Media
Issue Date
1941-07-21
Volume
3
Issue Number
14
Plaintext
^USSSt
. i * ^.r
SECURITY
IN
UNITY
ii
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ATLANTIC AND GULF DISTRICT,
SEAFARERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA
VOL. Ill NEW YORK, N. Y., MONDAY, JULY 21, 1941 No. 14
NEW CLOSED SHOP AGREEMENT:
ROBIN LINE SIGNS WITH SEAFARERS UNION I
Bonus Beef Decision
Up to Washington
Direct Intervention of the White House saved the ship
'owners from a showdown with the Seafarers International
Union of North America on the issue of the War Bonus,
after a number of vessels belonging to the Robin Line, the
Calmar Line and the South Atlantic Steamship Co. had been
tied up in Atlantic and Gulf ports, the men having refused
to sign on until a hike in the bonus had been granted for
African and Red Sea runs. 4> The Union .action wa.s spread
ing and the siiipowners weie in
a state of frenzy over hourly
Josses in their rate of profit, when
the Government stepped in on
tlie basis of its concern over "na
tional defense" and "leaselend"
efforts. Capt. Conway, District
Manager . the Maritime Com
mission, called Brother John
Hawk, SecretaryTreasurer of the
Union, on July 7th, and notified
him that the Commission had or
ders from Washington to man
the tiedup ships at ail costs. In
a letter substantiating this, the
Maritime Commi.ssion official had
the following to say:
".July 7, 1941.
"Mr. John Hawk, Seci'etai'.vTieasiiier,
Seafarers' International Union,
2 Stone Street, New York, N. Y.
"Dear Mr. Hawk:
"This will conflrin our conveieation of even date, wherein you
were inforined that the President of the United Stat<;.s ha.s advised
the U.S. Maritime Commission that tiie vessels now tied up in this
port due to labor dililcultles must In the irueie.st «>? the defense
program sail immediately and that the Commission is to take what
ever action nece.ssary in order that these vessels may sail at the
earliest possible moment.
"V'ery truly yours,
(signed) Granville Conway,
District Manager,
North Atlantic District."
Faced with the alternative of<?>
releasing the vessels or having or
them manned with scabs by the
Maritime Commission, the SIU
considered it to the best inter
ests of the Union to take the
first choice, stipulating, however,
that the Maritime Commission
and the Department of Labor
call a conference of all shipown
ers and ail maritime labor or
ganizations to negotiate an all
around rise in War Bonus pay,
and that any increase thus
achieved—or if unsatisfactory to
the Union, any increase achieved
by arbitration between the SIU
dnd the shipowners involved—
would be retroactive to the sign
ing of articles on the released
ships.
The shipowners and the Mari
time Commission accepted these
stipulations and the matter was
then brought up for, n, vote by
the membership up and down the
'coast. The members in all
branches voted decisively to ac
cept the proposed course.
Action is now awaited from
Washington, to continue efforts
towards a settlement of the jus
^titled S.I.U. demand for higher
War Bonus pay. Oftce again, the
S.I.U. has taken the lead In the
"struggle for the advancement of
the seamen's interest. But this
time, the support of the seamen
In. the other maritime organiza
tions is needed to back' up this
lead and make it successful.
Robin, Alcoa
Add Vessels to
Their Runs
Seas Shipping Company
and Alcoa Steamship Com
pany, each had a new addi
tion to their dcepwater fleets
this week. The S.S. Robin
Sherwood, a C2 cargo vessel
of 7,100 gross tons, will be
delivered to the Robin Line
in New York on Saturday.
The S.S. Alcoa Pilgrim, a
CVL cargo A'cssel of 6,762
tons, will be delivered to Al
coa at San Francisco.
Both ships will be manned
by crews belonging to the
Seafarers' International
ion.
Their delivery marks
completion for sei*vice
ninetyseven of the. 500 ships
planned under the Mari
time Commission's longrange
building program.
The Robin Sherwood, like
its other new Robin sister
ships, will be able to maintain
a speed of 16^ knots, which
reduces the passage from
New York to Capetown from
26 to 16 days.
Un
the
of
Seas Shipping Company (Robin Line) today signed an agreement
with the Seafarers' International Union, granting the Union closed shop
conditions on all its vessels. Wages and working conditions under the
contract signed compare favorably with the best agreements held by*
any union in the maritime industry. (The N.M.U. doesn't even class in
this field.)
M.C.ManHitsat
Shipowners for
A Change!
Drastic regulations are
needed to protect Uncle Sam
from gouging shipowners be
cause Uncle Sam finds "that
the almighty dollar is the
measure of patriotism of
some of our people."
None other than former Con
gressman Jolin J. Dempsey, at
present a member of the U. S.
Maritime Commission, is respon
sible for • the above statement
made before ttie Senate Com
merce Committee last week.
Dempsey was testifying on a
"seizures" bill that came up for a
hearing before the Committee.
Some shipowners, Dempsey
said, have flatly refused to han
dle "urgently needed strategic
cargoes," because they could get
more money haiuling other, goods
not needed in defense. Other
shipowners, he said, are trying
to force the government to take
over "old tubs" at exorbitant
prices, with the expectation of
taking them back "for a song"
after the emergency is over.
Lobbyists of Atlantic and Pa
cific .siiipowiiers are fighting des
perately for including in the bill
a clause guaranteeing tiiem "just'
comi>ensatlon" for any services
they, may be required to perform
for tlie government. "Patriotic"
saciifices? That's o.k. for the
common seamen, who don't know
any better, but not for Joim
Shipowner!
<?>
Tin; new agreenient, ob
tained in spite of and in the
very eoiirt,^ of, a War Boinis
beef with This Company, is a
ringing victory for the mili
tant 8.1.U.
It is testimony to the fight
ing spirit of the Seafarers, as
distinguished from the rot
ten sellout tactics of the rnis
leaders who run the N.M.U.
These gents never seem to be
able to get a concession from
the shipowners without fink
ing on another seamen's
union (as was the case with
the M.E.B.A. strike on the
Export Line) or selling their
own rank and file down the
river.
The S.I.U. gels it.s agree
ments by tlie aetioiLs of an
alert membership, backing up
officials of their own choice.
AntiUnion Bill
Defeated by Big
Vote in House
The agreement with the Robin
Line was signed for the Union
by John Hawk, SecretaryTreas
urer, and will be placed before
membership meetings up and
down the coast for ratification.
An election wa.s condiicted by
the. National La. or Relations
Board on all Robin Line ships
recently which resulted in a
(Continued on Page 2)
WASHINGTON. D. C.—By a
220149 vote, the House of Repre
sentatives last week defeated the
vicious antiUnion provisions of
tlie MayConnaily Dili, aimed at
breaking strikes and intimidating
Unions.
The Bill was originally an
amendment to the conscription
act, which called for the seizure
and operation of stiaick plants by
tiie Government and for the with
lioiding of defense funds from be
ing paid as wages tn workers
who had participated in strikes
in socalled defense industries.
Only the clause calling for the
lowering of the draft age to 28
was left, intact by the legislators,
after all the antilabor provisions
had been voted down. It is ex
pected tliat the Senate will take
similar action. A great volume of
pres^ire from labor organizations
undoubtedly had to do with the
defeat of the unionbaiting pro
visions, wliioh had considerable
support in Congress when origi
nally intrndiiced.
ATTENTION
Tlie folloAving men, wlm
quit the StS. Raritan rc
ccntly, failed to return the
badge.s given them to get
in and out of the Brooklyn
Army Ba.se, where the
Raritan tvas stationed:
Oharles Olson
Arthur B. Johnson
Mike LaSaya
Robert G. Haptfleiscfa
They are asked to get iii'
touch at once with Mr.
Fasiek, of Smith and John
son. at 80 Broad Street,
N.Y.C. Very urgent!
Comparison With Previous Systems
Finds System of Training Bonafide
Seamen as Officers First Practice I Step
When I first' heard of the Mari
time Commission's plan to train
oliicers for the American Mer
chant Service I was not siiinci
ently interested to read tlie par
ticulars. All previous attempts in
this connection have been so
grossly misdirected that tlieir
failure was a foregone conclusion.
During the past few years
there has always been some one
cropping up In Washington with
a brilliant plan tOstnnTont offi
cers on an assembly line basis. If
practical, this would be very fine,
but experience has taught us that
it cannot be done.
In order to intelligently direct
the work of seamen, a man must
first be a seaman himself. If I
understand it correctly, this new
service would enroll on'.y the;
men who have served three years
In their respecti've department's.
In my opinion, the new system
has several virtues and so far no
one has been able to find any
thing wrong with iL
Heretofore, several different
schemes have been put into ef-
fect, and believe me, they fizzled.
We all recall the Cadet" system,
whereby a poor deluded clodhop-
per was sold on the idea of giv-
ing three years of his life for
$30.00 a month with a promise of
a job if and when he got a li-
cense. Here's how IL usually
worked out. If the victim had any
brains at all, he would see that
he had to. do a sailor's work for
less than half pay and no over-
time. Furthermore, three years
spent on deck as an Ordinary or
Able-bodied seaman . at Union
wages would make him just as
eligible for a third mate's exami-
nation as the three years wasted
on starvation wages. Naturally,
the more intelligent ones joined
the Union and sailed In tlie
foc's'l. Just as naturally, tiidse
stupid enough to work at those
wages were seldom intelligent
enough to pass the examlnatlon-
.(Continued on Page 2). i
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T H E S E A F A R E R S ' LOG Monday, July 21, 1941
K
.Published by the
ATLANTIC & GULF DISTRICT
df the
Seafarers^ International Union
of North America
^Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor
HARRY LUNDBBERG, Acting Internationa! President
110 Market Street, Room 402, San Francjsco, Calif.
ADDRESS ALL CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS
PUBLICATION TO:
"THE SEAFARERS'LOG"
rP. O. Box :25, Station ,P, New York, N. Y.
^PAoMetiBOwling Green 93437
li'../'*
- L
The .shipowners Avere strangly silent when They stalled
negotiations on the War Bonus, recently. '
Their previous agreements called for a review ,.of the
Bonus arrangements. Their enormous profits' in/Dlv^ foreign
trade made a .Bonus raise entirely feasible. The .sinking of
the Robin Moor underscored the .justice of the Union's de
mand for a higher Bonus in the eyes of everyone.
Yet'The shipownersstalled. They stalled even in the face
of the: threat of spreading Union action against their ships.
And this'stalling took place at a time Avhen their trade is
most lucrative and any interruption in the sailing schedule
means a dent in their profits.
Why did they .stall V
Can it be that they consider the threat of Union action
lacks punch behind it? Can it be that they knbw that the'
Union has insufficient funds with AVhich to carry on a long
test struggle against them?
More About
ROBIN LINE
pi
We wouldn't be a bit surprised.
'8o far they have only stalled on increased Bonus paV.
Justly deserved Bonus raises are being withheld from the
seamen who risk their lives on the foreign runs. But, wilt
the cunning of the shipowners stop there? How long WiU 'it
be before they stall at increasing basic wages, Or eVeii at re
newing present contracts at the wages and conditiOn.s Avon
by the'Union in receiit years?
From the looks of things, the shipowners are getting ready'
to challenge the Union and all it stands for,
' WIUL WE MEET THE CHALLENGE?
