Media
Issue Date
1943-07-16
Volume
5
Issue Number
16
Plaintext
\7
Curran Bankruptcy
Is Revealed At
NMU Convention
During this past week the Na
tional Maritime Union held its
annual convention in New York
City. ^For six days hand-picked
delegates dutyfully applauded
as a seemingly endless parade of
speakers discussed everything
but the real problems which
face the seamen today. This
convention - served only to fur
ther expose the criminal betray
al of maritime labor by Curran
& Company, and to reveal the
Stalinist trade union line for
what it is—pure finkery!
At a time when the shipown
ers control the government's
maritime apparatus and use
their new authority to slash at
union security and conditions, at
a time when union seamen are
dying by the hundreds at sea
only to have the bosses sit safe
ly - at home and pile up profits
and plan for the fink hall after
their war has been won by the
workers, the Stalinist leaders of
the NMU spend six whole days
beating their guns without ut
tering a single word of militant
unionism.
CURRAN'S GUESTS
The platform at the conven
tion* was practical^ ononopoll-
ized by such anti-union charac
ters as Captain Edward Macaul-
ey who lectured and scolded the
seamen for their failure to hop,
skip and jump every time a la
bor hathig mate or brass hat
barked at them. And each, time
the men were insulted in this
manner, the Stalinist leadership
would jump up and endorse the
slanders and call for "remedial
steps."
For it was obvious that the
NMU leadership was not inter
ested in Conditions for the men
—they were interested only in
imposing upon the waterfront
their own finky line and collect
ing dues for the Stalinist appar
atus. All the convention talk
about the cheqjc-off system was
not because the leadership was
concerned about giving union
security to the seamen, but.^ be
cause the bankruptcy of the
NMU is becoming clear to an in
creasing number of its members.
Finding it difficult to collect
dues without giving the men
representation, without settling
their beefs land fighting for con
ditions, Curran hopes to keep
them in line with the check-off.
He hopes to keep the union to
gether by a deal with the bosses
rather than by fighting the
bosses.
Echoing the boss slander
about discipline aboard the
ships, Curran declared that
those guilty of "misconduct"
should not only ibe expelled from
the union but have their certifi
cates suspended and be brought
before the Coast Guard for dis
cipline.
AIMED AT SIU-.SUP
Should such a program be
shoved through, no militant
union man would be able to go
to sea. The mere questioning of
the Stalinist sell-out tactics
would be sufficient for the NMU
leaders to finger a man. This
would conceivably affect the SIU
and SUF as well as the licensed
officers' unions. For with the
NMU in the role of stool-pigeon,
the security of any individual
union man would be endangered
for alleged "misconduct." If any
government board accepts the
NMU recommendations, they
would be in a position to sap
the strength of the AFL sea
men's unions through individual
suspension of certificates.
Further, any individual NMU
man suspended by Curran for
anti-Stalinist opinions, would be
prohibited from joining the AFL
because his certificate would be
lifted. In short, only finks at
heart would be safe from the
purge. ^
POST WAR PLANS
Fortunately the Stalinists are
not sufficiently strong to shove
such a program down the sea
men's throats. But they are a
resourceful enemy of the work
ing class, and they will not be
come discouraged easily. In fact,
one of the principal demands of
the convention was for "an in
dustry-wide labor, management
and government set up in the
merchant marine following the
war." In other words, they hope
to continue to act as thejaosses'
finger men after "the war as well
as during it. They don't even in-
vision a struggle against the
shipowners once the Axis has
been defeated. If their fink pro
gram flops now—they will at
tempt it again in peace time.
UNION UP-SERVICE
On the very final day of the
Convention the NMU leaders did
{Continued on Page 4)
OFFICIAL OEGAN OP THE ATLANTIC AND GULF DISTRICT,
SEAFARERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA
VOL. V. in NEW YORK, N. Y., FRIDAY, JULY 16, 1943 No. 16
BRASS HAT SQUEEZE FORCES
ACCEPTANCE OF RMO CARDS
Draft Board Refuses
To Reclassify Strikers
McKEESPORT, Pa.—Here's
one draft board that isn't
afraid to stand up against
anti-labor state and federal
administrators.
The board refused to re
classify three striking bus
drivers.
Said John T. Walsh, board
chairman; "This is a labor
dispute and it isn't our job
to settle it. We won't stand
for intimidation of workmen
because they will not do
what employers say."
GROWTH of the U S. MERCHANT MARINE
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Green Calls For
Purge 0^ Labor'
Haters In Congress
NEW YORK CITY—President
William Green called upon the
six million members of the
American Federation of Labor
to defeat for re-election every
member of Congress who voted
for the anti-labor Conn ally-
Smith Act.
Addressing the delegates at
the convention of the Interna
tional Longshoremen's Associa
tion, Brother Green declared:
"Get ready for the fight in
1944. Go back home and organ
ize, Let the members of Con
gress know that labor never for
gets. Let them know that they
are going to be defeated if they
trample upon the rights of the
working men of our country.
"Six million members of our
American Federation of Labor
have been penalized and insult
ed by the action of Congress in
enacting the Connally - Smith
Bill over the President's veto."
Mr. Green charged that Con
gress "wrote a page of shame
for the party in control of the
Government" by passage of the
bill.
W.L.B. SETS UP
MARITIME
PANEL
, r . ' • —
The SIU-SUP has voted on both coasts to accept the
RMO registration cards. This -was done after months of
battle against the phoney WSA set-up, and only after it
became clear that the best interests of the rank and file sea
men demanded such a step.
' Not only the WSA was lined up
against us on this issue, but
the full power of the Army brass
hats and their allies in th^ fink
led NMU. The Army was threat
ening to draft our members if
they failed to accept these cards^
and our union was simply un
able to buck the military on this
Lssue.
NMU SABOTAGE
Had maritime labor been
'united on this issue from the
first, it would have been a dif
ferent story. Then the fuU eco
nomic strength of all seamen
could have been decisively mobil
ized against the Washington
union-thaters. But this was not
the case. The Stalinist leaders
in the NMU, acting in accord
ance with the finky sell-oiit line
peddled by 13th Street, not only
accepted the cards but actively
campaigned for them through
out the waterfronts of America.
FUiUM STRUGGLES
We frankly admit that in this
case the combined power of the
shipowners —WSA — Army and
their NMU stooges was too great
to buck in time of war. The ac
ceptance of the RMO cards is a
defeat for the union movement
•make no mistake about that.
WASHINGTON, July 13—Es
tablishment of the War Ship
ping Panel to consider and make
recommendations on applica
tions^ for voluntary wage and
salary adjustments and on labor
disputes involving the shipping
industry was announced today
by the National War Labor
Board.
All personnel, both relief and
regular crews, employed on all
ships, including dry cargo, tank
ers, barges and towboats engag
ed in off-shore, coastwise har
bor, and inland waterways ac
tivities will be considered under
the jurisdiction of the JW.ar_Ship-
ping Panel.
The panel will consist of six
members, with two representing
the public, two representing in
dustry, and two labor. The
members, who will be appointed
later, will serve on a per diem
basis. Alternate members may
also be appointed.
The chairman and vice chair
man will be a public member.
Industry members and their al
ternates will be appointed by
the board from nominees sub
mitted by industry members of
the board. Similarly, labor mem
bers and their alternates will be
recommended by the board's la
bor members and appointed by
the board. *
The panel's findings and rec
ommendations will be filed with
the national board, which will
make a final decision in the
cases. The panel's headquarters
will be in the offices of the na
tional board.
Radio Play Salutes S.U.P.
Men For Unusual Courage
The SUP crew of the S.S.
Coast Farmer which ran a Jap
anese-naval blockade from Aus
tralia to the Phillippines to de
liver high test gasoline and ex
plosive shortly after Pearl Har
bor, was the subject of a radio
drama entitled "The Plow that
Broke the Sea."
Heard over the National
Broadcasting Company network
on July 4, the program was the
first of a series of 8 which wfil
tell of the wartime shipbuilding
program and ship operations as
conducted by the Maritime Com
mission.
The program paid high trib
ute to the SUP men, pointing
out the fact that it takes the
competent seamanship of ex
perienced men to handle ships
in war time.
The rest of the programs,
scheduled for each Sunday eve
ning at 6:30, will probably fall
far short of the first, for they
are advertised as "telling the
story of the Recruitment and
Manning Organization." Such
material could make an inter
esting broadcast, but not in the
way it will probably be present
ed over NBC.
But it is by no means the de
cisive or final battle with the
enemy.
Following is the SUP resolu
tion on the acceptance of the
cards. It wa.s concured in by
the SIU Branches voting up and
down the coast.
RESOLU'nON
WHEREAS, the SUF on a coast
wise scale in the month of
March 4vent on record almost
unanimously as being opposed
to signing the RMO fink cards,
the so-called "deferment" cards,
as being a move to drive a wedge
against our hiring halls and to
establish a black listing system
on the spme line as the old
Shipping Board fink halls, and
WHEREAS, at that time the
MC&S and the MFOW&W a^
went on record to fight this vi
cious blacklisting system, but at
a later date these union officials
reversed themselves and recom
mended to their membership to
sign these fink cards, the same
as the comics in the NMU, and
WHEREAS, recently conniving
politicians in the RMO, sub-di
vision of the WSA, are working
hard and in cahoots with the
Selective Service and Draft
Boards, to put the finger on SUB
men and refusing to give them
their deferments unless the re
quest for the men's draft defer
ment card comes through the
RMO, and
(ContinueJ on Page 4)
'K k
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Page Two THE SEAFARERS' L O G* Friday July 16, 1943 -
'H-
SEAFARERS LOG
Published by the
SEAFARERS' iNTERNATiONAL UNION
QF NORTH AMERICA
Atlantic and Gulf District
Affiliated with the American Vederation of Labor
HARRY LUNDEBERG ------ President
110 Market Street, San Francisco, Calif.
JOHN HAWK ------- Secy-Treas,
P. O. Box 25, Station P„ New York City
MATTHEW DUSHANE - - - Washington Rep.
424 5 th Street, N. W., Washington, D. C.
