http://www.seafarerslog.org/archives_old/files/original/e292809428653ca6dca8344e8aaf2e03.PDF e52bf181fcdde32369dc5a99350aa80e PDF Text Text . .^r-I :•'• -yv... • i - r' 'Ir# OFUCIAL ORGAN OF THE SiAFARIRS INTERNATIONAL UNION • ATIAWTIC GUIF, LAKK AND INUND WATERS DISTRIG • AFKIO .i^W: •V Volume 55, Number 8 August 1993 m': ^ NAFTA Myth A Norwegian second registry vessel's loss of a highly dangerous cargo has touched off a bizarre sequence of events revealing the Mexican government's failure to protect the environment and labor standards. ••• :''5/s'iT' .vyi '•'&•'• ' O0P>^>,O;tJ ^ HCQ </i :;£;n (/>«"• iXJ -» HOO iy*--)2Z<y* 'vJlH^ </)"[> -omn-n.Z OH'—-H Mexican fishermen observe stricicen Betula which iies on its side, empty of its suifuric acid cargo. Reflagging Postponed AFL-CIO Pushes for Reform House Authorizes 1994 Funding For Maritime Agency Lawmakers Set Te Address Health Care Crisis Pages •' BeumaivReuters Pages ^ - Inland Shipping W" /ji. Delta Queen Takes Over By Giant Flood AHG Vessels 1^^ USNS Wilkes' Rescue Mission Is Flawless PaS»4 i-., ,r\ '• �AUGUST1993 SEAFARERS LOG President's Report Behind the Fancy Words AFL-CIO Presses for Reform MealBlr Care Crisie to Top Lawmakas'Agomla thk Fall There has been a big push on now and for the past couple of years to bring about a North American Free Trade Agreement. The an American household. The nation's policy-makers Medicare to 60. American lab^or movement is very concerned about this trade deal, The health care crisis has In presenting its proposals to will turn their attention to the as Seafarers will recall from reading the taken its toll on relations between policy-makers, the AJT.-CIO has Seafarers LOG and discussions at union meet­ nation's health care crisis next unions and companies. In 1990, noted that the U.S. system of month when President Bill Clin ings. The AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions an unprecedented 55 percent of health care in grossly unfair. "It believe the goverament-feanctioned opening of ton presents to Congress his plan strikes were provoked by punishes employers who provide for reforming the m^cal services Mexico to U.S. businesses will bring about an health insurance to their workers management demands for severe exodus of American companies from the U.S., system of the United States. by forcing them to, in effect, sub­ reductions in medical benefit The attention of lawmakers to exporting hundreds of thousands of American sidize the health care of those levels or elimination of health this issue is critical to the millions jobs to Mexico. The trade deal will formalize who are employed by firms that coverage. of working Americans who cur­ an arrangement that allows U.S. companies seek a competitive advantage by To cope with the runaway rently bear the brunt of a health to move to a source of cheap labor and to a refusing to provide such coverage," care system riddled with out-ofcosts of medical care, unions and nation with very few costly environmental control costs, to the 36 million stated AFL-CIO Department of the health care providers they Michael Sacco regulations. Americans who have no medica Employee Benefits Director Karen work with are implementing a Because it stands to gain immeasurably insurance—whether or not they Ignagni in comments to a congres- number of measures designed to from a transfer of American jobs and manufacturing capability to are working, and to the millions siond panel. keep expenses in check while Mexico, the Mexican government is pulling out the stops in a cam­ of senior citizens who retired with maintaining benefit levels. paign to convince the American Congress to sign off on NAFTA. Inefficient U.S. System promises of life-long health Among the programs used are The Mexican government has had all sorts of glossy brochures The current system "is replete benefits only to find those preferred provider organizations printed up which boast of Mexico's commitment to the environ­ with inefficiencies that have programs suddenly terminated by forced (PPOs) in which a single hospital ment. The slick material, printed on green and sky-blue recycled costs to rise sharply, and company executives who say or clinic is designated as the paper, is aimed at putting aside the fears of elected officials and millions of Americans who are American voters that a trade deal with Mexico is a bad deal for the they can no longer afford the ex­ fortunate enough to be covered by primary care giver, a utilization pense. review process in which permis­ environment. These fears are founded on the fact that the few The administration plan has health insurance have, as a result, sion must be obtained for a medi­ Mexican environmental regulations are much more lax than those been fashioned by a task force suffered the financial burden of cal treatment, lifetime limits on we have in the U.S. It stands to reason that a trade deal which en­ increased cost-shifting and reduc­ courages factories to move to Mexico, with its lack of regulations, leaded by First Lady Hillary tions in benefits," Ignagni added. the amount oif services received, can result in increased industrial pollution, endangering human life Rodham Clinton which me Studies show the burden of and health maintenance organiza­ throughout the first half of the and natural resources on both sides of the border. skyrocketing health care costs has tions (HMOs) which provide all The U.S. trade unions also have raised questions about how sin­ year. While the task force was at been shifted to America's of a patient's care for a set annual Work fashioning its own recom­ fee and cover little outside its set cere is the Mexican government's devotion to decent labor standr mendations, a variety of bills ad­ workers. Employer after parameters. ards. It has been argued that U.S. businesses may be attracted to employer has instituted systems vocating different approaches to Mexico not only for its low wages but also because Mexican In upcoming issues of the the problem were introduced in requiring co-payments from the workers do not have the same rights as American employees do to company's workers for continu­ LOG, the health care crisis and Congress. organize to make their workplaces more humane and fair. Do ing health coverage or maintain­ the various plans to institute a na­ Complicated Debate Mexican workers have the right to organize and form unions, the ing benefit levels. Deductibles tional system will be discussed. With many health care reform lave been instituted and in­ Next month, the LOG will report right to speak out freely and the right to join together in collective proposals in the hopper, and with creased. The net result is that on the health care reform action? The truth about the Mexican government's commitment to the many constituencies affected by lealth care costs now eat up close proposals which are being con­ environment and to decent labor standards is probably not going to he outcome of the debate— to 10 percent of gross earnings of sidered by lawmakers. be found in the very expensive materials prepared by American receivers of benefits, doctors, public relations firms. The actions of the Mexican government in hospitals, insurance companies, High Health Care Costs the case of the Betula, a sulfuric acid-carrying tanker beached off among others^the deliberations Spell Trouble for Nation in Congress on the future of Mexico's shores, may be closer to the truth. A more detailed ac­ count of this incident appears elsewhere in the LOG. But in brief, lealth care in the United States Studies of the nation's health care system show ominous if the press accounts are correct, Mexican fishermen, believing are expected to be long and com­ trends. What foilows is some of the information put forward in the debate on America's heaith care direction. that their livelihoods were threatened by a spill of acid from a plicated. grounded chemical tanker, put on a demonstration. The Mexican The AFL-CIO, the federation In 1991, more than 35.4 million Americans—or 14.1 percent of the population—had no medical insurance. The number government arrested them. It also was reported in the press that the of national unions in the U.S., today is close to 36 million. Mexican government insisted nothing had been spilled from the intends to represent the concerns of working people and their • Of those who lost health care coverage in the past year, half Norwegian second registry ship, while the salvage company said there was nothing left in the vessel's tanks. Something does not amilies in this debate. For were employed and the remaining ones lost their jobs. square here. decades a proponent of a univer­ The apparent cover-up of environmental concerns and the hush- sal and fair national system of • In 1990, total dollars spent on health care reached $655 billion, 12.2 percent of thenation's GNP, more than any other country up of workers' concerns by Mexican authorities is troubling. The health care, the AFL-CIO has in the developed world. Betula incident demonstrates that the American labor movement called on lawmakers to enact a has real cause for worry when it comes to a trade deal between the "bold legislative solution." • On a per capita basis, the United States spends more on governments of Mexico and the United States. It also shows that While not taking a stand on health care than any of its primary trading partners—40 per­ cent more than Canada, 90 percent more than Germany and all the fancy materials and studies put out by those who stand to one specific proposd put forward 125 percent more than Japan. gain substantially from NAFTA do not necessarily represent a by any representative of the ad­ good faith account of the American people's—or Mexican ministration or Congress, the • Since 1970, total health care expenditures in the U.S. have people's—interests. AFL-CIO is working to ensure gone up 60 percent faster than inflation. If the trend continues, that any program adopted by law­ by the year 2000 total health-related spending in the U.S. will Educational Opportunities makers does the following: reach $1.6 trillion per year. Each year scholarships are awarded by the Seafarers to three • Establish a nationd com­ the 1980s, health costs for households increased from 6 SIU members and four sons, daughters or spouses of SIU mem­ mission composed of consumers, • In rcent to 9 percent of gross earnings. For people over 65, bers. I urge any Seafarer or fomily member of a Seafarer who abor, management, govemment alth care on average accounts for 11 percent of annual plans to attend an institution of higher leaming to apply for a and providers to administer a household expenses. scholarship. single national cost containment Applications for the scholarships must be received by April 15, >rogram. This group would be • In 1990,55 percent of all strikes by workers were related to health care issues. 1994, and the names of those who win the awards will ^ an­ charged with limiting the rate of nounced in May of that year. There are many forms and test scores rowth of health care expendi­ • For companies with less than 1,000 employees, the cost of that must accompany each application, so it is not too early to start tures. health care rose an average 17.3 percent in 1991. compiling a submission. Yes, it can take some time to put all the • Outline a core benefit Soui^: Physldans for a NationalHealth Program. Public Citizen, Departmentof HealthandHuman material together. But a $15,000 four-year scholarship or a $6,000 package to which all Americans Services, Hewitt Associatee.AFL-CaO.BurMu of Labw Statistics. two-year scholarship can be well worth the effort! are entitled, no matter their health status, state of residence or employment history. For those August 1993 Volume 55. Number 8 not in the workforce, a single ederal program should be set up The Seafarers LOG (ISSN 0160-2047) is published to cover the unemployed. monthly by the Seafarers International Union; Atlantic, • Develop ways in which Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District; AFL-CIO; 5201 waste, red tape and unnecessary Negotiations still are under would not be rushed. Auth Way; Camp Springs, Md. 20746. Telephone (301) way as the Seafarers LOG goes to The negotiations began aperwork can be reduced by 899-0675. Second-class postage paid at MSC Prince >ress between the SIU and its several months ago between the emanding standardized claim Georges, Md. 20790-9998 and at additional mailing orms, a uniform health care in- contracted operators that are sig- SIU and the American Maritime offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the brmation system, practice nators for new standard Association, a group of Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, Md. guidelines for physicians and a Teightship and tanker agree­ shipowners who contract with the 20746. national strategy to reform the ments to replace those that were union to provide unlicensed Communications Department Director aiid Editor, Jes­ way in which malpractice dis­ to expire June 15. mariners for their vessels. sica Smith; Managing Editor, Daniel Duncan; Associate putes are handled. The union and the companies SIU Vice Presidoit Contracts Editors, Jordan Biscardo and Corrina Christensen; As­ agreed last month to extend the Augie Tellez noted the sessions are • Help solve the retiree sociate Editor/Production, Deborah A Hirtes; Art, Bill lealth care benefit crisis by old pacts, ratified in June 1990, proceeding well and promised to Brower. owering the age of eligibility for until August 15 in order that talks keep the membership informed. Contract Talks Continue For Freightships/Tankers �v-'-i 'W'- i'' - rfe^Siisi^'asasSejisis?^^ - AUGUST 1993 SEAFARERS LOG 'VSSf-' 3 Hearings Reveal Uncertainty Over Maritime Peiicy Charies T. Mayden, Piasa Photographic Sen., Inc. The Alton Belle and Alton Belle Landing have become an island unto themselves, with water reachin 40 feet, an all-time high level. Rood Maud S^iplttg A congressjpnal hearing called to consider maritime legis­ lation underscored the deep frustration held by meml)ers of Congress and two of the subcommittee's witnesses over the apparent inactivity regarding a program for U.S.-flag shipping. Members of the House Mer­ chant Marine Subcommittee ex­ pressed dissatisfaction over the failure of witnesses from the departments of Transportation and Defense to offer specifics when quest io n e d T ho s e providing testimony on behalf of the administra­ tion said they have been thwarted in William Lipinski efforts to present a program because the Maritime Administrator has not been con­ firmed by the Senate. Subcommittee Chairman Wil­ liam Lipinski (D-Ill.) called the July 20 hearing on one aspect of the maritime revitalization pro­ gram offered by House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee Chairman Gerry Studds and Rep­ resentatives Jack Fields (RTexas) and Herbert Bateman (R-Va.) as well as Lipinski. The program, which was presented May 19 and consists of four pieces of legislation, is designed to offer and fund a 10-year, $1.9 billion subsidy program for U.S.flag ship operators and provide tax reform measures regarding these vessels. The package was introduced after the Clinton administration announced May 12 it would not propose any maritime revitaliza­ tion legislation before a Defense Department study on the need of the U.S. merchant marine for sealift is released in August. On June 28, Sea-Land and American President Lines (APL) an­ nounced they would seek permission from the Maritime Administration (MarAd) to reflag 20 of their U.S.-flagged ves­ sels. The companies had been threatening since early 1992 to take such action if no maritime policy was enacted. Called to testify on the Maritime Security and Competi­ tiveness Act (H.R. 2151) were Acting Maritime Administrator Continued on paged Regular river operations may seen any increased activities. locks reopen. not return to the Mississippi River "There does not appear to be The six vessels that are still in and its tributaries until fall as rain any increase in shipments of grain operation are the Dick Conerly, continued to fall in the upper mid- or coal since the flooding began, Jim Ludwig, Midland, Omega, western United States. noted Gordon Hall, vice presi­ J.N. Phillips and the Eastern Star. Record crests were expected dent/treasurer for the Lakes Car­ Sigler said Orgulf operations to hit Alton, 111., St. Louis and riers Association in Cleveland. may not get back to normal before other river towns in early August. The association monitors the traf­ late September. The Coast Guard and Army fic and loads carried by vessels on "This is even a tentative guess Corps of Engineers continue to the Great Lakes. If the rain doesn't quit, the locks prohibit any commercial boating "We have not been able to will never open up before the end activities on the upper Mississip­ detect any changes. And with all of summer for normal operations pi as well as the Missouri and of the flooding and bridges being to resume," the port agent stated Illinois rivers. washed out, it is hard to believe Paddlewheelers Keep Rolling While some of the locks which the railroads can handle it either. The SlU-contracted Delta handle barge traffic on the upper Hall added. Queen Steamboat Company Mississippi have reopened in plans to keep all operations flow­ Minnesota and northern Iowa, Seafarers in Alton ing despite the record high water tugs and barges still are not. able marks being set on the upper Mis­ Tackle High Waters. to transport grain, coal and other sissippi. Page 28 materials downriver. At the same The company re-routed two time, the navigable portion of the cruises on the big paddlewheeler Meanwhile, the victims along Mississippi Queen, replacing the Missouri River has been shut down between St. Louis and the banks of the rivers include St. Louis to St. Paul, Minn, and Sioux City, Iowa. That river may Seafarers who have lost their the St. Paul to St. Louis itineraries not reopen to traffic until late homes. More than a dozen SIU with Chattanooga, Tenn. to St. September, according to the members have homes under Louis voyages. The other SIUU.S. Senator Barbara in June that water. Army Corps of Engineers. crewed vessel. Delta Queen, has Mikulski (D-Md.) has asked the they were St. Louis Port Agent Joe Sigler President Bill Clinton has been unaffected by the river White House to verify informa­ going to reported receiving several calls asked Congress to grant up to $4 closure. Its cruises were tion she has received that the apply to the about Seafarers who work aboard billion in flood relief to the people scheduled for the Ohio and Cum­ Department of Defense advised Maritime and businesses affected by what Orgulf tugs losing their homes. berland Rivers during July. Sea-Land and American Presi­ Administra­ "So far, we have confirmed one, is being known as the "Great Below Cairo, the Mississippi dent Lines (APL) to replace their tion to re-flag but many people cannot be Flood of 1993." The House of widens out allowing faster disper­ U.S. flags with a flag of con­ 20 of their reached because ttiey have moved Representatives had passed a sion of the water through natural vessels. The $2.7 billion relief package in late and phone lines are down," he means such as evaporation. The venience from the Marshrdl Is­ companies lands. July, which the Senate was ex­ noted. Army Corps of Engineers also Sen. Mikulski had In a July 1 letter addressed to been pected to address in early August. controls the lower river and, if President Bill Clinton, the long­ threatening Orgulf Boats Tie Up Despite the lack of barge traf­ necessary, can channel as much A total of six Orgulf boats are as 30 percent of the water through time supporter of the U.S.-flag to do so since last year unless a fic on the Mississippi since flood­ merchant fleet stated she was "not maritime revitalization program ing began in May, Great Lakes still running the lower Mississip­ Continued on page 8 re-elected... tO see the U.S. mer­ became law. In May, members of shipping companies have not pi while 15 are tied up until the chant marine scuttled." She asked the House Merchant Marine and the president to support a Fisheries Committee introduced a maritime revitalization program, revitalization package through a calling it a "vital national security series of four bills. The box below contains the issue." text of Mikulski's letter: Sea-Land and APLannounced tion program. The House of Rep­ The House of Representatives U.S.-flag ships. approved a $621 million The amendment, offered by resentatives already is consider­ Dear Mr. President: I am writing to express my outrage and deep dismay at reports authorization bill to run the House Merchant Marine and ing a four-bill package that includes a lO-ye^, $1.9 billion that the two largest American-flag shipping companies have Maritime Administration Fisheries Chairman Gerry Studds subsidy program for vessels in­ decided to remove a number of their vesselsfrom the United States (MarAd) during Fiscal Year (D-Mass.), stated, "The Secretary volved in a maritime security flag1994. of Transportation may not ap­ fleet program as well as loan I was not re-elected to the United States Senate last November Added to the bill during debate prove the transfer of a Unit^ guarantees and incentives for to see the U.S. merchant marine scuttled by wonks and green on the House floor was an SIU- States-documented oceangoing U.S. shipyards. eyeshade types in the White House and the Pentagon. I believe our backed amendment that prohibits merchant vessel that is of 3,(X)0 The chairman added that Con­ national security depends upon our moving a maritime revitaliza­ the federal agency from granting gross tons or more (or that type of gress is "working as hard as we tion bill in this session of the Congress to keep our U.S.-flag fleet any re-flagging requests through a vessel the last documentation of can to come up with a com­ sailing. We need leadership from the White House on this vital the end of 1994. The amendment which was under the laws of the prehensive proposal. By the end national security issue. United States) to a foreign of next year, we will know passed by a vote of 388 to 41. lam informed that the Pentagon has given advice to two major registry under section 9(c) of the whether we will have U.S.-flag shipping companies to re-flag their ships with the Marshall IsThe MarAd bill includes funds to operate the agency, which is Shipping Act of 1916, as vessels on the high seas and a U.S. lands. The crews on these ships will come from all over the world. charged with promoting, amended, through December 31, shipyard capability to build those I appreciate our treaty agreements with our friends in foreign vessels." countries, but I lack confidence that foreign nationals will have developing and maintaining the 1994." Joining him in support of the the same commitment to place their lives on the line, if necessary, 'Buys Time' U,S. merchant fleet. The legisla­ amendment was Representative that our U.S. merchant marine have. tion, which now goes to the In presenting the amendment, William Lipinski (D-Ill.), the You have moved slowly and deliberately on your review of Senate for consideration, also Studds told his fellow repre­ chairman of the Merchant Marine maritime policy—I hope the administration will not move quickly provides funds to keep the Ready sentatives he was offering the Subcommittee. "It is vital that at now in the dismantling of the U.S.-flag fleet. Reserve Force vessels in a state of legislation "to buy all of us time a time when we are trying to I look forward to your response. readiness, for shipbuilding loan — the president, the secretary of preserve our maritime industry Sincerely, guarantees and for the operating transportation. Congress" to [s] Barbara A. Mikulski Contuiuedon page 8 differential subsidies for some complete a maritime revitaliza- ;..7 • •¥-' .> - '-yl. 1 •• •'.•.-I • im- Sen. Mikulski Seeks MariUme Commitment Amendment to Delay Re-Flaesing Adopted House Approves '94 MarAd Bill •••-,.g0''f>: " r 'v , , -- r •r'V'Vf-Vv-% •a !/• I'• • •\ . -a. -r 't �4 AUGUST 1993 SEAFARERS LOG Delta Queen Takes Over Operations nendence and Constitution The jobs of SIU crewmembers sailing aboard the U.S.