If they make sure that the Union is Aveak, that it has in
sitfficienf funds in its treasury with which to back up strike
action, Avhat is to prevent the shipoAvners from starting to
attack even those meagre gains Avhieh the T'^nion has already
made?
This state of affairs is an alarm signal for all militant,
conscientious and thoughtful'Union men. The membership
of the Seafarers International 'Union Avill have to heed the
alarm signal if they are to retain gains won and improve
conditions further.
(Continued from Pufje J)
smashing, virtually unanimous
victory for the S.I.U. Shortly af
terwards the N.L.R.B. certified
the S.I.U as the exclusive bar
gaining agency for the Robin
Line seamen. The N.M.U. did
not even have enough support on
these ships to be able to chal
lenge the S.I.U. in the N.L.R.B.
elections.
The Robin Line is one of the
bijggest in the vital African run,
with constant' additions to a
rapidly expanding fleet. The
agreement obtained by the S.I.U.
is in eveiy sense of the word, a
big victory, and one more impor
tant sign of the great trend to
the Seafarers' International Un
ion in the East. It looks as if the
militant seamen who get ahead
in wages and conditions are
seeking Unity under the banner
of the S.I.U.
Finds System of Training Bonafide
Seamen asOfficers First Practical Step
NilfiveFtiaHhal
(ContUmed from Page 1)
The few I have sailed with who
did succeed in passing had only
one outstanding characteristic:
THEY WERE 100 PER CENT
NONUNION. In fact', their capac
ity for antilabor tendencies were
only exceeded by their poor sea
manship. One outstanding exam
pie I had the pleasure of sailing
Avith was a Grade A fink who
would have been flattered indeed
if anyone had called him a rat.
Another marine abortion was
tlie establishment of the school
sailing ships such • as the NAN
TUCKET and the JOSEPH CON
RAD. The boys paid good tponey'
to. learn the rudiments of a pio
fission just about as modern as
witchciaft. The experience gained
would be of practically no VAlue
oii a inodern steamship, and Hve
fail to see the connection. If we
are to require our offieerS to
serve their' apprentice.ships on
sailing Vessels, we would suggest
that the railroads force all their
engineers to put In a couple of
hitches on a stage coach.
Generally, the consensus of
opinion among informed deep
water people was that some pie
card in Washington was attemjib
ihg to impress his constituents'
back home with his noble efforts
to circumvent the unions.
HoAVever, this new plan SeefflS '
to me like an intelligent system
of promoting worthwhile and cap'
able men from the foc's'ls and
thereby cashing In on expefieried;
not to be gained otherwise. Fui'
thermore, by helping Union men
to secure an advanced rating, the
relationship between the officers'
and unlictiitsed .men AvilPbe on a'
much healthier basis.
I, for one, would ,like to con . '
gratulate the author Of this serv
ice because he has 'shown'the
true American attitude of giving
the breaks to the men who de
serve them.' ^
E. A. Boyd, Dispatcher,
New Orleans Branch.
Action Taken Against Perfomers
Mi
'k-
THERE IS DANGER AHEAD—
Unless the membership gets doAVU to' brass tacks. Un
Ie.ss the S.I.U. men everyAvhere prepare to build up .strf'ngth
f against the .shipoAvners' cunning attacks. Unless the S.IlU.
membership realizes its own needs and piles up a huge .strike
" fund Avith Avhich to back up the battle against John Ship
OAvner.
The $5.00 Strike Assessment is being put up for recoa
sideration in a coastAvise referendum." For tl^sake of main
taining improvements already won, for the sake of making'
gains commensurate Avith rising prices and the giowifig^ pro
fits of the employers, for the sake of protecting tlie Unioii,'
for tihe sake of safeguarding your own future
V^OTE FOR THE $5.00 STRIKE ASSESSMENT !
A! yofe ior the .Strike"Asse.ssmient is a A'ofe'fof k ^rbifg
Uuii^i.'f • • •
^'Y.dte' lor Strike A.sse'ssm enf is A vo;te' fof higltei'
W4^g|i,'.Ijjjgji'ef,bonus pay and better kondition.s,''
Conditions on the S.S.
Golden SAVord, recently taken
oAer by the Waterman Steam
ship 'Company from tlie
SAvord Line, proved so Tin
bearable,' that immediately
upoiV preseiitatifiu nf prn
te.st.s by the S.I.U. ercAv, the
Company agreed to put the
ship in drydock as soon as
t reaeluVd ilie honu^ port, at
Mobile'.
The Golden' Sword, under its
previous owners, vvas_ manned by
art NMU 'crew. FUth prevailed
all over the ship. Quarters were
overriin with vermin. Sleeping
accorrimoclatiorts were' in ade
quatej" many of the crew having
to sfeep'bh cots.
While such conditions seemed
to prevail with nothing done
about them by tpe great "pro
gressive" leadership of the
NMU, the'Seafarers' International
Union did not believe they were
.'fit for seamen and let the Com
pany know so at the very first
ppportunjty. The Company has
agreed to overhaul tlie quarters
completely, make all the neces
sary repairs and do a thoruugli
going fumigation job.
This is only one example where
'the S.I.U., upon t'akihg over, has
: July 4, 1941.
Dear iBiothers:
The timehonored Fourth draws
to a very quiet clbse for the boys
who ara Avavming • the benches
arourtd the crossroads doAvn here.
With nothing more to do than to
sit around and box our gums we
are of a unanimous decision that
a few lines should be beat out
to the Log so the boys here and
yon may be in the know of the
doings hereabouts.
A couple of the lads here, to
begin with, believe we should tell
the fellows about a certain gin
mill here on the water front. It
is the FRIENDSHIP BAR "(old
Waterfront Bar) at 610 13th
Street, opposite the Luckenbach
dock. Several of the boys have
got very raw deals in this joint
of late. After the guys spend a
few bucks and get a little lushed
up, they' call the law and then
the tomatoes who work in the'
joint appear in court against
them. The last fellow .paid 45
bucks for his ride up tb the sta
tion about three day's ago. For
the welfare of all, we recom
mend that when in this port the
guys steer clear of this place.
A sfeene from the record eoniee
to mind here, that we. believe Avill
help a few of the weaker souls
Avho hit the booze too heavy, pay
to get a cleaiitip job done on a
ship manned by the NMU. How
the rank dnd file members of the
NMU Stand for such conditions is
hard tq explain. Time to wake
up, NMU men!
—C. E. Normati, No. 987 '
.Seafarers' Log Honor Boll
fkB a
'vo.fe fQr^'fhe' StHke''Ass^^^^ a Vote'tof ;^:our.M^
the greed of JoMv'ShT^OAvh^t'.''
Robert Wlckfall
H. U. Hiir.st ; .............
William 'Ca.ssidy ......
s;s. • ROBi# ADAIR
SiS. ALCOA'RATHPiNDER l ......
S:S. JEAN LAFITTE
S;S. ALCOA, RARTNER'..'
A E, SAven.son ^ ^
Gj. W. Hallteitbegk V .;....... .V..... r...;
BUNDANC^ .
J^qrvry Hermes ..................,.,.... .. v. ,
N.'MeGillfe r... , .
:A'. I^atrbii ....*..... ...*...
$5.00
1.00
1.00
25.00'
10.60
2.15
6 AO
1,00'
i.oo
18.50"
4;00
l.Of)
1.00
r Total • V .. . \» i'f v.'Vs 5'
a little more attention to their '
obligations as Union men. Bro'
ther Oliver Ash, who just recent
,ly joined our ranks, soup's up, '
misses the ship, causes quite a
bit of rumpus and beats it' to Mo
bile without showing lip for an
accounting. Being cha%ed Al'ith '
such, a Trfal Committee, ,with a
detailed accounting before them, •
after due consideration and de
bate, recommended that this bro
ther donate 50 bucks to the Log •
and upon a repetition of such ac ^
tion, his book be lifted.
Seems that some of the fellowa''
doii't realize Avhat spots they put''\
the Organization in 'at times
when they db these things. Some
don't think of it, others don't
care; in either case, the results
are the same. • n • »
On' quite a few of the ships
coming in of late, the sailors tell
us the Mates get in the way a
lot, fooling around on deck. Na
turally this doesn't put any sugar
on the Bosn's disposition either.
Some of these monkeys, in trying
to make a name for themselves",
forget they are paid to sail as
mate and not as deck hand. How
ever, it wouldn't surprise us in
the least, if this doe.sn't' stop, to
see some crew give the mate the
opportunity to be the whole creAV
and see how he makes out at thai.
So, as we Avrite this, we "bear in '
mind the old saying, "A word to
the wise is sufficient."
til IT.
Then there is the Steward on ' '
the S.S. Pan Gulf, friend McRae,
who oil his last'trip tried the old" '
twopot stuff and got. his ears" '
boxed by the cqoks. We wonder '
AA'hat tills lad is trying with new
cooks this trip. As a penult man,'
he was treading deep water. We'
hope to have the' pleasure of a '
visit [from Captain Smith and his
scow and dig Into this a mite.
All us boys'are'looking forvcartf
to Monday when Brother Biggs Is "
coming dowin )to open the P&O
contract.. A few of :the company f
officials are all ready to flush " '
him out with orocodite tears"'
about financial reverses and so
on. So we ^havO bought him a *
parr Oif waior wiiigs.
We will close, as one of the ^
boys . just snagged a .llvevohe and t";
• there's ,new .businesa to Ttend "tb
qrithq Jiext floor. • ,
" • v^Jratonii^iy,
: • Steely White^
I ,
'xSl
4'
• 'rS:/ ,l
V' "f ."I
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• ^s2E
Monday, July 21, 1941 THE SEAFARERS* LOG
Wl hat's Doing
Ports
PHILADELPHIA
July 10, 1941
Editor, Seafarers' Log
Dear Sir and Brother:
This Is the Port of Missing
Men Every time a ship comes
to Philly we find ourselves hunt
ing in every conceivable place,
even in the Hail's Smoke House,
for AKB.'S, oilers, firemen and
cooks. The curious part about
this is that when no ships are in
port, we havea whole horde of
the. abovementioned species
Jumping our necks for jobs We
can tiake It, though. (AinT that
what we're here for?)
Two Caimar and one Waterman
ship were the main headaches
this current week. The list ct
beefs presented to us from all
three would make a goodsized
mystery novel, the mystery being
'howinell these ships ever man
aged to sail at all in the condi
tion they were in However, we'
succeeded in adjusting all beefs
to the complete satisfaction of nil,
concerned.
Ventilation and heating :seem
to be seasonal issues on all
ships. During spring and sum
mer, the former; during autumn
and winter, the latter. If the
shipowners would anticipate
these issuOs, perhaps dt would
enable them to keep original
crews on their ships. We attrib
ute the tremendous turnover Of
the nien mostly to the first im
pression they get Of any particu
lar ship, and all the adjustments
made to remedy these faults
may never tend to change the
original impression. A solution
of this whole thing would be to
have these matters taken care of
during off seasons instead of
waiting Tor things to 'happen,
thus creating lastminute dis
turbances. We have many Illus
trations of thid kind of Cases.
now_functioning as an astute dis
patcher. To his long list of titles
has now been added that of
"Shanghai" Van Horn. This Is
due to his uncanny ability to in
duce the men to take some of
the ungodly rustbuckets that
crawl into this fair port.