Directory of Branches
ADDRESS PHONE BRANCH
NEW YORK 2 Stone St
Dispatcher's Office BOwliing Green 9-3430
Agent BOwling Green 8-3437
BOSTON 330 Atlantic Ave Liberty 4057
BALTIMORE 14 North Gay St. Caivert 4539
PHILADELPHIA 6 North 6th St Lombard 7651
NORFOLK 25 Commercial PI Norfolk 4-10S3
NEW ORLEIANS 309 Chartres St Canal 3336
SAVANNAH 218 East Bay St. Savannah 3-1728
TAM^ ::: 423 East Platt St. Tampa MM-1323
MOBILE 55 So. Conception St Dial 2-1392
PUERTO RICO 45 Ponce de Leon Puerto de Tterra
GALVESTON 219 20th Street Galveston 2-8043
FT. LAUDERDALE 2021 S. Federal Highway. .Ft. Lauderdale 1601
PUBLICATION OFFICE;
ROOM 213, 2 STONE STREET
New York City , BOwhng Green 9-8346
Belgian Seamen's Union
Marks Gain In New Pact
The Belgian seamen's movement, though hard hit by
the war and having lost close to 900 men through enemy
action, has made considerable strides in recent years and oc
cupies today a leading position among the Allied nations so
far as union organization of the seafarers is concerned, an
TTF survey of Belgian merchant^
conditions states.
• If •' i
inarine
The report was furnished by
Omer Becu, Belgian seafarers'
representative in the United
States, and was madie public by
the American office of, the In
ternational Transport Workers'
Federation, with which the Bel
gian Seamen's Union is afl^-
ated.
33% OF MEN LOST
With loss of life amounting to
nearly one-third of the Belgian
merchant seamen sailirig for the
Allied cause, the Belgian sea
men's movement has neverthe
less been able to hold its own
arid to reorganize its forces scat
tered all^ over the globe, it was
siaid.
, The Belgian seafarers abroad
are organized nearly 100, per
cent, thus marking the best pro7
portion of seamen's unionization
among the Allied nations, Mr.
Bpcu observed.
Wages and working conditions
are superior to those of the Brit
ish seamen, the report pointed
out. An A.B. seaman receives
in monthly wages and war
bonus and £2 monthly contin
uous service allowance, a total
of £27. The monthly wages and
war bonus of a second mate or
third engineer amount to £35
plus £3 continuous service allow-
^ce and £6 Ids for stipulated
overtime work. The men are^aid
at, the rate of 2s an hour for
overtime.
NEW AGREEMENT SIGNED
. . • 5- .
An agreement recently con-
4;luded in England between rep^
resentatiyes of the Belgian Gpy-
ofnment in Exile, the shipown
ers and the officers and men's
organizations, grants substantial
improvements with regard to
waiting pay, death and accident
compensation, and, old age pen
sions. Though wages remain the
same, the daily pay allowance in
foreign ports has been raised
from 10s to 13s for men and
from 12s to 17s for officers. Ad
ditional free food and lodging
facilities are provided in Ameri
can and Canadian ports.
Rf poTiT orv
MiMON HENRY FORGETTE:
Your union book, Australian
registfation and as^rted papers
arc in the Norfolk SIU Hail.
J. H. WHI'TEFIELD
' Picket cards, photognpaphs and
papers are in Norfolk SIU Hall.
A. MICHLEAU
Your sbirts were removed from
the Dynistic and are now in
the New York hall. Please call
for them.
THEODORE STEINC^
JOE COUREY
PETER JACKSON ....
EDWARD BIRCH
J SCORTINO
J. B. PILGRIM
6. BpUCHIE
GEORGE H. ALDRIDQE
B6YCE BARTON '
P8017
MARITIME WAR EMERGENCY
BOARD:
In my last report on
the advisory committee's meet
ing, I stressed the point that the
board should set some definite
rules and set limits to "cover
when the attack bonus is pay
able.
In checking on the bonus dis
putes that have been submitted
to the board by the SUP and
SIU, my record here shows that
the board has ruled over 50 per
cent of our claims out. This, to
me, is ample proof that the
board's decision is either not be
ing properly administrated, or
they lack ample proof that there
was lan attack, or if there was
an attack, they still haven't set
up any specific rules whereby
claims can be properly judged.
My feeling on this matter is
that the board should set up
rules which will clarify when an
attack occured, and in my last
report I defined what I feel
should coyer an attack. I would
appreciate comments from the
members. My opinion is that the
membership .should overhaul all
the questions that Agent Weis-
berger asked the board and sub
mit what they feel would adequ
ately cover the confused situa
tion of defining the limits under
which port attacks should be
myablo. i am of the opinion that
Agent Weisberger's letter fully
covers the questions. What we
now need are the answers to his
etter, which I'll quote.
'A vessel is anchored within
the confines of a river, bay, har
bor, etc., awaiting orders as to
what shall be done with the
ship; whether to proceed to an
other anchorage or pier, or leave
for some other port in some
other body of water. Or the ship
remains at -anchor within a
givbn body of water considered
as inside or outside of the bar,
jetty, breS-kwater, etc.
A vesel is at anchor outside or
inside the bar, breakwater, etc.,
or tied up to the docks, or under
way from the docks to an 'an
chorage, or from ah ahciforai^
to a dock.'
If an attack is made by sub,
surface ship, planie, or forces
ashore, what woiild be the ai'ea
to be defined as .port or anchor
age?" ' "
There are other questions that
would involve the claim for pay
ment on an attack bonus. It is
nigh impossible to list all of
them. My opinion is that the
membens should give a little
thought to the different prob
lems that come up regarding
their claims, and submit them
to their respective headquarters
so that the Union can bring
them before the membership for
action.
INSURANCE:
At the last advisory board
meeting, I made an attempt to
cover some of the problerhs of
our members in their claims for
attack bonus, and made certain
recommendations to the board.
However, my opinion is that the
ihen who are actually undergo
ing the attack aire more qualified
to make recommendations, arid"
I would appreciate' any coiti-
ments' that our members may
have on this matter.
The director of Maritime In
surance, Mr. Percy Chubb, has
issued Supplement No. 1, of War
time Insurance Instruction No.
4, and effective July 15, 1943.
The rate of $7.50 per $1,000 of
insurance for each month of
coverage, regardless of the voy
age involved, is reduced hereby
to $4.00 per $1,000.
- This is for any additional in
surance that seamen may care
to take. The original $5,000 that
covers seamen is part of our
agreement, as per the boards de
cision, and is still supplied by
the employer to every member
of the crew without any cost to
the seaman.
All seamen are hereby cau
tioned to be on their guard if
they take out this additional in
surance, and they must state
that they v/ant this additional
insurance to cover disability.
Otherwise the additional" insur
ance will only cover them in
case of death.
INTERNAL REVENUE:
Some: companies have jjeen
deducting Victory tax on men's
transportation. Have requested
a ruling from the director of
the internal revenue, and' ex
pect an answer soon.
THE BAITLE AGAINST
DISCRIMINATION:
Joe Curran, President <of the
National Maritime Union, Is a
man to reckon with these days.
According to tjie PILOT he is
the outstanding leader in the
fight against discriipination,
land .as an emancipator for the
peoples rights, regardless of
race, color, or creed, he ranks
the topis.
The NMjU PILOT also boasts
that through his valiant courage
and leadership the NMU is the
only union that has adopted, the
policy of no discrimination, and
that laU the NMIU members have
equal rights, work, eat, and
sleep together just like one big
happy family.
His great achievement is that
when colored persons are dis
patched to vesels, the whitd
crews are compelled to slqpp in
the same room with the colored
persons or else they are expelled
from the Union. This is the
philosophy preached by the
great Joe, and he attributes the
sailing of NMU ships to this
philosophy, and boasts of how;
this contributes to the War ef
fort.
Joe now wants to make a fur
ther contribution to the' war ef
fort in his fight against discrim
ination. Not content with color
ed men and white men sleeping
together in the same room on,
NMU ships, he now wants to
include that there shall be no
discrimination because of SEX,
Joe and a few NMU men who
were torpedoed, met with Presi
dent Roosevelt, and the great
emancipator asked the President
why women were being discrim
inated against by not being em^^
ployed on board vessels. The
President' agreed with Joe that
women should. be employed on
board American vessels.
The NMU is n6w holding its
annual convention and the dele
gates are flooding, the WSA with
telegrams demanding that -vyorn-
en be employed on board Ameri
can vessels.
As the NMU. policy is that, all
persons are created equal re
gardless of race, color or creed,
and that segration is discrim
ination, and that all persons re
gardless of race, color or creed,
shall work, eat and sleep to
gether, we can probably all see
what the great Joe is visualizing.
So we can look forward to the
day when the NMCIJ ships will be
manned as follows:
Bosum's room (certified two
persons to a room by U. iS.
Steamboat Inspectors)
Lower bimk, Joe Curran, bosun
—upper bunk, Elsie Doublebot-
tom, 'carpenter, »
Sailors' Foc'sl (certified four
peraons to a room by tl. S.
Steamboat Inspectors)
{Continued on Page 3),
To Fight Again
I?'"?' ii''^'B»^l^'S,l^avypholinr^hpi^-i}rfrPB::l^rP^
B The barnacled deck of the battleship QI^AHOIVIA,* capsizijd
«unk at her moorings m the Japanese sneak attack od Pmrt Harbof
December 7,1941, breaks water in tfie first step in the now well-ad?
vanced pi-ocess of returning her to Active dul^/ Fire bf her
guns appear as she is slowly righted in a diodern miracle of ealvagb
op^atio^, wUob will eventuk^ bee all,but tbiee Oi .Ibo N^ftvy wiftpf
dkinagea on tbkt taVetvH day bak la aciibn. ^
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Friday, July \6, 1943 THE SEAFARERS* LOG Page Three
WHArS DOING
Around the Ports
NORFOLK
Business is booming in Nor
folk with quite a few old time
faces showing up for a day or
so, then in the usual course
moving on, either aboard some
outward bound wagon or up or
down country to some other
Port. Main Street hospitality
(with the accompaning copper
supervision) is of course respon
sible to some extent but some
thing else must be wrong. Only
today soliie Ave or six guys piled
off ships with barely enough
pay for bus fare to the next port
and although the board was full
of jobs, they promptly took out.
Another bad factor is the oc
casional "Bomb shy" guy that
discovers he doesn't like the car
go after he has signed on and
wants help to get off articles. A
regular flood of letters arrives
from draft-near sea career as
pirants in the hinterland who
now desire to serve their coun
try on the high seas. One aspir
ant was willing to do the union
a favor of making a thirty day
trip if we could arrange to let
him work lashore for six moiiths
after that trip so he could make
up with his wife.