-flag pas­ senger ships Independence and Constitution are secure following a federal bankruptcy court's ap­ proval of the takeover of finan­ cially troubled American Hawaii Cruises by the Delta Queen Steamboat Company of New Orleans. The SlU-crewed Constitution {abOMe) and Independence (below) now The Honolulu-based court anare being operated by the Delta Queen Steamboat Company follow- nounced its decision on July 28. Ing a decision last month In federal bankruptcy court. Piliit Delta Queen, an SlU-contracted company which operates two paddlewheel steamboats on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, presented the only bid on the cruise ships and the busi­ ness associated with them. "We were successful in main­ taining these jobs for our mem­ bership," noted Augie Tellez, SIU vice president for contracts. "This insures that the Con­ stitution and Independence will continue running for years to come," added Tom Fay, SIU port agent in Honolulu. Seafarers who sail aboard the cruise ships held meetings on the Constitution and Independence on July 29 and at the Honolulu hall on July 30 to vote on a new seven-year pact with the Delta Queen subsidiary. Last month. Judge Lloyd King granted interim management of the two cruise ships to Delta Queen pending his decision. The judge had set a July 21 deadline for competing bids or any objec­ tions to Delta Queen, but none was received. The new company will be called Great Hawaiian Cruise Line, Inc. Delta Queen has an­ nounced its intentions to renovate both ships and upscale the pas­ senger cabins. "This transaction provides both Delta Queen and American Hawaii with significant oppor­ tunities for growth," stated S. Cody Engle, chairman of Delta Queen. "For Delta Queen, it rep­ resents ah opportunity® to almost more than triple the company's passenger capacity while remain­ ing focused on the business we know best. For American Hawaii, it represents a means of sustain­ ing and improving a unique product and franchise in the world's premier vacation destina­ tion." In June, Delta Queen had a steel-cutting ceremony as it began construction for its third riverboat, the American Queen, which is expected to start sailing by April 1995. She will join a fleet already served by the SIUcrewed Delta Queen and Missis­ sippi Queen. Inland Waterways Fuel TaxWithdrawn A proposed 50-cent-a-gallon inland waterways fuel tax has been withdrawn from considera­ tion by House and Senate con­ ferees who are negotiating the Clinton administration's economic policy. Early reports from the con­ ference stated the tax was removed in favor of increasing the national sales tax oh gasoline. The SIU, along with other maritime interests and energy users, lobbied heavily against the idea, stating the tax was an unfair burden on the inland waterways industry. The inland waterways tax was passed by the House of Repre­ sentatives as one means of lower­ ing the nation's deficit. Original estimates for the tax noted nearly $500 million could be collected over a five-year period. In its original deficit-reduction package, the House also ap­ proved a tax based on the energy content of fuel, known as British thermal units (Btu). The Btu tax was part of the Clinton administration's request to reduce the deficit by $500 billion. As with the inland tax, the SIU and others were successful in lob­ bying the Senate to have the Btu tax removed from consideration. Instead, the Senate approved a 4.3-cent-a-gallon tax on gasoline. Because of the differences in the House and Senate versions of the legislation, a conference com­ mittee consisting of members from both bodies has been meet­ ing since mid-July to iron out the differences. As the Seafarers LOG was going to press, reports from Capitol Hill stated the conferees were trying to settle on a tax of between 6 and 7 cents per gallon. , ; • I- : IP. The committee is expected to an­ nounce its proposal in early August. Despite the indications that both the inland waterways and Btu taxes are dead, the SIU plans to monitor the negotiations for other ideas that may affect mem­ bership and maritime. Under the rules of a conference committee, the representatives and senators may pass all of what the House approved (which amounted to $72 billion in tax increases), all of what the Senate approved (es­ timated at a $23 billion increase), parts of either or nothing from them and create its own funding formula. None of the ideas is officially excluded fi-om consideration until the House and Senate have ap­ proved the final package, then the president signs it. Also under consideration by the conference committee mem­ bers are increases in income taxes for those individuals who make more than $115,000 a year and couples earning $140,000 an­ nually, a hike in the top corporate Houston Port Agent Jim McGee (right) recently spoke with Treasury tax rates, taxes on social security Secretary Lloyd Bentsen about the needs of maritime In the Clinton administration's deficit reduction program. benefits and much more. Federal Court Announces User Fee Lawsuit Schedule A federal court in Washington has released the pretrial schedule for action concerning a lawsuit filed by the SIU, four other maritime labor unions and five individual mariners against the U.S. Coast Guard and the secretary of transportation to stop collecting fees on merchant marine documents (z-cards). The suit, filed April 15, claims the "work tax," as it has been called because mariners are un­ able to work without one, is un­ constitutional and was calculated incorrectly by the federal agency. Besides the Seafarers, the other unions joining in the lawsuit which has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia are the Unlicensed Division of District No. 1 Marine Beneficial Association/National Maritime Union, District No. 1Pacific Coast District Marine Engineers' Beneficial Associa­ tion, the American Maritime Of­ ficers District 2 MEBA and the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots. Also joining in the fight are the Sailors' Union of the Pacific and the Marine Firemen's Union, both of which are affiliated with the Seafarers. The five individual mariners who are plaintiffs against the Coast Guard and Transportation Secretary Federico Pena include Anthony Primeaux, William H. Mulcahy, John Paul Hoskins, James C. Oliver and Perry O. Lawrence. Exchange Information Lawyers on both the maritime and government sides will have until September 23 to exchange information relating to the suit. This process, known as dis­ covery, allows both parties to know what will be involved in the case. Attorneys representing the unions and mariners already have asked the federal agencies in­ volved for any records, com­ ments received and other information that were used to for­ mulate the user fee on merchant marine ddcuments. Both parties in the suit then will have until October 22 to file for a summary judgment. This procedure is used when all the f^acts can be gathered on paper and witnesses are not needed to testify in a trial in order for the judge to make a decision. Legal briefs are prepared by attorneys for both sides explain­ ing the facts and the legal theories behind their reasoning of how the case should be decided. In most cases, lawyers for one of the two sides will ask for the case to be decided by summary judgment, but judges can notify the attorneys that such a request is expected. If a case is decided by sum­ mary judgment, a decision usual­ ly comes from the judge within six months. However, there is no time limit as to when a judge must announce the decision. Some cases have waited more than a year before the judge's ruling was declared. Should a summary judgment not be used in the work tax case, the court then would set a date for atrial. Argue Against Tax By seeking to declare the user fee unconstitutional, the unions and mariners argued that only Congress can pass a tax and the legislative body caimot transfer that authority to another branch of the government. The user fee originated in the 1990 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. In­ cluded in that legislation was the, elimination of an 1886 statute that prevented the Coast Guard from collecting fees for licenses and certain shipboard positions. The suit contends the reason for removing the ban to collect fees on merchant documents was to raise money to reduce the deficit. The plaintiffs also claim the Coast Guard used inaccurate information in establishing fee levels. Although the Department of Transportation agency an­ nounced its fee schedule on March 19, it did not begin collect­ ing the work tax until April 19. The fees ranged from $35 for a duplicate z-card, license or cer­ tificate of registry to $272 for an upper level license. An ordinary seaman upgrad­ ing to able bodied seaman, for example, would have to pay $135 for a new document—$60 for an evaluation fee, $40 for an ex­ amination fee and $35 for an up­ dated z-card. �.-v. ..^->irr:j» Is • , I tM.. AUGUST1993 SEAFARERS lOG 5 ' fir: NIS'Registered Betula Grounded l: •S- Mexico's iiew-Foumi Green image Centradided by its Response To Suifuric Acid-Leaicing Ship '•:'<• • ••' -'"•V" ' Bizarre responses from the newspaper reporters that the Protesting the loss of a fishing Mexican government to claims o; Betula"s tanks were empty. Sal­ ground and their related incomes, sulfuric acid leakage from a vage workers found the deck the fishermen's cooperative grounded Norwegian seconc hatches of the 15 acid-carrying demonstrated on July 8, attempt­ registry vessel have raised anew tanks were open. ing to blockade the port and questions about Mexico's com "In my opinion there ain't demanding compensation. The mitment to high environmenta nothing there," Roy Dodgen of Mexican Navy (which has Coastand labor standards proposed as Titan Maritime Industries told the Guard-like functions) arrested 28 part of a package involving a New York Times as he looked at of the fishermen and issued or­ North American Free Trade the ship. Lloyd's List T&pori&d that ders for the arrest of 525 others Agreement (NAFTA). Beth Christ at Titan's Rorida of­ according to information appear­ The trade deal between the fice said, "All the sulfuric acid is ing in Lloyd'sList supplied by the governments of Mexico, the out of the vessel." environmental group Green­ United States and Canada was Salvage workers and repre­ peace. At the end of July, three negotiated by the Bush ad­ sentatives of the insurance com­ remain in jail, said a spokesman ministration and now claims the pany involved at the site of the for the Mexican Tourism Hotline. support of President Clinton. Bui shipwreck speculated that the In response to inquiries as to several congressmen have voicec ship, which had been beached on whether any government funds Crewmembers of the Eli Marie display "V" for victory and thumbs up doubts about the trade pact, citing June 29 and then struck by Hur­ existed in Mexico to compensate after hearing the shipping company would pay their back wages and the potential mass loss o ricane Calvin on July 6 and 7, victims of environment^ acci­ settle other grievances following a three-day strike in Baltimore. American jobs as U.S. factories becoming partially sunk, had lost dents, the spokesman for the flee south of the border to a land its acid cargo during the storm Mexican Tourism Hotline said he of cheaper, more exploitable and had dissipated in the sea. was not sure. labor and less stringent environ­ Fewer than 30 tons of sulfuric Lack of Information mental and safety and health acid were left in the hold, salvage The Mexican Tourism Hotline regulations. workers reported to Lloyd's List. spokesman was contacted as a To go into effect, NAFTA These July 13 statements of result of a press inquiry made to must be accepted by Congress. To salvage company and insurance the Embassy of Mexico in After three months of no pay After Morris asked about the food make the trade scheme more officials contradicted a statement Washington, D.C. The embassy and meals consisting only of rice on board, the captain blew up palatable to legislators, the ad­ issued on July 11 by the Mexican referred the press call to the and eggs, a Filipino-Indonesian stating, "What are you people in ministration and the Mexican Interior Ministry, a government Mexican Tourism Hotline. Press crew aboard a Norwegian second the United States concerned government are negotiating side department usually charged with calls placed directly to the press registry (NIS) vessel conducted a about their food, they have rice agreements on labor standards internal police and security mat­ attache of the Mexican embassy three-day strike for better condi­ and eggs!" ters. That agency said there had made by a Seafarers LOG and environmental concerns. tions after the bulker docked in At the same time, the Mexican been no leakage of sulfuric acid. reporter were not returned. No Funds Recdved Baltimore. Meanwhile, the third engineer government is spending millions Fishermen Arrested The Mexican Tourism Hotline SIU Representative Edd Mor­ had the chance to contact his of dollars on public relations ex­ Despite the Mexican spokesman said the Betula situa­ ris, who also serves as an Interna­ family in the Philippines, only to perts and sleek materials to government's assertions that tion had been contained by the tional Transport Workers discover that none of the money present an image of a nation dedi­ diere was no spillage of sulfuric Mexican government and that Federation (ITF) inspector, he sent home had been received. cated to the highest environmen­ acid, a local fishermen's coopera­ beaches frequented by tourists helped negotiate a settlement for The radio office displayed proof tal and labor standards. tive insists on the contraiy. They had not been in any way affected the 17 Filipino and three In­ that the funds had been wired.Mor­ Actions Belie Image point to dead turtles, a dead by the shipwreck. He said he had donesian crewmembers aboard ris contacted the manning agency pelican and dead fish as proof. no statement from the Mexican The June 29 grounding of the the Eli Marie, a bulk carrier offices in both Manila and its home Betula, a 1970 built, 10,033 dwt They also point to chemical bums government on the situation operated by Norway-based Gaard office in Singapore about the third chemical tanker, off the shore of suffered by their members who which he could issue to the press Shipping. engineer's request its Michoacan state last month, had ventured into waters near the and that he was not allowed to (By using the NIS, the Nor­ Although representatives in provided the Mexican govern­ beached Beru/a. release the one piece of informa­ wegian International Shipping both offices originally stated they ment an opportunity to live up to The government, on the other tion he had been sent from the registry, a company is allowed to had not received the telex, they its newly found green image. hand, says tests around the Betula Mexican Maritime Secretaiy. fly the flag of this traditional later said the wire was received The spokesman said he was Instead, the Mexican of sea water reveal normal maritime nation. However, the but they would not pass the government's response has been acidity. But Mexican authorities not sure whether there was a company operates under runaway money to the family because they shrouded in mysteiy. It insists the only ^gan testing 10 days after Mexican govemment investiga­ conditions such as using crew­ had not received any funds from sulfuric acid did not spill in the the ship ran aground off the tion under way of the accident members from anywhere around the company. However, a spokesman for the face of empty tanks. Its embassy country's Pacific coast. the world, avoiding taxes and The crew stopped work on in Washington, D.C. refers all Despite its statements that no Betula's operating company said bypassing maritime regulations.) July 10 to protest working condi­ press inquiries to the Mexican sulfuric acid had been spilled, the the Norwegian Maritime Direc­ Inhumane Treatment tions aboard the vessel. By the Tourism Hotline, which turns out Mexican government closed the torate has completed an inves­ tigation of the incident. Not only was food scarce on following day, they were on strike to be a public relations agency in area to fishing. the ship, but crewmembers with picket signs displayed on the Chicago. And its newly created reported inhumane treatment. dock and gangway. Morris con­ office of the attorney general for The third engineer, for example, tinued to make calls to the man­ the environment has had nothing discovered his mother was near ning agency, the Norwegian to do with the incident, among death and asked the captain for consul, the Philippine consul and other peculiar actions. permission to fly to the Philip­ others to resolveffiie situation. According to accounts in the pines to be> with her. He was Washington Post and the New Crew Wins Strike turned down. A few days later, York Times, the Mexican govern­ By July 12, Morris had con­ the third engineer found out his ment denied that the Betula, firmed with the shipping com­ mother had died. managed by Rotterdam-based pany that all claims would be paid Offloading Delayed through the manning agency in Alendal Tankers BV, had spilled • ;v5-'; ••-vv,',"'.;.if''.',,;,;'V any of the more than 4,000 tons of When the vessel arrived in Manila. An agreement between sulfuric acid which remained in Baltimore on June 18, the Eli the crew and the captain was Marie did not dock until July 7 at drafted and signed. Among the its stainless steel tanks when the Domino Sugar. During this time items agreed to in the document ship was first towed to sea. The decision of the Lazaro in the Chesapeake Bay, no shore were salaries and allotments Cardenas port authorities to take leave was granted. Crewmembers would be paid on time, a welfare the vessel to sea was made after asked to be paid or at least receive fund should be utilized, enough the chemical had leaked into one a draw, which the Norwegian provisions should be kept on of the pumprooms during offcaptain denied. After the ship first board the ship, and the captain floading operations on June 25. dropped anchor, the third en­ and chief engineer would not The vessel was towed by a harbor gineer took his $500 emergency harass the crew. tug, a line broke, the Betula The document was signed by cash and asked the radio officer to drifted and later came aground on have it wired through the man­ all the crew and officers and wit­ a sandbar 20 kilometers north of ning agency to his family to help nessed by Morris and a Baltimore Lazaro Cardenas. shipping agent representing the pay for his mother's burial. After the crew contacted Mor­ vessel owners. Tanks Mysteriously Empty AP by Joe Cavaretta Offloading of the sugar ris on July 9, he immediately ap­ \^exlcan fishermen and salvage workers believe 4,000 tons of sulfuric But workers, from the proached the captain about the resumed July 13. A few days later, acid from the Betula leaked Into the sea. The Mexican government American salvage company who situation. The captain said he did the vessel sailed to Boston to pick says none of the ship's cargo was spilled. were inspecting the tanks told the not want to discuss the problem. up a load of scrap steel for China. - rf. After Months of No Pay, NIS Ship's Crew Strikes - r-WI'. •v-s,fmj ti- "'•"! • • -i' -:-•••* iiif • L' V' 'r !i �• r-.-'' 6 AUGUST 1993 SEAFARERS LOG House Hearing Reveals MarMme Pelicy UnUer Review ''iSfe: „s*» V,";,rlr- The bill, introduced last month Unde man our RRF. This is a grave in place," Yim told Taylor. Continued from page 3 Senate rules, by Studds and Armed Services Although Herberger had his concern to us. It is an issue we are one senator Committee Chairman Ron DelJoan Yim and William J. Lynn, looking at in terms of re-flag- confirmation hearing June 23, with an ob­ lums (D-Calif.), is designed to in­ director of program analysis for ging. farm-state senators led by Conrad jection can itiate a technology development the Defense Department. Also When the subcommittee chair­ Bums (R-Mont.), Hank Brown place a hold program to provide a base for ad­ speaking before the panel was Dr. man asked Lynn if the Defense (R-Colo.) and Charles Grassley on a Paul Chapman, the author of Department had any contingency (R-Iowa) are holding up the presidential vanced shipbuilding, create a Trouble on Board about plans for the RRF if American admiral's confirmation in the nomination. market for U.S.-built double-hull runaway-flag shipping and the crews were not available, he said Senate Commerce, Science and former director of the Center for none had been drawn up. Transportation Committee. The Thomas Andrews Herberger is tankers and expand federal loan one of many guarantees for U.S. shipyards. Seafarers' Rights (See article on "The current plan is to rely on senators are using this tactic to get page 3). such Clinton appointees whose Parts of H.R. 2547 are expected back at Herberger because of the the (U.S.) merchant marine," H.R. 2151 Lynn added. strong support he indicated for final confirmation is being or was to be included in the Fiscal Year would amend Neither government witness cargo preference during his con­ delayed by such a move. 1994 Defense Department ap­ the Merchant was aware of a July 1 letter from firmation hearing. Burns, Brown propriations bill. Other Bills Progressing Marine Act of Senator Barbara Mikulski (D- and Grassley are frequent critics While the House subcommit­ 1936 by creat­ Md.) to Clinton stating "the Pen­ of cargo preference legislation. The Merchant Marine Invest­ ing a tagon has given advice to two (Cargo preference laws desig­ tee is expected to mark up—the ment Act (H.R. 2152) is awaiting Maritime major shipping companies (Seanate a certain process of preparing a bill for its action by the House Ways and Security Reet Land and APL) to re-flag their percentage of next assignment—H.R. 2151 late Means Committee after being Program. The ships with the Marshall Islands. govemment- in July, action on other aspects of reported out by the Merchant bill, if passed, impelled the maritime revitalization pro­ The crews on these ships will Joan Yim Marine and Fisheries Commit­ would permit come from all over the world. cargo be car­ gram has begun. tee. up to 90 U.S.-flag vessels operat­ She further noted in the letter that ried aboard The National Shipbuilding ing in international commercia she lacked confidence in foreign U.S.-flag and Conversion Act of 1993 trade to receive a subsidy for IC crews performing up to the same vessels. Such (H.R. 2547) has been reported out The final bill in the package, years. The payments would begin commitment as American laws have of the House Merchant Marine H.R. 2380, is before the Merchant in Fiscal Year 1996. The mariners. Herb Bateman been in effect and Fisheries Committee. It is Marine and Fisheries Committee Maritime Trust Fund Act (H.R. During his testimony before since 1954. 2380) provides the components the House subcommittee, Dr The policy began after World before the House Armed Services as well as the Ways and Means Committee. Committee. for funding H.R. 2151 through a Chapman pointed out that one o War II.) . 5 percent passenger ticket tax on the first things a company will do certain cruises originating in the when it switches flags is to U.S. and a $15 vessel container change the nationality of the tax on import and export cargo. crew. "This is the pattern around Receiving Presidential Attention the world," he said. "This is one In her prepared testimony, of the reasons for flagging out. SIU pensioner Fred Umholtz tended, he noted. He noted noticed an advertisement in the Yim announced, "Maritime "Many of the World War U when Nor­ personals section of his local mariners are still struggling for reform has received vigorous at­ way adopted Springdale, Ark. newspaper for veteran status, and it help^ to tention within the administration a second World War II seamen to meet meet and share our thoughts and and is still underactive considera­ registry, all once a month for coffee and to feelings on the matter," the retiree tion." Norwegian swap old sea stories. Yim praised the role that has said. crewmembeen played by the U.S.-flag mer­ "I thought I was the only "We invited eight local U.S. bers except World War II merchant seaman Navy armed guard veterans to chant marine in times of national the captain around this area, but much to my join us because they stood guard emergencies. "The active com­ mercial fleet also provides a base Helen Bentley and chief en­ surprise, discovered thk there on our ships," he added. gineer were were more than 60 just in the of seagoing employment for The veterans barbecued, American seafarers, who in turn replaced by lower-paid foreign northwest part of Arkansas and played bingo and horse shoes, but are available to the Department of nationals. "But then, in many of over 400 living in the entire the most important event was Defense and the Maritime Ad­ the Norwegian ships that have state," Umholtz told a reporter for swapping stories. Brother Um­ ministration lagged-out, now all of the crew the Seafarers LOG. holtz made prizes in his workshop crew from top to bottom are foreign." to "A number of the veterans are to give out to the winners of the Representative Thomas SUP sailors who really enjoy games. sealift ships, Andrews (D-Maine) commented. reading my issues of the including the "Now that I'm not sailing, We could find ourselves with Seafarers LOG which I brought have Ready a lot of time on my hands. I Reserve crews that might be very unsym- to the meetings, and they'd pass enjoy woodworking and have Force, during jathetic to the cause that the "rom one to another," he said. shop set up. I make things like crises," she Jnited States armed forces may According to Umholtz, the little toys, windmills and special Since retiring in 1987, Brother be engaged in—the very crews monthly meetings grew, and the Umholtz spends time in his shop said. we may be depending upon to seamen began planning for a mini-merry-go-rounds. I sell creating unique wooden crafts. "The use William J. Lynn them to people I know and give a of civilian deliver vital equipment to our arger scale reunion for the lot of them to my friends and merchant mariners on govern- armed forces." Arkansas veterans and their States. Representative Helen Delich amilies. The seamen decided to family," he said. ment ships in times of emergency A native of Elm Springs, Ark., "After the war, we carried Bentley (R-Md.) suggested that is one of the most cost-effective lold the event at Hickory Creek Brother Umholtz joined the German prisoners back to Europe the Defense Department recall and efficient%xamples of 'publicPark on Beaver Lake, just outside Seafarers on the last day of 1945 from prison camps," he said. private partnerships,' a new con­ what happened in Vietnam when Springdale. in Sheepshead Bay, N.Y. In 1951 he was drafted into the cept to many, but a well-tested foreign crews refused to carry Umholtz recently provided the Umholtz's first ship was the U.S. Army to serve in the Korean war supplies aboard fully loaded one for our national defense. LOG with photographs from the Williams Victory, a Smith and Lynn added in his remarks that ships to the southeastem Asia na­ second annual reunion of World Johnson vessel. He sailed in the conflict. In 1952, immediately the Defense Department "needs tion, forcing the vessels to be of­ War 11 merchant mariners living deck department. The vessel following his release from the sealift. The United States is a nation floaded and materiel placed on in Arkansas. The day-long picnic served as a troop ship returning Army, he revived his SIU career with global interests, and it depends other ships. She pointed out there on Beaver Lake was well at­ soldiers from Europe back to the and began sailing out of the port of New Orleans. on the deployment of forces fixjm were several instances when the He sailed with Delta Lines for U.S. bases to defend those interests same thing occurred during the recent Persian Gulf conflict. most of his maritime career but when trouble strikes." also sailed around the world with He pointed out the long-stand­ Senators Block Nominee Isthmian Steamship. ing policy "to rely on the [U.S.] In response to a question from "I must have sailed on about maritime industry to meet Representative Gene Taylor (D80 ships in all my SIU seatime. [Defense] requirements, to the Miss.) seekThere are so many that I lost extent that the industry can do so, ing specific count," Umholtz observed. and we intend to continue that goals for The deck department member policy." Mar Ad, Yim spent many years sailing to West Questions RRF Crowing replied the Africa and South America. "One During the questioning that of my favorite places was Brazil. agency has followed, Lipinski asked Yim if When I was with Delta I sailed on not been able the Maritime Administration a passenger ship and we took 47to implement could count on U.S. mariners to day trips to Brazil and back to any because crew Ready Reserve Force (RRF) Houston. We really got to know the person Gene Taylor vessels should U.S.