One rainy day last week Collins
showed up in the Hall with a
scrawny sort 'Of a mutt trailing
him. He said it had followed him
some distance and just wouldn'l
go away. Flanagan slarteil to call
the mutt all sorts Of dog names;
trying to find out which one in
the long repertoire it would re
spond to. Getting no other re
sponse, he hollered, "Here, here,
Collins!" When the lioiind heard
that, he howled, put his tail be
tween his legs, and lan out of
the Hall, as if the imps were af
ter him. It i.s our opinion that he
is probably still running.
*
We want to. say right here and
now that we apologize to the dog.
No offense meant, Harry. Flana
gan vows that if lie wants to
chase a mutt away next time, he
is going to csll him a real dirty
name.
The' Three Musketeerar,' •
HJ.C,, Ho. MS; JiF.v ,No."542;
W.B., No. 1994.
PROVIDENCE
July 7, 1911
Editor, Seafarers' Log
Dear Sir and Brother:
Shipping has been good and
business is picking up.
John Hawk, Sec.Treas., signed
the increase in pay with NESSCO
offlcldls on July 1. It took a while
for the xompany to come across,
but with a little action taken by
the sailors in hanging up the
boats for a .few hours, the com
pany agreed to meet the SIU for
the wage adjustment'.
The licensed men are now ask
ing for a pay boost
Things are very busy with all
summer boats on the run.
The S;S. Meteor of the Colonial
Line is on the New YorkNeW
Bedford run.
The strike assessment is meet
ing with the 0;K. of most of the
members in this port.
Getting hard . to And replace
ments mow. Even getting short of
ordinaiy .seainon.
Fraternally,
J. E. Lapham, Agent,
SEAFARERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION
OF NORTH .AMERICA
Atlantic fif Gulf District .
• H'd'
, SecretaryTreasurer's Office . j
Room 213 — 2 Stone Street, New York City
P. O. Box 26, Station P Phone: BOwling Green 93437
• Hi'
DIRECTORY OF BRANCHES
BRANCH ADDRESS PHONE
NEW YORK 2 Stone St. BOwling Green 93437
Dispatcher's Office ..BOwling Green 93430
BOSTON 330 Atlantic Ave. ...LlBerty 4057
PROVIDENCE .. 465 South Main St. .. Manning 3572
BALTIMORE ...14 North Gay St Calvert 4539
PHILADELPHIA ,6 North 6th St Lombard 7651
NORFOLK 25 Commercial PI. ,. Norfolk 41083
NEW ORLEANS 309 Chaftrea St. .MAsmolia 3962
SAVANNAH .....218 East Bay St Savannah 31728
JACKSONVILLE .136 East Bay St. ....Jacksonville 51791
TAMPA 206 So. Franklin St. .Tampa M1323
MOBILE ' 66 So. Conception St. Dexter 1449
TEXAS CITY ... 105 4th St., N. .....Texas City 722
MIAMI 1348 N.E. First Ave,. Miami 22950
SAN JUAN 8 Covadonga St .... San Juan 1885
V
HOVSTON
1911
TSEW ORLEAISS
We don't have to stretdh our
' Imagination to know what wouid
happen if some shipowner were
to get a room or suite of rooms
in some wellknown hotel and
found faulty ventilation in the
summer, or a brokendown heat
ing system in the winter. No
doubt, he would make more noise
, than the combined crews of all
" his .fihips, and he certainly
woudn't go to the same hotel
again. Need any more be said on
this subject?
W. Buckman, oiie of our mus
keteers, is still laid up with a
broken ankle. He is doing as well
as can be expected, but it will bo
quite some time before lie can goL
around again. We're all pulling
for him.
The eminent Brother Van
Horn, destroyer of happy homes,
finder of lost souls, etc., ^tc, is
Sitspended
Fot 99 Years
The following have been
suspended from the feea
farm's International' Union
of North America for
ninetyriine years for con
dneit nnbeepming of Union
men:'
^GeoT^e 'Egad; No.' 142
T. b. JeriseiCNo: 215?i
D. Brooks, No. 2174
J. Swim, No. 168
A. Giblin, P2180
July 2,T941
Editor, Seafarers' Log
Dear Sir and Brother:
Judging by the New Orleans
shipping lists. It would appear
that shipping is very poor here.
However, such is not the case.
We shipped 111 men last Week,
and the list Was reduced from
e08 registered'to 155. The over
flow of men here, of course, is
partly caused by the Delorleans
being turned over to the Navy.
This threw about 80 men on the
New Orleans list and. that natur
ally makes a'dffferenoe. Even so,
we cannot always get the Able
Seamen to man the ships and
more than once last week we
were forced to sail a ship short
handed.
The .survivors from the Robin
Moor came in last_week on tlie
Delargentino, and they appeared
in good shape despite the hard
partly caused by the Delorleans
ships they suffered. It was re
ported that the Master of the Del
argentino seemed to adopt the at
titude that these men were refu
gees and not survivors. Tliey
Were denied Hie use of the swin
• ming pool and had to be com
pletely dressed when on the
promenade deck, in spite of the
general practice with passengers
of wearing skibbies or less in the
tropics. The" Bar was closed lo
them*at first, but later they were
.nllowecl soft' firinks and beer,
with hard drinks for the ofTlcers.
Now, while These restrictions
might have been very "welt' for
the moral and physical health of
the boys, it occurs to us that
they • deserved ievery considera
tion to offset The hardships Usu
ally associated vVith life In an
opefi hbat.
Of course, it's all over now afnd
I'm sure every mernber is proud
and Happy that dll hands'were'
saved.
, The Delargentino sails July 3
for .the Canal Zone, provided We
can rake up enough Able .teamen
to man her.
E. A Boyd.
July .5
Editor, Seafarers' Log
Dear Sir and Brother:
Tills lias been another slow
week due to the fact that' the
ships have almost quit coming
over here, but when they do ar
rive, I suppose that they will
come in bunches.
Say, do any of you brothcrr,
need hot weather? If you do, just
come down to this Long Horn
State. You won't be disappoint
ed My shoe soles are melting off
walking along these docks. I
need asbestos shoes for this
place.
"We have a tug in port by the
name of Samson, and while she
was in Tampa, three or four of
the crew quit. I suppose that they
figured that it was going to be
iiot, so they proceeded to take
three of tlie fans with them, the
crew informed me. Now, this
kind of tiling sliould not be al
lowed, as I am of the opinion
that the brothers should he
brought up on charges and made
to return them, or have their
books taken up.
This kind of performing will
tend to give our Union a black
eye, and we can't afford to have
too • many things of this kind
thrown up to us during these'
times, as we all know that' tlie
shipowners are trying at ail
times to discredit the Unions, and
to break them up.
So, Brothers, don't let this kind
of thing Irappen on your ship, or
tug, if you can prevent it.
D. L. Parker.
BALTIMORE
News and 'Views
The 'Bcatle Is On: On Guard Against
Phoney NMLI' Tactics!
Most members of the SIUSUP
and in fact the .membership of
the majority of the bona fide ma
ritime unions know by this time
that the drive by the Communist'
Party to obtain control of the en
tire maritime industry is well
under way. The dissolving of the
Maritime Federation of the Pa
cific and the turning over of its
powers to the completely comnui
nist controlled Maritime Commit
tee of the CIO WasThe first move
made in the new Commie blitz
after 'the membership of the ACA
(radio operators) balked at their
Commie leaders' attempt to push
them into the NMU, and some of
the wiser members of the MFO'A'
realizing that theyalso were de
stined for the NMU pushed over
tlie vote on CIO alfiliation.
NOTICE
Men on the beach at
BEAUMONT, TEXAS, are
advised' to get in touch
Avith W. H. Parley, Score'
tary of ILA Local' No. TBlO.
Brother Parley is getting'
quite a number of calls for
seamen and has agreed to
ship SIU ' men to such
jobs.'Make sure to iegister'
• Hyith him if yott are on the
beach at Beaumont.
However, Commie leadership
feeling that both the ACA and
the MFOW oan be taken care of
aie going ahead with their orig
inal plan to create a phoney all
union unity front at the NMU'.«
Cleveland convention in the hope
that the maritime industry in
general and the American mari
time unions in particular will be
fooled enough into thinking that
the Commies have gained one
hundred per cent control.
The Voice of the Federation's
claim that the West Coast Marine
Cdoks and Stewards, the MFGW.
and tlie SUP fire expected to send
"rmik and file delegates" to the
NMU convention is typical of
Cojminie tactics. These socalled
"rank and file" delegates have
iioit been named according to the
copstitution of their Unions, but
wyi have full voice and vote at
tlie NMU convention in order
that the internal revolt in NMU
(• ah« be suppressed and their vote
iis«d to createthe new National
lil'dustrial Maritime Union.
Strangely enough, a great' deal
of theopposition to the new set
up comes from the rank and file
of the NMU. JoeCurran's. fore
bodings of internal revolt within
his own' union had 'him a' much
worried man up until " Hitler
blitzed against Russia arid tlie
plirty line changed overnight
from flown 'with war to down
with peace.
It is typieal of Joe's mental
equipment that he believes It was
"NMlPs sponsorship of. the' APM
arid other. _,phon^ peace move
ments .thai wps criVging the'' 'in
rest among the membership and;
now that he no longer has to pay
out the NMU's dough to main
tain "peace" pickets, he feels as
if everything ie going to be all
right. However, Joe is badly
mistaken.
• The .sudden switch in the party
line wasenough to convince even
the stupidest NMU member that
j his Union was Commieconti'olled
and the revolt, long smoldering, •
is about to burst tnto flames. It
probably has never entered Joe's
head that maybe the MFOW, the
MC&S, and the ACA would pre •
fer to go their own autonomous
way instead of being merged into
the NMU. He probably hasn't got
around to thinking that maybe .
bis own membership mighf not' •
want their Union to take in the '>
MFOW and the others. Or maybe >
he has thought about these •
things and just doesn^' give a
damn about what they want. Af '
ter all, Joe is just like the rest
of us; he has a boss and he has ,
to take orders.
One of the primary moves in
the latest offensive against Amep
ican control of the Merchant Ma "^
rine will be the inflltratiori' of
Commie shock troops into the
ranks of the SIUSUP, CTU,
MMPA, MEBA, ILA and other
unions. Their tactics will be the
usual disruption brought on by
performing, quicky strikes, per
sonal beefs, etc., etc. They will
try and work up hard fooling be
tween SIU and SUP members.
They Avill insinuate against East
Coast men to West Coast men
and against West Coast men''to
East Coast men. Be on yoiir. i
guard against' these practices.
The Commies are throwing all j
they have to win this battle1 /
They have to win it or they are
through. We licked them before,
let's do it again.
William McKay, .
Baltimore Agent . ^
NOTICE
, The following Brothers .
have Mail in the Jackson
ville XJmbn Hall:
E. A. Carton,L . B. Lay
tpn, Robert Morton, Pred
Shields, John Blessing, S.
