 �39917_P01_24x.qxp 12/27/2006 1:08 AM Page 10 Course Guide Continued from page 9 carry out search patterns. Prerequisites: Basic Safety, Survival Craft and Rescue Boats other than fast rescue boats Fundamental Concepts of Navigation Applicants completing our 70-hour Fundamental Concepts of Navigation course and who present our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center WITHIN 5 YEARS of the completion of training, receive 20 days’ sea service credit that may be used—ONLY—for the following: (1) Any license restricted to service upon vessels of not more than 200 gross tons (domestic); OR (2) Any license restricted to service upon inland or Great Lakes waters; OR (3) Any Able Seaman endorsement PROVIDED that the applicant has at least 6 months of actual sea service that can be credited toward an Able Seaman endorsement. Topics covered in this c1ass include the use of nautical charts, calculating time, speed, and distance problems, the use of plotting instruments and compasses, dead reckoning, bearings, fixes, current sailing, piloting, and an introduction to collision regulations and rules of the road. Prerequisite: 120 days of sea time as an AB Global Maritime Distress & Safety System (GMDSS) Applicants completing our 70-hour Global Maritime Distress & Safety System (GMDSS) course with a passing grade of at least 75% satisfy the GMDSS training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(n) and Table A-IV/2 of the STCW Code. Applicants for this 70-hour course must hold a 200-ton or greater license, or show a current U.S. Coast Guard approval letter indicating they are eligible to sit for a license greater than 200 tons. The class is designed to meet the requirements set forth in Table A-IV/2 of the amended STCW convention. Topics include principles of the global marine distress and safety system communications, distress alerting and operational procedures for VHF DSC, INMARST-C, MF/HF, NAVTEX, EPIRB, SART, and VHF (SCT). The course blends classroom instruction and practical exercises. Prerequisites: 1 year experience as a member of navigational watch on the bridge of an ocean going vessel OR licensed radio officer or engineer Government Vessels This 3-week class is open to mariners sailing in any department. The course is structured as three 1-week, stand-alone modules. The modules may be taken in any order. Included in the first week are an introduction to the U.S. Military Sealift Command and military vessels, damage control, CBRD (chemical, biological, radiological defense), anti-terrorism level I and hazardous materials training. The second week features forklift operations, underway replenishment and vertical replenishment. Cargo-handling and crane operations are included in the third week. (This course is required of students attending AB or FOWT courses.) Prerequisites: No additional Magnetic and Gyro Compasses Any applicant who has successfully completed our 20-hour Magnetic and Gyro Compasses course will satisfy the Compass—Magnetic and Gyro training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). The practical assessments in this course will be 10 Seafarers LOG accepted as the equivalent of assessments OICNW-1-5A; OICNW-1-5B; OICNW-15C; OICNW-1-5D; and OICNW-1-5E from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service assume background in chart work and coastal navigation Radar Observer Recertification Applicants completing our 1-Day Radar Observer Recertification course satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 10.480(d) for renewal of any Radar Observer endorsement. This course does not satisfy any training or assessment requirements of the employed or may be employed on U.S.flag ships. It meets STCW requirements. Students successfully completing this course must take a refresher course within 5 years or provide information to the U.S. Coast Guard documenting maintenance of medical skills. Cardiopulmonary (CPR) certification must be renewed annually. Training as a Medical First Aid Provider is the second level of medical training required by STCW. Topics include a review of cardiac and airway management, rescuer safety, body structure, examining trauma victims and medical patients, treating head and spinal injuries, burns, musculoskeletal injuries, and rescued persons. Also included are obtaining radio medical advice, administering medication, and sterilization techniques. Prerequisites: Candidates for the course must possess current certification from the American Red Cross for CPR for the Professional Rescuer or equivalent certification issued through a similar authorizing agency Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (Including Sea Service) Meteorology (Operational Level) Any applicant who has successfully completed our 40-hour Meteorology (Operational Level) course will satisfy the Meteorology training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). The practical assessments conducted in this course will be accepted as the equivalent of OICNW-17A; OICNW-1-7B; and OICNW-1-7C from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service Radar Observer (Unlimited) Applicants completing our 5-day Radar Observer (Unlimited) course, including successful demonstration of all practical assessments, satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 10.480 for an endorsement as Radar Observer (Unlimited) and the radar training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). In conjunction with this course, any approved instructor is authorized to signoff for a successful demonstration on the students’ “Control Sheets” for the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-1-2B; OICNW1-2C; OICNW-3-1A; OICNW-3-1B; OICNW-3-1C; OICNW-3-1D; OICNW-31E; OICNW-3-1F; OICNW-3-1G; OICNW-3-1H; OICNW-3-1I; OICNW-31J; and OICNW-3-1K. This course features hands-on training and classroom work, including radar theory, observation, operation and use, interpretation and plotting, advanced radar plotting, collision avoidance and navigational exercise. Students operate modern audio-visual and radar simulation gear, as well as the full shiphandling simulator, as they practice controlling and maneuvering a vessel, plotting courses and safely guiding a ship without jeopardizing the safety of other vessels. Also included are practical exercises and lectures covering inland waterway and river navigation and piloting. Prerequisites: Navigation exercises STCW Convention and STCW Code. (Navigation exercises assume background in chart work and coastal navigation.) Prerequisites: No additional Radar Observer Refresher Applicants completing our 3-Day Radar Observer Refresher course satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 10.480(d) for renewal of any Radar Observer endorsement. This course does not satisfy any training or assessment requirements of the STCW Convention and STCW Code. (Navigation exercises assume background in chart work and coastal navigation.) Prerequisite: Radar Observer ARPA Applicants completing our 32-hour Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) course, including successful demonstration of all practical assessments, satisfy the ARPA training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC) and of 46 CFR 10.205(m)(1). The practical assessments conducted in this course are equivalent to the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-3-2A; OICNW-3-2B; OICNW-3-2C; OICNW-3-2D; OICNW-32E; OICNW-3-2F; OICNW- 3-2G; OICNW-3-2H; OICNW-3-2I; OICNW-32J; OICNW-3-2K; OICNW-3-2L; and OICNW-3- 2M. (Navigation exercises assume background in chart work and coastal navigation.) This course of instruction incorporates the use of ARPA simulation equipment to operate, observe, and use the radar plotting aids. Students gain an understanding of the limitations of the aids as well as their performance factors, sensor inputs and malfunctions and gain knowledge of tracking capabilities, processing, operational warnings, and target acquisition. Prerequisite: Radar Observer Medical Care Provider Applicants completing our 21-hour Medical Care Provider course satisfy the Medical First Aid training requirements of Section A-VI/4 and Table A-VI/4-1 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 12.13-1. This course is designed for mariners who are Applicants completing our entire 16week Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch Program, INCLUDING the 360 days of seagoing service: (1) receive 720 days’ sea service credit toward a license as Third Mate of Ocean or Near Coastal Steam or Motor Vessels of Any Gross Tons. Applicants must present evidence of not less than 1 year of qualifying seagoing service obtained AFTER enrollment in the OICNW program, including at least six months performing bridge watch-keeping duties under the supervision of the master or a qualified officer. Applicants must have previously completed our entire Unlicensed Apprentice Program, and sea service awarded for completion of the Unlicensed Apprentice Program may NOT be used to meet the service requirements for OICNW and Third Mate;—AND—(2) Satisfy the training and assessment requirements of 46 CFR 10.910 and Section AII/ 1 and Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code, Specification of Minimum Standard of Competence for Officers in Charge of a Navigational Watch on Ships of 500 Gross Tonnage or More, PROVIDED that they have also completed the following Coast Guard approved courses within five years of completion of the OICNW program: a) Basic Safety Training; b) Basic and Advanced Fire Fighting; c) Medical Care Provider; d) Proficiency in Survival Craft; e) Tank Ship Familiarization (Dangerous Liquids); f) Celestial Navigation (STCW); g) Radar Observer (Unlimited); h) Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA); i) Bridge Resource Management; j) Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS); and k) Visual Communications. Prerequisites: ARPA, Basic/Adv. Fire Fighting, BRM, Celestial Navigation, First Aid, GMDSS, Medical First Aid Provider, Proficiency in Survival Craft or Water Survival, Radar Observer, Tanker Familiarization, Visual Communication, BST, sea time for 3rd Mate and OICNW Oil Spill Prevention and Containment This 1-week course consists of classroom and practical training exercises. Topics include oil types and petroleum products’ behavior on water; pollution prevention regulations; hazardous materials training; spill prevention; absorbents, suction equipment, skimmers, and their proper use; and small boat operations. Students also receive instruction in spill containment booms, boom towing configurations, and anchoring operations. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Continued on next page January 2007 �39917_P01_24x.qxp 12/27/2006 1:12 AM Page 11 Course Guide Continued from page 10 HAZMAT Recertification This 1-day class includes a regulatory overview of Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) requirements, reviews of toxology terminology, medical monitoring instruments and techniques, site-control and emergency preparedness, proper use of respiratory protection, and monitoring equipment and new technology. Prerequisite: 24- or 40-hour Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) courses Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities Applicants completing our 4-hour Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(l)(4) and Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-4 of the Seafarers’ Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code. This course provides the unlicensed apprentice candidate with a general understanding and basic knowledge of human relationships, social skills necessary for living and working aboard operational merchant ships, and a working knowledge of issues impacting preparedness for international travel. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Personal Survival Techniques Applicants completing our 12-hour Personal Survival Techniques course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the Personal Survival training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-1 of the Seafarers’ Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(1). Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Proficiency in Survival Craft/Personal Survival Techniques (Lifeboatman) Applicants completing our 37-hour Proficiency in Survival Craft/Personal Survival Techniques course satisfy: (1) the Survival Craft training requirements of Section A-VI/2 and Table A-VI/2-1 of the STCW Code;—AND—(2) the training requirements of 46 CFR 12.10-3(a)(6) for any endorsement as Lifeboatman, PROVIDED that sea service requirements are also met;—AND—(2) if presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, the written and practical examination requirements of 46 CFR 12.10-5 for a Lifeboatman endorsement (exam module 481xx) and the written “Survival Craft” examination requirements for service on vessels not equipped with lifeboats (exam module 441xx or 706xx),—AND—(3) the Personal Survival Techniques training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-1 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(1). This course helps mariners develop the required knowledge and application skills for water survival including launch, use and recovery of survival craft, and the proper use of survival equipment. Additionally, students learn the procedures necessary to take charge and maintain a survival craft and protect embarked personnel while on board. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Search and Rescue (Operational Level) Any applicant who has successfully completed our 16-hour Search & Rescue (Operational Level) course will satisfy the Search & Rescue training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman Applicants completing our 70-hour Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the training requirements for service as a Specially Trained Ordinary Seaman AND the training and assessment requirements of Table A-II/4 of the STCW Code, “Specification of Minimum Standard of Competence for Ratings Forming Part of a Navigational Watch,” and 46 CFR 12.053(c) PROVIDED they also present evidence of at least 6 months’ sea-going service performing navigational watchkeeping functions under the supervision of the Master or officer in charge of the navigational watch. If the applicant does not present evidence of 6 months of this service, he or she satisfies the training and assessment requirements for certification as Rating Forming Part of a Navigational Watch RESTRICTED to lookout duties only. This certification is valid for 1 year and may not be renewed. This course is designed for deck trainees who need a fast track to Ratings Forming Part of the Navigational Watch. It meets the requirements of 46 CFR 12.05.3(c) and STCW Table A-II/4. Topics covered in the course include: anchoring, mooring, knot-tying, gyro and magnetic compass, wheel watch, error chain analysis and pilot interactions, helm control, rules of the road, IALA buoy systems, shipboard communication, helm watch relief and lookout watch. Prerequisites: UA Program Phases 1 and 2 Tank Barge Dangerous Liquids Applicants completing our 38-hour Tank Barge Dangerous Liquids Course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the training requirements of 46 CFR 13.309 for an endorsement as Tankerman-PIC (Barge). Prerequisites: Present evidence of service in accordance with 46 CFR 13.303. Fire Fighting may be taken simultaneously with the course Tank Ship Dangerous Liquids Applicants completing our 5-day Tank Ship Dangerous Liquids course satisfy the training requirements of 46 CFR 13.113(d) (1) (ii) (A), 13.115 (b) (1), 13.209, 13.309, 13.409 or 13.509 for any dangerous liquids tankerman endorsement. This course provides training for masters, chief engineers, officers, and any person with immediate responsibility for the loading, discharging and care in transit or handling of cargo. It comprises a specialized training program appropriate to their duties, including oil tanker safety, fire safety measure and systems, pollution prevention, operational practice and obligations under applicable laws and regulations. Prerequisites: 3 months’ seagoing service on tankers (DL) OR completion of a Tank Ship Familiarization (Dangerous Liquids) (Paul Hall Center “Tanker Assistant” course) to cover STCW Code Section A-V/1 para. 2-8. Fire fighting course in accordance with 47 CFR 13.121 Table 13.121(g) OR Paul Hall Center Basic Fire Fighting, U.S.C.G.-approved STCW Basic Safety Training course Tank Ship Dangerous Liquids (Simulator) Applicants completing our 53-hour Tank Ship Dangerous Liquids (Simulator) course satisfy the training requirements of 46 CFR 13.113(d)(1)(ii)(A), 13.115 (b)(1), 13.209, 13.309, 13.409 or 13.509 for any dangerous liquids tankerman endorsement;—AND— receive credit for: (1) two loadings and two discharges which may be applied toward satisfying the requirements of 46 CFR 13.203(b)(1);—AND—(2) one commencement of loading and one completion of loading which may be applied toward satisfying the requirements in 46 CFR 13.203(b)(2);—AND—(3) one commencement of discharge and one completion of discharge which may be applied toward satisfying the requirements in 46 CFR 13.203(b)(3). This course provides training for masters, chief engineers, officers, and any person with immediate responsibility for the loading, discharging and care in transit or handling of cargo. It comprises a specialized training program appropriate to their duties, including oil tanker safety, fire safety measure and systems, pollution prevention, operational practice and obligations under applicable laws and regulations. Prerequisites: 3 months’ seagoing service on tankers (DL) OR completion of a Tank Ship Familiarization (Dangerous Liquids) (Paul Hall Center “Tanker Assistant” course) to cover STCW Code Section A-V/1 para. 2-8. Fire fighting course in accordance with 47 CFR 13.121 Table 13.121(g) OR Paul Hall Center Basic Fire Fighting, U.S.C.G.-approved STCW Basic Safety Training course Tank Ship Familiarization (Dangerous Liquids) Applicants completing our 63-hour Tank Ship Familiarization (Dangerous Liquids) course satisfy the training requirements of 46 CFR 13.409 for an January 2007 original endorsement as TankermanAssistant DL. This course meets the Code of Federal Regulation requirements for personnel not having the required sea service. The objective of this course is to provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct operations on tankships. Topics include the 16-hour worker health and safety (HAZWOPER) First Responder/ Operations Level, Ship Design and Operation, Cargo Characteristics, Enclosed Space Entry, Cargo Transfer and Shipment, and Pollution Prevention, and Emergency Operations and Response. Prerequisite: Fire Fighting Tank Ship Familiarization (Liquefied Gases) Applicants completing our 30-hour Tank Ship Familiarization (Liquefied Gases) course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy: (1) the training requirements of 46 CFR 13.409 for an original endorsement as Tankerman- Assistant (LG); —AND— (2) the tanker familiarization training requirements of paragraphs 17 of Section A-V/1 of the STCW Code. This course consists of a safety program designed to meet STCW requirements for those who have not served on LNG ships. The course of instruction includes LNG fire fighting, confined space awareness, LNG nomenclature, LNG ship operations, personal safety, LNG safety, hazardous material, LNG cargo tank (level indicators, temperature), LNG cargo pump (Carter pump construction and ops), inert gas generator (general flow system), nitrogen gas system, LNG vapor compressor, warm-up heater and boil-off heater. Prerequisite: Advanced Fire Fighting Vessel Security Officer This 12-hour course provides knowledge to those wishing to perform the duties and responsibilities of a Vessel Security Officer (VSO) as defined in section A/2.1.6 (and section A/12.1) of the ISPS Code with respect to the security of a ship, for implementing and maintaining a Ship Security Plan, and for liaising with the Company Security Officer (CSO) and Port Facility Security Officers (PFSOs). Successful students will be able to undertake the duties and responsibilities as Vessel Security Officer as defined in section A/12.2 of the ISPS Code. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Visual Communications (Flashing Light) Applicants completing our 1-day Visual Communications course with a minimum score of 80% will: (1) Satisfy the practical signaling examination requirements (flashing light) of 46 CFR 10.401(h) IF presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training;—AND—(2) Be considered to have successfully demonstrated the competence “Transmit and Receive Information by Visual Signaling” of Table AII/1 of the STCW Code. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Apprentice Mate (Steersman) The Paul Hall Center’s 103-hour Apprentice Mate (Steersman), Near Coastal course is a self-certifying course for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on uninspected towing vessels sailing under U.S. flag or registered/documented under any political subdivision in the United States. Training meets or exceeds requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(i) for original issuance or 46 CFR 10. 209(c)(iii) for renewal of a license as Apprentice Mate (Steersman) of Towing Vessels (Near Coastal, Great Lakes, and Western Rivers;—OR—(2) the examination requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(i) for Continued on next page Seafarers LOG 11 �39917_P01_24x.qxp 12/27/2006 1:14 AM Page 12 Course Guide Continued from page 11 original issuance or 46 CFR 10. 209(c)(iii) for renewal of a license as Master of Towing Vessels (Near Coastal, Great Lakes, and Western Rivers) provided that they also provide evidence of service in the towing industry before May 21, 2001, AND that the requirements of 46 CFR 10.464(h) are also met. After obtaining the requisite sea service and fulfilling other U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) requirements pertaining to this license, successful students will be able to take responsibility for the safety of an inspected towing vessel; be aware of obligations under Coast Guard regulations concerning safety and protection of passengers, crew, and the marine environment; and, be able to take the practical measures necessary to meet those obligations. Successful students will be issued a certificate of completion for an Apprentice Mate (Steersman), Near Coastal course. Prior to the scheduled class convening date, each candidate must meet the following entrance requirements: Successfully completed a USCGapproved STCW Basic Safety Training course; possess current U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; speak, read and understand the English language in accordance with 46 CFR 13.111; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.15-5; Fundamentals of Navigation OR equivalent course OR experience as determined by the instructor; valid Radar Observer Unlimited certificate; Able Seaman endorsement (any) Master 100 Tons The Paul Hall Center’s 90-hour Master 100 Tons, Near Coastal course is a selfcertifying course for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on passenger vessels sailing under U.S. flag or registered/documented under any political subdivision in the United States. Training meets or exceeds requirements of 46 CFR 10.206(i) for original license, 46 CFR 10.209(c)(iii) for renewal, and 46 CFR 209(f) for reissue. Students who present our certificate of training at a regional exam center within 1 year of the completion of training will satisfy the exam requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(i)f or reissuance of a license. After obtaining the requisite sea service and fulfilling other U.S. Coast Guard requirements pertaining to this license, successful students will be able to take responsibility for the safety of an inspected passenger vessel of 100 tons and its passengers; be aware of obligations under Coast Guard regulations concerning safety and protection of passengers, crew, and the marine environment; and, be able to take the practical measures necessary to meet those obligations. Students successfully completing the course will be issued a certificate for successful completion for a Master 100 Ton, Near Coastal license. Prior to the scheduled class convening date, each candidate must meet the following entrance requirements: Successfully completed a USCGapproved STCW Basic Safety Training course; possess current U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; speak, read and understand the English language in accordance with 46 CFR 13.111; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.15-5; Fundamentals of Navigation, valid Radar Observer Unlimited certificate; Able Seaman endorsement (any) Terrestrial and Coastal Navigation Any applicant who has successfully completed our 80-hour Terrestrial & Coastal Navigation course will satisfy the Terrestrial Navigation and Coastal Navigation training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). The practical assessments conducted in this course will be accepted as the equivalent of the following assessments from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table AII/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-1-2A; OICNW-1-2B; OICNW-1-2C; OICNW-12D; OICNW-1-3A; OICNW-1-3B; and OICNW-1-3C. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service Emergency Procedures (Operational Level) The Paul Hall Center’s 21-hour Emergency Procedures at the Operational Level course is designed for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S. flagged vessels. This stand-alone course is a component of the Paul Hall Center’s Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (OICNW) Program. The functional elements of this course specifically meet Function 1: Navigation at the Operational Level; Competence 1.4 Respond to Emergencies; and Knowledge, Understanding, and Proficiency 1.4.1 Precautions for Protection and Safety of Passengers of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) OICNW Model Course No. 7.03 and the requirements of USCG Policy Letter 01-02. No OICNW assessments will be conducted in this course. Successful candidates will earn a Paul Hall Center certificate of training Emergency Procedures at the Operational Level. Prior to the scheduled class convening date, each candidate must meet the following entrance requirements: Successfully completed a USCGapproved STCW Basic Safety Training course; possess current U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; speak, read and understand the English language in accordance with 46 CFR 13.111; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.15-5 Basic Cargo Handling and Stowage (Operational Level) The Paul Hall Center’s Basic Cargo Handling and Stowage course is a 66-hour course for students who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.-flag vessels as required by STCW 1995, as amended, and are licensed or intending to be licensed personnel. On successful completion of this course, students will be able to use cargo plans and tables or diagrams of stability and trim data to calculate the ship’s initial stability, drafts, and trim for any given description of cargo and other weights. They will also be able to determine whether stresses on the ship are within permitted limits by the use of stress data or calculation equipment, or software. They will understand safety precaution used prior to entering enclosed or potentially contaminated spaces. Students should be able to supervise the preparation and dunnaging of holds and the operation of ships’ cargo gear and will be aware of the importance of adequately securing cargo to prevent damage to the ship or cargo. Trainees will identify dangerous goods and know that they are stowed and separated according to requirements of the IMDG Code. They will also know the hazards related to some bulk cargoes and the precautions to take during their loading, carriage, and discharge. Trainees will also have a basic knowledge of the piping and pumping arrangements of oil tankers. This course specifically addresses “Function: Cargo handling and stowage at the operational level” and “Competence: Monitor the loading, stowage, securing, care during the voyage and the unloading of cargoes” and “Knowledge Understanding and Proficiency: Cargo handling, stowage, and securing” found in Table AII/1 of the STCW Code, amended 1995. This is accomplished through classroom lecture and practical exercises. Students successfully completing this course will be awarded a Paul Hall Center Basic Cargo and Stowage at the Operational Level course certificate. Prior to the scheduled class convening date, each candidate must meet the following entrance requirements: Possess a U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD); provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 13.125; speak, read and understand the English language in accordance with 46 CFR 13.111; provide documented proof of fulfilling USCG approved sea time requirements, completion of Basic Stability course Basic Shiphandling and Steering Control Systems Any applicant who has successfully completed the 40-hour Basic Shiphandling & Steering Control Systems (Operational Level) course will satisfy the Basic Shiphandling & Steering Control Systems training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC). The practical assessments in this class will be accepted as the equivalent of the following assessments from the 12 Seafarers LOG National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code: OICNW-1-6A; OICNW-1-6B; OICNW-5-1A; OICNW-51B; and OICNW-5-1C. Applicants who have successfully completed your course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service Basic Stability (Operational Level) The Paul Hall Center’s 40-hour Basic Stability at the Operational Level course is intended to provide training at the basic level for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.-flag vessels. It takes into account STCW Code, Table AII/1, “Function: Controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board at the operational level,” and “Competence: Maintain seaworthiness of the ship,” and “Knowledge, understanding and proficiency, Ship stability.” Upon successful completion of the course, students will have knowledge of the principal structural members of a ship and the proper names of the various parts. They will be able to use tables and diagrams of ship stability and trim data to calculate the ship’s initial stability, drafts, and trim for any given disposition of cargo and other weights. Students will be able to determine whether stresses on the ship are within the permitted limits by use of stress data. They will understand the fundamental actions to take in the event of partial loss of intact buoyancy. At course completion, successful students will receive a Paul Hall Center certificate of completion in Basic Stability at the Operational Level. This course is open to watchkeeping officers, seamen who are training to become watchkeeping officers, and those who are responsible for loading cargoes. Students will be expected to use simple graphs and basic arithmetical skills and must meet the following requirements: USCG-approved STCW Basic Safety Training course, U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; read, speak and understand the English language at a level sufficient to perform job duties; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.05-7 Ship Construction (Operational Level) The Paul Hall Center’s 40-hour Ship Construction at the Operational Level course is intended to provide training at the basic level for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.-flag vessels whose responsibilities include maintaining the seaworthiness of the ship. It takes into Continued on next page January 2007 �39917_P01_24x.qxp 12/27/2006 1:29 AM Page 13 Course Guide Continued from page 12 account STCW Code Table A-II/1: Function: controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board at the operational level; Ship construction. Upon successful completion of the course, students will have general knowledge of the principal structural members of a ship and the proper names for the various parts. At course completion, successful students will receive a Paul Hall Center certificate of completion in Ship Construction at the Operational Level. This course is open to watchkeeping officers, seamen who are training to become watchkeeping officers, and those who are responsible for loading cargoes. Trainees will be expected to use simple graphs and basic arithmetical skills and must meet the following requirements: USCG-approved STCW Basic Safety Training course; U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; read, speak and understand the English language at a level sufficient to perform job duties; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.05-7 Watchkeeping (Operational Level) Any applicant who has successfully completed our 80-hour Watchkeeping (Operational Level) course will satisfy the Watchkeeping training requirements for certification as Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch on vessels of 500 or more gross tonnage (ITC); AND the Bridge Resource Management training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(o) and the requirements of Section B-VIII/2, Part 3-1 of the STCW Code. The practical assessments conducted in this course will be accepted as the equivalent of assessments OICNW-2-1A; OICNW-2-1B, OICNW-21C, OICNW-2-1D, OICNW-2-1E, OICNW-2-1F, OICNW-2-2A, OICNW-22B, OICNW-2-2C, OICNW-2-2D, OICNW-2-2E, OICNW-2-2F, OICNW-23A, OICNW-2-3B, OICNW-2-3C, OICNW-2-3D, OICNW-2-3E, OICNW-23F, OICNW-2-3G, AND OICNW-2-3H from the National Assessment Guidelines for Table A-II/1 of the STCW Code. Applicants who have successfully completed the course need not present completed “Control Sheets” for these assessments in application for STCW certification. Prerequisite: AB with one year of sea service ENGINE DEPT. Many engine department courses have prerequisites. For example, to be accepted for Advanced Refrigeration/Containers, students must have successfully completed Basic Marine Electrician and Refrigeration System Maintenance and Operations. COAST GUARD STCW CERTIFICATION COURSES Basic Auxiliary Plant Operation Applicants completing our 140-hour Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations course and who present our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, satisfy the examination requirements of 46 CFR 12.15-9 for the General Safety examination module, PROVIDED they have also completed either our 63hour Basic Motor Plant Operations course and/or our 70-hour Basic Steam Plant Operations course. Applicants who have successfully completed our course need not present individually completed “Control Sheets” for the assessments in application for STCW certification. The objective of this course to provide students with knowledge and practical operational skills required of rated engine department watchstanders as they sail in the capacity of FOWT. This objective is accomplished through classroom lectures and shore-side auxiliary plant simulator practical exercises. Prerequisites: Same as FOWT program Fireman, Oiler & Watertender (FOWT) Applicants completing Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations and both Basic Motor Plant Operations and Basic Steam Plant Operations will meet the requirements for endorsement as FOWT. (These classes are described below as stand-alone courses.) Applicants completing Basic Auxiliary Plant Operations and either Basic Motor Plant Operations or Basic Steam Plant Operations will be eligible for an FOWT (Restricted) endorsement. Prerequisites: Successful completion of the Paul Hall Center Unlicensed Apprentice Training Program; successful completion of the unlicensed apprentice sea voyage and required sea projects; unlicensed apprentice sea voyage performance evaluations within the engine department as completed by the First Assistant Engineer of at least satisfactory or better; recommendation by the unlicensed apprentice sea voyage participating vessel’s Chief Engineer OR 6 months’ sea time as wiper AND STCW certification in all areas of basic safety training; successful completion of the entry-level sea voyage and auxiliary plant familiarization sea project; total USCG approved sea service or equivalent sea service in the engine room of vessels of at least 6 months; meet all USCG physical standards for qualified members of the engine department Military veterans meeting the prior military sea service requirement in the engine room of vessels must meet the following Continued on next page ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT The Academic Department has a long history of providing support and services to members of the Seafarers International Union. Since the founding of the school in Piney Point, Md., there has been academic support for students taking vocational programs as well as for those students who require basic skills, English language skills or wish to continue their education. There are a variety of opportunities offered to all students. Specific questions about the programs can be answered or explained by contacting the Academic Department at (301) 994-0010, ext. 5411. General Education Program The GED program is open to all mariners who do not have a high school diploma. Assistance is offered to prepare students to take the test in Maryland or in their home state. Emphasis is placed on writing skills, social studies, science, interpreting literature and art, and mathematics. GED students receive individualized instruction in preparation for the test. The school for many years has successfully prepared mariners to pass the test. For many students, this is a milestone in their lives. (Prior to taking the test in Maryland, a 12-week residency is required.) Adult Basic Education The Adult Basic Education (ABE) program assists students in improving their basic language, technical vocabulary and mathematical skills. These skills help students experience greater success in both vocational and academic classes. Students who receive low scores on the T’ABE benchmark examinations, given at the Paul Hall Center, are encouraged to enroll in this program. Students may enter these classes while attending upgrader courses or may enroll in an extended ABE course offered throughout the year. English as a Second Language The English as a Second Language course assists students in basic English and technical vocabulary skills. The purpose of the class is to give seafarers who have not learned English as their native language and who have difficulty speaking, hearing, understanding and/or writing the English language, the opportunity to gain proficiency January 2007 in that language. As much as possible, instruction will be provided to give the seafarer the English language skills necessary to perform the essential tasks within the department under which he or she sails. Classes are offered throughout the year for those students requiring in-depth instruction, or students may schedule assistance during their upgrading classes. Basic Vocational Support Program The Basic Vocational Support Program assists students in improving course-specific vocational language and mathematic skills. It is designed to assist with the fundamental understanding of concepts and theoretical ideas which are the fundamentals of a given vocational course. Some of these classes are offered prior to the regularly scheduled courses to provide the student with knowledge and skills that will assist them once the classes have begun. These courses are ideal for those students who have been away from the classroom, need basic skills or do not use English as their native language. College Program The Paul Hall Center is a degree-granting institution approved by the Maryland Higher Education Commission. Vocational courses also are approved for credit by the American Council on Education (ACE). Students may apply for college credit for many of the vocational courses that they take while upgrading at the school. In addition the center offers general education courses required for an associate’s degree. The school currently offers Associate of Applied Science degree programs in nautical science technology (deck department students) or marine engineering technology (engine department students). Both degrees offer concentrations in either the deep sea or inland sections of the maritime industry. There also is a certificate program in maritime technology with concentrations in nautical science or marine engineering. All programs are designed to provide the opportunity for mariners to earn a college degree or certificate in their occupational areas and provide a solid academic foundation in general education subjects. Students are required to have a total of 60 to 70 college hours to earn a degree. Students also may take advantage of remedial programs that help prepare them for college level courses. It is recommended that students meet with a counselor to plan a college program. Seafarers LOG 13 �39917_P01_24x.qxp 12/27/2006 1:31 AM Page 14 Course Guide Continued from page 13 entrance requirements: Prior approval to the military veterans program for ratings forming part of an engineering watch; meet all USCG physical standards for qualified members of the engine department JUNIOR ENGINEER PROGRAM Applicants completing our 70-hour Basic Propulsion Systems Maintenance, 70-hour Basic Refrigeration & HVAC, 70hour Basic Electricity, and 203-hour Auxiliary Plant Maintenance courses, and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 12.15-9, if presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, for the General Safety, Junior Engineer, and Deck Engineer examination modules, provided they also present evidence of acquiring at least 90 days engine room service while endorsed as a QMED Oiler prior to commencing the above training. Prerequisites: Basic Safety. Recommended: Tankerman Assistant (DL), QMED-Oiler/Motor, Total USCGapproved sea or equivalent service in engine room of vessels for at least 6 months, Fireman/WT or Oiler rating Machinist Applicants completing our 102-hour Machinist course, and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 12.15- 9, if presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, for the Machinist examination module, provided they also present evidence of completing the requirements to be endorsed with a Junior Engineer rating endorsement prior to commencing the above training. This course provides mariners cognitive and practical mechanical skills in the area of general metalworking and machine tool operations. Prerequisites: STCW certification in all areas of basic safety training, USCG physical standards for QMED OR hold the USCG Oiler Rating endorsement, STCW certificate as a RFPEW, completed QMED Junior Engineer training program, and USCG Junior Engineer rating Marine Electrician Applicants completing our 280-hour Marine Electrician course, and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy the requirements of 46 CFR 12.15-9, if presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the completion of training, for the Electrician examination module, provided they also present evidence of acquiring at least 90 days’ engine room service while endorsed as a QMED–Junior Engineer prior to commencing the above training. This course provides Engine De- 14 Seafarers LOG partment personnel with the theoretical and practical knowledge and skills necessary to perform maintenance and repair operations on motors, generators, and controllers on board ship. Prerequisite: 6 months QMED Pumpman The Paul Hall Center’s Pumpman course is a 70-hour, 10-day course designed for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.-flag vessels. Training meets or exceeds requirements of 46 CFR Sec. 12.15-9 (c) for Pumpman. The objective of the Pumpman course is to provide engine department personnel with the theoretical and practical knowledge and the skills necessary to operate, maintain, and repair the equipment associated with the handling of liquid cargo onboard a tankship. Topics covered in the Pumpman course are Inert Gas Systems, Crude Oil Washing (COW) Systems, Vapor Recovery, and two days of assessment in the Cargo Simulator. On successful completion of this course, students will be awarded a Paul Hall Center certificate. Each student must meet the following entrance requirements: Paul Hall Center Apprentice Program Phases I, II, and III, including Tanker Familiarization Dangerous Liquids (DL) training, Paul Hall Center FOWT Program, QMED Any Rating, Paul Hall Center QMED Junior Engineer Program Students taking training prior to April 4, 1997 or who did not have access to the Paul Hall Center UA program must satisfy the following requirements: STCW certification in all areas of basic safety training, successful completion of the Paul Hall Center Tanker Familiarization DL course, successful completion of the Paul Hall Center FOWT program (non-rated applicants), USCG-approved sea time and equivalent sea service in the engine room of vessels of at least 6 months, meet all USCG physical standards for qualified members of the engine department Students entering the industry before August 1, 1998 must hold either the USCG Fireman/WT or Oiler rating endorsements (rated applicants) Marine Refrigeration Technician The Paul Hall Center’s Marine Refrigeration Technician course is a 6week (210-hour) course designed for mariners who are employed, or may be employed, on U.S.-flag vessels. Training meets or exceeds requirements of 46 CFR Section 12.15-9 (b) for Refrigeration Engineer. The objective of the Marine Refrigeration Technician course is to provide engine department personnel with the theoretical and practical knowledge and the skills necessary to perform maintenance and repair operations on ship’s stores plants, air conditioning plants, cargo refrigeration, ventilation and dehumidification equipment, as well as pantry refrigerators, water coolers, and ice machines. An introduction to refrigerated container units will also be presented. Successful candidates will earn a Paul Hall Center certificate of training. Each candidate must meet the following entrance requirements: Successfully completed a USCGapproved STCW Basic Safety Training course; possess current U.S. Merchant Mariner Document (MMD) or USCG license; speak and understand verbal orders in English; six months at sea as a Qualified Member of the Engineering Department (QMED) Junior Engineer and possess the Electrician’s endorsement or the Refrigerating Engineer’s endorsement; provide documented proof of fulfilling the physical examination requirements in accordance with 46 CFR 12.15-5 ENGINEERING SPECIALTY COURSES Diesel Engine Technology This 4-week course, leading to certification in diesel engine technology, consists of classroom instruction and hands-on training. Topics of instruction include diesel engine theory; two- and four-stroke cycle operating principles; and the construction, operation, maintenance, repair and troubleshooting of low-, medium- and high-speed diesel engines. Also covered are associated auxiliaries including intake and exhaust systems, lubrication and cooling systems, and fuel injection and starting systems. Students receive practical training in the operation and repair of diesel engines on board school training vessels. Prerequisites: QMED-Any Rating or equivalent inland experience Automated Cargo Ops This 6-week course of instruction in the pumpman career track includes classroom and simulator training in all facets of liquid cargo loading and discharge. The curriculum consists of cargo properties and emergency procedures, operation and maintenance of valves and pumps, loading procedures, cargo pump operations, cargo measurement, discharging procedures, ballasting procedures, tank cleaning, inert gas systems and more. Prerequisites: QMED-Any Rating Class 3 or QMED Junior Engineer/Pumpman Class 3. Recommended: Basic and Intermediate Math and Computer Basic Advanced plant maintenance must be completed for advancement to QMED Class 2 Refrigeration System Maintenance & Operations Now an elective, this 6-week class blends practical and classroom instruction leading to certification in refrigeration system maintenance and operations. Among the topics covered are theory of mechanical refrigeration, major system components, accessories, cycle controls, refrigerants and oils, and applied electricity. Standard service techniques are emphasized, such as the operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance of ships’ stores plants, air conditioning plants, cargo ventilation and dehumidifying equipment, and pantry refrigerators, water coolers, and ice machines. Hands-on shop training includes the complete fabrication of a working refrigeration system from basic system components. An introduction to refrigerated container units is also presented. Students must be certified as QMEDAny Rating or have equivalent inland experience or hold Coast Guard endorsements as refrigeration engineer and electrician in order to enroll for this course. Prerequisites: QMED-Any rating, OR Refrigeration Engineer and Electrician OR equivalent inland experience Refrigerated Containers Advanced Maintenance This 4-week course leads to certification in refrigerated containers maintenance and consists of classroom and practical shop training. The training experience enables students to assume the duties of a maintenance electrician on board ships carrying refrigerated containers. Students receive training in all phases of refrigerated container unit operation, maintenance, repair, and troubleshooting. This includes the various types of engines, refrigeration, and electrical systems. The course is designed to help students develop a systematic approach to troubleshooting, and maintenance procedures. Prerequisites: 6-months’ sea time as Wiper, 6 additional months’ sea time in any Engineering Department rating. Must hold a QMED-any rating endorsement, or endorsements as Refrigeration Engineer and Electrician, or possess equivalent inland experience Hydraulics The curriculum in the 4-week hydraulics course blends practical training with classroom work. Fluids, actuators, control devices, pumps, reservoirs, symbols, and hydraulic systems in marine equipment are among the subjects covered in this class. Also addressed are principles of electrical control of hydraulic systems, cargo winches, deck cranes, anchor windlasses, ships’ steering systems, ramps, fire doors, and a variety of other shipboard systems. Prerequisite: QMED-Any Rating Welding Classroom instruction and hands-on training compose this 4-week course, which features practical training in electric arc welding and cutting and oxy-acetylene brazing, welding, and cutting. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites STEWARD DEPT. Galley Operations The course consists of two 2-week modules (totaling 4 weeks). Each module is 35 hours with additional time participating in the school’s galley operations. This course provides the student with understanding of the basic baking knowledge and skills potentially required of a member of the steward department. Prerequisites: Paul Hall Center UA Program and 240 days’ sea time OR 365 days’ sea time as an SA Continued on next page January 2007 �39917_P01_24x.qxp 12/27/2006 1:34 AM Page 15 Course Guide Continued from page 14 Certified Chief Cook This course consists of six 2-week stand-alone modules totaling 12 weeks. This structure allows eligible upgraders to enroll at the start of any module. The objective of the Certified Chief Cook (FSM 203) is to provide Steward Department personnel with an understanding and knowledge of sanitation, nutrition, and the preparation and service of soups, sauces, meats, poultry, and seafood. Prerequisites: Galley Operations and 180 days’ sea time Advanced Galley Operations This course consists of four 1-week modules (totaling 4 weeks). The course provides students with a thorough grasp of the advanced baking knowledge and skills required of a member of the steward department. Prerequisites: Paul Hall Center Certified Chief Cook and 180 days’ sea time Certified Chief Steward The Certified Chief Steward course is a 12-week course for members of the Steward Department. The course is presented in eight modules. Each module is assessed independently of the others. Modules may be taken in 1 week increments with breaks between. This course trains stewards to take charge of production galley, plan and prepare meals, and supervise employees in galley operations for a period of not less than 28 days. On meeting the minimum requirements for Certified Chief Steward, culinary students will be competent to take charge of a production galley. The Certified Chief Steward course stresses the competencies related to the supervision of the galley, menu planning, requisitioning of supplies, inventory control, and sanitation. Prerequisites: Advanced Galley Operations and 180 days’ sea time SAFETY CLASSES Basic Safety Training Applicants completing our 40-hour Basic Safety Training course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy: (1) the Personal Survival training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-1 of the Seafarers’ Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(1);—AND— (2) the Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-2 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);—AND—(3) the Elementary First Aid training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-3 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(3);—AND— (4) the Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-4 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(4). Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites First Aid & CPR (21-Hour) Applicants completing our 21-hour First Aid & CPR course satisfy: (1) the Basic Safety-Elementary First Aid training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table AVI/ 1-3 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(3);—AND— (2)—IF—presented WITHIN 1 YEAR of the date of training, the First Aid & CPR training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(h)(1)(ii) and 10.205(h)(2)(iii) for original issuance of a license. Students in this class learn the principles and techniques of safety and basic first aid, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) according to the accepted standards of the American Red Cross. Successful students are awarded a certificate from the American Red Cross. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites First Aid (8-Hour) Applicants completing our 8-hour Elementary First Aid course and presenting our Certificate of Training at the Regional Exam Center (REC) satisfy: (1) the First Aid training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(h)(1)(ii) for original issuance of a license;—AND—(2) the Basic SafetyElementary First Aid training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1- 3 of the Seafarers Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(3). Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Advanced Fire Fighting Applicants completing our 37-hour Advanced Fire Fighting course satisfy the Advanced Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/3 and Table A-VI/3 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);—AND—the Advanced Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(g) and 10.401(g)(1) for a license. During this course, students learn to blueprint a vessel and organize emergency squads for fire fighting. The class covers effective communication between crew members and land-based fire units, leadership roles and responsibilities, documentation of crew training, and emergency squad training. Students also learn to inspect and service personal shipboard fire extinguish- ing equipment before going through shipboard simulations and actual firefighting drills. Prerequisite: Basic Fire Fighting Basic Fire Fighting (16-Hour) Applicants completing our 16-hour Basic Fire Fighting course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy: (1) the Basic Safety Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-2 of the Seafarers Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);— AND—(2) the Basic Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(g) and 10.401(g)(1) for a license;—AND—(3) the Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 13.113 (d)(2)(i)(A), 13.113(e)(1)(i)(A) or (B), 13.201(e), 13.301(e), 13.401(d) or 13.501(e) for any tankerman endorsement. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Basic Fire Fighting (30-Hour) Applicants completing our 30-hour Basic Fire Fighting course and presenting our Certificate of Training at a Regional Exam Center, satisfy: (1) the Basic Safety Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/1 and Table A-VI/1-2 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);—AND—(2) the Basic Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(g) and 10.401(g)(1) for a license;—AND—(3) the Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 13.113(d)(2)(i)(A), 13.113(e)(1)(i)(A) or (B), 13.201(e), 13.301(e), 13.401(d) or 13.501(e) for any tankerman endorsement. The objective of this course is to familiarize the student with the chemical process of fire, its behavior and the various methods and equipment used to combat it. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Combined Basic & Advanced Fire Fighting Applicants completing our 32-hour Advanced Fire Fighting course satisfy: (1) the Advanced Fire Fighting training requirements of Section A-VI/3 and Table AVI/ 3 of the STCW Code and 46 CFR 10.205(l)(2);—AND—(2) the Advanced Fire Fighting training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(g) and 10.401(g)(1) for a license. The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the fundamentals of shipboard and tank barge fire fighting. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites CRUISE SHIPS Crisis Management and Human Behavior Applicants completing our 7-hour Crisis Management & Human Behavior course satisfy: (1) the Crisis Management & Human Behavior training requirements of Table A-V/2 and Paragraph 5 of Section A-V/2 of the STCW Code for Passenger Ships Other Than Ro-Ro Passenger Ships;—AND—(2) the Passenger Safety training requirements of Paragraph 4 of Section A-V/2 of the STCW Code for Passenger Ships Other Than Ro-Ro Passenger Ships. This course is designed for any person responsible for the safety of passengers in an emergency on passenger ships. The training includes organizing the safe movement of passengers when embarking and disembarking, organizing shipboard emergency procedures, optimizing the use of resources, controlling responses to emergencies, controlling passengers and other personnel during emergency situations, and the establishing and maintaining effective communications. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites Crowd Management Applicants completing our 4-hour Crowd Management course satisfy: (1) the Crowd Management training requirements of Paragraph 1 of Section A-V/3 of the STCW Code for Passenger Ships Other Than Ro-Ro Passenger Vessels;—AND— (2) the Safety Training requirements of Paragraph 3 of Section A-V/3 of the STCW Code for Passenger Ships Other Than Ro-Ro Passenger Vessels. This course profiles the required knowledge and applicable skills for crowd management including controlling a crowd in an emergency, locating safety and emergency equipment on board a vessel, complying with ships’ emergency procedures, effective communications during an emergency, and demonstrating the use of personal life-saving devices. Prerequisites: No additional prerequisites January 2007 Seafarers LOG 15 �39917_P01_24x.qxp 12/27/2006 1:40 AM Page 16 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. for the first few months of 2007. All programs are geared to improve the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. FOWT February 26 April 23 March 23 May 18 Junior Engineer January 8 March 2 Machinist January 15 February 2 Marine Electrician March 12 May 4 Welding January 15 February 12 March 12 April 9 May 7 February 2 March 2 March 30 April 27 May 25 Inland Upgrading Courses Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman January 22 March 5 April 16 May 28 February 16 March 30 May 11 June 22 Automatic Radar Plotting Aids* (ARPA) (*must have radar unlimited January 29 February 2 Celestial Navigation January 15 February 9 Lifeboatman/Water Survival January 8 February 19 April 2 May 14 January 19 March 2 April 13 May 25 Radar January 15 January 26 Radar Renewal (one day) February 5 Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations modules start every week. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward classes start every other week beginning January 8, 2007. Course Start Date Date of Completion Inland Radar (non STCW) January 8 January 12 Safety Specialty Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Advanced Fire Fighting January 15 January 26 Basic Safety Training - AB February 26 March 2 Basic Safety Training - FOWT May 21 May 25 Government Vessels January 22 March 19 February 9 April 6 Medical Care Provider January 29 February 2 Tankerman Familiarization/ Assistant Cargo (DL)* February 12 April 2 February 23 April 13 February 19 February 23 (*must have basic fire fighting) Tankerman (PIC) Barge* (*must have basic fire fighting) Engine Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Basic Auxiliary Plant Ops January 29 February 23 March 26 April 20 May 21 June 15 � UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Deep Sea Member † Lakes Member Date of Birth ______________________ † Inland Waters Member † If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____________________________ Department _____________________ U.S. Citizen: Yes † No †t Home Port ___________________________ Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twentyfive (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. BEGIN DATE COURSE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? † Yes † No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? † Yes † No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? † Yes † No Firefighting: † Yes † No CPR: † Yes † No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ 16 Seafarers LOG SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 1/07 January 2007 �39917_P01_24.qxp 12/21/2006 4:31 PM Page 17 Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA KASSEM ABDULLA, 57, joined the SIU in 1969 in the port of New York. Brother Abdulla’s first ship was the Steel Direct. The engine department member, who was born in Saudi Arabia, most recently sailed on the Horizon Consumer. He upgraded his skills at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. in 2000. Brother Abdulla is a resident of San Francisco. CARLOS ARBOLEDA, 65, launched his seafaring career in 1967 in the port of New York. Brother Arboleda initially shipped on the Hudson Waterways. He was born in Ecuador and upgraded his skills in 1976 at the union’s affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Brother Arboleda’s most recent voyage was aboard the Express. He calls the Bronx, N.Y. home. HENRY CAMPBELL, 55, joined the SIU in 1968, first working on the Steel Architect as a member of the engine department. He was born in Windsocket, R.I. and upgraded at the Piney Point, Md. school in 1993. Brother Campbell makes his home in Tacoma, Wash. JUAN CARVAJAL, 65, became an SIU member in 1967 in the port of New Orleans. Brother Carvajal, who was born in Mexico, first sailed aboard the Cortland in the deck department. He most recently worked on the Del Mar. Brother Carvajal lives in Forest, Va. LUIS CERCADO, 65, began his career with the Seafarers in 1989, initially sailing aboard the Independence. Brother Cercado, who is a native of Ecuador, upgraded on two occasions at the Paul Hall Center. The steward department member most recently worked on the Liberator. Brother Cercado resides in the Bronx, N.Y. FREDERICK COLLINS, 52, was born in Milford, Mass. and joined the union in 1971 in Piney Point, Md. He first sailed aboard the Seattle. Brother Collins was a frequent upgrader at the Paul Hall Center. The deck department member’s most recent January 2007 ship was the Green Dale. Brother Collins settled in Boca Raton, Fla. BERNARDO CRUZ, 65, embarked on his seafaring career in 1985. Brother Cruz was born in Spain. His first ship was the Lawrence Gianella; his last was the Global Link. In 2000, Brother Cruz upgraded his skills in Piney Point. He now makes his home in the Canary Islands. ROBERT FRYETT, 65, joined the SIU in 1974. Brother Fryett’s first voyage was aboard the Van Defender. Born in Massachusetts, he was a member of the deck department. Brother Fryett enhanced his skills often at the Paul Hall Center. His most recent voyage was on the Sgt. William R. Button. Brother Fryett lives in Cocoa Beach, Fla. ELHASSAN HUSSEIN, 65, initiated his seafaring career in 1997 in the port of New York. Brother Hussein, who was born in Saudi Arabia, first sailed aboard the Independence. Brother Hussein upgraded on three occasions at the Piney Point school. His most recent voyage was on the Commitment. Brother Hussein calls Brooklyn, N.Y. home. GORDON LINDEN, 65, joined the SIU in 1967, first shipping aboard a Liberty Navigation Trading vessel. The engine department member was born in Iowa. Brother Linden last sailed aboard the Neches. He lives in Watertown, S.D. PHILIP PARISI, 65, became an SIU member in 1968, first sailing aboard a South Atlantic Caribbean vessel. He worked in the steward department and upgraded his skills frequently at the union affiliated school in Piney Point. His most recent ship was the 1st Lt. Baldomero Lopez. Brother Parisi was born in Massachusetts and now calls Indian Shores, Fla. home. PIERANGELO POLETTI, 65, was born in Italy. Brother Poletti commenced his seafaring career in 1967, initially sailing on the Western Planet as a member of the deck department. Brother Poletti’s last voyage was aboard the Performance. He is a resident of Humble, Texas. INLAND LAWRENCE DOWNS JR., 66, joined the union in 1973 in the port of Philadelphia. Boatman Downs was born in Oxford, Maine. He first sailed aboard a Mariner Towing vessel. Boatman Downs upgraded his skills in 1998 and 2000 at the Paul Hall Center. He most recently shipped on a Penn Maritime vessel. Boatman Downs resides in Silver Springs, Fla. Boatman Vela’s most recent trip to sea was aboard a Crowley Towing of Wilmington vessel. He settled in Puerto Rico. MARY HOOPER, 62, started sailing with the SIU in 1987. Sister Hooper worked primarily aboard Orgulf Transport Company vessels. In 1996, she upgraded her skills at the Piney Point school. Sister Hooper makes her home in Sturgis, Ky. DAWUD YAMINI, 62, joined the union in 1991 in the port of New Orleans. Boatman Yamini first shipped aboard a Delta Queen Steamship Company vessel as a member of the deck department. He was a frequent upgrader at the Paul Hall Center. Boatman Yamini’s last ship was the Louis J. Hauge Jr. He resides in Brookhaven, Miss. JOHN ROSSER, 47, began his SIU career in 1977. Boatman Rosser, who is a native of Louisiana, worked primarily aboard Crescent Towing of New Orleans vessels. Boatman Rosser lives in Harvey, La. THOMAS VELA, 62, joined the SIU in 1979. Boatman Vela, who was born in California, sailed in the deck department. His first ship was the Santa Magdalena. GREAT LAKES JAMES REILLY, 59, began his seafaring career in 1970. Born in Michgan, he first sailed aboard Inland Lakes Management vessels. In 2003, the engine department member upgraded his skills at the school in Piney Point. Prior to retiring, Brother Reilly worked on the Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1947 After more than a month of negotiations, a contract covering wages, manning scales and working conditions for the deck, engine and steward departments was signed last week with the Peninsular and Occidental (P&O) Steamship Company. The new contract will remain in effect until September 30 and can be automatically renewed each year unless either party gives notice to terminate or amend the agreement. This agreement has been held to be one of the best in the maritime industry. Nine holidays are recognized in the new agreement and wages were raised for crew members in all three departments. American Mariner. He is a resident of his native state. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust, recently went on pension. FREDDY ARRIOLA, 47, embarked on his NMU career in 1994 in the port of Houston. Brother Arriola, who was born in Honduras, first sailed on the Briston. He shipped in the steward department. ROBERT KNIGHT, 65, joined the union in 1968, initially sailing from the port of Boston aboard the Austin. The Connecticut native worked in the steward department. Brother Knight most recently sailed on the Green Cove. MAURICE MARTIN, 66, was born in Port Arthur, Texas. He joined the NMU in 1989 in the port of Houston. Brother Martin first sailed on the Marine Chemist. His most recent vessel was the Tallahassee Bay. pute. An impasse arose over the union’s demands for parity with the West Coast unions on overtime and penalty pay rates, plus an across-the-board 20 percent wage increase, all retroactive to July 1. 1969 New York—The SIU this week transferred 50 pints of blood from the Seafarers Blood Bank in Brooklyn to the city’s facilities in order to help alleviate the critical shortage of blood here which has resulted from the increased need for plasma and the sharp decline in contributions from regular sources due to the current Hong Kong flu epidemic. SIU Director of Social Security Al Bernstein made the original offer on behalf of the union in a letter sent last week to Dr. Edward O’Rourke, commissioner of the New York City Department of Health. “Our membership and nationwide facilities are also available to assist further in this emergency,” the letter added. This Month In SIU History 1958 The SIU’s right to picket the Bull Line was upheld in a decision issued recently by the Supreme Court in Washington. By next week the SIU will be free to resume its strike against the Bull Line at any time. The high court’s action, in effect, affirmed a Circuit Court of Appeals decision two months ago that a District Court injunction issued October 1 “must be set aside.” SIU officials and attorneys hailed this week’s decision by the nation’s highest court as being in full support of peaceful union picketing. It was regarded as a complete vindication of the SIU’s position since the Bull Line strike began. Strike action against the company began last August 19 when the SIU struck the Bull Line terminal in Brooklyn in a wage reopening dis- 1978 Lindsey J. Williams, SIU Gulf area vice president, was honored with a testimonial dinner by the Greater New Orleans A. Philip Randolph Institute on Jan. 13. Williams was cited by the institute for his many contributions over the years to labor, education and political efforts. He is president of the Greater New Orleans AFL-CIO Central Labor Council body and Committee on Political Action. The council represents over 100 unions in the New Orleans area. He is also president of the MTD Maritime Port Council of Greater New Orleans and Vicinity. Seafarers LOG 17 �39917_P01_24.qxp 12/21/2006 4:31 PM Page 18 Final Departures DEEP SEA GEORGE ADAMISIN Pensioner George Adamisin, 81, passed away July 6. Brother Adamisin joined the union in 1944 in the port of New York. Born in Nantiglo, Pa., Brother Adamisin first sailed on the Alcoa Runner. His last ship was the Horizon Producer. Brother Adamisin retired in 1986 and settled in Pittsburgh. GEORGE ALEXANDER Pensioner George Alexander, 75, died July 25. Brother Alexander became an SIU member in 1951 in the port of New York. He first worked aboard a Terminal Transport Corporation vessel as a member of the deck department. The North Carolina native went on pension in 1989. Brother Alexander’s last voyage was aboard the Horizon Fairbanks. He called Elizabeth City, N.C. home. HARRY CHAMBERS Pensioner Harry Chambers, 98, passed away July 8. Brother Chambers joined the Marine Cooks & Stewards (MC&S) in 1953 in the port of San Francisco. He was born in Salisbury, N.C. and shipped in the steward department. Brother Chambers sailed on American President Line vessels, including the President Harrison and the President Polk. He retired in 1982 and made his home in New York. VINCE CURRIE Pensioner Vince Currie, 81, died July 12. Brother Currie launched his SIU career in 1966 in the port of New York. He initially shipped on the Delta Ecuador as a member of the steward department. Brother Currie’s last trip to sea was aboard the Overseas Vivian. He was a resident of his native state, North Carolina, and started collecting his pension in 1991. JOSE GOMEZ Pensioner Jose Gomez, 90, passed away July 31. Brother Gomez joined the SIU in 1945 in the port of Philadelphia. He first worked in the deck department on board the Steel Worker. Brother Gomez, who was born in the Virgin Islands, last sailed on the Voyager. He made his home in New York and began receiving compensation for his retirement in 1984. ERROL HALL Brother Errol Hall, 53, died July 15. He began sailing with the SIU in 1977 in the port of Houston. Brother Hall was born in New Orleans and shipped in the deck department. He most recently worked on the Coast Range. Brother Hall continued to 18 Seafarers LOG live in his native state. He started receiving his pension in 2000. GEORGE LACHETSKI Pensioner George Lachetski, 83, passed away July 4. Brother Lachetski, who was born in Pennsylvania, joined the union in 1966 in the port of San Francisco. Brother Lachetski’s first ship was the Santa Maria; his last was the Santa Magdalena. He sailed as a member of the steward department. Brother Lachetski went on pension in 1985 and called Butler, Pa. home. HAROLD LAWRENCE member, who was born in Alabama, first sailed aboard an ISCO Inc. vessel. Prior to retiring in 1986, he worked on the USNS Antares. Brother Miles continued to live in Alabama. JOSE PALACIOS Brother Jose Palacios, 35, passed away June 24. He joined the Seafarers in 2001 in the port of New York. Brother Palacios’ first voyage was on the USNS Charlton. He was born in Honduras and sailed in the deck department. Brother Palacios most recently worked on the USNS Watkins. He made his home in New York. Pensioner Harold Lawrence, 89, died July 26. Brother Lawrence embarked on his SIU career in 1951. His first voyage was aboard the Alcoa Pointer. Brother Lawrence worked in the steward department. He last sailed on the Cove Ranger. Brother Lawrence was born in Jacksonville, Miss. and called Sierra Vista, Ariz. home. He became a pensioner in 1982. Brother Paul Rittiner, 58, died Feb. 14. A native of Louisiana, he joined the SIU in 1965 in New Orleans. Brother Rittiner first sailed on the John B. Waterman. He was a resident of New Orleans but made his home in Fort Worth, Texas after being displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Brother Rittiner last worked aboard the USNS Pollux. MORRIS MAULTSBY KEITHER SMITH PAUL RITTINER sel. Brother Muhsin, who was born in Yemen, shipped in the steward department. Before retiring in 1995, he sailed on the JAW Iglehart. Brother Muhsin made his home in Yemen. JOSEPH MITCHELL Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust, have passed away. NED EVERSLEY Pensioner Ned Eversley, 89, died March 30. Brother Eversley became an NMU member in 1943, initially sailing from the port of New York aboard the Black Point. He was born in British Guyana and sailed in the engine department. Brother Eversley’s last voyage was on the Mormac Trade. He began receiving his pension in 1970. FELIX FREEMAN Pensioner Felix Freeman, 81, passed away April 9. Brother Freeman was born in New Orleans. He joined the NMU in 1945, first sailing aboard the George W. Woodward. Brother Freeman was a member of the steward department. Prior to retiring in 1970, he worked on the United States. Pensioner Morris Maultsby, 80, passed away July 8. Brother Maultsby began his seafaring career in 1951. His first voyage was on an Ore Navigation Corporation vessel. The steward department member was born in Bladenboro, N.C. Before retiring in 1985, Brother Maultsby’s shipped aboard the Bayamon. He lived in Conway, N.C. Pensioner Keither Smith, 85, passed away June 1. Brother Smith joined the SIU in 1950 in the port of New York. His first voyage was on the Sea Georgia, on which he shipped as a member of the engine department. Brother Smith’s last journey was aboard the Steel Apprentice. He resided in his native state of Mississippi. JOHN “WHITEY” McHALE INLAND JASPER LAUGHLIN JR. Pensioner John “Whitey” McHale, 79, died June 1. Brother McHale joined the Seafarers in 1946 in the port of New York. He sailed in the deck department for most of his career, working his way up from ordinary seaman to bosun. Brother McHale’s last trip to sea was on CSX Lines’ Oakland. He retired in 1988 and settled in Montrose, N.Y. WILLIAM JUDD Pensioner Jasper Laughlin Jr., 81, died March 28. Brother Laughlin joined the NMU in 1947 in Savannah, Ga. The deck department member, who was born in Gaffney, S.C., first sailed on the Coastal Ranger. His last voyage was on the Mormac Star. Brother Laughlin went on pension in 1985. BERNARD MICIAK Pensioner Bernard Miciak, 80, passed away July 18. Brother Miciak began his SIU career in 1963. His first ship was the Grana Polis; his last was the Cape Canaveral. Brother Miciak was a member of the deck department. He was born in Poland and resided in Baltimore, Md. Brother Miciak went on pension in 1991. WILBERT MILES Pensioner Wilbert Miles, 80, died June 14. Brother Miles joined the SIU in 1951 in the port of New York. The steward department Pensioner William Judd, 51, passed away May 16. Born in Louisiana, Boatman Judd embarked on his seafaring career in 1972, initially sailing from the port of New Orleans. Throughout his career, he shipped aboard Crescent Towing of New Orleans vessels. Boatman Judd, who called Metairie, La. home, went on pension in 2004. WILLIAM PETERSON Pensioner William Peterson, 78, died April 7. Boatman Peterson became an SIU member in 1961. He worked primarily aboard Interstate Oil Transportation vessels. Boatman Peterson, who was born in Brooklawn, N.J., made his home in Seminole, Fla. He started receiving compensation for his retirement in 1989. GREAT LAKES MUSLEH MUHSIN Pensioner Musleh Muhsin, 76, passed away May 25. Brother Muhsin joined the ranks of the SIU in 1967. He first sailed on an American Steamship Company ves- Carolinas; his last was the Texaco Maryland. Brother Martinez, who sailed in the steward department, was born in Valencia, Spain. He became a pensioner in 1984. EMILIO MARTINEZ Pensioner Emilio Martinez, 85, passed away April 14. Brother Martinez started his NMU career in 1963 in the port of Jacksonville, Fla. His first ship was the Amoco Pensioner Joseph Mitchell, 100, died May 7. Brother Mitchell started shipping with the union in 1937 from the port of New York. His first ship was the San Jose. Brother Mitchell was a native of Virginia. Before retiring in 1978, he worked aboard a Farrell Lines vessel as a member of the steward department. MIHKEL MURUVEE Pensioner Mihkel Muruvee, 84, passed away April 18. Brother Muruvee embarked on his seafaring career in 1947 in Boston. Born in Estonia, he first sailed in the deck department on board the Louis B. Marshall. He went on pension in 1983. JACK OTTE Pensioner Jack Otte, 69, died May 6. Brother Otte joined the NMU ranks in 1952 in the port of New York. He first worked on the Gulf Meadows. Born in Paterson, N.J., Brother Otte was a member of the steward department. The U.S. Army veteran last sailed aboard the American Envoy. He began receiving his retirement compensation in 1976. JOHN SOLAR Pensioner John Solar, 84, passed away April 19. Brother Solar, who was born in Texas, joined the NMU in 1939 in the port of Houston. Brother Solar sailed in all three departments during his seafaring career. He went on pension in 1968. Editor’s note: In addition to the individuals listed above, the following NMU members, all of whom were pensioners, passed away on the dates indicated. NAME Albis, Julio Bouchie, Otis Cebollero, Jesus Clute, Peter Doorn, Armand Foster, Roland Guill, Frank Mandahar, Helen Price, Edward Santiago, Juan Spreng, Andrew Stone, James Tyson, Harry Whitehouse, Henry Young, William AGE 87 83 80 80 80 80 77 62 94 84 79 69 84 80 81 DOD Oct. 9 Sept. 14 Oct. 12 Oct. 21 Oct. 30 Oct. 29 Sept. 30 Oct. 25 Oct. 23 Sept. 26 Oct. 5 Oct. 9 Sept. 2 April 3 Oct. 6 January 2007 �39917_P01_24.qxp 12/21/2006 4:31 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication.. ADAM E. CORNELIUS (American Steamship), Oct. 31— Chairman Jared C. Smith, Secretary Walter L. Wise, Educational Director Robert T. Crosby, Deck Delegate Greg Ball, Engine Delegate Shawn C. Sayers, Steward Delegate Terri L. Sales. Chairman discussed communication received from headquarters regarding entry into Canada. Deck delegate talked about winter weather safety. Engine delegate reported ballast tank gauges not operating properly. He also went over the importance of personal protection equipment. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Clarification requested on program package for satellite system. Members were urged to take advantage of upgrading opportunties at Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. and of benefits available from Union Plus. AMERICAN REPUBLIC (American Steamship), Oct. 27— Chairman Jeffery E. Eckhart, Secretary Karam S. Kattar, Educational Director Jeffery G. Frankovich. Chairman talked about increased security at Canadian border and reminded members to have all necessary verification on hand. Educational director inquired about internet service. Treasurer requested more copies of new contract. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Discussion held concerning medical benefits and availability of doctors in rural areas. BUFFALO (American Steamship), Oct. 31—Chairman Boyd D. Messer, Secretary Nazeh A. Nasser, Educational Director Mohamed M. Ahmed. Chairman discussed decreased tax on parts and supplies in foreign waters. He also talked about President Bush’s visit to the Piney Point school. Secretary noted satellite receivers to come aboard soon. All employees were asked to turn in safety report when departing vessel. Treasurer reported company supplies basic satellite. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made for new TV in lounge. Crew members were encouraged to start renewal process of MMDs early. Next port: Waukegan, Ill. BURNS HARBOR (American Steamship), Oct. 22—Chairman Michael J. Keogh, Secretary Peter J. Pines, Educational Director Martin L. Hochstafl, Engine Delegate Edric Hernandez. Bosun discussed new entry procedure for Canada. Educational director reminded crew of required safety class. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Great Lakes vice president’s report was read along with port agent’s report. Satellite boxes have been ordered. CHEMICAL TRADER (Intrepid), Oct. 29—Chairman Raymond A. Tate, Secretary Josue L. Iglesia, Educational Director Troy D. Banks, Deck Delegate Michael D. Wittenberg, Steward Delegate Manes Sainvil. Chairman announced payoff upon arrival in Tampa, Fla. Patrolman should be there to collect any dues owed and take care of any concerns. Educational director advised mariners to upgrade skills at the Paul Hall Center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion made to lower retirement age. Steward department given vote of thanks for good meals. CHESAPEAKE (Interocean American Shipping), Oct. 29— Chairman David B. Zurek, Secretary Emilio Cordova, Educational Director Earl M. Macom, Deck Delegate Leodiane M. Torrenueva. Bosun informed crew that ship would be going into ROS status. Educational director urged members to stay abreast of maritime issues by reading Seafarers LOG and taking advantage of educational opportunities available at Piney Point school. No beefs; disputed OT reported in engine and steward departments. Crew requested copies of new contract. New pillows and mattresses were received. Next port: Oakland, Calif. HORIZON CHALLENGER (Horizon Lines), Oct. 18— Chairman Roy L. Williams, Secretary Donald B. GaNung, Educational Director Clive A. Steward Sr. Chairman announced Oct. 19 payoff to take place in Houston. He informed crew arrival time would be later then expected due to fog. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Discussion was held concerning medical benefits and the ever increasing costs of providing them. Clarification requested regarding shipping rules in new contract. NOBLE STAR (Sealift Tanker), Oct. 29—Chairman Damian J. Spedale, Secretary Debbie A. Randall, Educational Director John A. Osburn Jr., Deck Delegate Marvin E. Hearman, Engine Delegate Artur Symonowicz. Chairman and several crew members asked for written clarification on two wage-related issues. Secretary reported discussion about quality of food aboard ship. Crew members were asked to separate trash from plastic. Educational director advised mariners to take advantage of upgrading opportunities available at SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point. Crew requested new clothes dryer. Next port: Japan. WALTER J. McCARTHY (American Steamship), Oct. 27— Chairman Michael L. Schaff, Secretary Dariusz T. Czepczynski, Educational Director Jeffery Johnson. Chairman reminded IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR NMU ANNUITY PLAN The notice that follows is a requirement of the federal government. It is also important that you know that your employer’s agreement to begin making contributions to the Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan on January 1, 2007 is the first step in the process of merging the NMU Annuity Plan into the Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan. Until the merger takes place, your benefits in the NMU Annuity Plan are fully protected. In addition, as a participant in the Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan, you will begin to accrue benefits in that plan. December 15, 2006 The purpose of this notice is to provide you with advance written notice that, effective January 1, 2007, you will no longer acquire credit towards the NMU Annuity Plan for your days sailed. Please read it carefully. As you know, the National Maritime Union (the “NMU”) merged into the Seafarers International Union, Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO (the “SIU”) in 2001. The collective bargaining agreement between your employer and the SIU determines the amount that the employer contributes to the benefit plans covering SIU members, as well as which plans should be provided with the employer’s contributions. In order to become a participant in the NMU Annuity Plan, your employer was required to make a contribution to the NMU Annuity Plan on your behalf. Employers will not make contributions to the NMU Annuity Plan for days sailed on or after January 1, 2007. Instead, those employers who were required to contribute to the NMU Annuity Plan as of January 1, 2007, will be required to contribute to the Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan (the “SIU Annuity Plan”). If you are sailing for such employers, you may qualify for participation in the SIU Annuity Plan. Please keep in mind that this change applies to contributions for days sailed on or after January 1, 2007 only. Contributions made to the NMU Annuity Plan for days January 2007 sailed prior to January 1, 2007 will not be affected by this collective bargaining agreement change. Although the value of your individual account in the NMU Annuity Plan will no longer increase as a result of employer contributions, the value may be affected by administrative costs and increases and decreases in the value of the investments in which the Trustees have invested the funds contained in the NMU Annuity Fund. If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact the Administrator’s Office, SIU Fund Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746, or by phone at (301) 899-0675. This notice is provided by the Board of Trustees of the NMU Annuity Fund to describe a change in the rate of future benefit accruals which will take effect on January 1, 2007, and is intended to satisfy the requirements for the issuance of a 204(h) Notice under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), as well as Section 4980F Notice under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. You should take the time to read this notice carefully and keep it with your copy of the Summary Plan Description (“SPD”). This notice is intended to provide you with an easy-to-understand description of certain changes to the NMU Annuity Plan. While every effort has been made to make this description as complete and as accurate as possible, this notice, of course, cannot contain a full restatement of the terms and provisions of the NMU Annuity Plan. If any conflict should arise between this summary and the NMU Annuity Plan, or if any point is not discussed in this notice or is only partially discussed, the terms of the NMU Annuity Plan will govern in all cases. The Board of Trustees (or its duly authorized designee) reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to amend, modify or terminate the NMU Annuity Plan, or any benefits provided under the NMU Annuity Plan, in whole or in part, at any time and for any reason, in accordance with the applicable amendment procedures. Only the Board of Trustees (or its duly authorized designee) has the exclusive right and power, in its sole and absolute discretion, to interpret the terms of the NMU Annuity Plan and decide all matters, legal and/or factual, arising thereunder. mariners to have passports by December; those who don’t already have one should apply now. He also discussed new rules regarding entry into Canada and possible TWIC requirements. Educational director encouraged crew to check Seafarers LOG for information about classes available at Paul Hall Center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. COMMITMENT (Maersk Line Limited), Nov. 10—Chairman Edward J. O’Connor Jr., Secretary Michael Hammock, Deck Delegate Gregory T. Johnson, Engine Delegate Gregorio A. Blanco. Chairman Delegate Tar Ahmed, Engine Delegate Charles M. Simmons, Steward Delegate Jaime O. Austria. Chairman announced Nov. 12 payoff in Tacoma, Wash. He asked all hands to check in with SIU patrolman before leaving vessel and informed them the Spirit would stay an extra day in Tacoma for repairs. Secretary reminded departing crew to leave rooms clean and supplied with fresh linen for next person. New ice machine on order. Educational director noted importance of upgrading skills at Piney Point and donating to SPAD fund. Treasurer stated $378 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Halloween Spirit aboard the Horizon Spirit Chief Cook Jaime Austria (below) carved these Halloween creatures aboard the Horizon Spirit. Chief Steward Mike Gramer, who sent the photos to the LOG, noted, “At sea we have to be creative and use what’s on hand to make things festive.” asked everyone to make sure rooms are clean before departing vessel. He congratulated crew on sanitary inspections and told them to keep up good work. Next issued z-cards will not have social security numbers on them. This is being done to protect against identity theft. Secretary asked crew members to be sure plastics and aerosol cans are separated when disposing of trash. Educational director urged mariners to keep all documents current. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Three new recliners have been ordered for crew deck lounge. Recommendation made to increase pension benefit. Vote of thanks given to steward department for job well done. Next ports: Newark, N.J.; Charleston, S.C. HORIZON PRODUCER (Horizon Lines), Nov. 15—Chairman Joel A. Lechel, Secretary William J. Bunch, Educational Director Angel S. Hernandez, Deck Delegate Cleofe B. Castro, Engine Delegate Ronald Williams, Steward Delegate Antonio Mendez. Chairman announced Nov. 17 payoff in Elizabeth, N.J. He reminded crew that washing machine does not work in rough seas. Bosun talked about importance of contributing to SPAD and the difference it makes in the political arena. He also discussed the changeover of congressional leadership in the mid-term elections. Educational director encouraged all crew members to check work-related documents’ expiration dates. Treasurer stated $2,000 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Members talked about timely receipt of money purchase pension plan statements. Issue was raised regarding lack of parking at Maersk terminal in Jacksonville. Crew expressed gratitude to steward department for great meals, cook-outs and clean house. HORIZON SPIRIT (Horizon Lines), Nov. 1—Chairman Haydon W. Gifford, Secretary Michael J. Gramer, Educational Director Milan Dzurek, Deck Members were asked to keep noise down in passageways and avoid slamming doors. Everyone on board extended happy and healthy retirement to Brother Don Anderson of the Tacoma hall. His humor, knowledge and dedication will be missed. Next ports: Tacoma; Oakland, Calif.; Honolulu; Guam. MAERSK QUALITY (Maersk Line Limited), Nov. 24— Chairman William M. Richards Jr., Secretary Charles E. Curley, Deck Delegate Robert S. Vazquez. Chairman reported smooth, safe trip to Italy and Spain. Secretary thanked deck and engine departments for helping keep ship clean. Educational director urged all mariners to take advantage of Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made for new chairs and stereo in crew lounge. OCEAN TITAN (Pacific Gulf Marine), Nov. 5—Chairman Kyle F. Schultz, Secretary Norman S. Bush, Educational Director John Alicea. Chairman announced Nov. 9 payoff on arrival in Houston. He reminded crew departing ship to make sure rooms are clean. Thanks given to steward department especially Apprentice Vivian—great job! No beefs or disputed OT reported. Members would like new DVD player and e-mail access. OVERSEAS LUXMAR (OSG Ship Management), Nov. 3— Chairman Charles H. Foley, Secretary Jonny Cruz, Educational Director Nelson S. Lazo, Steward Delegate Leonicio A. Castro. Chairman discussed needed repairs (refrigerators and water cooler). Secretary urged members to support SPAD; it is key to a strong merchant marine. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion made to lower age requirement in order to retire. Everyone was thanked for keeping ship clean. Next ports: Charleston, S.C.; St. Croix, V.I. Seafarers LOG 19 �39917_P01_24.qxp 12/21/2006 4:31 PM Page 20 Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea February & March 2007 Membership Meetings NOVEMBER 16 — DECEMBER 15, 2006 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals 3 1 4 12 1 5 45 41 0 11 20 41 21 29 4 2 6 3 37 29 3 8 5 15 5 5 35 24 1 16 9 18 21 9 7 1 5 10 32 19 3 4 1 6 4 2 13 7 1 2 2 10 11 1 2 1 1 1 9 11 TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 5 1 4 6 1 3 35 42 0 13 16 23 13 17 4 1 7 1 34 18 315 248 92 244 0 0 3 8 1 5 13 15 0 11 9 15 11 14 2 3 4 1 13 14 1 1 3 4 4 4 6 21 1 2 4 10 11 11 2 1 5 2 12 11 0 0 2 1 1 4 4 0 0 3 1 10 7 1 0 2 1 0 3 8 0 0 5 4 0 5 11 16 0 6 6 7 11 9 1 0 5 1 12 7 142 116 48 0 0 2 7 0 4 18 19 0 10 7 19 9 23 3 3 3 2 26 26 0 0 2 8 1 3 11 8 0 5 1 6 9 9 0 2 2 2 8 5 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 2 2 2 2 3 6 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 4 5 10 4 8 25 25 0 8 5 15 11 12 5 9 7 2 22 11 189 55 0 1 1 4 0 4 20 22 0 6 9 13 10 11 1 1 8 1 23 12 147 ENGINE DEPARTMENT 106 2 1 3 3 1 2 4 17 1 3 3 10 9 7 1 1 2 0 22 10 102 0 1 0 5 1 0 4 3 0 1 0 1 5 0 0 1 0 2 1 4 29 0 0 2 1 0 3 6 9 1 3 6 7 7 4 1 1 4 1 7 7 70 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 0 0 2 3 1 1 18 11 0 5 3 10 7 15 3 1 1 1 22 14 0 0 2 2 2 4 1 10 0 2 1 4 10 3 0 2 1 2 8 5 82 24 118 Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 1 0 1 1 10 1 5 0 0 0 0 4 1 1 5 6 8 2 6 26 18 0 6 5 44 17 12 2 5 2 1 15 13 2 1 1 6 2 9 16 11 0 2 4 25 17 6 2 42 0 0 15 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 2 0 2 1 4 0 0 1 0 6 0 0 0 8 3 2 3 16 12 0 4 2 12 8 6 1 7 0 0 8 8 Totals 32 194 167 20 670 640 331 488 Totals All Departments 1 2 1 4 2 1 9 1 0 2 2 6 5 0 1 0 1 0 7 10 59 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 3 1 16 **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 0 2 5 0 2 16 8 0 1 5 7 4 12 0 2 2 0 12 8 4 0 5 16 4 15 73 49 1 22 30 81 26 44 6 3 14 4 56 52 4 13 9 37 12 7 52 29 2 20 13 36 26 17 9 1 13 12 53 39 3 6 3 7 5 2 28 18 1 1 5 15 14 4 2 2 4 2 14 10 505 404 146 0 0 6 10 2 11 34 27 0 13 13 34 12 16 3 4 4 1 22 22 0 0 3 8 8 7 25 33 0 9 9 21 22 14 6 1 6 5 21 17 0 0 2 4 1 5 6 4 0 2 3 14 6 3 1 1 1 0 3 19 234 215 75 2 0 4 8 3 19 37 29 0 11 9 48 16 40 4 6 4 4 29 43 0 0 1 15 2 10 19 13 0 11 5 11 21 12 0 2 4 1 10 10 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 3 1 3 0 5 9 0 1 0 1 1 4 6 86 316 147 37 1 1 1 2 0 4 2 6 0 2 3 6 11 9 1 30 0 0 8 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 11 3 0 2 4 14 0 11 0 0 0 0 4 2 5 9 2 16 2 12 44 30 1 9 5 82 24 25 3 5 3 1 29 16 10 1 2 14 2 18 33 23 2 4 8 43 31 17 2 22 0 1 27 18 100 90 0 55 323 278 450 190 303 1,110 1,089 536 ENTRY DEPARTMENT Piney Point ...........Monday: February 5, March 5 Algonac ................Friday: February 9, March 9 DECK DEPARTMENT 181 Port Trip Reliefs Baltimore..............Thursday: February 8, March 8 Boston ..................Friday: February 9, March 9 Guam ....................Thursday: February 22, March 22 Honolulu...............Friday: February 16, March 16 Houston ................Monday: February 12, March 12 Jacksonville ..........Thursday: February 8, March 8 Joliet .....................Thursday: February 15, March 15 Mobile ..................Wednesday: February 14, March 14 New Orleans.........Tuesday: February 13, March 13 New York .............Tuesday: February 6, March 6 Norfolk .................Thursday: February 8, March 8 Philadelphia..........Wednesday: February 7, March 7 Port Everglades ....Thursday: February 15, March 15 San Francisco .......Thursday: February 15, March 15 San Juan ...............Thursday: February 8, March 8 St. Louis ...............Friday: February 16, March 16 Tacoma .................Friday: February 23, March 23 Wilmington...........Tuesday: February 20* ..............................Monday: March 19 ..............................(*change created by Presidents’ Day holiday) Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. Personals LOOKING FOR OLD SHIPMATES Edsel (Ed) Panton, 78, joined the SIU in New Orleans as a union organizer. He sailed on Isthmian, Cities Service and Victory carriers, retiring in 1956. He also served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Panton would love to “hear from any of the guys who might still be around.” You can write him at P.O. Box 30, KYI-1801, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. *“Total Registered” means the number of Seafarers who actually registered for shipping at the port. **“Registered on Beach” means the total number of Seafarers registered at the port. 20 Seafarers LOG January 2007 �39917_P01_24.qxp 12/21/2006 4:31 PM Page 21 Seafarers International Union Directory NMU Monthly Shipping & Registration Report NOVEMBER 16 — DECEMBER 15, 2006 Michael Sacco, President TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Group I Group II Group III Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Group I Group II Group III Trip Reliefs REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Group I Group II Group III Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Port Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Boston 1 2 2 1 1 1 3 10 4 2 Houston 2 0 0 5 0 0 3 19 2 2 Jacksonville 2 3 5 3 3 6 11 1 0 1 Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 27 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr., Bldg. B, Suite 103 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96931 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 DECK DEPARTMENT New Orleans 1 0 0 3 0 0 2 14 3 2 New York 5 8 0 8 5 0 8 34 28 0 Norfolk 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 Tacoma 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 Wilmington 3 0 0 3 0 0 3 2 0 0 15 13 7 24 9 8 31 82 37 7 Totals Port ENGINE DEPARTMENT Boston 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 6 1 1 Houston 1 1 0 1 1 0 2 8 0 0 Jacksonville 0 0 2 0 0 2 2 2 0 0 New Orleans 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 5 1 1 New York 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 16 5 0 Norfolk 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Tacoma 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 Wilmington 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 Totals 5 3 3 1 3 2 8 39 7 2 Port STEWARD DEPARTMENT Boston 3 0 1 1 0 1 2 7 4 1 Houston 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 14 1 0 Jacksonville 1 1 0 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 New Orleans 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 2 New York 4 7 0 4 3 0 5 21 28 0 Norfolk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tacoma 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wilmington 2 1 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 Totals 11 10 1 11 5 1 11 47 34 3 Totals All Departments 31 26 11 36 17 11 50 168 78 12 PIC-FROM-THE-PAST NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 This photo was sent to the Seafarers LOG by Michael S. Pell of Carriere, Miss. It is of his uncle, Lee Joseph “Joe” Harvey. The picture was taken in early 1957 aboard the SS Citrus Packer when Harvey was a 32year-old AB/Deck Maintenance. Now 82, he joined the SIU on Oct. 1, 1943 and retired in January 1981 with 27 years of actual sea time. Michael Pell also is retired from the Seafarers International Union. In a note accompanying the photo, he states that he was lucky to be able to sail with his uncle and and some of his own brothers on many different ships, and notes that his uncle was a good bosun. ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 January 2007 If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with the LOG readership, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. Seafarers LOG 21 �39917_P01_24.qxp 12/21/2006 4:31 PM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 680 — Graduating from the water survival course are unlicensed apprentices from class 680. They include (in alphabetical order) Cameron Benson, Marcus Brown, James Burton, Seth Burton, Roy Carey, Thomas Casey, Joherky Concepcion, Rene Gil, Latasha Haley-Stanback, Maurice Jones, Christopher Justo, Donald Lasley, James Luttrell Jr., Ryan Racoma, Alex Roel, Kaikili Roldan, Whitney Sheridan, John Telles, Ryan White and John Wiles. AB — Receiving certificates for completion of the AB course Dec. 8 are (in no specific order) Robert James, Casey O’Brien, Ben Julsey, Jesse James, Ryan Vandegriff, Joe Ward, Agustin Sandoval Manzo, Carlos Ramirez, Conan Leegard, Derik Rye, John Burns, Marvin Smith, Sean Fox, Bruce Dunbar, Atanacio Bernardez, Brian Finney and Francis Miller. Lifeboatman/Water Survival — Nov. 10 graduates of this class include (in alphabetical order) Richard Cole, Steven DeLuca, Robert Goodwin, Gil Hernandez, Robert McMurray and Jome Zerna. Their instructor, James Mixon, is not pictured. Radar — Graduating from this course Dec. 1 under the instruction of Herb Walling (far right) are G&H Towing Co. boatmen (in no specific order) Rommel Artis, Richard Herrington, John Fabain, Adam Simon III, Donald Buckley Jr., Jack Pegram Jr., William Hadley Jr. and Larry Nicolaidis. Advanced Fire Fighting — Graduates of the advanced fire fighting course that ended Nov. 9 are (in no specific order) MTLX boatmen Michael Maibaum, Thomas Rhew, Michael Donahue, Jeffery McCranie, John Leslie, James Suomela, Griffin Patrick and Jay O’Crotty. Their instructor, Tom Cessna, is at far left. Computer Lab Classes With instructor Rick Prucha (in both photos) are students who recently completed computer classes at the Paul Hall Center. At left is Miriam Chacon; at right is Sedell Mitchell. 22 Seafarers LOG Proudly showing their certificates of achievement are, from the left, Jome G. Zerna, Kelly Doyle, Artis E. Pilgrim and Gregory McNeil. Standing in the back is their instructor, Rick Prucha. January 2007 �39917_P01_24.qxp 12/21/2006 4:31 PM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes Government Vessels — Upgrading Seafarers completing the government vessels course Nov. 3 are (in no specific order) Penny Pollard, Peter Cooke, Patrick Langdon, Darrell Moore, Villanito Villanueva, Raymond Harvell, Kyle Hudson, Marco Figueroa and Ashley Pearce. Their instructor, Stan Beck, is at far right. FOWT — Graduating from the FOWT course Dec. 1 are (in no specific order) Ed Zimich, Arlyn Fernandez, Mike Crena, Brian Connell, Velton Gibbons, Joaquin Garcia, Michael Banks, Ryan Wall, Dennis Rivard, Reylan Tendido, Alex-Stephen Amarra, Michael Maskalenko, Joseph Wiegand, Michael Callahan, Richard Murray, Mark Wertz and Steven Wilson. Not pictured are David Adkins and Kathryn Lakoduk. Their instructor, Tim Achorn, is at far right. STCW — NCL, Nov. 9: Bobby Jackson, Stephanie Jeans, Jacqueline Jensen, Angela STCW — NCL, Nov. 9: Ryan Ang, Errika Arrington, Matthew Barrett, Leimomi Bartlow, Bernadette Beaty, Jessica Berry, Natalie Bryant, Erik Castillo, Forrest Chandler, Mecca Chism, Nathaniel Conway, Lisa Cruz, Thenet Cruz, Jay Cunanan, Michael Daley, Kevin Dutton, Charles Eaton, Muhammad El Khatib, Thomas Fuller, Michael Genereux, Sean Gideon, Charles Harding, Quineice Harris, Anna Hill and Jamie Hoover. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is at far right. Any student who has registered for a class and finds—for whatever reason—that he or she cannot attend, please inform the admissions department so that another student may take that place. Johnson, Kathryn Johnson, Priscilla Johnson, Beth Jones, Leon Kendrick Jr., Ahmed Khammari, Linda Koehn, Iwan Jurniawan, Alison Lancaster, Margie Landrum, Martin Liese, Addy Litfin, Antonio Lomeli, Ellilian Mangarero, Maximo Mangarero, Alberta McCormick, Michael McDonald, Brian Miller, James Miller, Sandra Montanez, Lisa Moreno and John Mrosko III. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is at far left. STCW — Seafarers completing the STCW course Nov. 10 are (in alphabetical order) Peter Cooke, Regina Midgett, Darrell Moore, Ashley Pearce, Harry Petersen and Mohamed Sailan. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is at far left. STCW — NCL, Nov. 9: Aaron Hill, Catherine Nordmeyer, Kathryn O’Connor, Dustin O’Kelley, Benjamin Padilla, Peter Roan, Cesario Romero, Mark Salvesen, Alex Simoes, Timothy Smith Jr., Imelda Somers, Michael Stowers, Armondo Taylor, Emerita Tolentino, Mary Tolentino, Jason Torres, Christian Vallejos, Christopher Vander Loop, Daniel Villamaria, Mary Voelker, Danielle Ward, Gideon Wendirad, Taqsha Williams and Jason Wimberly. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is at far left. January 2007 STCW — NCL, Nov. 9: Gregory Smith, Lorrie Schulte, Andrea Schierloh, Meghan Routhier, Deanna Riem, Bryony Renouf, Suzanne Reeve, Lindsey Martin, Craig Lewis, Scott Lee, Michael Kneip, Charles Edwards, Kari Connellan and Terrance Baker. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is in the back row, third from right. Seafarers LOG 23 �39917_P01_24.qxp 12/21/2006 4:31 PM Page 24 Volume 69, Number 1 January 2007 Notice NMU V acation F und — Page 8 2006 in Review New Ships, Standard Contracts among Top Stories Port Security Remains Thorny Issue; Seafarers Continue Supporting Troops SIU President Michael Sacco (left photo) addresses the crowd last May during the Pride of Hawaii’s christening (right photo) in Los Angeles. The third NCL America ship means new jobs for the union and a boost to the U.S. economy. F or the SIU, the dominant story in 2006 may have been a compilation rather than a single event. Specifically, the union throughout the year welcomed (and worked for) news of new ships joining its contracted fleet. The SIU also made other gains, including ratification of new five-year standard freightship and tanker agreements; garnering high-level, ongoing support for the U.S. Merchant Marine from Congress, the administration and the military; and working with its affiliated training center to continue providing top-notch curriculums for mariners. Seafarers continued answering the call to help sustain U.S. troops in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, working aboard American-flag military support ships at key spots around the world. Implementing the most effective and fair procedures for domestic port security remained a big challenge across the industry. In that vein, the SIU throughout the year and into 2007 worked at local, state and federal levels to help promote and protect mariners’ rights. Following is a look back at some of the notable stories from 2006. New Ships for the SIU A U.S. Marine waits for a truck to roll down the ramp of the SIU-crewed USNS Bellatrix during troop rotations in Iraq. Taken one at a time, they were good stories. Altogether, the news of new vessels for the SIU proved quite substantial and encouraging. In March, Horizon Lines announced an agreement in principle to charter five new U.S.flag ships for 12-year terms from Ship Finance International Limited. The five vessels are expected to join Horizon Lines’ fleet beginning early this year. The first ship in the series, the Horizon Hunter, was christened Oct. 11. Seafarers and SIU officials were on hand in March in Mobile, Ala. as Crowley Maritime Corporation christened the first of six new 185,000-barrel articulated tug-barge (ATB) tank vessels that the company plans to take delivery of during the next two-and-a-half years. Amid fitting fanfare, the Pride of Hawaii—NCL America’s third ship—was christened May 20 in Los Angeles, with SIU President Michael Sacco as one of the featured speakers. The ship entered service soon thereafter, continuing a significant boost to the U.S. economy which includes job growth for mariners. In July, Matson’s containership Maunalei was christened at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. A month later, Seafarers-contracted U.S. Shipping Partners L.P. joined with General Dynamics NASSCO in announcing an agreement to build nine doublehulled product carrier tankers in San Diego. The contract is valued at $1 billion and includes options for five additional ships. Construction of the first tanker is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2007, with delivery slated for 2009. That same month marked the delivery of the Alaskan Legend, the fourth Alaska Class tanker. Crescent Towing added the state-of-the-art tug Noon Wednesday. The SIU Great Lakes fleet added an ITB consisting of the tugboat Olive L. Moore and its barge, Lewis J. Kuber. On Veterans’ Day, the first new OSG tanker (the Overseas Houston) was christened at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. The vessel is the first in a 10-ship order. Fourth Arm of Defense Seafarers aboard the Cape Wrath in Baltimore were among those voting in favor of new standard contracts that increase wages, maintain health care benefits and preserve SIU jobs. Throughout the year, wherever and whenever needed, Seafarers mobilized ships in support of OIF and OEF. The list of vessels included (but was not limited to) the Cape Decision, which in April delivered cargo for the military in a high-profile mission in Poland; the Alliance New York, which transported materiel back to the U.S. from the Middle East; the Wright, activated from the Ready Reserve Force in September for a military support mission; the USNS Mendonca, which fulfilled key assignments in Kuwait and Germany; and the Cape Kennedy, which delivered morale-boosting cargo to U.S. troops overseas (namely, containers of pretzels). Seafarers’ efforts were recognized by counterparts at the U.S. Maritime Administration and the U.S. Military Sealift Command, and not just for OIF and OEF, although in December 2005 the Cape Trinity crew was honored for its support of Operation Enduring Freedom. MarAd and MSC also hosted ceremonies in January, March and June to thank SIU members and other mariners for their relief efforts following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the summer of 2005. Among those commended were Seafarers from the following vessels: Cape Kennedy, Cape Knox, Cape Vincent, Diamond State, Equality State, Wright, Cape Victory, Empire State, USNS Algol, USNS Altair, USNS Bellatrix, USNS Pililaau and USNS Pollux. Administration issued proposed regulations for implementing the long-anticipated Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) and its related Merchant Mariner Qualification Credential (MMC). The SIU worked with other U.S. maritime unions in formally spelling out to the government that while we fully support strong security measures in port and aboard ship, those rules must be fair to the individual mariner. The GAO weighed in by pointing out several major concerns about how the TWIC will be put into place, and in the waning days of 2006, the industry collectively awaited issuance of the final rules. In July, Seafarers approved new standard contracts that improve wages, maintain medical benefits and preserve jobs. Health care costs dominated the negotiations. No jobs were lost. Members reacted very favorably as the union in August opened a new hall in Oakland, Calif., replacing the old hall in San Francisco. On Labor Day, the union and its affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education hosted President Bush, who praised both the SIU and the school while emphatically restating his support for the Jones Act. Members approved 11 constitutional amendments. Contracts and More Progress for CIVMARS Speakers from the military, Congress and the administration reaffirmed their support of the U.S. maritime industry during remarks at the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department executive board meeting in February in San Diego. The Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan’s claims office fully reopened in Piney Point, Md. in early April. More than 40 people work there. SHBP scholarships, with total values of $132,000, were awarded in May to Seafarers and SIU dependents. That same month, the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security In the Government Services Division, the union gained jobs as MSC launched the first two vessels in its new T-AKE class, the USNS Lewis and Clark and the USNS Sacagawea. CIVMARS also welcomed new pay schedules for National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration mariners resulting in significant wage increases. Throughout the year, the union tackled many difficult safety, health, habitability and quality-of-life issues for CIVMARS. The union met with much success regarding shipboard health issues, particularly Continued on page 6 � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 January 2007 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES PAUL HALL CENTER 2007 COURSE GUIDE OAKLAND HALL WELCOMES HOUSE SPEAKER PELOSI ALASKA TANKER COMPANY’S LATEST SAFETY MILESTONE IS A BIGGIE: 10 MILLION INJURY-FREE MAN HOURS SIU-CREWED WILSON DEPLOYS PEACEKEEPING CARGO TO LEBANON UNION: MEDICAL NVIC NEEDS SECOND OPINION NEWER SHIP JOINS MSP FLEET SEAFARERS APPROVE COMMITTEE REPORT FLORIDA MONUMENT HONORS WWII MARINERS DHOOGE NAMED TO GOVERNOR-ELECT’S TRANSITION TEAM; WESTBROOK APPOINTED TO MARITIME SECURITY COMMITTEE 3RD T-AKE SHIP, USNS ALAN SHEPARD, CHRISTENED USNS DAHL SEAFARERS EMBODY SPIRIT OF GIVING SOLIDARITY CHARTER PROGRAM EXTENDED THROUGH 2008 ASSISTANT VP DON ANDERSON RETIRES FROM SIU NEW LOCATION, SAME GREAT TRADITION FOR SIU’S WEST COAST THANKSGIVING NEW SHIPS, STANDARD CONTRACTS AMONG TOP STORIES Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 01/01/2007 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. 69, No. 1 2007 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/17ccdf7e35fb5077eb990edb7564eeda.pdf a935fe20de7a6e74d6332d8f70d2cd73 PDF Text Text 39285_C1X 11/28/06 6:42 PM Page 1 Volume 68, Number 12 December 2006 HAPPY HOLIDAYS Tanker Christened Beck Notice Page 3 Page 6 �39285_2.6.8.18.19.21X.qxp 11/28/2006 6:56 PM Page 2 ITF Gets Back Pay for FOC Crew President’s Report Promoting Our Union and Industry Although a few races in the U.S. House of Representatives remained undecided in the days leading up to Thanksgiving, Election Day definitely brought about big changes in our nation’s capital. In the next Congress, there will be at least 53 new members of the House and nine new senators. As always, new elected officials also were voted into office in some of the numerous state and local elections across the country. As Seafarers know, politics affects our industry Michael Sacco all the time. Federal laws like the Jones Act and the U.S. Maritime Security Program, and proven government initiatives like cargo preference are some of the cornerstones of the American-flag fleet. We’re also constantly working with government agencies like the U.S. Coast Guard to help ensure both fair treatment of mariners and safety aboard ship and in port. With that in mind, we wasted no time forming strategies for how to best promote our union and our industry in the next Congress as well as at the state and local levels. Turnover is inevitable in the political world, so this won’t be the first time we’ve had to reach out to new representatives to help educate them about the U.S. Merchant Marine’s value to America. That’s a mission the SIU takes very seriously. At the same time, while Congress changed majority parties, newly elected leaders in both the House and Senate reflect a strong promaritime background, thanks in part to your donations to SPAD and the SIU’s backing of members from both the Democratic and Republican parties. As for the elections themselves, the labor movement did a great job getting out the vote. According to the AFL-CIO (to which the SIU is affiliated), union members made up one in four voters. The federation went all-out in its effort to help elect pro-worker candidates, including a program that reached out to 13.4 million voters in 32 battleground states. Looking ahead, the SIU’s first issue of course is maritime. But there are other important matters that should be taken up as soon as possible by our elected representatives in the House and Senate. One is the Employee Free Choice Act. This legislation is a top priority of the AFL-CIO. It would help restore fairness in union representation elections, giving workers a reasonable chance to exercise their right to join a union. For too many years, companies have gotten away with walking all over workers when they try to organize. It’s time to remedy that situation, and the Employee Free Choice Act will get the job done. Another subject for our representatives to address is U.S. trade policy. This is the right time to step back and take a close look at our current trade laws—and make an honest evaluation of what’s working and what needs to be corrected. America’s unions have insisted all along that the national and global economies must work for working families and not just increase the profits and power of multinational corporations. Our call for “fair trade” is still being sounded, because the so-called free trade agreements like NAFTA simply haven’t delivered. Congratulations to the election winners and to all who exercised their right to vote. I also want to give a special thanks to all SIU members, retirees and family members who volunteered in support of pro-maritime candidates. Grassroots action is the lifeblood of our movement, and your efforts will go a long way toward building and maintaining a healthy, vibrant U.S.-flag fleet. Season’s Greetings It’s hard to believe the holidays are upon us, but it’s that time again. On behalf of the entire SIU executive board, I extend warmest wishes to all Seafarers, retirees and SIU family members for a safe, happy holiday season. Thank you for your outstanding work in 2006, and thank you for supporting your union. Additionally, I offer heartfelt greetings and prayers for the men and women of our armed forces who are deployed overseas. May your missions be successful, and may you return home safe and sound. Volume 68, Number 12 Newspaper Unveils ‘Dark Secrets’ of Runaway Flags Extreme in some ways, sadly routine in others, the grim tale of the Trinity Sierra was exposed in a revealing newspaper article printed Nov. 5 in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. The article by Dan Chapman also included a broad look at so-called flag-of-convenience (FOC) shipping and its many pitfalls. International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) Inspector Tony Sacco helped secure $73,000 in back pay and other assistance for multinational crew members from the Greek-owned, Cyprus-flagged bulk carrier, which docked in Savannah, Ga. on Oct. 2. Some of the mariners (from the Balkans and Myanmar) hadn’t been paid in five months. “The crew appreciated the ITF’s help,” Sacco noted. “They’re like any other crew in the sense that they just want to be treated fairly.” Putting it mildly, the crew of the Trinity Sierra sailed in lessthan-ideal conditions before reaching the U.S. When the ship arrived in Savannah, a U.S. Coast Guard inspection turned up 42 safety violations and detained the vessel for repairs (thereby essentially detaining the crew as well). The problems included what the agency described as serious issues with the ship’s lifeboats, watertight doors, fire-fighting equipment and crew living accommodations, among other violations. Additionally, a Nigerian stowaway was apprehended from the Trinity Sierra shortly after its arrival. (The ship recently had stayed in Lagos, Nigeria for a month because its owner, Navship Maritime Co., reportedly couldn’t pay port fees.) Those weren’t the ship’s only problems. Apparently, because of a delay in delivering its cargo of raw sugar along with a load of steel, the vessel owners were sued by the sugar traders in U.S. District Court in Savannah for more than $288,000 in damages. Mariners from the Trinity Sierra received back pay thanks to assistance from the ITF. As Chapman reported—in a story bearing the headline “Cargo ships set sail with dark secrets”—“Like a rat cornered below deck, the owners soon were the target of a flurry of lawsuits by others with grievances, including a Singapore timber dealer, a Liberian electronics supplier and a New York insurance company.” He further wrote that the owner and the ship manager (Thesarco Shipping Co., also based in Greece) face other, larger legal claims totaling millions of dollars for “alleged debts owed by sister ships,” and that Thesarco sometimes operates as Argosy Ship Management Inc. Describing the FOC scam, Chapman noted, “With 90 percent of the world’s cargo traveling by sea, competition is fierce among the hundreds of owners who employ questionably sound ships and offer low prices and quick delivery. To trim costs, owners register ships in so-called flag-of-convenience countries where regulations are typically lax, accountability is rare and taxes are minimal. Most of the 32 FOC countries don’t question ship owners who pay mariners from poor countries, like Burma, as little as $1.50 an hour. Paychecks are routinely delayed or never delivered.” Tom Matyok, who heads the International Seafarers’ Center in Tallying Committee Completes Report The Seafarers International Union’s tallying committee last month completed its tabulation of ballots cast by union members in voting on proposed SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU constitutional amendments. The tallying committee report was submitted to the secretary-treasurer and was scheduled to be mailed to each port no later than Nov. 30 (after this edition of the LOG went to press). The report will be submitted for ratification by the membership at the regular December membership meetings. The following tallying committee members were elected at the Nov. 6 membership meeting December 2006 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 8990675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Deborah A. Hirtes; Associate Editor, Jim Guthrie; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2006 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG Brunswick, Ga., told the newspaper, “What you see on many flagof-convenience ships is a form of neo-slavery. Owners skate right on the edge just to get by. Sometimes they get caught, like they did in Savannah. Sadly, most of the time they don’t. And the seamen suffer the worst from this relationship.” The SIU is affiliated with the ITF, a federation of more than 600 transport-worker unions in 140 countries. SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel is first vice chair of the ITF’s Seafarers’ Section, which brings together seafaring unions from every continent. The Seafarers’ Section determines ITF policy regarding the campaign to end runaway-flag shipping and to eliminate substandard working conditions on such vessels. The Seafarers’ Section also provides international coordination for, and support to, affiliated unions and individual mariners through involvement with the International Labor Organization, International Maritime Organization and other international bodies. It maintains a network of more than 100 ITF inspectors around the world and helps oversee ITF agreements for runawayflag ships which specify minimum conditions of employment for crews, including wages. Tallying committee members take a quick break for this snapshot with SIU officials and staff at union headquarters Nov. 9. Pictured from left to right are Assistant VP Ambrose Cucinotta, Gerald Costello, Lynn Walters and Sue Plourde from the secretary-treasurer’s office, Melvin Grayson, John Reid, Robert Lindsay, Ekow Doffoh, Timothy Pillsworth and Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel. in Piney Point: Gerald Costello (chairman), Ekow Doffoh, Melvin Grayson, Robert Lindsay, Timothy Pillsworth and John Reid. The committee reported that each of the 11 proposed constitutional amendments was approved by a large majority. As previously reported, some of the proposed changes include a modification of the types of mail services that may be utilized for union election cycles (reflecting the increased use of overnight mail and similar services and the decline of telegrams); creation of a “retiree members” class, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2006; elimination of the position of vice-president at large from the list of elected officers (to take place after the positions are vacated by current officeholders); and a change in the port address of the San Francisco hall. Voting on the proposed amendments took place Sept. 1Oct. 31, with Seafarers casting secret ballots at union halls and by mail. December 2006 �39285_3.4.5.7.14.15.16.17.22.23X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:08 PM Page 3 More Milestones for OSG Tankers Overseas Houston Named; Keel Laid for 3rd Vessel Significant progress continued last month in the new-build series in which 10 double-hulled tankers are being constructed for Seafarers-contracted Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. On Nov. 11, the first vessel in the program officially was named the Overseas Houston. Two days later, the unionized shipyard announced the keel-laying for the third vessel in the series (the SIU President Michael Sacco (left) and Executive VP Augie Tellez greet U.S. Deputy Maritime Administrator Julie Nelson before the naming ceremony in Philadelphia. Overseas San Francisco). SIU President Michael Sacco, Executive Vice President Augie Tellez, Vice President Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi and Philadelphia Port Agent Joe Mieluchowski attended the naming ceremony for the Overseas Houston, slated for delivery by the end of 2006. During that event, OSG President and CEO Morten Arntzen said the 10-ship order “underscores OSG’s strong commitment to the Jones Act and to the renewal of the U.S.-flag fleet, indeed in our commitment to America. It is not a coincidence that we are dedicating this ship on Veterans’ Day. This is a proud day for shipbuilding in Philadelphia and the U.S. This ship and others like her that will be built here represent a commitment to this country that is worth far more than dollars and cents.” U.S. Deputy Maritime Administrator Julie Nelson stated, “The Overseas Houston and sister ships will be welcome additions to the Jones Act fleet. In fact, these orders are critical to replacing America’s aging product tankers.” On Nov. 13, the first section of the Overseas San Francisco was lowered into the yard’s building dock—the same dock where construction is under way on the second ship in the series (to be named the Overseas Long Beach). According to OSG, the delivery schedule for the 10 new U.S.flag Jones Act tankers is as follows: one vessel this year (Overseas Houston), two vessels in 2007 (Overseas Long Beach and Overseas San Francisco), two more in 2008 (Overseas New York and Overseas Texas City), three in 2009 (Overseas Boston, Overseas Nikiski and Overseas Tampa), and the final two ships in 2010 (Overseas Port Arthur and Overseas Jacksonville). As previously reported, each of the new tankers will be 600 feet long and capable of transporting 330,000 barrels of petroleum products. Each vessel will weigh 46,000 deadweight tons. All 10 product tankers in the series will be owned by American Shipping Corporation, a subsidiary of Aker American Shipping, and chartered to OSG. To date, eight of the 10 tankers in the build program are under signed time charter, with agreements in place between OSG and Shell, BP and Tesoro. Union, School Take Closer Look At Physical Exam Guidelines Officials from the U.S. Coast Guard on Nov. 13 met at SIU headquarters in Camp Springs, Md. with union executives and managers, officials from various SIU-contracted shipping companies and representatives of the Transportation Institute to discuss implications and possible consequences associated with the proposed guidance governing medical and physical evaluations for merchant mariner credentials. Coast Guard Captains Ernie Fink, commanding officer, National Maritime Center (NMC) and Dr. Arthur French (also of the NMC) additionally presented briefings on the agency’s “Restructuring and Centralization Project,” which in part involves relocating the NMC from Arlington, Va. to Martinsburg, W. Va. SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez, Vice President Contracts George Tricker and Vice President Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi represented the SIU during the meeting as did Dr. Ken Miller. Union-contracted company representatives in attendance included Jane Jacobs, American Maritime Association; Bill Cole, Alaska Tanker Co.; Rick Williamson, AMSEA; Wally Becker, Horizon Lines; Harry U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Ernie Fink, commanding officer, National Maritime Center (standing at right), addresses meeting participants Nov. 13 at SIU headquarters. Please be advised the SIU headquarters and all SIU hiring halls will be closed on Monday, Dec. 25 for the observance of Christmas Day, and on Monday, Jan. 1, 2007 for the observance of New Year’s Day (unless an emergency arises). Normal business hours will resume the following workday. December 2006 Rogers, Interocean American Shipping; Nina Timonina, Liberty Maritime; Phil Fischer, Keystone; Dennis Houghton, Maersk Line, Limited; Rich Rodgers, Seabulk Tankers; Len Becicka, Tyco; Arron Bensinger, OLS Transport; Kathy Elinski, American Steamship and Tom Lord, USS Transport. Diane Goncalves and Mike Neumann represented the Transportation Institute. Attending from the SIUaffiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. were Bill The Overseas Houston is scheduled for delivery this month. In addition to the Overseas Houston and the two vessels under construction in the building dock, production on the fourth tanker in the series is advancing, with steel cutting for that vessel having begun in October. When the tanker program was announced in April 2005, OSG noted that the order for 10 tankers was believed to have been the biggest of its kind within the American commercial shipbuilding sector. At that time, Arntzen Eglinton, J.C. Wiegman, Bart Rogers and Priscilla Senatore. John Mason represented American Service Technology, Inc., a maritime consulting group. As previously reported, the proposed guidelines governing medical and physical evaluations for merchant mariner credentials were published in the Sept. 28 Federal Register. Additional information about the Coast Guard Restructuring and Centralization Project is available on line beginning at the following web address: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/gm/nmc/web/index.htm The project also involves bringing the Coast Guard regional examination centers directly under NMC control. said, “The 10-ship program is OSG’s first giant step to building a world-class U.S.-flag shipping business.” Months later, during meetings of the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department executive board Feb. 24 in San Diego, OSG Senior Vice President Capt. Robert Johnston revealed that his company had begun checking the possibility of investing in up to 17 Continued on page 14 SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez asks a question about proposed guidelines for medical and physical evaluations for merchant mariner credentials. GAO Notes TWIC Program’s ‘Key Challenges’ The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) in October released a new report titled “DHS Should Address Key Challenges before Implementing the Transportation Worker Identification Credential Program.” A summary in the report states, “GAO recommends that, before implementing TWIC in the maritime sector, TSA develop and test solutions to problems identified during testing to ensure that key components of the program work effectively and strengthen contract planning and oversight practices before awarding the TWIC implementation contract. DHS reviewed a draft of this report and concurred with GAO’s recommendations.” The report also states that the DHS and industry stakeholders face three major challenges in addressing problems identified during TWIC program testing and ensuring that key components of the TWIC program can work effectively in the maritime sector. These challenges are: „ Enrolling workers and issuing TWIC cards in a timely manner to a significantly larger population of workers than was done during testing of the TWIC program. „ Ensuring that the TWIC technology, such as biometric card readers, works effectively in the maritime sector. TSA has obtained limited information on the use of biometric readers in the maritime sector because most facilities that tested the TWIC program did not use these types of readers. „ Balancing the added security components of the TWIC program with the potential impact that the program could have on the flow of maritime commerce. The 57-page report is available—in PDF format —at the following link on the GAO web site: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06982.pdf The government’s final rulemakings on the TWIC and its related merchant mariner qualification credential (MMC) had not been issued as of mid-November. In a related occurrence, the Coast Guard’s National Maritime Safety Committee, responding to a request from the Department of Homeland Security, recently established a working group to address aspects of developing what the government described as a “contactless biometric specification” for the TWIC. In layman’s terms, the latest indication from the DHS is that the TWICs will be issued, but there will be a delay in establishing the electronic card readers. Therefore, there will be a need for a biometric identifier that can be verified without using a reader. Seafarers LOG 3 �39285_3.4.5.7.14.15.16.17.22.23X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:08 PM Page 4 Union Industries Show Slated for Cincinnati Plans are being finalized for the 2007 America @ Work, AFLCIO Union Industries Show. The annual exhibition is scheduled for June 15-17 at the recently remodeled Duke Energy Convention Center in Cincinnati. Under the title first adopted last year—“America @ Work”— this edition of the show promises to be one of the best-ever exhibits of union-made goods and services. The 2007 event will mark the fifth occasion that the show has visited Cincinnati, site of the first Union Industries Show in 1938. It returned in 1958, 1980 and 1990. Sponsored by the AFL-CIO Union Label and Service Trades Department, the Union Industries Show is an annual expo of the best products and services America has to offer. Everything on display—including goods and services by Seafarers-contracted NCL America and the SIU-affiliated United Industrial Workers (UIW)—will be made and produced by union workers. The show has run continuously for nearly 70 years, with the exception of the World War II years when operations were suspended. Coming off a successful 2006 event in Cleveland in which 10 SIU/UIW-contracted companies displayed their products and services for more than 200,000 show-goers, the 2007 show will feature an even larger display of union-made-in-America items. Cars and trucks from the bigthree auto makers—Ford, General Motors and Daimler Chrysler —as well as thousands of appliances, household products, boats, motorcycles, clothing, consumer goods, and food products will be available for public scrutiny. Craft booths will feature live demonstrations of skills and crafts by iron workers, bricklayers, cement masons, roofers, members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and many others. Trainers from dozens of apprenticeship programs will be on hand to talk about craft careers. Exhibition booths staffed by union workers will be spread across the Duke Center’s 200,000 square foot hall. Guests are invited to participate in free raffles which are slated to be conducted throughout the three-day show. Typically, those raffles include bags of groceries, electronic products, appliances, automotive products, sporting equipment, autos and a spectacular Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The Cincinnati location should provide easy access for visitors from nearby communities in Kentucky and Indiana as well as major metropolitan areas throughout Ohio. “We are delighted with the support we are getting from the Cincinnati Central Labor Council and sister labor councils throughout the region,” said Charles Mercer, Union Label and Service Trades Department president. “We look forward to working again with the Ohio AFL-CIO, the same great people who made our Cleveland show last year such a hit. With their continued assistance, we will make this one of the most successful shows ever.” The show will be free of charge and open to the pubic. Show hours are from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Remembering the Poet, 26 Years Later It has been 26 years since the SS Poet, carrying a crew of 34 (including 24 SIU members) disappeared in the Atlantic Ocean. To this day, the mystery remains, for not a trace of the 11,241-ton ship or its crew was ever found. The 36-year-old bulk carrier, operated by Hawaiian Eugenia Corp., departed Philadelphia Oct. 24, 1980 bound for Port Said, Egypt with a cargo of corn. Six hours later, one of the deck officers called his wife through the marine operator. That was the last time the ship was heard from. The 522-foot vessel was due to pass Gibraltar on Nov. 4 and was scheduled to arrive in Port Said Nov. 9. It missed its 48-hour check-in on Oct. 26 but was not reported missing by the company until Nov. 3. After the company did finally report the Poet missing, the Coast Guard then delayed another five days before beginning their investigation, which included an exhaustive air search from high altitude for the missing ship over a 100,000 square mile area ranging from the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf to 1,000 miles out to sea, and then combed the same area from a much lower altitude. Another Coast Guard plane out of the Azores tracked the scheduled course of the Poet all the way to Gibraltar. On Nov. 17, the Coast Guard “regretfully” ended the futile search, having found “not a coffee can nor oil slick nor life jacket” from the vessel. Neither the pop-free life rafts nor the float-free Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), which was supposed to send a locator signal as soon as it hit salt water, were found, leading the Coast Guard to speculate the “the vessel was lost so rapidly that there was no time to send a …message…” Because the Poet was never found, and there were no witnesses to its disappearance, the mystery of what occurred to the bulk carrier can never be fully answered. Relatives of the 34 mariners lost at sea gathered in Washington, D.C. April 9, 1981 to attend congressional hearings before the full House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, chaired by Walter Jones (D-N.C.). The purpose of the hearings was to determine what happened to the SS Poet. Many theories were offered, but none could be proven— everything from a killer storm, the competency of the ship’s officers and crew, the structural integrity of the vessel, the adequacy of the safety inspection, among others. A year-and-a-half after the ship disappeared, a Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation concluded that “the most likely of the possible explanations of the Poet’s disappearance are capsizing due to instability in following or quartering seas, capsizing or foundering due to flooding of No. 1 hold and loss due to hull structural failure.” The report stated that the Poet “was most likely lost during the period when it encountered the most severe weather conditions between the morning of 25 October and the 4 Seafarers LOG The Union Label and Service Trades Department put together this poster promoting the 2007 trade show. Notice Members Covered Under Plan Level N Switch to Core Plus as of January 1 The answer to why the SS Poet disappeared without a trace remains a mystery to this day. evening of 26 October, 1980.” Then-SIU President Frank Drozak called for a complete congressional investigation of the Coast Guard and its activities for the purpose of developing new regulations to protect mariners—too late for the Poet’s crew, but aimed at protecting the lives of seafarers in the future. A number of memorial services for the 34 missing crew members were held across the country. On Jan. 22, 1981 at the Maritime Museum in San Pedro, Calif., a bell, salvaged from the battle cruiser USS Los Angeles, was tolled eight times, the knell and “end of watch” for those lost aboard the Poet. On the third anniversary of the loss of the merchant freighter, a memorial service was held at Philadelphia’s Old Swedes Church of Gloria Dei, where a bronze plaque was unveiled listing the names, ages and hometowns of the ship’s crew members. The 24 SIU members who were lost aboard the Poet were Bosun Edward D. Adams; Deck/Engine Utility Frank E. Holland; ABs Roland H. Courter, Hans P. Zukier, Mosel Myers, Shawn T. Gooden, Carl L. Goff, Rickey A. Sallee; Wiper Thaddeus M. Simmons; OSs Alfred W. Schmidt Jr., Edward E. Bradley, Stephen James Connors; Chief Seward Eddie Sylvester, Chief Cook Carl Jackson, Cook/Baker Noel W. McLaughlin, Steward Utility/Second Cook Earl K. Whatley, Messman/Third Cook Jerry Batchler Jr., Messman Tracy R. Walker; Oilers Otis R. Hunter, Walter M. Mitchell, Claude D. Berry, and FOWTs Calvin E. Bethard, Abraham G. Murillo and George E. Ward Jr. The SS Poet was built in 1944 by the Kaiser Shipbuilding Co., in Richmond, Calif. and served as a troop carrier (the SS General Omar Bundy) during World War II. In 1976, it was renamed the SS Portmar (Calmar Line) and later re-christened as the SS Poet. It was, at that time, the first U.S.-flag vessel lost at sea in 17 years. Beginning Jan. 1, 2007, members who had medical coverage under the old NMU Plan Level N will switch to Core Plus coverage under the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP). For the most part the benefits are the same, although there are some differences. A booklet describing Core Plus coverage is available on line at www.seafarers.org in the “Member Benefits and Resources” section, in PDF format. (Please be sure to access the booklet for active members; there’s also one for retirees.) The same booklet is available at the union halls or by calling the Seafarers Plans office at 1-800-252-4674. Plan Level N existed under the old NMU contracts, which gradually have been replaced by SIU agreements as they’ve expired. In fact, the last NMU contracts expire at the end of this year, 2006. The NMU itself merged into the SIU in 2001; the NMU Welfare Plan merged into the SHBP in 2004. Horizon Hunter Christened As previously reported, the newly built Horizon Hunter (pictured at right and below) was named Oct. 11 at a ceremony at the Hyundai Mipo shipyard in South Korea. The Horizon Hunter and four other new containerships ultimately will join the company’s U.S.-flag fleet, beginning in 2007. Those vessels are expected to sail in Horizon Lines’ weekly service linking the U.S. West Coast with Guam and Asia. December 2006 �39285_3.4.5.7.14.15.16.17.22.23X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:01 PM Page 5 Veitch, Richardson, SIU Crews Honored AOTOS Event Spotlights Industry Progress, Mariners’ Heroism Two maritime transportation icons and the crew members and officers of five SIU-contracted vessels formally have been recognized by the United Seamen’s Service (USS). Colin Veitch, president and CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) and Paul F. Richardson, president of Paul F. Richardson Associates Inc. on Nov. 3 were honored as co-recipients of USS’ 2006 Admiral of the Ocean Sea Award (AOTOS), while masters and SIU mariners who on specific dates were sailing aboard the USNS Spica, MV Cape Victory, MV Cape Vincent, USNS Apache and the Sea Land Commitment received the AOTOS Mariners’ Plaque. Each of the coveted laurels was presented during the 37th annual AOTOS industry-wide dinner in New York City. SIU President Michael Sacco, who served as the dinner’s chairman, bestowed the award on Veitch. The SIU president described Veitch as “a true friend of the American-flag maritime industry.” He noted that with the deepsea U.S.-flag cruise ship industry reeling after the terrorist attacks of September 11, Veitch’s leadership helped spearhead a revival and an investment that has led to many thousands of American jobs, both aboard the SIU-contracted NCL America fleet and ashore. “We’re extremely proud of what Colin and NCL have accomplished with their U.S.-flag fleet in Hawaii,” Sacco stated. “Since the three NCL America ships (Pride of Aloha, Pride of America and Pride of Hawaii) raised the Stars and Stripes, tens of thousands of jobs have been created for American mariners, dock workers, people in the tourist industry and others. It wouldn’t have happened without Colin’s creativity. It wouldn’t have happened without Colin’s strong confidence in the U.S. fleet and his total willingness to work as a partner with all segments of our industry.” “It’s a tremendous honor to receive the prestigious Admiral of the Ocean Sea award,” Veitch said. “We’re extremely proud that through NCL America, we’ve contributed to the revitalization of U.S.-flagged passenger ship cruising.” NCL America’s three U.S.flag ships are expected to generate more than $828 million in U.S. economic activity and 20,400 jobs, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers study. Richardson’s experience in transportation has been as a specialist in containerization, company management and labor. He held a key leadership role in the dynamic growth of Sea-Land Service, Inc., forging its development and serving as president and vice chairman of the innovative steamship company. In 1977, he established Paul F. Richardson Associates, Inc., an international maritime and transportation consulting firm serving various segments of the maritime industry including carriers, ports, shipbuilding companies, inland carriers, labor and labor-management groups. Today, Richardson continues to hold key leadership and management roles in the industry serving on numerous boards, councils and committees. These include the American Bureau of Shipping, U.S. Coast Guard Foundation, Council of the Americas and numerous significant government commissions and committees. The two AOTOS Award recipients led the field of nominees for the decoration, a silver statuette of Christopher Columbus, the first Admiral of the Ocean Sea, sharing first place among a group that was solicited by USS from more than 200 maritime management, labor, and government officials. John Bowers, chairman of the 3 Honored by New York MPC The AFL-CIO Maritime Port Council of Greater New York and Vicinity, part of the federation’s Maritime Trades Department, honored three individuals during the organization’s 45th annual awards ceremony Oct. 14 in New York City. The port council’s Government Man of the Year is U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (DN.Y.), pictured with MTD and SIU President Michael Sacco (right) and SIU VP Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi (left), who additionally serves as president of the New York MPC. Also recognized were Maritrans CEO Jonathan Whitworth (receiving the Herb Brand Memorial Man of the Year Award) and MM&P International President Tim Brown (Paul Hall Award of Merit). Addressing an audience of approximately 500 people at the event, Soresi described the port council as “something we’re all proud to be part of. Everybody pitches in and makes it work.” December 2006 USS AOTOS committee and president of the International Longshoremen’s Association said, “These two industry icons represent the past, present and future of the U.S.-flag industry. Our recipients have been selected by those who know them best, international transportation leaders who understand very well the challenges and issues which confront United States shipping and the American seafarers and recognize their leadership in this area.” The masters, crews and vessels that received the AOTOS Mariners’ Plaque and a basis for their respective honors were as follows: USNS Spica—Capt. Michael Flanagan and his SIU Government Services Division crew on Feb. 13 were conducting search and rescue operations off the coast of Djibouti, Africa following the crash of two U.S. Marine Corps CH-53 heavy transport helicopters during a routine training mission. Of the 12 people aboard the two aircraft, only two survived. The Spica, with its crew of 103 civilian mariners and 26 military personnel, was about 53 SIU President Michael Sacco (left) is pictured with this year’s AOTOS honorees: Colin Veitch (center) and Paul Richardson. miles from the reported crash site when Flanagan received the call for help. He changed course and headed toward the site at maximum speed. En route, the Spica’s Puma helicopter was airborne, scouring the ocean for survivors. The Spica was the first coalition ship to arrive on the scene. It anchored about 2 miles off shore. At that point, Flanagan learned that members of the Djiboutian military had pulled two survivors from the water; however, it was still not clear exactly where the crash had occurred. The Spica’s rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) was launched and approached the peninsula while using night vision. Twenty minutes into the search, crewmen located wreckage, rotor blades and the main Continued on page 8 Health Premiums Increase By ‘Only’ 7.7 Percent Costs Still Far Outpace Wage Growth, Inflation Rate A number of momentous concerns permeate today’s national landscape, but none is causing greater alarm among employers and providers of medical benefits than the issue of escalating health care costs. Premiums for employer-sponsored health coverage increased an average 7.7 percent in 2006, less than the 9.2 percent increase recorded in 2005 and the recent peak of 13.9 percent in 2003, according to the 2006 Employer Health Benefits Survey released Sept.26 by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET). The survey recorded the slowest rate of premium growth since 2000, though premiums still increased more than twice as fast as workers’ wages (3.8 percent) and overall inflation (3.5 percent). Premiums have increased 87 percent over the past six years. Family health coverage now costs an average $11,480 annually, with workers paying an average of $2,973 toward those premiums, about $1,354 more than in 2000. “While premiums didn’t rise as fast as they have in recent years, working people don’t feel like they are getting any relief at all because their premiums have been rising so much faster than their paychecks,” said Kaiser Foundation President and CEO Drew E. Altman. “To working people and business owners, a reduction in an already very high rate of increase just means you’re still paying more.” “The burden of a fragmented system of coverage falls heaviest on the small employer and their workers,” said HRET President Mary A. Pittman. “About two in five small businesses do not even offer health insurance, and those that do require workers on average to contribute significantly more to their premiums for family coverage.” While there is substantial debate about consumer-driven health care, the survey found modest enrollment in consumer-driven plans, with 2.7 million workers in high-deductible plans with a savings option, including those that qualify for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). About 4 percent of covered workers are enrolled in such plans, a rate sta- tistically no different from last year. Relatively few firms that offer other types of health insurance said that they are “very likely” to adopt high-deductible plans that qualify for an HSA (4 percent) or that are associated with a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (6 percent) in the next year. The annual Kaiser/HRET survey provides a detailed picture of how employer coverage is changing over time in terms of availability, costs and coverage for the 155 million Americans who rely on employer-sponsored health insurance. It was conducted this year between January and May and included 3,159 randomly selected, non-federal public and private firms with three or more employees (2,122 of which responded to the full survey and 1,037 of which responded to an additional question about offering coverage). According to the survey, about 7 percent of employers offering health benefits offer highdeductible health plans with a savings option—a category that includes both plans that qualify workers to establish an HSA as well as those associated with a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA). These tax-favored accounts that employees can use to pay for medical expenses are often described as consumer-driven because consumers pay directly for a greater share of their health care and may have an incentive to reduce their health-care spending. Among firms with 1,000 or more workers, 12 percent offer an HSA-qualified plan. An estimated 4 percent of covered workers, the survey showed, are enrolled in high-deductible plans with a savings option, compared with 60 percent in preferred provider organizations (PPOs), 20 percent in health maintenance organizations, 13 percent in point-of-service plans, and 3 percent in conventional indemnity plans. Among the 2.7 million workers estimated to be enrolled in HSAs or HRAs this year, 1.4 million are in HSA-qualified plans (up from 0.8 million estimated last year) and 1.3 million are in plans with HRAs (statistically unchanged from last year’s 1.6 million estimate). Premiums for these plans averaged $3,405 annuContinued on page 6 Seafarers LOG 5 �39285_2.6.8.18.19.21X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:06 PM Page 6 Health Care Costs Continue to Rise Continued from page 5 ally for single coverage, and $9,484 for family coverage, according to the study. These rates are lower than the premiums for other types of health plans, likely in part because employee cost sharing is higher. However, contributions from the employer toward the savings accounts are not included. These average $743 for single coverage and $1,359 for family coverage. Including these costs, overall spending for these plans are on average similar to that for PPOs (the most common type of plan). “We don’t know yet whether workers and employers ultimately will embrace consumer-driven health plans in big numbers, but it certainly hasn’t been a tidal wave,” said Kaiser Family Foundation Vice President, Gary Claxton, coauthor of the study and director of the Foundation’s Health Care Marketplace Project. “When you look at the total costs, the savings from these plans may not be enough to overcome consumer concerns about higher cost sharing.” “We are still losing the race between premiums and workers’ earnings—and if that trend persists, employer-based coverage will continue to decline as fewer employers and workers can afford the cost of coverage,” said Jon Gabel, a study co-author and vice president of the Center for Studying Health System Change. Other key findings of the survey include: ■ Offer rate. About 61 percent of firms nationally offer health benefits to at least some of their workers, statistically unchanged from last year’s rate (60 percent). While nearly all large businesses (with at least 200 workers) offer health BECK NOTICE benefits to their workers, fewer than half of the smallest firms (with three to nine workers) do. ■ Workers’ contributions toward premiums. On average, workers are paying $259 more this year than they did last year toward the cost of family health coverage. Workers at small firms (with three to 199 employees) on average contribute significantly more to their premiums ($3,550 for family coverage) than workers at larger companies ($2,658 for family coverage). On average, workers this year are paying about 16 percent of premiums for single coverage and 27 percent of premiums for family coverage, with their employers paying the rest. That share is essentially unchanged in recent years. ■ Cost sharing. In 2006, the average in-network PPO deductible for workers facing a deductible reached $473 for single coverage. Average co-payments for drugs across plan types were $11 for generic drugs, $24 for preferred drugs and $38 for non-preferred drugs. ■ Confidence in cost-containment strategies. Few employers have a lot of confidence in strategies to contain rising health-care costs. For example, only 17 percent of small employers and 28 percent of large employers say that they consider disease management programs “very effective” at controlling health-care costs. Employers were less likely to rate other strategies as very effective, including consumer-directed health plans (16 percent of small and 13 percent of large employers), higher employee cost sharing (15 percent of small and 13 percent of large firms), and tighter managed-care networks (9 percent of small and 4 percent of large firms). This is a summary of the annual report for the Seafarers Pension Trust, (EIN 13-6100329, Plan No. 001) for the period January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement Benefits under the plan are provided by a trust (benefits are provided in whole from trust funds). Plan expenses were $37,615,369. These expenses included $6,835,152 in administrative expenses and $30,780,217 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 17,301 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $633,159,327 as of December 31, 2005 compared to $640,306,747 as of January 1, 2005. During the plan year, the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $7,147,420. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had a total income of $30,467,949, including employer contributions of $4,235,550, losses of $6,276,043 from the sale of assets, and earnings from investments of $32,500,127. Minimum Funding Standards An actuary’s statement shows that enough money was contributed to the plan to keep it funded in accordance with the minimum funding standards of ERISA. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Financial information and information on payments to service providers; 3. Assets held for investment; 4. Transactions in excess of 5 percent of the plan assets; and 5. Actuarial information regarding the funding of the plan. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Margaret R. Bowen, Administrator, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746; telephone (301) 899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $4.20 for the full report, or $0.15 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan: Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N1513, Washington, DC 20210. Notice to Employees Covered by Union Agreements Regulated Under the National Labor Relations Act The Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU assists employees by representing them in all aspects of their employment and work aboard vessels which sail deep sea, on the Great Lakes and inland waters throughout the country. For the most part, the union spends a majority of its financial resources on collective bargaining activities and employee representation services. In addition to these expenditures, the union also spends resources on a variety of other efforts such as organizing, publications, political activities, international affairs and community services. All of these services advance the interests of the union and its membership. This annual notice is required by law and is sent to advise employees represented by the Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU about their rights and obligations concerning payment of union dues. This notice contains information which will allow you to understand the advantages and benefits of being a union member in good standing. It also will provide you with detailed information as to how to become an agency fee payor. An agency fee payor is an employee who is not a member of the union but who meets his or her financial obligation by making agency fee payments. With this information, you will be able to make an informed decision about your status with the Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU. 1. Benefits of union membership — While non-members do receive material benefits from a union presence in their workplace, there are significant benefits to retaining full membership in the union. Among the many benefits and opportunities available to a member of the Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU is the right to attend union meetings, the right to vote for candidates for union office and the right to run for union office. Members also have the right to participate in the development of contract proposals and participate in contract ratification and strike votes. Members also may play a role in the development and formulation of union policies. 2. Cost of union membership — In addition to working dues, to belong to the union as a full book member the cost is $500.00 (five hundred dollars) per year or $125.00 (one hundred twentyfive dollars) per quarter. Working dues amount to 5 percent of the gross amount an employee receives for vacation benefits and are paid when the member files a vacation application. 3. Agency fee payors — Employees who choose not to become union members may become agency fee payors. As a condition of employment, in states which permit such arrange- 6 SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SEAFARERS PENSION TRUST Seafarers LOG ments, individuals are obligated to make payments to the union in the form of an agency fee. The fee these employees pay is to support the core representational services that the union provides. These services are those related to the collective bargaining process, contract administration and grievance adjustments. Examples of these activities include but are not limited to, the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements, the enforcement and administration of collective bargaining agreements and meetings with employers and employees. Union services also include representation of employees during disciplinary meetings, grievance and arbitration proceedings, National Labor Relations Board hearings and court litigation. Employees who pay agency fees are not required to pay for expenses not germane to the collective bargaining process. Examples of these expenses would be expenses required as a result of community service, legislative activities and political affairs. 4. Amount of agency fee — As noted above, dues objectors may pay a fee which represents the costs of expenses related to those supporting costs germane to the collective bargaining process. After review of all expenses during the 2005 calendar year, the fee cost associated with this representation amounts to 68.44 percent of the dues amount. This means that the agency fee based upon the dues would be $342.20 (three hundred fortytwo dollars and twenty cents) for the applicable year. An appropriate reduction also will be calculated for working dues. This amount applies to the 2007 calendar year. This means that any individual who wishes to elect to pay agency fees and submits a letter between December 1, 2006 and November 30, 2007 will have this calculation applied to their 2007 dues payments which may still be owed to the union. As noted below, however, to continue to receive the agency fee reduction effective January 2008 your objection must be received by December 1, 2007. A report which delineates chargeable and non-chargeable expenses is available to you free of charge. You may receive a copy of this report by writing to: Secretary-Treasurer, Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. This report is based upon an audited financial report of the union’s expenses during 2004. Please note that as the chargeable and non-chargeable expenses may change each year, the agency fee amount may also fluctuate each year. Individuals who are entitled to pay agency fees and wish to pay fees rather than dues, must elect this option each year by filing an objection in accordance with the procedure noted below. 5. Filing of objections — If you choose to object to paying dues, an objection must be filed annually. To receive the deduction beginning in January of each year, you must file by the beginning of December in the prior year. An employee may file an objection at any time during the year, however, the reduction will apply only prospectively and only until December 31 of that calendar year. Reductions in dues will not be applied retroactively. As noted above, each year the amount of the dues reduction may change based upon an auditor’s report from a previous year. The objection must be sent in writing to: Agency Fee Payor Objection Administration, Secretary-Treasurer’s Office, Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD/NMU, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. 6. Filing a challenge — Upon receiving the notice of calculation of the chargeable expenditures related to core representation activities, an objector shall have 45 days to submit a challenge with the Secretary-Treasurer’s office if he or she believes that the calculation of chargeable activities is incorrect. Every person who wishes to object to the calculation of chargeable expenses has a legal right to file such an objection. 7. Appeal procedure — Upon receiving the challenge(s) at the end of the 45-day period, the union will consolidate all appeals and submit them to an independent arbitrator. The presentation to the arbitrator will be either in writing or at a hearing. The method of the arbitration will be determined by the arbitrator. If a hearing is held, any objector who does not wish to attend may submit his/her views in writing by the date of the hearing. If a hearing is not held, the arbitrator will set the dates by which all written submissions will be received. The costs of the arbitration shall be borne by the union. Individuals submitting challenges will be responsible for all the costs associated with presenting their appeal. The union will have the burden of justifying its calculations. The SIU works very hard to ensure that all of its members receive the best representation possible. On behalf of all the SIU officers and employees, I would like to thank you for your continuing support. Sincerely, David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer December 2006 �39285_3.4.5.7.14.15.16.17.22.23X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:08 PM Page 7 10 Bosuns Complete Recertification Eight of the SIU’s 10 newest recertified bosuns addressed their brothers and sisters and accepted certificates for completion of studies during the union’s Nov. 6 membership meeting at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Two class members shipped out immediately following the culmination of their instruction and, as a result, did not attend the membership meeting. Finishing the four-week class, which is considered the top curriculum available for deck department Seafarers, were Scott Gallagher (from the port of Algonac, Mich.), Michael Borders (Norfolk, Va.), Charles Hill (Houston), Philip McGeoghegan (New York), Edward McLean (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), Gregory Jenkins (New Orleans), Brad Seibel (Port Everglades, Fla.), Lee Hardman (Tacoma, Wash.), Andrew Barrows (Mobile, Ala.) and Jose Gomez (Baltimore). In addition to their hands-on exercises and classroom work at the Paul Hall Center, the bosuns met at the union’s headquarters building in Camp Springs, Md. with representatives from all departments. Through discussions with them about the health and benefits plans, contract negotiation and enforcement, and the Seafarers LOG, the deck department leaders enhanced their understanding of the many facets that must come together to make the union strong. Besides making complimentary remarks about the instruction they received and the training center’s staff and facilities during the meeting, the bosuns collectively lauded the SIU leadership and offered words of encouragement to the unlicensed apprentices and upgraders who were in the audience. Gallagher, who hails from Alpena, Mich., thanked union officials and the Paul Hall Center’s vocational staff for the opportunity to upgrade. Gallagher then shared a success story with the trainees in attendance. He recalled sailing aboard a ship six years ago when a Phase II trainee came aboard. The two worked side-by-side for 30 days, and by the end of that stretch “this trainee was wheeling in the rivers, through bridges…. He was also able to give distances off the stern and run deck engines for tie- Following the November membership meeting in Piney Point, Md., many of the newly recertified bosuns are pictured with SIU officials. From left to right are Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel, VP Atlantic Coast Joseph Soresi, Mike Borders, Charles Hill, Executive VP Augie Tellez, Scott Gallagher, Gregory Jenkins, Lee Hardman, Edward McLean, President Michael Sacco, Brad Seibel, VP Contracts George Tricker, Philip McGeoghegan and VP Government Services Kermett Mangram. up…. This same individual is presently working my relief. He achieved this by paying attention and asking questions.” Borders donned the SIU colors in 1971. “My experience at Piney Point during the bosun recertification training was very refreshing,” he noted “It was good to be around all of the trainees, watching them prepare for the future.” As for his actual training, Borders said he was glad to take the refresher course in fire fighting. “It’s always good to familiarize yourself with the various aspects of this important and very demanding job, although you pray that you never will have to do it,” Borders said. He added that he was particularly pleased with the opportunity to increase his knowledge on computers. “This will help me keep better records while aboard ship… I just want to thank (SIU President) Mike Sacco and the remainder of the union officials for giving me the chance to better myself,” Borders concluded. “I enjoyed the entire experience of being here,” said Hill. “It was a tremendous learning experience for all of us, and I think the union is working extremely hard on behalf of its members. “As a result of my training and interaction with officials in the contracting department,” he continued, “I have a better understanding of how labor agreements work for the members.” Bosun Jose Gomez (front) participates in water survival training. December 2006 Hill became a Seafarer in 2001 with the merger of the NMU into the SIU. “It was a good thing that we merged with the SIU,” he told his rank-and-file brothers and sisters. “It all turned out for the best. “I don’t know what its like to be a trainee because when I came along in the NMU, we did not have trainees,” Hill told the apprentices. “But I do know that when you young people come out to sea, if you watch, pay attention, listen and learn, you can end up in a position of authority just like I am. You have good people here looking out for you, and you have excellent training. I encourage you all to take advantage of it. It will make you a better person and it will make you better able to communicate with your shipmates and anyone else you may come across during your career. “Remember, you make the union look good and it will make us all look good,” Hill concluded. “The SIU will always be there for us.” McGeoghegan has been an SIU member since 1981. “Twenty-six years—it took a long time to get here,” he said after taking the podium. “I started off here as an apprentice, went through the trainee program, came back to upgrade to AB and look where I am now. It was a long road, it was a hard road. We learn as we go.” McGeoghegan praised the Piney Point vocational staff, noting, “All teachers here have great teaching skills and positive attitudes, and being here was a very positive experience for me. The education I received about the union was very positive and something I definitely will use in the future.” McLean noted he has been sailing for 26 years aboard tankers. “I started in 1980 with the NMU and now I’m a proud member of the SIU. I feel very fortunate to be a part of this organization because the leadership is dedicated to all of our members,” he stated. Commenting on the program, McLean said, “I thought that the small arms training was excellent. As a result of it, I think I would feel comfortable handling a weapon if I was aboard a military-contracted vessel. The com- munications class was especially helpful because it taught me better ways to communicate with others.” McLean had high praise for the school and staff. “Everyone at the school—members of the staff as well as instructors—were very helpful and courteous,” he said. “Thanks to the training I received here, I now have better knowledge to carry forward to impart on my brothers and sisters aboard ship.” To the apprentices, McLean said, “When you trainees get aboard a ship, ask a lot of questions, do your best job possible, follow orders, be respectful of others and know that we all work together as a team.” Jenkins lauded union officials, the school, its staff and instructors for the many positives they collectively have afforded him over the years. The New Orleansbased mariner has been sailing since 1987. “The SIU has given me a great career as well as a different outlook on life,” he said. “The training I received, especially the communications skills instruction, will help me become a better mariner and upgrade my skills as a bosun. “I’ve been sailing for 19 years and it’s been a good ride,” Jenkins told the audience. “I just want to say thanks—you all are doing a good job and the future looks bright. To the trainees, you are our future, you have a great institution here, learn as much as possible and stay focused.” Seibel joined the SIU in 1985 in St. Louis. “I joined the union in the inland division and switched to deep sea in 1989 as an AB,” he said. “I’d like to give thanks to the SIU, the school and the staff for all of the opportunities they provided. I was really pleased with and grateful for the instruction I received in small arms and water survival. As a result of them, I will feel a lot safer while at sea.” To the trainees he advised, “When you get out there, listen to your supervisors. If you don’t understand something, ask questions and try to always keep a positive attitude.” Hardman, an SIU member for the past 19 years, said that his overall experience during his training was both informative and relaxing. “I learned how the union works both inside and out,” he said. “I am now more informed and will have more answers to questions posed by shipmates while at sea. “Being a Seafarer is a great career,” he continued. “Where else can you see the world while making a great living? It’s a great place for anyone seeking to advance themselves—all you need is a sincere desire to learn.” He concluded, “I want to express my gratitude to the school and our staff, the teachers, those in manpower and admissions for making the school run so efficiently. I also want to thank the union officials for keeping the union, the industry and contracts strong and thriving.” Barrows and Gomez did not address their brothers and sisters during the membership meeting, but provided comments to the LOG about their respective upgrading training experiences. “I thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience,” said Barrows, who joined the SIU in 1990 in New York. “Meeting with the leadership provided me with a number of insights which I look forward to sharing with my crewmates aboard ships. “I came to the SIU after the collapse of the commercial fishing industry,” he said. “I’d like to thank the union and its leadership for the quality of life union membership has afforded me and my family.” Gomez launched his SIU career in 1972. The training he received in small arms, fire fighting and CPR was very valuable as was the instruction he was afforded about the union, Gomez said. “It will help me better communicate with the brothers and sisters aboard the ship when we’re discussing union business,” he concluded. Bosun Andrew Barrows takes aim during small arms training. Seafarers LOG 7 �39285_2.6.8.18.19.21X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:06 PM Page 8 AOTOS Event Honors Veitch, Richardson and SIU Crews Continued from page 5 body of the aircraft. No survivors were found. A second RHIB was launched as the USS Vicksburg, along with an Italian vessel, also arrived at the scene. U.S. Navy divers then entered the water and recovered bodies from the wreckage. Cape Victory and Cape Vincent—As Hurricane Rita approached, officials from Beaumont, Texas on Sept. 24, 2005 requested that first responder emergency vehicles and personnel from the city and surrounding communities of Port Arthur, Nederland, Groves and Port Neches be permitted to be safely stowed on board the Cape Victory and Cape Vincent. Both vessels are home ported in the Port of Beaumont. Cape Vincent Master Capt. David Scott and Cape Victory Master Capt. Kevin Brooks, in coordination with the U.S. Maritime Administration and Keystone Shipping Co., agreed to move 172 vehicles onto the Cape Vincent and 207 vehicles aboard the Cape Victory. Included were fire trucks, ambulances, police vehicles, road equipment and other vehicles, along with city records, emergency response personnel and 30 rescue dogs. Everything was stowed safely while 90 percent of area residents evacuated. Crews from each ship kept their vessels berthed as the storm passed packing 120 mph winds and extremely heavy rain. The ships’ stern ramps were lowered the following morning so that the emergency vehicles could be deployed to deal with the storm’s aftermath. The ability for the first responder vehicles to be deployed so rapidly was unprecedented in dealing with hurricane storm damage and allowed the area to swiftly and efficiently return to normalcy. The entire episode serves as a model for hurricane preparations throughout the U.S. Gulf Coast. The vessels’ masters and crews were honored for their vision and heroic acts in keeping their ships and emergency cargo safe from harm. USNS Apache—The MSC fleet ocean tug USNS Apache on Aug. 10 was under way near Monrovia, Liberia when it came across an Estonian commercial freighter, the Tahoma Reefer, engulfed in flames and being towed from the harbor. Smoke from the burning vessel was spotted from the Apache’s bridge at about the same time that help was being solicited by officials ashore at the U.S. Embassy in Liberia. Apache Capt. Charles Rodriguez headed his craft toward the stricken vessel. Other shipboard personnel including Chief Mate Troy Bruemmer departed the Apache in the vessel’s RHIB and moved in on the Tahoma Reefer to remove a mooring line that was trailing the burning vessel. The Apache crew initiated fire-fighting operations and hosed down the port side of the Reefer. After removing the mooring line from the Reefer, Bruemmer and others returned to the Apache, loaded a portable pump on the RHIB and redeployed to fight flames on the Reefer’s starboard side. They also delivered the freighter’s eight crew members to shore. The Apache remained tight alongside the freighter for more than four hours as the tug’s crew fought to bring the fire under control. Sea Land Commitment— Capt. Eric Franzen and the SIU crew aboard the Commitment on Jan. 18 came to the aid and assistance of the tugboat Valour near Cape Fear, N.C. The Valour had sent a distress call to the U.S. Coast Guard while towing an oil barge in heavy 25-foot seas and winds of 40 knots. The ocean towing tug Justine Foss began rescue operations of the tugboat prior to the Commitment’s arrival on the scene. Conditions were far from ideal as visibility was restricted by rough seas and darkness of night. Once on location, the crew aboard the Commitment established communications between the U.S. Coast Guard’s rescue helicopters and those directly involved in the rescue effort. This communications link proved vital as the exact location of the distressed seafarers was passed along to the helicopters, thereby leading to their rescue before the Valour sank. In part through the efforts and seamanship of the master and crew of the Commitment, five mariners from the stricken tug were rescued. In addition, the fully laden tank barge was prevented from impacting a North Carolina beach. Retired Navy Capt. Robert Hart and Samuel B. Nemirow served as national committee cochairmen for the 2006 AOTOS Awards. All proceeds from the event benefited the USS community services for the U.S. Merchant Marine and other seafarers of the world. The USS is a non-profit agency established in 1952. It provides services for mariners as well as members of the armed forces, and operates centers in ports around the world. The agency also provides seagoing libraries to American vessels through its affiliate, the American Merchant Marine Library Association. Longtime SIU Employee Louis Bush Dies at 88 Louis Bush, longtime pensioner and 27-year employee of the Seafarers Vacation Fund, passed away suddenly Jan. 27, 2006. He was 88. Bush started his SIU career in 1952 at the headquarters building in Brooklyn, N.Y., running the Sea Chest with Sidney Seltzer. He was active in helping the union on the picket lines in Chicago, Puerto Rico and anywhere else Paul Hall needed an extra hand in the ’60s. When the Sea Chest closed, Bush transferred to the claims department, where he had the opportunity to work with Lou Delma, Jack Boughman and Tom Cranford, among others. Delma, former plans administrator for the SIU, stated that Bush was a real asset to the union and its membership and a pleasure to work with. Bush was the brother-in-law of the late Herbert Brand, past president of the Transportation Institute. Monthly Membership Meetings Keep Seafarers in the Loop He was born in Montreal, Canada and moved to New York after marrying his wife, Frances, in 1945. She was a New York City school teacher. In 1979, he retired and moved from Jackson Heights, N.Y. to Orlando, Fla. He remained very active, traveling with his wife on cruises and scenic trips until her death in 2004. According to his son, Robert, one of his favorite pastimes was telling stories about his journeys with the union to different cities and of the union members he befriended all across the country. Bush is survived by his daughter, Isabel, of Orlando, Fla.; his son and daughter-in-law, Robert and Katherine of Hampton Bays, N.Y.; three sistersin-law and six nieces and nephews. He was laid to rest at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Gotha, Fla. Attending monthly membership meetings is an important way in which Seafarers can keep track of all the news that affects their livelihoods. Held in each SIU hall around the country, the monthly membership meeting is a forum to keep members abreast of key union and maritime issues. Below is the schedule of meetings for 2007. Each issue of the Seafarers LOG also lists the dates for the next two meetings scheduled in each port. Membership Meetings in 2007 Port Traditional Date January February March April May June July August Piney Point Monday after first Sunday 8 5 5 2 7 4 2 6 4* 9* 5 3 New York Tuesday after first Sunday 9 6 6 3 8 5 3 7 4 9 6 4 Wednesday after first Sunday 10 7 7 4 9 6 5* 8 5 10 7 5 Baltimore Thursday after first Sunday 11 8 8 5 10 7 5 9 6 11 6 6 Norfolk Thursday after first Sunday 11 8 8 5 10 7 5 9 6 11 6 6 Jacksonville Thursday after first Sunday 11 8 8 5 10 7 5 9 6 11 6 6 San Juan Thursday after first Sunday 11 8 8 5 10 7 5 9 6 11 6 6 Algonac Friday after first Sunday 12 9 9 6 11 8 6 10 7 12 9 7 Boston Friday after first Sunday 12 9 9 6 11 8 6 10 7 12 8 7 Houston Monday after second Sunday 16* 12 12 9 14 11 9 13 10 15 13* 10 New Orleans Tuesday after second Sunday 16 13 13 10 15 12 10 14 11 16 13 11 Mobile Wednesday after second Sunday 17 14 14 11 16 13 11 15 12 17 14 12 Oakland Thursday after second Sunday 18 15 15 12 17 14 12 16 13 18 15 12 Port Everglades Thursday after second Sunday 18 15 15 12 17 14 12 16 13 18 15 12 Joliet Thursday after second Sunday 18 15 15 12 17 14 12 16 13 18 15 12 St. Louis Friday after second Sunday 19 16 16 13 18 15 13 17 14 19 16 13 Honolulu Friday after second Sunday 19 16 16 13 18 15 13 17 14 19 16 13 Wilmington Monday after third Sunday 22 20* 19 16 21 18 16 20 17 22 19 17 Guam Thursday after third Sunday 25 22 22 19 24 21 19 23 20 25 23* 20 Friday after third Sunday 26 23 23 20 25 22 20 24 21 26 23 21 Philadelphia Tacoma September October November December *Piney Point changes created by Labor Day and Columbus Day holidays; Philadelphia change created by Independence Day holiday; Houston changes created by Martin Luther King’s birthday and Veterans’ Day holidays; Wilmington change created by Presidents’ Day holiday; Guam change created by Thanksgiving Day holiday. 8 Seafarers LOG December 2006 �39285_9_13.20.24X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:12 PM Page 9 SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SEAFARERS MONEY PURCHASE PENSION PLAN SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR NMU 401K PLAN This is a summary of the annual report for the Seafarers Money Purchase Pension Plan, (EIN. 52-1994914, Plan No. 001) for the period January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). This is a summary of the annual report for the NMU 401K Plan, EIN 13-6592643, Plan No. 002, for period January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement Basic Financial Statement Benefits under the plan are provided by a trust (benefits are provided in whole from trust funds). Plan expenses were $1,126,528. These expenses included $356,182 in administrative expenses and $770,346 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 14,221 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $37,297,661 as of December 31, 2005 compared to $27,694,584 as of January 1, 2005. During the plan year, the plan experienced an increase in its net assets of $9,603,077. This increase includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had a total income of $7,328,662, including employer contributions of $5,549,160, employee contributions of $69,154, gains of $182,656 from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $1,522,256. Benefits under the plan are provided through insurance. Plan expenses were $342,566. These expenses included $342,566 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 950 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $3,432,409 as of December 31, 2005, compared to $3,197,802 as of January 1, 2005. During the plan year, the plan experienced an increase in its net assets of $234,607. This increase includes unrealized appreciation and depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan's assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had a total income of $577,173 including employee contributions of $435,011 and earnings from investments of $142,162. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Financial information and information on payments to service providers; 3. Assets held for investment; and 4. Transactions in excess of 5 percent of the plan assets. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Margaret R. Bowen, Administrator, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746; telephone (301) 899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $2.10 for the full report, or $0.15 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan: Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, DC 20210. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. an accountant's report; 2. financial information; 3. assets held for investment; 4. insurance information, including sales commissions paid by insurance carriers; and 5. information regarding any common or collective trusts, pooled separate accounts, master trusts or 103-12 investment entities in which the plan participates. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Mrs. Miriam Bove, who is Administrator, Board of Trustees of the NMU Pension and Welfare Plans, 360 West 31st Street, New York, NY 10001; telephone (212) 337-4900. The charge to cover copying costs will be $1.70 for the full annual report, or .1 cent per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan (Board of Trustees of the NMU Pension and Welfare Plans, 360 West 31st Street, New York, NY 10001) and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: Public Disclosure Room, Room N1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210. SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORTS SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR FOR NMU PENSION TRUST OF THE NMU PENSION AND WELFARE PLAN This is a summary of the annual report for the NMU Pension Trust of the NMU Pension and Welfare Plan, EIN 13-6592643, Plan No. 001, for period January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement Benefits under the plan are provided through a trust fund. Plan expenses were $32,648,314. These expenses included $2,938,044 in administrative expenses and $29,710,270 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 7,982 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $296,871,091 as of December 31, 2005, compared to $318,635,814 as of January 1, 2005. During the plan year, the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $21,764,723. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation and depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan's assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had a total income of $10,883,591 including employer contributions of $780,541, realized losses of $160,438 from the sale of assets, earnings from investments of $10,031,942 and other income of $ 231,546. Minimum Funding Standards An actuary's statement shows that enough money was contributed to the plan to keep it funded in accordance with the minimum funding standards of ERISA. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. an accountant’s report; 2. financial information and information on payments to service providers; 3. assets held for investment; 4. transactions in excess of 5 percent of the plan assets; 5. information regarding any common or collective trusts, pooled separate accounts, master trusts or 103-12 investment entities in which the plan participates; and 6. actuarial information regarding the funding of the plan. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Miriam Bove, Administrator, Board of Trustees of the NMU Pension and Welfare Plan, 360 West 31st Street, New York, NY 10001’ telephone (212) 337-4900. The charge to cover copying costs will be $8.60 for the full annual report, or 10 cents per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan (Board of Trustees of the NMU Pension and Welfare Plan, 360 West 31st Street, New York, NY 10001) and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: Public Disclosure Room, Room N1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210. December 2006 SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR FOR NMU VACATION PLAN This is a summary of the annual report of the NMU VACATION PLAN, EIN 13-6700828, Plan No. 501, for period January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $1,077,591 as of December 31, 2005, compared to $1,270,807 as of January 1, 2005. During the plan year the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $193,216. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation and depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan's assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets acquired during the year. During the plan year, the plan had total income of $6,760,843 including employer contributions of $6,653,856 and earnings from investments of $106,987. Plan expenses were $6,954,059. These expenses included $1,020,553 in administrative expenses and $5,933,506 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. an accountant's report; 2. financial information and information on payments to service providers; 3. assets held for investment; and 4. transactions in excess of 5 percent of the plan assets. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write the office of Mrs. Miriam Bove who is Administrator, Board of Trustees of the NMU Vacation Plan, 360 West 31st Street, New York, NY 10001, (212) 3374900. The charge to cover copying costs will be $2.50 for the full annual report, or 10 cents per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan (Board of Trustees of the NMU Vacation Plan, 360 West 31st Street, New York 10001) and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: Public Disclosure Room, Room N1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210. Seafarers LOG 9 �39285_9_13.20.24X.qxp 11/28/2006 S 7:12 PM Page 10 eafarers’ napshots A recent meeting was held at the hall in Oakland (above) to approve the standard contracts. One of the many Seafarers in attendance was Recertified Bosun Lance Zollner (above right). Serving the membership in the port of Houston are office staff members (from left) Adrienne Nash, Port Agent Robert Troy, Patrolman Mike Russo and Janice Hunicke. Bosun John Cain attends the October membership meeting in Houston. Teamwork is part of what makes the galley run smoothly aboard the Alaskan Legend. Pictured above are Chief Cook Johnson Ashun (left) and SA Medel Daguio. Edwin Spencer Harris, 79, began sailing at the age of 17, working in most of the engine department ratings and in all the war zones from World War II to Korea, Vietnam, Somalia, Panama, Grenada and the first Gulf war. He is now enjoying his retirement in sunny St. Petersburg, Fla., getting lots of exercise and fishing (the little fish he is holding is used for bait). Harris is still proud to be an SIU member. Abdulhalim Ali (center) is congratulated by VP West Coast Nick Marrone (left) and Assistant VP West Coast NIck Celona after being awarded his full union book. Left: Camilo Villafania takes the SIU oath from Honolulu Port Agent Neil Dietz. Right: Conrad Rivera shows off the full book he received in the port of Ft. Lauderdale. 10 Seafarers LOG December 2006 �39285_9_13.20.24X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:13 PM Page 11 SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR GREAT LAKES TUG AND DREDGE PENSION PLAN SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR MCS SUPPLEMENTARY PENSION PLAN This is a summary of the annual report for the Great Lakes Tug and Dredge Pension Plan, (EIN. 13-1953878, Plan No. 003) for the period January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). This is a summary of the annual report for the MCS Supplementary Pension Plan, (EIN. 516097856, Plan No. 001) for the period January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement Benefits under the plan are provided by a trust (benefits are provided in whole from trust funds). Plan expenses were $665,486. These expenses included $201,651 in administrative expenses and $463,835 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 868 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $8,162,399 as of December 31, 2005 compared to $8,531,657 as of January 1, 2005. During the plan year, the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $369,258. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had a total income of $296,228, including gains of $175,934 from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $117,770. Benefits under the plan are provided by a trust (benefits are provided in whole from trust funds). Plan expenses were $1,442,947. These expenses included $208,776 in administrative expenses and $1,234,171 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. A total of 291 persons were participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits. The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $23,482,208 as of December 31, 2005 compared to $24,191,340 as of January 1, 2005. During the plan year, the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $709,132. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. The plan had a total income of $733,815, including losses of $42,819 from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $776,629. Minimum Funding Standards An actuary’s statement shows that enough money was contributed to the plan to keep it funded in accordance with the minimum funding standards of ERISA. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Financial information and information on payments to service providers; 3. Assets held for investment; 4. Transactions in excess of 5 percent of the plan assets; and 5. Actuarial information regarding the funding of the plan. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Margaret R. Bowen, Plan Administrator, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746; telephone (301) 899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $3.15 for the full report, or $0.15 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan: Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N1513, Washington, DC 20210. Basic Financial Statement Minimum Funding Standards An actuary’s statement shows that enough money was contributed to the plan to keep it funded in accordance with the minimum funding standards of ERISA. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Financial information and information on payments to service providers; 3. Assets held for investment; 4. Transactions in excess of 5 percent of the plan assets; and 5. Insurance information including sales commissions paid by insurance carriers. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Margaret R. Bowen, Administrator, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746; telephone (301) 899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $4.80 for the full report, or $0.15 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan: Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, DC 20210. SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORTS SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SEAFARERS VACATION PLAN This is a summary of the annual report for the Seafarers Vacation Plan, (EIN. 13-5602047, Plan No. 503) for the period January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $15,585,019 as of December 31, 2005 compared to $15,731,956 as of January 1, 2005. During the plan year, the plan experienced a decrease in its net assets of $146,937. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. During the plan year, the plan had a total income of $53,361,433. This income included employer contributions of $52,169,499, realized gains of $397,165 from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $747,430. Plan expenses were $53,508,370. These expenses included $6,899,250 in administrative expenses and $46,609,120 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Financial information and information on payments to service providers; and 3. Assets held for investment. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Margaret R. Bowen, Administrator, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746; telephone (301) 899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $3.45 for the full report, or $0.15 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan: Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, DC 20210. December 2006 SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORT FOR SEAFARERS HEALTH AND BENEFITS PLAN This is a summary of the annual report for the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan, (EIN.13-5557534, Plan No. 501) for the period January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2005. The annual report has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Basic Financial Statement The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was $22,124,202 as of December 31, 2005 compared to $6,868,009 as of January 1, 2005. During the plan year, the plan experienced an increase in its net assets of $15,256,193. This increase includes unrealized appreciation or depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets at the beginning of the year, or the cost of assets acquired during the year. During the plan year, the plan had a total income of $84,381,946. This income included employer contributions of $81,809,706, realized gains of $292,564 from the sale of assets and earnings from investments of $318,473. Plan expenses were $69,125,753. These expenses included $9,190,526 in administrative expenses and $59,935,227 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries. Your Rights to Additional Information You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report: 1. An accountant’s report; 2. Financial information and information on payments to service providers; 3. Assets held for investment; and 4. Transactions in excess of 5 percent of the plan assets. To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write or call the office of Margaret Bowen, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746; telephone (301) 899-0675. The charge to cover copying costs will be $2.85 for the full report, or $0.15 per page for any part thereof. You also have the right to receive from the plan administrator, on request and at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the plan and accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the plan and accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report from the plan administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the report because these portions are furnished without charge. You also have the legally protected right to examine the annual report at the main office of the plan: Plan Office, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Public Disclosure Room, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Suite N-1513, Washington, DC 20210. Seafarers LOG 11 �39285_9_13.20.24X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:13 PM Page 12 Bosun Kelvin Cherington and QEP Kevin Jones check out the latest issue of the LOG aboard the Chemical Pioneer, a USS Transport vessel. The Crowley tug Pioneer (above) ties up in Philadelphia. At right is Eugeniy Golubev, an AB on the Pioneer. Standing gangway watch on the Chemical Pioneer is AB Todd Peden. On Petty’s Island, home to the Crowley shipping terminal, are SIU members Dennis Saggese (left), who is getting into the jockey truck, and Stanley Williams, who is already behind the wheel. In n an nd and the t hee h ill a off Ph Phila Rally for Justice Docked in Philadelphia are the Express Marine, Inc. tugs (from left) Russel B. Murray, Guardian and Acti Seafarers join with approximately 200 other Maritime Port Council Affiliates (including UIW, IBU, UFCW and Teamsters) to show their support for members of Teamsters Local 429 in Reading, Pa. who have been on strike against a giant French-owned, multi-national corporation—Arkema—for more than two months. The union workers, whose contract expired in March, are demanding that Arkema live up to its corporate social responsibility and come back to the bargaining table to negotiate a fair agreement. Arkema has proposed reductions in health care, pension and overtime. Lending their support in the rally are, from left, SIU members Andrew Austin, Tony Beasley and Charles Wright. Above: SIU Patrolman Rob Wisler takes care of business at the counter of the Philadelphia hall. With him are Recertified Bosun Tony Beasley (center) and his son, Felsher Beasley, who is taking an AB job. Bosun Joe Colangelo (left) takes care of some paperwor for Port Agent Joe Mieluchowski, who came aboard th Resolve when the Interocean vessel docked in Delaware Mike Measley (left) is sworn in by SIU Patrolman Rob Wisler, who presents him with his union book. 12 Seafarers LOG December 2006 �39285_9_13.20.24X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:13 PM Page 13 Preparing the Maunalei for Service Standing alongside the vessel are Jake Joyce and SIU Patrolman Rob Wisler. Left: Recertified Bosun Tony Beasley works as a deckhand on the Freedom ferry. Here, he is taking tickets and escorting passengers onto the vessel. Above, Roger Taylor is the captain of the ferry, which runs from Philadelphia to Camden, N.J. nd A ro o un nd Around o rtt he h e Po Port l ad d ell ph h iaa hil hiladelphia Aboard the Maunalei are (from left) Glenn Ambrosius, Andy Rescinito, Bill Kelly and SIU Patrolman Rob Wisler. The newly christened Matson ship Maunalei, which means “mountain flower” in Hawaiian, was in the Aker Philadelphia Shipyard this summer, being readied for service. The vessel’s steward department is crewed by members of the SIU. Port Agent Joe Mieluchowski and Jeff Beasley pose for a snapshot. Guardian and Active. AB Charles James (left) and Bosun Marc Marcus are among the Seafarers working aboard the USNS Gordon. Seafarers Jeff Beasley (left) and Carlo Beasley work aboard the Maunalei. Nina McFall does her part getting the Maunalei ready for deployment in Matson’s Hawaii-Guam-China service. Left: Bosun Ricardo Legorreta and AB Jim Foley work aboard Liberty Maritime’s Cape Knox, which recently docked in Philadelphia. of some paperwork o came aboard the docked in Delaware. Left: AB Ryan Jones is a cook aboard Express Marine’s tug Guardian. Right: SIU members count ballots aboard the Guardian in the vote to approve the new shipping agreements—which were ratified. Facing the camera are (from left) Capt. Riley Johnson, Mate Steve Jones and Mate Bradley Thomas. December 2006 Aboard Pacific Gulf Marine’s tug Ocean Titan are (from left) Chief Steward Jorge Bernardez and Cooks Obadi Kassem (who was getting off) and Nina McFall. Seafarers LOG 13 �39285_3.4.5.7.14.15.16.17.22.23X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:08 PM Page 14 Progress Continues on OSG Tankers Sumner a Good Feeder – Really Continued from page 3 additional new U.S.-flag ships that also would sail in the Jones Act trades. “We believe we can deliver,” Johnston said at the MTD meetings. “We believe you can build the ships in the United States. We also believe you can crew and maintain the ships in the United States.” Mariners on the USNS Sumner showed their ability to follow orders —and their sense of humor—with this snapshot of Chief Steward Wanda Glinke ostensibly telling AB Leroy Williamson he can’t have any food. Fred Smallwood, master of the Horizon vessel, said that during a recent voyage near China he needed to take on additional crew members to stay within STCW guidelines (in this case an extra third mate and two ABs). A communication from the operator good-naturedly mentioned that in addition to completing various mandatory paperwork for the additional mariners, the Sumner was advised, “Do forget to feed them.” Of course, the company official meant “Don’t forget.” Since we’ve been known to print a typo or two of our own here at the LOG office, we’re certainly not poking fun at the error, but simply sharing the photo and story. Above: Hull No. 6 (the Overseas Long Beach) has been skidded to its final position in the building dock. Left: Aker Philadelphia Shipyard is building 10 U.S.-flag tankers for OSG, including the Overseas Houston. Education: A Gift that Keeps on Giving Apply Now for a College Scholarship in 2007 I t’s the holiday season, and amid all the frenzy of selecting the perfect gifts for your friends and family, take the time to give yourself the chance to fulfill your dreams of a college education. Completing the coupon below is the first step toward realizing those dreams. All Seafarers and their spouses and dependent children who plan to attend college are encouraged to send away for the 2007 SIU Scholarship Program booklet. It contains eligibility information, procedures for applying and a copy of the application form. (The program books also are available at all SIU halls.) Eight monetary grants will be awarded by the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan in 2007 to three SIU members and five dependents. One of the three scholarships reserved for SIU members is in the amount of $20,000 and is intended to help cover the costs of attending a four-year, college-level course of study. The other two are for $6,000 each and are intended as two-year awards for study at a post-secondary vocational school or community college. Five scholarships are to be awarded in the amount of $20,000 each to the spouses and dependent children of Seafarers. Once the scholarship booklet has been received, applicants should check the eligibility information to make sure that certain conditions are met. After checking for eligibility, applicants P should start collecting other paperwork which must be submitted along with the full application by the April 15, 2007 deadline. These items include transcripts and certificates of graduation. Since schools are often quite slow in handling transcript requests, the sooner the request is made, the better. Another part of the application package includes letters of recommendation solicited from individuals who know the applicant’s character, personality and career goals. The selection committee looks at the high school grades of all applicants and also checks the scores of either their Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) or American College Tests (ACT). Therefore, arrangements should be made to take these exams no later than February 2007 to ensure that the results reach the scholarship selection committee in time to be evaluated. A photograph of the applicant and a certified copy of his or her birth certificate are two other items that must be included in the total application package. No one can be awarded a scholarship without filling out an application and mailing it to the Scholarship Program by April 15. Happy holidays—and don’t just wish for the gift that can affect the rest of your life—go for it today! Gov’t Services Ships Complete Unrep Exercise Bosun’s Mate Billy Bushey submitted these photos of an underway replenishment exercise involving two SIU Government Services Division vessels: the USNS Mt. Baker and the USNS Lewis and Clark. The sessions took place Nov. 6-8 at the Earle Naval Weapons Station in New Jersey. They were the first such drills for the Lewis and Clark, the first in a new series of ships being constructed in San Diego for the U.S. Military Sealift Command. The photos were taken from aboard the Mt. Baker. lease send me the 2007 SIU Scholarship Program booklet which contains eligibility information, procedures for applying and a copy of the application form. Name __________________________________________________________________ Mariner's Social Security Number ____________________________________________ Street Address ____________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip Code ______________________________________________________ ( ) Telephone Number ________________________________________________________ This application is for: † Self † Dependent Mail this completed form to Scholarship Program, Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. 