-flag maritime the Brazilian people, and it be­ appointed by companies re-flag their ships and came a second home for many of Clinton to serve as Maritime Ad­ hire foreign crews. us," the pensioner recalled. "That is a difficult question we ministrator, Vice Admiral Albert Brother Umholtz spent the last are facing," Yim replied. "We Herberger (Ret.), has not been few years of hisSIU career sailing need to have seafarers who have confirmed by the Senate. aboard Sea-Land vessels: He jobs in peacetime in order to be "It is somewhat frustrating in­ ^'ensioner Fred Umholtz (right) joins other Arkansas merchant marine retired to his hometown of Elm available during times of war to ternally in, that our team is rtot yet veterans at the second annual reunion in Hickory Creek Park, Ark. Spings in 1987. Arkansas Merchant Marine Vets Reminisce at Day-Long Reunion 7 /• 7 �V r. ::m AUGUST 1993 SEAFARERS LOG 7 :'M Wilkes Crew Completes Record-Breaklng Recovery MSG Vessel Rrings Up Sunken Survey Sled Sf- SIU crewmembers aboarc connection of the sled, the the USNS Wilkes participated in Magellan vehicle was brought a record-breaking salvage aboard and the ship's crew recovery on June 20 when the began the long process of bring­ crew brought up an ing the system aboard. The oceanographic seafloor survey Wilkes' deep sea trawl and system sled from 5,450 meters coring winch was used because of water off the south coast o of its ample pulling power and Hawaii. sufficient drum capacity for the The Wilkes, owned by the 20,000 feet of recovery pendant. Military Sealift Command Smallwood noted that (MSG) and operated by Bay several splices in the line were Ship Management, is a Nava difficult to pass through the Oceanographic Office vesse various blocks and fairleads,but OS JaeThrowbridgeand ABTom After hours of hard work by crewmembers, the spooling device Is which operates throughout the the wet and slippery kevlar was Skublnna lay back on a section of hoisted clear of the water. Extending downward Into the water Is the Pacific Ocean. squeezed carefully through nylon pendant being used to hoist recovery pendant leading to the deep ocean survey sled still oh the without mishap. The final 800 the recovery pendant on board, ocean bed. Wilkes Chief Mate Free feet of the recovery pendant was Smallwood supplied the Seafarers LOG with a very large diameter and had to photographs and information be worked separately. about the crew's efforts in "The sled cleared the water recovering the survey system. and was snaked on board after According to Smallwood,the dark of the second day—to the seafloor survey sled had been delight of a tired but dedicated lost by oceanographers when an crew," he recalled. attachment link parted. The "The record-breaking suc­ Naval Oceanographic Office cess of this salvage operation is sought assistance from the su­ a tribute to the skill and efficien­ pervisor of Diving and Salvage cy of the crew of this small who contracted Oceaneering ship," Smallwood added. Technologies, Inc. to operate The Wilkes sailed into the deep salvage remotely Honolulu with the sled on deck piloted vehicle Magellan 724 and wit^ a "broom at the yarjfrom the Wilkes. darm" indicating a successful "The operation was a tricky mission. Bosun "Skip" Yager one at such extreme depths and said of the operation, "Hey, we required the Magellan recovery just got the job done." Bosun "Skip" Yager signals crew to hold the line as the spooling device is hoisted to the deck's edge. vehicle to attach a 20,000 foot Crewmembers aboard the long recovery pendant of half- Wilkes received a commenda­ inch kevlar line to the downed tion from the commanding of­ sled. ficer of the Naval "While the sled was being Oceanographic Office at the located, hooked up and Stennis Space Center in Missis­ recovered, it was necessary for sippi for the sled's recovery. the Wilkes' ship control team to Among those listed by keep the ship within a few Smallwood as instrumental in meters of a position directly the recovery effort were Bosun over the sled. The ship has no Yager, ABs ^'Mac" Davis, Tom automated station-keeping sys­ Skubinna, "Jake" Jacobs, tem and the team used various Steve Herring and Andy combinations of engine, rudder Gutierrez; OSs Jae and bow thruster to keep the Tbrowbridge, Adam Taiucci ship in precise position in the and Matt Sandy. In addition to open sea for more than 30 hours Smallwood, the ship's officers during the hook-up and included Captain Steve Smith, recovery," Smallwood wrote in Second Mate David Ayer and' his letter detailing the event. Third Mate Wendi ImpellizOnce the crew secured the zeri. liiilfc: During the final moments of the 36-hour recovery, Bosun Yager carefully guides the deep ocean sled onto the ship's after deck. m The mkes retums to Honolulu with the sled on deck. "Broom at the yardarm," signifying a successful mission, is hidden among signal flags. The sled, more than 17 feet long, is ready for its return to Honoluju aboard the USNS Wilkes. �.fii.•?:'> t S AUGusrms SEAFARERS LOG \Expert Witness Tells Panel •II. Runaway Flags Mean Loss of American Jobs I Burma, the Philippines and other ter for Seafarers' Rights to advise . Dr. Paul Chapman, the former agency. All direct connection be- developing countries, but oncb port chaplains and mariners from director of the Center for around Ae world on what to do Seafarers' Rights, told members tween the owner/operator and the that seafarer signs onto of the House Merchant Marine crew is lost in the process, and the Panamanian-flag ship, he is con- when they faced serious problems Subcommittee they should ex only criterion for the operation is trolled by the Panamanian aboard vessels. Among the pect foreign crews to replace profit," Chapman told the panel, maritime labor code. The fact is troubles that have been faced by American crews when U.S.-fla: In this highly competitive in- that many of the 30 or more flag port chaplains visiting runawayships replace the Stars-anc dustiy, a downward spiral results, of convenience registries which flag vessels are lack of payment Stripes with a flag of con and an operator is constantly today register almost 50 percent for work performed, inadequate tempted in the pressure of com- of the world's ships have little or food, refusal to access medical venience. Chapman addressed the House petition to go a notch lower in no interest in enforcing their care and forced employment after Many main streets in the Midwest panel on the problems that occur standards. maritime labor code and no ad- a contract has expired. are covered by floodwaters. A Filipino AB can be ministrative capability of doing when merchant vessels re-flag "Without any legal protection He appeared as a witness durin^ employed for $300 to $400 a so. or meaningful union contracts, "The effect of this is that once the owner/operator is free to ar­ a July 20 hearing called to take month. A Chinese AB can be testimony conceming a U.S.-fla hiredforlessthan$100amonth. a merchant ship leaves port, it bitrarily ded with crew without maritime revitalization package Having lost all connection with moves beyond the control of any restraint," Chapman said. "Good offered by members of Congress the recruiting process and dealing legal regime. In effect, it moves management includes a high only with a hierarchy of ship into a legal black hole. Contracts regard for the dignity and work­ in May. The author of Trouble on management companies with can be ignored, and since crews ing conditions of workers, but we Board, a book about the problems various kinds of chartering proce- are often recruited where unContinuedfrom page 3 involving merchant seamen on dures, the owner/operator may employment is high and wages found that on as many as 20 per­ the Atchafalaya River and thus vessels registered to runaway not even be aware of conditions are low, crewmembers are often cent of the ships, the crews were prevent flood conditions in the flags, spoke to the subcommittee on board, or salary levels, or of reluctant to even voice their com- being abused and exploited. And less than a month after Sea-Lanc thestandardsthatarebeingmain-1 plaint except perhaps to a the number may be higher be­ Mississippi Delta. cause crewmembers are reluctant I chaplain." Alton Port Representative Tim I and American President Lines an- tained. He told the House members he to speak up, lest they lose their Kelley reported the Alton hall is nounced their plans to follow End of Tradition working together with the through on threats to replace the He noted if American com­ started the New York-based Cen-1 jobs.' Madison County Federation of American flag on 20 of their ves- panies take their vessels to off­ Labor toward providing relief for sels. shore registries, the effect could community members who have (Runaway vessels, also known )e disastrous for the United lost their homes and businesses as flag-of-convenience ships, are States. because of the Mississippi's those owned in one country, In this country, this would rising floodwaters, He noted the registered in another and crewed result in a loss of maritime hall has taken several phone calls by mariners from still other capability, the end of a career, of from Alton Belle crewmembers countries. These vessels are an expertise, which has helped for about fellow Seafarers who are dubbed "runaway" because they 00 years to shape this countiy. victims of the high waters where are attempting to flee respon"There is no crash course for the Mississippi and Missouri | sibility for taxes and regulations maritime officers. You go to from the owner's nation.) nVers meet. school and you spend 10 years at "We have begun the process of Abandon Nation's Mariners sea working your way up to notifying these union members Chapman cited as an example master. To lose part of our nation­ that we will do whatever we can what happened to Norwegian al competence would be tragic. to help them," Kelley said. crews when Norway decided to Chapman added that U.S. A source from the U.S. Army create a flag-of-convenience shipping companies would face Corps of Engineers reported that registry, le additional challenge of find­ heavy rain in the Missouri River "Initially Norwegians were ing Americans knowledgeable in Dr. Paul Chapman (right) discusses the effects of runaway-flag ves­ is backing up into the flooded hired as masters and chief en- naaritime to help run their firms, sels on merchant mariners with U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.). Mississippi toward Alton, gineers and the rest of the crew t has been suggested that in the Weather reports indicate that the were from foreign lands. But now ong run, not only will the ships Mississippi around the Alton area on ntany of the Norwegian ag out, but the companies them­ is expected to reach a crest of 40 second registry ships, all of the selves may move aboard. While pointing out that he has feet, an all-time high. Emergency officers and crew are foreign." crews are standing by, ready for Chapman, who now serves as not discovered a direct correla- Continuedfrom page 3 the Mississippi to surge top" instructor at the Bangor ;ion between ships' flagging out that we retain our maritime fleet, another record high at Melvin n^®®^°8'^^' Seminar in Maine, and standards on those vessels Lipinski told his colleagues. Price Lock and Dam, south of the ^tat^ that when shipping com- deteriorating, the author said, 'I think we have to take this Illinoistown. panies from developed nations 'That has been the pattem." He dramatic action in ,,order to obtain , J .1. switch to a flag of convenience. o Tered UIW the representatives an wyv ex- | j I.V|/XV/OVIltXiU V WO oil ... • m n Forecasters said they were businesses tend to stop deal- mple of how lower working and i beginning to detect a new pattern ing with manning agents. They iving standards take place. sentative Jack Fields (R-Texas) <1 nio..ir u«i«' concerning the amendment. in the rainy weather that has hung will contract with a ship manageLegal Black Hole Fields is the ranking minority over the Midwest for the better ment company which, in turn, A ship owned in Hong Kong member of the Merchant Marine part of six weeks. | subcontracts with a manning may have a mixed crew from | and Fisheries Committee. Other congressmen offered Rivers' Flow Irrevocably Changed their support. "We must do some­ thing to rebuild (the U.S.-flag merchant fleet) for the benefit of this country because in a time of David Bonior crisis it is absolutely necessary that they be prepared to support our efforts on the waters of the ment report on the need of mer­ world, wherever we need to chant sMpping for sealift. That deliver the goods to supply our report is expected to be released troops," noted Representative this month. The two shipping companies James Quillen (R-Tenn.). 'Comprehensive maritime followed through in June on their reform will enable (Sea-Land and threats to go foreign flag. SeaAmerican President Lines) to stay Land filed a request to lower the under the U.S. flag," added U.S. American flag on 13 of its ves­ Representative David Bonior (D- sels, while APL did the same for Mich.), the House majority whip seven ships in its fleet. APL also and a long-time supporter of the stated it would seek permission to U.S.-flag merchant fleet. "We fly a foreign flag on six vessels that will be built in German and need time to do that." Sea-Land and APL had South Korean yards. threatened togo foreign flag since MarAd representatives noted last year unless a maritime the request by the companies to revitalization program became re-flag 20 ships was an unusually law. Congress introduced its high number with which to deal AP (Earl Observation Satellite t^mp) These two Landsat Thematic Mapper images show the St. Louis area on July 4,1988 (left) and July legislation in May after the Clin­ at one time. Normally, the agen­ 18,1993 (right), demonstrating the dramatic contrast in the size of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. ton administration announced it cy handles re-flagging applica­ would delay its recommendation tions for one or two vessels at a Scientists say the flood will cause the rivers to take up new routes. until it receives a Defpnse Depart- time. Flood Slops Tugs/Barges ^iSSS•1^1 . ff'sif 'K. ''" ''': ' Reflagging Postponed MsarAd AuOwrtalkm BUI Passed 4S"'-" '4-"- ' :l-:3r '•• ,?l.. • -v ..y' �AUGUST 1993 SEAFAGERSLOG Gov't Services Member Named MSCPAC Mariner for 1992 An SIU Government Services to maintain its high degree of Division member has been named readiness. the Military Sealift Command"Mr. Castillo's knowledge of Pacific (MSCPAC) 1992 Marine the Tano propulsion and other on­ Employee of the Year for his board electronics systems is im­ work over and above the call of pressive," Walsh wrote in duty aboard the USNS Andrew nominating Castillo. "Due to his Higgins. knowledge, we've been able to Electronics Technician Her upgrade our propulsion system to min Castillo collected not only include the latest modifications the top award presented annually by Tano and determine the extent by the fleet, but he also received of previous machinery history. the unlicensed engine He alone has processed, recorded department's 1992 Mariner and implemented many Tano en­ gineering change notices. Award of Excellence. Walsh continued his praise for He was joined by AB/Maintenance Allen R. Glassford and Castillo by saying he "doesn't Steward/Cook Perfecto Basilic limit his knowledge and expertise as the outstanding mariners in to only his gear but repairs any each of their respective un­ electrical or electronic problem licensed departments aboard presented to him. His contribu­ MSCPAC ships. The annual tion to the USNS Higgins far ex­ awards recognize outstanding ceeded the scope of his job work efforts and achievements by description." individuals sailing in the unCastillo received a plaque licensed deck, engine and from Captain L.M. Pivonka, the steward departments as well as commander of MSCPAC, in deck, engine and medical officers recognition of his achievements. in the fleet. Concerns for Safety Always Available Unlicensed deck winner Castillo was nominated for Glassford also sailed aboard the both MSCPACs highest award USNS Higgins in 1992. The as well as the engine department AB/maintenance was praised as a recognition by Chief Engineer self-starter, a conscientious Thomas Walsh, who sailed with worker and a person concerned the electronics technician last with the safety of his fellow crewmembers. year. In nominating the deck depart­ Walsh stated Castillo worked long hours under unfavorable ment member for the award. First conditions and was always on call Officer Steve Rose wrote, to allow the Higgins, a fleet oiler. Glassford exhibits profes­ sionalism and dedication to duty in all assignments, especially in the area of damage control. His efforts with damage control aboard the Higgins contributed to the fleet oiler's recent evaluation of "excellent" for damage control and firefighting." While sailing aboard the Hig­ gins, Glassford served as fire marshal. In that role, he taught new crewmembers about the ship's damage control systems and the type of firefighting equip­ ment found aboard the oiler. Excellent Feeder In gaining recognition for his work aboard the fleet tug USNS Catawba, Steward/Cook Basilio was noted for his work in making the Catawba a top-notch feeder. "Mr. Basilio is both highly dedicated and professional in overseeing all areas of the steward department," wrote Cap­ tain Pat Huetter, master of the tug. "From baking zucchini bread to birthday cakes, he goes out of his way to respond to the crew's every request and need. He's al­ ways done a superior job for Catawba and MSCPAC." During his tour on the tug, the steward/cook received two straight "excellent" ratings during command inspections. Pact Insures Atlanta's Olympic Stadium Will Be Built by Union Workers The North Georgia Building Trades Council has announced an agreement with the Atlanta Stadium Contractors for a fair-wage agreement covering the construction workers who will build an 85,000-seat stadium as well as support facilities for the 1996 Olympic Games which will be held in the Georgia city. The agreement includes wage scales, employer-paid health care benefits and pensions, as well as mandatory training for all contractor and subcontractor workers. The council credited efforts by the Atlanta AFL-CIO and local public employee, industrial, service and building trades unions for acquiring the pact in the right-to-work state. The stadium project is expected to cost approximately $210 million. USNS Mercury Joins RRF; Leaves MSCPAC Fleet Seafarers Rally In Protest of NAFTA •:Vv "! J J ' . r J • ' •![ • " V".. m- y-¥ /-•"M Colorado Beef Processors Succeed After 10-Year Struggle to Gain Union Employees at the Monfort beef processing plant in Greeley, Colo, have voted for union representation after 10 years of anti-union coercion, intimidation and discrimination by the company. Workers voted for the United Food and Commercial Workers to represent them. The Greeley plant had been a union shop until it closed in 1980. When the facility reopened in 1982, Monfort refused to hire more than 250 former union members and kept the plant non-union until the recent vote. Mine Workers' Strike Continues Against Coal Operators Association More than 16,000 members of the United Mine Workers in seven states have left their mines as a strike against the Bituminous Coal Operators Association (BCOA) enters its third month. The selective strike against members of the association began on May 10. The Mine Workers are protesting the mine owners' refusal to bargain in good faith and other unfair labor practices. Job security is the key issue for the union members. The Mine Workers claim the companies are opening non-union mines while those where the union members work are'being exhausted. In the meantime, the union signed an agreement with four companies that broke away from the BCOA to form the Independent Bituminous Coal Bargaining Alliance. The pact covers 7,500 miners in Alabama, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. The union also signed agreements with two previously unorganized mines that employ 700 people. The a^eements were reached with Marrowbone SIU Government Services guished career with MSCPAC. Development in Mingo County, W.Va. and Wolf Creek Collieries in Martin County, Ky. Division members bade farewell Capable of carrying around 1,000 to the USNS Mercury, a roll- vehicles, the vessel was one of the New Contract Obtained In New England on/roll-off vessel that has been first roll-on/roll-offi-ships to Following a 24-Week Lockout Following a 24-week lockout, the workers at Bay State Gas in Massachusetts and New Hampshire part of the Military Sealift Com­ deliver supplies and materiel to ratified a new six-year contract on July 2. The Steelworkers Locals 12026 and 14930 as well as Electrical mand-Pacific fleet (MSCPAC) American combat forces during Workers Local 486 represent the workers. Operation Desert Shield in 1990. since it was built in 1976. The lockout began January 16 when members of Local 12026 rejected the company's contract offer. The ship was turned over to the The vessel was the only MSC Members survived on unemployment compensation after the Massachusetts legislature passed extended Maritime Administration RO/RO to operate with a benefits for locked out workers. (MarAd) to become part of the civilian crew. The unlicensed Ready Reserve Force (RRF). The crewmembers were represented Board Orders Tyson Mercury sailed into a New Or­ by the Government Services Labor To Honor Union Contracts leans sMpyard where it will be Division. Members of the Teamsters and the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) gained a victory No announcement has been prepared to join the RRF fleet. It against Tyson Foods when thechicken processing company was ordered by the National Labor Relations will join 11 other newly acquired made stating when the Mercury Board (NLRB)to bargain with the unions. RO/RO vessels in the MarAd will be leaving the shipyard or Regarding the Teamsters, the board found that Tyson—^as the successor of Holly Farms—^had where it will be stationed in the fleet. interfered with a union representation election involving approximately 200 long-haul truck drivers in The Mercury had a distin­ RRF fleet. Virginia, North Carolina and Texas. After taking over Holly Farms in 1989, Tyson unilaterally offered the drivers wages and benefits at the lower Tyson rates, thus bypassing the union. . The company threatened workers with plant closures and sale of their trucks if they voted union. The Discussing Maritime in Norfoik NLRB ordered the company to rehire 47 workers who were discharged because of union activities. In a case involving an Arkansas local, the NLRB ruled Tyson had illegally directed and controlled a decertification petition in a chicken processing plant in 1991. The board ordered Tyson to recognize the UFCW local and bargain in good faith. U.S. Senator Charles Robb (D-Va.) Is updated on the concerns of the U.S.-flag maritime Industry by Hampton Roads Port Council President Bernard Hopkins (left) and SIU Norfolk Port Agent Mike Paladino (right). 9 SIU members join with other trade unlonsts to protest the possible loss of jobs to Mexico should Congress approve the NAFTA treaty. Negotiations among the United States, Canada and Mexico are continuing. iS .• '"'Mr 1 W:-: VQi'" If:, I#.- �to AUGUST 1093 SEAFARERS LOG A S schools begin another year across the country, it is not too early to start i planning to apply for a 1994 Seafarers Scholarship. In 1994, as in years past, the union will be offering seven scholarships. Four of these financial awards are set aside for the children and spouses of Seafarers. Each of the four scholarships is for $15,000 to be used at a four-year college or university. The other three are for Seafarers themselves. One of the awards also is for $15,000 for use at a four-year institution of higher learning. The remaining two scholarships amount to $6,000 each and can be used for study at a community college or vocational school. Since 1952, the SIU has awarded 228 scholarships to its members, their spouses and children to help them reach their educational goals. From these ranks have come doctors, lawyers, teachers and many other careers. Some members have used the program to improve their own job skills as Seafarers. However, all of them took the same first step to win a scholarship. TTiat step was to apply for the Seafarers Scholarship Program booklet which contains the vital information necessary to apply. To receive a copy of this guide, send in the coupon at the bottom of this page. What follows are some highlights from the scholarship booklet. ELIGIBILITY For a Seafarer to be eligible to be awarded a scholarship, he or she must: • Be a high school graduate or its equivalent; • Have a total of 730 days of employment with an employer who is obligated to make contributions to the Seafarers Welf^e Plan on the Seafarer's behalf prior to the date of application; • have one day of employment on a vessel in the six-month period immediately prior to the date of application; • Have 120 days of employment on a vessel in the previous calendar year. (Pensioners are not eligible for scholarships.) For a spouse to be eligible for a scholarship award, he or she must: • Be married to an eligible Seafarer or SIU pensioner; • Be a high school graduate or its equivalent. • • t Be under the age of 19 OR Be under the age of 25 and be a full-time student erurolled in a program leading to a baccalaureate or higher degree at an accredited institution authorized by law to grant such degrees; Be the child of a Seafarer who has credit for a total of 1,095 days of covered employment with an employer who is obligated to make contributions to the Seafarers Welfare Plan on the Seafarer's behalf prior to the date of application; Be the child of a seafaring parent who has one day of employment in the six-month period preceding the date of application and 120 days of employment in the previous calendar year (unless the eligible parent is deceased). It should be noted that dependent children who win SIU scholarships and marry while receiving the award will not have to forfeit the grant by reason of such marriage. CHECKLIST (i- . • • • • Autobiographical statement Photograph j Certified copy of birth certificate / High school transcript and certification of graduation or official copy of high school equivalency scores • College transcript 7, . • FOR MORE INFORMATION Ask for a 1994 Seafarers Scholarship Program booklet at any SIU hall, or fill out the coupon below and return it to the Seafarers Welfare Plan. P lease send me the 1994 SIU Scholarship Program booklet which contains eligibility information, procedures for applying and the application form. Name Address City, State, Zip Code Telephone Number This application is for: (Self) (Dependent) Letters of reference SAT or ACT results I All completed applications with all necessary information included MUST be mailed and postmarked ON or BEFORE APRIL 15,1994. The SAT or ACT test must be taken by February 1994 to insure the test results will be available for inclusion in the scholarship application package. For information on upcoming SAT tests, contact the College Entrance Examination Board at either Box 592, Princeton, NJ 08540 or Box 1025 Berkeley, CA 94701, whichever is closest. For information regarding ACT tests, contact ACT Registration