Jones. El Win Jenkins, John'
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t'^i.--;- .^Avu^v-'v -1-:--:^.*!*:,^'-.:' THE SEAFARERS' LO G ^941
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Resolution on Headquarters
WHEREAS, the maintaining of the District Headquar
j7Tj<r' : ters Office in Washington, D. C., as stipulated by
i|,''t*!',/^the amended constitution, has ployed td bj^e Jmj^raeti;
as it prevents the SecretaryTreasurer* from
4:1 Mil Vfunctioning effectively for the welfare pf the or'gani
.: U" : ; Jsaztion by not being in contact from day to day with
: ''i the activities in the ports and with the needs of the
^seafaring membership and ' ' "• ' '
WHERE AS, keeping open a Washington office has
,, . jiroved to be a burdensome expense to the.Hnion
i:! and c:
WHEREAS, the membership has recognized these facts
by approving the action taken at the Agents' Con-
ference in Washington recently to move the Head-
quarters Office to New York, therefore be it
RESOLVED, that we amend Article X, Sec. 2 and Ar-
ticle XI, Sec. 1 of the Constitution and any other
article in the Constitution that refers to Washing-
ton, B.C. as District Headquarters, by substituting
the words "New York" in place of "Washington,
B.C." as the place for the District Headquarters,
and be it further
RESOLVED, that this Resolution shall be placed on
the same referendum ballot as the Strike Assessment
Resolution, and that the period of time for voting
on both shall be as recommended by the Secretary-
Treasurer, from July 28 to Sept. 1, 1941 inclusive.
{Adopted unanimously by the N. Y. Branch at its
Regular Meeting on July 14, 1941)
What's Doing —
Around the Ports
Out of the Mailbag
Warn Men to
Steer Clear of
Norfolk Hospital
Editor of the Seafarers Log;
We, the undersigned, wish to
notify all members of the Union
to steer clear of the Marine Hos
pital in Norfolk, Va., as the con
ditions are terrible. Especially
the grub. It is not fit for a dog,
much less a sick man. Cock
roaches overrun the place, also
practically every room has a
family of mice. They are so tame
that when you put your shoes on
they walk up and investigate.
When you tell the head doctor
• about anything he just laughs at
you and tells you that you should
be grateful to be getting what
yon receive. Also he says that he
can't do anything about it.
. If you go to the Dietician she
£ets Lough and gives you hell.
Also she tells you if you don't
like it here, go somewhere else.
Sincerely yours,
A. L. G., No. 5978.
Arthur L. Grisham
Joslus Cuillar, G 116
L.W.M., A.2862
C. B. Walker, No. 1031A
Jas. C. Hanson, No. 2698
change Bro. Underwood was un-
able to turn the money over to
his successor, so he has turned
that money, plus 37c of his own,
to this office, as a Donation to
the Log.
He wants this published to
clear his name as regards the
?1.63 balance in the ship's fund.
Fraternally yours,
A. W. Armstrong, N. O. Agent
I
Wants Account
Straightened Out
' NEW ORLEANS, LA.
July 9, 1941,
Elditor of the Searfarers' Log:
In the New Orleans financial
report for W/E July 12. you will
find, under collections made by
A. W. Armstrong, Agent, a mie
cellanepus item of .$2.00, donated
to the Log by CurtLss Underwood,
« No. 2:
This Brother was in charge of
the ship's fund while on the Sea
train New, York. He left the ship
and a successor was elected to
liandle the fund. At that time
there was a balance of $1.63 in
fibai fund and; due to Jack of
SPECIAL
NOTICE
Will the following bro
thers who were in the
"SEATRAIN TEXAS"
about May 1st, communi
cate with me at once:
WALDO GRIPE
BOGART
NURSE
A. W. Armstrong,
New Orleans Agent, SIU
OWEN L. CLAGETT
(Jake the Snake)
We have your, shipping pa
pers and discharges in the
New Orleans Office. Let us
know where you wish them
sent.
Dispatcher E. Boyd,
New Orleans Branch, SIU
Attention
ANTONIO C. OLINICH
Get in touch with Agent
Thompson at the New York
office of the Union, Impor
tant.
NORFOLK
July 12, 1941.
The Seafarers' Log
Dear Sir & Brothers:
Shipping has slowed down a
little here in the last ten days,
but it is still almost impossible
to get everything out with a full
crew. Coalburning firemen are
at a premium.
We will have the tug Ivanhoe
out in August for a full crew and
no prospect for men around here.
The hall has been moved to 25
Commercial Place down by the
ferry building and all hands con
cerned are better satisfied. Had
the good fortune to bum a radio
from Brothers Meachem and Wil
liams on the Alcoa Prospector
for the hall. Now the boys get
all the baseball scores.
The shipping news is so bad in
the local papers we never know
when a ship has been here until
we read where she has sailed. So
after this, when any of you Bro
thers are in oyr fair city, give
us a ring and we will get there.
It won't be long now until
nominations are open for officers
and we would like to see the
ballots loaded with names this
year, as that would give a little
competition and more interest
in the voting.
Seems as though the shipyards
have got most of the sailors
around here and more trying to
get in thera every day.
Brother McKay and I were in
the City of Brotherly Love July
5th, but got there too late to see
any Oif the Musketeers. Maybe
better luck next time.
The Tugboat operators have
seen the light and going isn't so
• tough. About ail We have to do
is ask and we receive.
Brother Hansen is having a
hard time keeping peimaueiit
waves out of his Pontiac's fen
ders. Seems as though every
truck in town has kissed it some
where.
We will have to be on guard
more than ever against the com
mie faction now that the books
are open and plenty of the men
are coming over. The better men
have seen how a democratic
Union comes to the front with
ironclad agreements and condi
tions that are second to none and
100% for the membership.
So steady as she goes and on
to a bigger and stronger S.I.U.
Bud Ray, Norfolk Patrolman
THE"$1.AYEAR MEN"RACKET
Ever since the "national emergency" began there liae been a
veritable flood of shipowners, nianfactiirers and financiers coming
to Washington to "sacrifloe ali" and work for the Goveinnient at
the miserable wage of $1.(M) per year. Much as we admired this
selfabnegating devotion shown by the men who captain the in
dustries, we have always had a faint suspicion that the sacrifices
made by these gents were not altogether unconnected with a bit
of lobbying and wirepulling wliich would prove sooner or later
to be so beneficial as to offset the great sacrifices offered. How
ever, we took the fl.OO per jear wage on face value, as far a.s the
outright financial benefit was concerned. But even here, we have
been a bit naive.
"The impression that dollarayear men brought into the de
fense setup are giving their services to the government at great
personal saciriflce was exploded In the House this week," says a
ieport fyom Washington.
"Congressman W'oodruni, in charge of a deficiency bfll, dis
closed that these officials are given an expense allowance of $25.00
(TWKNTVFIVB DOLLARS) A DAY! In addition, he said, many
of them continue to draw salaries of from $10,000 to .$100,000
from corporations they represented before tliey came to Wa.sli
ington.
" "All told there are Bll "$1.00AYear" men and 1201 persons
serving without the dollar, all entitled to the expenses stipulated."
So the $1.00 a year wage turns out to be a $25.00ADAY
racket!
Next time you can spare the tears when you hear ofthe patri»
otic .sacrifices of other such public spirited industrialists.
RESOLUTION
(The following Resolution, proposing a rervote on, th«
$5 Strike Assessment was passed unanimously at the New
York Branch of the S.I.U. on Monday, June 23, 1941).
SAVANNAH
Patrick Walsh
Get in touch with your at
torney regarding the settle
ment of your case against the
Waterman Steamship Co,
In Memoriam
WINSTON 6. WIGGAN
Died at Providence, R. I.
June 20, 1941
*
WILLIAM E. BELL
Died at Norfolk Marine Hosp.
June 11, 1941
July 5, 1941
Editor, Seafarers' Log
Dear Sir and Brother:
Had a very busy week down
here. The Army transport service
called on us last week for 24 men
as members of the S.S. Irwin
(Army transport), paying Union
wages but no overtime. Only
succeeded in giving them 16 and
had the Army send two trucks
down here t.o fake them back to
Charleston, S. 0,, as expenses for
transportation was to difficult to
reimburse through the Army Fi
nancial Corp.
iii « S •
Also, last Sunday the Govern
ment called, with the Italian
steamer S.S. Clara in commis
sion. Inasmuch as the Maritime
Commissioner had some standing
by and could ppt get a sufficient
number of men to take the ship
out to sea, fhey called on us for
cooperation in sending the ship
ship to Newport News shipyard. I
informed the Maritime Commis
sioner that inasmuch as they had
not • cooperated .with us iri re
ggrds to our members getting ̂
WHEREAS, it is the opinion of many members and offi
cials of this Union that our Strike Fund is at present too
insigfiifieant to serve as a substantial ieserve fund in case
of emergency, and
WHERE.AS, we all know that the shipowners are con
stantly building tip their financial reserves in preparatioil
of schemes to take back gains made by the Union in recent ^
years andto deprive u.s of the, weapon of organized strength
which alone made possible these gaims, and
WHEREAS, experience has shown us that in 1921, when
the shipowners Avent to bat to take away improved condi
tions won by the seamen during the last war, it Avas lack of
adequate Strike Funds that finally licked the Unions in that
struggle, and
WHEREAS, Ave are resolved not to allow a repetition of
that distastrous experience of 1921 to take place and to
throw US back once more into sea slavery, and
WHEREAS, Ave as members of this Union, the Seafarers'
International Union of North America, OAve a definite re
sponsibility to the organiization to help build it strong and!
make it mighty and impregnable against any and all at
tacks, and
WHEREAS, it can't be denied that each and every one
of us is today, thanks to the Union, in a position to pay at
least the small sum of Five Dollars ($5.00) in the interests ;
of ourselves and our organization, Now Therefore Be IT
RESOLVED, that the question of a Five Dollar ($5.00)
Strike Assessment be resubmitted to the membership, and
be it further
RESOLVED, that the period of voting shall be six Aveeks,
and be it finally
RESOLVED, that caeh member understanding the score
give vigorous support to this resolution on all vessels and
in all ports.
(Signed) IIoAViird Ouinier, No. 478; Earl K. Riley^
No. 537; Douglas Muncaster, No. 397; Clar
ence E. Norman, No. 987; C. E. Martinez,
No. 2676 ; Charles Moulaison, No. 1228; F. L.
Hart, No. 488; W. Carlin, No. 4981; W. Paul .
Oonsorchik, No. 749; Arthur Thompson, No,
2888; F. E, Hathaway, No. 86.
• 'jsjik
m
Vsif!
."M;
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standby work or Ibis ship, they
certainly had no reason to holler
about cooperation now. On the
other iraud, they wanted a whole
crew and I told them that we
would furnish them a crew for
transportation, subsistence and
wages back to Savannah. After a
little social discussion, we finally
furnished the whole crew and she
sailed for Newport News.
Also had the M.S. Wilimoto in
here and after settling ali dis
putes and taking some of the
matters up with headauarters,
she sailed without delay back to
Nova Scotia. I
.1. . '
• Wish the membership would
only learn not to get drunk at
sailing time because we have a
hard tliue Iryliig Lo get anyone
oh a pierhead junjp. ^Pirst thing
the company will demand is that
we break down on the manning
scale, as they have to run short
handed up and down the coast,
anyway. If a man wants to per
form, let him quit the job so as
to give the other fellows on tho ,
beach time enough to make the
job, because Avhen he sobers ui)'
thei*e is always another job wait
ing for him. 'i:
Steady as she goes.
Charles Waid, Agent.