The RMO, USS, WSA, USMC,
and the rest of the bureaucrat
alphabet are busy as usual but
are receiving little encourage
ment around here.
MARTY TRAINOR,
Agent
TAMPA
Things around this port are
piclflng up a little. We have
shipped quite a few men- to Sa
vannah, Charleston and Wil
mington this past week. The
Brandywine has been in and
have almost completed putting
all SIU men aboard her.
1 had a run in with the Chief
Engineer the last trip. (He is
known las a 1st class Scab from
Bro. Wallace's report). It seenis
that the M.E.B,A. in Galveston
will npt supply any more En
gineers to that ship until he gets
oflf. Well, this is the pay off; one
of our men who was a flrenaan
on there gave the Chief three
days notice that he wanted to
get off in Tampa. So on arrival
tlie Chief told him that he
would put the FBI on him if he
quit.
So on the day of arrival
"boarded her and he tells me the
same thing. I told him to go
ahead and notify all the gov
ernment oflBcials as this man
hiad been sailing steady for the
past two years and had. been
torpedoed once and I thought
that if he would get off the
Shallow water run and try the
deep sea for a while he would
change his mind. He stated that
the NMU never complained
about overtime or anything else.
Then I infornied him that the
SIU and the SUP had fought for
overtime and better wages and
conditions and that we lived up
to hur, union agreemept. and,
that if he did, not like Union
men or unipri ships to hit, the
dock as there was a union (ihief,
here on the beach that, would
more than fill his shock The
deck delegate on there collected
500 hours overtime for the boys
land the ones that were non-
Union decided that we had
something and wanted to join
up. It seems that the ship had
been run as the officers wanted
to run it.
It is DAMN queer to me why
men that are sailing ships that
are non-union can't see where a
union will be of benefit to them
On that one trip alone the
non-union and what is left of
the NMU collected more over
time than they had iii the last
six months.
I received a cablegram from
one of the crew on the Pan Or
leans that Bro. Walter Smith,
Book No. 100 had died in Ha
vana this past week. He had
been Boatswain on there for al
most one year and was well
liked by all the crew and officers.
He was one hundred percent
union brother and ship mate
and we regret his passing awiay.
We also extend our sympathy
to his family.
Steady as she goes between
the anchors.
D. L. PARKER,
Agent
PHILADELPHIA
Well' here we go again doing
business at the siame old place.
Banvard of the Robin line in
last week. This ship was carry
ing troops, so that put her in
the category of an army trans-
pnart, so her name for that trip
was in reality the United States
Army Tr an .sport John Banvard
(U-S-A-T). Naturally having a
title like this the crew is subject
to army rule, especially when
the .ship happens to be in Oiran,
South Africa.
It seems that the chief en
gineer aboard was a very lovely
fellow, in fact the entire black
gang to a man fell madly in
love with him. This dignified
personage bore tjie title of Mis
ter (heavy on the Mister) Rich
ard J. Bordeaux, Honorable
Chief Engineer (and he doesn't
forget to let you know his title).
It seems that this gentleman is
very handy with a typewriter as
he had a typewritten bulletin
posted daily for their benefit.
One that was very interesting is
as follows:
June 23rd, 1943.
S.S.I John Banvard
NOTICE
The first Asst. Engr. hgs been
annqy^ enough and has haid
enough of his time taken lip
with iionsensical overtime
claims, ' recently, to make up
more overtime than tire claimers
of said overtiriie have worked
during the entire trip. In several
instances, two or three men are
claiming overtime for the same
job at the same time. This is
obviously silly, and unless you
straighten it out among your
selves, I shall, refuse ^to sign any
overtime slips whatever,, I am
willing that a man should have
everything that is coming to
him, but he certainly can't have
everything that is coming to
him, and to everyone else, too.
Tfie captain tells me that he
Will positively resist any and all
attem.pts to collect ovei^ttjme for
standing sea watches in Oran=
You are paid, in addition to
100% bonus, $5.00 per day for
being in an unsafe harbor, and
you cannot have both your $5.00
per day for danger, and your
overtime for standing watches
in a safe harbor. You cannot
have your cake and eat it, too.
The harbor was either safe—or
it was unsafe; and what ever
was done or wasn't done about
shutting the steam off the main
engine, cannot alter that fact.
•The ship was always ready to
move by the time she could have
been un-moored. We could have
gotten her to rolling by the time
we got the lines in, of the an
chor up; whichever it might
have been. Furthermore: it is
not necessary for the Chief Engr.
to ask anyone except the Cap
tain or the Ipcal authorities
about whether he shall shut the
steam off the main engine or
not. Shutting the steam valve
doesn't make the harbor safe,
and opening it won't make it
unsafe. It simply has nothing
to do with it; so don't harp too
long and often on that jioint. It
won't get you anywhere. The
argument about whether or not
OrS.n was safe or unsafe, was
settled long before this ship was
built,' and the best thing you can
do is be glad you are getting
$5.00 a day and let it go at that;
otherwise you can, and' probably
win, lose the whole works.
I might also add that there is
no such thing as double overtime
—or if there is; nobody has ever
collected it, yet—and you won't
either.
Be sensible: Don't try to get
Washington Report
(Conthui^d from Page 2)
Lower bunk No, L, Blackey Mey
ers, able seaman.
Upper bunk No^ 2., Maggie
Deeptank, able seawoman.
Lower bunk No. 3., Joe Stack,
able seaman.
Upper bunk No. 4,^ Julie Shaf-
talley, able seawoman.
Watertenderg' Foc'sl (Certified
for 4 per:;ons, U. S. Steamboat
Inspectors)
•Lower bunk No. 1, Howard Mc-
Kenzie, watertender
Upper bunk No. 2„ Sadie Breast-
hook, watertender.
Lower bunk No. 3., Bevo Mil
ler, Watertender.
Upper bunk No. 4., Sophie
Scupper, watertender.
Wipers' Foc'sl ^(Certified for 2
persons, U. S. Steamboat In
spectors)
Lower bunk No. 1., Jack La wren-
sen, wiper.
Upper bunk No. 2., Effie Bilge-
diver, wiper.
Cooics' room (Certified for 2
persons, (U. S. Steamboat In
spectors).
Lower bunk No, 1., Ferdinand
Smith, chief cook.
Upper bunk No. 2., Jane Chop-
ingblock, 2nd cook.
FLASH —Been advised thiat all
the skippers are going to make
a trip to Washington to see the
President, and demand that
their quarters be certified for
two persons—and that they do
not want a hairy chief mate on
their vessel. They are going to
demand that progress be made,
and that they are all in favor
of having their chief mates,
pretty and petit with cruiser
sterns and fairly trimmed beast
plates.
I can see a scowl on the face
of some of the old timers, but
brothers the days are over when
a decent sailor could join the
Chileano navy, get* three good
meals a day and a boy and a
blanket. So let's up the anchor
and heave away for RIO with
the NMU new battle cry,' "We
will keep them sailing if the
WSA allo%vs us to take our hay-
bags along."
There is a rumor around here
that Ckjmrade Stalin has con
demned Admiral Land as an
enemy of the people, because he
refuses to allow women to sail
on American vessels and has vio-^
latcd the President's, executive
order on discrimination, and
thereby is classed as a counter
revolutionist.
rich in one trip!
RICHilRD J. BORDEAUX,
C5h. Eng.
As you can see this individual
possesses a very high mentality,
just like the baby after each
sentence sticks out his tongue at
you. As you read the above bul
letin you can analyze the man
that has written it, you can see
that ihe is very vindicitive. Yes,
you might even h^ave the im
pression that the five dollars
per day and the one hundred
per cent bonus was coming out
of his pockets. Ope thing, that
really caught my eye was on the
above bulletin he stated "be
sensible, don't try to get rich in
one trip." Can you imagine a
guy^ getting ,the rnoney that he
is getting telling a thing like
that to a wiper!
- Some stuff I calls it.
One of the highlights of this
bird's career was when one of
the oilers went ashore and miss
ed a watch and when the oiler
came back the. Chief Engineer,
without consulting the Captain,
complained to the Army officials
ashore and the oiler in question
was taken ashore and tried for
direct disobedience of orders and
being absent without leave and
was fined the neat little sum of
seventy-five dollars.^ All this,
mind you, without the knowledge
of the Captain. So beware of
this type of man that would do
a trick like that. It might be
that he dislikes the Union and
he may be trying to start trouble.
The correct procedure in cases
like this is when a man is not
aboard to stand his watch he is
Out of the Focs^l
by
X.
Beefs are becoming more difficult to settle through the WSA
and most of Jack Hawk's correspondence receives the silent treat
ment in Washington. The only letters he receives from Hubert
Wyckoff are complaints about alleged lack of discipline aboaiti
SIU .ships.
This is the general line, pursued by the WSA and was followed
by Captain Macauley when he appeared before the NMU Conven
tion. He knew it was safe to slander the men in the NMU, because
Curran would back him up. Macauley, no doubt, boycotted the
SIU Agents Conference because he knew he would not receive a
very cordial reception for his anti-union line.
AAA
To McKay . . . your friend Pop Eye wants to say Hello. Rob
ert Diamond, your son was in Headquarters trying to locate you.
Contact us and we will forward you his address. Wallace Royial is
now sailing from the West Coast as Third Mate. His friends in the
East wish him well. ^
Harry Collins wishes to remind Thomson that his
classification has been changed from 4H to 4F. Joe Penta foimd
Aileen interesting company at the Woman's Republican Club the
other night. Carroll Quinnt will soon be leaving for the' West
Coast and his girl, Friday. Geo. Bunch and (Carroll gave the girls
a break from Reading, Pa. So Seari and Andy Bailey saw the pre
view of "For Who the Bells Toll.
called before the Mast and the
charge is read to him by the
skipper who in turn asks the
man in question what he has to
say for himself. Whatever his
answer is, is put in the log the
skipper generally has someone
there to witness the procedings
then the man is told that he is
logged (2) two days pay and he
is given a written copy of the
charges. This procedure has
been adheared to in most cases
for years, but low and behold
this being an army transport
and the chief engineer being
such a lovely personage, natur
ally he chose the method best
suited to himself.
When the ship arrived in
Philadelphia, the Coast Guard
intelli'gence officer came aboard
to investigate the man further,
and after a lengthy discussion
he lifted the man's papers. I in
formed the Captain of the ship
in regards to the matter and he
became very indignant over the
whole affair. He wanted to know
who was the master of the ship.