Union, P.O.Box 414, Iowa City, lA 52243. Scholarship recipients MUST enroll in a college or trade school and notify the Seafarers Welfare Plan of their admission by AUGUST 1,1994. Recipients who are the spouse or child of a Seafarer are expected to complete their course of study during the four years covered by the grant. Seafarers who receive the $15,000 award must complete the program within six years.Seafarers who receive the $6,(X)0 award must complete their programs in four years. Book Number Deadline for applying is April 15,1994. Items that need to be postmarked by that date for review by the Scholarship Committee include: • Scholarship application • / •• emember, it will take time to gather all this information. Plan ahead to make sure everything will be collected in time. Some schools can be slow in handling transcript requests, so applicants should ask for them as soon as possible. The SAT and ACT examinations are offered approximately six times each year on specified dates. Applicants should take the appropriate test required by the college or trade school he or she plans to attend. DEADLINES For a dependent child to be eligible to be awarded a scholarship, he or she must: • Be an unmarried child of an eligible Seafarer or SIU pensioner for whom the member or pensioner has been the sole source of support the previous calendar year; • Be a high school graduate or its equivalent, although applications may be made during the senior year of high school; • • R ft, ' ' I . I j Mail this completed form to Scholarship Program. Seafarers Welfare \ 1^ Plan, 5201 AuthWay, Carrip Springs, MD 20746. �SEAFARERS LOG 11 Seafarers Pull Together For New Boblo Season SIU crewmembers aboard the Boblo Island boats are geared up for another busy season of taking passengers from Gibraltar, Mich, to Boblo Island amusement park, located at the mouth of Lake Erie near Amherstburg, Ontario. Annual Boblo operations began Memorial Day weekend and will continue until Labor Day weekend when the boats will be laid up for the winter season. Four boats make up the Boblo fleet, and they are crewed by members of the Seafarers Interna­ tional Union, which has repre­ sented the Boblo crew since the 1940s. Crewmembers work the en­ gines, keep the passengers com­ fortable, tie up lines when docking, release lines when pulling out and properly maintain each vessel's in­ terior and exterior. The entire Boblo fleet's deck crew works together to get the job done each day of the season. The L.R. Beattie is the largest of the four boats with a capacity of300passengers. Crewmembers prepare and sell hot dogs and refreshments to passengers on the 45-minute cruise across Lake Erie to the park. Crewmembers also sell snacks and refreshments aboard the MV Friendship, which holds 120 pas­ sengers. The remaining two vessels hold 150 passengers each and are unique in that they are styled after the old Mississippi River boats. They are the MV Gibraltar and the MV Tecumseh. The Boblo boats operate every hour, seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., picking up and dropping off passengers in both locations. Vf' -• "• • • • • -.L; A • •:>! -"L- Boblo crewmembers pose for a photo before beginning a day of transporting passengers across Lake Erie. They are (from left, first row) Deckhands Husein Hasser, Rochelle Carrington, Janice Stamper and Cheryl Stamper, Captain David Young, (second row) Deckhand Doug Shearer, Captain John Mickey, Deckhand ^sanOnufrak,Captajn Paul Lepage,_ (third row) Captain William Kampfert, Deckhands Craig Deckhand Cheryl Stamper flies the Boblo flag overhead while the Ciarrocchi, Joseph Murray and James Basham. r. u. Phillip Prentiss, X i-_ . r, . passengers await arrival at the island. S'y- Li. Crewmembers aboard the LR. Beattie gather on deck for a group photo. Preparing hot dogs and refresh­ ments for the passengers is the responsibility of food service worker Shannon Hall. Marlin Sails into Guifport Deckhands James Basham (left) and Dana Smith escape the rainy weather as their vessel leaves port for Boblo Island. Deckhands Rochelle Carrington (left) and Doug Shearer keep the decks aboard the MV Friendship keeping busy as both a Boblo captain and a union shop steward Is in shipshape condition. Juan Sanche2. Chief Engineer Donice l.xiwson (left) and Chief Mate Kevin Delattre take a break on the deck of the tug Marlin recently when, the Penn Maritime tug was doing hartxrr wbrk in Guifport, Miss. -"Li '"•/if '.'-V �:..i—.. 12 SEAFARERS LOG AUGUST 1993 Mariiw Eleetnnlcs Comses Avallab^ at LwaMmy School Flashlights Md rags once were November 8 to December 17 There is no prerequisite for common tools of the trade for (For a complete list of the Lun­ Basic Electronics. The Lun­ Seafarers who sziil in the engine deberg School's current course deberg School recommends that department. But nowadays, schedule, see page 27 of this edi­ students complete an introduc­ thanks to automation and high­ tion of the LOG.) tory algebra course before taking These courses have been Basic Electronics, but this is not tech training, working in the en­ gine department means operating available at the Lundeberg required. test equipment such as digital School since 1989. As advances Basic Electronics includes a lot multi-meters, oscilloscopes and in technology continue bringing of reading and problem-solving automation to the maritime in­ Afternoons are spent working witfi logic probes. In light of this ongoing push dustry, Lundeberg School in­ basic circuits and learning how to toward newer and newer technol­ structors update the courses to troubleshoot them. ogy, Seafarers are encouraged to ensure that Seafarers remain the MET I and MET U are high- Seafarers who take marine electronics courses at the Lundeberg sign up now for an important best trained seamen able to hand­ volume courses which extensive­ School will work on high-tech equipment. phase of their training: the marine le this sophisticated equipment. ly cover electronic circuitry and The curriculum includes study electronics courses offered at the troubleshooting. Once a student passes these indorsement. No knowledge of Seafarers Harry Lundeberg of AC and DC theory, basic and courses, he or she should be able Morse Code is required. Both MET I and MET II start advanced electronic circuits, School of Seamanship. to sit for the Federal Communica­ with the study and use of transis­ The three courses—Basic digital logic, automation and For more information, contact tions Commission's exam for and end with a full tors Electronics, Marine Electronics troubleshooting. Plenty of handsthe Lundeberg School admissions General Radiotelephone knowledge of digital and analog Technician (MET) I and MET on training also is featured. office or your port agent. Operators License with Radar circuits. The courses include an The Basic Electronics course II—are particularly important to optional section which teaches QMEDs, as the courses will help was designed for those who have them move up in classification. little or no formal training in students how to use program­ Basic Electronics begins on electronics. As suggested by the mable controllers. Students who graduate fiom August 30 and lasts until Septem­ title, the course teaches the con­ these courses will be able to analyze cepts and theories needed to form ber 24. MET I takes place from September 27 to November 5, solid foundation for more ad­ low a circuit works and be able to Seafarers employed by Allied licensed assistant or chief en­ troubleshoot the circuit faults. while the schedule for MET n is vanced electronics studies. Towing Corp. recently completed gineer on uninspected towing special course covering en- vessels. The Allied boatmen "all said gineroom skills at the Paul Hall Tenter for Maritime Training and they found the course helpful and informative," said Allied Towing Education. The two-week Utilityman Port Captain Jeff Parker."I've been course was designed by Lun­ dealing with the school for 15 Boatmen from three SlU-condeberg School engine department years, and they're always helpful." tracted companies received their instructors specifically to meet Parker pointed out that inland able bodied seaman's endorse­ the needs of inland division mem­ seafarers often have very limited ment after completing training at bers who sail for Allied Towing. off their boats, so their train­ time the Harry Lundeberg School of The course first was given in ing needs are unique. That is why Seamanship. November, with students receiv­ the school and the company Seafarers from Upper Lakes ing both classroom and shop in­ worked together to create a Towing, Crowley and Maritrans struction. course which offers maximum in­ attended the special 3-week Seven students completed the struction in a relatively short course from June I to June 18, more recent course, which ended period. The course also will be The course was designed specifi­ in February. Classroom studies available for other members. cally for inland members to ad­ focused on diesel engine theory Seafarers who completed the dress their needs on America's and operation, with emphasis on class are: Wayne Woodland, waterways. different types of diesels. Leonard Paul, Wayne Potter, four There were 24 union members Shop work included welding, Frank Ingellis Sr., Norman in attendance who participated in hydraulic systems, pumps, Peters, John H. Reber III and the upgrading session. Taught by Lundeberg School Instructor Seventeen boatmen who completed the special AB course for inland electrical safety and use of Louie Payne. Lundeberg School electrical test equipment. Casey Taylor, they received ex­ members will be working on tugboats like these for Maritrans. Instructor Bill Foley taught the tensive, hands-on training as well A utilityman works as an un­ course. as written materials covering this winter when the Great Lakes firefighting and firsft aid, rules of freeze, thus bringing an end to the the road, water survival season. Reviewing Steward Recertification Appiications The 17 upgraders from (lifeboat), buoyage and boat and Maritrans was die third group to cargo handling. Six of those who upgraded to go through a Lundeberg School AB are employed by Upper Lakes training session this year from the Towing, which is based in the Philadelphia-based company. town of Escanaba, in the Upper "The people at Maritrans are Peninsula of Michigan. Upper glad to have a facility like Piney Lakes Towing is a .barge and tug­ Point available for upgrading," said boat company which transports Nick Grassia, inland port captain salt, iron ore, stone and coal be­ for the company. "Our boatmen got tween Lakes Michigan, Huron a lot out of this session. For those and Erie as well as from Lake who had never been to Piney PoinL Superior to Lake Michigan in In­ they were impressed with the diana Harbor. The six SIU mem­ facility and have expressed an in­ bers from Upper Lakes Towing terest in returning." who successfully completed the Maritrans tugboats transport June session are Francis Berube, petroleum products up and down Mark Carlson, Terrance De- the East Coast. The Seafarers who Menter, Joseph Racicot and sail for Maritrans include brothers Thomas and Jerry Richard Belote, William Belote, Stropich. The group drove in a Christopher Boyd, Paul Brown, van from Escanaba to Piney Dannie Card, John Coover, Point. Gregory Gibson, Richard Clyde Van Enkevort, an owner Feague, Mark Leadheater, An­ of Upper Lakes Towing, told a thony Myklich, Mark O'Neal, reporter from the Seafarers LOG, Edmund Putro, Ralph Ramsey, "I think the course was really Mitchell Roberts, Emmanuel good for the guys, and they came Roldan, Jimmie Stevens and back with nothing but great things Troy Zimmerman. to say. It became a necessity for Boatman Leonard Tyson their jobs to learn more and also took part in the course. He receive additional training. We sails for Crowley Towing. His Recertified Stewards (frotn left) Gregory Melvin of Jacksonville, Fla., Peter Schmitt of San Francisco Rosich of San Francisco review applications from fellow galley gang members for had a need and it became ap­ home port is Philadelphia. parent, so we sent the group down Crowley tugs pull roll-on/roll-off the 1994 steward recertification program at the Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship. ol'" graduates from the program makes its recommendations to the contracts to Piney Point." barges between Philadelphia, The company plans to send ad­ Jacluonville, Fla., Lake Charles, departrnerft for the next year's classes. Galley gang members who are selected will be notified by the contracts department pnor to the start of the classes ditional SIU members to upgrade La. and Puerto Rico. AUied Boatmen Graduate Special UtiUtyman Course Boatmen from 3 Inland Companlos Complete Lundeberg Scheol AB Training y % �mm: ^aMfte ^e<itlcKX (ro^/tt) <^<^Je<l <tt ^en. t O-UAce^-altC 6<td(f„ ^eil<t ^edctxut, ^(<.i<^e<l, ^Id 4eT iH.<x(Aex, "DedUfAOi. "^wmite <i<x6Cl ei<y ct cAce^ MOA, (4ta4t leccHtitf (1^0^141 cAe I<it^t. (I<tc/i ^coH^ftccd. 1^ ^iA(xt4y cu<t<i- <i€*tt to^ Se<x^4txe4vi ^ Stee<4ei,txi /4d^iC<xt4i*tt ^euHie 'H><tt<UM.. Another peek into the Seafarers LOG family album shows us f: .1 a '• ' •'% '.: •Sf /./'rSV* 'M: ••I • :• --rV'. • vt'i:7/''''' • ••.. ud-; 'I? .:® • • • . i- f^ac^44X*c(Aclie 'P<\4it /f<^*tC "TH^c^u^uf •i^ou^ l<ttui ^ud iV4^ "TH-o^tCc^^ '<i ) reccHt <ieCdcic<x*t tAe dc<si^drU(u^ t<A4X4itcC, 'VCttcent ^^4X*H^ "TKCtZuouf-, 6^04i*t "^eSruct^cf 25, t ^93. • % i- Sxc^aHi^ct«^ c</iedeU*t<^ wxcad OH /4/trci 3 ette "TKCcAael Si<tiftoH ciHcC '7^e'ied<!i. '?C.o'di.4yi /4(f€A. "THccA^tel ducld <id <t 27KS^ <t64X4i%ti S<^. 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''./c -'•W •S>encex and ^audAa SncitA/code uutA tAecx AaAcf , Texxa .jdcfHH SntctA, cvAo cc^ad AOXH "THaxcA P^ctHdAa ceded to <iact ad a eAce^ cooA; S^encex, coAo dacid occt o^ tAe "r^occdtoH Aati, id cccxxenttcf aAoaxd •' • -'• V ' •^'. .• tAe TCS^ Pacific. /, :/•> :A . '• ,C'i, •. .. ,, r"->-|— vrfe-«~^aw-.)»w �• -.:i:^'.:.-i^.-.,_ A*.- :i;'"" i-'''"T••;-;•,.-• •- - '^ *••• - 14 ^ <^;- W •.- XAFMERSLOG AUemT1993 steel Ships and Iron Men: Part IV BY SINCLAIR OUBRE Such is the Houston Ship Channel. is the confidence of doing what I am supposed to do. Then and only then will There is nothing quite like being alone 1 be all the seafarer that I am asked to be. on the bow, watching perfectly aligned At the same time, my brothers and sisters mast lights of an oncoming vessel bear­ can be all the seafarers they are called to ing down on me. Just when I feel it is time to run to the stem, both of us veer a be. To quote from Merton again: "The bit to starboard and then come back to value of our activity depends almost en­ port on course for each other's stem. On the five occasions that his hap­ tirely on the humility to accept ourselves as we are. The reason why we do things pened while on watch, there was always so badly is that we are not content to do that moment of doubt just before the mast lights began to shift, indicating the what we can." In this context, I am the 8-12 ordinary movement to starboard. Thoughts race seaman. The first thing I will be doing through my head. When was the last each morning is the sanitary for the deck time their steering gear was checked? department. So far it has gone well. I For that matter, when was ours? Does Aboard the USNS Sealift Pacific have cleaned a head, a laundry room, the helmsman speak English? How long I arrived at the USNS Sealift Pacific swept and mopped the 01 and 02 level has that pilot been working this channel? to spend the next three weeks or so sail­ passageways and sougeed the main deck In the end, all went well. We transited ing as the ordinary seaman for the 8-12 and port passageway. I keep telling without any difficulties. It did leave me watch. The childish excitement and en­ myself that the important thing is to keep reflecting on the future plans that I hear thusiasm of the past two summers has moving (so that I am not mistaken for a some govemment leaders have for diis gone. In its place is a confidence that has pipe), and to do quality work. Those overgrown bayou. There has been talk of emerged from those experiences, demons, though, are still trying to get me dredging the channel deeper so that big­ mingled with the knowledge obtained to compete, but with whom? ger ships can swagger down the same through my studies. I feel comfortable narrow plank. What Time Is It Anyway? now with the pace of life aboard ship. At 0100 hours we reached the Hess We sat at supper this evening, the Refinery. All hands were called for In the few days that I was on another ship, Sealift Atlantic, I was assigned bosun, the 8-12 AB, the 12-4 OS and docking and tank preparations. Those of to start on the bridge and sougee the myselfi and tried to discern what day it us on the stem were not working yet as inside of the house. Questions raced was. "Is the day Wednesday or a team. There was some confusion but through my mind as to how much Thursday? Was the date the 19th or the we got everything eventually squared progress was expected of me each day. 20th?" Half of us agreed that it was away. Afterwards, we put out the One deck a day, two passageways, what Wednesday, and the other half thought it gangway and prepared to t^e on cargo. was it? What had the previous steward was Thursday. The alliances shifted, In 18 hours we had completed load­ assistant done? He had quit the day though, when we tried to figure out if ing. The sailinjg board said 2400 hours before. Was he putting out more than I that meant is was the 19th or the 20th. was the departure time. Exactly on time was, or was I winning this "race?" With the help of a calendar and the we began to take in the gangway and the If it was a "race," then who was I agreemeiit by all that we did leave lines. The tugs eased us away from the racing? I couldn't be racing anyone in Orange, Texas on Monday, we came to dock and pointed us south, back to the the department. There wasn't anyone the consensus that it was Wednesday the sea. else in the department. Was I "racing" I9th. In a 48-hour period, we had left for the steward's approval. Yes, that's Things had been happening so quick­ Orange, taken on a full cargo of jet fuel what I was doing. I was knocking myself ly and for such long periods. What had and wereoff the Louisiana coast heading out to get the approval of someone who seemed like two days had actually been for Beaufort, N.C. It seemed as though was already happy that I had not quit the only one. Through a number of delays, days had passed, but in fact it was only first day. I was seeking the approval of a we finally left Houston Ship Repair in 48 hours. A real mariner's tmth is that person who was just happy if I kept Orange at 10:00 a.m. After the break, I one would not know the present day, moving and did an adequate job. was stationed on the bow as watch. date or hour if the steward did not write I remember almost apologizing to There was very little traffic and no com­ these important facts on the menu each him that I did not get done as much as I munication to the bridge. I passed the day. If he or she reused a menu from had hoped. He seemed a bit bewildered, time watching very familiar waters pass Febmary, our table conversation would and reassured me I was doing fine. by, but from a tot^y different perspec­ be about the unusually warm winter we Last November, while on the SS Cape tive. were having. Chalmers, one of the fellows in the deck After I was relieved and had lunch, Grieving at Sea department was a real competitor. Most we began to ready the gear that would be of the time he was a loud-mouth, but necessary for butterworthing and tank Working as a port chaplain, I have when it came to hauling in lines, no one cleaning. This was thought originally to seen and heard many stories of seamen was fast enough for him. He would race be a simple task. The tanks had all b^n far away from their homes confronted to pull the hawser through the chock cleaned in preparation for the shipyard. with some tragedy and not being able to faster than anyone else. He would nearly It was thought that all that was necessary be present to either share in the suffering bust his gut, but he looked real good. On was a little extra cleaning and the tmiks or give support to those he or she loves. one occasion, I was the man at the chock. would be ready for cargo. Wrong! In all these cases, I have sympathized I was going as fast as I could, reaching After butterworthing for about an with the suffering sailors, but it takes a down and pulling the line with all I had. hour-and-a-half, the bosun descended joumey into one's own tragedy at sea to I was subconsciously competing with into the tanks to check out the situation. tum that sympathy into an empathy that him, and because he would try to take What he found did not make him a happy quietly bonds all seafarers. my position if I was not fast enough, I camper. This bond is the dark side of the typi­ hauled with all I had. I wasn't fast In preparing to leave, it became cal seafaring fratemity. The love of the enough! As I pulled back, he stepped in necessary to take ballast from the river. ocean, the insatiable desire for adventure front, and hand over hand, not moving a With the water came silt and mud. This and the psychological need to make the step, he took my position. settled on the bottom of the tanks and whole world one's home are just some The result of all this was that I had to be cleaned out by hand. Starting of the expressions of the mariner's per­ stopped hauling on the line. Oh, I looked about 1500 hours until 2100 hours, we sona. Behind this facade is the grieving like I was. I led the line forward to the washed, pumped, scooped, sponged and sailor who missed the birth of a child, the winch, but he was doing all the work. mopped the bottom of each tank. death of a parent or the wedding of a I pass on these reflections because I At this point, the bosun sent me aft to sibling or friend. have grown a little over the last two get cleaned up. The lights of Galveston When we left Hess Petroleum docks, years. Thomas Merton writes in his book Island were on the horizon, and it was it was a beautiful night. The weather was No Man Is an Island: "We insist on time to go back on bow watch. clear and everything pointed to a com­ doing what is not asked of us, because Bow watch in the Houston Ship fortable and smooth voyage to Beaufort. we want the success that belongs to Channel is really an exciting event. In I had called a friend in Beaumont on the somebody else." many channels there are traffic lanes or day of our departure to make sure that all On the Sealift Atlantic, I had been a some form of voluntary traffic control was well on the homefront. She assured success with the steward because what that keeps large ships from passing in me that all was OK, and I promised to he wanted was someone to stay and work tight quarters. Not in Houston! To sail get back in touch when we arrived. along with him. I was blind to that and this channel is to relive a bad western On arrival in Beaufort, I called home nearly knocked myself out striving to be movie. Two gun fighters swagger to receive the devastating news that my the world's greatest at sougeeing. On the toward each other on a muddy Houston bishop, Bernard Ganter, had undergone Cape Chalmers, the AB strove for the street. The only thing keeping their ex­ brain surgeiy for a malignant tumor the success that belonged to the whole team, pensive boots dry and clean is the plank day before. The day we had sailed, he and in the end brought about poor team­ that is suspended over the mud. They had announced to the diocesan staff that work and coordination. walk closer and closer to each other, he was ill and would be undergoing the So now gone is the childish en­ staring deeply into the other's eyes. At operation on Friday. thusiasm and anxiety that were there in the last moment they sashay around each This news shook me to the core of my my other voyages. In their place, I hope. other. being. He is a man I respect, honor and Father Sinclair Oubre is Port Chaplain in Beau­ mont, Texas and an SIU member. He sails during his time off. Father Oubre has kept a journal during his seafar­ ing voyages. Last Sinclair Oubre year, the Seafarers LOG published several excerpts from the diary. What follows are some additional glimpses into Father Oubre's life aboard ship. ^ Vr •/ I- ^• ^ '. love. I doubt that he has ever realized how much he has meant to me. In 1978, when he became the bishop of Beaumont, I saw him for the first time at a basketball game at my old high school. I was already studying for the diocese but feeling rather adrift as far as my commitment to the church in Beaumont. There was not a priest to whom I felt especially close or who seemed to be a mentor. When I saw him, though, I had a strong desire to walk up to him and kiss his Episcopal ring. I restrained those feelings and thank goodness for that because such an action would have embarrassed him no end and probably started our relationship off on a peculiar leg. Through the years, he has always been my promoter and supporter, no matter how untraditional my activities may have been. Whether it was taking fencing lessons or working as a summer intern for my congressman, he never raised objections or questions regarding the appropriateness of such activities for a seminarian or future priest. It was Bishop Ganter who en­ couraged me to accept the challenge of going to Catholic University of America. By his support, I not only received a top quality education, but I also was able to enter the world of politics and labor unions that still play such an important role in my life. When it became time to look for a graduate school, it was Bishpp Ganter who offered to send me abroad. In fact, he encouraged me to investigate schools in Ottawa, Rome, Innsbruck and Leuven, Belgium. When I decided to go to Belgium, he was there to give me his blessing. As I look back on those four years, they were probably the most im­ portant in my life. My early years as a priest were not fair sailing. In my first three assign­ ments, I struck out. In baseball I would have been sent back to the minors, but Bishop Ganter continued to support me. He never threatened me or took sides. Rather, he would just say that things weren't working out and he would find another place for me to work. Now he has fallen ill. I am sure that among those who criticized him most, there is anxiousness and apprehension. They fear that the one who comes next may not be as willing to endure their moaning, groaning, overblown egos and incompetencies. Like a ship's captain who is always the "Old Man" when things are going well and the "SOB" when they are rough. Bishop Ganter has been accused of being out of touch with his priests, and of being insensitive to their particular needs. He is also accused of micromanaging the diocese and not insisting that Aings be done a specific way. \^en parishes and the diocese would be tossed around by one tempest or another, he would always be looked to as the one who could steer the safe course for all concerned. In the end. Bishop Ganter is simply a man who carries the weight of many Catholic souls on his shoulders. He stands between the grassroots needs of each individual Catholic and the man­ dates and prescriptions that emanate from Rome. He does this with all the idiosyncrasies and weaknesses that any man possesses. He does it, though, with a faith that is based on the certain knowledge that in the end all is in God's hands. I have sailed to foreign lands and have taken in adventure. T^is, I thought, was the bond of seafarers, but this is only half. I have now been initiated into the silent half. I take my place with my other mates as we grieve. We grieve for that parent who died while we were away, that child who was bom, and that friend, that mentor who has fallen ill, all the while we were at sea. �AUGUST1993 5filFilir£il51IM; 15 Seafarers in Houston Volunteer to Help Children When Crowley Captain anc SIU Assistant Vice President SIU member Bert Thompson is Don Anderson commented on the not sailing, he is busy volunteer­ efforts of the union members: ing some of his time towarc "Brothers Bolton and Bowles are several charitable activities in the always willing to help out with Houston area. programs such as this. It is a ex­ Brother Thompson is one o: cellent procedure that feeds many volunteers for ICID CARE, hundreds of Houston's hungry a non-profit organization tha children. It's great that we in the feeds children who are going SIU can get involved." hungry on the streets of the city "This is a wonderful oppor­ due to many varying circumstan­ tunity that we have to be able to ces. help a generation of children who "They make and deliver food could be lost if help doesn't reach and sandwiches to children from them. There is a tremendous 18 years old down to infants. sense of fulfillment that words Some are homeless, some come cannot even describe. It is a great from single-parent families who way to put commitment in our can't earn enough money to sup­ lives," Thompson said. port their children and some are He added, "I have my church, complete families with strong SIU members Bert Thompson and Virgil Bolton study a map of Houston to pinpoint where the next food the SIU and my community. This family values but low incomes. deiiveries wiil be taken by volunteers to children who have no other means of getting a meal. is another reference point from They are all victims of our which I can draw strength." economy who are suffering be­ children return from school. They out and growing throughout center to do a little work on some Bom in Austin, Texas on July cause they don't have any of the are hungry because they haven't Houston. 