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SECURITY
IN
UNITY
ii
OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE ATLANTIC AND GULF DISTRICT,
SEAFARERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA
VOL. Ill NEW YORK, N. Y., MONDAY, JULY 21, 1941 No. 14
NEW CLOSED SHOP AGREEMENT:
ROBIN LINE SIGNS WITH SEAFARERS UNION I
Bonus Beef Decision
Up to Washington
Direct Intervention of the White House saved the ship
'owners from a showdown with the Seafarers International
Union of North America on the issue of the War Bonus,
after a number of vessels belonging to the Robin Line, the
Calmar Line and the South Atlantic Steamship Co. had been
tied up in Atlantic and Gulf ports, the men having refused
to sign on until a hike in the bonus had been granted for
African and Red Sea runs. 4> The Union .action wa.s spread
ing and the siiipowners weie in
a state of frenzy over hourly
Josses in their rate of profit, when
the Government stepped in on
tlie basis of its concern over "na
tional defense" and "leaselend"
efforts. Capt. Conway, District
Manager . the Maritime Com
mission, called Brother John
Hawk, SecretaryTreasurer of the
Union, on July 7th, and notified
him that the Commission had or
ders from Washington to man
the tiedup ships at ail costs. In
a letter substantiating this, the
Maritime Commi.ssion official had
the following to say:
".July 7, 1941.
"Mr. John Hawk, Seci'etai'.vTieasiiier,
Seafarers' International Union,
2 Stone Street, New York, N. Y.
"Dear Mr. Hawk:
"This will conflrin our conveieation of even date, wherein you
were inforined that the President of the United Stat<;.s ha.s advised
the U.S. Maritime Commission that tiie vessels now tied up in this
port due to labor dililcultles must In the irueie.st «>? the defense
program sail immediately and that the Commission is to take what
ever action nece.ssary in order that these vessels may sail at the
earliest possible moment.
"V'ery truly yours,
(signed) Granville Conway,
District Manager,
North Atlantic District."
Faced with the alternative of<?>
releasing the vessels or having or
them manned with scabs by the
Maritime Commission, the SIU
considered it to the best inter
ests of the Union to take the
first choice, stipulating, however,
that the Maritime Commission
and the Department of Labor
call a conference of all shipown
ers and ail maritime labor or
ganizations to negotiate an all
around rise in War Bonus pay,
and that any increase thus
achieved—or if unsatisfactory to
the Union, any increase achieved
by arbitration between the SIU
dnd the shipowners involved—
would be retroactive to the sign
ing of articles on the released
ships.
The shipowners and the Mari
time Commission accepted these
stipulations and the matter was
then brought up for, n, vote by
the membership up and down the
'coast. The members in all
branches voted decisively to ac
cept the proposed course.
Action is now awaited from
Washington, to continue efforts
towards a settlement of the jus
^titled S.I.U. demand for higher
War Bonus pay. Oftce again, the
S.I.U. has taken the lead In the
"struggle for the advancement of
the seamen's interest. But this
time, the support of the seamen
In. the other maritime organiza
tions is needed to back' up this
lead and make it successful.
Robin, Alcoa
Add Vessels to
Their Runs
Seas Shipping Company
and Alcoa Steamship Com
pany, each had a new addi
tion to their dcepwater fleets
this week. The S.S. Robin
Sherwood, a C2 cargo vessel
of 7,100 gross tons, will be
delivered to the Robin Line
in New York on Saturday.
The S.S. Alcoa Pilgrim, a
CVL cargo A'cssel of 6,762
tons, will be delivered to Al
coa at San Francisco.
Both ships will be manned
by crews belonging to the
Seafarers' International
ion.
Their delivery marks
completion for sei*vice
ninetyseven of the. 500 ships
planned under the Mari
time Commission's longrange
building program.
The Robin Sherwood, like
its other new Robin sister
ships, will be able to maintain
a speed of 16^ knots, which
reduces the passage from
New York to Capetown from
26 to 16 days.
Un
the
of
Seas Shipping Company (Robin Line) today signed an agreement
with the Seafarers' International Union, granting the Union closed shop
conditions on all its vessels. Wages and working conditions under the
contract signed compare favorably with the best agreements held by*
any union in the maritime industry. (The N.M.U. doesn't even class in
this field.)
M.C.ManHitsat
Shipowners for
A Change!
Drastic regulations are
needed to protect Uncle Sam
from gouging shipowners be
cause Uncle Sam finds "that
the almighty dollar is the
measure of patriotism of
some of our people."
None other than former Con
gressman Jolin J. Dempsey, at
present a member of the U. S.
Maritime Commission, is respon
sible for • the above statement
made before ttie Senate Com
merce Committee last week.
Dempsey was testifying on a
"seizures" bill that came up for a
hearing before the Committee.
Some shipowners, Dempsey
said, have flatly refused to han
dle "urgently needed strategic
cargoes," because they could get
more money haiuling other, goods
not needed in defense. Other
shipowners, he said, are trying
to force the government to take
over "old tubs" at exorbitant
prices, with the expectation of
taking them back "for a song"
after the emergency is over.
Lobbyists of Atlantic and Pa
cific .siiipowiiers are fighting des
perately for including in the bill
a clause guaranteeing tiiem "just'
comi>ensatlon" for any services
they, may be required to perform
for tlie government. "Patriotic"
saciifices? That's o.k. for the
common seamen, who don't know
any better, but not for Joim
Shipowner!
<?>
Tin; new agreenient, ob
tained in spite of and in the
very eoiirt,^ of, a War Boinis
beef with This Company, is a
ringing victory for the mili
tant 8.1.U.
It is testimony to the fight
ing spirit of the Seafarers, as
distinguished from the rot
ten sellout tactics of the rnis
leaders who run the N.M.U.
These gents never seem to be
able to get a concession from
the shipowners without fink
ing on another seamen's
union (as was the case with
the M.E.B.A. strike on the
Export Line) or selling their
own rank and file down the
river.
The S.I.U. gels it.s agree
ments by tlie aetioiLs of an
alert membership, backing up
officials of their own choice.
AntiUnion Bill
Defeated by Big
Vote in House
The agreement with the Robin
Line was signed for the Union
by John Hawk, SecretaryTreas
urer, and will be placed before
membership meetings up and
down the coast for ratification.
An election wa.s condiicted by
the. National La. or Relations
Board on all Robin Line ships
recently which resulted in a
(Continued on Page 2)
WASHINGTON. D. C.—By a
220149 vote, the House of Repre
sentatives last week defeated the
vicious antiUnion provisions of
tlie MayConnaily Dili, aimed at
breaking strikes and intimidating
Unions.
The Bill was originally an
amendment to the conscription
act, which called for the seizure
and operation of stiaick plants by
tiie Government and for the with
lioiding of defense funds from be
ing paid as wages tn workers
who had participated in strikes
in socalled defense industries.
Only the clause calling for the
lowering of the draft age to 28
was left, intact by the legislators,
after all the antilabor provisions
had been voted down. It is ex
pected tliat the Senate will take
similar action. A great volume of
pres^ire from labor organizations
undoubtedly had to do with the
defeat of the unionbaiting pro
visions, wliioh had considerable
support in Congress when origi
nally intrndiiced.
ATTENTION
Tlie folloAving men, wlm
quit the StS. Raritan rc
ccntly, failed to return the
badge.s given them to get
in and out of the Brooklyn
Army Ba.se, where the
Raritan tvas stationed:
Oharles Olson
Arthur B. Johnson
Mike LaSaya
Robert G. Haptfleiscfa
They are asked to get iii'
touch at once with Mr.
Fasiek, of Smith and John
son. at 80 Broad Street,
N.Y.C. Very urgent!
Comparison With Previous Systems
Finds System of Training Bonafide
Seamen as Officers First Practice I Step
When I first' heard of the Mari
time Commission's plan to train
oliicers for the American Mer
chant Service I was not siiinci
ently interested to read tlie par
ticulars. All previous attempts in
this connection have been so
grossly misdirected that tlieir
failure was a foregone conclusion.
During the past few years
there has always been some one
cropping up In Washington with
a brilliant plan tOstnnTont offi
cers on an assembly line basis. If
practical, this would be very fine,
but experience has taught us that
it cannot be done.
In order to intelligently direct
the work of seamen, a man must
first be a seaman himself. If I
understand it correctly, this new
service would enroll on'.y the;
men who have served three years
In their respecti've department's.
In my opinion, the new system
has several virtues and so far no
one has been able to find any
thing wrong with iL
Heretofore, several different
schemes have been put into ef-
fect, and believe me, they fizzled.
We all recall the Cadet" system,
whereby a poor deluded clodhop-
per was sold on the idea of giv-
ing three years of his life for
$30.00 a month with a promise of
a job if and when he got a li-
cense. Here's how IL usually
worked out. If the victim had any
brains at all, he would see that
he had to. do a sailor's work for
less than half pay and no over-
time. Furthermore, three years
spent on deck as an Ordinary or
Able-bodied seaman . at Union
wages would make him just as
eligible for a third mate's exami-
nation as the three years wasted
on starvation wages. Naturally,
the more intelligent ones joined
the Union and sailed In tlie
foc's'l. Just as naturally, tiidse
stupid enough to work at those
wages were seldom intelligent
enough to pass the examlnatlon-
.(Continued on Page 2). i
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T H E S E A F A R E R S ' LOG Monday, July 21, 1941
K
.Published by the
ATLANTIC & GULF DISTRICT
df the
Seafarers^ International Union
of North America
^Affiliated with the American Federation of Labor
HARRY LUNDBBERG, Acting Internationa! President
110 Market Street, Room 402, San Francjsco, Calif.
ADDRESS ALL CORRESPONDENCE CONCERNING THIS
PUBLICATION TO:
"THE SEAFARERS'LOG"
rP. O. Box :25, Station ,P, New York, N. Y.
^PAoMetiBOwling Green 93437
li'../'*
- L
The .shipowners Avere strangly silent when They stalled
negotiations on the War Bonus, recently. '
Their previous agreements called for a review ,.of the
Bonus arrangements. Their enormous profits' in/Dlv^ foreign
trade made a .Bonus raise entirely feasible. The .sinking of
the Robin Moor underscored the .justice of the Union's de
mand for a higher Bonus in the eyes of everyone.
Yet'The shipownersstalled. They stalled even in the face
of the: threat of spreading Union action against their ships.
And this'stalling took place at a time Avhen their trade is
most lucrative and any interruption in the sailing schedule
means a dent in their profits.
Why did they .stall V
Can it be that they consider the threat of Union action
lacks punch behind it? Can it be that they knbw that the'
Union has insufficient funds with AVhich to carry on a long
test struggle against them?
More About
ROBIN LINE
pi
We wouldn't be a bit surprised.
'8o far they have only stalled on increased Bonus paV.
Justly deserved Bonus raises are being withheld from the
seamen who risk their lives on the foreign runs. But, wilt
the cunning of the shipowners stop there? How long WiU 'it
be before they stall at increasing basic wages, Or eVeii at re
newing present contracts at the wages and conditiOn.s Avon
by the'Union in receiit years?
From the looks of things, the shipowners are getting ready'
to challenge the Union and all it stands for,
' WIUL WE MEET THE CHALLENGE?