He stated that the oiler in ques
tion was a very good man and
he was personally going to de
fend him in front of the Coast
Guard and see that his certi
ficates were given back to the
oiler in que.stion. Well, there
isn't much more to say as things
are about normal around here.
Brothers Hodge, Gelak, Alleva,
and Do-the-Best - you-can-Hlll-
man. have all .shipped out on
the John Banvard. Shipping is
pretty good here, we are short of
A.B. for the first time in four
months. Well here's to a bigger
and better union, steady as she
goes.
HARRY J. COLLINS,
Agent
t.1
- 'I'l 'A r - ft'
http://www.pdfcompressor.org/buy.html
Page Four THE SEAFARERS' LOG Friday July 16, 1943
ACCEPTANCE OF RMO CARDS
{(ymtinued from Page 1)
WHEREAS, these same politi
cians have now openly stated
that no seaman will get defer
ment iiniess his RIVIO eard is
sent to the RMO when he ships
out, and
WHEREAS, this phoney move
is just in line with, the union-
busting policy of this fink out
fit called the RMO, and a move
to finger SUP and SIU men to
the Army because the SUP will
not take their finky program
now, therefore be it
RESOLVED: That the SUP is
still utterly opposed to this finky
lash up, but for the protection
of our membership and union
take the following action:
NO. 1—CARD NO. 47.
When a member of the SUP
and SIU sign on board a ship,
let the clerk or skipper fill out
Card 47—and that we give them
the information necessary to fill
but these cards, but that we do
not sign them.
NO. 8-UARDS 48-A
WhCn a member-of the SUP
and SIU signs off a ship, he will
take care No. 43-A is filled out by
the clerk or skipper, (but not to
Sign It himself.)
Nb. 3.
IVhen a member of the SUP-SIU
ships out again, he gives his
48-A card to the dispatcher who
will then forward same to the
local RMO office. BUT HE DOES
NOT SIGN HIS NAME AS A
UNION OFFICIAL, nor the name
of the UNION. And be it finally
RESOLVED: That we publicize
this widely among our members.:
(Concured In By Coastwise
Membership.)
Curran Bankruptcy
Is Revealed At
NMU Convention
Cooperation of Navy and Coast Guard planes, blimp and ships
brought quick rescue for these merchant seamen after they were
torpedoed off the East Coast. The dramatic scene was taken
from a Navy blimp which first sighted the survivors and dropped a
rubber life raft to them. The survivors landed in Miami, Florida.
1942 Shipbuilding Total
Surpassed In Six Months
NMU Panamanian Division
Is Found To Be Phoney
A new member of the SIU
turned in a membership book in
the "Pan American Department
of the NMU" and upon ques
tioning revealed that he had
been forced into the crummy
outfit by the NMU who had an
"agreement" with the operators.
When he joined he was told
that he would enjoy full privil-
Idges of a union member.
On board the Panamanian
flag 'ship he found that his wages
were some twenty per cent be
low the American scale. Over
time was sixty cents an hour
and try and collect it. The food
was lousy and the crew was
told that they were .subject to
Panamanian laws which meant
that they were bound to the
ship, regardless of the duration
of the voyage, for the term of
the articles.
When he tried to get the NMU
to take up his beefs, they told
him "we have no jurisdiction"
and the same delegate then pro
ceeded to tell the other members
of the crew that they had to
sign up or get off. The major
ity of the crew were Alien sea
men.
The NMU used this to levy a
toll upon them without giving
them any representation.
This is nothing more or less
than simple and plain crimping.
When a so-called union recog.,^
nizes two different wage scales
they have two standards. Thus
the NMU openly admits and
practices wage cutting within
the industry.
Who gets the piece-off from
the operators and how much?.
—NORFOLK PATROLMAN
MONEY DUE
Crew of SJB. Charles B. Aycock
have $125 coming. Collect Miss-
l^ippi Shipping Company, 17
Battery Place, New York City.
* * *
Oilers on last trip of S.S. Del
Norte have overtime coming. Col
lect from Mississippi Line, 17 Bat
tery Place, New York City.
Crew S.S. John Stevens and S.S.
Pan 'Giilf have attack bonus com
ing. Collect Waterman Line, 19
Rector St., New York City.
• » <
Firemen on S.S. Richard Afvey
have overtime coming. Collect Bull
Line, New York City.
Deck Department which made
last voyage on S.S. George Gale
has overtime coming from Mississ
ippi Line.
Entire Deck Department of S.S.
Josiah Parker has overtime due.
Collect Mississippi Steamship Com
pany, New Orleans.
* * *
Deck & Engine Dept. S.S. Samuel
Griffin having personel effects
claim see Robin Line claim agent,
39 Cortland-St., N. Y. C.
Steward Dept. S.S. Broholt- Liv
ingston have overtime coming. Col
lect Bull Line.
WASHINGTON — American
workers in shipyards through
out the country built and deliv-
ed more ships in the first six
months of 1943 than were con
structed in all of 1942.
With the'delivery of 168 cargo
vessels totaling 1,676,500 dead
weight tons in June, production
of ships for the first half of 1943
totaled 879 ships aggregating
8,818,622 deadweight tons. In
the entire year 1942 the yards
produced 746 vessels totaling 8,-
089,732 deadweight tons.
June construction brought
other new records in the record-
breaking feats of the nation's
shipbuilding industry.
A new record for ships deliv
ered by an individual yard was
set by AFL workers, when the
California Shipbuilding Corpor
ation sent 20 Liberty Ships Ihto
service compared with 18 deliv
ered in May and 19 in April.
AFL .workers in the former
Richmond Yards No. 1 "and 2,
now merged into one yard oper
ated by the Shipbuilding Divis
ion of the Permanente Metals
Corporation of California, turn
ed in a total of 25 Liberties.
As was announced last week
in the Seafarers Log the major
ity of construction from now on
will be of "Victory Ships" rather
than the old "Liberty Ships."
The new freighters will be cap
able of 17 or 18 knots.
{Continued fram Page 1)
present a list of post war "de
mands." Even the hardened
Stalinists seemed embarrassed
over the rankness of their sell
out program, and decided to give
lip-service to wages and condi
tions.
The NMU demanded that the
seamen receive, at some future
date, the following benefits;
1. The 40 hour week. This
great, revolutionary demand by
the sui>er-militants on 17th
street is already a part of the
SIU program. It was adopted
by the SIU Agents Conference
held month before last. The
NMU now attempts to get on
.the bandwagon before it is too
late.
2. Pensions for wounded and
disabled seamen. This demand
is pure fraud, and the records
will prove it. This spring when
the SIU was fighting for pen
sions, the Maritime War Emer
gency Board presented its 2nd
war risk insurance policy which
actually decreased the benefits
payable under its 1st policy. The
NMU, contrary to what it js now
preaching regarding life pen
sions, introduced to the Mari
time War Emergency Board for
adoption a policy which was
nothing more than a compensa
tion act calling for a ceiling of
$10,000 for total disability or loss
of life. It was Dushane, SIU
Washington Representative, who
demanded at this same meeting
that Congres be asked to pass
legislation which would pension
disabled seamen lor life and in
crease the death benefits. When
the NMU now belatedly raises
SIU demands as its own, it re
veals its double bookkeeping. It
has a phoney militant line which
it passes, out to the membership
when lyings get too hot, but: in
ts back-door dealings in Wash
ington it sells the men down the
river.
no real intention of fighting for
their realization.
3. $250 monthly war risk
bonus. Ah, their chickens come
lome to roost. $250 bonus is
what the SIU struck for in the
fall of 1941. Curran and com
pany finked on that strike and
called it "a bum beef." Now, two
years later, they raise the cry as
if it were something new that
they had just thought up, No.
the SIU didn't get a $250 bonus
out of that strike, but it won an
mcrease, and has won several
increases since — ail of which
were passed on to the NMU by
the shipowners. The present
bonus rate is the direct and ex
clusive result of the -SIU strug
gle. Any future boosts will be
due to the same cause, and not
to any wind from Curran.
Curran and Company give lip-
service to these demands, but it
is only lip-service for they have
ATLANTIC AND GULF SHIPPING FOR
JULY ITO 10
^ DECK ENGINE STEWARD TOTAL
SHIPPED 246 153 190 589
REGISTERED 183 201 97 504
ON HAND ....... V 120' 86 318
PHONEY METHOD
The NMU method makes im
possible the winning of any con
cessions from the shipowners.
You can not, at one and the
same time, embrace labor-man
agement -government commit-
tees as the sole means of strug
gle and expect to win wage in-(
creases and job security. You
can not act as the finger man
for the > bosses and expect to
lead the workers in struggle
against the bosses. A stool
pigeon commands the respect of
neither ^the employer nor the
victim.
The seamen know from long
and bitter experience .that the
only way to get higher wages
and shorter hours is by con
ducting relentless and uncom-
promising struggle aboard the
ships and on the waterfront.
But to the Stalinists, "strike"
is a horrid word. They have po
plans for imion struggle. They
have, therefore, no plans for
winning better wages and con
ditions. To the principles of
unionism, to the welfare of the
seamen, they give lip-service
and nothing else.
USUAL FANFARE
The convention was greeted
with the fanfare of publicity
which usually surrounds NMU
projects. The capitalist press,
recognizing the fact that the
NMU leaders are the bosses'
lieutenants, gave the clambake
a real buiid-up. But the time
when the rank and file seamen
could be sucked in by printers'
ink has passed. The seamen
have learned that there is no
relationship between what The
Pilot and New York Times writes
and number of pork chops on
the table.
The seamen have learned that
hey have few real supporters in
Washington and that the way
to get conditions is not by cock
tail parties uptown, but by pick
et lines on the waterfront.
Editors Mail
Editor:
Seafarers Log
2 Stone Street
New York City
Dear Sir and Brother:
I would like to congratulate
the SIU men on the way you are
carrjring on the transportation
of arms and troops in all parts
of the world. The LOG reaches
me regularly and gives me great
pleasure in reading the true
news of true men.
When my outfit crosses to
comT)at duty, it's my prayer that
the SIU men are at the helm to
steer a good outfit safely to'the
fight which we all share.
I can think of nothing more
to say except keep up the good
work and remember what we are
fighting for.
Sincerely yours, ;!