'To deliver food is a of the refrigerators and other ap­ advantages life has to offer," eaten all day or their parents work rare experience. To see the kids pliances that were given to them. 17, 1936, Brother Thompson Thompson told a reporter from late and they are alone. It's hard responding to the open expres­ It was a one-day job but it felt joined the Seafarers in 1975 in the the Seafarers LOG. for a child to acquire an education sion of love is the most remark­ really good to help out," stated port of Houston and began sailing with G&H Towing. He served in Thompson first learned about or pay attention in school with an able thing," he added. Bolton. Both Bolton and Bowles the U.S. Army from 1956to 1959. KID CARE through his local empty stomach," he noted. are graduates of the Lundeberg He upgraded to Master Oceans in Seafarers Volunteer Help Braebum Presbyterian Church, According to Thompson, KID School refrigeration course for 1979 and began sailing with A building has been acquired when the group decided that they CARE was created approximate­ engine department members. Crowley in 1980. wanted to get involved in some ly eight years ago by a registered to use as a full time food distribu­ tion center. Renovations and type of community project. They nurse and her husband, Carol and learned that there are ap­ Hurt Porter. In the medical field remodeling iare under way and the proximately 300,000 children she was continually confronted demand for volunteers has never under 18 years of age going with "sugar babies," starving in­ been higher. Equipment and hungry and living below the fants that she would nurse back to household items have been donated to the center, and while poverty level. lealth with sugar and water until they are not always in good "We realized that we are miss­ food could be given. One of these Thomas "Tommy" Zee, a of SUP for 35 years and an in­ ing the mark as a society. TTie rabies died in Porter's arms while repair, they are needed desperate­ leading figure in the Sailors' stmctor for 15 years. Brother social agencies are not getting to she was trying to nurse the child ly. The new building has a very Union of the Pacific (SUP), Zee was also a member of Na­ the root cause," Thompson jack to life. large kitchen and areas for child passed away May 30 at his tional Association of Maritime reflected. "Carol came to the realization care and in-house classrooms. Pacifica, Calif, home after a Educators. that thousands of kids in Houston According to Thompson, KID stroke. He was 68. Prepare Food for Delivery In 1991, Zee contributed the Brother Zee was a longtime call board of the former pas­ Volunteers from the Houston were starving. She went out into CARE hopes to use tWs area for ship. President community gather twice each day he neighborhoods and found after-school tutoring for children instmctor in seamanship at the senger to make sandwiches and various these starving kids and began who need addition^ educational Andrew Furuseth School of Roosevelt of American Presi­ Seamanship, mn by the Sailors' dent Lines (APL), to the Paul hot foods to deliver to the cooking in her own kitchen. She assistance. children. Vans crewed with addi­ opened her doors to everyone and SIU members QMED Virgil Union of the Pacific in San Hall Library and Maritime Museum. Zee made the call tional volunteers take the meals ed children and families out of Bolton and Wiper Jim Bowles Francisco. Born in Philadelphia, he board himself while he was ler own pockets. She is truly a have volunteered time and efforts individually to each child. "In general, it is a meals-on- remarkable woman," Thompson toward fixing some of the used served in the U.S. Army from deck yeoman aboard the ves­ wheels operation for kids. We explained. equipment that has been donated. 1945 to 1947. He was a member sel. also deliver snacks after the The organization is branching "We went over to the new ReGnd SUP Insbvctor Tommy Zee Dies at 68 Bold Strokes AB Vicari Brightens Sea-Land Producer with Mural Like his career with the SIU, AB Ray Vicari's unnamed mural which adoms a bulkhead aboard the Sea-Land Producer began on a whim but blossomed into some­ thing special. "I had no idea what I was geting into," Vicari said with a augh while recounting his recent jainting project. "The bosun Jack Edwards) asked me if I could do some art work for the ship. I painted a monkey in a tree, and then I just kept adding to it." Vicari, 40, spent six weeks of ree time adding to the mural, which he estimates covers a 50bot area on the second deck. The scenes include beaches, trees, other ships, golfers, islanders, a jar bearing Vicari's name, and more—"different things you might see in Hawaii," he said. "It was a slow process, mostly jecause I had to have the right weather) conditions," Vicari added. "But the crew really got into it. They gave me ideas and constantly checked it out. "I think it adds something to the ship." don't have much of a background in art, and I'd never done a mural before," he said. "I dabbed in painting in high school, and I used to draw a lot, but that's about it." Nevertheless, the shipboard mural sparked Vicari's interest in art, and he plans to purchase ad­ ditional painting supplies for his time on the beach. "As I get older, I can see myself getting into it more. The only problem with ^ing to make a living as an artist is, you don't make any money until you're dead! A resident of Rancho Santa Margarita, C^if., Vicari said he joined the Seafarers partially on a whim and partly due to the sug­ gestions from his uncle, the late Seafarer Peter Vicari. "I really had no idea this is what I would do as a career," said the AB, who formerly operated a landscaping business in California. "But I love it. It's a good way to make a living." ^i^ile Vicari, who upgraded at the Lundeberg School in 1981, plans to stick with shipping, he does not envision painting another mural anytime soon. "I don't have any more projects in the works," he said. "I've been working steady for al­ most two solid years. The Producer is a good ship with good people, but I'm ready for some time off." New Interest A graduate of the Seafarers Jarry Lundeberg School of Seamanship in 1978, Vicari said le is surprised at how well the mural turned out. "Honestly, I Brother Vicari's first mural, which started as a monkey in a tree, adorns a second-deck bulkhead aboard the Sea-Land Producer. I " �'-.y' 16 SEAFARERS LOG %• • •" Play Ball! m. MLm^ j '"- " ' AUGUST ms Seafarers Field New Team in Diego Garcia •n_' _i -r /-..i . 4.i_ _ A. I y* They made plenty of errors, (who supplied the team's Jerseys missed the cutoff man more than and caps), Saylors contacted the once and generally endured the league about having a team com­ struggles one would expect of prised of American seafarers first-year ballplayers. But for the (both unlicensed and licensed). Mariners Softball team, organized The league welcomed the earlier this year in Diego Garcia Mariners and allowed the team by SIU Recertified Bosun Rob not to have a set roster, because of Saylors, records were not all that sailing schedules for the vessels. important. All Games Played "We usually were competi­ Saylors reported that although tive, but the main point was to few practices were conducted provide another activity for our (they would have interfered with members," said Saylors, who the work schedule), and despite most recently sailed aboard the JEB Stuart. "We had a ball. It was the ships' participating in sea tri­ good exercise and everyone als, the Mariners did not forfeit seemed to enjoy it. Plus we got to any of their 14 regular season meet lots of other people, not only games. They also played in a few from the other teams but also tournaments. "Of course, there were times when \ye had no idea some of the locals," A graduate of the Lundeberg who was ashore until five minutes School in 1973, Saylors got the before game time!" Saylors idea to create a merchant noted. The co-ed league also has mariners' Softball team while he teams representing the British Because of work schedules, the Mariners did not have a set roster. But this group showed up for the team was watching local media Police force, U.S. Marine Corps, photo! Team members (both licensed and unlicensed seafarers) pictiired from left are (front row) Bosun coverage of the eight-team, slowU.S. Navy and others. John Higdon, Wiper Carlos Domingue, Bosun Rob Saylors, Mariner Brian Simpson and Charlie Wong, pitch league in Diego Garcia. Seafarer Carlos Domingue, manager of the local seaman's club, (back row) Jo Jo Santos, VondaBront, Chief Engineer Roger Marks, With help from Seaman's Club manager Charlie Wong who sails as a wiper aboard the Second Engineer Jim Sullivan, AB Tony Cheesebrow, Mike Dayo and AB Brian Redoute. Franklin Phillips, was the Mariners' pitcher during the team's inaugural season. (Oc­ casionally, in trying to make a point to an umpire or batter, Domingue would roll the ball across home plate.) During one game, the homeplate ump barked, "Illegal!" rather than "Ball," every time either pitcher failed to throw a strike. Domingue thereafter was known to his teammates as "Il­ legal," and he even had the nick­ name emblazoned on his jersey. Saylors said there are other ac­ tivities available for Seafarers working in Diego Garcia, such as bicycling, sailing catamarans, fishing, bowling and tours of other military vessels. "1 love it over there," the bosun said. "There's plenty of work, but there Bosun Rob Saylors, who provided the photos accompanying this are also a lot of fun things to do Wiper Carlos Domingue, shown here aboard the Franklin Phillips, during off hours." pitched for the Mariners softball team. article, tours a military ship in Diego Garcia. Know Your Rights FINANCIAL REPORTS. The constitution of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District makes specific provision for safeguarding the membership's money and union finances. The con­ stitution requires a detailed audit by certified public accountants every year, which is to be submitted to the membership by thesecretary-treasurer. A yearly finance committee of rankand-file members, elected by the mem­ bership, each year examines the fmances of the union and reports fiilly their findings and recommendations. Members of this committee may make dissenting reports, specific recommen­ dations and separate findings. . TRUST FUNDS. All trust funds of the SIU Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District are ad­ ministered in accordance with the provisions of various trust fund agreements. All these agreements specify that the trustees in charge of these funds shall equally consist of union and management repre­ sentatives and their alternates. All ex­ penditures and disbursements of trust funds are made only upon approval by a majority of the trustees. All trust fund financial records are available at the headquarters of the various trust funds. SHIPPING RIGHTS. A ' member's shipping rights and seniority are protected exclusively by contracts between the union and the employers. Members should get to know their shipping rights. Copies of these contracts are posted and avail­ able in all union halls. If members believe there have been violations of their shipping or seniority rights as contained in the contracts between the union and the employers, they should notify the Seafarers Appeals Board by certified mail, return receipt requested. The proper address for this is: Augustin Tellez, Chairman Seafarers Appeals Board 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746 Full copies of contracts as referred to are available to members at all times, either by writingdirectly to the union or to the Seafarers Appeals Board. CONTRACTS. Copies of all SIU contracts are available in all SIU halls. These contracts specify the wages and conditions under which an SIU mem­ ber works and lives aboard a ship or boat Members should know their con­ tract rights, as well as their obligations, such as filing for overtime (OT) on the proper sheets and in the proper manner. If, at any time, a member believes that an SIU patrolman or other union offi­ cial fails to protect their contractual rights properly, he or she should contact the nearest SIU port agent EDITORIAL POLICY — THE SEAFARERS LOG. The Seafarers . - -r-' ' , •' LOG traditionally has refrained from publishing any article serving the political purposesof any individual in the union, officer or member. It also has refrained from publishing articles deemed harmful to the union or its collective membership. This estab­ lished policy has been reaffirmed by membership action at the September I960 meetings in all constitutional ports. The responsibility for Seafarers LOG policy is vested in an editorial board which consists of the executive board of the union. The executive board may delegate, from among its ranks, one in­ dividual to carry out this respon­ sibility. PAYMENT OF MONIES. No monies are to be paid to anyone in any official capacity in the SIU unless an official union receipt is given for same. Under no circumstances should any member pay any money for any reason unless he is given such receipt. In the event anyone attempts to require any such payment be made withoutsupply­ ing a receipt, or if a member is requir^ to make a payment and is given an official receipt, but feels that he or she should not have been required to make such payment, this should inunediately be reported to union headquarters. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS. Copies of the SIU constitution are available in all union halls. AU members should obtain copies of this constitution, so as to familiarize themselves ,with its con­ tents. Any time a member feels any other member or officer is attempting to deprive him or her of any constitu­ tional right or obligation by any methods, such as dealing with char­ ges, trials, etc., as well as all other details, the member so affected should immediately notify head­ quarters. EQUAL RIGHTS. All members are guaranteed equal rights in employment and as members of the SIU. These rights are clearly set forth in the SIU constitution and in the contracts which the union has negotiated with the employers. Con­ sequently, no member may be dis­ criminated against because of race, creed, color, sex, national or geographic origin. If any member feels that he or she is denied the equal rights to which he or she is entitled, the member should notify union headquarters. SEAFARERS POLITICAL ACTIVITY DONATION — SPAD. SPAD is a separate segregated fund. Its proceeds are used to further its objects and purposes including, but not limited to, further­ ing the political, social and economic interests of maritime workers, the preservation and furthering of the American merchant marine with im­ proved employment opportunities for seamen and boatmen and the advan­ cement of trade union concepts. In connection with such objects, SPAD supports and contributes to political candidates for elective office. All contributions are voluntary. No con­ tribution may be solicited or received because of force, job discrimination, financial reprisal, or threat of such conduct, or as a condition of member­ ship in Ae union or of employment. If a contribution is made by reason of the above improper conduct, the member should notify the Seafarers International Union or SPAD by cer­ tified mail within 30 days of the con­ tribution for investigation and appropriate action and refund, if in­ voluntary. A member should sup­ port SPAD to protect and further his or her economic, political and so­ cial interests, and American trade union concepts. If at any time a member feels that any of the above rights have been violated, or that he or she has been denied the constitutional right of ac­ cess to union records or information, the member should immediately notify SIU President Michael Sacco at headquarters by certified mail, return receipt requested. The address is: Michael Sacco, President Seafarers International Union 5201 Auth Way Camp Springs, MD 20746. "• -Kv-' i ^ i r.'. ..' •m .f>v5%Tu Ll-'ra :.r-, �Aueusrma SEAFMERSLOG Dispatchers' Report for Deep Sea JUNE 16 ~ JULY 15,1993 TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Cla^C •TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Trip Reliefs ••H^GISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Oass A Class B Class C DECK DEPARTMENT Port 3 27 21 4 10 52 47 12 32 27 New York 5 3 3 2 13 2 8 1 1 Philadelphia 12 0 6 7 16 2 6 1 8 13 Baltimore " 23 23 7 13 8 2 5 11 18 20 Norfolk 5 7 1 1 16 24 9 20 1 15 Mobile 5 26 36 42 •, 7 7 17 31 New Orleans 25 50 46 9 21 4 25 1 V T'% 5 28 Jacksonville 25 45 14 49 .• 7 18 12 1 5 23 San Franciscof 21 25 1 5 15 9 12-% 16 ^•y-yS' rntm.. Wilmington 18 12 46 56 0 14 18 20 6 25 29 Seattle 4 20 4 4 1 2 5 3 0 Puerto Rico 12 10 8 24 10 9 5 11 8 7 14 Honolulu 16 S%-%41 •••• 40 4 ^ 6 21 24 7 30 31 Houston =?.:• 2 : 0 4 1 0 0 0 • 1 1 2 St. Louis 1 2 •••r. -1:. . 1 0 2 1 2 Piney Point 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 Algonac 109 386 421 44 73 192 179 267 58 244 Totals ENGINE DEPARTMENT Port 30 6 39 2 .5..:;%%:^^" 21 4 ••?S>:%-i-;18' 27 21 New York O;-' • , % B::, , •;()•:%: •• 1 5 7 . • : • • • 4 : 1 6 4 Philadelphia y >::t 8 14 ••• : 2 •. 7 %--"^0--..% 9 9 Baltimore 5 16 11 6 2 8 1 2 16 10 Norfolk 17 18 1 0 2 5 7 0 15 10 Mobile 9 28 29 0 1 7 13 2 16 New Orleans 14 40 19 23 1 ~ 3 • 10 9 6 22 Jacksonville 13 6 29 33 1 5 10 ^ 1118 4 San Francisco 15 18 4 21 4 . 1 8 10 Wilmington 11 7 34 24 V 0 5 6 11^ 0 18 19 Seattle i 12 1 0 0 1 4 0 0 8 Puerto Rico 6 5 19 7 4 6 10 13 4 Honolulu •: 4 •• 24 32 '8'. 18 Houston 0 • • 1 2 . 0 • 0 r-B%';0-' •• •• I 2 St. Louis 0 13 3 0 1 1 0 5 1 Piney Point 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 •• 0 1 0 Algonac 71 257 301 22 41 104 100 35 190 162 Totals STEWARD DEPARTMENT Port -.3 O'v'%B%aT0-.^;' 28 >%B17..; 16 0 New York lld^e 14 7 ;%^ 14 3 2 2 : 1 1 Philadelphia 0 l\. :•• • 0 1 0 . Syi Baltimore 3 8 10 2 6 7 1 1 7 3 Norfolk 1 14 11 0 0 3 2 0 6 9 Mobile 2 17 11 0 2 8 6 2 ... 9 New Orleans 13 •^ 2 29 11 1 4 2 0 • 0 6 Jacksonville 15 ^•B.r%4..82 29 0 5 19 3 9 San Francisco 28 :8:V :'%T18 0 4 10 :2:M 0 6 Wilmington 11 3 10 37 0 7 2 12 2 4 19 Seattle 2 0 7 0 1 0 4 1 0 8 Puerto Rico 19 33 15 13 24 8 9 11 23 11 Honolulu 7 -':%2'. 17 0 .7 5 6 Houston 0 2 1 0 0 0 , -Ty0 St. Louis 0, &il.6. 0 •; 2 2 0 r; Piney Point 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Algonac V •' • -.-mr-' , , V< Totals 101 153 21 '< ^ 283 19 75 58 100 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 3' • o.:-;0:••• M9. 27 7 0 3 : Brr-U 0 2 B '.-M • 3 0 0 2 •%w%'^' 0 7 2 0 22 1 0 1 0 7 1 11 0 0 9 4 'M-7' 1 •-r? 0 • 9 39 0 0 5 7 9 3 0 5 5 16 0 0 11 4 6 0 0 0 2 10 82 0 34 3 4 • 1 • 0 9 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 22 I 0 0 0 0 0 131 96 0 164 39 171 44 Port 36 12 35 8 New York 8 2 0 Philadelphia 1 12 0 8 0 Baltimore 14 24 7 22 2 Norfolk 1 21 0 7 0 Mobile 20 34 5 14 New Orleans 7 14 40 6 18 4 Jacksonville 27 48 9 12 San Francisco 14 12 20 3 14 5 Wilmington 13 28 4 18 10 Seattle 12 15 4 8 0 Puerto Rico 146 71 99 49 5 Honolulu 9 29 3 20 ' 2 Houston 0 3 0 0 0 St. Louis 20 1 0 30 0 Piney Point 0 4 0 3 0 Algonac 314 443 158 260 57 Totals Totals All 1.057 1336 538 189 672 231 418 272 818 Departments 616 * 'Total Registered" means the number of men who actually registered for shipping at the port last month, ** "Registered on the Beach" means the total number of men registered at the port at the end of last month. A total of 1306 jobs were shipped on SlU-contracted deep sea vessels. Of the 1^06 jobs shipped, 418 jobs or about 32 percent were taken by "A" seniority members. The rest were filled by "B" and «C" seniority people. From June 16 to July 15,1993, a total of 196 trip relief jobs were shipped. Since the trip relief pro­ gram began on April 1,1982, a total of 19,115 jobs have been shipped. • - sr J i; I - 17 . . September & October 1993 Membership tJMetings Deep Sea, Lakes, Inland Waters Piney Point Tuesday: September 7*, Monday; October 4 'changed by Labor Day holiday New York Tuesday: September 7, October 5 Philadelphia Wednesday: September 8, October 6 Baltimore Thursday: September 9, October 7 Norfolk Thursday: September 9, October 7 Jacksonville Thursday: September 9, October 7 Algonac Friday: September 10, October 8 Houston Monday: September 13, October 11 New Orleans Tuesday: September 14, October 12 Mobile Wednesday, September 15, October 13 San Francisco Thursday: September 16, October 14 Wilmington Monday: September 20, October 18 Seattle Friday, September 24, October 22 San Juan Thursday: September 9, October 7 St Louis Friday: September 17, October 15 Honolulu Friday: September 17, October 15 Duluth Wednesday, September 15, October 13 Jersey City Wednesday: September 22, October 20 New Bedford Tuesday: September 21, October 19 f ? •M -:: .3 Each port's meeting starts at 10:30 a.mi Personals SHIPMATES OF JOSEPH RIPLEY Joseph Ripley would like to hear from his former shipmates aboard the OMISacramento which sailed to Riga, Latvia in February 1992. Ripley's address is 3221 Grey Dolphin, Las Vegas, NY 89117. FRIENDS OF JAMES E. HILL James E. Hill would like to hear from any mem­ bers who sailed with him. He may be reached at 2212 East Henry Avenue, A&B Building, Tampa, FL 33610. WATCH PARTNER WITH WILLIAM ROGERS Will the AB who was a watch partner with Wil­ liam Rogers aboard the William Hooper (Waterman Steamship) from October 7, 1981 to June 3, 1982 write him at 322 Lakeside Boulevard East, Waterbury, CT 06708. He lost your address. Notice •'Mnm .y • •: ATTENTION: Membership - Port of Seattle Virginia Mason Clinic will offer flu shots and blood draws for benzene tests on Wednesday, November 10, between the hours of9:00 -11:30 a.m. and 1:00 - 3:30 p.m. at the Seattle hall, located at 2505 1st Avenue. Any member interested in using this benefit should call the hall between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on November 8 or November 9; (206) 441-1960. / In order to utilize this benefit, a member must qualify under the rules of the plan (includingproof of 120 days seatime in 1992 and 1 day of employ­ ment in the last six months). w �•••<^ - , 'V 18 •'K •i v. Seafarers International Union Directory Hi'i' B..J , •/ •• /•vv l - • -\v/ AUGUST 1993 SEAFARERS LOG Michael Sacco President John Fay Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Sacco Executive Vice President Augustin Tellez Vice President Collective Bargaining George McCartney Vice President West Co oast Roy A. "Buck" Mercer Vice President Government Services Jack Caffey Vice President Atlantic Coast Byron Kelley. Vice President Lakes and Inland Waters Dean Co Vice President ulf Coast HEADQUARTERS 5201 Auth Way arings, MD 20746 Camp Sgr (301) 899-0675 ALGONAC 520 St. Clair River Dr. Algonac, MI 48001 (313)794-4988 BALTIMORE 1216 E. Baltimore St. Baltimore, MD 21202 (410)327-4900 DULUTH 705 Medical Arts Building Duluth.MN 55802 (218)722-4110 HONOLULU 606 Kalihi St. Honolulu, HI 96819 (808)845-5222 HOUSTON 1221 Pierce St. Houston, TX 77002 (713)659-5152 JACKSONVILLE 3315 Liberty St. Jacksonville, FL 32206 (904) 353-0987 JERSEY CITY 99 Montgomery St. Jersey City, NJ 07302 (201)435-9424 MOBILE 1640 Dauphin Island Pkwy. Mobile, AL 36605 (205)478-0916 NEW BEDFORD 48 Union St. New Bedford, MA 02740 (508) 997-5404 NEW ORLEANS 630 Jackson Ave. New Orleans, LA 70130 (504) 529-7546 NEW YORK 675 Fourth Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11232 (718)499-6600 NORFOLK 115 Third St. Norfolk, VA 23510 (804)622-1892 PHILADELPHIA OMUl ^ 4 Stt Philadelphia," PA 19148 (215)336-3818 PINEY POINT P.O. Box 75 Piney Point, MD 20674 (301) 994-0010 PORT EVERGLADES 2 West Dixie Highway Dania,FL 33004 (305)921-5661 SAN FRANCISCO 350 Fremont St. San Francisco, CA 94105 (415)543-5855 Government Services Division (415) 861-3400 SANTURCE 1057 Fernandez Juncos Ave. Stop l6Vi Santurce, PR 00907 (809) 721-4033 SEATTLE 2505 First Ave. Seattle, WA 98121 (206)441-1960 ST. LOUIS 4581 Gravois Ave. St Louis, MO 63116 ^ (314)752-6500 WILMINGTON 510N. Broad Ave. Wilmington, CA 90744 (310)549-4000 •y r. /• / Dispatchers' Report for Great Lakes •— JUNE 16 — JULY 15,1993 CL—Company/Lakes L—Lakes NP—^Non Priority •TOTAL REGISTERED AH Groups Class CL Class L Class NP Port Algonac Port Algonac Port Algonac Port Algonac 0 21 2 0 9 6 0 0 • ' 0 9 10 TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class CL Class L Class NP DECK DEPARTMENT 0 49 3 ENGINE DEPARTMENT 0 34 6 STEWARD DEPARTMENT 0 10 0 ENTRY DEPARTMENT 0 0 0 ••REGISTEl^D ON BEACH Class CL Class L Class NP 41^ 0 18 0 ••Om 0 Totals All Departments 0 45 17 0 93 9 0 39 * "Total Registered" means the number of men who actually registered for shipping at the port last month. 