If they make sure that the Union is Aveak, that it has in
sitfficienf funds in its treasury with which to back up strike
action, Avhat is to prevent the shipoAvners from starting to
attack even those meagre gains Avhieh the T'^nion has already
made?
This state of affairs is an alarm signal for all militant,
conscientious and thoughtful'Union men. The membership
of the Seafarers International 'Union Avill have to heed the
alarm signal if they are to retain gains won and improve
conditions further.
(Continued from Pufje J)
smashing, virtually unanimous
victory for the S.I.U. Shortly af
terwards the N.L.R.B. certified
the S.I.U as the exclusive bar
gaining agency for the Robin
Line seamen. The N.M.U. did
not even have enough support on
these ships to be able to chal
lenge the S.I.U. in the N.L.R.B.
elections.
The Robin Line is one of the
bijggest in the vital African run,
with constant' additions to a
rapidly expanding fleet. The
agreement obtained by the S.I.U.
is in eveiy sense of the word, a
big victory, and one more impor
tant sign of the great trend to
the Seafarers' International Un
ion in the East. It looks as if the
militant seamen who get ahead
in wages and conditions are
seeking Unity under the banner
of the S.I.U.
Finds System of Training Bonafide
Seamen asOfficers First Practical Step
NilfiveFtiaHhal
(ContUmed from Page 1)
The few I have sailed with who
did succeed in passing had only
one outstanding characteristic:
THEY WERE 100 PER CENT
NONUNION. In fact', their capac
ity for antilabor tendencies were
only exceeded by their poor sea
manship. One outstanding exam
pie I had the pleasure of sailing
Avith was a Grade A fink who
would have been flattered indeed
if anyone had called him a rat.
Another marine abortion was
tlie establishment of the school
sailing ships such • as the NAN
TUCKET and the JOSEPH CON
RAD. The boys paid good tponey'
to. learn the rudiments of a pio
fission just about as modern as
witchciaft. The experience gained
would be of practically no VAlue
oii a inodern steamship, and Hve
fail to see the connection. If we
are to require our offieerS to
serve their' apprentice.ships on
sailing Vessels, we would suggest
that the railroads force all their
engineers to put In a couple of
hitches on a stage coach.
Generally, the consensus of
opinion among informed deep
water people was that some pie
card in Washington was attemjib
ihg to impress his constituents'
back home with his noble efforts
to circumvent the unions.
HoAVever, this new plan SeefflS '
to me like an intelligent system
of promoting worthwhile and cap'
able men from the foc's'ls and
thereby cashing In on expefieried;
not to be gained otherwise. Fui'
thermore, by helping Union men
to secure an advanced rating, the
relationship between the officers'
and unlictiitsed .men AvilPbe on a'
much healthier basis.
I, for one, would ,like to con . '
gratulate the author Of this serv
ice because he has 'shown'the
true American attitude of giving
the breaks to the men who de
serve them.' ^
E. A. Boyd, Dispatcher,
New Orleans Branch.
Action Taken Against Perfomers
Mi
'k-
THERE IS DANGER AHEAD—
Unless the membership gets doAVU to' brass tacks. Un
Ie.ss the S.I.U. men everyAvhere prepare to build up .strf'ngth
f against the .shipoAvners' cunning attacks. Unless the S.IlU.
membership realizes its own needs and piles up a huge .strike
" fund Avith Avhich to back up the battle against John Ship
OAvner.
The $5.00 Strike Assessment is being put up for recoa
sideration in a coastAvise referendum." For tl^sake of main
taining improvements already won, for the sake of making'
gains commensurate Avith rising prices and the giowifig^ pro
fits of the employers, for the sake of protecting tlie Unioii,'
for tihe sake of safeguarding your own future
V^OTE FOR THE $5.00 STRIKE ASSESSMENT !
A! yofe ior the .Strike"Asse.ssmient is a A'ofe'fof k ^rbifg
Uuii^i.'f • • •
^'Y.dte' lor Strike A.sse'ssm enf is A vo;te' fof higltei'
W4^g|i,'.Ijjjgji'ef,bonus pay and better kondition.s,''
Conditions on the S.S.
Golden SAVord, recently taken
oAer by the Waterman Steam
ship 'Company from tlie
SAvord Line, proved so Tin
bearable,' that immediately
upoiV preseiitatifiu nf prn
te.st.s by the S.I.U. ercAv, the
Company agreed to put the
ship in drydock as soon as
t reaeluVd ilie honu^ port, at
Mobile'.
The Golden' Sword, under its
previous owners, vvas_ manned by
art NMU 'crew. FUth prevailed
all over the ship. Quarters were
overriin with vermin. Sleeping
accorrimoclatiorts were' in ade
quatej" many of the crew having
to sfeep'bh cots.
While such conditions seemed
to prevail with nothing done
about them by tpe great "pro
gressive" leadership of the
NMU, the'Seafarers' International
Union did not believe they were
.'fit for seamen and let the Com
pany know so at the very first
ppportunjty. The Company has
agreed to overhaul tlie quarters
completely, make all the neces
sary repairs and do a thoruugli
going fumigation job.
This is only one example where
'the S.I.U., upon t'akihg over, has
: July 4, 1941.
Dear iBiothers:
The timehonored Fourth draws
to a very quiet clbse for the boys
who ara Avavming • the benches
arourtd the crossroads doAvn here.
With nothing more to do than to
sit around and box our gums we
are of a unanimous decision that
a few lines should be beat out
to the Log so the boys here and
yon may be in the know of the
doings hereabouts.
A couple of the lads here, to
begin with, believe we should tell
the fellows about a certain gin
mill here on the water front. It
is the FRIENDSHIP BAR "(old
Waterfront Bar) at 610 13th
Street, opposite the Luckenbach
dock. Several of the boys have
got very raw deals in this joint
of late. After the guys spend a
few bucks and get a little lushed
up, they' call the law and then
the tomatoes who work in the'
joint appear in court against
them. The last fellow .paid 45
bucks for his ride up tb the sta
tion about three day's ago. For
the welfare of all, we recom
mend that when in this port the
guys steer clear of this place.
A sfeene from the record eoniee
to mind here, that we. believe Avill
help a few of the weaker souls
Avho hit the booze too heavy, pay
to get a cleaiitip job done on a
ship manned by the NMU. How
the rank dnd file members of the
NMU Stand for such conditions is
hard tq explain. Time to wake
up, NMU men!
—C. E. Normati, No. 987 '
.Seafarers' Log Honor Boll
fkB a
'vo.fe fQr^'fhe' StHke''Ass^^^^ a Vote'tof ;^:our.M^
the greed of JoMv'ShT^OAvh^t'.''
Robert Wlckfall
H. U. Hiir.st ; .............
William 'Ca.ssidy ......
s;s. • ROBi# ADAIR
SiS. ALCOA'RATHPiNDER l ......
S:S. JEAN LAFITTE
S;S. ALCOA, RARTNER'..'
A E, SAven.son ^ ^
Gj. W. Hallteitbegk V .;....... .V..... r...;
BUNDANC^ .
J^qrvry Hermes ..................,.,.... .. v. ,
N.'MeGillfe r... , .
:A'. I^atrbii ....*..... ...*...
$5.00
1.00
1.00
25.00'
10.60
2.15
6 AO
1,00'
i.oo
18.50"
4;00
l.Of)
1.00
r Total • V .. . \» i'f v.'Vs 5'
a little more attention to their '
obligations as Union men. Bro'
ther Oliver Ash, who just recent
,ly joined our ranks, soup's up, '
misses the ship, causes quite a
bit of rumpus and beats it' to Mo
bile without showing lip for an
accounting. Being cha%ed Al'ith '
such, a Trfal Committee, ,with a
detailed accounting before them, •
after due consideration and de
bate, recommended that this bro
ther donate 50 bucks to the Log •
and upon a repetition of such ac ^
tion, his book be lifted.
Seems that some of the fellowa''
doii't realize Avhat spots they put''\
the Organization in 'at times
when they db these things. Some
don't think of it, others don't
care; in either case, the results
are the same. • n • »
On' quite a few of the ships
coming in of late, the sailors tell
us the Mates get in the way a
lot, fooling around on deck. Na
turally this doesn't put any sugar
on the Bosn's disposition either.
Some of these monkeys, in trying
to make a name for themselves",
forget they are paid to sail as
mate and not as deck hand. How
ever, it wouldn't surprise us in
the least, if this doe.sn't' stop, to
see some crew give the mate the
opportunity to be the whole creAV
and see how he makes out at thai.
So, as we Avrite this, we "bear in '
mind the old saying, "A word to
the wise is sufficient."
til IT.
Then there is the Steward on ' '
the S.S. Pan Gulf, friend McRae,
who oil his last'trip tried the old" '
twopot stuff and got. his ears" '
boxed by the cqoks. We wonder '
AA'hat tills lad is trying with new
cooks this trip. As a penult man,'
he was treading deep water. We'
hope to have the' pleasure of a '
visit [from Captain Smith and his
scow and dig Into this a mite.
All us boys'are'looking forvcartf
to Monday when Brother Biggs Is "
coming dowin )to open the P&O
contract.. A few of :the company f
officials are all ready to flush " '
him out with orocodite tears"'
about financial reverses and so
on. So we ^havO bought him a *
parr Oif waior wiiigs.
We will close, as one of the ^
boys . just snagged a .llvevohe and t";
• there's ,new .businesa to Ttend "tb
qrithq Jiext floor. • ,
" • v^Jratonii^iy,
: • Steely White^
I ,
'xSl
4'
• 'rS:/ ,l
V' "f ."I
mi
i i'i ''
'.'. ' "Li
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• ^s2E
Monday, July 21, 1941 THE SEAFARERS* LOG
Wl hat's Doing
Ports
PHILADELPHIA
July 10, 1941
Editor, Seafarers' Log
Dear Sir and Brother:
This Is the Port of Missing
Men Every time a ship comes
to Philly we find ourselves hunt
ing in every conceivable place,
even in the Hail's Smoke House,
for AKB.'S, oilers, firemen and
cooks. The curious part about
this is that when no ships are in
port, we havea whole horde of
the. abovementioned species
Jumping our necks for jobs We
can tiake It, though. (AinT that
what we're here for?)
Two Caimar and one Waterman
ship were the main headaches
this current week. The list ct
beefs presented to us from all
three would make a goodsized
mystery novel, the mystery being
'howinell these ships ever man
aged to sail at all in the condi
tion they were in However, we'
succeeded in adjusting all beefs
to the complete satisfaction of nil,
concerned.
Ventilation and heating :seem
to be seasonal issues on all
ships. During spring and sum
mer, the former; during autumn
and winter, the latter. If the
shipowners would anticipate
these issuOs, perhaps dt would
enable them to keep original
crews on their ships. We attrib
ute the tremendous turnover Of
the nien mostly to the first im
pression they get Of any particu
lar ship, and all the adjustments
made to remedy these faults
may never tend to change the
original impression. A solution
of this whole thing would be to
have these matters taken care of
during off seasons instead of
waiting Tor things to 'happen,
thus creating lastminute dis
turbances. We have many Illus
trations of thid kind of Cases.
now_functioning as an astute dis
patcher. To his long list of titles
has now been added that of
"Shanghai" Van Horn. This Is
due to his uncanny ability to in
duce the men to take some of
the ungodly rustbuckets that
crawl into this fair port.