Corp. H. R. KERN,
(A.B.)No.485
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Curran Bankruptcy
Is Revealed At
NMU Convention
During this past week the Na
tional Maritime Union held its
annual convention in New York
City. ^For six days hand-picked
delegates dutyfully applauded
as a seemingly endless parade of
speakers discussed everything
but the real problems which
face the seamen today. This
convention - served only to fur
ther expose the criminal betray
al of maritime labor by Curran
& Company, and to reveal the
Stalinist trade union line for
what it is—pure finkery!
At a time when the shipown
ers control the government's
maritime apparatus and use
their new authority to slash at
union security and conditions, at
a time when union seamen are
dying by the hundreds at sea
only to have the bosses sit safe
ly - at home and pile up profits
and plan for the fink hall after
their war has been won by the
workers, the Stalinist leaders of
the NMU spend six whole days
beating their guns without ut
tering a single word of militant
unionism.
CURRAN'S GUESTS
The platform at the conven
tion* was practical^ ononopoll-
ized by such anti-union charac
ters as Captain Edward Macaul-
ey who lectured and scolded the
seamen for their failure to hop,
skip and jump every time a la
bor hathig mate or brass hat
barked at them. And each, time
the men were insulted in this
manner, the Stalinist leadership
would jump up and endorse the
slanders and call for "remedial
steps."
For it was obvious that the
NMU leadership was not inter
ested in Conditions for the men
—they were interested only in
imposing upon the waterfront
their own finky line and collect
ing dues for the Stalinist appar
atus. All the convention talk
about the cheqjc-off system was
not because the leadership was
concerned about giving union
security to the seamen, but.^ be
cause the bankruptcy of the
NMU is becoming clear to an in
creasing number of its members.
Finding it difficult to collect
dues without giving the men
representation, without settling
their beefs land fighting for con
ditions, Curran hopes to keep
them in line with the check-off.
He hopes to keep the union to
gether by a deal with the bosses
rather than by fighting the
bosses.
Echoing the boss slander
about discipline aboard the
ships, Curran declared that
those guilty of "misconduct"
should not only ibe expelled from
the union but have their certifi
cates suspended and be brought
before the Coast Guard for dis
cipline.
AIMED AT SIU-.SUP
Should such a program be
shoved through, no militant
union man would be able to go
to sea. The mere questioning of
the Stalinist sell-out tactics
would be sufficient for the NMU
leaders to finger a man. This
would conceivably affect the SIU
and SUF as well as the licensed
officers' unions. For with the
NMU in the role of stool-pigeon,
the security of any individual
union man would be endangered
for alleged "misconduct." If any
government board accepts the
NMU recommendations, they
would be in a position to sap
the strength of the AFL sea
men's unions through individual
suspension of certificates.
Further, any individual NMU
man suspended by Curran for
anti-Stalinist opinions, would be
prohibited from joining the AFL
because his certificate would be
lifted. In short, only finks at
heart would be safe from the
purge. ^
POST WAR PLANS
Fortunately the Stalinists are
not sufficiently strong to shove
such a program down the sea
men's throats. But they are a
resourceful enemy of the work
ing class, and they will not be
come discouraged easily. In fact,
one of the principal demands of
the convention was for "an in
dustry-wide labor, management
and government set up in the
merchant marine following the
war." In other words, they hope
to continue to act as thejaosses'
finger men after "the war as well
as during it. They don't even in-
vision a struggle against the
shipowners once the Axis has
been defeated. If their fink pro
gram flops now—they will at
tempt it again in peace time.
UNION UP-SERVICE
On the very final day of the
Convention the NMU leaders did
{Continued on Page 4)
OFFICIAL OEGAN OP THE ATLANTIC AND GULF DISTRICT,
SEAFARERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA
VOL. V. in NEW YORK, N. Y., FRIDAY, JULY 16, 1943 No. 16
BRASS HAT SQUEEZE FORCES
ACCEPTANCE OF RMO CARDS
Draft Board Refuses
To Reclassify Strikers
McKEESPORT, Pa.—Here's
one draft board that isn't
afraid to stand up against
anti-labor state and federal
administrators.
The board refused to re
classify three striking bus
drivers.
Said John T. Walsh, board
chairman; "This is a labor
dispute and it isn't our job
to settle it. We won't stand
for intimidation of workmen
because they will not do
what employers say."
GROWTH of the U S. MERCHANT MARINE
tcmpMt ff^r»s*srt t frtii fMi . fi' <
AMrcAdAf MtrriN 4et
f 1929 i
l*3« thttlmi mri»4 tut 01$3*
»>7 <£<£%£££%
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13
.S
1
CGMMIUION -OWI ^•9f9
Green Calls For
Purge 0^ Labor'
Haters In Congress
NEW YORK CITY—President
William Green called upon the
six million members of the
American Federation of Labor
to defeat for re-election every
member of Congress who voted
for the anti-labor Conn ally-
Smith Act.
Addressing the delegates at
the convention of the Interna
tional Longshoremen's Associa
tion, Brother Green declared:
"Get ready for the fight in
1944. Go back home and organ
ize, Let the members of Con
gress know that labor never for
gets. Let them know that they
are going to be defeated if they
trample upon the rights of the
working men of our country.
"Six million members of our
American Federation of Labor
have been penalized and insult
ed by the action of Congress in
enacting the Connally - Smith
Bill over the President's veto."
Mr. Green charged that Con
gress "wrote a page of shame
for the party in control of the
Government" by passage of the
bill.
W.L.B. SETS UP
MARITIME
PANEL
, r . ' • —
The SIU-SUP has voted on both coasts to accept the
RMO registration cards. This -was done after months of
battle against the phoney WSA set-up, and only after it
became clear that the best interests of the rank and file sea
men demanded such a step.
' Not only the WSA was lined up
against us on this issue, but
the full power of the Army brass
hats and their allies in th^ fink
led NMU. The Army was threat
ening to draft our members if
they failed to accept these cards^
and our union was simply un
able to buck the military on this
Lssue.
NMU SABOTAGE
Had maritime labor been
'united on this issue from the
first, it would have been a dif
ferent story. Then the fuU eco
nomic strength of all seamen
could have been decisively mobil
ized against the Washington
union-thaters. But this was not
the case. The Stalinist leaders
in the NMU, acting in accord
ance with the finky sell-oiit line
peddled by 13th Street, not only
accepted the cards but actively
campaigned for them through
out the waterfronts of America.
FUiUM STRUGGLES
We frankly admit that in this
case the combined power of the
shipowners —WSA — Army and
their NMU stooges was too great
to buck in time of war. The ac
ceptance of the RMO cards is a
defeat for the union movement
•make no mistake about that.
WASHINGTON, July 13—Es
tablishment of the War Ship
ping Panel to consider and make
recommendations on applica
tions^ for voluntary wage and
salary adjustments and on labor
disputes involving the shipping
industry was announced today
by the National War Labor
Board.
All personnel, both relief and
regular crews, employed on all
ships, including dry cargo, tank
ers, barges and towboats engag
ed in off-shore, coastwise har
bor, and inland waterways ac
tivities will be considered under
the jurisdiction of the JW.ar_Ship-
ping Panel.
The panel will consist of six
members, with two representing
the public, two representing in
dustry, and two labor. The
members, who will be appointed
later, will serve on a per diem
basis. Alternate members may
also be appointed.
The chairman and vice chair
man will be a public member.
Industry members and their al
ternates will be appointed by
the board from nominees sub
mitted by industry members of
the board. Similarly, labor mem
bers and their alternates will be
recommended by the board's la
bor members and appointed by
the board. *
The panel's findings and rec
ommendations will be filed with
the national board, which will
make a final decision in the
cases. The panel's headquarters
will be in the offices of the na
tional board.
Radio Play Salutes S.U.P.
Men For Unusual Courage
The SUP crew of the S.S.
Coast Farmer which ran a Jap
anese-naval blockade from Aus
tralia to the Phillippines to de
liver high test gasoline and ex
plosive shortly after Pearl Har
bor, was the subject of a radio
drama entitled "The Plow that
Broke the Sea."
Heard over the National
Broadcasting Company network
on July 4, the program was the
first of a series of 8 which wfil
tell of the wartime shipbuilding
program and ship operations as
conducted by the Maritime Com
mission.
The program paid high trib
ute to the SUP men, pointing
out the fact that it takes the
competent seamanship of ex
perienced men to handle ships
in war time.
The rest of the programs,
scheduled for each Sunday eve
ning at 6:30, will probably fall
far short of the first, for they
are advertised as "telling the
story of the Recruitment and
Manning Organization." Such
material could make an inter
esting broadcast, but not in the
way it will probably be present
ed over NBC.
But it is by no means the de
cisive or final battle with the
enemy.
Following is the SUP resolu
tion on the acceptance of the
cards. It wa.s concured in by
the SIU Branches voting up and
down the coast.
RESOLU'nON
WHEREAS, the SUF on a coast
wise scale in the month of
March 4vent on record almost
unanimously as being opposed
to signing the RMO fink cards,
the so-called "deferment" cards,
as being a move to drive a wedge
against our hiring halls and to
establish a black listing system
on the spme line as the old
Shipping Board fink halls, and
WHEREAS, at that time the
MC&S and the MFOW&W a^
went on record to fight this vi
cious blacklisting system, but at
a later date these union officials
reversed themselves and recom
mended to their membership to
sign these fink cards, the same
as the comics in the NMU, and
WHEREAS, recently conniving
politicians in the RMO, sub-di
vision of the WSA, are working
hard and in cahoots with the
Selective Service and Draft
Boards, to put the finger on SUB
men and refusing to give them
their deferments unless the re
quest for the men's draft defer
ment card comes through the
RMO, and
(ContinueJ on Page 4)
'K k
http://www.pdfcompressor.org/buy.html
Page Two THE SEAFARERS' L O G* Friday July 16, 1943 -
'H-
SEAFARERS LOG
Published by the
SEAFARERS' iNTERNATiONAL UNION
QF NORTH AMERICA
Atlantic and Gulf District
Affiliated with the American Vederation of Labor
HARRY LUNDEBERG ------ President
110 Market Street, San Francisco, Calif.
JOHN HAWK ------- Secy-Treas,
P. O. Box 25, Station P„ New York City
MATTHEW DUSHANE - - - Washington Rep.
424 5 th Street, N. W., Washington, D. C.