12/06 14 Seafarers LOG December 2006 �39285_3.4.5.7.14.15.16.17.22.23X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:08 PM Page 15 Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea January & February 2007 Membership Meetings OCTOBER 16 — NOVEMBER 15, 2006 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals All Departments 5 0 3 8 3 10 42 25 1 14 15 34 15 21 5 4 10 0 35 28 278 0 0 6 4 1 7 28 19 0 3 11 19 8 9 2 1 3 1 15 13 3 9 3 27 7 9 37 16 1 10 12 28 16 14 6 6 8 4 34 21 271 2 0 4 6 3 5 22 17 2 6 8 17 10 4 4 5 4 3 16 11 2 0 0 3 2 1 19 10 0 0 4 9 7 3 1 2 3 1 6 6 79 0 1 1 8 1 2 5 6 0 0 3 3 6 2 2 0 2 3 2 8 150 149 55 2 0 2 6 3 13 23 10 0 5 4 26 11 20 1 4 1 1 15 20 1 0 1 7 3 7 9 12 0 5 4 6 14 5 1 1 3 1 9 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 7 2 1 0 0 1 4 5 TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 0 6 8 0 6 28 19 0 6 5 28 16 13 5 3 4 1 29 20 197 Trip Reliefs DECK DEPARTMENT 3 3 4 10 2 6 22 9 1 4 17 17 20 8 2 13 4 4 27 9 185 1 3 0 1 1 0 7 5 0 0 3 2 4 3 1 1 0 0 6 2 40 0 0 2 10 0 3 24 9 0 2 5 9 10 5 2 0 4 3 20 9 117 98 1 1 4 2 3 2 8 11 1 6 5 5 9 2 1 4 2 2 8 5 82 1 0 3 1 1 3 5 1 0 0 1 2 4 1 1 0 2 1 3 2 32 0 0 1 1 0 1 5 7 0 1 3 4 5 6 1 0 1 0 7 4 47 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 1 0 3 8 2 6 14 12 0 0 4 13 6 12 0 2 0 1 9 18 1 0 0 3 2 5 4 5 0 0 2 3 10 1 2 1 1 0 3 3 167 95 25 111 46 0 0 1 0 0 3 8 2 0 3 3 7 0 8 0 0 1 0 3 1 2 4 7 10 2 8 21 11 1 4 4 36 16 19 2 3 1 0 12 9 7 0 1 5 0 12 12 12 3 2 4 19 19 13 2 22 0 0 13 11 0 0 1 0 0 1 3 2 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 7 1 4 14 10 0 1 3 21 10 6 1 10 0 0 9 6 40 172 157 15 635 687 316 421 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 2 13 7 0 5 14 5 13 76 52 1 24 35 78 23 35 8 2 15 2 63 54 512 4 10 12 42 13 13 50 37 2 21 10 46 20 21 7 9 18 7 52 37 431 2 4 3 10 4 1 28 17 0 3 5 14 10 7 1 1 4 1 17 12 Algonac ................Friday: January 12, February 9 ............................... Baltimore..............Thursday: January 11, February 8 Boston ..................Friday: January 12, February 9 Guam ....................Thursday: January 25, February 22 ............................... Honolulu...............Friday: January 19, February 16 Houston ................Tuesday: January 16* ..............................Monday: February 12 ..............................(*change created by Martin Luther King Jr. holiday) ............................... Jacksonville ..........Thursday: January 11, February 9 Joliet .....................Thursday: January 18, February 15 144 0 0 7 8 1 13 33 29 0 9 12 34 14 13 2 3 4 2 25 20 2 0 4 12 6 7 22 40 2 10 9 22 20 12 5 2 5 4 34 18 0 1 0 8 1 3 6 8 0 1 2 7 6 3 1 0 1 2 2 15 229 236 67 2 0 5 6 4 18 42 25 0 7 5 45 15 34 4 5 2 5 29 38 0 0 1 13 3 12 12 16 0 9 5 13 23 7 0 2 4 1 17 13 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 2 2 1 0 6 7 1 1 0 1 1 5 8 New Orleans.........Tuesday: January 16, February 13 New York .............Tuesday: January 9, February 6 Norfolk .................Thursday: January 11, February 8 Philadelphia..........Wednesday: January 10, February 7 Port Everglades ....Thursday: January 18, February 15 San Francisco .......Thursday: January 18, February 15 San Juan ...............Thursday: January 11, February 8 St. Louis ...............Friday: January 19, February 16 Tacoma .................Friday: January 26, February 23 Wilmington...........Monday: January 22 0 0 1 1 0 5 5 4 0 1 2 6 3 6 0 0 2 0 6 7 49 291 151 39 1 0 0 5 0 3 7 3 1 1 2 5 3 10 1 17 0 0 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 8 3 0 3 4 10 0 12 0 0 1 0 8 1 5 5 7 13 4 10 40 31 1 10 6 72 21 31 2 9 1 0 26 13 13 3 3 12 0 17 27 23 2 4 9 39 36 18 1 11 0 1 27 19 106 69 0 55 307 265 419 154 167 1,087 1,125 515 ENTRY DEPARTMENT Piney Point ...........Monday: January 8, February 5 Mobile ..................Wednesday: January 17, February 14 ENGINE DEPARTMENT 1 0 3 0 0 7 9 16 0 3 6 11 5 9 1 2 2 1 10 12 **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C ..............................Tuesday: February 20* ..............................(*change created by Presidents’ Day holiday) Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. Personals CELSO CASTRO Please contact Melanie Williams at (817) 444-3964. She hasn’t heard from you since Hurricane Katrina. JOHN ROBINSON AND WALTER RIGBY Please contact Ed Rihn at (985) 839-3801. He has not been able to locate you since Hurricane Katrina. SHIPMATES FROM THE SS PRODUCER John Merriam is looking for shipmates from the SS Producer during the voyage to Iran (Dec. 22-March 31, 1972). You may contact him at Westwall Building, Suite 110, Fishermen’s Terminal, 4005 20th Avenue West, Seattle, WA 98199; telephone (206) 729-5252 *“Total Registered” means the number of Seafarers who actually registered for shipping at the port. **“Registered on Beach” means the total number of Seafarers registered at the port. December 2006 Seafarers LOG 15 �39285_3.4.5.7.14.15.16.17.22.23X.qxp 11/28/2006 Seafarers International Union Directory 7:09 PM Page 16 NMU Monthly Shipping & Registration Report OCTOBER 16 — NOVEMBER 15, 2006 Michael Sacco, President TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Group I Group II Group III Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Port TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Group I Group II Group III Trip Reliefs REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Group I Group II Group III DECK DEPARTMENT Boston 7 2 1 2 2 0 1 11 3 2 Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Houston 9 0 4 16 1 4 8 20 4 2 Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Jacksonville 6 0 0 7 0 0 1 2 0 1 Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services New Orleans Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large New York Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large Norfolk HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 27 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr., Bldg. B, Suite 103 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96931 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 16 4 2 13 13 0 9 2 0 8 37 32 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Tacoma 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 Wilmington 3 1 0 3 1 0 2 1 0 1 39 17 5 38 7 4 21 89 43 8 Totals Port Boston Houston Jacksonville ENGINE DEPARTMENT 2 1 0 3 0 0 0 6 1 0 1 3 1 5 5 1 4 12 2 0 30 1 3 0 1 0 2 0 0 New Orleans 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1 1 New York 6 4 0 2 2 0 3 14 5 0 Norfolk 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 Tacoma 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wilmington 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 14 8 3 14 7 3 8 42 9 1 Totals Port STEWARD DEPARTMENT Boston 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 4 1 Houston 4 1 0 6 2 0 1 14 1 0 Jacksonville 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 New Orleans 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 4 1 3 New York 6 9 0 5 5 0 0 22 26 0 Norfolk 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 Tacoma 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wilmington 1 2 4 0 2 4 3 1 1 0 Totals 13 15 5 15 12 4 5 47 33 4 Totals All Departments 66 40 13 67 26 11 34 178 85 13 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG PIC-FROM-THE-PAST This photo was sent to the Seafarers LOG by Charles D. Hayward Jr. of Everett, Wash. The photo was taken at Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam on New Year’s Day 1966 aboard the SS Australian Reef. The vessel was a West Coast C-2 operated by Farrell Lines out of New York. Hayward, who was a 33-year-old AB at the time, remembers that it was 108 degrees that day. The ship had about 16,000 tons of ammunition on board and had to be constantly guarded. In this photo, Hayward, who was relieving the Marine Guards who had gone on a lunch break, poses for a snapshot. Hayward, a full-blooded native Alaskan, sailed as a bosun/quartermaster. He misses the seafaring life and his 46 years of sailing with the SUP, NMU and SIU. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with the LOG readership, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. December 2006 �39285_3.4.5.7.14.15.16.17.22.23X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:09 PM Page 17 Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA JULIUS KOTAN, 65, joined the SIU in 1965 in the port of New York. Brother Kotan initially sailed on CSX Lines’ Gateway in the steward department. His most recent voyage was aboard the OMI Wabash. Brother Kotan makes his home in Pittsburgh, Pa. ROBERT MARTIN, 55, became a Seafarer in 1974. Brother Martin’s first voyage was on the Jacksonville. He was a frequent upgrader at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Brother Martin, who worked in the engine department, resides in Hazlet, N.J. New York. Brother Walker’s first voyage was aboard the Afoundria. In 1980, the deck department member upgraded his skills at the Piney Point school. Brother Walker most recently sailed on the Motivator. He calls Brooklyn, N.Y. home. JONATHAN WHITE, 58, launched his seafaring career in 1966 in New York. Brother White’s first ship was the El Faro; his last was the Overseas New Orleans. He worked in the steward department. Brother White resides in his native state of Alabama. INLAND HARVEY McLUNG, 66, began sailing with the Seafarers in 1970. His first ship was the Steel Executive. Brother McClung upgraded his skills often at the SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Prior to retiring, the deck department member sailed on the Resolve. Brother McClung calls Milton, Wash. home. JOSEPH LUQUETTE, 64, began sailing with the SIU in 1968. Boatman Luquette worked mainly aboard vessels operated by Dixie Carriers. In 1980 and 1981, he upgraded his seafaring skills at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. Boatman Luquette lives in Kaplan, La. MICHAEL McKNIGHT, 62, embarked on his SIU career in 1966. Brother McKnight’s first trip to sea was aboard an Isthmian Lines Inc. vessel. He was born in Florida and shipped as a member of the engine department. He makes his home in Tacoma, Wash. LINLEY McDONALD, 65, donned the SIU colors in 1970. Boatman McDonald shipped primarily on National Marine Services’ vessels. He upgraded his skills at the Seafarers-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Boatman McDonald is a resident of Kennedy, Texas. AHMED MOHAMMED, 59, started shipping with the union in 1969 in the port of San Francisco. Brother Mohammed, who was born in Arabia, first worked aboard the Longview Victory. He sailed in the engine department. Brother Mohammed last worked on the ITB Baltimore. He lives in New York. ANTHONY MORELLI, 65, joined the SIU ranks in 1981. Brother Morelli was a member of the steward department. He settled in Boca Raton, Fla. GEORGE NOTTINGHAM, 73, was born in the Philippines. Brother Nottingham became a Seafarer in 1991 in the port of Norfolk, Va. The deck department member shipped on vessels operated by Interocean American Shipping, including the Meteor and Cornhusker State. Brother Nottingham upgraded his skills on two occasions at the unionaffiliated school in Piney Point, Md. He makes his home in Virginia. ISAAC WALKER, 65, began his SIU career in 1973 in the port of December 2006 LEO McINTYRE, 62, joined the union in 1966 in the port of Philadelphia. Boatman McIntyre initially worked aboard an Interstate Oil Transport Company vessel. His most recent voyage was on a Mariner Towing vessel. Boatman McIntyre makes his home in Dagsboro, Del. LIONEL PAUL, 66, started sailing with the SIU in 1990 from the port of Houston. Boatman Paul’s first trip to sea was aboard the Seabulk Tanker. He attended upgrading courses at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. in 1995. Boatman Paul’s most recent voyage was on a Seabulk Tanker Inc. vessel. He settled in Port Arthur, Texas. DONALD QUINN, 62, began his seafaring career in 1978. Boatman Quinn first worked aboard a CG Willis Inc. vessel He upgraded his skills on two occasions at the unionaffiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Boatman Quinn’s most recent trip was on a Penn Maritime tug. He calls Warsaw, N.C. home. JUAN REBOLLO, 62, joined the SIU in 1977. Boatman Rebollo sailed primarily aboard Crowley Towing and Transportation vessels. He now makes his home in Catano, P.R. LUTHER SARVIS JR., 53, became an SIU member in 1969. Boatman Sarvis shipped primarily aboard G&H Towing vessels. He upgraded in 2000 at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. Boatman Sarvis resides in LaMarque, Texas. VINCENT THOMPSON, 62, started shipping with the union in 1980, initially aboard a Red Circle Transport vessel. Boatman Thompson enhanced his skills on numerous occasions at the Piney Point school. Before retiring, he sailed aboard G&H Towing tugs. Boatman Thompson is a resident of Westwego, La. THOMAS WESCOVICH, 59, joined the union in 1970. During his SIU career, Boatman Wescovich worked primarily on Alabama Pilot Company vessels. He lives in Irvington, Ala. CYRIL WILLIAMS, 63, embarked on his SIU career in 1982. Boatman Williams shipped primarily aboard Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1950 The SIU Atlantic and Gulf District became the first seamen’s union to negotiate a companyfinanced Welfare Plan for its members. This was established in an agreement signed with nine contracted steamship companies on December 28. Although the companies will make all the contributions to the welfare fund, the agreement provides for joint administration by a committee representing the union and the steamship companies. Under the terms of the contract each company will contribute into a common fund, the sum of 25 cents per day for each man employed aboard its vessels. Allied Towing vessels. He upgraded his skills at the Piney Point school in 1997 and 2003. Boatman Williams calls Trenton, S.C. home. Editor’s note: The following brothers, both former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust, recently went on pension. FREDDIE BEECH JR., 57, joined the NMU in 1977 initially sailing from the port of New Orleans. Brother Beech was born in Louisiana. His first ship was the Frederick Lykes. Brother Beech shipped in the steward department. Prior to retiring, he worked on the Marjorie Lykes. EARL RAMSEY, 68, became an NMU member in 1962 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Brother Ramsey’s first voyage was aboard the Trans Gulf. The Jamaica-born mariner sailed in both the steward and deck departments. screening. Many of them, in fact, are recruited in areas which have strong local Communist groups on the waterfront and in the local labor movements. Under the circumstances, the union has pointed out, the United States could not count on the reliability of such crews in the event of a national emergency. 1970 Rep. Gerald R. Ford (R-Mich.) said he wants more than just a minimum of America’s foreign trade cargoes carried in her ships. At a luncheon sponsored by the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department (with which the SIU is affiliated), the House minority leader said it is bad for this nation to be so dependent on foreign-flag ships for its import and export trade. Ford said, “If American-flag ships are not built to transport a reasonable percentage of our expanding foreign trade, we will be totally dependent upon foreign shipping interests to move those goods. We cannot afford that dependence.” This Month In SIU History 1960 Six of the 14 crew members of the wrecked Liberian freighter Francisco Morazan have been detained by the U.S. Immigration Service as “undesirable aliens.” The detention came after their vessel was blown on the rocks in Lake Michigan by an early winter storm. The six men were then placed in the custody of the ship’s New York agent for transportation to New York, from where they will leave the country. The incident tends to substantiate contentions by the SIU and other U.S. maritime unions that the so-called “effective control” policy is a sham. The SIU has pointed out that runaway-flag crew members, unlike seamen on American-flag ships, do not undergo any 1980 Frank Drozak has been overwhelmingly elected president of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District in a secret mail ballot as provided for under the SIU constitution. The ballots were counted by the official union tallying committee, made up of 18 rank-and-file members. The committee consisted of two members from each of the SIU’s nine constitutional ports. They were elected by their brother members at special meetings in the nine constitutional ports on Dec. 29, 1980. Seafarers LOG 17 �39285_2.6.8.18.19.21X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:40 PM Page 18 Final Departures DEEP SEA MARTIN BALAGTAS Pensioner Martin Balagtas, 85, passed away Sept. 12. Brother Balagtas embarked on his SIU career in 1973. He initially sailed on CSX Lines’ St. Louis. Brother Balagtas was born in the Philippines. The engine department member retired in 1992 and last worked aboard the Liberty Sun. Brother Balagtas made his home in San Francisco. JOSEPH BARTLETT Pensioner Joseph Bartlett, 84, died May 10. Brother Bartlett joined the union in 1942 in the port of Baltimore. He first worked aboard an Emerson Steamship Company vessel. Brother Bartlett was a native of Maryland. He began his retirement in 1989 and lived in Fairfield, Calif. JOSEPH BENNETT JR. Pensioner Joseph Bennett Jr., 78, passed away July 16. Brother Bennett was born in Coy, Ala. He became an SIU member in 1966, initially working aboard a Wall Street Traders Inc. vessel. Brother Bennett was a member of the steward department. His last voyage was aboard the Star of Texas. Brother Bennett went on pension in 1992. He was a resident of Houston. JOSEPH DeJESSA Pensioner Joseph DeJessa, 80, died June 26. Brother DeJessa started his seafaring career in 1948 in the port of New York. The deck department member’s first ship was the Ocean Lotta. Brother DeJessa was born in Lyndhurst, N.J. Brother DeJessa became a pensioner in 1989. He called Brick, N.J. home. Brother DeJessa is survived by his two sons, Joseph and Robert DeJessa, and six grandchildren. JOSE GOMEZ Pensioner Jose Gomez, 90, passed away July 13. Brother Gomez donned the SIU colors in 1945 in the port of Philadelphia. He first worked in the deck department on board the Steel Worker. Brother Gomez, who was born in the Virgin Islands, last sailed aboard the Voyager. He began receiving compensation for his retirement in 1984. Brother Gomez resided in New York. JAMES HENRY Brother James Henry, 61, died June 30. He joined the SIU in 1987. 18 Seafarers LOG Brother Henry first shipped on the USNS Wyman in the deck department. He was born in Sulphur Springs, Texas. Brother Henry most recently sailed aboard the John A. Chapman. He made his home in Kansas City, Kan. MICHAEL LANGENBACH Brother Michael Langenbach, 47, passed away June 6. He became a Seafarer in 1978 in Piney Point, Md. Brother Langenbach first worked on the USNS Potomac. The engine department member last sailed aboard the Dewayne T. Williams. He lived in his native state of Alabama. JAMES LONG Pensioner James Long, 84, died May 19. Brother Long began shipping with the Seafarers in 1951 aboard an Ore Navigation vessel. The deck department member was born in Frostburg, Md. He last sailed on the Pioneer. Brother Long, who lived in Ocala, Fla., went on pension in 1983. ALVERNA McCOLGAN Pensioner Alverna McColgan, 81, died Aug. 25. Sister McColgan joined the Marine Cooks & Stewards (MC&S) in 1959 in the port of San Francisco. She worked primarily on the President Wilson during her seafaring career. Sister McColgan was born in Alabama but called Santa Rosa, Calif. home. ANGELO MEGLIO Pensioner Angelo Meglio, 87, passed away March 22. Born in New York, Brother Meglio commenced his SIU career in 1940. His earliest trip to sea was aboard the Steel Advocate. Brother Meglio last sailed in the engine department of a Michigan Tankers vessel. He retired in 1980 and lived in Staten Island, N.Y. NELSON SMITH ROBERT HALL Brother Nelson Smith, 23, died April 15. The Alabama native embarked on his SIU career in 2005 in Piney Point, Md. Brother Smith’s first ship was the USNS Altair; his last was the Samuel Cobb. He lived in Mobile, Ala. Boatman Robert Hall, 54, passed away April 16. Born in Virginia, Boatman Hall joined the SIU in the port of Norfolk in 1970. He first shipped aboard a Michigan Tankers vessel as a member of the deck department. Most recently, he worked on a Penn Maritime vessel. Boatman Hall lived in Virginia. ROY STERN Pensioner Roy Stern, 93, passed away April 5. Brother Stern joined the union in 1948 in the port of New York. His first voyage was aboard the Steel Traveler. Brother Stern sailed in the deck department. Prior to retiring in 1978, he worked on the G. Walton. Brother Stern made his home in New York. GEORGE WILLIAMS Pensioner George Williams, 59, died April 4. Brother Williams began his seafaring career in 1967 in the port of New York. His first trip to sea was aboard the Chatham. Brother Williams, who was born in San Juan, P.R., worked in the engine department. The last ship on which he worked was the San Juan. Brother Williams made his home in Puerto Rico. WILLIE CRUMPTON Pensioner Willie Crumpton, 77, passed away March 3. Brother Crumpton became an NMU member in 1945, sailing from the port of Mobile, Ala. His first trip to sea was on the Woodlake. Brother Crumpton, who worked in the steward department, was a native of Alabama. His last voyage was aboard the United States. HENRY EBANKS INLAND DENNIS BRUCE JOHN GLEICH ROBERT HARDIN Pensioner Robert Hardin, 49, died May 22. Boatman Hardin started sailing with the Seafarers in 1986. The engine department member shipped primarily aboard G&H Towing Company vessels. Boatman Hardin lived in his native state of Texas. LINDSEY RHODES Pensioner Lindsey Rhodes, 64, passed away May 16. Brother Rhodes became an SIU member in 1959 in the port of Norfolk, Va. The Virginia-born mariner first sailed aboard the Seafair. Brother Rhodes’ last voyage was on the Stonewall Jackson. He was a resident of his native state. HUBERT SNEAD Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust, have passed away. Pensioner Henry Ebanks, 84, died March 15. Brother Ebanks was born in the Grand Cayman Islands. He joined the union in 1943 in the port of Seattle. Brother Ebanks’ earliest voyage was on the Flying Scud. His last ship was the Green Forest. Boatman Dennis Bruce, 43, passed away May 23. He joined the SIU in 1993 in the port of New Orleans. Boatman Bruce sailed primarily in the steward department aboard Delta Queen Steamship vessels. He was born in Louisiana but called Alabama home. TANGUMA IGNACIO Boatman Tanguma Ignacio, 23, died April 6. He became a union member in 2005. Boatman Ignacio was born in Galveston, Texas. He worked in the engine department on board G&H Towing vessels. Boatman Ignacio made Corpus Christi, Texas his home. New York. He was born in Puerto Rico and sailed in the steward department. His last voyage was aboard the United States. Pensioner John Gleich, 81, passed away March 4. Brother Gleich began sailing with the NMU in 1943 in the port of Philadelphia. He first shipped on the Mormac Moon in the steward department. Brother Gleich was born in Chicago, Ill. His last vessel was the Tillie Lykes. MOISES JACKSON Pensioner Moises Jackson, 69, died March 20. Brother Jackson first donned the NMU colors in 1963. He was born in Honduras and worked in the steward department. Brother Jackson’s first ship was the Amtank; his last voyage was on the Marine Floridian. Pensioner Hubert Snead, 80, passed away Feb. 28. Brother Snead embarked on his seafaring career in 1945 in the port of Norfolk, Va. He first shipped on board the William N. Page in the steward department. Brother Snead was born in Virginia. His last trip to sea was aboard the Executor. GONZALO SOTO Pensioner Gonzalo Soto, 76, died Feb. 1. Brother Soto became an NMU member in 1968 in the port of New York. Born in Puerto Rico, he first sailed on the Exporter. Brother Soto last worked aboard the Green Harbor. LARRY TAYLOR Pensioner Larry Taylor, 68, passed away Feb. 11. Brother Taylor, who was born in Griffin, Ga., launched his NMU career in 1971 in the port of Philadelphia. His first voyage was on the Mormacisle. Editor’s note: In addition to the individuals listed above, the following NMU members, all of whom were pensioners, passed away on the dates indicated. Name Age Ahmed, Mohamed 79 July 8 Arthur, Norman 97 Sept. 13 Corbin, Clyde 79 Sept. 16 Deethardt, Eugene 85 Aug. 31 Fernandez, Juan 88 June 16 Gallen, John 78 Aug. 21 Hanson, Richard 82 Sept. 14 Hutchinson, John 83 Sept. 20 Jacobson, John 78 July 30 Jones, Herman 71 July 19 Lorman, Donald 71 July 6 Manchester, Fred 72 Sept. 3 Minor, Harold 83 May 24 O’Connor, John 80 Aug. 14 Ortiz, Rafael 84 July 4 Pioche, Agnan 90 Aug. 10 Renfro, David 72 Sept. 20 FRANCISCO RUIZ Smedley, Jerome 67 Aug. 7 Pensioner Francisco Ruiz, 87, died Feb. 1. Brother Ruiz joined the NMU ranks in 1946 in the port of Stanley, Robert 76 June 1 Watkins, Laurence 87 Sept. 23 DONALD OWEN Pensioner Donald Owen, 84, passed away Feb. 28. Brother Owen started his NMU career in 1947 in Corpus Christi, Texas. The steward department member’s first ship was the Sinclair. Brother Owen, who was born in Texas, most recently sailed on the Gulf Queen. DOD December 2006 �39285_2.6.8.18.19.21X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:07 PM Page 19 Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication. ALASKAN FRONTIER (Alaska Tanker), Sept. 24—Chairman Carlos Loureiro, Secretary Gregory S. Lynch, Educational Director Sylvester Crawford. Chairman highlighted details of new contract and informed crew that next trip would be to Long Beach, Calif. He mentioned there would be long hours ahead. “Just take your time and don’t rush to get finished,” he added, in stressing the need for safety at all times. Secretary thanked everyone for coming to mess halls and lounge in appropriate attire. Educational director urged seafarers to take advantage of the upgrading opportunities available at Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. He asked everyone to check document expiration dates and renew early. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Treasurer stated about $9,000 in ship’s fund and that permission is needed from captain before making a purchase for the vessel. New X-box was purchased and crew members voted on getting satellite radio. Thanks given to steward department for great meals. CHEMICAL TRADER (Intrepid), Sept. 31—Chairman Raymond A. Tate, Secretary Josue L. Iglesia, Educational Director Troy D. Banks, Deck Delegate Francis Johnson, Engine Delegate Richard Stiverson, Steward Delegate Manes Sainvil. Bosun notified crew members of 2 percent pay raise in first year, retroactive to July 1. Educational director encouraged mariners to enhance skills at Seafarers-affiliated school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew expressed gratitude to steward department for good meals. GREEN COVE (LMS Ship Management), Sept. 16—Chairman George Buisson, Secretary Farala F. George, Educational Director Jeremy M. Vaughan, Deck Delegate Mark Kiblis, Engine Delegate John C. Ropp, Steward Delegate Marie Mitchell. Chairman led discussion on benefit plans and seatime requirements. He asked all members to keep dues paid up. Secretary thanked steward department for good leadership skills. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made for TVs in all rooms. ITB PHILADELPHIA (U.S.S. Transport), Sept. 30—Chairman Michael A. Eaton, Secretary Dana A. Paradise, Educational Director Willie J. Franks, Deck Delegate Errick Nobles, Engine Delegate Daryl D. Thomas, Steward Delegate Farid Zaharan. Chairman announced Oct. 2 payoff upon arrival in Port Everglades, Fla. and urged members to contribute to SPAD. Letter sent to contracts department regarding relief time and Family and Medical Leave. Secretary asked crew to see him if any forms are needed. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made to have patrolman come aboard to discuss shipping rules and procedures. Next ports: Port Everglades; New Orleans. December 2006 ACHIEVER (Maersk Line Limited), Oct. 12—Chairman Robert B. Lindsay, Secretary Richard J. Gray, Educational Director Michael S. Kirby, Deck Delegate Walter Kuchtey, Steward Delegate Darryl D. Jackson. Chairman talked about security issues with stand-bys in Houston and Norfolk. Educational director encouraged all members to inform leadership of request for additional courses at Paul Hall Center. He also urged them to tell patrolman about any problems they are having. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made for new desk chairs and lounge chairs. Crew members discussed pension benefits and made some recommendations. Steward department was thanked for great job keeping ship clean. Next port: Houston. COAST RANGE (Crowley Liner Services), Oct. 1—Chairman Marvin P. Zimbro, Secretary Tran Nee, Educational Director Wilfredo V. Martinez, Deck Delegate Donnie W. Collins, Engine Delegate Justin E. Valencia, Steward Delegate Bernard J. Butts. Bosun led discussion about new contract. Secretary reminded Seafarers to make sure rooms are clean and supplied with fresh linen before departing vessel. Educational director advised mariners to upgrade seafaring skills at Piney Point school and contribute to SPAD. Treasurer stated $3,200 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew requested new furniture in crew lounge. Steward department given vote of thanks for job well done. Next port: Tampa, Fla. EL MORRO (Interocean American Shipping), Oct. 1— Chairman Robert T. Grubbs, Secretary Johnnie B. McGill, Educational Director Fredrick W. Dougherty, Deck Delegate Michael M. Sutton, Engine Delegate Michael A. Watkins, Steward Delegate Nelson F. Morales. Chairman discussed recent contract changes. Secretary and educational director talked about importance of upgrading skills to improve job security. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestions were made to lower seatime requirements for pension benefits and increase pension amount. Members were advised to stay abreast of their rights and keep a copy of the contract available. GLOBAL SENTINEL (Transoceanic Cable Ship), Oct. 24 —Chairman David L. Parks, Secretary Shawn R. Fujiwara, Educational Director William R. Kelley, Deck Delegate Leroy Reed, Engine Delegate Johnny W. Carson, Steward Delegate Robert J. Haggerty. Chairman stated washers and dryers had been repaired, thanks to chief electrician. He also discussed upcoming projects: crew will be given dates as they become available. Crew members must have a Marshall Islands document to work on cableships; company will reim- burse for the first one, after that members have to pay for renewal fees. Secretary reported no dutyfree sales from slopchest while in port. Educational director encouraged members to keep documents current and renew early, up to one year in advance. Treasurer noted $3,500 in general fund and reminded crew that some funds must remain to repay for items when crewing up. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Communication from headquarters regarding changes to medical benefit requirements was read and posted. Clarification requested concerning sanitation rules for three-person steward department. New TV has been ordered; waiting for delivery. All aboard were asked to use caution when using new remote as it is liable to change dish settings. HORIZON ENTERPRISE (Horizon Lines), Oct. 13— Chairman George B. Khan, Secretary William E. Bryley, Educational Director Michael J. Wells, Steward Delegate Soriano S. Grande. Bosun talked about pension plan and upcoming pay raise. Secretary reminded departing mariners to clean rooms for relief person. Educational director advised all crew members to renew documents at least six months before they expire and to upgrade at SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. to stay abreast of current regulations in the maritime industry. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion made to offer more electrician classes at Piney Point school. Crew thanked steward department for great barbecue on the way to Guam. Next ports: Tacoma, Wash.; Oakland, Calif.; Honolulu; Guam; Hong Kong; Taiwan. HORIZON HAWAII (Horizon Lines), Oct. 15—Chairman Thomas W. Grosskurth, Secretary Joseph J. Gallo Jr., Educational Director Roy S. Frett Jr., Deck Delegate Isaac Vega, Engine Delegate Keithley L. Andrew, Steward Delegate Jorge R. Salazar. Chairman announced payoff Oct. 20 in Jacksonville, Fla. Educational director urged mariners to attend courses at maritime training center in Piney Point, Md. and make sure to renew necessary shipping documents before they expire. Captain is maintaining stewardship of joint funds and will give a report of totals at next crew meeting. These funds are raised for the mutual benefit and quality of life aboard the ship (e.g., satellite TV). No beefs or disputed OT reported. Bosun thanked crew for job well done. Next ports: Jacksonville; San Juan, P.R.; Port Elizabeth, N.J. HORIZON TACOMA (Horizon Lines), Oct. 22—Chairman Joseph Artis, Secretary Lincoln E. Pinn, Educational Director Donald D. Williams Jr., Deck Delegate Michael Sorenson, Steward Delegate Lorencio N. DeLeon. Chairman announced Oct. 24 payoff to take place upon arrival in Tacoma, Wash. He urged crew members to keep dues paid and support SPAD. He also thanked everyone for helping keep ship clean. Educational director encouraged Seafarers to take advantage of training offered at Piney Point; it’s never too late to learn something new. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Chairman read and discussed president’s report from September Seafarers LOG. Steward department was thanked for their hard work. HORIZON TRADER (Horizon Lines), Oct. 22—Chairman Amante V. Gumiran, Secretary Kevin M. Dougherty, Educational Director Mario G. Paquiaz, Deck Delegate F. Saleh, Engine Delegate Mohamed M. Abdulla, Steward Delegate R. Fiel. Chairman announced Oct. 28 payoff prior to arrival in Tacoma, Wash. U.S. Coast Guard fire and lifeboat drills will take place in the ports of Oakland and Los Angeles, Calif. this trip. Secretary reported retroactive pay raise from July 1 will be paid to crew members aboard vessel after Tacoma; those not still aboard will have checks mailed to their homes. Treasurer stated $626 in crew fund and thanked everyone for their donations. It was suggested that the money be used for a satellite TV and upgrading gym equipment. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Recommendations made regarding pension benefits. OVERSEAS MARILYN (OSG Ship Management), Oct. 1— Chairman Weldon J. Heblich, Secretary Joseph Jones, Deck Delegate Bernard Wilson Jr. Secretary thanked everyone for helping keep mess hall clean. Educational director encouraged mariners to check into upgrading opportunities available at unionaffiliated school in Piney Point, Md. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made for new furniture for crew lounge. Steward All’s Well on the Sealand Achiever Everything is running smoothly in the galley of the SIU-crewed Sealand Achiever, according to members (from left) Chief Cook Darryl Jackson, Chief Steward Rich Gray and SA Chris Coston. system. No beefs or disputed OT reported. October 2006 president’s report was read and President Sacco’s message about President Bush’s support for the Jones Act was very well received. All agreed that it is great that our union’s leadership has been able to gain this kind of support at the highest level of our government. Request was made for union to continue to work on ways to improve pension benefits and, perhaps, to lower seatime requirements for retirement. Vote of thanks given to steward department for great food and keeping clean ship. Crew members were asked to bring unused plates back to the galley. Next ports: Tacoma; Oakland; Los Angeles; Honolulu. MAERSK GEORGIA (Maersk Line Limited), Oct. 20—Chairman Carlton P. Hall, Secretary Mohamed B. Kamer, Deck Delegate Osman B. Raji, Engine Delegate John E. Conn. Bosun thanked all departments for safe trip. Secretary requested travel pay for getting off in New York. He asked for clarification on wages paid for sanitation. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Educational director stressed importance of upgrading skills at Paul Hall Center. MAERSK VIRGINIA (Maersk Line Limited), Oct. 8—Chairman Mohamed S. Ahmed, Secretary Hugh E. Wildermuth, Educational Director Donald M. Christian, Deck Delegate Damon Lobel, Engine Delegate Sjamsidar Madjidji. Chairman announced Oct. 14 payoff in Newark, N.J. He reported good crew, safe voyage and great job by all. Secretary thanked fellow crew members for help keeping ship clean and safe. Treasurer stated balance of $4,597 in ship’s fund after voting to donate $500 to USS department given vote of thanks for job well done. SEABULK CHALLENGER (Seabulk International), Oct. 24— Chairman Kenneth A. Abrahamson, Secretary Jennifer K. Jim, Educational Director Randolph E. Scott, Deck Delegate William J. Tanksley, Engine Delegate Rudolph K. Miller, Steward Delegate H. Brian. Bosun announced Oct. 24 payoff in Barber’s Point, Hawaii. Educational director urged crew to upgrade seafaring skills at SIUaffiliated school in Piney Point, Md. whenever possible. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Members discussed SIU contracts with Seabulk. Bosun to order new latches for crew linen locker. Request was made for port agent to contact company about getting e-mail for crew. Next ports: Barber’s Point; Honolulu; El Segundo, Calif. SULPHUR ENTERPRISE (LMS Ship Management), Oct. 15— Chairman Grant A. Shipley, Secretary Darryl K. Goggins, Educational Director Dale D. Nesfield, Deck Delegate Tibby L. Clotter, Steward Delegate John A. Stephen. Chairman updated crew members on vessel delay. Secretary asked mariners leaving ship to leave room clean and supplied with fresh linen. Educational director urged crew to take advantage of upgrading opportunities at Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward department was thanked for job well done. Suggestions made regarding medical and dental benefits as well as contract. Crew members expressed gratitude to company and officers aboard Sulphur Enterprise for giving everyone cable TV in each room. Next port: Tampa, Fla. Seafarers LOG 19 �39285_9_13.20.24X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:14 PM Page 20 Snapshots from Ship and Shore Chief Carpenter Dennis Remetio submitted two photos (top left and bottom left) from a recent voyage on NCL America’s Pride of Aloha along with two other pictures from the ceremonial opening of the new SIU hall in Oakland, Calif. In top left photo, Remetio (far right) is joined by (from left) Assistant Carpenters Mike Tadlip, Rommel Crespo and Aaron Mitchell and 1st Carpenter Carlos Velasquez Jr. Pictured below left are (from left) Mitchell, Velasquez and Remetio. Above right, Remetio poses with SIU VP West Coast Nick Marrone and (below right) with SIU Honolulu Port Agent Neil Dietz at the hall. In a note to the LOG, Remetio encouraged fellow Seafarers to “pick up the cruise ship jobs so that we continue meeting our obligations in this important part of the U.S.-flag industry. Regards to all brothers and sisters in the SIU and may God bless you all.” Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No 20 Seafarers LOG monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. December 2006 �39285_2.6.8.18.19.21X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:07 PM Page 21 SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. for December through February 2007. All programs are geared to improve the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. The next edition of the Seafarers LOG will contain a complete guide of all the upgrading courses available to students in the year 2007. Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman January 22 February 16 Lifeboatman/Water Survival January 8 January 19 Steward Upgrading Courses Junior Engineer January 8 March 2 QMED Machinist January 8 January 26 Welding January 15 February 2 Inland Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Inland Radar (non STCW) January 8 January 12 Safety Specialty Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Advanced Fire Fighting January 15 February 26 Advanced Fire Fighting (one week) December 4 December 8 Basic Safety Training December 4 December 8 Medical Care Provider January 29 February 2 Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations modules start every week. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward classes start every other week beginning Dec. 11. Engine Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Basic Auxiliary Plant Ops January 29 February 23 FOWT February 26 March 23 � UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Deep Sea Member † Lakes Member Date of Birth ______________________ † Inland Waters Member † If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____________________________ Department _____________________ U.S. Citizen: Yes † No † Home Port _____________________________ With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twentyfive (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. BEGIN DATE COURSE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? † Yes † No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? † Yes † No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? † Yes † No Firefighting: † Yes † No CPR: † Yes † No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ December 2006 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 12/06 Seafarers LOG 21 �39285_3.4.5.7.14.15.16.17.22.23X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:09 PM Page 22 Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 679 — Graduating from the water survival course are unlicensed apprentices from class 679. They include (front row, from left) Zorah Rodgers, Gregory Barrera, Marco Bolanos, Stefra Strauser, Wilbert Martinez, Ivette Flecha-Perez, (second row) Christopher Olsen, Raymond Maldonado, Patrick Lefevre, Tyler Ciranni, Scott Thompson, Kenneth Bogins II, Monica Sanchez-Quinones, (third row) Benjamin Grace, Gerret Jarman, Jason Lamadieu, Philip Gallagher, Christopher Strick, Bryan Hayden, Mark Randall, Benjamin Giles, Keith Parsons and Tom Loughead. Welding — Under the instruction of Buzzy Andrews (center, back row) are Oct. 27 graduates (in alphabetical order) Victor Antunez, Anthony Bartley, Richard Cole, Anya Mixon, Jo-Vanii Sprauve, Jo-Vanio Sprauve and Jome Zerna. AB — Receiving certificates for completion of the AB course Oct. 27 are (in no specific order) Peter Cooke, Ashley Pearce, Christopher Wheeler, Raymond Harvell, Justin Ryan, Darrell Moore, Patrick Langdon, Natalie Tremblay, Thomas Guthrie IV, Marco Figueroa, Robert Godwin, Juan Gonzalez, Enrique Defendini, Villanito Villanueva, Alexander Banky IV, Gil Hernandez, Ernest Cannon, William Clifton, Terrance Dunn, John Kelly, Robert Light, Kyle Hudson and Michael Morita. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is at far left. Advanced Fire Fighting — Graduates of the advanced fire fighting course that ended Oct. 13 are (in no specific order) MTLX boatmen Edwin Schlink, Charles Young, Jeremy Abel, Robert Bouton, Kevin Oleary, Mike Wiley, Kenneth Stanton and Vincent Whitehair. Their instructor, Tom Cessna, is at far left. Fast Rescue Boat — Graduating from this course Oct. 20 under the instruction of Stan Beck (not pictured) are MTLX boatmen (in no specific order) Kenneth Graybill IV, Charles Crim, Roger Stanus, Paul Kalmeta and Sean Leeson. HAZWOPER — Completing the Hazwoper course Oct. 16 are MTLX boatmen (in no specific order) Kevin O’Leary, Ken Stanton, Mike Wiley, Mike Tarbox, Glen McCann, Edwin Schlink, Robert Reeder, Scott Murdock, Kenneth Graybill, Sean Leeson, Charles Carlson, Paul Kalmeta and Roger Stanus. Their instructor, Jim Shaffer, is at far left. Computer Lab Classes With instructor Rick Prucha (standing in each photo) are students who recently completed computer classes at the Paul Hall Center. Proudly showing their certificates of achievement are, from the left (in the photo at left): Rudolfo Jordan, Omer Almaklani and Josh Kilbourn and (in the photo at right): Ernest Frank III. 22 Seafarers LOG December 2006 �39285_3.4.5.7.14.15.16.17.22.23X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:09 PM Page 23 Paul Hall Center Classes Tankerman (PIC) Barge — With instructor Mitch Oakley (far left) are Oct. 27 graduates of the tankerman (PIC) barge course. Included are (in no specific order) Andre Jennette, Ronald Dean, Clarence Fortt Jr., Bryan Vallecillo, Paul Hackney, John Bilich, Bradley Thomas, Jesse Hale, Robert Stone and Euginiy Golubev. Oil Spill — Graduating from this course Oct. 20 are Penn Maritime boatmen (in no specific order) Virgil Walls, Randol Isles, Lance Bethel, David Kane, Hector Arroyave, Scott Chew, Robert Albers, Rebecca Tallman, Barrett Hickey and Leroy Adaway. Their instructor, Jim Shaffer, is at far left. Medical Care Provider — Oct. 6 was graduation day for students in the medical care provider course. They are (in alphabetical order) Jasper Brown, Jr., Charlene Edwards, Marc Fitton and Sergey Kurchenko. Their instructor (not pictured) was Mark Cates. Medical Care Provider — Upgrading Seafarers working aboard MTLX vessels who completed the Medical Care Provider course Oct. 13 are (in no specific order) Glen McCann, Igor Loch Jr., Howard Clark, Bruce Comiskey, Bruce Walsh, William Palmer, William Harvell, Scott Murdock, Robert Reeder, Michael Tarbox, Charlie Carlson and Robert Hoffman. Their instructor (not pictured) was Mark Cates. Any student who has registered for a class and finds—for whatever reason—that he or she cannot attend, please inform the admissions depart- Certified Chief Cook — Completing one of the certified chief cook courses at the school are (front row, from left) Cheryl Lynch, Carinda Bohus, Roberto Botin, Sedell Michell and (back row) Michael Henry. ment so that another student may take that place. STCW — NCL, Oct. 10: Jennifer Ahern, Andrew Anderson, Daniel Andrews, Jason Apps, Miriam Basilio, Ramona Becker, Travis Blalock, Michael Blue, Shawna Bowen, Monique Boyles, David Brinkley, James Brokop, Mark Bult, James Byrd, John-Michael Byrd, Danielle Choquette, Daniel Coen, Rajene Colson, Charles Cool, Mark Cornelsen, Edward Cristales, Dolores DeBus, Kristi Dukoff and Daniel Dyer. December 2006 STCW — NCL, Oct. 10: Sabrina Pettis, Juan Poblete, Ulrick Prudent Jr., Leslie Purgason, Karen Ray, Michael Ray Jr., Cheryl Renstrom, Krystina Reynolds, Joshua Richard, Luis Rivero, Clifford Russell, Edith Salvador, Carmela Sarate, Michael Schoonover, William Shinogle, Nicole Smith, Marcus Snead, Christopher Solan, Jacob Stephens, Victoria Suson, Todd Tamborski, Pamela Tami and Holly Tanton. Seafarers LOG 23 �39285_9_13.20.24X.qxp 11/28/2006 7:14 PM Page 24 Volume 68, Number 12 December 2006 Summary Annual Reports for SIU, NMU and MCS See pages 6, 9, 11 USNS Mendonca Returns From Middle East Mission AB Walter Holton SA Jacqueline Ellsworth, AB Thomas Bryant, QMED Antwan Legare Right: OS Belarmino Da Rosa, AB Joseph Archer, AB Benedict Born, SIU Port Agent Dennis Metz OS Ben Hulsey The SIU-crewed USNS Mendonca recently returned to the U.S. following a successful mission to the Middle East in support of American troops. Many crew members signed off the vessel in Baltimore, where the photos on this page were taken on Oct. 25. The Mendonca, operated by American Overseas Marine Corporation (AMSEA), is one of the Bob Hope-class ships built at Avondale in New Orleans. The U.S. Military Sealift Command cites two key missions—prepositioning and surge sealift—for its LMSRs, including the Bob Hope ships and eight Seafarers-crewed Watson-class vessels. Prior to its assignment in Kuwait, the Mendonca offloaded more than 100 U.S. Army Stryker Brigade combat vehicles in Bremerhaven, Germany in late July. The 950foot ship had loaded in Tacoma, Wash. and then traveled 9,500 miles in three weeks, according to MSC. The ship also delivered hundreds of other trucks, trailers, Humvees and containers, the agency reported. In fact, the Mendonca has mobilized in support of U.S. forces several times throughout Operation Iraqi Freedom, including during the all-out combat phase. Such missions are nothing new for the SIU or for the rest of the U.S. Merchant Marine in general. As MSC Commander Rear Adm. Robert D. Reilly Jr. noted in his National Maritime Day message earlier this year, “Not all heroes wear military uniforms or even work for the government. Often overlooked, but no The Seafarers-crewed USNS Mendonca, pictured last summer less important, in Germany, more recently completed a mission in support of U.S. troops in the Middle East. are U.S. Merchant Mariners. These highly skilled seamen, just as the generations of mariners who preceded them, operate around the world 24/7, going in harm’s way to keep U.S. forces supplied and combat-ready. “Today’s U.S. Merchant Mariners continue in the proud tradition of those who have served the nation on the high seas for centuries and will continue for generations to come. They willingly go in harm’s way to preserve our freedoms and help our nation prosper. They have the experience, knowledge and commitment to deliver on time, every time, everywhere.” AB Anibal Vega Left: Bosun Jerry Costello Seafarers wrap up the day’s operations on the Mendonca in Baltimore. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource December 2006 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES ITF GETS BACK PAY FOR FOC CREW TALLYING COMMITTEE COMPLETES REPORT MORE MILESTONES FOR OSG TANKERS OVERSEAS HOUSTON NAMED; KEEL LAID FOR 3RD VESSEL UNION, SCHOOL TAKE CLOSER LOOK AT PHYSICAL EXAM GUIDELINES GAO NOTICES TWIC PROGRAM’S ‘KEY CHALLENGES’ UNION INDUSTRIES SHOW SLATED FOR CINCINNATI REMEMBERING THE POET, 26 YEARS LATER VEITCH, RICHARDSON, SIU CREWS HONORED AOTOS EVENT SPOTLIGHTS INDUSTRY PROGRESS, MARINERS’ HEROISM HEALTH PREMIUMS INCREASE BY ‘ONLY’ 7.7 PERCENT LONGTIME SIU EMPLOYEE LOUIS BUSH DIES AT 88 EDUCATION: A GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING APPLY NOW FOR A COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP IN 2007 USNS MENDOCA RETURNS FROM MIDDLE EAST MISSION Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 12/01/2006 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. 