One rainy day last week Collins
showed up in the Hall with a
scrawny sort 'Of a mutt trailing
him. He said it had followed him
some distance and just wouldn'l
go away. Flanagan slarteil to call
the mutt all sorts Of dog names;
trying to find out which one in
the long repertoire it would re
spond to. Getting no other re
sponse, he hollered, "Here, here,
Collins!" When the lioiind heard
that, he howled, put his tail be
tween his legs, and lan out of
the Hall, as if the imps were af
ter him. It i.s our opinion that he
is probably still running.
*
We want to. say right here and
now that we apologize to the dog.
No offense meant, Harry. Flana
gan vows that if lie wants to
chase a mutt away next time, he
is going to csll him a real dirty
name.
The' Three Musketeerar,' •
HJ.C,, Ho. MS; JiF.v ,No."542;
W.B., No. 1994.
PROVIDENCE
July 7, 1911
Editor, Seafarers' Log
Dear Sir and Brother:
Shipping has been good and
business is picking up.
John Hawk, Sec.Treas., signed
the increase in pay with NESSCO
offlcldls on July 1. It took a while
for the xompany to come across,
but with a little action taken by
the sailors in hanging up the
boats for a .few hours, the com
pany agreed to meet the SIU for
the wage adjustment'.
The licensed men are now ask
ing for a pay boost
Things are very busy with all
summer boats on the run.
The S;S. Meteor of the Colonial
Line is on the New YorkNeW
Bedford run.
The strike assessment is meet
ing with the 0;K. of most of the
members in this port.
Getting hard . to And replace
ments mow. Even getting short of
ordinaiy .seainon.
Fraternally,
J. E. Lapham, Agent,
SEAFARERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION
OF NORTH .AMERICA
Atlantic fif Gulf District .
• H'd'
, SecretaryTreasurer's Office . j
Room 213 — 2 Stone Street, New York City
P. O. Box 26, Station P Phone: BOwling Green 93437
• Hi'
DIRECTORY OF BRANCHES
BRANCH ADDRESS PHONE
NEW YORK 2 Stone St. BOwling Green 93437
Dispatcher's Office ..BOwling Green 93430
BOSTON 330 Atlantic Ave. ...LlBerty 4057
PROVIDENCE .. 465 South Main St. .. Manning 3572
BALTIMORE ...14 North Gay St Calvert 4539
PHILADELPHIA ,6 North 6th St Lombard 7651
NORFOLK 25 Commercial PI. ,. Norfolk 41083
NEW ORLEANS 309 Chaftrea St. .MAsmolia 3962
SAVANNAH .....218 East Bay St Savannah 31728
JACKSONVILLE .136 East Bay St. ....Jacksonville 51791
TAMPA 206 So. Franklin St. .Tampa M1323
MOBILE ' 66 So. Conception St. Dexter 1449
TEXAS CITY ... 105 4th St., N. .....Texas City 722
MIAMI 1348 N.E. First Ave,. Miami 22950
SAN JUAN 8 Covadonga St .... San Juan 1885
V
HOVSTON
1911
TSEW ORLEAISS
We don't have to stretdh our
' Imagination to know what wouid
happen if some shipowner were
to get a room or suite of rooms
in some wellknown hotel and
found faulty ventilation in the
summer, or a brokendown heat
ing system in the winter. No
doubt, he would make more noise
, than the combined crews of all
" his .fihips, and he certainly
woudn't go to the same hotel
again. Need any more be said on
this subject?
W. Buckman, oiie of our mus
keteers, is still laid up with a
broken ankle. He is doing as well
as can be expected, but it will bo
quite some time before lie can goL
around again. We're all pulling
for him.
The eminent Brother Van
Horn, destroyer of happy homes,
finder of lost souls, etc., ^tc, is
Sitspended
Fot 99 Years
The following have been
suspended from the feea
farm's International' Union
of North America for
ninetyriine years for con
dneit nnbeepming of Union
men:'
^GeoT^e 'Egad; No.' 142
T. b. JeriseiCNo: 215?i
D. Brooks, No. 2174
J. Swim, No. 168
A. Giblin, P2180
July 2,T941
Editor, Seafarers' Log
Dear Sir and Brother:
Judging by the New Orleans
shipping lists. It would appear
that shipping is very poor here.
However, such is not the case.
We shipped 111 men last Week,
and the list Was reduced from
e08 registered'to 155. The over
flow of men here, of course, is
partly caused by the Delorleans
being turned over to the Navy.
This threw about 80 men on the
New Orleans list and. that natur
ally makes a'dffferenoe. Even so,
we cannot always get the Able
Seamen to man the ships and
more than once last week we
were forced to sail a ship short
handed.
The .survivors from the Robin
Moor came in last_week on tlie
Delargentino, and they appeared
in good shape despite the hard
partly caused by the Delorleans
ships they suffered. It was re
ported that the Master of the Del
argentino seemed to adopt the at
titude that these men were refu
gees and not survivors. Tliey
Were denied Hie use of the swin
• ming pool and had to be com
pletely dressed when on the
promenade deck, in spite of the
general practice with passengers
of wearing skibbies or less in the
tropics. The" Bar was closed lo
them*at first, but later they were
.nllowecl soft' firinks and beer,
with hard drinks for the ofTlcers.
Now, while These restrictions
might have been very "welt' for
the moral and physical health of
the boys, it occurs to us that
they • deserved ievery considera
tion to offset The hardships Usu
ally associated vVith life In an
opefi hbat.
Of course, it's all over now afnd
I'm sure every mernber is proud
and Happy that dll hands'were'
saved.
, The Delargentino sails July 3
for .the Canal Zone, provided We
can rake up enough Able .teamen
to man her.
E. A Boyd.
July .5
Editor, Seafarers' Log
Dear Sir and Brother:
Tills lias been another slow
week due to the fact that' the
ships have almost quit coming
over here, but when they do ar
rive, I suppose that they will
come in bunches.
Say, do any of you brothcrr,
need hot weather? If you do, just
come down to this Long Horn
State. You won't be disappoint
ed My shoe soles are melting off
walking along these docks. I
need asbestos shoes for this
place.
"We have a tug in port by the
name of Samson, and while she
was in Tampa, three or four of
the crew quit. I suppose that they
figured that it was going to be
iiot, so they proceeded to take
three of tlie fans with them, the
crew informed me. Now, this
kind of tiling sliould not be al
lowed, as I am of the opinion
that the brothers should he
brought up on charges and made
to return them, or have their
books taken up.
This kind of performing will
tend to give our Union a black
eye, and we can't afford to have
too • many things of this kind
thrown up to us during these'
times, as we all know that' tlie
shipowners are trying at ail
times to discredit the Unions, and
to break them up.
So, Brothers, don't let this kind
of thing Irappen on your ship, or
tug, if you can prevent it.
D. L. Parker.
BALTIMORE
News and 'Views
The 'Bcatle Is On: On Guard Against
Phoney NMLI' Tactics!
Most members of the SIUSUP
and in fact the .membership of
the majority of the bona fide ma
ritime unions know by this time
that the drive by the Communist'
Party to obtain control of the en
tire maritime industry is well
under way. The dissolving of the
Maritime Federation of the Pa
cific and the turning over of its
powers to the completely comnui
nist controlled Maritime Commit
tee of the CIO WasThe first move
made in the new Commie blitz
after 'the membership of the ACA
(radio operators) balked at their
Commie leaders' attempt to push
them into the NMU, and some of
the wiser members of the MFO'A'
realizing that theyalso were de
stined for the NMU pushed over
tlie vote on CIO alfiliation.
NOTICE
Men on the beach at
BEAUMONT, TEXAS, are
advised' to get in touch
Avith W. H. Parley, Score'
tary of ILA Local' No. TBlO.
Brother Parley is getting'
quite a number of calls for
seamen and has agreed to
ship SIU ' men to such
jobs.'Make sure to iegister'
• Hyith him if yott are on the
beach at Beaumont.
However, Commie leadership
feeling that both the ACA and
the MFOW oan be taken care of
aie going ahead with their orig
inal plan to create a phoney all
union unity front at the NMU'.«
Cleveland convention in the hope
that the maritime industry in
general and the American mari
time unions in particular will be
fooled enough into thinking that
the Commies have gained one
hundred per cent control.
The Voice of the Federation's
claim that the West Coast Marine
Cdoks and Stewards, the MFGW.
and tlie SUP fire expected to send
"rmik and file delegates" to the
NMU convention is typical of
Cojminie tactics. These socalled
"rank and file" delegates have
iioit been named according to the
copstitution of their Unions, but
wyi have full voice and vote at
tlie NMU convention in order
that the internal revolt in NMU
(• ah« be suppressed and their vote
iis«d to createthe new National
lil'dustrial Maritime Union.
Strangely enough, a great' deal
of theopposition to the new set
up comes from the rank and file
of the NMU. JoeCurran's. fore
bodings of internal revolt within
his own' union had 'him a' much
worried man up until " Hitler
blitzed against Russia arid tlie
plirty line changed overnight
from flown 'with war to down
with peace.
It is typieal of Joe's mental
equipment that he believes It was
"NMlPs sponsorship of. the' APM
arid other. _,phon^ peace move
ments .thai wps criVging the'' 'in
rest among the membership and;
now that he no longer has to pay
out the NMU's dough to main
tain "peace" pickets, he feels as
if everything ie going to be all
right. However, Joe is badly
mistaken.
• The .sudden switch in the party
line wasenough to convince even
the stupidest NMU member that
j his Union was Commieconti'olled
and the revolt, long smoldering, •
is about to burst tnto flames. It
probably has never entered Joe's
head that maybe the MFOW, the
MC&S, and the ACA would pre •
fer to go their own autonomous
way instead of being merged into
the NMU. He probably hasn't got
around to thinking that maybe .
bis own membership mighf not' •
want their Union to take in the '>
MFOW and the others. Or maybe >
he has thought about these •
things and just doesn^' give a
damn about what they want. Af '
ter all, Joe is just like the rest
of us; he has a boss and he has ,
to take orders.
One of the primary moves in
the latest offensive against Amep
ican control of the Merchant Ma "^
rine will be the inflltratiori' of
Commie shock troops into the
ranks of the SIUSUP, CTU,
MMPA, MEBA, ILA and other
unions. Their tactics will be the
usual disruption brought on by
performing, quicky strikes, per
sonal beefs, etc., etc. They will
try and work up hard fooling be
tween SIU and SUP members.
They Avill insinuate against East
Coast men to West Coast men
and against West Coast men''to
East Coast men. Be on yoiir. i
guard against' these practices.
The Commies are throwing all j
they have to win this battle1 /
They have to win it or they are
through. We licked them before,
let's do it again.
William McKay, .
Baltimore Agent . ^
NOTICE
, The following Brothers .
have Mail in the Jackson
ville XJmbn Hall:
E. A. Carton,L . B. Lay
tpn, Robert Morton, Pred
Shields, John Blessing, S.