Directory of Branches
ADDRESS PHONE BRANCH
NEW YORK 2 Stone St
Dispatcher's Office BOwliing Green 9-3430
Agent BOwling Green 8-3437
BOSTON 330 Atlantic Ave Liberty 4057
BALTIMORE 14 North Gay St. Caivert 4539
PHILADELPHIA 6 North 6th St Lombard 7651
NORFOLK 25 Commercial PI Norfolk 4-10S3
NEW ORLEIANS 309 Chartres St Canal 3336
SAVANNAH 218 East Bay St. Savannah 3-1728
TAM^ ::: 423 East Platt St. Tampa MM-1323
MOBILE 55 So. Conception St Dial 2-1392
PUERTO RICO 45 Ponce de Leon Puerto de Tterra
GALVESTON 219 20th Street Galveston 2-8043
FT. LAUDERDALE 2021 S. Federal Highway. .Ft. Lauderdale 1601
PUBLICATION OFFICE;
ROOM 213, 2 STONE STREET
New York City , BOwhng Green 9-8346
Belgian Seamen's Union
Marks Gain In New Pact
The Belgian seamen's movement, though hard hit by
the war and having lost close to 900 men through enemy
action, has made considerable strides in recent years and oc
cupies today a leading position among the Allied nations so
far as union organization of the seafarers is concerned, an
TTF survey of Belgian merchant^
conditions states.
• If •' i
inarine
The report was furnished by
Omer Becu, Belgian seafarers'
representative in the United
States, and was madie public by
the American office of, the In
ternational Transport Workers'
Federation, with which the Bel
gian Seamen's Union is afl^-
ated.
33% OF MEN LOST
With loss of life amounting to
nearly one-third of the Belgian
merchant seamen sailirig for the
Allied cause, the Belgian sea
men's movement has neverthe
less been able to hold its own
arid to reorganize its forces scat
tered all^ over the globe, it was
siaid.
, The Belgian seafarers abroad
are organized nearly 100, per
cent, thus marking the best pro7
portion of seamen's unionization
among the Allied nations, Mr.
Bpcu observed.
Wages and working conditions
are superior to those of the Brit
ish seamen, the report pointed
out. An A.B. seaman receives
in monthly wages and war
bonus and £2 monthly contin
uous service allowance, a total
of £27. The monthly wages and
war bonus of a second mate or
third engineer amount to £35
plus £3 continuous service allow-
^ce and £6 Ids for stipulated
overtime work. The men are^aid
at, the rate of 2s an hour for
overtime.
NEW AGREEMENT SIGNED
. . • 5- .
An agreement recently con-
4;luded in England between rep^
resentatiyes of the Belgian Gpy-
ofnment in Exile, the shipown
ers and the officers and men's
organizations, grants substantial
improvements with regard to
waiting pay, death and accident
compensation, and, old age pen
sions. Though wages remain the
same, the daily pay allowance in
foreign ports has been raised
from 10s to 13s for men and
from 12s to 17s for officers. Ad
ditional free food and lodging
facilities are provided in Ameri
can and Canadian ports.
Rf poTiT orv
MiMON HENRY FORGETTE:
Your union book, Australian
registfation and as^rted papers
arc in the Norfolk SIU Hail.
J. H. WHI'TEFIELD
' Picket cards, photognpaphs and
papers are in Norfolk SIU Hall.
A. MICHLEAU
Your sbirts were removed from
the Dynistic and are now in
the New York hall. Please call
for them.
THEODORE STEINC^
JOE COUREY
PETER JACKSON ....
EDWARD BIRCH
J SCORTINO
J. B. PILGRIM
6. BpUCHIE
GEORGE H. ALDRIDQE
B6YCE BARTON '
P8017
MARITIME WAR EMERGENCY
BOARD:
In my last report on
the advisory committee's meet
ing, I stressed the point that the
board should set some definite
rules and set limits to "cover
when the attack bonus is pay
able.
In checking on the bonus dis
putes that have been submitted
to the board by the SUP and
SIU, my record here shows that
the board has ruled over 50 per
cent of our claims out. This, to
me, is ample proof that the
board's decision is either not be
ing properly administrated, or
they lack ample proof that there
was lan attack, or if there was
an attack, they still haven't set
up any specific rules whereby
claims can be properly judged.
My feeling on this matter is
that the board should set up
rules which will clarify when an
attack occured, and in my last
report I defined what I feel
should coyer an attack. I would
appreciate comments from the
members. My opinion is that the
membership .should overhaul all
the questions that Agent Weis-
berger asked the board and sub
mit what they feel would adequ
ately cover the confused situa
tion of defining the limits under
which port attacks should be
myablo. i am of the opinion that
Agent Weisberger's letter fully
covers the questions. What we
now need are the answers to his
etter, which I'll quote.
'A vessel is anchored within
the confines of a river, bay, har
bor, etc., awaiting orders as to
what shall be done with the
ship; whether to proceed to an
other anchorage or pier, or leave
for some other port in some
other body of water. Or the ship
remains at -anchor within a
givbn body of water considered
as inside or outside of the bar,
jetty, breS-kwater, etc.
A vesel is at anchor outside or
inside the bar, breakwater, etc.,
or tied up to the docks, or under
way from the docks to an 'an
chorage, or from ah ahciforai^
to a dock.'
If an attack is made by sub,
surface ship, planie, or forces
ashore, what woiild be the ai'ea
to be defined as .port or anchor
age?" ' "
There are other questions that
would involve the claim for pay
ment on an attack bonus. It is
nigh impossible to list all of
them. My opinion is that the
membens should give a little
thought to the different prob
lems that come up regarding
their claims, and submit them
to their respective headquarters
so that the Union can bring
them before the membership for
action.
INSURANCE:
At the last advisory board
meeting, I made an attempt to
cover some of the problerhs of
our members in their claims for
attack bonus, and made certain
recommendations to the board.
However, my opinion is that the
ihen who are actually undergo
ing the attack aire more qualified
to make recommendations, arid"
I would appreciate' any coiti-
ments' that our members may
have on this matter.
The director of Maritime In
surance, Mr. Percy Chubb, has
issued Supplement No. 1, of War
time Insurance Instruction No.
4, and effective July 15, 1943.
The rate of $7.50 per $1,000 of
insurance for each month of
coverage, regardless of the voy
age involved, is reduced hereby
to $4.00 per $1,000.
- This is for any additional in
surance that seamen may care
to take. The original $5,000 that
covers seamen is part of our
agreement, as per the boards de
cision, and is still supplied by
the employer to every member
of the crew without any cost to
the seaman.
All seamen are hereby cau
tioned to be on their guard if
they take out this additional in
surance, and they must state
that they v/ant this additional
insurance to cover disability.
Otherwise the additional" insur
ance will only cover them in
case of death.
INTERNAL REVENUE:
Some: companies have jjeen
deducting Victory tax on men's
transportation. Have requested
a ruling from the director of
the internal revenue, and' ex
pect an answer soon.
THE BAITLE AGAINST
DISCRIMINATION:
Joe Curran, President <of the
National Maritime Union, Is a
man to reckon with these days.
According to tjie PILOT he is
the outstanding leader in the
fight against discriipination,
land .as an emancipator for the
peoples rights, regardless of
race, color, or creed, he ranks
the topis.
The NMjU PILOT also boasts
that through his valiant courage
and leadership the NMU is the
only union that has adopted, the
policy of no discrimination, and
that laU the NMIU members have
equal rights, work, eat, and
sleep together just like one big
happy family.
His great achievement is that
when colored persons are dis
patched to vesels, the whitd
crews are compelled to slqpp in
the same room with the colored
persons or else they are expelled
from the Union. This is the
philosophy preached by the
great Joe, and he attributes the
sailing of NMU ships to this
philosophy, and boasts of how;
this contributes to the War ef
fort.
Joe now wants to make a fur
ther contribution to the' war ef
fort in his fight against discrim
ination. Not content with color
ed men and white men sleeping
together in the same room on,
NMU ships, he now wants to
include that there shall be no
discrimination because of SEX,
Joe and a few NMU men who
were torpedoed, met with Presi
dent Roosevelt, and the great
emancipator asked the President
why women were being discrim
inated against by not being em^^
ployed on board vessels. The
President' agreed with Joe that
women should. be employed on
board American vessels.
The NMU is n6w holding its
annual convention and the dele
gates are flooding, the WSA with
telegrams demanding that -vyorn-
en be employed on board Ameri
can vessels.
As the NMU. policy is that, all
persons are created equal re
gardless of race, color or creed,
and that segration is discrim
ination, and that all persons re
gardless of race, color or creed,
shall work, eat and sleep to
gether, we can probably all see
what the great Joe is visualizing.
So we can look forward to the
day when the NMCIJ ships will be
manned as follows:
Bosum's room (certified two
persons to a room by U. iS.
Steamboat Inspectors)
Lower bimk, Joe Curran, bosun
—upper bunk, Elsie Doublebot-
tom, 'carpenter, »
Sailors' Foc'sl (certified four
peraons to a room by tl. S.
Steamboat Inspectors)
{Continued on Page 3),
To Fight Again
I?'"?' ii''^'B»^l^'S,l^avypholinr^hpi^-i}rfrPB::l^rP^
B The barnacled deck of the battleship QI^AHOIVIA,* capsizijd
«unk at her moorings m the Japanese sneak attack od Pmrt Harbof
December 7,1941, breaks water in tfie first step in the now well-ad?
vanced pi-ocess of returning her to Active dul^/ Fire bf her
guns appear as she is slowly righted in a diodern miracle of ealvagb
op^atio^, wUob will eventuk^ bee all,but tbiee Oi .Ibo N^ftvy wiftpf
dkinagea on tbkt taVetvH day bak la aciibn. ^
http://www.pdfcompressor.org/buy.html
Friday, July \6, 1943 THE SEAFARERS* LOG Page Three
WHArS DOING
Around the Ports
NORFOLK
Business is booming in Nor
folk with quite a few old time
faces showing up for a day or
so, then in the usual course
moving on, either aboard some
outward bound wagon or up or
down country to some other
Port. Main Street hospitality
(with the accompaning copper
supervision) is of course respon
sible to some extent but some
thing else must be wrong. Only
today soliie Ave or six guys piled
off ships with barely enough
pay for bus fare to the next port
and although the board was full
of jobs, they promptly took out.
Another bad factor is the oc
casional "Bomb shy" guy that
discovers he doesn't like the car
go after he has signed on and
wants help to get off articles. A
regular flood of letters arrives
from draft-near sea career as
pirants in the hinterland who
now desire to serve their coun
try on the high seas. One aspir
ant was willing to do the union
a favor of making a thirty day
trip if we could arrange to let
him work lashore for six moiiths
after that trip so he could make
up with his wife.