33 Dispatchers' Report for Inland Waters JUNE 16 •TOTAL REGISTERED All Groups Class A Class B Class C Region 5 Atlantic Coast Gulf Coast 7 Lakes & Inland Waters ; ' y-iy" 22 West Coast 0 Totals 34 Region Atlantic Coast 2 Gulf Coast Lakes & Inl^i|3!^|^ West Coast 0 Totals 25 Region Atlantic Coast 2 Gulf Coast 0 A Lakes & Inland Waters 4 West Coast 0 Totals 6 W:' Totals All Departments 65 0 2 0 0 2 0 15 19 34 3 0 2 0 3 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 2 4 JULY 15,1993 2 2 n U 1 2 0 2 0 4 7 iM: 50 0 25 61 29 2 ENGINE DEPARTMENT 0 l- - ••REGISTERED ON BEACH All Groups Class A Class B Class C TOTAL SHIPPED All Groups Class A Class B Class C DECK DEPARTMENT 40 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 STEWARD DEPARTMENT Q 0 1 0 0 2 0 3: 0 0 2 1 6 0 3 72 32 45 9 41 4 99 2 3 0 1 6 0 4 / 2 5 0 35 0 3 0 5 . 0 0 7 0 6 13 3 0 o ' 1 13 2 Im 1 3 147 12 84 * "Total Registered" means the number of men who actually registered for shipping at the port last month. ** "Registered on the Beach" means the total number of men registered at the port at the end of last month. Corrections Mistaken Identity Northern Lights Sailed as Puerto Rico Before Heading to M^esf Coasf On page 28 of the July 1993 issue, the Seafarers LOG published a story on the Northern Lights, a roll-on/roll-off vessel operated by Interocean Management for Totem Ocean Trailer Express (TOTE). The Northern Lights was beginning operations on a West Coast-run between Tacoma, Wash, and Anchorage, Alaska. In writing the histoiy of the Northern Lights, the LOG mistakenly used infor­ mation on the Northern Light, a Ready Reserve Force (RRF) dry cargo freighter operated by American Presi­ dent Lines. The Northern Lights, the vessel fea­ tured in the story, is the former Puerto Rico. It was delivered in January 1975 to Transamerican Trailer Transport. When Puerto Rico Marine Management, Inc. (PRMMl) was formed later that year, it acquired the vessel in December 1975. As a PRMMl ship, it was crewed by Seafarers. The RO/RO sailed in the Puer­ to Rico trade and made an occasional charter voyage to the Middle East. At the end of 1988, the vessel was laid up when PRMMl replaced its RO/ROs with containerships. In July 1991, TOTE purchased the leasing company that owned the Puerto Rico. The ship was overhauled, lengthened to 744 feet and renamed the Northern Lights before it sailed to the West Coast. The other vessel, the Northern Light, is a C-3 freighter that was built in 1961. As part of the RRF fleet, it sailed during the Persian Gulf conflict. The Seafarers LOG thanks James R. Shinners, vice president for vessel opera­ tions at PRMMl, for providing the his­ tory of the Puerto Rico. We apologize for any confusion the story may have created. The Northern Lights sails between Tacoma, Wash, and Anchorage, Alaska. Thd RO/RO vessel Is the former Puerto Rico. A photograph on page 10 of the July 1993 Seafarers LOG incorrectly iden­ tified two members aboard the LNG Aries as Chief Cook Udjang Nurdjaja and Wiper Victor Serrano, who are the menabers in the photo above. The cor­ rect identity of the Seafarers (in photo below) whose picture ran in the LOG last month is AB Bert Gillis and QMED Steven Hoskins. We apologize for the error. v •- 'h • �jumsri993 SEAFARERS LOG To Our New Pensioners ... Thanks for a Job Well Done Each month in the Seafarers LOG, the names and brief biographies ofSIU members who recently have become pen­ sioners appear. These men and women have served the maritime industry well, and the SIU and all their union brothers and sisters wish them happiness and health in the days ahead. T he Seafarers Pension Plan this month announces the retirements of 18 members. Twelve of those signing off sailed in the deep sea division, while three sailed in the inland division, two in the Great Lakes division and one in the railroad marine division. Three of the retirees were bom in Pennsylvania, while two each were bom in Alabama and New Jersey. Texas, Michigan, Massachussetts, Louisana, Maryland, Georgia, Spain, Arabia, the Philippines, Costa Rica and Honduras ac­ count for one retiree apiece. Ten of the eighteen signing off served in the U.S. armed forces: six served in the Nav^, three in the Army and one in the Marine Corps. Nick Alexander had been an active Seafarer longer than any of the other new pensioners. He joined the union in 1947 in the port of Galveston, Texas. Brief biographical sketches of Brother Alexander and the other new pensioners follow. DEEP SEA NICK ALEXANDER, 65, joined the Seafarers in 1947 in the port of Galveston, Texas. A Texas native, he sailed in the deck department. Brother Alexander served in the U.S. Army from 1946 to 1947. He retired to Texas City. CARLOS COELLO, 65, joined the union in 1969 in the port of New York. Bom in Hon­ duras, he sailed as a QMED. Brother Coello upgraded at the Ltmdeberg School in 1986. He resides in Metairie, La. WARREN UESEGANG, 65, joined the Sea­ farers in 1967 in the port of Jack­ sonville, Fla. Bom in New Jersey, he sailed as a QMED. Brother Liesegang upgraded frequently at Piney Point. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1950 to 1955. Broker Liesegang retired to Ft. Pierce, Fla. the Lundeberg School in 1975. He lives in San Francisco. COY HENDRICKS, 70, joined the SIU in 1950 in the port of Jacksonville, Fla. A Georgia native, he sailed as a chief cook. Brother Hendricks served in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1945. He resides in Pinehurst, Texas. JOHN QUINTER, 57, joined the SIU in 1969 in the port of Bal­ timore. A na­ y •. . J*J n tive of 4 Reading, Pa., he sailed as a QMED. Brother Quinter retired to Jack­ son, Fla. V GLEN TENLEY, 65,joined the Sea­ farers in 1953 in the port of New York. A Pennsyl­ vania native, he sailed in the deck department. He upgraded at Piney Point in 1982. Brother Tenley served in the U.S. Navy from 1948 to 195?. He resides in Perkasie, Pa. HENRY GROMEK, 66, joined the union in 1950 in the port of New York. Bom in Bal­ timore, he sailed in the steward depart­ ment. Brother Gromek still calls Baltimore home. JAMES SIVLEY, 64, joined the SIU in 1968 in the port of Seat­ tle. A Decatur, Ala. native. he sailed as a chief cook. Brother Sivley served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1968. He retired to Demings, N.M. ALFRED ROY, 65, joined the union in 1967 in the port of Houston. Bom in St. OLMAN Martinville, MORALES, La., he sailed as a QMED. He 78, joined upgraded at Piney Point in the union in 1974. Brother Roy served in 1955 in the the U.S. Army from 1953 to port of Bal­ 1955. He still calls St. Martin­ timore. A na­ ville home. tive of Costa Rica, he sailed in the engine department. GUILLERMO DOMINGUEZ, 68, joined the Seafarers Brother Morales upgraded at in 1973 in the port of Yokohama, Japan. A native of Cavite, Philippines, he sailed as a chief cook. Brother Dominguez served in the U.S. Navy from 1945 to 1965. He still calls Cavite home. LIONEL SHAW, 59, joined the SIU in 1970. in the port of San Fran­ cisco. A Mas­ sachusetts native, he sailed in the deck department. Brother Shaw upgraded at the Lundeberg School in 1978. He served in the U.S. Army from 1951 to 1957. Brother Shaw resides in Shirley, Mass. INLAND GEORGE HERBISON, 65, joined the Seafarers in 1965 in the port of New York. A New Jersey native, he sailed in the deck department. Boatman Herbison lives in Guttenberg, N.J. ORRIE ODOM,62, joined the union in 1956 in the port of Mobile, Ala. An Alabama native, he sailed as a captain. Boatman Odom served in the U.S. Army from 1950 to 1952. He retired to Atmore, Ala. GEORGE LeMAIRE, 55, joined the SIU in 1956 in the port of Baltimore. Bom in Pennsylvania, he sailed in the deck department. Boatman LeMaire served in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1954. He retired to Edgewood, Md. 19 •• •f' 'P': Holttiap ^eakon M Slukt !3rounti tfir Comer One feature in theSeafarers LOG that has been extreme­ ly well received over the past two years is the inclusion of holiday greetings in the December issue. Active and retired Seafarers—as well as their family members—are invited to send their greetings to friends, shipmates and loved ones through the pages of the LOG. The procedure is simple. In 25 words or less (and in your neatest PRINTING possible), write the message in the space provided below. All (legible) greetings that are written in the holiday spirit will be included in the December 1993 issue of the Seafarers LOG, if they are received in time. The deadline for receipt of the holiday messages is » *, Friday, November 12, 1993. At! * ! Send them by mail to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. After November 1, fac­ simile copies will be ac­ cepted. The fax number is (301) 702-4407. Forms also may be filled out in any union hall and turned in to the official at the counter—or may be given to the boarding patrolman at a vessel's payoff. . • . "A;. ''0. p. Holttia;* iltesikase (PLEASE PRINT OR TYPE) M To: From:. Message:. GREAT LAKES MANEH AHMED, 64, joined the union in 1960 in the port of Detroit. Bom in Arabia, he sailed as a porter in the steward department. Brother Ahmed resides in Dearbom, Mich. RAYMOND KLINE, 65, joined the Seafarers in 1959 in the port of Aljena, Mich. A native of Roger City, Vfich., he sailed as a watchman. Jrother Kline calls Alpena • • ppyypyp P- liome. M- RAILROAD MARINE JOSE CARBALLO, 62, joined the SIU in 1960 in the port of New York. A na­ tive of Spain, he sailed in the deck department. Brother Carballo retired to Woodside, N.Y. Check the block which describes your status with the SIU: • Active Seafarer • Family Member of Active Seafarer • Retired Seafarer • Family Member of Retired Seafarer Send your greeting to the Seafarers LOG, 5201 Auth Way, Camp Springs, MD 20746. The greeting should be received at the LOG office by Friday, November 12,1993. 8/93 •• •• • • �20 AUGUST1993 •'^A XAFAWISLOG -•» Chile Is Next Stop in Seafarer's Quest for Knowledge While in Singapore, he held a job Seeing the world is not unique they are experiencing to provision ships in the harbor. Gaveiek was able to explore for Seafarers. It comes with the "I noticed the foreign ships job for members of the deep sea his quest for information about had three different galleys when division. However, one deck urban planning after winning a we'd take stores aboard," department member has used his two-year Seafarers scholarship in pursuit of knowledge as a ticket 1982. The funds allowed him to Gaveiek recalled. 'The officers to see and learn more about the gain a bachelor's degree in urban had the nicest; they would eat people, conditions and geography studies from Cleveland State lobster. Then there's the one for University in 1984. (He had the unlicensed; they would eat of Planet Earth. James Gaveiek, a 1975 received one of the first associate shrimp. Finally there would be graduate of the Seafarers Haip^ of arts degrees in nautical science the one for the non-white crewLundeberg School of Seamanship from Charles County Conununity members; they would eat a low trainee class 187, is preparing to College in Maryland in 1981.) grade of fish. spend the next two years in Chile "Singapore has approximately Studied Pollution as a member of the Peace Coips. 500 ship movements a day, so I The Cleveland native con­ got to see everything from U.S. After attending an intensive tinued sailing as he worked on a and European supertankers to old three-month program to learn the master's degree in urban studies. and deplorable tramp freighters. language and culture of the South In 1989 he received a scholarship The jobs mariners do are the same; American nation, Gaveiek ex­ from the North Atlantic Treaty it's Ae conditions that differ." pects to be placed at the Univer­ Organization (NATO) to study sity of Bio's school of Gaveiek also taught 13-yearthe effects of petroleum pollution administration in Concepcidn to olds during his 10 months in Sin­ design a graduate-level public ad­ on the oceans. As part of his rer- gapore. "I was teaching general ministration program which will search into the topic, Gaveiek was science to gifted students," he train urban planners and city one of the first Seafarers to said. "I couldn't get them enough graduate from the Lundeberg managers. School's oil spill prevention and materials." "The Peace Corps has told us Upon returning to the United not to go to Chile just to lecture containment course. States earlier this year, Gaveiek ap­ The following year, Gaveiek and teach others," Gaveiek told a plied to the Peace Corps, as one of reporter for the Seafarers LOG. presented his pollution paper in many applications he filed to con­ "Tliey told us to be ready to leam. Brest, France and received his tinue learning more about people master's degree from Cleveland I am looking forward to it." and conditions in the world among The 39-year-old will be State. After sailing for a couple of his "more than 1,(XX) requests for among 28 other Americans com- months, he headed to Sri Lanka to scholarships and jobs overseas and jiising the first Peace Corps team start work on his doctorate. He in Chile in more than 10 years. was not able to complete it be­ in this country." Within six weeks, The group is composed of en­ cause of the civil war that was his application was accepted and he vironmentalists, small business taking place in the island nation was making his plans to leave. operators and urban p»lanners. All southeast of India. "The last time I took any Spanish of them will be living with From Sri Lanka, Gaveiek was 25 years ago when I was in James Gaveiek, pictured here at the Lundeberg School in 198^^111 amilies so they can "leam better worked and studied in Hong secondary school. I know I'll have and quicker" about the culture ^ong, Singapore and Malaysia. to work on it." teach in Chile later this year as a Peace Corps volunteer. New Book Traces Life of ^Emancipator of American Seamen* When Arnold Berwick was 14 years old, his father was in a Sari Francisco hospital. Despite the fact that he was recovering from an accident, he told his son to take a look at the patient across the hall because he is "a good Norwegian ... name is Andrew Furuseth." Thus began the fascination Berwick has maintained for the man who was the founder of the Sailors' Union of the Pacific and who almost singlehandedly pressed for passage of the Mer­ chant Marine Act of 1915 which provided basic civil rights for American mariners. This interest reached its culmination when Berwick's biography of Furuseth (The Abraham Lincoln of the Sea) was published earlier this year. The fast-reading book describes the San Francisco waterfront when Furuseth began his efforts to help his fellow mariners in the late 1800s, his work on behalf of merchant mariners through legislation and organized labor and his friendship with Senator Robert LaFollette that finally secured passage of the Merchant Marine Act of 1915. the true discoveries came when the daughter of a fellow Nor­ wegian who had lived at the San Francisco Norwegian Club presented him with a photograph of the young maritime labor leader. LIfelohg Fascination No one knew the photo even existed because Furuseth was famous for not wanting to sit for a portrait until a merchant mariner's bill had passed Con­ gress and was signed by the presidenL Berwick said. It is believed the photo was taken in the 1890s when he first traveled to Washington, D.C. to lobby for "In San Francisco at the Nor­ wegian Club, there hangs a pic­ ture of Andrew Furuseth, but no one really c6uld tell me anything other than he was a sailor and had something to do with unions," said Berwick, who recently visited the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. to do research on a book about Furuseth's suc­ cessor at the SUP, Harry Lun­ deberg. "I decided if my father said I should see Furuseth, and the Brothers Reunited aboard Sea-Land Atlantic Seafarer and Chief Cook Edward Rustandi (left) hosted a special guest in the galley of the Sea-Land Atlantic, his brother Hanafi Rustandi—the secretary of the Indonesian Seafarers Union. Hanafi Rustandi was visiting South Florida when he discovered his brother's vessel would be docking at Port Everglades during his stay. The surprise meeting was the first time in two years that the brothers had seen each other. ; .'/ • „•/ -i: Rare Photo Found manners. "I came to admire Furuseth so much that I wanted others to know him," the author noted. "He devoted his whole life to helping others. Men like this should not be forgotten." For those who would like to assist Berwick in the research of his book on Lundeberg or those who have information about Furuseth, the author may be con­ tacted through his publisher at Odin Press, 511 Summit Drive, Santa Cruz, CA 95060. Also, copies of the Furuseth book are available through Odin Press for $19.95 (plus $2.50 for postage and handling). Author Arnold Berwick pores through copies of the Seafarers LOG from the 1950s for informa­ tion about Harry Lundeberg. club thought enough about him to hang his picture, then someone ought to publish his life history." What started out as a magazine article grew into a book, Berwick noted. "The more I could find out about him, the more I wanted to know. Unfortunately, Andrew Furuseth had no family and was a very private man." After beginning his research in the libraries and old newspapers of the San Francisco area, Ber­ wick made contact with several retired mariners who remem­ bered seeing and working with Furuseth before he died in 1938. Berwick also was able to take ad­ vantage of materials collected by Karl Kortum of the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. He spent approximately three years working on the book. Although Berwick never sailed (he was a lawyer and con­ tractor before retiring), his Nor­ wegian heritage came into play as Published in 1993, this biography traces the life of Andrew Furuseth he researched Furuseth. One of who devoted his life to securing freedom and justice for all seamen. <•- M .."ll I : i p- '•/•f �•J, "V!v''-. J*V;"-.4.'n'f/>v/.";->'*V> iv',:vr;;..y-'^.' AUGUST 1993 The Seafarers LOG attempts to print as many digests of the minutes of union shipboard meetings as possibie. On occasion, i)ecause of space limitations, some win be omitted. Ships minutes first are reviewed by the union's contiiKt department. Those issues requiring attention or resolution are addressed by the union upon receipt of the ships minutes. The minutes are then for­ warded to the Seafarers LOG. i '4 SEAFARERS LOG JDelegate Rafael Cardenas. ChairIrian acknowledged letter from con­ tracts department regarding negotiations. He reported veSSel in good order upon boarding. Secretary thanked deck and engine department for taking care of needs of steward department. Educational director urged members to attend Paul Hall Center to upgrade skills and reminded crew school is open year round. Treasurer reported $156 in ship's fund. Disputed OT reported by steward delegate. No beefs or dis­ puted OT reported by deck or engine delegates. Crew reported Seafarers LOGs distributed and put in crew lounge. Chairman and crew gave spe­ cial vote of thanks for job well done on Seafarers LOGs and to keep up great work because crew is depend­ ing on it Crew gave unanimous vote of thanks to steward department for variety of good stores and cleanli­ ness. Llhairman reminded crew to keep noise down in passageways. Next port: Nagoya, Japan. 1STLT. JACK LUMMUS Secretary R.K. Ward, Educational (Amsea), January 24—Chairman S. Director E. A. RIchman, Deck Melendez, Secretary L. Oram, Delegate Joseph Allum, Engine Educational Director S.Anderson, Delegate Charles DiGristine, Deck Delegate P. Grady, Engine Steward Delegate Stanley KrysDelegate P. Happel, Steward tosiak. Chairman read letter from Delegate E. Loret. Chairman dis­ Puerto Rico Marine about serving cussed benefits available at Piney extra meals in port and reported crew Point and encouraged members to needs new washing machine! stick together and take advantage of Secretary announced payoff and opportunities. Treasurer reported reminded crew not to mix plastics $100 in ship's fund. Chairman with garbage. Educational director reported new Lundeberg School reminded members to upgrade skills LONG L//VES (Transoceanic course guide posted. Crew asked con­ at Lundeberg School. No beefs or dis­ Cable), March 17—Chairman Perfectracts department to telex ship with in­ puted OT reported. Crew reported to Amper, Secretary M. Bonsignore, formation regarding restriction and new Seafarers LOGs received and all Educational Director M. Las Duce, danger pay for crew while in crewmembers enjoy reading thein. Deck Delegate Franklin Gonsalves, Somalia. Crew thanked Seafarers Crew asked contracts department to Steward Delegates P. Paris!. LOG for added efforts in getting look into extended hospitalization or Treasurer reported $5(X) in ship's papers to Somalia and reminded emergency ship leave. Crew re­ fiind. Chairman reported daily bus everyone that Lummus was first SIU quested new TV and VCR for crew shuttle to and from downtown Seat­ ship in Somalia. lounge and reported tiles in crew tle. Crew requested steak knives, living quarters, mess hall and lounge soup spoons, variety of breakfast SGT. WILLIAM R. BUTTON need repair. Crew gave vote of thanks juices, ice cream and fresh fmiL (Amsea), January 14—Chairman S. to galley gang for job well done. Berschger, Secretary K, White, MAYAGUEZ(Puerto Rico Marine), Educational Director M. Cruz, En­ SAM HOUSTON(Waterman Steam­ March 31—Chairman Al Caulder, gine Delegate T. Christensen, ship Co.), February 28—Chairman Secretary R.K. Ward, Educational Steward Delegate L. Teague. Educa­ Carlos Canales, Secretary Ernie Director E.A. Richman, Deck tional director discussed necessity for Hoitt, Deck Delegate Bennie Spen­ Delegate J. Allum, Engine Delegate upgrading and job security. Treasurer cer, Engine Delegate William C. Digristin, Steward Delegate S. reported $250 in ship's fund. Crew Smith, Steward Delegate Nelson Krystosiak. Chairman reported crew asked contracts department to look Corey Jones. Secretary reported all needs new dishwasher. Secretary into registration and discharge regula­ union forms including vacation forms reported Seafarers LOGs received. tions for crewmembers on vessels. have been received. He reminded Educational director urged all union brothers and sisters to upgrade at Lun­ members to donate to SPAD. Educa­ Next port: Saipan. tional director encouraged members deberg School and be ready for chal­ AMERICAN KESTREL (Osprey to go to Piney Point to upgrade skills lenges of maritime industry. Steward Shipping), February 15—Chairman and earning power! No beefs or dis­ delegate reported disputed OT. No Carl Richer, Secretary Clarence puted OT. Crewmembers reported beefs or disputed OT reported by Clanton, Steward Delegate Brenda Seafarers LOG questionnaire deck or engine delegates. Crew re­ Cheatham. Secretary read previous received and will be sent from Suez quested new dryer, VCR and toaster minutes. Steward delegate requested Canal. Crew asked contracts depart­ as well as floor tiles be repaired. Next new agreement include job descrip­ port: Jacksonville, Fla. ment to look into changing current tions. Crew reminded special ship­ retirement plan to retirement at any OMI CHAMPION(OMl Corp.), board meal will be prepared on age with 20 years sea time instead of March 14—Chairman J.R. Colanelo, March 19. 55 years old with 20 years sea time. Secretary C.C. Hollings HI, Educa­ GLOBAL AM/7/AJE/7(Transoceanic Crew noted plan should be fitted to tional Director J. Bonelli, Deck amount of sea time. Crew reported Cable), February 22—Chairman Delegate Errick Nohles, Engine box springs ordered but not yet Nikolaus Keydei, Secretary B. Delegate Junius Williams Jr., Gross, Educational Director B. Stear- received. Crew thanked steward Steward Delegate Daniel Crawford. department for job well done. Next man. Deck Delegate Paul Latorre, Educational director announced Lun­ port: Alexandria, Egypt. Engine Delegate Richard deberg School upgrading applications Tankersiey. Chairman announced available. No beefs or disputed OT AMERICAN CORMORANT payoff and reported union repre­ reported. Crew requested new wash­ (Pacific Gulf Marine), March 22— sentative will be present. Educational Chairman C. Simmons, Secretary ing machine, ice machine, TV and director reminded members to remote control. Crew thanked Darryl Goggins, Educational Direc­ upgrade at Piney Point. Steward steward department for job well tor Lamar Parker, Deck Delegate delegate reported beef. No beefs or done. Next port: Pascagoula, Miss. Charles Kllm, Steward Delegate disputed OT reported by deck or en­ Robert Wright. Educational director OMI DYNACHEM(OMl Corp.), gine delegates. Crew reported urged members to seek training at March 22—Chairman Larry Kunc, Seafarers LOGs received in Hawaii. Lundeberg School and reported on Secretary Steven Wagner, Education­ Chairman reminded crew to keep new books in ship's library. Crew al Director Randy Snay, Deck hatches closed during night hours, asked contracts department to contact Delegate Billy Hill, Engine Delegate otherwise men on bridge watch can't company regarding crew wages. Richard Rodgers, Steward Delegate see. Next port: Baltimore. Crew gave vote of thanks to galley P.R. Mena. Chairman announced gang for fine job by Steward/Baker LNG C>lP#?