Jones. El Win Jenkins, John'
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t'^i.--;- .^Avu^v-'v -1-:--:^.*!*:,^'-.:' THE SEAFARERS' LO G ^941
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Resolution on Headquarters
WHEREAS, the maintaining of the District Headquar
j7Tj<r' : ters Office in Washington, D. C., as stipulated by
i|,''t*!',/^the amended constitution, has ployed td bj^e Jmj^raeti;
as it prevents the SecretaryTreasurer* from
4:1 Mil Vfunctioning effectively for the welfare pf the or'gani
.: U" : ; Jsaztion by not being in contact from day to day with
: ''i the activities in the ports and with the needs of the
^seafaring membership and ' ' "• ' '
WHERE AS, keeping open a Washington office has
,, . jiroved to be a burdensome expense to the.Hnion
i:! and c:
WHEREAS, the membership has recognized these facts
by approving the action taken at the Agents' Con-
ference in Washington recently to move the Head-
quarters Office to New York, therefore be it
RESOLVED, that we amend Article X, Sec. 2 and Ar-
ticle XI, Sec. 1 of the Constitution and any other
article in the Constitution that refers to Washing-
ton, B.C. as District Headquarters, by substituting
the words "New York" in place of "Washington,
B.C." as the place for the District Headquarters,
and be it further
RESOLVED, that this Resolution shall be placed on
the same referendum ballot as the Strike Assessment
Resolution, and that the period of time for voting
on both shall be as recommended by the Secretary-
Treasurer, from July 28 to Sept. 1, 1941 inclusive.
{Adopted unanimously by the N. Y. Branch at its
Regular Meeting on July 14, 1941)
What's Doing —
Around the Ports
Out of the Mailbag
Warn Men to
Steer Clear of
Norfolk Hospital
Editor of the Seafarers Log;
We, the undersigned, wish to
notify all members of the Union
to steer clear of the Marine Hos
pital in Norfolk, Va., as the con
ditions are terrible. Especially
the grub. It is not fit for a dog,
much less a sick man. Cock
roaches overrun the place, also
practically every room has a
family of mice. They are so tame
that when you put your shoes on
they walk up and investigate.
When you tell the head doctor
• about anything he just laughs at
you and tells you that you should
be grateful to be getting what
yon receive. Also he says that he
can't do anything about it.
. If you go to the Dietician she
£ets Lough and gives you hell.
Also she tells you if you don't
like it here, go somewhere else.
Sincerely yours,
A. L. G., No. 5978.
Arthur L. Grisham
Joslus Cuillar, G 116
L.W.M., A.2862
C. B. Walker, No. 1031A
Jas. C. Hanson, No. 2698
change Bro. Underwood was un-
able to turn the money over to
his successor, so he has turned
that money, plus 37c of his own,
to this office, as a Donation to
the Log.
He wants this published to
clear his name as regards the
?1.63 balance in the ship's fund.
Fraternally yours,
A. W. Armstrong, N. O. Agent
I
Wants Account
Straightened Out
' NEW ORLEANS, LA.
July 9, 1941,
Elditor of the Searfarers' Log:
In the New Orleans financial
report for W/E July 12. you will
find, under collections made by
A. W. Armstrong, Agent, a mie
cellanepus item of .$2.00, donated
to the Log by CurtLss Underwood,
« No. 2:
This Brother was in charge of
the ship's fund while on the Sea
train New, York. He left the ship
and a successor was elected to
liandle the fund. At that time
there was a balance of $1.63 in
fibai fund and; due to Jack of
SPECIAL
NOTICE
Will the following bro
thers who were in the
"SEATRAIN TEXAS"
about May 1st, communi
cate with me at once:
WALDO GRIPE
BOGART
NURSE
A. W. Armstrong,
New Orleans Agent, SIU
OWEN L. CLAGETT
(Jake the Snake)
We have your, shipping pa
pers and discharges in the
New Orleans Office. Let us
know where you wish them
sent.
Dispatcher E. Boyd,
New Orleans Branch, SIU
Attention
ANTONIO C. OLINICH
Get in touch with Agent
Thompson at the New York
office of the Union, Impor
tant.
NORFOLK
July 12, 1941.
The Seafarers' Log
Dear Sir & Brothers:
Shipping has slowed down a
little here in the last ten days,
but it is still almost impossible
to get everything out with a full
crew. Coalburning firemen are
at a premium.
We will have the tug Ivanhoe
out in August for a full crew and
no prospect for men around here.
The hall has been moved to 25
Commercial Place down by the
ferry building and all hands con
cerned are better satisfied. Had
the good fortune to bum a radio
from Brothers Meachem and Wil
liams on the Alcoa Prospector
for the hall. Now the boys get
all the baseball scores.
The shipping news is so bad in
the local papers we never know
when a ship has been here until
we read where she has sailed. So
after this, when any of you Bro
thers are in oyr fair city, give
us a ring and we will get there.
It won't be long now until
nominations are open for officers
and we would like to see the
ballots loaded with names this
year, as that would give a little
competition and more interest
in the voting.
Seems as though the shipyards
have got most of the sailors
around here and more trying to
get in thera every day.
Brother McKay and I were in
the City of Brotherly Love July
5th, but got there too late to see
any Oif the Musketeers. Maybe
better luck next time.
The Tugboat operators have
seen the light and going isn't so
• tough. About ail We have to do
is ask and we receive.
Brother Hansen is having a
hard time keeping peimaueiit
waves out of his Pontiac's fen
ders. Seems as though every
truck in town has kissed it some
where.
We will have to be on guard
more than ever against the com
mie faction now that the books
are open and plenty of the men
are coming over. The better men
have seen how a democratic
Union comes to the front with
ironclad agreements and condi
tions that are second to none and
100% for the membership.
So steady as she goes and on
to a bigger and stronger S.I.U.
Bud Ray, Norfolk Patrolman
THE"$1.AYEAR MEN"RACKET
Ever since the "national emergency" began there liae been a
veritable flood of shipowners, nianfactiirers and financiers coming
to Washington to "sacrifloe ali" and work for the Goveinnient at
the miserable wage of $1.(M) per year. Much as we admired this
selfabnegating devotion shown by the men who captain the in
dustries, we have always had a faint suspicion that the sacrifices
made by these gents were not altogether unconnected with a bit
of lobbying and wirepulling wliich would prove sooner or later
to be so beneficial as to offset the great sacrifices offered. How
ever, we took the fl.OO per jear wage on face value, as far a.s the
outright financial benefit was concerned. But even here, we have
been a bit naive.
"The impression that dollarayear men brought into the de
fense setup are giving their services to the government at great
personal saciriflce was exploded In the House this week," says a
ieport fyom Washington.
"Congressman W'oodruni, in charge of a deficiency bfll, dis
closed that these officials are given an expense allowance of $25.00
(TWKNTVFIVB DOLLARS) A DAY! In addition, he said, many
of them continue to draw salaries of from $10,000 to .$100,000
from corporations they represented before tliey came to Wa.sli
ington.
" "All told there are Bll "$1.00AYear" men and 1201 persons
serving without the dollar, all entitled to the expenses stipulated."
So the $1.00 a year wage turns out to be a $25.00ADAY
racket!
Next time you can spare the tears when you hear ofthe patri»
otic .sacrifices of other such public spirited industrialists.
RESOLUTION
(The following Resolution, proposing a rervote on, th«
$5 Strike Assessment was passed unanimously at the New
York Branch of the S.I.U. on Monday, June 23, 1941).
SAVANNAH
Patrick Walsh
Get in touch with your at
torney regarding the settle
ment of your case against the
Waterman Steamship Co,
In Memoriam
WINSTON 6. WIGGAN
Died at Providence, R. I.
June 20, 1941
*
WILLIAM E. BELL
Died at Norfolk Marine Hosp.
June 11, 1941
July 5, 1941
Editor, Seafarers' Log
Dear Sir and Brother:
Had a very busy week down
here. The Army transport service
called on us last week for 24 men
as members of the S.S. Irwin
(Army transport), paying Union
wages but no overtime. Only
succeeded in giving them 16 and
had the Army send two trucks
down here t.o fake them back to
Charleston, S. 0,, as expenses for
transportation was to difficult to
reimburse through the Army Fi
nancial Corp.
iii « S •
Also, last Sunday the Govern
ment called, with the Italian
steamer S.S. Clara in commis
sion. Inasmuch as the Maritime
Commissioner had some standing
by and could ppt get a sufficient
number of men to take the ship
out to sea, fhey called on us for
cooperation in sending the ship
ship to Newport News shipyard. I
informed the Maritime Commis
sioner that inasmuch as they had
not • cooperated .with us iri re
ggrds to our members getting ̂
WHEREAS, it is the opinion of many members and offi
cials of this Union that our Strike Fund is at present too
insigfiifieant to serve as a substantial ieserve fund in case
of emergency, and
WHERE.AS, we all know that the shipowners are con
stantly building tip their financial reserves in preparatioil
of schemes to take back gains made by the Union in recent ^
years andto deprive u.s of the, weapon of organized strength
which alone made possible these gaims, and
WHEREAS, experience has shown us that in 1921, when
the shipowners Avent to bat to take away improved condi
tions won by the seamen during the last war, it Avas lack of
adequate Strike Funds that finally licked the Unions in that
struggle, and
WHEREAS, Ave are resolved not to allow a repetition of
that distastrous experience of 1921 to take place and to
throw US back once more into sea slavery, and
WHEREAS, Ave as members of this Union, the Seafarers'
International Union of North America, OAve a definite re
sponsibility to the organiization to help build it strong and!
make it mighty and impregnable against any and all at
tacks, and
WHEREAS, it can't be denied that each and every one
of us is today, thanks to the Union, in a position to pay at
least the small sum of Five Dollars ($5.00) in the interests ;
of ourselves and our organization, Now Therefore Be IT
RESOLVED, that the question of a Five Dollar ($5.00)
Strike Assessment be resubmitted to the membership, and
be it further
RESOLVED, that the period of voting shall be six Aveeks,
and be it finally
RESOLVED, that caeh member understanding the score
give vigorous support to this resolution on all vessels and
in all ports.
(Signed) IIoAViird Ouinier, No. 478; Earl K. Riley^
No. 537; Douglas Muncaster, No. 397; Clar
ence E. Norman, No. 987; C. E. Martinez,
No. 2676 ; Charles Moulaison, No. 1228; F. L.
Hart, No. 488; W. Carlin, No. 4981; W. Paul .
Oonsorchik, No. 749; Arthur Thompson, No,
2888; F. E, Hathaway, No. 86.
• 'jsjik
m
Vsif!
."M;
• iTr"
standby work or Ibis ship, they
certainly had no reason to holler
about cooperation now. On the
other iraud, they wanted a whole
crew and I told them that we
would furnish them a crew for
transportation, subsistence and
wages back to Savannah. After a
little social discussion, we finally
furnished the whole crew and she
sailed for Newport News.
Also had the M.S. Wilimoto in
here and after settling ali dis
putes and taking some of the
matters up with headauarters,
she sailed without delay back to
Nova Scotia. I
.1. . '
• Wish the membership would
only learn not to get drunk at
sailing time because we have a
hard tliue Iryliig Lo get anyone
oh a pierhead junjp. ^Pirst thing
the company will demand is that
we break down on the manning
scale, as they have to run short
handed up and down the coast,
anyway. If a man wants to per
form, let him quit the job so as
to give the other fellows on tho ,
beach time enough to make the
job, because Avhen he sobers ui)'
thei*e is always another job wait
ing for him. 'i:
Steady as she goes.
Charles Waid, Agent.
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