The RMO, USS, WSA, USMC,
and the rest of the bureaucrat
alphabet are busy as usual but
are receiving little encourage
ment around here.
MARTY TRAINOR,
Agent
TAMPA
Things around this port are
piclflng up a little. We have
shipped quite a few men- to Sa
vannah, Charleston and Wil
mington this past week. The
Brandywine has been in and
have almost completed putting
all SIU men aboard her.
1 had a run in with the Chief
Engineer the last trip. (He is
known las a 1st class Scab from
Bro. Wallace's report). It seenis
that the M.E.B,A. in Galveston
will npt supply any more En
gineers to that ship until he gets
oflf. Well, this is the pay off; one
of our men who was a flrenaan
on there gave the Chief three
days notice that he wanted to
get off in Tampa. So on arrival
tlie Chief told him that he
would put the FBI on him if he
quit.
So on the day of arrival
"boarded her and he tells me the
same thing. I told him to go
ahead and notify all the gov
ernment oflBcials as this man
hiad been sailing steady for the
past two years and had. been
torpedoed once and I thought
that if he would get off the
Shallow water run and try the
deep sea for a while he would
change his mind. He stated that
the NMU never complained
about overtime or anything else.
Then I infornied him that the
SIU and the SUP had fought for
overtime and better wages and
conditions and that we lived up
to hur, union agreemept. and,
that if he did, not like Union
men or unipri ships to hit, the
dock as there was a union (ihief,
here on the beach that, would
more than fill his shock The
deck delegate on there collected
500 hours overtime for the boys
land the ones that were non-
Union decided that we had
something and wanted to join
up. It seems that the ship had
been run as the officers wanted
to run it.
It is DAMN queer to me why
men that are sailing ships that
are non-union can't see where a
union will be of benefit to them
On that one trip alone the
non-union and what is left of
the NMU collected more over
time than they had iii the last
six months.
I received a cablegram from
one of the crew on the Pan Or
leans that Bro. Walter Smith,
Book No. 100 had died in Ha
vana this past week. He had
been Boatswain on there for al
most one year and was well
liked by all the crew and officers.
He was one hundred percent
union brother and ship mate
and we regret his passing awiay.
We also extend our sympathy
to his family.
Steady as she goes between
the anchors.
D. L. PARKER,
Agent
PHILADELPHIA
Well' here we go again doing
business at the siame old place.
Banvard of the Robin line in
last week. This ship was carry
ing troops, so that put her in
the category of an army trans-
pnart, so her name for that trip
was in reality the United States
Army Tr an .sport John Banvard
(U-S-A-T). Naturally having a
title like this the crew is subject
to army rule, especially when
the .ship happens to be in Oiran,
South Africa.
It seems that the chief en
gineer aboard was a very lovely
fellow, in fact the entire black
gang to a man fell madly in
love with him. This dignified
personage bore tjie title of Mis
ter (heavy on the Mister) Rich
ard J. Bordeaux, Honorable
Chief Engineer (and he doesn't
forget to let you know his title).
It seems that this gentleman is
very handy with a typewriter as
he had a typewritten bulletin
posted daily for their benefit.
One that was very interesting is
as follows:
June 23rd, 1943.
S.S.I John Banvard
NOTICE
The first Asst. Engr. hgs been
annqy^ enough and has haid
enough of his time taken lip
with iionsensical overtime
claims, ' recently, to make up
more overtime than tire claimers
of said overtiriie have worked
during the entire trip. In several
instances, two or three men are
claiming overtime for the same
job at the same time. This is
obviously silly, and unless you
straighten it out among your
selves, I shall, refuse ^to sign any
overtime slips whatever,, I am
willing that a man should have
everything that is coming to
him, but he certainly can't have
everything that is coming to
him, and to everyone else, too.
Tfie captain tells me that he
Will positively resist any and all
attem.pts to collect ovei^ttjme for
standing sea watches in Oran=
You are paid, in addition to
100% bonus, $5.00 per day for
being in an unsafe harbor, and
you cannot have both your $5.00
per day for danger, and your
overtime for standing watches
in a safe harbor. You cannot
have your cake and eat it, too.
The harbor was either safe—or
it was unsafe; and what ever
was done or wasn't done about
shutting the steam off the main
engine, cannot alter that fact.
•The ship was always ready to
move by the time she could have
been un-moored. We could have
gotten her to rolling by the time
we got the lines in, of the an
chor up; whichever it might
have been. Furthermore: it is
not necessary for the Chief Engr.
to ask anyone except the Cap
tain or the Ipcal authorities
about whether he shall shut the
steam off the main engine or
not. Shutting the steam valve
doesn't make the harbor safe,
and opening it won't make it
unsafe. It simply has nothing
to do with it; so don't harp too
long and often on that jioint. It
won't get you anywhere. The
argument about whether or not
OrS.n was safe or unsafe, was
settled long before this ship was
built,' and the best thing you can
do is be glad you are getting
$5.00 a day and let it go at that;
otherwise you can, and' probably
win, lose the whole works.
I might also add that there is
no such thing as double overtime
—or if there is; nobody has ever
collected it, yet—and you won't
either.
Be sensible: Don't try to get
Washington Report
(Conthui^d from Page 2)
Lower bunk No, L, Blackey Mey
ers, able seaman.
Upper bunk No^ 2., Maggie
Deeptank, able seawoman.
Lower bunk No. 3., Joe Stack,
able seaman.
Upper bunk No. 4,^ Julie Shaf-
talley, able seawoman.
Watertenderg' Foc'sl (Certified
for 4 per:;ons, U. S. Steamboat
Inspectors)
•Lower bunk No. 1, Howard Mc-
Kenzie, watertender
Upper bunk No. 2„ Sadie Breast-
hook, watertender.
Lower bunk No. 3., Bevo Mil
ler, Watertender.
Upper bunk No. 4., Sophie
Scupper, watertender.
Wipers' Foc'sl ^(Certified for 2
persons, U. S. Steamboat In
spectors)
Lower bunk No. 1., Jack La wren-
sen, wiper.
Upper bunk No. 2., Effie Bilge-
diver, wiper.
Cooics' room (Certified for 2
persons, (U. S. Steamboat In
spectors).
Lower bunk No, 1., Ferdinand
Smith, chief cook.
Upper bunk No. 2., Jane Chop-
ingblock, 2nd cook.
FLASH —Been advised thiat all
the skippers are going to make
a trip to Washington to see the
President, and demand that
their quarters be certified for
two persons—and that they do
not want a hairy chief mate on
their vessel. They are going to
demand that progress be made,
and that they are all in favor
of having their chief mates,
pretty and petit with cruiser
sterns and fairly trimmed beast
plates.
I can see a scowl on the face
of some of the old timers, but
brothers the days are over when
a decent sailor could join the
Chileano navy, get* three good
meals a day and a boy and a
blanket. So let's up the anchor
and heave away for RIO with
the NMU new battle cry,' "We
will keep them sailing if the
WSA allo%vs us to take our hay-
bags along."
There is a rumor around here
that Ckjmrade Stalin has con
demned Admiral Land as an
enemy of the people, because he
refuses to allow women to sail
on American vessels and has vio-^
latcd the President's, executive
order on discrimination, and
thereby is classed as a counter
revolutionist.
rich in one trip!
RICHilRD J. BORDEAUX,
C5h. Eng.
As you can see this individual
possesses a very high mentality,
just like the baby after each
sentence sticks out his tongue at
you. As you read the above bul
letin you can analyze the man
that has written it, you can see
that ihe is very vindicitive. Yes,
you might even h^ave the im
pression that the five dollars
per day and the one hundred
per cent bonus was coming out
of his pockets. Ope thing, that
really caught my eye was on the
above bulletin he stated "be
sensible, don't try to get rich in
one trip." Can you imagine a
guy^ getting ,the rnoney that he
is getting telling a thing like
that to a wiper!
- Some stuff I calls it.
One of the highlights of this
bird's career was when one of
the oilers went ashore and miss
ed a watch and when the oiler
came back the. Chief Engineer,
without consulting the Captain,
complained to the Army officials
ashore and the oiler in question
was taken ashore and tried for
direct disobedience of orders and
being absent without leave and
was fined the neat little sum of
seventy-five dollars.^ All this,
mind you, without the knowledge
of the Captain. So beware of
this type of man that would do
a trick like that. It might be
that he dislikes the Union and
he may be trying to start trouble.
The correct procedure in cases
like this is when a man is not
aboard to stand his watch he is
Out of the Focs^l
by
X.
Beefs are becoming more difficult to settle through the WSA
and most of Jack Hawk's correspondence receives the silent treat
ment in Washington. The only letters he receives from Hubert
Wyckoff are complaints about alleged lack of discipline aboaiti
SIU .ships.
This is the general line, pursued by the WSA and was followed
by Captain Macauley when he appeared before the NMU Conven
tion. He knew it was safe to slander the men in the NMU, because
Curran would back him up. Macauley, no doubt, boycotted the
SIU Agents Conference because he knew he would not receive a
very cordial reception for his anti-union line.
AAA
To McKay . . . your friend Pop Eye wants to say Hello. Rob
ert Diamond, your son was in Headquarters trying to locate you.
Contact us and we will forward you his address. Wallace Royial is
now sailing from the West Coast as Third Mate. His friends in the
East wish him well. ^
Harry Collins wishes to remind Thomson that his
classification has been changed from 4H to 4F. Joe Penta foimd
Aileen interesting company at the Woman's Republican Club the
other night. Carroll Quinnt will soon be leaving for the' West
Coast and his girl, Friday. Geo. Bunch and (Carroll gave the girls
a break from Reading, Pa. So Seari and Andy Bailey saw the pre
view of "For Who the Bells Toll.
called before the Mast and the
charge is read to him by the
skipper who in turn asks the
man in question what he has to
say for himself. Whatever his
answer is, is put in the log the
skipper generally has someone
there to witness the procedings
then the man is told that he is
logged (2) two days pay and he
is given a written copy of the
charges. This procedure has
been adheared to in most cases
for years, but low and behold
this being an army transport
and the chief engineer being
such a lovely personage, natur
ally he chose the method best
suited to himself.