68, No. 12 2006 Periodicals Seafarers Log https://seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/28de6afd5a6730aa38f957b34f100984.pdf c86621192f10a41e0a16165be50b690c PDF Text Text Volume 68, Number 11 November 2006 Lakes Fleet Adds ITB Horizon, OSG Vessel Christenings Also Signal New Shipboard Jobs New vessels and jobs are in the news for the SIU. On the Great Lakes, VanEnkevort Tug and Barge recently added an integrated tug-barge to its fleet (pictured below and at right). Horizon Lines on Oct. 11 christened the containership Horizon Hunter, and Aker Philadelphia Shipyard is preparing to christen the tanker Overseas Houston in mid-November. Pictured directly below are the barge Lewis J. Kuber and its tugboat, Olive L. Moore, with SIU Mate Dominic Ciani standing port side on the tug; and (lower left) QMED/Barge Engineer Jonathon VonSprecken next to the barge’s ballast controls. The tug’s pilothouse is shown at right. Page 3. SIU Snapshots from Jacksonville In late September, 37 Seafarers (some of whom are pictured above, with SIU port officials) completed general security awareness training at the union hall in Jacksonville, Fla. The course was conducted Sept. 26 by Paul Hall Center instructor Mitch Oakley. For many more photos recently taken at the hall, see pages 12-13. OSG Acquires Maritrans Page 2 Remembering Red Campbell Retired SIU Vice President Contracts Red Campbell (above) passed away Sept. 22 at age 84. Comments from those who knew and worked with Brother Campbell reflect his lifelong dedication to Seafarers. Pages 2, 6. ‘Operation Care Package’ Scholarship Info Page 4 Page 14 �President’s Report Another Angle on Runaway Flags With the large volume of recent news about North Korea, you may not have noticed a particular New York Times piece which briefly examines that nation’s involvement with so-called flag-of-convenience ships, also known as runawayflag vessels. On October 20, the Times pointed to revealing incidents from a few years ago—one in which a Tuvalu-registered ship was caught offloading 110 pounds of heroin, the other in which a Cambodianflag ship was stopped while carrying 15 Scud missiles. Michael Sacco Both ships were owned by North Korea, the newspaper reported. The article goes on to point out more potential problems with North Korea and FOCs. Among the possibilities cited by the Times: „ Smuggling out weapons or their components via land to China or Russia, eventually leading to a port for loading onto another secretly owned ship. „ Loading forbidden cargo (according to a United Nations Security Council resolution) onto a North Korean-flagged ship but then changing the vessel’s registration after it has left port—not an uncommon practice in the world of runaway-flag shipping. „ Transferring cargo from a North Korean-flagged ship to a vessel flying a different flag but also owned by North Korea, either in port or possibly at sea. For those of us in the maritime industry, those possibilities hardly qualify as revelations. Nor are we surprised at this assertion from the article: “No one outside North Korea really knows for sure how many cargo vessels the country has registered under other flags.” Both as an individual organization and as a member of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), the SIU for decades has fought against the FOC scam. We’ve lobbied for strong flag-state shipping along with transparency in the registration process. We have stood up to protect the abused crews found on many runaway-flag ships. Quite honestly, the results have been mixed. The ITF’s FOC campaign has brought thousands of vessels under federation contract, which is a significant and undeniable indication of success. Those agreements help protect mariners and their families, not to mention helping ensure safer, more reliable shipboard operations. On the other hand, about 60 percent of vessels in the international trades fly runaway flags—way too high of a number. Most runaway-flag vessels have multinational crews, many of whom simply aren’t qualified for shipboard work. Many of them are unsafe to the extreme, as reflected in regular ship detention reports from the U.S. Coast Guard. A quick glance at one such report from September shows FOC ships detained at various U.S. ports for violations including fire hazards, leaks, lack of mariner documentation, and inoperable lifeboat davits. It boils down to some operators simply wanting a flag to hang from the mast so that they can sail their ships without “interference” from the proper standards of legitimate maritime nations. That way, they can cut costs by avoiding responsibilities and exploiting desperate workers who may or may not actually know what it takes to sail. We will continue the fight for as long as necessary. Meanwhile, the publicity generated by articles like the recent one in the New York Times can only help in exposing the fraud associated with runawayflag shipping. Red Campbell For many SIU officials from Red Campbell’s generation, our union was much more than just a place of employment. It was a way of life and an institution that deserved nothing less than total dedication from its representatives and from its rank-and-file members. Red passed away in September, at age 84. He served the SIU with integrity, respect and unfailing loyalty, both as a mariner and an official, including many years as a vice president. He helped set the foundation for our success—Red took part in most of the SIU’s toughest beefs, and he always, without exception, put the union first. He will be missed, and yet I can’t help smiling at the memory of someone who loved the SIU so much. Like others from the Greatest Generation, Red led by example—as a Seafarer delivering the goods at Normandy, as a port agent serving the members at the union halls, as a headquarters official leaving no stone unturned while looking for ways to make SIU contracts the best in the industry. We are fortunate to have known him and to have called him friend and brother. Volume 68, Number 11 SIU Contracts Remain in Place As OSG Acquires Maritrans Two SIU-contracted companies have jointly announced a merger agreement in which Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) will acquire Maritrans. SIU contracts remain fully in place and all SIU jobs are maintained. The announcement came in late September. “From our perspective, the merger is noteworthy but it doesn’t change our SIU agreements or our shipboard jobs,” noted SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez. “It should be a seamless transaction where crew members are concerned.” OSG and Maritrans described the acquisition as combining two fleets with complementary strengths in different trade routes, thereby diversifying OSG’s U.S.-flag presence “with the ability to offer expanded services to current and future customers of both companies. The addition of Maritrans’ fleet of 11 articulated tug barges (ATBs), five product carriers (two of which have been redeployed to transport grain) and three large ATBs under construction will complement OSG’s U.S.-flag fleet of seven operating vessels and 10 new build product carriers. The combination will expand OSG’s market presence in the U.S. Gulf coast, Florida and East Coast trades and add lightering operations along the U.S. East Coast. It is expected that Maritrans’ vessel construction program, which involves ATBs to be used in lightering operations, will allow OSG to use a substantial portion of its Capital Construction Fund.” “The strategic fit of Maritrans within OSG’s diversified portfolio of assets will broaden our service offerings to customers in the Jones Act market,” said Morten Arntzen, president and CEO of OSG. “Additionally, the lightering business in Delaware Bay and the addition of new customers in the complementary ATB Gulf of Mexico and Florida short-haul trade will contribute meaningfully to our contractual base of business. Most importantly, however, are Maritrans’ strong commercial reputation and its team of talented personnel which, when combined with our U.S.-flag operation, will give us the platform to support our 10 Jones Act product carrier new builds, as well as future growth opportunities in U.S. coastal trades.” Jonathan P. Whitworth, CEO of Maritrans, commented, “We are very excited about the transaction with OSG and the benefits it brings to shareholders, customers and employees…. The financial strength that OSG brings to the combination will enhance our ability to compete. We look forward to a successful integration and to becoming the newest member of the OSG family.” The transaction is valued at approximately $455 million. Gralewicz: Follow America’s Example To Restore Canadian Merchant Marine The head of the Seafarers’ International Union of Canada is leading the charge to bring his country’s flag back to the high seas. President Roman Gralewicz, who also serves as the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department’s Eastern Area executive board member, called upon the Canadian government to revitalize the Canadian-flag fleet—which at one time during the 20th century ranked as the fourth-largest in the world. In his column in the September issue of The Canadian Sailor, Gralewicz noted Canadian citizens trapped in Lebanon during recent fighting had to depend on vessels from other nations to bring them to safety. “Couldn’t we have done the job far better SIU of Canada President Roman Gralewicz and cheaper if our nation had its own national merchant marine— like most countries do? Even landlocked Switzerland has a merchant marine—26 ships that fly the Swiss flag on the country’s rivers and lakes, using the Italian seaport of Genoa as a base,” he pointed out. “Canada has no ships— because we dismantled our proud merchant marine in the early 1950s.” Gralewicz acknowledged the Canadian flag does appear on vessels in the Great Lakes trades, but that’s it. He stated the U.S. set the example that Canada needs to follow: build, crew and supply new deep-sea vessels from within Canada. “This would also have huge economic benefits for the country. Every new sailor creates at least eight related jobs. “It is time Canada reasserted her presence on the high seas for many reasons, whether it’s to fly our flag in disputed Northern waters, or supply our military, or help civilians during a climate disaster.” Congressman Green Visits Houston Hall The SIU welcomed U.S. Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) to the October membership meeting at the Houston hall. Congressman Green (at podium) spoke to Seafarers about the Jones Act and other maritime issues and also urged everyone to vote on Election Day. U.S. Coast Guard officials also attended the meeting on Oct. 10 to review various aspects of merchant mariner document renewal, proposals pertaining to the TWIC and medical standards, and more. November 2006 The SIU on line: www.seafarers.org The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 1086-4636) is published monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU, AFL-CIO; 5201 Auth Way; Camp Springs, MD 20746. Telephone (301) 8990675. Periodicals postage paid at Southern Maryland 20790-9998. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Communications Director, Jordan Biscardo; Managing Editor/Production, Deborah A. Hirtes; Associate Editor, Jim Guthrie; Art, Bill Brower; Administrative Support, Misty Dobry. Copyright © 2006 Seafarers International Union, AGLIWD All Rights Reserved. 2 Seafarers LOG Pictured at left (from left) are Port Agent Robert Troy, SIU VP Gulf Coast Dean Corgey, Congressman Green, SIU Assistant VP Jim McGee and Patrolman Mike Russo. November 2006 �SIU Lakes Fleet Adds ITB Horizon Hunter Christened; 1st Philly Tanker Due this Month New ships and new shipboard jobs are in the headlines for Seafarers. VanEnkevort Tug and Barge recently added an integrated tugbarge (ITB) to its fleet; Horizon Lines on Oct. 11 christened the Horizon Hunter, the first of five new containerships the company is adding; and Aker Philadelphia Shipyard is preparing to christen the Overseas Houston in midNovember—the first of 10 new Jones Act tankers that will be operated by Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG). Aker Philadelphia last month also announced that construction has started on the fourth of the double-hulled Veteran-class tankers. New Jobs on Lakes The ITB sails with a complement of 14 SIU members and consists of the tugboat Olive L. Moore and its barge Lewis J. Kuber. Both vessels have undergone complete refurbishments prior to joining the Seafarerscrewed VanEnkevort fleet. “This is an outright addition rather than replacement tonnage,” noted SIU Vice President Great Lakes Tom Orzechowski. “It shows a commitment on the company’s part and reflects their confidence in SIU crews. The company also has indicated an interest in acquiring or building new vessels.” The Olive L. Moore is 125 feet long and has a beam of slightly more than 39 feet. Its gross tonnage is listed at 524. The tug features a raised wheelhouse to allow for proper vision over the barge. The self-unloader Lewis J. Kuber is 616 feet long with a beam of 70 feet. Its capacity is estimated at 22,300 dwt. Horizon Hunter The Horizon Hunter, the first of five 2,824 TEU-capacity, 23knot containerships that will enter the Horizon Lines fleet in 2007, was named Oct. 11 at a ceremony at the Hyundai Mipo shipyard in South Korea. The ship is of a proven international design and will be deployed in Horizon Lines’ weekly service linking the U.S. West Coast with Guam and Asia. “The naming of the Horizon Hunter marks another milestone in the growth of Horizon Lines and our businesses,” said Charles G. Raymond, president and CEO of the company. “These new Hunter-class ships are named to connote speed, agility, keen sense and focus—the attributes that we believe have allowed our company to excel now and in the future.” Horizon Lines announced in March an agreement to charter five new U.S.-flag, foreign-built vessels for 12-year terms from Ship Finance International Limited. The new ships each will be equipped with 568 reefer slots. The company noted that the five new ships will make the five cur- Secretary Chao: Mariners Are ‘Key Part’ of Homeland Defense U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao recently commended the U.S. Merchant Marine for its vital role in protecting America’s national and economic security. Speaking at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Alumni Foundation Dinner on Sept. 27, Secretary Chao stated, “When the history of this era is written, the U.S. Merchant Marine will be remembered as a key part of the effort to defend our homeland and liberties and spread freedom and democracy around the world.” A longtime ally of U.S. mariners, Chao kicked off her speech by recognizing SIU President Michael Sacco (who was in the audience) and congratulating both the SIU and its affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education on a successful Labor Day event in which the school hosted President Bush. “The president said he really enjoyed the experience…. I hope you can see his concerns and interest in the issues of the maritime community,” Chao stated. The secretary pointed out that most Americans aren’t fully aware of the nation’s rich maritime history, nor, perhaps, the industry’s importance. “Many good-paying jobs depend upon shipping,” she U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao noted. “Our nation’s energy, goods and food are transported economically and efficiently by ship. And there are many challenges and, yes, dangers, that face the men and women of the U.S. Merchant Marine. But that is part of the tremendous heritage of the merchant marine…. The U.S. Merchant Marine serves our nation in war, and its role is not as greatly appreciated as it should be.” She observed that the displays at the American Merchant Marine Museum tell “the story of the U.S. Merchant Marine’s service to this nation during both war and peace. Visitors can learn that dur- Please be advised the SIU headquarters and all SIU hiring halls will be closed on Friday, Nov. 10 for the observance of Veterans’ Day, and on Thursday, Nov. 23 for the observance of Thanksgiving Day (unless an emergency arises). Normal business hours will resume the following workday. November 2006 ing World War II, the U.S. Merchant Marine transported the troops, weapons and supplies that made victory possible. And they can discover that merchant mariners did this at great cost. The U.S. Merchant Marine suffered a higher casualty rate than any armed service but the Marines.” Chao listed specific ways in which the administration has demonstrated its support for the industry. They include backing the Jones Act; signing an extended, expanded U.S. Maritime Security Program MSP); promoting tax policies designed to help ensure fairness for American-flag ship operators involved in international shipping; and investing in better mariner training at union facilities as well as state and federal maritime academies. “This has strengthened our nation’s base of skilled merchant mariners,” she added. “This is essential as merchant mariners have supported every recent military conflict and are vital to winning the war on terrorism…. Today, more than 8,000 brave merchant mariners crew auxiliary vessels for the United States Navy to support our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. They have delivered more than 92 percent of the equipment and supplies needed by our men and women in uniform.” Looking ahead, she said, “On the horizon, we can see challenges as well as opportunities that face the maritime community. Experts anticipate that cargo and passenger traffic will double in the next two decades. So our country will continue to need a strong base of skilled merchant mariners as we head into the 21st century.” rent Jones Act-eligible vessels now sailing the trans-Pacific route available to the rest of the Horizon Lines Jones Act network. OSG Tankers The Overseas Houston is scheduled for christening Nov. 11 in Philadelphia. That vessel along with its nine sister ships each will be 600 feet long and capable of transporting 330,000 barrels of petroleum products. Each vessel will weigh 46,000 dwt. On Oct. 16, the shipyard announced it had commenced production on the fourth vessel in its 10-ship series of environmentally friendly product tankers. Steel cutting for the ship, the eighth built by the shipyard since its opening six years ago and the fourth under construction concurrently, was performed on one of the yard’s two state-of-the-art plasma cutting machines. The vessel is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2008. USNS Sumner Commended The SIU-crewed oceanographic survey ship USNS Sumner has been commended by Rear Adm. Robert Reilly, commander, U.S. Military Sealift Command (MSC), for the vessel’s professional response in assisting the stricken Cambodian-registered cargo ship Shun Tong, which was adrift and without power in deteriorating weather south of Korea. According to a report from the ship, AB Pete Harper and Third Mate John Dean noticed a red parachute flare off the vessel’s starboard side at about 2330 local time Sept. 21. USNS Sumner Master Fred Smallwood was notified and ordered that the ship break its survey line and proceed to investigate. An unlit contact was seen approximately eight miles away and, upon closing to hailing distance, the Sumner’s crew learned the disabled ship had lost all power and was listing approximately 15 degrees in brisk winds. Shouting questions and answers between the two ships, Sumner mariners learned that although power was out, the ship was not taking on water and there had been no injuries among the nine Chinese crew members. The Sumner, operated by Horizon Lines, notified the U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue Coordination Center in Alameda, Calif. and they, in turn, passed information on the disabled ship to the Korean Coast Guard. The Koreans dispatched a vessel to the area to assist, and the Sumner remained on station nearby throughout the remainder of the night “in case conditions on board deteriorated further and crew rescue became necessary as well as to coordinate rescue communications,” Smallwood noted. The Korean Coast Guard unit arrived at 0530 local time and the Sumner was released from onscene commander duties. In addition to Admiral Reilly’s commendation, which was directed primarily to the bridge team for its vigilance, Captain Smallwood commended the entire crew for its professional response throughout the long night. “What can I do to help?” was a question received on the bridge from virtually every member of the crew, he reported. He further noted, “The ship had been operating on one engine since speeds under 7 knots had been required, but when higher speeds, maneuvering and use of the bow thruster became necessary, engineers were notified and they quickly placed two additional engines in the propulsion loop. Watch Engineer (Second Assistant) Lawrence Woodson was assisted by QMEDS Juan Sanchez and Greg Webb.” Other Seafarers taking part in this operation included Bosun Rafael Franco, ABs Keith Williams and Anthony Lowman, OSs Ray Roldan and Dominic Gilmartin, Chief Steward Wanda Glinke, GVAs Dom Dalmacio, Frank Cacayuran and Emilio Ababa and Storekeeper Milton Haberman. The Shun Tong lists as the SIU-crewed USNS Sumner arrives to assist. Seafarers LOG 3 �From Belvoir to Balad Maersk Assists in USO Shipments Seafarers-contracted Maersk Line, Limited is assisting the United Service Organizations (USO) in delivering packages and messages to members of the U.S. armed forces in Iraq. Due to heightened security issues, individuals can no longer send letters and packages marked for delivery to “Any Service Member.” But the USO— a nonprofit organization chartered by Congress to support the members of the armed forces—operates programs and services around the globe where U.S. troops are stationed. Operation USO Care Package offers individuals, groups and businesses a way to reach troops deployed around the world, and Maersk Line has helped with the logistics of getting the goods to their destination. On its current run to the Middle East, the SIU-crewed Maersk Virginia carries a special container filled with packages and messages collected by the USO for members of the U.S. military in Iraq. The 958-foot Maersk Virginia departed Norfolk, Va. Oct. 12 for Jebel Ali, Dubai on its regular service run. Along with its usual cargo, it also contained a 24-cubic foot container of care packages from the USO—which amounts to 4,000 packages weighing 8,800 pounds—or eight individual pallets. The packages (each with a message inside) were picked up from the USO warehouse at Ft. Belvoir, Va. and loaded onto the Maersk Virginia in Norfolk. The SIU-crewed vessel is expected to arrive in Dubai Nov. 4, where the items will be unloaded and airlifted to Balad, Iraq. Unit commanders from the U.S. Army will then distribute the packages to the soldiers in the field. Knox Crew Receives Expeditionary Medals APL/Matson Navigation Company Increase Pensions for New Retirees After four months of meetings and negotiations, the SIUNA West Coast unions on Sept. 12 secured a pension increase under the provisions of the collective bargaining agreements with American President Lines and Matson Navigation Company. For those members in the SIU Pacific District Pension Plan who retired on or after July 1, 2006, the benefit will increase by $120. This Watson Is Ready for Action Seafarers continue to sail aboard U.S.-flag ships in support of operations involving American and allied military forces. They return home to shows of gratitude in ports throughout the United States. One recent event was held Sept. 20 on board the Cape Knox in New Orleans. The Department of Transportation and its Maritime Administration (MarAd) hosted a ceremony for the ship’s crew (above) and presented them with Merchant Marine Expeditionary Medals and certificates. Receiving his medal and certificate (at right) is Bosun Anthony Pacely. NCL America Cruise Ships Help Boost Hawaii’s Economy The Hawaiian economy was given a boost this year, and the three SIU-crewed NCL America cruise ships—the Pride of America, Pride of Aloha and Pride of Hawaii—can claim partial credit for the 4.4 percent rise in average daily spending. According to a recent news release issued by the Hawaii Department of Business and Economic Development, visitors to Hawaii in the first seven months of 2006 increased their spending by 4.6 percent—to $7 billion—compared to the same period last year. This includes visitors who came not only for cruises but also for vacations, meetings, incentives and other business. Of the total number of visitors in July alone, 36,085 flew to the 49th state either to board one of the three SIU-crewed vessels home ported in Honolulu or arrived on foreign cruise ships to 4 Seafarers LOG visit the islands—a 58.8 percent increase from last year. When looking at the first seven months of the year, the total cruise visitor days increased by 55.4 percent, including a 42.7 percent growth in cruise visitors to 215,733. Additionally, those who came to Hawaii to enjoy six nights aboard ship remained an average will raise the monthly pension benefit from $1,091 to $1,211 for someone retiring at age 60 or older and with at least 25 years of qualified seatime. The increase also will be applicable on a pro-rata basis to members retiring on or after July 1 who have less than 25 years’ seatime, are younger than 60 years of age, or those who retire due to disability. The SIU-crewed USNS Watson, a large medium speed roll on/roll off (LMSR) ship, is operated by Maersk Line Limited for the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command. With 390,000 square feet of cargo carrying space (for transporting helicopters, tanks and other wheeled and tracked military vehicles), the 950-foot vessel currently is prepositioned off the coast of Saipan. These photos were sent to the Seafarers LOG by AB Jennifer Senner. of 9.7 days on the islands (necessitating hotel accommodations, food, activities, etc.) and thereby further contributing to the state’s economy. “We are very pleased with July’s extraordinary performance from the domestic market,” said State Tourism Liaison Marsha Wienert. “Norwegian Cruise Lines’ home ported [vessels] contributed to the increased visitor arrivals as cruise visitors, who arrived by air, increased 54 percent compared to last year.” OS T.J. Clements Recertified Bosun Clay Poore AB Kwesi Adu-Gyamfi (left) and AB Edwin Pelingon From the left: AB Clayton Almas, AB Jennifer Senner, OS Jahn Boman and AB Kwesi Adu-Gyamfi The SIU-crewed Pride of Hawaii, along with its sister ships, the Pride of America and Pride of Aloha, help contribute to the Hawaiian economy as increasing numbers of visitors travel to the Aloha State. November 2006 �Oberstar Honored by Lakes Group Congressman James L. Oberstar (Minn.), ranking Democratic member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and longtime supporter and advocate for the U.S. maritime industry on Sept. 29 received the “Iron Man Award’’ from the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force. The award was presented in Washington, D.C. and recognizes Oberstar’s long association with and background promoting the vitality of the iron mining, steel and Great Lakes shipping industries. “Since being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974, Congressman James L. Oberstar has promoted and protected America’s iron mining, steel producing and Great Lakes shipping industries like none before him,” said James H.I. Weakley in a news release about the award. Weakley is president of the Great Lakes Maritime Task Force, a broad-based labor/management coalition promoting shipping on the Great Lakes and related industries. “Whenever an issue threatens these vital industries, you can be certain that Congressman Oberstar will play a leading role in reaching a positive conclusion,” Weakley said. Weakley, also president of the Lake Carriers’ Association, noted in the release it is difficult to decide which of Oberstar’s many accomplishments should be mentioned first. Among many other achievements, he credited the Minnesota congressman with persuading the Coast Guard to keep the agency’s icebreaker Mackinaw in service to aid vessels in their transport of Minnesota iron pellets until its replacement was in service earlier this year. (The Mackinaw was to be decommissioned in 1994.) Oberstar also has been the driving force behind efforts to build another Poe-sized Lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The locks link Lake Superior to the lower four Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. Roughly 70 percent of U.S.-flag carrying capacity on the Lakes is restricted to one lock, the Poe. Were it to fail, U.S.-flag shipping on the Lakes would be unable to meet the needs of commerce. American labor has long considered Oberstar a great ally, especially the men and women who crew the U.S.-flag Great Lakes fleet. He was among the first in the House of Representatives to sign a concurrent resolution defending the Jones Act, the law that reserves domestic waterborne commerce to vessels that are U.S.-owned, -built and -crewed, from unprecedented attacks in the mid-1990s. He also helped save jobs when he played November 2006 a key role in the reopening of an iron ore mine that now thrives as United Taconite. tion. In the next Congress, I will do everything in my power to bring our fair share of federal dredging dollars back to the Great Lakes.” The Great Lakes Maritime Task Force was founded in Toledo, Ohio, in 1992 to promote domestic and international shipping on the Great Lakes. It is the largest coalition to ever speak for the Great Lakes shipping community. Its goals include restoring adequate funding for dredging of Great Lakes deep-draft ports and waterways; construction of a second Poe-sized lock at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.; preserving the domestic steelmaking infrastructure; protecting the nation’s cabotage laws; and maximizing the Lakes-overseas trade. Grievances Filed Against So-Called ‘Union Workers Credit Services’ Buyer Beware: Organization Has No Connection to AFL-CIO More than 5 million union members from across the United States have received mail solicitations from a company called Union Workers Credit Services. According to several reports, this Fort Worth, Texas-based company claims to offer a $10,000 line of credit and a credit card to customers for a fee of $37. In reality, the card being offered is not a major credit card (i.e., Visa, MasterCard, etc.) at all. Instead, it is nothing more than a company card which can only be used to purchase items in the company’s catalogue via mail order. Attorneys in the SIU’s office of general counsel recently learned that this company’s web site (www.unionworkerscreditservices.com) implies that it is associated with not only the SIU and its affiliated unions (including the United Industrial Workers Nelson Appointed to MarAd Post Julie A. Nelson was appointed to the post of deputy administrator of the U.S. Maritime Administration on Oct. 6 by President George W. Bush. Nelson took over responsibilities of acting deputy maritime administrator May 1, when former deputy administrator John Jamian resigned and before the confirmation of Sean T. Connaughton as maritime administrator. She joined the agency as chief counsel in August 2005. Nelson has extensive experience in the maritime industry and admiralty law, which gives her a solid understanding of the work done within the Maritime Administration. She joins MarAd from Oceaneering International, Inc., an ocean engineering development group, where she served as general manager and maritime/contracts attorney. From August 1998 to April 2003, Nelson served as general counsel and general manager for Nauticos Corporation of Hanover, Md., Congressman James L. Oberstar (D-Minn.) “I am truly honored to receive this award,” said Congressman Oberstar during the ceremony. “I consider every day I serve in the House as a privilege that bears great responsibility. While much has been accomplished to keep Great Lakes shipping safe and efficient, we face new challenges, in particular, restoring adequate funding for dredging Great Lakes ports and waterways. It is incomprehensible to me that the ships that depart our Minnesota harbors cannot carry full loads of iron ore and low-sulfur coal because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does not get enough money to maintain the system. This waterway is too important a part of the national transportation infrastructure to be treated like a poor rela- Julie A. Nelson addressed those in attendance during the U.S. Maritime Administration’s 2006 Maritime Day observance in Washington, D.C. another high-technology ocean engineering firm. Among other duties, Nelson’s background also includes eight years working at the Pentagon for the Department of the Navy as an Intelligence Research Analyst and Program Manager, and eight years on active and reserve duty with the U.S. Navy. and Seafarers Entertainment and Allied Trades Union), but also a number of other international unions in the AFL-CIO. Union Workers Credit Services is not affiliated with or endorsed by the AFL-CIO or any of its affiliated unions, especially the SIU. More than a few consumers and unions have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the U.S. Postal Service alleging fraud on the part of Union Workers Credit Services. SIU attorneys recently filed a grievance with the Federal Trade Commission. According to a November 2005 release by the BBB in Ft. Worth, “Union Workers Credit Services first came to our attention April 28, 2005. Randy Walls, president of the company was formerly associated with Credicorp in Dallas. Credicorp has an unsatisfactory record with the Dallas BBB. The company stated they are not affiliated with a union.” Since making its initial waves on the BBB radar, 166 complaints have been processed on Union Workers Credit Services— 119 of which occurred during the past 12 months. Thirty-three of these complaints involved the company’s selling practices while 50 addressed advertising. For more information go to www.fwbbb.org and click on the local alerts and news section, or click on the company and charity reports section. Put in Union Workers Credit Services, Inc. and read the full public report. Union members who want a credit card that is endorsed by the AFL-CIO and affiliated unions including the SIU should check out the Union Plus credit card offered by Union Privilege. Union Plus is the union-supported provider of member benefits such as credit cards, loans, scholarships, legal services and a host of other products. The Union Plus credit card offers special features for union members, including the Lifeline Trust, which assists those who are facing financial hardship or a disability, and the Disaster Relief Fund, which is for those who have been affected by a natural disaster. The Union Plus credit card has no annual fees. More information about the Union Plus credit card as well as other available benefits may be gained online by visiting www.unionplus.org. Final Rules Pending For TWIC, MMC President Signs SAFE Port Act The SIU and the American maritime industry as a whole still are awaiting the Department of Homeland Security’s final rulemaking on the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) and its related Merchant Mariner Qualification Credential (MMC). As reported in previous editions of the Seafarers LOG, representatives from the union and its affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. during the last several months repeatedly have met with government and industry officials to deliberate about the protection of merchant mariners’ rights as they relate to the pending TWIC and MMC. Union officials have approached the entire situation with the greatest urgency and utmost seriousness and will continue to do so. “We will immediately and thoroughly weigh all aspects on the final rulemakings when they are delivered and, as always, keep everyone advised,” said SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel. Seafarers are reminded that, based on the proposed rulemakings, it is anticipated that they will have 180 days after final rules are issued to come into compliance. Meanwhile, President George W. Bush on Oct. 13 signed H.R. 4954, The Security and Accountability for Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006, into law. The legislation heightens security at the nation’s busiest seaports by enacting a series of technological upgrades intended to make it more difficult for terrorists to smuggle in a nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. In response to the signing, Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (DHawaii), co-chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, issued the following statement: “While we should be proud of the port security sections of this law, we should not ignore the fact that this is an incomplete transportation security bill. I had hoped that today we would be celebrating the first comprehensive effort to secure our borders since the attacks of September 11, 2001. Instead, we can only hope that in the next Congress we will have the resolve to address rail and transit security before those who would do us harm take advantage of vulnerabilities in those modes of transportation.” In addition to recommending $400 million a year in federal funding for the PSG program, the SAFE Port Act of 2006: „ Changes the statute to make the grants risk-based, consistent with how the grants are currently managed; Continued on page 8 Seafarers LOG 5 �‘SIU Through and Through’ Union Bids Farewell to Retired VP Red Campbell Fellow Seafarers knew him simply as Red. Angus Campbell spent most of his life serving the union, first as a rank-and-file member during and after World War II and later as vice president of contracts. The former bosun retired in late 1991 but continued working part-time for the SIU until his health would not permit it, roughly a year ago. Brother Campbell died on Sept. 22 in Waldorf, Md., a couple weeks shy of his 85th birthday. His SIU career deserves celebration in its own right, but his passing also marks a milestone in the union’s history. Campbell is believed to have been the last surviving headquarters official who sailed in World War II. Former shipmates, fellow union officials and company representatives all described Red as trustworthy, efficient, dedicated and by-the-book. They also mentioned his unwavering love of all things Pittsburgh, and primarily his devotion to baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates—a team that’s been bad since the mid-1990s but that Red still had followed daily. If watching the Pirates arguably had become a bad habit, Red also had an outright vice that was a constant part of his persona. He chewed tobacco for most of his adult life, usually throughout the day, with little or no ill effect on his health. “Red was one of the most dedicated officials in the SIU,” said Seafarers President Michael Sacco. “This membership was his family. He was respected by not only all of maritime labor but the entire maritime industry. He’ll be sorely missed by a lot of people.” Retired Bosun Rowland “Snake” Williams sailed with Campbell on Bull Line ships during the 1950s. “You couldn’t meet From the late 1940s to late 1950s, Campbell shared his wit via an occasional column in the union newspaper known as “Red’s Beef Box.” Red Campbell presents his report at his last official union meeting, in December 1991 in Piney Point, Md. He retired that month but continued serving the union for many years afterward. a better guy,” he recalled. “He was a great person and a good friend. He always walked around with that chaw of tobacco and talked about Pittsburgh baseball…. When he went to work for the union (as an official), we got some damn good contracts signed by him.” Tony Naccarato, an official with SIU-contracted Crowley, met Campbell in the early 1970s. “The great thing about Red was that when I came on board, he treated me like I’d been around for years,” Naccarato noted. “He was one of my favorite guys, and the kind of person who called them as he saw it. Red’s only agenda was to do right for the people. I learned very quickly that if I didn’t know an answer, I’d get the answer from Red and it wasn’t strictly to benefit himself or anyone else, but the truth.” Born in Scotland, Campbell immigrated to Pittsburgh in 1926 (at age 5) and joined the SIU in 1943 in New York, after working in the steel mills. He first sailed aboard the Daniel Willard and later took part in the historic invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 (see sidebar). He shared his sense of humor—Campbell had a penchant for one-liners—with fellow union members after World War II, when he began writing occasional articles for the Seafarers LOG. He wrote two or three stories per year, many under the title “Red’s Beef Box,” until the late 1950s. The topics were wide-ranging, but the humorous tone remained consistent. Altogether, he sailed for more than 5,000 days during his 16-plus years as a rank-and-file member, an average of 10.5 months per year at sea and a fact of which Campbell was quite proud. In this 1972 photo, Campbell (left) is pictured with fellow SIU Representative George McCartney (second from left) and two members aboard the McLean in New York. Campbell and McCartney (who died in 2004) later served the union as vice presidents. 6 Seafarers LOG He came ashore in 1960 and spent the next 20 years working as a port official, first in New York, then in San Juan, P.R. and then once again in New York. He served as vice president of the union’s collective bargaining department from 1980 through his official retirement in December 1991. SIU Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel described Campbell as “our resident historian. Young officials needing the history of a particular (contract) clause or its intent would call on Red. He would always take the time to explain it and why it was there. Red’s knowledge of the industry was a great resource to have and shortly after coming ashore, I took advantage of that and called Red on a regular basis. “He always had great stories of the old days and would remind you that being a seafarer back then was not easy,” Heindel added. “He would say, ‘The good old days weren’t so good. We’re living in the good old days!’” SIU Vice President Government Services Kermett Mangram first worked with Campbell in New York in 1981. “He was a detail person—dotted all his i’s and crossed all his t’s. He motivated me to try to be perfect when it came to union business and serving the membership,” Mangram said. “I had the utmost respect for him, and I’ll never forget him.” Mangram also noted that during the 1980s, “Red helped get us on board with military contracts when shipping was otherwise bad. He kept people working.” Capt. Robert Johnston, senior vice president of Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG), met Campbell in 1976 “when I came ashore as a port captain and we’d pay off ships. I had such respect for Red. In later years, if we couldn’t settle a beef locally, I’d tell a patrolman, let’s get Red on the phone, and whatever he says is fine with me. He was probably the fairest and most honest guy you could ever meet…. Nobody knew the contract better than Red. Not only the contract, but the history behind it. He always treated everybody fairly.” SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez, who directly worked with Campbell as assistant vice president contracts from 1988-91, said, “Red was the ultimate technician, and you always knew where he was coming from. He didn’t play games. Red saw most things in black and white terms, and he was a true creature of his upbringing. He was a child of the Depression and sailed in World War II, and his views were formed by those experiences. I’m very fortunate to have known him and learned from him. He was one of the best.” Tellez also noted that Campbell’s no-nonsense approach included constructive feedback that he provided to other officials when warranted. “There’s not a union official who broke in while Red was still around who didn’t experience the dreaded ‘click’ phone call. ‘But, Red…. Click!’” Bob Rogers, vice president of Interocean American Shipping Corporation, first worked with Campbell in 1977 when Rogers was a personnel manager. “Red was SIU through and through,” he stated. “It’s a privilege to say I knew Red. He loved the union and knew the contract backwards and forwards, and could cite the history of the union movement like no one else. “But, if you wanted to get Red’s attention off the contract, all you had to do was ask a question about one of his other two passions—Pittsburgh baseball and gardening,” Rogers continued. “He scheduled his year around the trips he’d make to Pittsburgh to watch a few home games, and watched or listened to baseball whenever he could. His lawn and garden would rival anything any professional could ever try to do.” He concluded, “More than anything else, Red was someone you immediately liked—and trusted. The tone of my entire relationship with both Red and the SIU was set early on when I called him with a contract question. I described the situation and I can still remember Red saying, ‘No, that’s not what the contract says, and it isn’t payable.’ To Red, the contract was the contract—if it was in the contract it was payable, if it wasn’t in the contract it wasn’t paid. He never tried to change the meaning. From that moment on, back in 1977, I knew without any doubt or reservation that Red —and the SIU—could always be trusted.” SIU Vice President Contracts George Tricker said, “Over the last 25 years I have had the privilege of knowing Red Campbell, first as a member, then a junior officer and eventually as one of his successors. Among the lessons I’ve learned from Red is sacrifice. Whether postponing vacations, cancelling plans or doing without, Red’s priority was this union. His example is the standard when it comes to dedication and why Red was simply the best at what he did.” Campbell’s survivors include his wife, Marie, and four daughters. In accordance with his wishes, his ashes will be scattered at sea from an SIU ship. Believed to have been taken in 1950, this photo shows Campbell (standing, left) and others looking over a list of candidates for SIU offices. ‘Red’ Recalls D-Day Scene Editor’s note: This story is reprinted from the April 1994 issue of the Seafarers LOG. Brother Campbell also was a strong advocate in the long, successful fight to secure veterans’ status for World War II mariners. He joined the merchant marine in 1943 after being rejected for volunteer service in the military due to medical issues. Retired SIU Vice President Angus “Red” Campbell was one of many Seafarers who took part in the historic invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. “It was better than any John Wayne movie,” said Campbell. “I was on the Thomas Wolfe, a Liberty ship, and we left New York in April. We discharged cargo in Wales. Then we went to Scotland to take on some preparatory gear for the invasion, along with three British aircraft spotters. Eventually we loaded in Southampton, England, about a week before the invasion. Then we followed the mob.” He described the scene at Normandy as “remarkable. There were hundreds of airplanes, battleships, cruisers…. A week later, you were still getting shell fire from the 88 millimeters, from the pillboxes on the beach, which were about 12 feet thick. “There was no problem with the air, but the water was filled with acoustic mines, which are drawn by sound into the propeller. There were lots of bodies in the water: soldiers and sailors…. “We discharged cargo at the beachhead for 90 cents an hour. Seamen also were required to assist the gun crews. So, in addition to your fire and boat station, everybody on board had a gun assignment. There were 24-hour-a-day lookout assignments, including the crow’s nest.” Campbell added that there was a humorous side to the voyage. “Our engine room crew members basically all came from Georgia and Florida. The people in the deck and steward departments were from New York, so the Civil War also raged for the full 12 months of our voyage.” November 2006 �Revised Medical Guidelines Spell Out Usual Practices The U.S. Coast Guard in September issued two notices regarding merchant mariner physical examination requirements. Published in the Sept. 28 Federal Register, the announcements serve notice that the agency has drafted revised guidelines covering medical and physical exams for merchant mariner credentials. The revised guidelines are based on, respectively, requirements in the amended STCW Convention and recommendations by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) that were issued in the wake of the 2003 Staten Island ferry incident in New York Harbor. The first proposal, “Medical and Physical Evaluation Guidelines for Merchant Mariner Credentials,” seeks public comment on a draft Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular on medical and physical evaluation guidelines for merchant mariner credentials. Public comments on this proposed draft may be submitted through Nov. 27. The guidelines are intended to specify what has been considered the normal practice for mariners who take physicals in order to secure or renew their z-card. The guidelines themselves generally have been used all along, without having been spelled out by a federal agency. Hence, this is not expected to be a major change in the industry. In part, the first notice—under the subhead “Why is the Coast Guard taking this action?”— reads: “The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended (STCW) requires each party to establish standards of medical fitness for seafarers. Title 46 United States Code, Subtitle II, Part E, and Title 46 Code of Federal NCL CEO Veitch Honored For American-Flag Efforts Recognizing his efforts to build a vibrant and successful U.S.-flag deep sea cruise fleet, Colin Veitch, president and CEO of NCL Corporation (NCL) was honored on Oct. 13 by the International Propeller Club of the United States as the 2006 Maritime Person of the Year at the organization’s 80th annual international convention in Norfolk, Va. The award is presented to a person who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in furthering and promoting the maritime industry. Under Veitch’s guidance, the company’s SIU-contracted NCL America brand has revitalized the U.S.-flag large cruise ship industry, operating three Americanflag passenger ships. NCL America’s operations provide substantial economic benefits to the United States, generating hundreds of millions of dollars and creating thousands of American jobs. The individuals employed by NCL America help sustain a pool of qualified mariners who can be called upon to assist the U.S. military in times of need or national emergency. In July 2004, NCL America christened Seafarers-crewed Pride of Aloha, the first new U.S.flag deep sea cruise ship in nearly 50 years. In June 2005, the SIUcrewed Pride of America followed and at the time became the largest U.S.-flag passenger ship ever built. NCL America again made U.S. maritime history in May 2006 by christening the SIUcrewed Pride of Hawaii, which the company describes as “the largest, most luxurious and most expensive U.S.-flagged cruise ship in history.” According to NCL, the three ships are estimated to create directly and indirectly 20,000 jobs and generate more than $800 million in economic activity in the United States. “It is a great honor to be recognized by the International Propeller Club of the United States for my work in the U.S. maritime industry,” Veitch said. “Many people have contributed November 2006 NCL President and CEO Colin Veitch to the success of NCL and NCL America, and I would like to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to everyone on the NCL team, and particularly our partners in maritime labor and in the U.S. government. Without their support, I would not be receiving this award.” “Colin had the vision for a revitalized U.S.-flag cruise industry,” said A. Frank Baptista, Sr., the Propeller Club’s international president. “He followed through to make it a reality, investing more than a $1.3 billion dollars in U.S.-flag cruise ships, offering new seagoing opportunities for American seafarers, and providing tremendous economic benefits to Hawaii and the rest of the United States.” Veitch joined NCL in 2000 and has embarked the company on a major new build campaign that has resulted in the company adding eight new ships to the NCL and NCL America brands in six years, with a ninth due for delivery in November. Veitch holds an MBA degree from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of London. He is based in NCL’s corporate headquarters in Miami. The International Propeller Club of the United States is a non-profit organization whose members comprise a cross-section of the maritime industry throughout the United States and in many cities in other countries. Regulations (CFR) subpart B require that mariners be physically able to perform their duties, using terms such as ‘general physical condition,’ ‘good health’ and ‘of sound health.’ Title 46 CFR parts 401 and 402 contain special requirements for registration as a Great Lakes Pilot, including the requirement to ‘pass a physical examination given by a licensed medical doctor.’ None of these references contain specific standards, with the exception of visual acuity and color vision, for determining if mariners are physically and medically qualified. “The lack of specificity in the above statutes and regulations has led to confusion and unnecessary delays in processing credential applications as well as inconsistent evaluations by medical practitioners conducting examinations of credential applicants. Moreover, it has caused confusion on the part of Coast Guard personnel charged with determining whether a credential should be issued. The proposed NVIC provides the specificity that the above statutes and regulations lack. It details the specific medical and physical conditions that are potentially disqualifying, and the data recommended for evaluation of each of these conditions. This is expected to reduce the inconsistency and subjectivity of the medical evaluation process and eliminate the guesswork that mariners may currently encounter as to what specific physical and medical information is needed to process their applications.” The second notice, “Exercise of Authority to Require Pilots to Submit Annual Physical Examinations,” announced that the agency will require pilots of certain vessels to provide a copy of Labor Vows Fight Over ‘Kentucky River’ Cases The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Oct. 3 voted to slash longtime federal labor laws protecting workers’ freedom to form unions and opened the door for employers to classify millions of workers as supervisors. Under federal labor law, supervisors are prohibited from forming unions. The NLRB ruled on three cases, collectively known as “Kentucky River,” but it was the lead case—Oakwood Healthcare Inc.—that created a new definition of supervisor. In this litigation which involved an acute care hospital in Michigan, the board ruled that permanent charge nurses are supervisors (but not nurses who sometimes rotate into the charge nurse role). The board used that case and two others—one involving a Minnesota nursing home, the other a Mississippi metals plant—to address issues raised by a 2001 Supreme Court ruling. Union officials predicted the ruling would have a chilling effect on union organizing because employees who are uncertain whether they qualify for membership would be less inclined to advocate a union. Dozens of cases involving the definition of supervisor now before the NLRB will be sent back, with employers having the option to craft arguments that will meet the new definition of supervisor and limit the number of workers who can join a union. Although the Oakwood decision covers only nurses, the expanded definition of supervisors means up to 8 million workers—including nurses, building trades workers, newspaper and television employees and others— may be barred from joining unions. The ruling sets broad definitions for determining who is a supervisor that invite employers to classify nurses and many lower-level employees with minor authority as supervisors. The board’s new definition essentially enables employers to make a supervisor out of any worker who has the authority to assign or direct another and uses independent judgment. Amazingly, the board also ruled that a worker can be classified as a supervisor if he or she spends as little as 10 percent to 15 percent of his or her time overseeing the work of others. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney called the decisions “outrageous and unjustified.” It’s the latest example of how the NLRB is prepared to use legal maneuvering to deny as many workers as possible their basic right to have a voice on the job through their union, he said. “The NLRB should protect workers’ rights, not eliminate them,” the federation president concluded. “If the administration expects us to take this quietly, they’re mistaken.” In their dissent, NLRB members Wilma Liebman and Dennis Walsh said the decision “threatens to create a new class of workers under federal labor law—workers who have neither the genuine prerogatives of management, nor the statutory rights of ordinary employees.” Liebman and Walsh wrote that most professionals and other workers could fall under the new definition of supervisor, “who by 2012 could number almost 34 million, accounting for 23.3 percent of the workforce.” They went on to say that the majority did not follow what Congress intended in applying the National Labor Relations Act: Congress cared about the precise scope of the Act’s definition of “supervisor” and so should the Board. The NLRB currently is holding up dozens of cases that address the definition of supervisor, 60 of which are union election cases. These cases have been sent back to the various regional boards. In some of these instances, workers who voted several years ago to form a union still are waiting for their ballots to be counted. The American Federation of Teachers and AFT Healthcare in a statement also said the decisions will jeopardize health care: “If nurses and other skilled workers are considered supervisors and lose union protection, they would be extremely reluctant to speak out about patient care problems out of fear of being fired or disciplined. The ramifications of this case are extremely serious; the decision could have a significant their annual physical examinations to the Coast Guard. The requirement applies to all first class pilots on vessels greater than 1,600 gross registered tons and other individuals who serve as pilots on certain types of vessels. Materials related to the foregoing matters, including copies of the Federal Register notices and procedures for submitting comments on the Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular are available on the U.S. Coast Guard’s Homeport web site: http://homeport.uscg.mil/mycg/po rtal/ep/home.do To access the information from the Homeport main page, visitors should click on “Merchant Mariner” in the left column. On the next page, click “Updates” under “Medical Evaluations” in the center column. Updates and new information will be posted to this site as they become available. A link to the Federal Register notice also is available through the SIU web site, www.seafarers.org. impact on the quality of patient care and workers’ rights.” A group of 13 religious leaders in September wrote the NLRB expressing deep concern over the impending decisions. The letter read in part: “Our religious traditions support workers’ right to organize and bargain collectively. We support proposals that expand coverage and access to collective bargaining rather than limit it. We believe that all persons are created in the image of God and as such their work unites them with others and should be endowed with dignity, equality and justice. In the workplace, collective bargaining is the most effective process for workers to express this dimension of their humanity.” Speaking at a Sept. 22 conference on the possible impact of the Kentucky River cases, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) condemned the NLRB’s refusal to conduct oral arguments in these cases. “These decisions could very well change the basic rights of American workers,” she said. “Given the stakes, the NLRB needs to be as thorough as possible in hearing testimony. The fact that the NLRB has not held hearings shows that the board is not taking this case as seriously as it should. At the heart of the issue is the right of workers to organize, to bargain collectively and to share in decisions,” the congresswoman concluded. The Economic Policy Institute, some three months before the NLRB Kentucky River decisions, issued a report on the impact of the body’s pending rulings. According to the EPI: „ Bad rulings in these cases could strip remaining federal labor law protections of the freedom to form unions and bargain collectively from eight million private sector workers. „ Workers who are at risk of being deemed “supervisors” by the Labor Board and who could therefore lose their union rights can be found in nearly every occupation and industry. EPI finds, for example, that 843,000 registered nurses—more than one-third of all the private sector RNs in the country—may be stripped of union rights coverage. Nearly 400,000 computer systems analysts— more than one in four—could lose coverage. Seafarers LOG 7 �Pension Reform Q&A – Information about the New Law First in an occasional series. Q: What are a few basics of the new pension reform law? A: The Pension Protection Act of 2006 was signed into law in August. Like most bills, it is considered a compromise measure. It’s also considered major reform and is, to say the least, complex (the final document contains nearly 400 pages). The law’s stated intent, as its name indicates, is to initiate or strengthen rules to help ensure proper funding of various types of pension plans. Q: What are a few of the specifics? A: The new law requires companies that under-fund their pension plans to pay additional premiums (a strong incentive to reach and maintain full funding levels). It closes loopholes that allow under-funded plans to skip pension payments. It raises limits on the amount of money that employers can put into their pension plans (to allow for a financial cushion). For multiemployer defined benefit plans, it requires actuarial certification as to whether a plan is in endangered or critical status. It specifies certain language that must be included in mandatory annual funding notices like the one that was published in the September 2006 issue of the Seafarers LOG. Q: Why did the Seafarers Pension Plan notice in the September LOG include a long section on rules governing insolvent plans? Is the SPP in trouble? A: The Seafarers Pension Plan is fully funded. The Plan is not in trouble at all. The Plan is financially sound. Under the new law, the federal government dictates virtually everything about the annual funding notice, including its content, the manner in which it is distributed, deadlines for distribution—and inclusion of the rules governing insolvent plans. At a glance it may cause undue concern for Plan participants (Seafarers). The bottom line is that SPP is in excellent shape. Q: In plain English, why was this new law needed in the first place, and how will it affect the SPP? A: There are a number of troubled pension plans across the country and this is an attempt to help repair them. Another stated reason for the reform is “transparency”—participants will be entitled to a lot more information than in years past. Generally, the new law doesn’t affect multiemployer plans (such as the SPP) as much as single-employer plans, other than with disclosure requirements. Q: What are defined benefit and defined contribution plans? A: The Labor Department describes a defined benefit plan as Final Rules for TWIC, MMC Pending Continued from page 5 Eliminates DHS’s current policy of limiting eligibility by allowing all port facilities within an Area Maritime Transportation Security Plan to apply; „ Ties federal port grants to state plans, area plans and Port Wide Risk Management plans; „ Allows multi-year funding of approved projects for up to 20 percent of each year’s grants; „ Sets a deadline for implementing a new credentialing program for port workers to ensure they are not security risks and calls for pilot projects to test biometric readers at ports; „ Requires DHS to deploy nuclear and radiological detection systems at 22 of the nation’s largest seaports; „ Mandates DHS to develop a detailed incident recovery plan to get trade moving again in the event of an attack; and, „ Sets in motion cargo scanning pilot programs at overseas ports to test the practicality and effectiveness of systems designed to scan 100 percent of cargo, which was approved for funding in the just-passed DHS appropriations bill. In a related development, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), during the days before the SAFE Port Act of 2006 became law, praised Congress for passing the measure— the first legislation of its kind to authorize an annual federal fund„ 8 Seafarers LOG ing level to help secure United States ports against terrorism. “In this important new legislation, members of several House and Senate committees took components of the GreenLane Maritime Cargo Security Act (S. 2459), the SAFE Port Act (H.R. 4954) and the Public Transportation Terrorism Prevention Act of 2006 (S. 2791) to develop a bill that enhances port and cargo security at home, strengthens the lone federal program that helps America’s ports harden their facilities against terrorism, and reduces the potential for terrorists or weapons to reach our shores via maritime commerce,” said Kurt Nagle, AAPA president and CEO. Nagle recognized Reps. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) and Jane Harman (D-Calif.) for introducing and moving their version of the port security legislation through the House. He credited Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), chair, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), together with Sens. Ted Stevens (R-Ark.) and Inouye of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, as the key drivers for negotiating a similar bill in the Senate. “By passing the SAFE Port Act, we’re gratified that Congress recognizes it needs to have a greater financial partnership with U.S. ports to pay for critical seaport security measures,” said Nagle. “Yet, for this upcoming fiscal year, dramatic differences remain between the amount Congress recommended for port security and what it will actually fund.” one that “promises you a specified monthly benefit at retirement. The plan may state this promised benefit as an exact dollar amount, such as $100 per month at retirement. Or, more commonly, it may calculate a benefit through a plan formula that considers such factors as salary and service for example, 1 percent of your average salary for the last 5 years of employment for every year of service with your employer. A defined contribution plan, on the other hand, does not promise you a specific amount of benefits at retirement. In these plans, you or your employer (or both) contribute to your individual account under the plan, sometimes at a set rate, such as 5 percent of your earnings annually. These contributions generally are invested on your behalf. You will ultimately receive the balance in your account, which is based on contributions plus or minus investment gains or losses.” (An administrative charge also may affect an account balance.) Q: Generally, how has the labor movement reacted to the new law? A: Labor’s response has varied, with some unions praising the bill and others being far more cau- tious. AFL-CIO SecretaryTreasurer Richard Trumka put it this way: “If employers continue to offer fully funded defined benefit pension plans, retirement security will indeed be strengthened. But if employers use the requirements of the act as an excuse to freeze or terminate the plans they have, the act will put our nation’s retirement security at even greater risk than it is now.” His quote points to one of the concerns about the new law—namely, that it ultimately may decrease the number of companies offering pensions to their employees. Q: Where can I get more information? A: The SPP funding notice appears on page 10 of the September LOG. For more information about the notice, you may contact Margaret R. Bowen, plan administrator, at (301) 899-0675, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. For more information about the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), a federal agency, go to their web site, www.pbgc.gov, or call them at 1-800-400-7242 (TTY/TDD users may call the Federal relay service toll-free at 1-800-8778339 and ask to be connected to 1800-400-7242). For more information on various types of pension plans, visit the Department of Labor web site (www.dol.gov). Notice NMU Plans Relocating To Camp Springs Effective Jan. 1, 2007, the NMU Pension, Annuity and Vacation Plans will be moved to SIU headquarters in Camp Springs, Md. According to SIU Plans Administrator Maggie Bowen, this move is being done in an effort to provide better service to the membership. Reductions in administrative cost also should be realized as a result of the relocation. NOTICE TO SIU CIVMAR MEMBERS SAILING ABOARD ACOE, MARAD, MSC AND NOAA VESSELS September 26, 2006 As a result of a rule adopted by the U.S. Department of Labor in June 2006, all unions that represent employees who work for the federal government (which includes CIVMARS) are now required to send out a notice to their government employee/members containing certain information. As you know, your union is constantly working to protect your safety, health and employment rights and there are many benefits and advantages for all CIVMARS who join the Seafarers International Union. The summary noted below is intended to make sure that all SIU members understand the rights and privileges of union membership and the responsibilities of the union officers they elect. Union Member Rights Bill of Rights — Union members have: „ equal rights to participate in union activities „ freedom of speech and assembly „ voice in setting rates of dues, fees, and assessments „ protection of the right to sue „ safeguards against improper discipline Collective Bargaining Agreements — As an SIU member you have the right to have input into collective bargaining negotiations. Members and certain nonunion employees have the right to receive or inspect copies of collective bargaining agreements. Constitutions, Bylaws and Reports — Unions are required to file an initial information report (Form LM1), copies of constitutions and bylaws, and an annual financial report (Form LM-2/3/4) with OLMS. Unions must make these documents available to members and permit members to examine the records necessary to verify the financial reports for just cause. The documents are public information and copies of reports are available from OLMS and on the Internet at www.union-reports.dol.gov. Officer Elections — In accordance with the union’s constitution, union members have the right to: „ nominate candidates for office „ run for office „ cast a secret ballot „ protest the conduct of an election Officer Removal — Local union members have the right to an adequate procedure for the removal of an elected officer guilty of serious misconduct. Trusteeships — A union may not be placed in trusteeship by a parent body except for those reasons specified in the standards of conduct regulations. Protection for Exercising CSRA Rights — A union or any of its officials may not fine, expel, or otherwise discipline a member for exercising any CSRA right. Prohibition Against Violence — No one may use or threaten to use force or violence to interfere with a union member in the exercise of his or her CSRA rights. Union Officer Responsibilities Financial Safeguards — Union officers have a duty to manage the funds and property of the union solely for the benefit of the union and its members in accordance with the union’s constitution and bylaws. The union must provide accounting and financial controls necessary to assure fiscal integrity. Prohibition of Conflicts of Interest — A union officer or employee may not (1) have any monetary or personal interest or (2) engage in any business or financial transaction that would conflict with his or her fiduciary obligation to the union. Bonding — Union officers or employees who handle union funds or property must be bonded to provide protection against losses if their union has property and annual financial receipts that exceed $5,000. Labor Organization Reports — Union officers must: „ file an initial information report (Form LM-1) and annual financial reports (Forms LM-2/3/4) with OLMS „ retain the records necessary to verify the reports for at least five years Officer Elections — Unions must: „ hold elections of officers of local unions by secret ballot at least every three years „ conduct regular elections in accordance with their constitution and bylaws and preserve all records for one year „ mail a notice of election to every member at least 15 days prior to the election „ comply with a candidate’s request to distribute campaign material „ not use union funds or resources to promote any candidate (nor may employer funds or resources be used) „ permit candidates to have election observers Restrictions on Holding Office — A person convicted of certain crimes may not serve as a union officer, employee, or other representative of a union for up to 13 years. Loans — A union may not have outstanding loans to any one officer or employee that in total exceed $2,000 at any time. The union also works to make sure that CIVMARS understand their shipboard rights and responsibilities and receive fair treatment from their agency. Additional benefits for union members include life insurance coverage which may be purchased for a nominal fee and access to many other benefits through the AFL-CIO’s Union Privilege program. For more information about how the SIU can better serve you please contact: Chet Wheeler 1121 7th Street Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 cwheeler@seafarers.org Kate Hunt 635 4th Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 khunt@seafarers.org Maurice Cokes 115 Third Street Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 rcokes@seafarers.org November 2006 �Aboard the Alaskan Legend, which recently docked in Long Beach, Calif., Chief Cook Johnson Ashun looks over one of the newly delivered LOGs while AB Paul Longley finishes up his lunch. S eafarers At Sea And Ashore QMED Walt “Wilden” Filleman goes about his chores on board the USNS Gordon. With election time nearing, SIU Rep Dan Duncan (left) discusses maritime issues in Johnson City, Tenn. with Harold Ford Jr., a congressman from Memphis who is running for the U.S. Senate. A new Word War II memorial was dedicated July 4, 2006 in Gloucester, Mass. Anthony Testaverde, who sailed with the SIU in the early ’80s, stands in front of the memorial, which notes that Gloucester had double the national average of men and women in the service. Vanessa Fickel, steward aboard the Capt. Steven L. Bennett, took “Best Overall Taste” honors for her entry in the “Chili Cook-off,” held Sept. 10, 2006 at the Seaman’s Center in Diego Garcia. She was crowned “Chili Queen” for her tasty recipe. Proceeds from the event were donated to support the Navy Ball Fund. Thanks to Capt. Rhett Mann for sending this photo to the LOG. Ships’ wheels were among the retirement gifts given to Tarlton (Buddy) Langele and Paul (Red) Roach from Crescent Towing of Mobile. From the left are Crescent Towing VP Arthur Kulp, Langele, SIU Port Agent Ed Kelly, Crescent Towing VP Tad Wilcutt and Roach. Some of the first Seafarers to line up at the Oakland hall to cast their ballots on the first day of voting for the purpose of amending the constitution of the SIU are (from left) OMU Cirico Geonanga, DEU Emmanuel Bayani Jr. and AB Jimmy Taranto. Handing out the ballots is Safety Director Kathy Chester. The balloting period was from Sept. 1 through Oct. 31. A delicious birthday cake helped Dispatcher Nick Rios celebrate his September birthday at the Wilmington, Calif. hall. November 2006 Seafarers LOG 9 �Floating Railroad Continues a Proud Tradition N ew York New Jersey Rail, which operates Cross Harbor Railroad in New York Harbor, is one of the most unique operations in the United States, and the SIU members who work there continue to find it an exciting way of life. A century ago, several hundred rail cars were floated across the harbor each day from the Greenville yard in Jersey City, N.J. to the Bush Terminal yard in Brooklyn, N.Y. aboard barges. Today, rail cars are making a rebirth by crossing the harbor on carfloats carrying nearly 8,000 rail cars each year and operating in much the same manner as they did in the late ’30s and ’40s. The trip across the harbor takes 45 minutes—much quicker than shipping overland, which can take up to 5 days round trip. The Seafarers International Union represents seven employees at New York New Jersey Rail: conductors, engineers, brakemen and bridgemen. Working with new management, the SIU recently was able to secure for the employees a oneyear extension to their contract, which includes a wage increase, additional vacation day, guaranteed 40-hour work week and a longevity bonus. Metropolitan New York is one of the largest consumer markets in the world, receiving goods at its ports that then need to be transported inland by way of truck. By moving much of this freight on the water, truck congestion is reduced (one rail car is the equivalent of four trucks) and so are vehicle emissions. Therefore, each round trip crossing removes 120 trucks from the local bridges, tunnels and roadways and also provides shippers— who don’t want to travel the extra 150 miles to Albany—with a shortcut across the Hudson River. Rail cars that arrive at the Greenville yard are loaded onto the operating barge—called a carfloat—which then makes the crossing to Brooklyn, where they are offloaded. The cargo moved includes a wide variety of commodities— everything from food products, building and construction materials and paper to hay, scrap and oversized machinery that is too large for road transport. The New York City Transit Authority also utilizes the train-ferry facility to get old, new and refurbished subway cars in and out of the system. New York New Jersey Rail recently made the news (The New York Times, Aug. 11, 2006) when it donated a 95-ton, 60-year-old engine locomotive to a project organized by the Department of Parks and Recreation. For the cost of the The barge carrying rail cars arrives at the Bush Terminal yard in Brooklyn. Mokihana to Be Converted From Containership to RO/RO Seafarers-contacted Matson Navigation Co. in late September signed a $17 million contact with Atlantic Marine Alabama LLC to perform work related to the conversion of the Mokihana, a containership, into a combination container and roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) vessel. Work is scheduled to begin in April 2007 at Atlantic Marine’s shipyard in Alabama and should be completed within two months. The conversion of the Mokihana is part of a previously announced $45 million upgrade of Matson’s service capabilities in its Hawaii service, which includes shoreside facility improvements and investments in new information technology. The modifications to the ship “will increase Matson’s RO/RO capacity in our Hawaii service by 35 percent,” said Dave Hoppes, senior vice president for ocean services. “It will help further Matson’s objective of providing our auto customers with the two features they prefer: frequency of service and RO/RO capacity. The new state-of-the-art Next April, Matson’s containership Mokihana (left) will be converted into a combination container and RO/RO vessel. 10 Seafarers LOG Working at the Bush Terminal yard in Brooklyn are, from the left, Engineer Scott Toomey, Conductor Jim Lada, Brakeman Sam Evans and Brakeman Jose Torres. Engineer Paul Pietrowski and Conductor Joe Muran (not pictured) work at the Greenville yard in Jersey City. The photos accompanying this article were taken by Union Rep Joe Baselice during a recent service visit. engine’s scrap-metal value ($30,000), the No. 25 was restored and will be the centerpiece of Manhattan’s newest public park. Old No. 25 was not the kind of locomotive that powered sleek passenger trains; rather it was a rugged switching engine run by a 660-horsepower diesel engine built by the American Locomotive Company in Schenectady, N.Y. in 1946 for the Erie Railroad. It was in use in Brooklyn from 1967 until the 1990s. A number of workers, including SIU members and volunteers, helped refurbish the old engine. One of the volunteers was Diane Mitchner, who shipped with the SIU for 10 years starting in 1979. A graduate of trainee class 278, Mitchner sailed in the deep sea division, last as a chief steward on the Sea-Land Express. While working on the arts project (painting the interior of the car), she made friends with the railroad crew at the yard. And in talking with them, the subject of the SIU came up and she was surprised to find out they were members. She told the Seafarers LOG that she hadn’t known about New York New Jersey Rail when she was a member and was tickled to find garage unit will have all of the features of a pure car carrier, including a fully enclosed garage, ventilation, lighting and various safety components to minimize damage in transit.” The Mokihana will join two other combination RO/RO containerships in the Matson fleet, the SS Lurline and SS Matsonia. “As one of the leading U.S.flag carriers, Matson is proud to further demonstrate its commitment to supporting U.S. shipyards,” said James Andrasick, Matson president and CEO. “In the past six years, Matson has awarded $584 million of work to U.S. shipyards, including over $500 million to Aker Philadelphia Shipyard for the construction of four new containerships.” Matson, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. of Honolulu, provides ocean transportation, intermodal and logistics services. Its RO/RO capabilities have been utilized by the U.S. Armed Forces for the movement of military equipment to and from Hawaii. Matson also maintains multi-year agreements with many of the major car companies to transport their vehicles to the island state. out that even though she had stopped sailing, she had somehow found her way back to her union roots. Layers of lead paint had to be stripped from the engine, and toxic fluids and batteries were removed in order to make it child-safe. The bright blue color was replaced with the black and yellow colors of the New York Central, and an “86” prefix was added to “No. 25” to recreate with historical accuracy the designation of trains in the original West Side rail yard. In mid-August, the engine was barged from Brooklyn to Jersey City, where it was loaded on another barge equipped with a crane. It later was floated across the Hudson River and lifted onto a flatbed truck, transported and then deposited in its new location on a set of historic rails from another section of the city. A plaza will be built around the engine with a children’s play area. No. 25 and the new West Side park will officially open to the public next spring where children and adults alike will be able to walk into the two-person interior. “It’s irresistible—everyone wants to play in a train,” said Tim Watkins, the project’s exhibit-design consultant. At right: Brakeman Sam Evans switches the tracks at the Brooklyn yard. Below: Conductor Jim Lada secures the barge lines to the dock. November 2006 �American Legion Backs U.S. Cabotage Laws The American Legion recently passed a resolution supporting the Jones Act in addition to other cabotage laws and also recognizing the vital role of the U.S.-flag fleet. Meeting Aug. 29-31 in Salt Lake City for the organization’s 88th national convention, the American Legion’s Convention Committee on National Security submitted the resolution (No. 102), titled “Support for the Jones Maritime Act and Related Cabotage Laws.” The resolution reads as follows: “WHEREAS, The American Legion has always stressed that maintaining a viable U.S.-Flag Merchant Marine and its supporting infrastructure is essential to the economic, national, and environmental security of this nation; and “WHEREAS, The maritime policy of the United States, as articulated in the 1936 Merchant Marine Act, states that ‘it is necessary for the national defense and development of its foreign and domestic commerce that the United States shall have a Merchant Marine’; and “WHEREAS, The American Legion is concerned about the continued decline of the U.S.Flag Merchant Marine and the shortage of trained American mariners; and “WHEREAS, At the beginning of 1998, the privately owned ocean-going U.S.-flag fleet consisted of only 259 active ships, which includes 119 ships in domestic trade and 36 other engaged exclusively in U.S. government work; thus, only 104 U.S.-Flag ships are operating in international trade in support of the nation’s economic and national security interests; and “WHEREAS, The United States is the world’s largest trading nation, but only three percent of U.S. imports and exports are carried in U.S.-flag ships which is economically unwise and mili- tarily imprudent; and “WHEREAS, The Jones Act which is critical to United States national security and to America’s economic well-being should be reaffirmed as should the continuation of the annual appropriations needed to fund the Maritime Security Act of 1996; now, therefore, be it “RESOLVED, By The American Legion in National Convention assembled in Salt Lake City, Utah, August 29, 30, 31, 2006, That The American Legion support the Jones Act and related Maritime cabotage laws critical to America’s maritime infrastructure, and therefore, to the United States national defense.” The group also passed a resolution titled “Commercial Shipbuilding for Defense,” in which it again emphasizes the importance of maintaining a strong U.S.-flag fleet, particularly for sealift missions. That resolution (No. 103) reads in part, “The American Legion urge(s) the President and Congress to boost naval budgets, promote commercial shipbuilding, expand the use of U.S. flagships in world commerce, and resist foreign actions that would further damage America’s defense industrial base.” President Bush addressed the convention Aug. 31. “As veterans, all of you stepped forward when America needed you most ... and we owe you more than just thanks,” he stated. On its web site, the American Legion notes that it was chartered by Congress in 1919 “as a patriotic, mutual-help, war-time veterans organization. A communityservice organization which now numbers nearly 3 million members—men and women—in nearly 15,000 American Legion Posts worldwide. These Posts are organized into 55 Departments—one each for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico, and the Philippines.” USNS Mendonca Delivers in Germany The SIU-crewed USNS Mendonca offloaded more than 100 U.S. Army Stryker Brigade combat vehicles in Bremerhaven, Germany in late July. The 950-foot ship had loaded in Tacoma, Wash. and then traveled 9,500 miles in three weeks, according to the U.S. Military Sealift Command. The ship also delivered hundreds of other trucks, trailers, Humvees and containers, the agency reported. CIVMAR Briefs Latest NSPS Happenings Bode Well for Workers Homeland security workers whose job security is threatened by a proposed restructuring of work rules similar to that which would affect CIVMARS received good news in late September when the administration indicated that it would be putting its controversial National Security Personnel System (NSPS) program on hold, at least for now. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed that it would not appeal a U.S. Court of Appeals decision blocking implementation of the program. As the judges noted, “Not only (does the NSPS program) defy the well-understood meaning of collective bargaining, it also defies common sense… (It) does not even give the illusion of collective bargaining.” The United DOD Workers Coalition, an association of labor unions representing more than 700,000 Defense Department employees, made the following observation: “We are confident that the DOD will ultimately follow the DHS’s lead. The NSPS rulings thus far have gone the way of the DHS rulings, so DOD would be smart to end this now.” The SIU is part of the coalition and has worked to exempt CIVMARS from NSPS. Those efforts have been largely successful. CIVMARS are exempt from all but the labor relations provisions. Update on Internet Access Restriction Last month the LOG reported that MSC has notified the union and CIVMARS that access to their private email servers and some web sites will be restricted. The union has submitted proposals to MSC to decrease the impact of these restrictions and to ensure that CIVMARS will be able to access e-mail as well as conduct necessary financial and other types of transactions while they are at sea. The union will keep CIVMARS posted on the progress of these negotiations. Any problems with e-mail access should be reported to your union official or civmarsupport@seafarers.org. ‘Open Season’ Starts Nov. 13 The annual “open season” for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program begins Nov. 13 and runs through Dec. 11, 2006. According to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), there will be 284 plans from which to choose—a record high number. Additionally, there will be seven choices for new supplemental dental insurance along with three choices for additional vision insurance. More than 8 million people are enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). During the open season, anyone “http://www.opm.gov/insure/06/html/popups/eligibility.htm” may enroll, change health plans or options, cancel their FEHB enrollment, and change participation in “http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/pretaxfehb/index.htm” (waive or begin participation). Outside of open season, newly eligible employees may enroll within 60 days of becoming eligible for the program. According to news reports, the OPM has boosted the number of high-deductible insurance options for the year 2007. There will be 29 such plans compared to 27 in 2006—the enticement being lower premiums. Both for health insurance and dental and vision coverage, federal workers may pay premiums before taxes, through payroll deduction. A wealth of additional information is available on line at the OPM Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan web site, beginning at the following address: http://www.opm.gov/insure/health/index.asp. Is Your Ship Receiving the Seafarers LOG? SIU Government Services Division representatives recently have been told by members that some MSFSC vessels are not receiving the Seafarers LOG for months at a time. Please let your Government Services Division union representative know if your vessel is not receiving the LOG by emailing: civmarsupport@seafarers.org. With Seafarers in Puerto Rico Pictured aboard the Green Ridge in mid-September are (from left) Chief Cook Luis Aceridano, SA Jose Rojas, Bosun Thomas Skubinna and Steward Robert Wagner. Electrician Ray Prim drops in at the SIU hall in San Juan. Americo “Pichi” Garayua (right) receives his first pension check at the hall. Congratulating him is SIU Port Agent Amancio Crespo. Chief Cook Angel Perez November 2006 AB Manuel C. Rodriguez (right) proudly shows his “A” seniority book to Port Agent Crespo. QMED Electrician Luis Roebuck Seafarers LOG 11 �Snapshots from the Port of Jackso Cape Domingo Seafarers and their Sealand Florida OMUs Watts and Porter attend the shipboard meeting on the Cape Domingo. The starboard name board on the Sealand Florida was refurbished during voyage 023 and is being mounted back into position over the lifeboat. AB Eddie Ebanks (far right) did the sanding, painting and varnishing to make it look like new. Helping him return the name board to its mount are (from the left) Bosun James Saunders, AB Randell Porter and AB Leroy Woods. AB James Rush st Florida’s gangway w Cape Diamond Maersk Carolina Recertified Steward Gerard Hyman and Chief Cook Isabel Sabio work aboard the Maersk Carolina. Aboard the Cape Diamond are (from the left) Bosun R. Boyd, QMED Allen Pryor, AB Leslie Bracy Jr. and W. Coleman, bosun on the Cape Domingo. At right is Chief Cook Tulio Gomez. Alliance New York Pensioner Remains Active Chief Cook Joseph Brooks gets the griddle going. Lef Bro ley wit (ce AB Alexander Nicholson picks up his first pension check in August from Jacksonville Port Agent Archie Ware. Nicholson, who is 72, continues to stay involved with his union. 12 Seafarers LOG November 2006 �onville Ships Voting in the Hall Voting for the purpose of amending the constitution of the Seafarers Internatonal Union/AGLIWD/NMU began Sept. 1. SIU members were able to cast secret ballots at union halls or by mail through Oct. 31. The photos below were taken of SIU members exercising their rights at the Jacksonville hall. Before voting, AB David Harvey (left) presents his book to Safety Director Randy Senatore. SA Dagoberto Norales (left) receives his ballot and mailing envelope from Union Rep Thornton Elliott. tands at the bottom of the Sealand when the ship was in Jacksonville. Chief Cook Theodore Quammie returns to his car after voting. Union Rep Thornton Elliott and Executive Assistant Karen Shuford help members follow the proper voting procedures. Chief Cook Robert Thomas is ready to cast his ballot. Waiting to get their ballots from Safety Director Randy Senatore (second from left) are (from left) Chief Cook Breon Lucas, Chief Cook Michael Harris and AB Ruben Brown. Safety Director Randy Senatore (right) checks the union book of AB Luis Alvarez. Steward Willie Massaline (far left) secures his ballot from Union Rep Thornton Elliott while Steward Carol Milstead (right) gets hers from Safety Director Randy Senatore. ft: Chief Cook Joseph ooks (right) poses in the galy of the Alliance New York th Steward L.P. Packnett enter) and SA German Guity. November 2006 Seafarers LOG 13 �SIU Plan Offers Eight Scholarships For Members And Dependents In 2007 C ollege tuitions have gone up about 8 percent per year for the past 25 years, and there’s no escaping the fact that they are continuing to rise—and at a much faster rate than that of inflation or the growth in family income. According to recently released reports from the College Board, a non-profit association of 4,500 schools, colleges and universities, most students and their families can expect to pay, on average, from $112 to $1,190 more than last year for this year’s tuition and fees, depending on the type of college. Tuition costs, of course, are not the whole story. Including room and board, the cost of attending a private college is $29,026 per year on average, and $12,127 at four-year public universities. These high college costs could prevent a significant number of Americans from obtaining a college degree, and that is a shame—especially when, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, people with a college degree earn more than 62 percent more, on average, than those with only a high school diploma. Over a lifetime, the gap in earning potential between a high school diploma and a B.A. (or higher) is more than $1,000,000. But there is good news for Seafarers and their eligible dependents who want to continue their dreams of attaining a higher education without taking on any great financial burden: the scholarship program offered by the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan. This year, the Plan is again funding eight scholarships to SIU members, their spouses and dependent children to help offset the rising rates for a college education. Three of the scholarships for 2007 are reserved for SIU members. One of those is in the amount of $20,000 for study at a four-year college or university. The other two are for $6,000 each and are intended as two-year awards for study at a post-secondary community college or vocational school. The other five scholarships will be awarded in the amount of $20,000 each to the spouses and dependent children of Seafarers. Where to Start? This is a great time to begin the application process. The first step is to send away for the Seafarers Scholarship Program booklet. To receive a copy of this guide, fill out the coupon below and return it to the address listed on the form. Alternatively, copies of the booklet may be picked up at your nearest SIU hall. Then What? Once the scholarship booklet has been received, applicants should check the eligibility information and, if they are eligible, should start collecting some of the other paperwork which must be submitted along with the full application by the April 15, 2007 deadline. What Information Do I Need? Items that will need to be included in the application package include transcripts and certificates of graduation. Since schools often are quite slow in handling transcript requests, the sooner the requests are made, the better. Another part of the application includes letters of recommendation solicited from individuals who know the applicant’s character, personality and career goals. A photograph of the applicant as well as a certified copy of his or her birth certificate also need to be included. The selection committee, made up of a panel of professional educators, looks at the high school grades of all applicants and also checks the scores of their Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT) or American College Tests (ACT). Therefore, arrangements should be made to take these exams no later than February 2007 to ensure the results reach the committee in time to be evaluated. Those Seafarers and dependents who previously applied for a Seafarers scholarship and were not selected are encouraged to apply again this year, provided they still meet all the eligibility requirements. Don’t let the steadily increasing costs of a college education stop you from reaching your goals. The Seafarers Scholarship Program can make a difference! Additional Scholarship Funding Available to Union Members Fill out the form below and send away for your program booklet today! P lease send me the 2007 SIU Scholarship Program booklet which contains eligibility information, procedures for applying and a copy of the application form. Name __________________________________________________________________ Mariner's Social Security Number ____________________________________________ Since 1992, the Union Plus Scholarship Program—offered through the Union Plus Education Foundation—has given out more than $2 million to students of working families who want to begin or continue their secondary education. SIU members are again eligible for the 2007 awards. The students selected for university, college, trade school or technical scholarships represent a wide sampling of backgrounds, union affiliations, goals and accomplishments. Current and retired members of AFLCIO unions participating in the Union Plus program (including the SIU) are eligible, along with their spouses and dependent children. The individual must be accepted into an accredited college or university, community college or recognized technical or trade school at the time the award is issued. Graduate students are not eligible. The amount of the educational stipends range from $500 to $4,000. Each is a one-time cash award sent to individual winners for undergraduate study beginning in the fall of the same year. To download a copy of the application form, go to: http://www.unionplus.org/benefits/education/scholarships/scholarship App.pdf Street Address ____________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip Code ______________________________________________________ ( ) Telephone Number ________________________________________________________ This application is for: † Self † Dependent Mail this completed form to Scholarship Program, Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. 11/06 14 Seafarers LOG November 2006 �Dispatchers’ Report for Deep Sea December 2006 & January 2007 Membership Meetings SEPTEMBER 16 — OCTOBER 15, 2006 *TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Wilmington Totals Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Port Algonac Anchorage Baltimore Fort Lauderdale Guam Honolulu Houston Jacksonville Joliet Mobile New Orleans New York Norfolk Oakland Philadelphia Piney Point Puerto Rico St. Louis Tacoma Wilmington Totals Totals All Departments 1 0 7 7 1 6 42 34 0 12 12 39 17 19 5 1 4 34 21 2 3 14 20 7 8 20 21 2 12 9 16 19 16 2 18 6 34 17 2 6 3 4 3 0 14 8 0 1 5 5 10 2 1 0 1 14 5 TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 0 10 6 0 7 39 25 0 2 11 20 8 10 2 0 3 15 20 255 250 85 179 2 0 6 3 1 8 9 16 0 11 6 15 6 6 2 3 3 1 9 10 0 1 4 3 4 3 7 24 0 7 5 10 16 9 2 1 2 1 19 7 2 0 1 3 0 2 5 4 0 0 0 5 3 0 0 1 0 0 2 9 1 0 8 3 2 9 11 20 1 6 4 14 7 8 2 3 2 1 4 3 117 1 0 3 4 3 6 25 12 0 4 2 24 8 15 3 2 1 3 11 19 125 1 0 0 3 3 5 2 5 0 6 3 9 20 4 2 4 1 0 8 2 37 0 0 0 2 0 2 4 1 0 1 1 4 2 0 0 1 1 0 1 4 Trip Reliefs DECK DEPARTMENT 2 4 5 10 9 5 17 12 3 7 3 7 15 12 3 8 4 15 7 151 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 4 0 1 2 4 6 1 0 0 0 7 2 1 3 1 7 0 1 6 10 0 2 5 15 5 10 1 0 0 12 8 34 ENGINE DEPARTMENT 109 0 1 4 5 3 1 13 9 0 0 4 3 5 4 0 1 0 2 13 8 76 1 0 0 2 0 1 2 2 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 0 0 2 4 20 146 78 24 94 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 1 3 0 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 6 9 2 4 18 17 0 4 3 34 8 12 1 17 1 0 21 11 4 1 2 15 0 6 18 10 0 2 3 17 12 13 1 26 0 2 19 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0 2 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 4 1 1 0 0 5 1 5 1 5 0 3 2 2 11 3 2 1 2 2 8 2 56 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 0 0 4 3 1 6 9 6 0 2 2 11 6 9 0 13 1 0 12 7 0 0 0 7 0 2 7 2 1 1 2 3 9 6 0 22 1 1 4 2 4 0 9 17 2 11 65 57 0 20 33 84 30 32 10 1 14 71 53 5 7 14 30 10 15 48 37 1 24 19 44 27 21 4 17 16 57 32 2 8 4 10 3 0 22 13 0 5 5 14 13 7 5 0 3 20 9 88 516 435 146 0 0 2 1 1 3 5 10 0 0 6 5 2 4 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 5 6 1 13 22 32 0 9 9 28 15 14 1 4 4 3 25 25 3 1 6 10 9 5 10 42 2 11 8 18 26 11 2 2 5 2 32 12 2 0 2 4 1 4 11 6 0 1 0 9 6 4 0 0 1 2 6 15 42 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 0 0 1 4 2 7 26 7 0 2 0 6 7 12 1 0 1 0 7 11 **REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C 0 0 1 2 1 3 8 0 0 1 0 5 2 4 0 0 0 0 6 4 217 217 74 2 0 7 9 3 10 32 31 0 5 11 43 11 33 5 4 1 5 30 46 1 0 1 10 2 14 11 14 0 6 5 14 19 6 1 4 4 1 18 14 0 0 0 2 1 1 7 2 2 1 3 7 2 1 0 1 1 0 3 5 37 288 145 39 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 4 3 0 1 2 7 0 10 0 0 2 0 6 1 4 1 5 14 3 7 41 38 0 8 7 68 27 25 2 17 1 0 30 16 9 3 3 17 1 13 32 23 0 3 10 36 27 19 1 6 0 1 25 16 16 170 162 20 92 70 0 39 314 245 534 623 308 402 375 132 167 1,060 1,111 504 *“Total Registered” means the number of Seafarers who actually registered for shipping at the port. **“Registered on Beach” means the total number of Seafarers registered at the port. November 2006 Piney Point ...........Monday: December 4, January 8 Algonac ................Friday: December 8, January 12 ............................... Baltimore..............Thursday: December 7, January 11 Boston ..................Friday: December 8, January 12 Guam ....................Thursday: December 21, January 25 ............................... Honolulu...............Friday: December 15, January 19 Houston ................Monday: December 11 ..............................Tuesday: January 16* ..............................(*change created by Martin Luther King Jr. holiday) ............................... Jacksonville ..........Thursday: December 7, January 11 Joliet .....................Thursday: December 14, January 18 Mobile ..................Wednesday: December 13, January 17 New Orleans.........Tuesday: December 12, January 16 New York .............Tuesday: December 5, January 9 Norfolk .................Thursday: December 7, January 11 Philadelphia..........Wednesday: December 6, January 10 Port Everglades ....Thursday: December 14, January 18 San Francisco .......Thursday: December 14, January 18 San Juan ...............Thursday: December 7, January 11 St. Louis ...............Friday: December 15, January 19 Tacoma .................Friday: December 22, January 26 Wilmington...........Monday: December 18, January 22 Each port’s meeting starts at 10:30 a.m. Personals JAMAAL SINKLER Please call your mother. LOOKING FOR SHIPMATES Jack Utz is looking for any of his shipmates on the SS Steel King from January-April 1948. Please contact him at (815) 883-8735 or e-mail jackutz@sbcglobal.net. Apostleship of the Sea of The United States of America The Apostleship of the Sea of the United States of America is the professional association of Catholic mariners and the official Catholic organization for cruise ship priests and catholic maritime ministers. Please contact the organization if you are interested in becoming an AOSUSA member. The Apostleship of the Sea may be reached at: 1500 Jefferson Drive Port Arthur, TX 77642-0646 aosusa@sbcglobal.net Phone: (409) 985-4545 www.aos-usa.org Seafarers LOG 15 �Seafarers International Union Directory NMU Monthly Shipping & Registration Report SEPTEMBER 16 — OCTOBER 15, 2006 Michael Sacco, President TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Group I Group II Group III Augustin Tellez, Executive Vice President David Heindel, Secretary-Treasurer George Tricker, Vice President Contracts Tom Orzechowski, Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Corgey, Vice President Gulf Coast Nicholas J. Marrone, Vice President West Coast Joseph T. Soresi, Vice President Atlantic Coast Kermett Mangram, Vice President Government Services René Lioeanjie, Vice President at Large Charles Stewart, Vice President at Large HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746 (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr., Algonac, MI 48001 (810) 794-4988 ANCHORAGE 721 Sesame St., #1C, Anchorage, AK 99503 (907) 561-4988 BALTIMORE 2315 Essex St., Baltimore, MD 21224 (410) 327-4900 BOSTON Marine Industrial Park/EDIC 27 Drydock Ave., Boston, MA 02210 (617) 261-0790 GUAM P.O. Box 315242, Tamuning, Guam 96931-5242 Cliffline Office Ctr., Bldg. B, Suite 103 422 West O’Brien Dr., Hagatna, Guam 96931 (671) 477-1350 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St., Honolulu, HI 96819 (808) 845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St., Houston, TX 77002 (713) 659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St., Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JOLIET 10 East Clinton St., Joliet, IL 60432 (815) 723-8002 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy, Mobile, AL 36605 (251) 478-0916 NEW ORLEANS 3911 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey, LA 70058 (504) 328-7545 NEW YORK 635 Fourth Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718) 499-6600 Government Services Division: (718) 499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St., Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 622-1892 OAKLAND 1121 7th St., Oakland, CA 94607 (510) 444-2360 PHILADELPHIA 2604 S. 4 St., Philadelphia, PA 19148 (215) 336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 1221 S. Andrews Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316 (954) 522-7984 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave., Stop 16 Santurce, PR 00907 (787) 721-4033 ST. LOUIS/ALTON 4581 Gravois Ave., St. Louis, MO 63116 (314) 752-6500 TACOMA 3411 South Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98409 (253) 272-7774 WILMINGTON 510 N. Broad Ave., Wilmington, CA 90744 (310) 549-4000 16 Seafarers LOG Port Boston Houston Jacksonville New Orleans New York Norfolk Tacoma Wilmington Totals Trip Reliefs REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Group I Group II Group III DECK DEPARTMENT 1 12 0 5 15 1 0 2 36 1 4 2 0 5 0 0 2 14 1 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 5 Port Boston Houston Jacksonville New Orleans New York Norfolk Tacoma Wilmington Totals TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Group I Group II Group III 3 11 1 4 10 2 0 1 32 0 6 2 0 5 0 0 2 15 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 2 8 4 0 4 1 0 0 19 9 26 1 17 39 0 2 1 95 3 5 0 4 25 0 0 0 37 1 1 1 3 0 0 0 1 7 0 1 0 1 3 1 0 0 6 10 15 2 4 12 0 0 2 46 1 3 0 1 4 0 0 0 9 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 3 ENGINE DEPARTMENT 0 3 3 2 4 0 0 0 12 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 Port 2 3 2 1 4 0 0 0 12 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 STEWARD DEPARTMENT Boston Houston Jacksonville New Orleans New York Norfolk Tacoma Wilmington Totals 1 4 1 3 5 0 0 5 19 2 1 1 0 5 0 0 0 9 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3 2 2 2 2 0 0 5 16 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 8 20 0 6 22 0 0 0 56 4 2 0 2 24 0 0 1 33 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 4 Totals All Departments 67 25 9 60 21 6 29 196 79 14 PICS-FROM-THE-PAST These photos were sent to the Seafarers LOG by Rich Bolmarcich of Seaside Park, N.J. He is the son of the late SIU pensioner Joseph Bolmarcich (pictured in the three photos at right), who died Feb. 28, 1999 at the age of 92. His son states that his father’s career with the marine division of the New York Central Railroad Co. spanned 44 years (1927-1971). He always appreciated the many fine benefits afforded him by being an SIU member, and “loved his job as a tugboat deckhand despite working sometimes in bad weather and under difficult conditions.” Brother Bolmarcich began receiving his pension in May 1971. The top left photo was taken in 1927, the top right one in 1954. The bottom one, also taken aboard a New York Central tug, was snapped in the mid ’60s when the twin towers of the World Trade Center were under construction. If anyone has a vintage union-related photograph he or she would like to share with the LOG readership, please send it to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. Photographs will be returned, if so requested. November 2006 �Welcome Ashore Each month, the Seafarers LOG pays tribute to the SIU members who have devoted their working lives to sailing aboard U.S.-flag vessels on the deep seas, inland waterways or Great Lakes. Listed below are brief biographical sketches of those members who recently retired from the union. The brothers and sisters of the SIU thank those members for a job well done and wish them happiness and good health in the days ahead. DEEP SEA JAMES DAVID, 67, was born in California. Brother David joined the SIU in 1963 in the port of New York. His first ship was the La Salle on which he sailed in the engine department. Brother David’s last voyage was aboard the Long Island. He calls Chambersburg, Pa. home. RAFAEL ESQUIBEL, 65, became a Seafarer in 1974 in the port of New York. Brother Esquibel, who was born in Spain, worked primarily on A&S Transportation’s Lisa. A member of the deck department, Brother Esquibel continues to reside in Spain. MANUEL FARIA JR., 65, started shipping with the union in 1983 from the port of New York. Brother Faria first sailed on the Robert D. Conrad in the steward department. In 1996 and 2000, he attended classes at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. Brother Faria most recently sailed aboard the Dewayne T. Williams. He is a resident of New Bedford, Mass. AQUILINO FERNANDEZ, 66, joined the SIU ranks in 1989. Brother Fernandez was born in Honduras and shipped in the steward department. He first sailed on the Independence. Brother Fernandez most recently worked aboard the Cape Kennedy. He lives in Houston. ANGEL GARCIA, 66, joined the SIU in 1959. Brother Garcia’s first journey was aboard a Waterman Steamship Corporation vessel. The Puerto Rico-born mariner sailed in the engine department. Brother Garcia most recently sailed on the Horizon Discovery. He resides in San Jose, P.R. KENNETH JONES, 65, launched his seafaring career in 1990 in the port of New Orleans. Brother Jones primarily shipped in the engine department November 2006 of the Constellation. The Texasborn mariner upgraded his skills in 2000 at the Piney Point school. Brother Jones makes his home in Sarepta, La. the educational opportunities available at the union-affiliated school in Piney Point, Md. in 2001 and 2003. Boatman Foster is a resident of Belhaven, N.C. THOMAS LABUE, 66, began sailing with the union in 1965 from the port of San Francisco. Brother Labue was born in Wisconsin and shipped as a member of the deck department. His first vessel was the Loma Victory; his most recent was the Richard G. Matthiesen. Brother Labue calls Temple City, Calif. home. JACK GONZALEZ, 62, joined the SIU in 1986. Boatman Gonzalez work primarily aboard G&H Towing vessels during. Born in Puerto Rico, he calls Robstown, Texas home. JAMES LONG, 62, is a Pennsylvania native. Brother Long joined the Seafarers in 1969, initially working aboard the Sea Ohio. The engine department member most recently sailed on the Horizon Anchorage. Brother Long resides in Wellsboro, Pa. HANSEL SMITH, 65, became an SIU member in 1989. Brother Smith’s first voyage was aboard the USNS Altair. The Tennessee-born mariner last sailed on the 1st Lt. Alex Bonneyman. He is a resident of Pascagoula, Miss. CAROL GRIDER, 62, joined the SIU in 1994. Sister Grider was a member of the steward department. She sailed primarily aboard Orgulf Transport Company vessels. Seafarer Grider resides in Galatia, Ill. KENNETH KITCHEN, 65, began sailing with the union in 1962 from the port of Norfolk, Va. Boatman Kitchen shipped in both the deep sea and inland divisions. His first vessel was the Topa Topa. Boatman Kitchen lives in Virginia Beach, Va. JACK KLOHN, 55, was born in New Mexico and joined the Seafarers in 1971 in the port of New York. Boatman Klohn first sailed in the deep sea division aboard CSX Lines’ Detroit; however, the majority of his career was spent working in the inland division. Prior to his retirement, Boatman Klohn sailed on the Padre Island. He makes his home in Hot Springs, Ariz. LUCIUS LEONARD, 62, who was born in New Orleans, became an SIU member in 1967 in that port. Boatman Leonard worked aboard Crescent Towing & Salvage Co. vessels in the deck department. He is a resident of Des Allemands, La. Editor’s note: The following brothers, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust, recently went on pension. TULIO GOMEZ, 69, joined the NMU in 1977 in the port of Boston. Brother Gomez was born in Honduras. His first ship was the Mormac Sun. Brother Gomez sailed in the steward department. Prior to his retirement, he worked aboard the Cape Domingo. PHILLIP HINES, 55, became an NMU member in 1979 in the port of Seattle. Brother Hines is a native of California. He initially sailed on the NOAA ship Discoverer. Brother Hines’ most recent voyage was aboard the Cape Taylor. He was a member of the steward department. In addition to the individuals listed above, the following NMU pensioners retired on the dates indicated. NAME AGE EDP Charles Andrews 70 Sept. 1 William Buchheit 65 Oct. 1 Francisco King 68 Oct. 1 Raymond Lankford 55 Oct. 1 Thomas Stephens 66 Oct. 1 Alexandru Tolnaci 65 Sept. 1 INLAND ROBERT DOUGH, 62, embarked on his seafaring career in 1966. Boatman Dough’s first voyage was aboard a Gulf Atlantic Transport Corporation vessel; his most recent was on a vessel operated by Interstate Oil Transportation Company. Boatman Dough lives in Belhaven, N.C. ELEANOR DOWNEN, 73, joined the SIU in 1985 in the port of New Orleans. Sister Downen worked primarily aboard Delta Queen Steamship vessels during her seafaring career. The steward department member settled in her native state of Missouri. DANIEL EUBANKS, 62, was born in Mississippi. Boatman Eubanks commenced his SIU career in 1973 in the port of Mobile, Ala. He sailed in the deck department, primarily aboard Dravo Basic Materials Company vessels. Boatman Eubanks continues to make his home in Mississippi. OTTIS FOSTER, 65, joined the SIU ranks in 1992. Boatman Foster shipped primarily aboard Express Marine vessels in the steward department. He took advantage of Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG. 1942 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill offered his thanks and the thanks of the Royal Navy to the crews of two SIU-contracted ships that returned to New York after 11 months on the run to Russia. A commendation relayed by Admiral Emory S. Land, director of the War Shipping Administration, from the British Admiralty said in part, “Mr. Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister, has particularly requested that he be associated with this message of congratulations…. I should like also to offer my congratulations to you and your crew for excellent work you all performed during this encounter, which is a great credit to the United States Merchant Marine.” The ships are unnamed for security reasons. 1966 SIU-contracted companies will operate 10 of the 15 C-4 type reserve fleet troopships recently allocated by the government for conversion to break bulk dry cargo and heavy lift cargo ships for charter to the Military Sea Transportation Service to serve in the Vietnam sealift. Of the SIU-contracted companies named by the government, Isthmian Lines and Waterman Steamship were allocated three ships each, Hudson Waterways received two ships, and Consolidated Mariners and Bulk Transport received one ship each…. The recently released World War IIbuilt toopships are 523-foot, 15,000-ton steamships with a rated speed of 17 knots. This Month In SIU History 1955 SIU negotiators recently won a 25 cents per man per day contribution from employers to expand health and safety benefits and raise vacation benefits. Coupled with wage increases under the contract, the vacation benefits will mean a boost in vacation pay for all Seafarers from the present $176 maximum to $244, effective November 15. The new agreement will also finance establishment of health and safety clinics in all ports so that Seafarers will be able to obtain medical care and obtain needed physical examinations. 1984 Another newly converted RO/RO ship has been added to the SIU-contracted fleet. Bringing in more jobs for the membership is the Cpl. Louis J. Hauge, Jr., which is being operated by a privately owned company for the U.S. Military Sealift Command. This 755foot long vessel is part of the U.S. military’s Maritime Prepositioning Ship (MPS) program…. During her conversion at Bethlehem Steel Corporation’s Sparrows Point Yard in Maryland, the ship was lengthened by a 157foot mid-body section and was fitted with a semi-slewing stern ramp, side port doors and ramps, and three twin-tandem heavy-lift cranes. Seafarers LOG 17 �Final Departures DEEP SEA PRESTON BLANC Pensioner Preston Blanc, 82, passed away Feb. 4. Brother Blanc joined the SIU in 1951 in the port of New Orleans. His first ship was the J.B. Water. The deck department member last worked aboard the Overseas Arctic. Brother Blanc retired in 1986 and called New Orleans home. PARTHA JERNIGAN Pensioner Partha Jernigan, 81, died April 28. Brother Jernigan became a Seafarer in 1947 in the port of New York. He was born in Florida and sailed in the engine department. Brother Jernigan settled in Pensacola, Fla. He began receiving his pension in 1989. GREGORY KELLY Pensioner Gregory Kelly, 80, passed away April 2. Brother Kelly joined the SIU in 1965. His first trip to sea was on an American Oceanic Corporation vessel; his last was aboard the Explorer. Born in Canada, Brother Kelly was a member of the deck department. The La Habra, Calif. resident went on pension in 1991. STANISLAW KOLASA Pensioner Stanislaw Kolasa, 80, died April 9. Born in Poland, Brother Kolasa started his seafaring career in 1959 in the port of New York. He sailed in both the inland and deep sea divisions. Brother Kolasa’s initial voyage was on a Boston Towing Boat Company vessel. In 1990, the steward department member began his retirement. Brother Kolasa made his home in New York. HORACE LEDWELL Pensioner Horace Ledwell, 77, passed away May 10. Brother Ledwell was born in Johnson City, Tenn. He joined the union in 1951 in the port of New Orleans. Brother Ledwell’s first voyage was on a Colonial Steamship Company vessel as a member of the engine department. He last worked aboard the Sam Houston. Brother Ledwell resided in Bristol, Tenn. and went on pension in 1992. TRAVIS MAINERS Pensioner Travis Mainers, 84, passed away April 4. Brother Mainers embarked on his seafaring career in 1966. 18 Seafarers LOG His first ship was the Santa Emilia where he worked as a member of the steward department; his last trip to sea was on the Overseas Harriette. Brother Mainers, who was born in Tennessee, retired in 1987 and continued to live in his native state. LEONARDO MANCO Pensioner Leonardo Manco, 85, died Feb. 1. Brother Manco was born in Louisiana. He joined the SIU in 1951 in the port of New York. Brother Manco first sailed aboard the Tuskegee. He was a member of the steward department. Brother Manco’s last voyage was on the Sam Houston. The New Orleans resident became a pensioner in 1982. ANDREW MAZUREK Pensioner Andrew Mazurek, 81, died May 9. Brother Mazurek joined the ranks of the SIU in 1944 in the port of New York. His first ship was the Steel Architect. Brother Mazurek was a Pennsylvania native. Prior to his retirement in 1987, he shipped on the St. Louis. Brother Mazurek resided in Orange, N.J. JOSEPH McCABE Pensioner Joseph McCabe, 90, passed away May 13. Brother McCabe began shipping with the Seafarers in 1956, first sailing aboard a Sheffield Tank Corporation vessel. The deck department member was a native of New York. Before his retirement in 1983, Brother McCabe worked on Pacific Gulf Marine’s Koppa. He made his home in Mobile, Ala. CRISANTO MODELLAS Pensioner Crisanto Modellas, 81, died April 22. Brother Modellas began his SIU career in 1964. He first shipped in the steward department aboard the Fanwood. Brother Modellas, who was born in the Philippines, last sailed on the Thompson Pass. He went on pension in 1994 and called Sacramento, Calif. home. DAVID ONGE Brother David Onge, 42, passed away Feb. 2. He started his seafaring career in 1990 in Piney Point, Md. Brother Onge first sailed on the Independence in the engine department. Born in Maine, he resided in Palm Beach, Fla. Brother Onge most recently worked aboard the Horizon Challenger. ROOSEVELT ROBBINS Pensioner Roosevelt Robbins, 88, died May 4. Brother Robbins joined the SIU in 1942 in the port of New Orleans. His first voyage was on the Suzanne. Brother Robbins was born in Alabama and shipped in the steward department. He last shipped on the Santa Paula. Brother Robbins started collecting his retirement pay in 1985. He lived in Philadelphia. ARTHUR RUBENSTEIN ROBERT REED SR. ERICH DECKER Brother Arthur Rubenstein, 65, passed away Feb. 13. He became a union member in 1963. Brother Rubenstein was born in New York and sailed as a member of the steward department. His first voyage was aboard the Chatham; his last was on the Nuevo San Juan. Brother Rubenstein was a resident of Randallstown, Md. Boatman Robert Reed Sr., 49, passed away Feb. 4. The German-born mariner started shipping with the SIU in 2000. Boatman Reed worked primarily aboard Allied Towing vessels. The engine department member called Virginia home. Pensioner Erich Decker, 97, died Feb. 13. Brother Decker embarked on his seafaring career in 1954 in the port of New York. He first sailed on the Santa Isabel. Brother Decker, who was born in Germany, sailed in the steward department . His last ship was the United States. Brother Decker retired in 1969. JOHN SCULLY Pensioner John Scully, 78, died June 8. Brother Scully was born in Beverly, Mass. He joined the SIU in 1945, initially shipping on the Rebel. Brother Scully worked in the deck department. The Seattle resident went on pension in 1986. FRANK SISON Pensioner Frank Sison, 66, passed away April 3. Brother Sison began sailing with the Seafarers in 1970 after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. The steward department member first shipped on a Michigan Tankers vessel; he last worked on the Major Bernard F. Fisher. The Seattle-born mariner started collecting his retirement stipends in 2005. Brother Sison made his home in King, Wash. HORACE WILLIAMS Pensioner Horace Williams, 80, died Feb. 25. Brother Williams embarked on his SIU career in 1943 in the port of New York. His first ship was the Lafayette. Brother Williams was a member of the deck department. Before his retirement in 1975, he sailed aboard a Michigan Tankers vessel. Brother Williams, who was born in North Carolina, made his home in Texas. INLAND WARREN FOX SR. Pensioner Warren Fox Sr., 69, passed away Feb. 1. Boatman Fox became a Seafarer in 1956 in the port of Baltimore. Born in Maryland, he first shipped aboard an Arundel Corporation vessel in the deck department. Boatman Fox last worked aboard a vessel operated by Moran Towing of Maryland. He went on pension in 2001 and resided in his native state. GEORGE HATGIMISIOS Pensioner George Hatgimisios, 83, died May 14. Boatman Hatgimisios joined the union in 1948 in the port of Baltimore after serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. Born in Connecticut, he first sailed in the steward department aboard the Nashua; his final trip to sea was aboard a McAllister Towing of Philadelphia vessel. Boatman Hatgimisios was the last surviving of four seafaring Hatgimisios brothers. He began receiving compensation for his retirement in 1985 at his home in Coconut Creek, Fla. PAUL SCHOBERT Pensioner Paul Schobert, 71, died Feb. 18. Boatman Schobert joined the ranks of the SIU in 1968 in the port of San Francisco. He was born in Germany and sailed in the steward department. During his seafaring career, Boatman Schobert shipped aboard vessels operated by Crowley Towing and Transportation of Wilmington. He retired in 1979 and lived in Homeland, Calif. GREAT LAKES SALEH ALI Pensioner Saleh Ali, 78, passed away Feb. 17. Brother Ali joined the SIU in 1967 in the port of Detroit. His first ship was the American Seaocean; his last was the Merle McCurdy. Brother Ali, who was born in Arabia, worked in the engine department. He became a pensioner in 1982 and made his home in Yemen. GEORGE McINERNEY Brother George McInerney, 69, died Feb. 9. He joined the union in 1978 in the port of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Brother McInerney originally shipped on the Steel T. Crapo in the engine department. His final trip to sea was aboard the Paul H. Townsend. Brother McInerney resided in his native state of Michigan. Editor’s note: The following brothers and sister, all former members of the National Maritime Union (NMU) and participants in the NMU Pension Trust, have passed away. EUGENE BARBER Pensioner Eugene Barber, 78, passed away Jan. 30. Brother Barber joined the NMU in 1945 in the port of New York. The steward department member was born in New York City. Prior to his retirement in 1975, Brother Barber sailed aboard the Christopher Lykes. FOWLER BENNETT Pensioner Fowler Bennett, 82, died Feb. 21. Born in Honduras, Brother Bennett joined the union in 1946 in the port of New Orleans. His first vessel was the Granada; his last was the Eagle Transporter. Brother Bennett went on pension in 1969. HENRY BRADY SR. Pensioner Henry Brady Sr., 85, passed away Feb. 14. Brother Brady began sailing with the NMU in 1953 from the port of San Francisco. He was born in New Orleans and first shipped aboard the Barney Kirschbaum. In 1984, Brother Brady became a pensioner. He last sailed on the Adabelle Lykes. ALFONSO ESTRADA Pensioner Alfonso Estrada, 82, passed away Jan. 1. Brother Estrada joined the NMU in 1946 in the port of San Francisco. He was born in El Salvador and shipped in the steward department. Brother Estrada first sailed aboard the Marine Fox. His last ship was the Denison Victory. Brother Estrada started collecting his pension in 1970. WILSON GUIDRY Pensioner Wilson Guidry, 75, died Feb. 23. Brother Guidry joined the NMU in 1966 in Port Arthur, Texas. His first ship was the Mission Santa Ynez. Brother Guidry was born in Louisiana and worked in the steward department. He began receiving compensation for his retirement in 1996. HOWARD LEUNG Pensioner Howard Leung, 85, passed away March 14. Brother Leung launched his seafaring career in 1943, sailing from the port of New York. His first ship was the Helen Hunt Jackson. A member of the steward department, Brother Leung was born in China. Before retiring in 1969, he worked on board the New York. NESTER OJEDA Pensioner Nester Ojeda, 78, died Feb. 2. Brother Ojeda, who was born in Puerto Rico, joined the NMU in 1945 in the port of Norfolk, Va. He first shipped out on the Luther Martin. Brother Ojeda went on pension in 1967. JOSEPH OLSZEWSKI Pensioner Joseph Olszewski, 88, passed away Feb. 24. Brother Olszewski started his NMU career in 1936 in the port of Baltimore. The Maryland native worked in the engine department. Brother Olszewski’s first ship was the City of Baltimore; his last was the American Courier. He became a pensioner in 1978. November 2006 �Digest of Shipboard Union Meetings The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of union shipboard minutes as possible. On occasion, because of space limitations, some will be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union’s contract department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships’ minutes. The minutes are then forwarded to the Seafarers LOG for publication.. ASCENSION (Sealift), Oct. 4— Chairman Gene A. Butson, Secretary William E. Knorr, Deck Delegate Alexis S. Mitsou, Engine Delegate Fabian Palacios. Chairman announced payoff Oct. 10 in Port Canaveral, Fla. after room inspections. Secretary reminded members not going ashore to get absentee ballot from headquarters to vote on constitutional amendments. He encouraged them to read the proposed changes to the constitution and make an intelligent choice when voting. Educational director advised crew to take advantage of Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. to stay current with maritime skills and improve job security. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion made regarding salad bar. Ship will head back to Ascension Island since South America trip has been canceled. Next port: Port Canaveral. ALASKAN FRONTIER (Alaska Tanker Co.), Sept. 24— Chairman Carlos Loureiro, Secretary Greg S. Lynch, Educational Director Sylvester C. Crawford. Bosun highlighted aspects of new contract. Secretary thanked crew for coming to mess hall and lounge in appropriate attire. Educational director urged everyone to check documents’ expiration dates and to take advantage of Paul Hall Center. Treasurer stated about $9,000 in ship’s fund. Permission needed from captain before purchasing items for vessel. No beefs or disputed OT reported. New XBox currently on board. Recommendation made to get satellite radio as well. Suggestion made that someone be assigned to check rooms of riders after they leave ship. Thanks given to steward department for great meals. Next port: Long Beach, Calif. CAPE KNOX (Keystone Shipping), Sept. 17—Chairman Anthony Pacely Jr., Secretary Florencia T. Farquhar, Educational Director Robert G. Joyce, Deck Delegate James J. Foley. Chairman read and discussed August edition of Seafarers LOG. Educational director urged all members to upgrade their skills at Paul Hall Center. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next port: New Orleans. CAPE TEXAS (Crowley Liner Services), Sept. 7—Chairman Jose A. Jimenea, Secretary George Maranos, Educational Director Roger D. Phillips, Deck Delegate Horace B. Rains. Chairman discussed information received from Pension and Health & Benefits departments regarding members working aboard NMU ships. ROS crew reported some beefs regarding payment for sick days and delayed paychecks, and requested clarification on pension benefits for retirees returning to work. DILIGENCE (Maritrans), Sept. 30—Chairman Jerry Borucki, Secretary Nancy S. Heyden, Educational Director Arthur K. Outlaw, Deck Delegate Timothy K. O’Brien, Engine Delegate Patrick D. Carroll Jr., Steward Delegate William B. Young. Bosun reminded mariners to start renewal process for z-cards early. Educational director discussed importance of contributing to SPAD. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew members requested information regarding acquisition of Maritrans by OSG. Next ports: Baton Rouge, La.; Tampa, Fla. HORIZON ANCHORAGE (Horizon Lines), Sept. 3— Chairman Michael R. Hester, Secretary Amanda F. Suncin, Educational Director Kevin T. McCagh, Deck Delegate Basil D. Stolen, Engine Delegate Jeffrey Murray. Chairman announced Sept. 5 payoff at sea. He urged crew members to attend union meetings and donate to SPAD, our voice on Capitol Hill. Secretary Swapping Provisions at Sea Crew members aboard the USNS Mary Sears help in the operation to swap provisions with the USNS Sumner while at sea. Pulling the line with the attached bundle of food are (from the left) OS Tyrell Blackburn, AB Dennis Avila, OS Darnell O’Hara and AB Mike Sherman. Chief Mate Richard Madden is in the background. November 2006 advised crew to take a look at Horizon Lines’ stock offerings. Educational director encouraged Seafarers to take advantage of educational opportunities offered at SIU-affiliated school in Piney Point. Treasurer asked members to inform captain of any requests for DVDs or CDs they would like purchased. No beefs; some disputed OT reported in steward department. Communications from headquarters read, discussed and posted regarding new benefit requirements and proposed constitutional amendments. Next port: Tacoma, Wash. HORIZON NAVIGATOR (Horizon Lines), Sept. 3— Chairman Werner H. Becher, Secretary Jill M. Prescott, Deck Delegate David M. Smolen, Engine Delegate Rigoberto Beata. Chairman announced Sept. 5 payoff on arrival in Oakland, Calif. He advised members to keep documents current. Educational director urged crew to upgrade skills at Paul Hall Center for better paying jobs and job security. Treasurer stated $100 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Letter from headquarters read pertaining to changes in eligibility for benefits. Suggestion made for drinking fountain on main deck and for repair of bridge toilet. Steward department given vote of thanks for well prepared meals. Next ports: Oakland and Los Angeles. HORIZON RELIANCE (Horizon Lines), Sept. 10—Chairman Kissinfor N. Taylor, Secretary Paula S. Kaleikini, Educational Director Tracy J. Hill, Deck Delegate Wilfredo G. Caidoy, Engine Delegate Gualberto M. Salaria, Steward Delegate Abdulla M. Baabbad. Chairman announced Sept. 16 payoff at sea before arriving in Tacoma, Wash. Patrolman to come aboard. Treasurer stated $900 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion made to increase pension benefits. Clarification requested regarding proposed union dues increase. HORIZON TRADER (Horizon Lines), Sept. 17—Chairman Amante V. Gumiran, Secretary Kevin M. Dougherty, Educational Director Jan Haidir, Deck Delegate LBJ Tanoa, Engine Delegate Mohamed M. Abdulla, Steward Delegate Ruben Q. Fiel. Bosun announced Sept. 23 payoff at sea prior to arrival in Tacoma, Wash. He thanked crew members for another safe voyage; more than 530 days without a lost-time injury. Treasurer stated after purchasing barbecue supplies, $250 remains in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Letter from headquarters read regarding changes to health insurance requirements. Vote of thanks given to AB Harold Harper for purchasing new clock as gift for crew lounge. Everyone was asked to return magazines/newspapers to lounge when finished reading them; also return DVDs to proper place. Next ports: Tacoma; Oakland, Calif.; Honolulu; Guam. HOUSTON (USS Transport), Sept. 4—Chairman Nathaniel Leary, Secretary Robert E. Wilcox, Educational Director Christopher J. Zaucha, Deck Delegate Stones Cooper, Engine Delegate Rudolph Lopez, Steward Delegate Jorge Ellis. Secretary thanked crew for keeping mess hall and laundry room clean. He reminded departing crew members to leave clean linen for their reliefs as a courtesy. Educational director urged mariners to take advantage of upgrading opportunities at Piney Point. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestions made pertaining to medical and pension benefits. Next port: Long Beach, Calif. MAERSK MAINE (Maersk Line Limited), Sept. 3—Chairman Brian P. Corbett, Secretary Fidelis N. Oliveira, Educational Director E. Gomez. Educational director urged members to upgrade skills at the Paul Hall Center. No with patrolman about food supply. Educational director urged eveyone to upgrade at Paul Hall Center. Treasurer stated $515 in ship’s fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestions made for better laundry detergent and improvements to raise retirement pay. QUALITY (Maersk Line Limited), Sept. 2—Chairman William M. Richards Jr., Secretary Pedro Sellan, Educational Director Brian J. Sengelaub, Deck Delegate Mark Carpenter, Engine Delegate Carlos Bonefont, Steward Delegate John A. Padilla. Chairman announced Seafarers on the Job Stopping the the middle of their duties for a quick snapshot are (from the left) Bosun Richard Dobbyn aboard the Green Point and Chief Cook Bill Columbo on the Maersk Nebraska. beefs or disputed OT reported. Members discussed concerns regarding pending contract. Next port: Newark, N.J. MAERSK NEBRASKA (Maersk Line Limited), Sept. 29—Chairman Frederick L. Gathers, Secretary Luis A. Caballero, Engine Delegate J. Byrnes. Chairman informed seafarers that pay raise would be retroactive once all details were worked out. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Suggestion made to post all letters regarding contract for all to read. Crew would like ventilation aboard vessel to be checked and requested clarification on time off after a voyage. They also had questions as to whether work gear (coveralls, gloves, etc.) should be provided upon joining vessel or whether members can be reimbursed for purchasing such items. PFC JAMES ANDERSON (Maersk Line Limited), Sept. 14— Chairman William N. Henderson, Secretary Stephan F. Osovitz, Deck Delegate Gerald Freeman, Engine Delegate Saleh Q. Omar, Steward Delegate Mario V. Siclot. Chairman thanked mariners for safe trip, making this 2½ years without a lost-time accident. Educational director advised crew to attend upgrading classes at Piney Point school. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Thanks given to engine department for installing new washer and to entire crew for keeping ship clean. PHILADELPHIA EXPRESS (Marine Transport Lines), Sept. 3 —Chairman Stephen D. Petersen, Secretary James H. Narcisse Jr., Educational Director David Carter, Deck Delegate Stephen C. Bohne, Engine Delegate Phillip Niles. Secretary to talk receipt of new pay rate. Secretary reported great sailing with great buch of crew members. Educational director encouraged crew to continue upgrading skills for increased pay and job security. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Request made to provide more health-conscious food on board ship. Vote of thanks given to steward department. Crew members suggested Paul Hall Day be reinstated and requested satellite hookup in every cabin as well as new chairs in crew lounge and computer returned to crew lounge. SEABROOK (Maritrans), Sept. 10—Chairman Errol M. Pinkham Jr., Secretary Anthony F. French, Educational Director James T. Cerami, Deck Delegate Adolfo Figueroa, Engine Delegate Troy L. Fleming. Secretary reported smooth sailing. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Vote of thanks given to GSU for keeping mess hall so clean. Members suggested installation of refrigerators and satellite TV in all crew cabins. Clarification requested as to who buys DVDs for vessel. Steward department was thanked for excellent food and spotless galley and mess hall. USNS MARY SEARS (Horizon Lines), Sept. 10—Chairman Kelly J. Doyle, Secretary Philip F. Lau, Educational Director Christopher Eason, Engine Delegate Bernard Fanuncial, Steward Delegate James C. Dewey. Chairman discussed Horizon Lines stock purchase plan for qualified Seafarers. He noted that crew members sailing out of New Orleans have been granted a one year extension on MMDs and licenses. Educational director stated that “now is the time to upgrade at Piney Point.” Next port: Sasebo, Japan. Seafarers LOG 19 �Letters to the Editor Editor’s note: The Seafarers LOG reserves the right to edit letters for grammar as well as space provisions without changing the writer’s intent. The LOG welcomes letters from members, pensioners, their families and shipmates and will publish them on a timely basis. Jones Act Expansion Would Boost Security Reading Mike Sacco’s article, “Supporting the Jones Act” in the October 2006 Seafarers LOG brought many memories to mind which pointed not only to the notion that American shipping needs protection from foreign attacks but also that American port security needs are now at an all-time high. As I mulled Mike’s words that President Bush “pledged to continue backing the Jones Act, a law that requires cargo moving between domestic ports to be carried on ships that are crewed, built, owned and flagged American,” I remembered that one of the major problems that America is facing is inspection of cargo coming into America’s ports. In particular, time seems to be the prime limiting factor, which permits only five to 10 percent of the shipped cargo to be inspected. Plugging this gaping hole in American port security would only take an updating of the Jones Act to be: “A law that requires cargo moving between foreign and American ports to be carried on ships that are crewed, built, owned and flagged American.” This simple change of a few words would allow the time needed for inspection that would be done on American ships, which are, of course, the same as America. Jim Kincaid Plumber, SS Patriot Honor WWII Mariners By Backing H.R. 23 I am writing this letter to request active and retired merchant mariners to support House bill H.R. 23 now before Congress. Bill H.R. 23 is stalled in the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. Congressman Bob Filner (DCalif.) introduced Discharge Petition 109-14 to move the bill out of committee to the House floor for a vote. We need 218 members of the House of Representatives to sign Discharge Petition 109-14 to move the bill along through the legislative process. The short title of H.R. 23 is the “Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act.” The bill provides for a monthly benefit of $1,000 to qualified merchant mariners, including those who sailed in the Army Transport Service and Naval Transport Service during the period from Dec. 7, 1941 to Dec. 31, 1946. Your readers can give us their support by writing or calling their congressional representative requesting they sign Discharge Petition 109-14 for H.R. 23. All assistance in this matter will be very much appreciated. Thank you and smooth sailing for your members. James W. Hassett President, Gene DeLong-Hudson Valley Chapter American Merchant Marine Veterans of WWII Baldwin Place, New York Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The Constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership’s money and union finances. The constitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by the secretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rank-and-file members, elected by the membership, each year examines the finances of the union and reports fully their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommendations and separate findings. TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/NMU are administered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management representatives and their alternates. All expenditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A member’s shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and available in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writing directly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU member works and lives aboard a ship or boat. Members should know their contract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union official fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent. EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposes of any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This established policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September 1960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one individual to carry out this responsibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No 20 Seafarers LOG monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made without supplying a receipt, or if a member is required to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should immediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU Constitution are available in all union halls. All members should obtain copies of this constitution so as to familiarize themselves with its contents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitutional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with charges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify headquarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU Constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Consequently, no member may be discriminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, furthering the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with improved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advancement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No contribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of membership in the union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by certified mail within 30 days of the contribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if involuntary. A member should support SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and social interests, and American trade union concepts. NOTIFYING THE UNION—If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of access to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. November 2006 �SEAFARERS PAUL HALL CENTER UPGRADING COURSE SCHEDULE The following is the schedule of courses at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. for November through February 2007. All programs are geared to improve the job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. Please note that this schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the maritime industry and—in times of conflict—the nation’s security. Students attending any of these classes should check in the Saturday before their course’s start date. The courses listed here will begin promptly on the morning of the start dates. For classes ending on a Friday, departure reservations should be made for Saturday. Seafarers who have any questions regarding the upgrading courses offered at the Paul Hall Center may call the admissions office at (301) 994-0010. Deck Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Able Seaman November 13 December 8 January 22 February 16 January 8 January 19 Lifeboatman/Water Survival Inland Upgrading Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Inland Radar (non STCW) January 8 January 12 Safety Specialty Courses Course Start Date Date of Completion Advanced Fire Fighting* (5 day) January 29 February 2 Advanced Fire Fighting January 15 February 26 Basic Safety Training - AB November 6 November 10 Basic Safety Training - FOWT November 13 November 17 Medical Care Provider January 29 February 2 Tankerman Familiarization/ November 27 December 8 (*must have basic fire fighting) Assistant Cargo (DL)* (*must have basic fire fighting) Steward Upgrading Courses Galley Operations/Advanced Galley Operations modules start every week. Certified Chief Cook/Chief Steward classes start every other week beginning Nov. 13. Engine Upgrading Courses Academic Department Courses General education and college courses are available as needed. In addition, basic vocational support program courses are offered throughout the year, two weeks prior to the beginning of a vocational course. An introduction to computers course will be self-study. Course Start Date Date of Completion Basic Auxiliary Plant Ops November 13 December 8 January 29 February 23 FOWT February 26 March 23 upgrading courses available to Junior Engineer January 8 March 2 students in the year 2007. Welding January 15 February 2 A future edition of the Seafarers LOG will contain a complete guide of all the � UPGRADING APPLICATION Name ________________________________________________________________ Address_______________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Telephone _________________________ Deep Sea Member † Lakes Member Date of Birth ______________________ † Inland Waters Member † If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will not be processed. Social Security # ______________________ Book # _________________________ Seniority _____________________________ Department _____________________ U.S. Citizen: Yes † No † Home Port _____________________________ With this application, COPIES of the following must be sent: One hundred and twentyfive (125) days seatime for the previous year, one day in the last six months prior to the date your class starts, USMMD (z-card) front and back, front page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, and qualifying seatime for the course if it is Coast Guard tested. All OL, AB, JE and Tanker Assistant (DL) applicants must submit a U.S. Coast Guard fee of $140 with their application. The payment should be made with a money order only, payable to LMSS. BEGIN DATE COURSE END DATE ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ ____________________________ _______________ _______________ Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held _____________________________________ LAST VESSEL: _____________________________________ Rating: ___________ _____________________________________________________________________ Date On: ___________________________ Date Off: ________________________ Are you a graduate of the SHLSS/PHC trainee program? † Yes † No If yes, class # __________________________________________________________ Have you attended any SHLSS/PHC upgrading courses? † Yes † No If yes, course(s) taken ___________________________________________________ Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? † Yes † No Firefighting: † Yes † No CPR: † Yes † No Primary language spoken ________________________________________________ November 2006 SIGNATURE __________________________________ DATE ________________ NOTE: Transportation will be paid in accordance with the scheduling letter only if you present original receipts and successfully complete the course. If you have any questions, contact your port agent before departing for Piney Point. Return completed application to: Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education Admissions Office, P.O. Box 75, Piney Point, MD 20674-0075; or fax to (301) 994-2189. The Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education is a private, non-profit, equal opportunity institution and admits students, who are otherwise qualified, of any race, nationality or sex. The school complies with applicable laws with regard to admission, access or treatment of students in its programs or activities. 11/06 Seafarers LOG 21 �Paul Hall Center Classes Unlicensed Apprentice Water Survival Class 678 — Graduating from the water survival course are unlicensed apprentices from class 678. They include (in alphabetical order) Steven Allen, Christopher Baum, Shaun Bryant, Toni Rose Clark, Daniel Dale, Timothy Delapp, Timothy Dougherty, Tyrone Ellis, Grant Fedukovich, Robert Ferguson, Peter Johnson, Zachary Knotts, Latisa May, Montree Nakwichet, Johnny Nealy, Ryan Otterbourg, Corey Overbeck, Tereza Papelopoulou, Jumar Rapuet, Mike Rottloff, David Torres, Jeffrey Tubbs, Jeremiah Vargas, Jermaine Williams and Marcus Williams. Welding — Under the instruction of Buzzy Andrews (center, back row) are Sept. 29 graduates of the welding course. In alphabetical order are Martin Hamilton, Joshua Kilbourn, Scott Martin, Karl Mayhew, Yamil Sanchez and Damian Spedale. Junior Engineer — Receiving certificates for completion of the junior engineer course Oct. 13 are (in alphabetical order) David Brewster, Jess Cooper, Daniel Gaffney, Peter Jensen, Charlie Johnson (accompanied by his wife), Justin Johnson, Jomar Rodriguez, Jervona Vorise and Dominic Whitty. Their instructor, Jay Henderson, is at far left. Advanced Fire Fighting — Graduates of the advanced fire fighting course that ended Sept. 29 are (in no specific order) Eugene Arcand, Nathan Rippey, Carlos Valdes, Mikhail Kozlov, Joseph Spillman, Charlene Edwards, Frank Monteiro, Ahmed Ahmed, Gheorghe Mustata, Gheorghe Davencu and Eugeniy Golubev. Specially Trained OS — Receiving their STOS certificates of completion Oct. 6 from instructor Stan Beck (standing, third from right) are (in no specific order) Jamison McIntyre, William Bolden, John Cash Jr., Robert Freeman Jr., Randall Brown, Jamar Allen, Mohamed Mazid, John Worae, Pete Johnson, Johnnie Potter, Grant Fedukovich, Ernest Frank III and Roy Carey. (Note: not all are pictured.) Celestial Navigation — Sept. 29 graduates of the celestial navigation course include Rafael Clemente, Glen McCullough and Sergey Kurchensko. Not pictured is Douglas Carson. Computer Lab Classes With instructor Rick Prucha (standing in each photo) are students who recently completed computer classes at the Paul Hall Center. Proudly showing their certificates of achievement are, from the left, Ardeccia Hill, Wilfredo Espinosa and Bryan N. Dawson. 22 Seafarers LOG November 2006 �Paul Hall Center Classes Tanker Familiarization/Assistant Cargo (DL) — Upgrading students who completed this course Sept. 29 are (in no specific order) Terry Santure, David Dinan, Maurice Flemings, James Oling, Leroyal Hester II, Earl Kendrick, John Maynor Sr., Timothy Huth, Michael Kanga, Lorenzo Allen, Joaquim Ganeto, Villanito Villanueva, Alfonso Marin, Jaime Colon, Omer Almaklani, Sacarias Suazo, Ernesto Lomboy, Michael Cousin, Dimarko Shoulders, Charles Horton and Jimmie Schuck. Their instructor, Jim Shaffer, is at far left. Water Survival — Class members who completed the lifeboatman/water survival course Sept. 29 include Ashley Pearce, Raymond Harvell, Marco Figueroa, Silvana Clark, Kyle Hudson, Paul Amato, Richard Moore, John Kelly, Darrell Moore, Peter Cooke and Rudolfo Jordan. Their instructor, Bernabe Pelingon, is at far right. (Note: not all are pictured.) Tanker Familiarization/Assistant Cargo (DL) — Two classes of Phase III apprentices pose for a group picture after completing this course Sept. 1. They include (in no specific order) Sherwin Jones, Randall Brown, Ernest Britt, Eeric White, DeWayne Jacobs, James Wynegar III, Myckal Sands, Robert Freeman Jr, Shaun Bryant, Latisa May-Christopher, Marcus Williams, Jermaine Williams, Kyle Spruill, Sean Fletcher Kristopher Travis, Cindy Smith, Sally Santiago, Thomas Hampshire, Michael Bussiere, Michael Stilwell, John Worae, John Cash Jr., Rustin Calame, Jason Lamadieu, Jamar Allen, Mark Hoffler, Dominic Washington, Mateusz Muller, Robert MorrIson, Jeffrey Gronotte Jr. and Daniel Dale. Their instructor (not pictured) was Jim Shaffer. Any student who has registered for a class and finds—for whatever reason— that he or she cannot attend, please inform the admissions department so that another student may take that place. STCW — Certified Chief Cook — Standing in front of the Romeo Lupinacci Culinary Lab are students who upgraded their culinary skills in October. From the left are Orlando Suazo, Nelson Rochez, Robinson Eromesele, Instructor/Chef John Dobson, Caezar Mercado and Miriam Chacon. NCL, Sept. 28: Joshua Dickerson, Juan Figueroa, Steven Fisher, Richard Flood, Richard Force, Cora Forrester, Robert Frazier, John Frey, Carolina Garcia, Steven Garcia, Luis Garcia Romero, Larry Goodson, Sam Gray, Betsy Grier, Jane Healey, Jason Hegard, Josh Hegard, Eric Hines, Katrina Hopper, Claudia Hunlow, Steven Hunlow, Tache Huston, megan Jarvis and Antonia Jerusalem. November 2006 Certified Chief Cook — Completing one of the certified chief cook courses in October are (from left) Sedell Mitchell, Regie Ignacio, Instructor/Chef John Dobson, Michael Henry, Carinda Bohus and Penny Pollard. STCW — NCL, Sept. 28: Travis Johnson, Shuronda Jones, Andrew Jorden, Jonathon Kefer, Johnny Konneh, George Leiesz, Maria Lubrano, Cherie Lundy, Nellie Madera, Erica Mancina, Amor Mariano Jr., Manuel Martinez, Jamarr Massey, Megan Mauricio, Tiffany McGuire, Robin Mehlbrech, Darrin Mellinger, John Mendiola, Randy Miller, Blaine Morgan III, Stevie Moss, Agnes Ogle, Paula Old, Donald Ott, Cynthia Page, Teri Park, Jonathan Pender, Edek Perea and Nicholas Perea. Seafarers LOG 23 �Remembering our veterans from all wars November 11, 2006 Safety Training Abounds at Piney Point Maersk Crews, SIU Safety Directors Complete Separate Sessions S afety training is a staple of many curriculums at the Seafarers-affiliated Paul Hall Center, located in Piney Point, Maersk Line Safety Directors Md. The school offers dozens of Coast Guard-approved classes concentrating on shipboard safety in all three departments as well as specialized courses such as STCW Basic Safety Training (BST). Early last month, the school provided separate and unique safety seminars to crew members from SIU-contracted Maersk Line, Limited and to SIU safety directors from seven ports. The Maersk group completed what was described as a “safety boot camp” (though each of the mariners previously had completed other safety training) on Oct. 3 and 4, while the safety directors tackled their agenda Oct. 3-5. For the safety directors, it was their eighth annual meeting at the school. Their workload included (but was not limited to) hands-on training, reviewing key port and shipboard safety and security regulations, galley sanitation, ship inspection procedures, techniques for uncovering hidden hazards, and various ways the Paul Hall Center can help port officials better serve crew memMaersk officials, including Capt. Bob bers. Among others, they met with Paul Hall Center Vice President Powell, addressed the participants. SIU safety directors take a hands-on tour of the full mission Don Nolan, Safety Director Jim Hanson, Assistant Director of bridge simulator. Training J.C. Wiegman and Instructor Janet Hazelzet. Completing the program were: Monte Burgett (Algonac), Kathy Chester (Oakland), Frank Iverson (Honolulu), Randy Senatore (Jacksonville), Jack Sheehan (Brooklyn), Joe Vincenzo (Tacoma) and Jimmy White (Houston). Each of the safety directors indicated SIU Executive VP Augie Tellez and VP Contracts George Tricker congratthat the training will ulate Seafarers on their participation in the “safety boot camp” at Piney help them when they Point. conduct vessel Instructor Janet Hazelzet discusses The safety directors checked out all the inspections. shipboard conduct and how it may state-of-the-art equipment at the school. influence safe operations. Successfully finishing “boot camp” were some of the ABs and QMEDs who normally sail aboard Maersk vessels. They included Robert Arneel, Servando Campbell, Michelle Hopper, Andrew King, Timothy Logan, James McLeod, Cholley Moses, Michael Papaioannou, Herman Reynolds, Wilfredo Rice, Clarence Poore, Walter Loveless, Kenneth Steiner, Kimberly Strate, James Walker, Darrell Weatherspoon, Bob Powell, Ralph Garner and Curtis Williams. Among several other key topics, they studied job safety analysis, risk of electrical shock, and communications. Maersk officials David Callahan, Ed Hanley, Capt. Robert Powell and Kim Estes each met with the mariners, as did Jay Henderson, Lois Stephenson and Pat Vandergrift of the Paul Hall Center. Maersk official Kim Estes met with the Callahan reported that the feedback forms submitted mariners attending the seminar. Instructor Mike Smith (right) explains the intricacies of some of the by course participants were the most favorable he’s ever school’s training equipment. seen. Left: Pictured with Paul Hall Center Safety Director Jim Hanson (third from right) are SIU Safety Directors (from left) Frank Iverson, Jimmy White, Kathy Chester, Joe Vincenzo, Randy Senatore, Monte Burgett and Jack Sheehan. The two-day seminar took place in the school’s Maryland Room. � 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 2000-2009 Description An account of the resource Volumes LXII-LXXI of the Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present, Seafarers Log Digital Copies 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 November 2006 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES LAKE FLEET ADDS ITB HORIZON, OSG VESSEL CHRISTENINGS ALSO SIGNAL NEW SHIPBOARD JOBS REMEMBER RED CAMPBELL SIU CONTRACTS REMAIN IN PLACE AS OSG ACQUIRES MARITRANS GRALEWICZ: FOLLOW AMERICA’S EXAMPLE TO RESTORE CANADIAN MERCHANT MARINE SIU LAKES FLEET ADDS ITB HORIZON HUNTER CHRISTENED; 1ST PHILLY TANKER DUE THIS MONTH USNS SUMNER COMMENDED SECRETARY CHAO: MARINERS ARE ‘KEY PART’ OF HOMELAND DEFENSE MAERSK ASSISTS IN USO SHIPMENTS APL/MATSON NAVIGATION COMPANY INCREASE PENSIONS FOR NEW RETIREES NCL AMERICA CRUISE SHIPS HELP BOOST HAWAII’S ECONOMY OBERSTAR HONORED BY LAKES GROUP ‘GRIEVANCES FILED AGAINST SO-CALLED ‘UNION WORKERS CREDIT SERVICES’ FINAL RULES PENDING FOR TWIC, MMC PRESIDENT SIGNS SAFE PORT ACT NELSON APPOINTED TO MARAD POST REVISED MEDICAL GUIDELINES SPELL OUT USUAL PRACTICES NCL CEO VEITCH HONORED FOR AMERICAN-FLAG EFFORTS LABOR VOWS FIGHT OVER ‘KENTUCKY RIVER’ CASES PENSION REFORM Q&A- INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEW LAW FLOATING RAILROAD CONTINUES PROUD TRADITION MOKIHANA TO BE CONVERTED FROM CONTAINERSHIP TO RO/RO AMERICAN LEGION BACKS U.S. CABOTAGE LAWS SAFETY TRAINING ABOUNDS AT PINEY POINT Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Seafarers Log Digital Copies Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 11/01/2006 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. 68, No. 11 2006 Periodicals Seafarers Log