When the ship arrived in
Philadelphia, the Coast Guard
intelli'gence officer came aboard
to investigate the man further,
and after a lengthy discussion
he lifted the man's papers. I in
formed the Captain of the ship
in regards to the matter and he
became very indignant over the
whole affair. He wanted to know
who was the master of the ship.
He stated that the oiler in ques
tion was a very good man and
he was personally going to de
fend him in front of the Coast
Guard and see that his certi
ficates were given back to the
oiler in que.stion. Well, there
isn't much more to say as things
are about normal around here.
Brothers Hodge, Gelak, Alleva,
and Do-the-Best - you-can-Hlll-
man. have all .shipped out on
the John Banvard. Shipping is
pretty good here, we are short of
A.B. for the first time in four
months. Well here's to a bigger
and better union, steady as she
goes.
HARRY J. COLLINS,
Agent
t.1
- 'I'l 'A r - ft'
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Page Four THE SEAFARERS' LOG Friday July 16, 1943
ACCEPTANCE OF RMO CARDS
{(ymtinued from Page 1)
WHEREAS, these same politi
cians have now openly stated
that no seaman will get defer
ment iiniess his RIVIO eard is
sent to the RMO when he ships
out, and
WHEREAS, this phoney move
is just in line with, the union-
busting policy of this fink out
fit called the RMO, and a move
to finger SUP and SIU men to
the Army because the SUP will
not take their finky program
now, therefore be it
RESOLVED: That the SUP is
still utterly opposed to this finky
lash up, but for the protection
of our membership and union
take the following action:
NO. 1—CARD NO. 47.
When a member of the SUP
and SIU sign on board a ship,
let the clerk or skipper fill out
Card 47—and that we give them
the information necessary to fill
but these cards, but that we do
not sign them.
NO. 8-UARDS 48-A
WhCn a member-of the SUP
and SIU signs off a ship, he will
take care No. 43-A is filled out by
the clerk or skipper, (but not to
Sign It himself.)
Nb. 3.
IVhen a member of the SUP-SIU
ships out again, he gives his
48-A card to the dispatcher who
will then forward same to the
local RMO office. BUT HE DOES
NOT SIGN HIS NAME AS A
UNION OFFICIAL, nor the name
of the UNION. And be it finally
RESOLVED: That we publicize
this widely among our members.:
(Concured In By Coastwise
Membership.)
Curran Bankruptcy
Is Revealed At
NMU Convention
Cooperation of Navy and Coast Guard planes, blimp and ships
brought quick rescue for these merchant seamen after they were
torpedoed off the East Coast. The dramatic scene was taken
from a Navy blimp which first sighted the survivors and dropped a
rubber life raft to them. The survivors landed in Miami, Florida.
1942 Shipbuilding Total
Surpassed In Six Months
NMU Panamanian Division
Is Found To Be Phoney
A new member of the SIU
turned in a membership book in
the "Pan American Department
of the NMU" and upon ques
tioning revealed that he had
been forced into the crummy
outfit by the NMU who had an
"agreement" with the operators.
When he joined he was told
that he would enjoy full privil-
Idges of a union member.
On board the Panamanian
flag 'ship he found that his wages
were some twenty per cent be
low the American scale. Over
time was sixty cents an hour
and try and collect it. The food
was lousy and the crew was
told that they were .subject to
Panamanian laws which meant
that they were bound to the
ship, regardless of the duration
of the voyage, for the term of
the articles.
When he tried to get the NMU
to take up his beefs, they told
him "we have no jurisdiction"
and the same delegate then pro
ceeded to tell the other members
of the crew that they had to
sign up or get off. The major
ity of the crew were Alien sea
men.
The NMU used this to levy a
toll upon them without giving
them any representation.
This is nothing more or less
than simple and plain crimping.
When a so-called union recog.,^
nizes two different wage scales
they have two standards. Thus
the NMU openly admits and
practices wage cutting within
the industry.
Who gets the piece-off from
the operators and how much?.
—NORFOLK PATROLMAN
MONEY DUE
Crew of SJB. Charles B. Aycock
have $125 coming. Collect Miss-
l^ippi Shipping Company, 17
Battery Place, New York City.
* * *
Oilers on last trip of S.S. Del
Norte have overtime coming. Col
lect from Mississippi Line, 17 Bat
tery Place, New York City.
Crew S.S. John Stevens and S.S.
Pan 'Giilf have attack bonus com
ing. Collect Waterman Line, 19
Rector St., New York City.
• » <
Firemen on S.S. Richard Afvey
have overtime coming. Collect Bull
Line, New York City.
Deck Department which made
last voyage on S.S. George Gale
has overtime coming from Mississ
ippi Line.
Entire Deck Department of S.S.
Josiah Parker has overtime due.
Collect Mississippi Steamship Com
pany, New Orleans.
* * *
Deck & Engine Dept. S.S. Samuel
Griffin having personel effects
claim see Robin Line claim agent,
39 Cortland-St., N. Y. C.
Steward Dept. S.S. Broholt- Liv
ingston have overtime coming. Col
lect Bull Line.
WASHINGTON — American
workers in shipyards through
out the country built and deliv-
ed more ships in the first six
months of 1943 than were con
structed in all of 1942.
With the'delivery of 168 cargo
vessels totaling 1,676,500 dead
weight tons in June, production
of ships for the first half of 1943
totaled 879 ships aggregating
8,818,622 deadweight tons. In
the entire year 1942 the yards
produced 746 vessels totaling 8,-
089,732 deadweight tons.
June construction brought
other new records in the record-
breaking feats of the nation's
shipbuilding industry.
A new record for ships deliv
ered by an individual yard was
set by AFL workers, when the
California Shipbuilding Corpor
ation sent 20 Liberty Ships Ihto
service compared with 18 deliv
ered in May and 19 in April.
AFL .workers in the former
Richmond Yards No. 1 "and 2,
now merged into one yard oper
ated by the Shipbuilding Divis
ion of the Permanente Metals
Corporation of California, turn
ed in a total of 25 Liberties.
As was announced last week
in the Seafarers Log the major
ity of construction from now on
will be of "Victory Ships" rather
than the old "Liberty Ships."
The new freighters will be cap
able of 17 or 18 knots.
{Continued fram Page 1)
present a list of post war "de
mands." Even the hardened
Stalinists seemed embarrassed
over the rankness of their sell
out program, and decided to give
lip-service to wages and condi
tions.
The NMU demanded that the
seamen receive, at some future
date, the following benefits;
1. The 40 hour week. This
great, revolutionary demand by
the sui>er-militants on 17th
street is already a part of the
SIU program. It was adopted
by the SIU Agents Conference
held month before last. The
NMU now attempts to get on
.the bandwagon before it is too
late.
2. Pensions for wounded and
disabled seamen. This demand
is pure fraud, and the records
will prove it. This spring when
the SIU was fighting for pen
sions, the Maritime War Emer
gency Board presented its 2nd
war risk insurance policy which
actually decreased the benefits
payable under its 1st policy. The
NMU, contrary to what it js now
preaching regarding life pen
sions, introduced to the Mari
time War Emergency Board for
adoption a policy which was
nothing more than a compensa
tion act calling for a ceiling of
$10,000 for total disability or loss
of life. It was Dushane, SIU
Washington Representative, who
demanded at this same meeting
that Congres be asked to pass
legislation which would pension
disabled seamen lor life and in
crease the death benefits. When
the NMU now belatedly raises
SIU demands as its own, it re
veals its double bookkeeping. It
has a phoney militant line which
it passes, out to the membership
when lyings get too hot, but: in
ts back-door dealings in Wash
ington it sells the men down the
river.
no real intention of fighting for
their realization.
3. $250 monthly war risk
bonus. Ah, their chickens come
lome to roost. $250 bonus is
what the SIU struck for in the
fall of 1941. Curran and com
pany finked on that strike and
called it "a bum beef." Now, two
years later, they raise the cry as
if it were something new that
they had just thought up, No.
the SIU didn't get a $250 bonus
out of that strike, but it won an
mcrease, and has won several
increases since — ail of which
were passed on to the NMU by
the shipowners. The present
bonus rate is the direct and ex
clusive result of the -SIU strug
gle. Any future boosts will be
due to the same cause, and not
to any wind from Curran.
Curran and Company give lip-
service to these demands, but it
is only lip-service for they have
ATLANTIC AND GULF SHIPPING FOR
JULY ITO 10
^ DECK ENGINE STEWARD TOTAL
SHIPPED 246 153 190 589
REGISTERED 183 201 97 504
ON HAND ....... V 120' 86 318
PHONEY METHOD
The NMU method makes im
possible the winning of any con
cessions from the shipowners.
You can not, at one and the
same time, embrace labor-man
agement -government commit-
tees as the sole means of strug
gle and expect to win wage in-(
creases and job security. You
can not act as the finger man
for the > bosses and expect to
lead the workers in struggle
against the bosses. A stool
pigeon commands the respect of
neither ^the employer nor the
victim.
The seamen know from long
and bitter experience .that the
only way to get higher wages
and shorter hours is by con
ducting relentless and uncom-
promising struggle aboard the
ships and on the waterfront.
But to the Stalinists, "strike"
is a horrid word. They have po
plans for imion struggle. They
have, therefore, no plans for
winning better wages and con
ditions. To the principles of
unionism, to the welfare of the
seamen, they give lip-service
and nothing else.
USUAL FANFARE
The convention was greeted
with the fanfare of publicity
which usually surrounds NMU
projects. The capitalist press,
recognizing the fact that the
NMU leaders are the bosses'
lieutenants, gave the clambake
a real buiid-up. But the time
when the rank and file seamen
could be sucked in by printers'
ink has passed. The seamen
have learned that there is no
relationship between what The
Pilot and New York Times writes
and number of pork chops on
the table.
The seamen have learned that
hey have few real supporters in
Washington and that the way
to get conditions is not by cock
tail parties uptown, but by pick
et lines on the waterfront.
Editors Mail
Editor:
Seafarers Log
2 Stone Street
New York City
Dear Sir and Brother:
I would like to congratulate
the SIU men on the way you are
carrjring on the transportation
of arms and troops in all parts
of the world. The LOG reaches
me regularly and gives me great
pleasure in reading the true
news of true men.
When my outfit crosses to
comT)at duty, it's my prayer that
the SIU men are at the helm to
steer a good outfit safely to'the
fight which we all share.
I can think of nothing more
to say except keep up the good
work and remember what we are
fighting for.
Sincerely yours, ;!
Corp. H. R. KERN,
(A.B.)No.485
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