/CO/?A/(ETC), ship scheduled for Jacksonville, Fla., Goggins, Chief Cook Wright and SA Februaiy 21—Chairman Aubrey Houston, then Mobile, Ala. He Bertrand Macary. Next port: South­ Waters, Secretary J.L. Gibbons, reported captain has not received Educational Director D. Bushy, Deck hampton, England. word from office if and when crew Delegate D. Adams, Engine Delegate ITB MOBILE(Sheridan Transporta­ will be laid off. Educational director Thomas Harris, Steward Delegate encouraged members to upgrade at tion), March 28—Chairman Fred G. Taylor. Chairman complimented Piney Point. No beefs or disputed OT Jensen, Secretary Pedro Sellan, crew on being first class without com­ Educational Director J. Quinten, reported. Crew asked contracts plaints or angry words. He told crewDeck Delegate John Rawley, Engine department to look into giving members it is gratifying to see lounge Delegate Jeffrey Roddy, Steward steward department one hour weekly clean and orderly and food prepared for cleaning rooms and provide extra Delegate Theodore Quammie. by hands of experience. He stated his Chairman asked contracts department OT for department when extra pleasure in seeing people enjoy workers are carried on ship. Next to give careful review to new ITB friendship and food. Treasurer port: Jacksonville. contract concerning food budget. reported $445 in ship's fund and Secretary reported smooth sailing. crew voted to buy microwave. No OMI STAR (OMI Corp.), March 7— Educational director stated "Educa­ beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew Chairman R. Allen, Secretary G. tion Pays!" and encouraged members asked contracts department to look ienny. Educational Director M, to keep upgrading at Lundeberg into increasing monthly retirement al­ School. No beefs or disputed OT Smith, Deck Delegate Larry Mclotment. Crew discussed using Cants, Engine Delegate Walter Sarreported. Crew gave special vote of United Airlines instead of JAL and : ;ent. Steward Delegate Bertrand thanks to galley gang for well per­ stated most members do not know Wright. Chairman announced ship formed job. Next port: Stapleton, there is choice besides JAL. Crew out of shipyard with Mobile, Ala. ^.Y. thanked steward department for job crewup. He announced payoff and well done. Next port: Sakai, Japan. LNG AQUARIUS(ETC), ] vlarch 5— reported speaking to captain about replacing washer. Secretary thanked Chairman Thomas "Sam" Brooks, crew for cooperation in helping main­ Secretary Thomas Wyho, Engine AMy4G(/£Z(Puerto Rico Marine), tain mess hall and lounge, ^ucationDelegate Bruce Zenon, Steward February 17—Chairman Al Caulder, al director advised crew to keep safety in mind and reminded all to wear masks while working tanks and wear respirators while on deck for ex­ tended time. Deck delegate reported disputed OT to be discussed with patrolman at payoff. Steward delegate report^ disputed OT and discussed questions regarding portion control of food products. No bwfs or disputed OT reported by engine delegate. Crew discuss^ Seafarers LOG questionnaire on how to im­ prove delivery of papers to crewmem­ bers. Crew asked contracts department to look into improving reimbursement for transportation. Crew reported dryers and TV need repair. Crew requested sofa for lounge and gave big vote of thanks to steward department for job well done. OVERSEAS JOYCE (Maritime Overseas), March 21—Chairman R. Bradford, Secretary P. Alvarez. Chairman announced payoff. Secretary reminded members to donate to SPAD. Educational director advised members to upgrade at Piney Point. No beefs or disputed OT. Seafarers LOGs distributed to crew­ members. Crew asked contracts 21 Pontiflet, Steward Delegate Francis­ co Rosich. Chairman reported week­ ly meetings to continue at sea. He stressed upgrading at Piney Point and importance of SPAD. Chairman provided members with list of all SIU ships and voiced hope for new ad­ ministration to keep Sea-Land and APL from going foreign flag. He stressed importance of writing con­ gressmen about saving maritime in­ dustry, No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew discussed importance of reading president's report in Seafarers LOG. Crew also asked con­ tracts department to look into im­ proved medical and dental programs for members and dependents. Crew requested new VCR. SEA-LAND CRUSADER(SeaLand Service), March 30—Chairman Angel Hernandez, Secretary N. Andrews, Educational Director Os­ wald Bermeo, Deck Delegate Ben Berherena, Engine Delegate Edgar Young, Steward Delegate Rudolf Xatruck. Engine delegate reported beef. No beefs or disputed OT reported by deck or steward delegates. Crew asked contracts department to look into providing AB A Job Well Done The steward department aboard the RFC Eugene A. Obregon has been recognized by the ship's crew as "one of the best" and deserving of special recognition. From the left are SAs Jason Pechette and Bryan Ellis, ACU James Collins, Chief Cook Mariano Martinez and Steward/Baker Patrick Helton. Pechette and Ellis are fresh out of Piney Point and "are doing great work," according to QMED Bud Tuttle, who sent this photo to the LOG. department to look into shipboard promotions for unlicensed crewmemr bers. Crew gave special thanks to gal­ ley gang for very clean ship and good food served during long trip. Next port: Jacksonville, Fla. SAMUEL L. COBB (Ocean Shipholding), March 14—Chairman H.G. Bentz, Secretary Anthony Rivera, Educational Director Rusty Kindred, Deck Delegate Paul Marra, Engine Delegate Rodney Pontiflit, Steward Delegate Francis­ co Rosich. Chairman reported week­ ly union meetings to be held according to union contract. He stressed importance of upgrading at Paul Hall Center to better self. Chair­ man stated members of Samuel Cobb welcome Chief Steward Rivera and Chief Cook Rosich. Chairman stressed unity and encouraged mem­ bers to read Seafarers LOG especial­ ly president's report. He urged members to donate to SPAD and to get involved in political process for maritime industry. He encouraged members always to be available to do SIU picket duty with pride. Secretary also stressed upgrading opportunities available at Lundeberg School. No )eefs or disputed OT reported. Crew asked contracts department to look nto putting radios in mess hall. Crew requested bracket holding ice scooper jy ice machine to keep dirty hands 1 rom contaminating clean ice. Crew reported VCR needs cleaning or re­ placement. SAMUEL L. COBB (Ocean Shipholding), March 21—Chairman H.G. Bentz, Secretary Anthony Jvera, Educational Director Rusty Undr^ Deck Delegate Paul Marra, Engine Delegate Rodney on bridge watch with chair. Entire crew and captain gave vote of thanks to galley gang for job well done. Next port: San Juan. SEA-LAND SPIRIT(Sea-Land Ser­ vice), March 14—Chairman Chris­ topher Lopiccio, Secretary H. Curry. Chairman gave special thanks to galley gang members Chief Cook Nagi Muthala, GSU Amin Mohamed, and Chief Steward Ciirry. Educational director urged all mem­ bers to go to Paul Hall Center to ad­ vance in industry. Treasurer reported $20 in ship's fund. Engine delegate reported beef. No beefs or disputed OT reported by deck or steward delegate. Crew asked contracts department to look into improved dental and optical plan. Chairman an­ nounced movies paid with ship's fund should be available to watch before trip is over. Crew gave vote of thanks to steward department for job well done. SEA-LAND VOYAGER (Sea-Land Service), March 21—Chairman Ernest Guhon, Secretary Scott Opsahi, Educational Director William Hatchel, Deck Delegate Mike Sorensen. Engine Delegate Richard Surrick. Steward Delegate Jose Maglalang. Chairman reported smooth sailing. Secretary reminded crew to upgrade at Piney Point and read Seafarers LOG completely. Chairman reported reminder received from Seattle hall to monitor tempera­ tures and noise while in drydock. Chairman reported crew mess hall, pantry and lounge will be locked and only crew will have keys while vessel is in port. Next port: Tacoma, Wash. Continued on page 22 m. ! '• . •.. ; �f'.i- 22 AUGUST 1993 SEAFARERS LOG Ships Digest Continued from page 21 SENA TOR (Crowley American Transport), March 28—Chairman D. Wagner Secretary R. Seim, Educationa'JhectorW. C. Cameron. Secri ,u.y gave special thanks to Lundeberg School staff for outstanding development of new culinary addi­ tion which allows unlimited pos­ sibilities to all steward department upgraders. Educational director en­ couraged members to continue sup­ port of SPAD and reminded members to take full advantage of upgrading courses offered at Piney Point. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Chairman discussed deck operations regarding cargo and bal­ last. Next port: Port Everglades, Fla. STONEWALL JACKSON (Water man Steamship), March 28—Chair• man Eugene Granthan, Secretaiy A. Robinson, Educational Director F.C. Quebedeaux, Deck Delegate Robert Christensen. Chairman thanked deck department for job well done unload­ ing cargo. Secretary reported good trip and requested better quality stores aboard vessel. Educational director reminded members to upgrade skills at Lundeberg School as soon as possible. Treasurer reported $675 in movie fund. Dis­ puted OT reported by engine depart­ ment. No beefs or disputed OT reported by deck or steward delegates. Crew asked contracts department to look into amending shipping rules regarding time at sea. Crew gave vote of thanks to chief ^teward and galley gang for captain's 50 years at sea dinner party and job very well done. Next port: Newport News, Va. USNS CAPELLA (Bay Ship Management), March 28—Chairman Mike Shappo, Secretary Sergio Castellanos. Chairman reported movie library 30 tapes short and announced captain performing sanitary inspec­ tion on rooms before docking in USA. Secretary urged members to upgrade at Paul Hall Center. No beeifs or disputed OT reported. Steward delegate reminded crew to return plates, glasses, etc., to galley. Crew asked contracts department for clarincation on eligibility of vacation time and medical benefits. Crew reported VCR in lounge needs repair. ULTRAMAXiSealift, Inc.), March 21—Chairman Hannibal Plata, Secretary L. Perales, Educational Director Ron Herian, Deck Delegate A. Martinez, Engine Delegate ClaudioMazzara, Steward Delegate Fred Lindsey. Chairman reported complete satisfaction with all crewraeihbers. He stated it was pleasure working with such competent men who endured hard work and condi­ tions to finish more work than seemed possible. Secretaiy compli­ mented great crew. Educational direc­ tor suggested crewmembers upgrade skills at Lundeberg School, stating there is always room for improve­ ment. Treasurer reported in Working on Peck Hard at work aboard the FranklinPhillips is AB John Rus­ sell. ship's fund. Beefs reported by deck, engine and steward delegates. No dis­ puted OT reported. Crew reported^ Seafarers LOGs received in Israel. Crew noted poor quality of stores made available to vessel. AMERICAN FALCON(Crowley American Transport), April 4—Chair­ man MikeMcCardie, Secretary Paul Zilkow, Educational Director James Clement, Deck Delegate Cecil Gentry, Steward Delegate McKinley Jones Jr.. Chairman reported new fUmiture for crew lounge and new curtains for all quarters and lounge needed. Secretary reminded crewmem­ bers to upgrade at Piney Point. Crew reported small dryer, microwave and juice machine broken. Crew requeisted large barbecue and permanent antemia from company. Crew thanked steward department for excellent job, engine department for great job keeping ship running in bad weather and deck department for excellent job keeping ship tidy. Next port: Morehead City, N.C. AMERICAN KESTREL (Ospiey Shipping), April 27—Chairman John Higdon, Secretary C, Clanton, En­ gine Delegate Allen Lejeune, Steward Delegate Brenda Cheatham. Deck delegate reported beef. No beefs or dis­ puted OT reported by engine or steward delegates. Chairman annoimced Maritime Day party on May 22 at Seamans Club. Next port: Diego Garcia. COURIER (Vulcan Carriers), April 4—Chairman S, Yaras, Secretary Francis DiCarlo Jr.. Chairman reported no spare parts for deck department. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew asked contracts deparOnent to look into improved medical coverage for spouses and children. Crew requested microwave. Next port: Odessa, Ukraine. GOLDEN MONARCH (Apex Marine), April 11—Chairman Paul Luckey, Secretary R.Spencer. Chiairman reported problems with company draws. D^k delegate reported disputed OT. No beefs or disputed OT reported by engine or steward delegates. Crew discussed overtime provisions in contract. Crew asked contracts department to look into increase in manning. Crew reported cat was picked up off dock in Egypt. Crew gave vote of thanks to steward department for job well done. LIBERTY St/A/(Liberty Maritime), April 11—Chairman H. Berggren, Secretary C. Hazzard, Educational Director Darren Walker, Deck Delegate Carey Heinz, Steward Delegate Gary Truvia. Chairman an­ nounced payoff upon arrival in port and reminded crew to clean rooms. He encouraged members to upgrade at Piney Point. Deck delegate reported disputed OT. No beefs of disputed OT reported by engine or steward delegates. Crew reported Seafarers LOGs received. Next port: *lew Orleans. LNG AQUARIUS(ETC), April 3Chairman Tom Brooks, Secretary Thomas Wybo, Deck E)elegate Woodrow Shelton, Engine Delegate Iruce Zenon, Steward Delegate Rafael Cardenas. Chairman thanked crew for keeping noise down and an­ nounced he is available 24 hours a day. He advised crew to discuss problems with department head. He announced new Seafarers LOGs ar­ rived in Japan. Secretary reminded crew to separate plastics. Educational director urged members to upgrade at Paul Hall Center and reminded crew to fill out application in LOG. Treasurer reported $250 in ship's fund and crew voted to use some money for charcoal. No beefs or dis­ puted OT reported. Chairman an­ nounced president's report in LOG posted for all to review. Crew asked contracts department to find out if members can apply for vacation while on last voyage so check would Ire ready upon return. Steward delegate requested ordering name 1 rrand items for ship. Crew requested all warnings, precautioiis and first aid directions on stores be translated and posted in English. Crew welcomed Wiper George Gill aboard from Piney Point. Chairman discussed safety conditions and crew requested larger-sized gloves and rain gear for slop chest. Crew asked contracts department to send vacation, medical and crew list forms. LNG LEO (ETC), April 1-Chair­ man John Davis, Secretary M. Ruggiero. Educational Director John Smith, Deck Delegate Francis Smith, Engine Delegate Timothy Van Pelt, Steward Delegate Amy Rippel. Chairman discussed impor­ tance of SlU American-flag ships and keeping local politicians aware of maritime problems. He also dis­ cussed upcoming contract negotia­ tions. Educational director reminded members to check dates of upgrading classes at Piney Point in Seafarers LOG. Treasurer reported $1,556.40 in ship's fund and $30 in SlU fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew reported Seafarers LOGs received. Crew asked contracts department to look into having patrol­ man meet ship to collect dues quarter­ ly. Next port: Nagoya, Japan. to Steward Assistant Robert Kotecki who is signing off after 33 years of sailing. discussed how lounge is for SlU meinbers only and gave steward department and captain vote of thanks for job well done. Next port: San Juan. AMERICAN CONDOR (Crowley American Transport), May 28— SEA-LAND ENDURANCE (SeaLand Service), April 25—Chairman M. Johnson, Secretary A. Delaney, Educational Director Joseph Holzinger. Engine Delegate Sam Rashid, Steward Delegate C. Gomez. Chairman reported Seafarers LOGs received in Yokohama, Japan and urged upgrading at Piney Point. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew asked contracts department to look into discontinuing policy of steady jobs and go back to rotary shipping. Crew requested contracts department look into relief trip after 60 days. Crew asked company for two clothes dryers. Crew also noted need for fire watch policy. SEAUFT ARABIAN SEA (IMC), April 3—Chairman H. Nelson Bailey, Secretary Ivan Salis, Deck Delegate Billy Watson. Chairman asked contracts department to look into getting better supply of stores, paint and brushes. He reminded crewmembers to return plates to galley /V£lY4/?/fS4y (Sea-Land Ser­ and keep food out of rooms. He vice), April 25—Chairman J.D. Foster, Secretaiy J. Jordan, Educa­ asked members to clean rooms when leaving and remove tape from walls, tional Director Richard Johnsen, Deck Delegate Joe Caruso, Engine do not slam or kick doors or talk loud­ Delegate Philip Pardovich, Steward ly in passageway. He discussed bills Delegate Willie Grant. Chairman an­ passed by Congress that may open nounced payoff in Elizabeth, N.J. and new jobs aboard cruise ships and thanked "gang" for job well done and reported some U.S.-flag ships may good trip. Secretary thanked crew for soon go foreign. Secretary report^ cooperation in keeping ship clean and no prior records were found in file gave special thanks to steward depart­ cabinet. Educational director ment for good job. Educational direc­ reminded members to upgrade skills tor reminded members of importance at Piney Point to stay competitive in of upgrading at Lundeberg School. job market. Deck delegate reported No beefs or disputed OT reported. some disputed OT and beefs. Crew asked contracts department to Steward delegate reported beef. No look into improved dental benefits beefs or disputed OT reported by en­ plan for members and dependents. gine delegate. Crew asked contracts Crew requested new furniture and department to define meaning of carpet in crew lounge. Crew gave haridling" in regard to butterworthvote of thanks to steward department ing. Crew requested typewriter to for job well done. Next port: Boston. type ship's minutes. Crew reported many rooms need shower repairs but OOCL INSPIRATION (Sea-Land engineer is awaiting new parts to per­ Service), April 18—Chairman Mark form repairs. Crew reported spotting Trepp, Secretary Ekow DufToh, wreckage of fishing vessel Carol Ann Educational Director Eric Bain, on April 4. No one r^-as found aboard. Deck Delegate Donovan Christie, Coast Guard said vessel had been lost Engine Delegate Harry Kinsman. at sea. Next port: Jacksonville, Fla. Educational director urged members USNS KANE(Bay Ship Manage­ to upgrade at Lundeberg School. No ment), April 11^-Chairman Chris beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew Brady, Secretary J.Smith, Educa­ requested new chairs for crew tional Director J. Jenkins. Chairman lounge: Crew gave vote of thanks to steward and deck departments for job reported response from headquarters well done, especially for posting sug­ regarding tour of duty question. Educational director reminded crewgestion board to list ideas for new members to upgrade skills at Piney menus. Next port: Charleston, S.C. Point. Treasurer reported $318 in SAM HOUSTON(Waterman Steam­ ship's fund. No beefs or disputed OT ship), April 20—Chairman Carlos reported. Crew reported crew reliefs Canales, Secretary Ernie Hoitt, not being provided by company in Educational Director E.E. Neathery, timely manner upon completion of Deck Delegate Bennie Spencer, En­ tour. Chairman reminded members to gine Delegate William Smith, report to union hall within prescribed Steward Delegate Nelson Corey time. Crew reported new mattresses Jones. Chmrman read minutes from and pillows needed. Next port: last union meeting and posted letter Pireaus, Greece. hrom Assistant Vice President Tony WESTWARD VENTURE (lOM), Sacco regarding retirement plan. April 1—Chairman Michael KadderSecretary announced all union forms y. Secretary R.B.Sander-son, Educa­ available and reminded crewmem­ tional Director Chris Cunningham, bers who need new mattresses report Crew reported Seafarers LOGs in before Suez Canal so order forms can be sent. He reminded members to received. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crewmembers asked con­ donate to SPAD to save jobs through tracts department to look into pay in­ legislative efforts. Educational direc­ creases. Chairman reminded crew to tor encouraged members to visit be careful throwing litter or garbage Piney Point either on vacation or to on deck. He spoke with upgrade skills for increased earning ongshoreman about throwing plastic power. Treasurer reported $400 in safety vests on deck as they leave. ship's movie fund. No beefs or dis­ Crew reported new door jambs on puted OT reported. Crew discussed vacation requirements. Crew reported order. Next port: Tacoma, Wash. door on main deck needs repair. AMBASSADOR (Crowley Crew requested all-beef hot dogs, American Transport), May 16oysters and fried chicken. Next port: Chairman Leon Jekot, Secretary M. Newport News, Va. Youmett, Engine Delegate Thomas i larry. Steward Delegate Robert SEA-LAND CRUSADER (SeaKotecki. Chairman announced Land Service), April 26—Chairman payoff and reported extra washing Angel Hernandez, Secretary Nick inachine needed for greasy clothes. Andrews, Deck Delegate Ben BerSecretary reminded crewmembers to herena. Engine Delegate Edgar report beefs to patrolman. Education­ Young, Steward Delegate VIrgillo al director reminded members to Rivera. No b^fs or disputed OT upgrade skills at Piney Point for fu­ reported. Crew asked contracts ture. No beefs or disputed OT department to include chairs for watch standers in new contract. Crew reported. Crew gave special goodbye v: •• l' • Ready for Work GUDE Scott Pendleton is ready for work aboard the Franklin Phillips in Diego Garcia. Chairman William Dowzicky, Secretary James Allen, Educational Director Timothy Cullen, Deck Delegate Darrell Thomas, Steward Delegate ClifTord Elliott. Education­ al director urged members to upgrade skills at Lundeberg School. Treasurer reported $80 in ship's fimd; No beefs or disputed OT reported. HUMACAO(Puerto Rico Marine), May 30—Chairman L. Rodriques, Secretary Jonny Cruz, Educational Director R. Bolin, Deck Delegate Angel Camacho, Steward Delegate Anihal Pena. Chairman reminded crewmembers to continue upgrading and support SPAD for future of maritime industry. Secretary told crew the way to help union and self is to keep informed through reading Seafarers LOG. He encouraged mem­ bers to keep in touch with union rep­ resentatives for changes in contracts and volunteer help in any way. Educa­ tional director urged members always to think about safety and report any unsafe'conditions. Deck delegate reported disputed OT. No beefs or disputed OT reported by engine or steward delegate. Crew asked con­ tracts department to contact company regarding longshoremen in crew mess hall and lounge in San Juan. Crew gave vote of thanks to galley gang for making ship good feeder. Next port: Charleston, S.C. INGER(SealiB, Inc.), May 16Chairman TJ. Bush HI, Secretary J. BIrke, Deck Delegate Willie Chestnutt, Engine Delegate Steven Boleware, Steward Delegate Henry Edwards. Chairman announced in­ spection by captain upon arrival in port and reported captain thanked en­ tire crew for good trip. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew thanked galley gang for job well done. Next port: Houston. ' " "I r* ITB JACKSONVILLE (Sheridan Transportation), May 30—Chairman Jessie Thomas, Secretary R. Hairston, Educational Director S. Perdikis, Engine Delegate Jose Mar­ tinez, Steward Delegate B. Santos. Chairman announced payoff in New York. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew requested summer coveralls and thanked deck depart­ ment for job well done and steward department for good meals. ITB MOBILE(Sheridan Transporta­ tion), May 30—Chairman F. Jensen, Secretary Marvin SL George, Educa­ tional Director R. Natoli, Steward Delegate T. Quammie. Deck and en­ gine delegates reported disputed OT. No beefs or disputed OT reported by Continued on page 23 / » ; •• • :ll • • •- - .* *, �AUGUST 1993 ^ fV«-- h SEAFARERS LOG • /'•, . • 23 LNG Aquarius Galley Crew Earns Shipmates' High Praise Steward/Baker Franklin Robertson made sure Seafarers sailing aboard the LNG Aquarius were taken care of by the galley gang. In fact, he and his crew did the job so well that Captain John J. Donahue praised the steward department in a recent letter to SIU headquarters. "Please be informed of the absolutely OUT­ STANDING work of Steward/Baker Franklin Robertson, Chief Cook Martin E. Buck and Steward Assistant Mark A. Kotojarvi during the past tour of duty on the LNG Aquarius," Donahue wrote. "Our holiday meals have been just stupen­ dous and service excellent. The entire department (has) pitched in and (has done) a fine job." Bosun Jimmie Garner noted the efforts of the galley gang were duplicated by the deck and engine department members. "We've got a great group on board," Gamer told SIU Representative Sal Aquia who serviced the vessel recently at the port of Himeji, Japan. "Everyone works hard to get the job done." . Like the other Energy Transportation Corp. vessels under contract with the SIU, the LNG Aquarius carries liquified natural gas from refineries in Indonesia to various ports in Japan. The 72,622 Showing the SIU colors aboard the LNG Aquarius are QMEO Eric deadweight-ton vessel was built in 1977. Morrison (left) and SA Mark Kotojanri. ¥' Steward/Baker Franklin Robertson keeps an eye on a cake As Ordinary Seaman Christopher Curtis (left) prepares to go on duty, fellow OS Bosun Jimmie Gamer prepares to Charles Allred is ready for some shore time. call a shipboard meeting to order. in the oven. Ships Digest Continued from page 22 steward delegate. Crew gave vote of thanks to steward department for job well done. LIBERTY BELLE (Liberty Maritime), May 23—Chaidnan Daniel Laitinen Jr., Secretary W. Emarchman, Educational Director Mark Ruhl, Deck Delegate Nelson Poe, Engine Delegate Anthony Ripoll, Steward Delegate John Foster. Deck delegate reported beef. No beefs or disputed OT reported by engine or steward delegates. Captain gave vote of thanks to crewmembers for job well done and crew thanked steward department for good meals. LNG AQUARIUS(ETC), May 23— Chairman Tom Brooks, Secretary JeflTYarmoia, Educational Director John Orr, Deck Delegate Woodrow Shelton, Engine Delegate Bruce Zenon, Steward Delegate Rafael Cardenas. Chairman announced patrolman requested at next port. Crewmembers reported smooth sail­ ing with no beefs or disputed OT reported. Treasurer reported $500 in movie fund and $125 in ship's fund. Chairman reminded crewmembers everyone has right to call meeting Watchful Eye Taking advantage of his more than 30 years as a Seafarer, QMED Irmo E. Salomons makes sure everything is run­ ning smoothly in the LNG Virgo's engineroom. '•.•'A', • rh iL / i:-'" i' '• •»,. 't with eight hours prior notice and reported he will explain as necessary anything discussed at delegates infor­ mational meeting. Engine department thanked deck department for coopera­ tion while working on deck. Crew­ members observed moment of silence in memory of departed union brothers. Next port; Tobata, Japan. LNG CAPRICORN (ETC), May 30—Chairman Charles Kahl, Secretary Norman Duhe, Education­ al Director P. Wolf, Engine Delegate Robert Rice, Steward Delegate Perry McCall. Chairman reported smooth sailing and reminded mem­ bers to keep lounge and living areas clean and neat. He reminded crew to smoke only in authorized areas not on weather decks. He reported crew has new microwave. Educational director encouraged members to check Seafarers LOG for upgrading schedule. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew asked contracts department to look into union coverage of immunization shots for newborn babies of union members. Crew thanked galley gang for fine job. Next port: Arun, Indonesia. LNG VIRGO (ETC), May 10— Chairman Jack Rhodes, Secretary Z. Achmad, Deck Delegate Auhrey Davis, Engine Delegate Charles Dahlhaus, Steward Delegate Henry Daniels Jr. Educational director urged members to upgrade skills at Lundeberg School. Treasurer reported $1,375.20 in ship's fund and reported captain is buying rice cooker for gal­ ley. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Next port: Tobata, Japan. 1ST.LT. JACKLUMMUS (Amsea), May 9—Chairman Ken Johnson, Secretary L. Oram, Educa­ tional Director P. Kwasi^juk, Engine Delegate J. Beard, Steward Delegate E. Loret. Chairman announced he will sign off this trip so new chair­ man must be elected. Educational director urged members to upgrade at Piney Point. Treasurer reported $244 in ship's fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew thanked chairman and secretary fordoing good job, and chair­ man reminded members to contact dqrartment heads if room repairs are needed. Next port: Jacksonville, Fla NEDLLOYD HOLLAND(Sea Land Services), May 9—Chairman F. Goethe, Secretary V. Harper, Educa tional Director V. Bolton, Deck Delegate Al Fabre, Engine Delegate G.A. Yore, Steward Delegate Michael Harris. Chairman reminded members to take advantage of cour­ ses at Paul Hall Center and upgrade.. Treasurer reported $75 in ship's fund. Deck delegate reported disputed OT. No beefs or disputed OT reported by engine or steward delegates. Crew reported Seafarers LOGs received. Crew asked contracts department to look into having patrolman meet all Sea-Land ships that pay off in Char­ leston, S.C. NORTHERN LIGHTS(lOM), May 23—Chairman Ray Waiters, Secretary Kenneth Whitfield, Educa­ tional Director Keith Jordan, Deck Delegate Tommie Vines, Engine Delegate Charles Kennedy, Steward Delegate Christopher Green. Chair­ man complimented crew on good work and encouraged them to con­ tinue. Secretary reported captain thanked crew for hard work and told crew new parts for living quarters have arrived. Educational Erector reminded all members to attend Lundeberg School. Deck delegate reported disputed OT. No beefs or disputed OT reported from engine or steward department. Crew requested fans and TV antennas in all rooms. OMI HUDSON(OMl), May 31— Chairman T.P. Banks, Secretary F. King, Educational Director L. Philpot. Chairman and educational director reminded crewmembers of importance of Piney Point Treasurer reported $i20 in ship's movie fund. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew reported Seafarers LOGs received by patrolman at payoff. Crew gave vote of thanks to galley gang. OMI STAR (OMl), May 25—Chair­ man L. McCants, Secretary G. Kenny, Educational Director J. Anderson, Deck Delegate S. Argry, Engine Delegate W. Sargent, Steward Delegate B. Wright. Chair­ man announced payoff, repairs com­ pleted by company. Crew reported Seafarers LOGs received. Crew asked contracts department to review shipping rules regarding sea time requirements. Crew requested additional washer and dryer, microwave and sofa and easy chairs fw crew lounge. Next port: Bayonne, NJ. OVERSEAS ALASKA (Maritime Overseas), May 2—Chairman John Zepeda, Secretary Donna DeCesare, Educational Director Cary Pratts, Deck Delegate M. Smith, Engine Delegate J. Brown, Steward Delegate E. Killian. Chairman an­ nounced payoff. Educational director urged members to upgrade at Lundeberg School. Treasurer reported $50 in ship's fund and suggested crew use part of fund to buy head cleaner for VCR. Steward delegate reported disputed OT. No beefs or disputed OT reported by deck or en­ gine delegates. Crew asked contracts department to look into changing shipping rules regarding length at time at sea per voyage. Crew gave vote of thaiiks to galley gang and stated, "We will hate to go home" and gave a special thank you for Easter eggs which were class act Next port: San Francisco. OVERSEAS CHICAGO (Maritime Overseas), May 23—Chairman J. Mixon, Secretary Brian Burchett, Educational Director M. Sawin, En­ gine Delegate Edward Whisenhant. Treasurer reported $80 left in ship's fiind. Crew asked contracts depart­ ment to look into speeding up vaca­ tion pay and increasing dental and medictd coverage. OVERSEAS PHILADELPHIA (Maritime Overseas), May 6—Chair­ man Tom Blnitt, Secretary M. Flores, Educational Director Patrick Coppola Secretary announced payoff in Corpus Christi, Texas and urged members to think of themsel­ ves and future by upgrading skills at Lundeberg School. No beefs or dis­ puted OT reported. Crew asked con­ tracts department to look into cost of living adjustments for retirees and to investigate changes in pension require­ ments. Crew requested new TV and repairs to ice machine. Crew reported trip to Venezuela was very smooth with all members being very coopera­ tive. Crew reported stores low but gal­ ley gang did good job. RALEIGH BA Y(Sea-Land Service), May 9—Chairman Howard Knox, Secretary J. Speller, Educational Director DJ. Dukehart. Chairman thanked crew for fine work and keep­ '• 'i - , '•' ' . ^ ing clean ship He reminded them to donate to SPAD. Educational director inrged members to upgrade at Piney Point. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Crew thank^ steward department for job well done. SEALIFTPACIFIC(mC), May 16—Chairman Ferdinand Gongora, Secretary S. Bird, Educational Direc­ tor Jason Etnoyer, Deck Delegate Ricardo Ramos, Engine Delegate Charlie Sandino, Steward Delegate Antonio Carrasquillo. Chairman reminded crew to return missing movies and announced ETA in Rota, Spain. Secretary reported looking for­ ward to pleasant visit in Rota. Educa­ tional director stressed importance of upgrading at Lundeberg School to im­ prove self and union. No beefs or dis­ puted OT reported. Steward delegate thanked crew for all positive input and stated it makes job more reward­ ing. Chairman announced new movies will be purchased and thanked galley gang on behalf of en­ tire crew for excellent job. He reported mess halls are cleaner and food is excellent. He aimounced en­ tire crew morale has improved and the old saying, "a well fed crew is a happy one" applies to this crew. " SEALIFTPACIFIC(mC), May 30—Chairman Ferdinand Gongora, Secretary S. Bird, Educational Direc­ tor Jason Etnoyer, Deck Delegate Ricardo Ramos, Engine Delegate Charlie Sandino, Steward Delegate Antonio Carrasquillo. Chairman en­ couraged crewmembers to keep up good work. Secretary thanked ail crewmembers for taking part in stow­ ing trash in proper receptacles. Educa­ tional director stressed need to upgrade skills at Paul Hall Center. He reminded members Lundeberg School is there to use. No beefs or disputed OT reported. Steward delegate thank^ crew for helping keep ship clean. Crew announced movie selection list will be posted. Chairman gave special vote of thanks to galley gang for excellent job. He announced food is best he has had in a long time. He also praised crew for keeping vessel so clean. j.:; • • j? "• •t :s, • ^ \ �•.;rrst#l ; 24 SEAFARERS LOG AUi^ST 1993 '•hi.. h. In a Year of Safety Training Seafarers Upgrade Skills Aboard 'Great White Ships' ' -V*' For guests, the atmosphere aboard the al, individual studying. "We ran two SlU-crewed passenger ships Inde Separate classes per day," Barry explainer pendence and Constitution is one of gooc "This was in addition to our members times and cheer. regular work schedules, so they were very But for Seafarers, the emphasis is al­ busy." ways on safety. As part of this devotion to The course material included shipbo^d safety, crewmembers continually are safety, abandon-ship techniques, deep upgrading their skills. One aspect of this is water survival, raft drills, signal training shipboard training in lifeboat operation lifeboat and davit drills, written exams anc and other emergency procedures. more. Throughout the year, the Seafarers Advantage of Experience Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship, "One advantage I had as an instructor located in Piney Pont, Md., sends an in­ was that I sailed as a carpenter-joiner on structor to the two cruise ships to conduct the Independence in 1988," Barry noted the onboard training. Instructor Stephen So I know the workings of the ships, and Barry provided the Seafarers LOG with a that helps. yearly report on his lifeboat, CPR and first "Also, I'm roughly the same age as a lot aid training of Seafarers aboard the two of the members aboard those ships, anc Hawaiian passenger trade ships. "I always tell our members, it doesn't that helped make them comfortable work­ matter if you're a hotel worker or a galley ing with me." The instructor also pointed out the worker, you've got to be a Seafarer first. Stephen Barry (far right) instructs the following students in lifeboat procedures: (from benefits of having members train with the ieft, front row) Sky Williams, Sarah Clark, Lisa Jones, Allison Phillips, Debra Gardiner, You've got to know the emergency actual equipment they would use in case o (second row) Irving Houghton, John Wilson, Philip Brockman and Bryant Cornelius. duties," said Barry. Baity, who graduated from the Lun­ an emergency, as opposed to using other deberg School in 1986, stated in his annual gear. "We had exemplary cooperation from report that approximately 200 Seafarers he Coast Guard in Honolulu, and the fact earned their U.S. Coast Guard-certified lifeboat tickets during his classes on board is the classes wouldn't go off smoothly the two cruise ships, also known by crew- without the cooperation of the whole members as "The Great White Ships." crew," Barry added. "I've since me About 60 members, many of whom took jeople who were in some of the early the lifeboat training, also were certified in classes, and they have expressed their ap>reciation for the training. I think the CPR and first aid. familiarization with the workings of a ship, "I would hope for a nice gale wind the and its equipment and terminology, first couple of days of each class," Barry, 28, said half-jokingly. "Training in those helps make people feel more sure of conditions helps emphasize the impor­ themselves and definitely makes them tance of leaming the commands and learn­ more efficient." Shipboard photographer Chris Danby ing how to work together." provided Barry with the photographs that Each lifeboat class lasted four hours per day for two weeks, not including addition­ appear on this page. Completing the safety course are (from left, front row) Tina Smith, Wendy Sue Nichols, Annika Hagland, Romy Binachi, Kristine Swanson, (second row) George Joy (USCG), <en Freddrick, Patrick Lage, Victor Leonard, Mohamed Saleh, Pedro Romas-Castillo, Stephen Barry (instructor) and Brad Younghin (USCG). Posing on deck are (from left, first row) a Coast Guard Rep., Maximo Lugtu, Leonaka Mercurio, Atrice Croke, Yokie Sudjono, (second row) Commander Moll (USCG), Clarence Barroga, Gregory Hardison, R. Davis. Linda O'Brien, Erik A. Hoag, LeeAnn Meurer and Stephen Barry (instructor). banning their lifeboat station are (from left, front row) George Joy (USCG), Bradly Wickman, Jeffrey Brumble, Michael Briscoe, Abdul Ahmed, Omer Muzyad, (second row) Jeff Purtell, Donald Dobras, Brian Schmeer, Mohamed Saleh, Paul Telegdy, John Palughi, Stephen Barry (instructor) and Brad Younghin (USCG). r-'i Taking part in the lifeboat classes are (from left, front row) a Coast Guard Rep., Rosa Clark, J. Dennis Paulin, Jenifer Tuomi, Mark Lammiman, (second row) Commander Moll (USCG), Christopher Mann, Andrew Van Bourg, Brett Zeches, Luis Guzman, Edgar Pace and Stephen Barry (instructor). /•/ �P' •''• -'"vv' . AUGUST 1993 SEAFARERS LOG Final Departures DEEP SEA JAYALSOBROOK Pensioner Jay Alsobrook, 65, passed away June 5. Bom in Eastland, Texas, he joined the Seafarers in 1945 in the port of New York. Brother Al­ sobrook sailed in the deck depart­ ment. He retired in March 1971. FRANK BONA Pensioner Frank Bona, 65, died June 14. He joined the SIU in 1945 in his na­ tive Bal­ timore. Brother Bona completed the bosun recertification course at the Lundeberg School in November 1979. He began receiving his pen­ sion in November 1986. RUFUSBREEDEN Pensioner Rufus Breeden, 71, passed away May 31. A Louisiana na­ tive, he joined the union in 1946 in the port of New York. Brother Breeden sailed as a pumpman. He retired in October 1984. RAYMOND BUNCE JR. Pensioner Raymond Bunce Jr., 71, died June 24. He joined the Seafarers in 1957 in his native New York. Brother Bunce sailed in the deck department. He began receiving his pension in December 1984. ROBERTO CADALZO Pensioner Roberto Cadalzo, 88, passed away May 12. Bom in Narvacan, Docus Sur, PhiUppines, he join^ the SIU in 1962 in the port of Seattle. Brother Cadalzo sailed in the steward department. He retired in March 1977. JOHN DOYLE Pensioner John Doyle, 64, died June 3. He joined the union in 1947 in his na­ tive New York. Brother Doyle sailed as a chief cook. He began receiving his pen­ sion in August 1984. HERNELL EDWARDS Pensioner Hemell Ed­ wards, 70, passed away June 16. Bom in Pittsburgh, he joined the Seafarers in 1952 in the port of New York. Brother Ed­ wards completed the bosun recer­ tification course at Piney Point in 1973. He retired in March 1987. DAVID FAIR Pensioner David Fair, 76, died June 12. Bom in Virginia, he was a charter member of the union, having joined in 1939 in the port of Baltimore. Brother Fair sailed in the deck department. He began receiving his pension in May 1983. EUGENE FLOWERS Pensioner Eugene Flowers, 70, passed away May 28. A Pennsylvania native, he joined the SIU in 1942 in the port of New York. Brother Flowers com­ pleted the bosun recertification program at the Lundeberg School in 1966. He retired in March 1988. ROMAN HARPER Pensioner Roman Har­ per, 71, died June 4. Bom in Pennsyl­ vania, he joined the Seafarers in 1943 in the port of New York. Brother Harper sailed as a QMED. He upgraded at Piney Point frequently. Brother Harper served in the U.S. Navy from 1944 to 1946. He began receiving his pension in August 1985. WALTER HILDABRANT Walter Hildabrant, 53, passed away July 1. A Texas native, he joined the union in 1967 in the port of Port Arthur, Texas. Brother Hil­ dabrant sailed in the deck depart­ ment. He served in the U.S. Army from 1959 to 1962. THOMAS JONES Pensioner Thomas Jones, 67, died May 22. He joined the SIU in 1951 in the port of Norfolk, Va. He served in the Navy from 1943 to 1946. Brother Jones upgraded his deck department fating in 1976 at the Lundeberg School. He was shipping as an able bodied seaman aboard the NATCO dredge Manhattan Island prior to retiring in July 1990. THOMAS KEGNEY Thomas Kegney, 44, passed away June 14. He joined the SIU in 1968 in his native New York. Brother Kegney sailed in the engine depart­ ment. He upgraded at Piney Point several times. JOHN KROSKI •/ Pensioner John Kroski, 81, died May 21. A Weaver, Pa. native, he joined the Seafarers in 1960 in the port of 25 IV-' •'''f Detroit. Brother Kroski sailed as a fireman, watertender. He retired in Febraary 1976. Palombo sailed in the engine department. He began receiving his pension in March 1986. WILLIAM LANIER Pensioner William Lanier, 85, passed away June 25. Bom in Ok­ lahoma, he joined the SIU in 1941 in the port of Galveston, Texas. Brother Lanier sailed in the deck department. He retired in January 1973. MAGDALENO PERALTA Pensioner Magdaleno Peralta, 88, died May 27. Bom in the Philip­ pine Islands, he joined the Seafarers in 1947 in the port of New York. Brother Peralta sailed as a cook/baker. He retired in December 1972. GETTIS LIGHTFOOT Pensioner Gettis Lightfoot, 75, died June 1. An Alabama native, he joined the Seafarers in 1943 in the port of New Yoik. Brother Lightfoot sailed in the steward dqrartment. He retired in OctobCT 1971. JACKIE PRUITT PORFIRIO MALDONADO Pensioner Porfirio Maldonado, 65, passed away June 11. Bom in Texas, he joined the union in 1953 in the port of New Orleans. Brother Maldonado sailed in the en­ gine department. He began receiv­ ing his pension in July 1990. WILLIAM McNEELY Pensioner William McNeely, 84, died Jiine 3. A North Carolina na­ tive, he joined the SIU in 1955 in the port of Bal­ timore. Brother McNeely sailed in the steward department He retired in Febmary 1975. ROBERTO MENDEZ Pensioner Roberto Mendez, 76, passed away May 18. An EI Sal­ vador native, he joined the union in 1965 in the port of San Francisco. He sailed in the engine department. Brother Mendez upgraded at .the Lundeberg School frequently. He began receiving his pension in Febraary 1982. VERGE NORWOOD Pensioner Verge Norwood, 85, died May 19. Bom in Alabama, he joined the Marine Cooks and Stewards in 1945 in the port of San Francisco, before that union merged with the Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District (AGLIWD) of the SIU. Brother Norwood retired in September 1974. MAURICE O'KEEFE Maurice O'Keefe, 59, passed away May 27. A Wisconsin native, he joined the Seafarers in 1964 in the port of Jacksonville, Fla. Brother O'Keefe sailed in the engine department. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1952 to 1961. Jackie Pmitt, 52, passed away May 23. A Virginia na­ tive, he joined the SIU in 1971 in the port of Bal­ timore. Brother Pmitt sailed in the deck department. He upgraded at the Lundeberg School frequently. CORNELIUS RASONABE Pensioner Comelius Rasonabe, 81, died May 5. Bom in the Philippine Is­ lands, he joined the Marine Cooks and Stewards in 1946 in the port of San Francis­ co, before that union merged with the AGLIWD. Brother Rasonabe served in the U.S. armed forces from 1940 to 1945. He retired in July 1978. PAUL REED Pensioner Paul Reed, 81, passed away June 13. A Quincy, Mass. native, he joined the Seafarers in 1947 in the port of New Orleans. Brother Reed sailed as a chief steward. He began receiving his pension in July 1977. RUSSELL REFFITT Russell Reffitt, 61, died June 13. Bom in Ohio, he joined the SIU in 1989 in the port of New Orleans. Brother Reffitt sailed as a steward/baker. He upgraded at Piney Point in 1990. Brother Reffitt served in the U.S. Army from 1948 to 1950. MIGUEL REYES Pensioner Miguel Reyes, 64, passed away June 13. A Puerto Rico native, he joined the union in 1946 in the port of New York. RAGNAROLSEN Brother Reyes sailed in the steward Pensioner Ragdepartment. He served in the U.S. nar Olsen, 82, Army from 1951 to 1953. Brother died July 4. Reyes retired in July 1987. Bom in Bronnoysund, Nor­ LINWOOD RICH way, he Pensioner Linjoined the wood Rich, SIU in 1944 died June 68, in the port of 27. Bom in New York. Maine, he Brother Olsen sailed in the deck joined the de partment. He retired in June Seafarers in 1976. 1976 in the port of New VICTOR PALOMBO York. Brother Rich completed the bosun recer­ Pensioner Victor Palombo, 72, tification program at the Lun­ passed away July 6. A native of deberg School in 1981. He served Italy, he joined die union in 1961 in the U.S. Navy from 1942 to in the port of Mobile, Ala. Brother .V 1966. Brother Rich began receiv­ ing his pension in April 1991. ANTONIO SAKELLIS Pensioner Antonio Sakellis, 72, passed away June 21. A native of Ismilias, Egypt, he joined the SIU in 1957 in the port of Norfolk, Va. Brother Sakellis sailed in the deck department. He retired in Decem­ ber 1974. RALPH SECKINGER Pensioner Ralph Seckinger, 78, died May 29. Bom in Ocala, Fla., he joined the union in 1973 in the port of Tampa, Fla. Brother Seckinger sailed in the deck department. He retired in Febmary 1977. MICHAEL TREMPER Pensioner Michael Tiemper, 49, passed away June 1. A Maryland na­ tive, he joined the SIU in 1961 in the port of Baltimore. Brother Tremper sailed in the engine department He upgraded frequently at Piney Point Brother Trempo- began receiving his pension in July 1992. BERNARD TURK Pensioner Ber­ nard Turk, 68, died June 15. Bom in Illinois, he joined the Seafarers in 1945 in the port of Mobile, Ala. Brother Turk sailed as a QMED. He upgraded at the Lun­ deberg School in 1976. Brother Turk retired in Febmary 1986. JOSEPH WOOLFORD I^nsionerJosqii Woolford, 82, passed away June 2. A na­ tive rf Ports­ mouth, Va., he joined the union in 1956 in the port of Norfolk, Va. Brother Woolford sailed in the deck department. He began receiv­ ing his pension in July 1976. INLAND JAMES JACKSON Pensioner James Jack­ son, 74, passed away May 7. Bom in Durmid, Va., he joined the union in 1961 in the port of Philadelphia. Boatman Jackson sailed with Curtis Bay Towing from 1961 until his retirement in August 1981. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army. MARKNAUMANN Mark Naumann, 40, passed away June 2. Bom in Rhode Is­ land, he graduated from the Lun­ deberg School in 1975. Boatman Naumann held a chief mate's license as a tug and towboat operator. Boatman Naumann upgraded at the Lun­ deberg School frequently. . •• �•Js 26 Mwusrisos SEAFARERS LOO Lundeberg School Graduating Classes V X • in. I I bnl^Wr^i W L_ OO ..; -r -v:. Trainee Lifeboat Class 512—Graduatingfromtraineelifeboatclass512are(fromleft,kneeling) Oscar Ranos, Westcott Reiss, Jennifer Berry. Darryl Bence, Joseph Meehan, Juan Salgado, Allen Newgen, Ben Cusic (instructor), (second row) Chris Campos, Jerome Gill, Michael Lau, Fred Fein, Francis Pappas III, Ron Thompson, Aristides Rojas, Joshua Brown, Christopher Sykes, Anna Maria Rosario, (third row) William Jinney, Terry Smith and Melvin Leguillow. Able Bodied Seaman—Graduating on June 9 from a special AB course for Maritrans are (from left, kneeling) Leonard Tyson, William Belote, Richard Belote, Christopher Boyd, Mitchell Roberts, Casey Taylor (instructor), (second row) Jim Stevens, Ralph Ramsey, Richard Keith, Paul Brown, Dannie Card, Edmund Putro, Mark O'Neal, Emmanuel Roldan, (third row) Anthony Myklich, John Coover. Mark Leadbeater, Gregory Gibson and Troy Zimmerman. Crane the six-week of III in^.'ACaa.KW Maintenance—Completing V/V/l I l^lwill 1^ il 19 0l/\ VW9i\ course wWUlOW W1 SSvSntcS^S QfiShifHt' rS ^ ^ ® ^ ® Upper Lakes Towing AB Class—Completing this special Aff class on June 9 are (from left) Mark Carlson. Thomas Stroooich. Terrance DeMenter, Francis Berube, Jeny Stropich and Joseph Racicot , i'y < » ^1 (se^nd row) Jioia de Leon, ^verly Harris, Alfr^ Williams, Vincent Merenda, (third row) jhomas Tinsley, Wayne Woodland, Maxwell Caravan, (third row) David Stanford, Johri Rodney Camera, William Smalley, John Jacobs, Vrctor Jimenez, Mary Brayman and Bruce Maxeynlll, Bill Hadley Jr., Henry Corbelt, Paul Carlton, (fourth row) Lawrence Roth, Freddie Cantreil, Jacques Mouttet (fifth row) Royce Caravan and Augustus Blake. Tankerman—Completing one of the safety specialty courses on May 27 are (from left, kneeling) Dan Van Sciver, William Belote, Timothy Rayfield, Manuel Conchinha, Mitchell Roberts, (second row) Jim Shaffer (instructor), John Schuster, Vinpent Scott, Emmanuel Roldan, James Brown, Chad Vickers, (third row) Charles Bradshaw, James Lombard, Martin Timney, Michael Gavin, Ralph Ramsey, (fourth row) John Coover, Richardo Bowman, Lonnie Merrell, Jerry Mercer, Ray Scott and John Juker Jr. —•• •— i ^ Able Bodied Seaman—Certificates were received by the July 2 class of upgraders. They are (from left, kneeling) Paul Gatewood, Rodney Jimenez Michael Kieliszeski, (second row) Jake Karaczynski (instructor), Allen Shaw Misty Shaw Shannon Teem, Peter Luhn, Jon Smith, William Powell, Bobby Kelly and Glenn Baker Jr' �^ J> \ •' ' ^ ^ V -v' •; • 'i •'• '• •' UieUST1993 SEAFARERS LOG LUHDBBER6 SCHOOL 1993IHVRADING CWRSESCHEOULE The following is the current course schedule for classes beginning between $eptember and , December 1993 at the Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship located at the Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education in Piney Point, Md. All programs are geared to improve job skills of Seafarers and to promote the American maritime industry. The course schedule may change to reflect the needs of the membership, the naaritime industry and—^in times of conflict—the nation's security. Check-In Date Course KiiSl^ Able Seaman AUstudents must tak£ tfie^U Spill Prev Completion Date Novembers Cbeck-In Date October 4 Course Bosun Recertification Steward Upgrading Courses Course ' Assistant Cook, Cook and Baker Completion Cbeck-In Date Date All open-ended (contact admissions office for starting dates) Chief Cook, Chief Steward Ail open-ended (contact admissions office for starting dates) October 22 December 17 Engine Upgrading Courses and Containment class. Cbeck-In Date September 27 Completion Date Novembers September 27 November 8 October 8 November 19 Course FiremanAVatertender and Oiler Itiad^ Observer - Unlimited September 20 November 1 September 24 Noveniber 5 November 22 December 17 All students must take the Oil Spill Prevention and Containment class. Pumproom Maint & Operations Novembers December 17 Marine Electrical Maintenance n September 13 October 22 Refrigeration Maint. & Operations September 13 October 22 .... : ^ ...... .f 5 ; . ,. ., . . Safety Specialty Courses , <2 Cbeck-In • Date Course Completion Date pi! SpiU Prevention and Containment November 8 November 12 Lifeboatman September 13 October 11 Novembers December 6 September 24 October 22 November 19 December 17 September 7 November 2 September 17 November 12 October 25 November 19 ; BbsicAAdvanc^ Fire Fighting S«ealift Operations & Maintenance UPGI^IHGAmKaTmN . Date of Birth _ Name (Last) Address. "• -r : SluphandUng '•••'V Cfjesdal Navigation • v RecertlflcatlonPngrams Completion Date September 13 November 8 (Qty) (Fint) Monlh/Day/Year (Middle) (Sueet) _ Telephone _i _L (Area Code) (Zip Code) (State) 27 Marine Electronics Technician I September 27 Novembers Marine Electronics Technician n Novembers December 17 Hydraulics September 13 Octobers Diesel Engine Technology November 22 December 17 Welding October 25 November 19 Crane Maintenance Novembers December 17 ? 1992'93 Adult Education Schedule The following courses are available through the Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School. Please contact the admissions office for enrollment information. Completion Cbeck-In Date Date Course High School Equivalency (GED) All open-ended Aduit Basic Education (ABE) (contact admissions office for startii^ English as a Second Language (ESL) dates) With this application COPIES of yourdischarges must be submitted showing sufficient time to qualify yourself for the course(s) requested You also must submit a COPY of each of the following: the first page of your union book indicating your department and seniority, your clinic card and the front and back of your Lundeberg School identification card listing the course(s)you have taken and completed The Admissions Office WILL NOT schedule you until all of the above are received RATING DATE DATEOF VESSEL HELD SHIPPED DISCHARGE - 1 Deep Sea Member• Lakes Member • Inland Waters Member• Pacific • If the following information is not filled out completely, your application will pot be processed. Social Security # Book # — —___ Seniority • Department U.S. Citizen: •Yes • No Home Port. Endorsement(s) or License(s) now held dlYes Are you a graduate of the SHLSS trainee program? If yes, which program: from — to. Last grade of school completed Have you attended any SHLSS upgrading courses? If yes, course(s) taken Have you taken any SHLSS Sealift Operations courses? — I am interested in the following course(s) checked below or indicated here if not listed DECK • AB/Sealift n 1st Class Pilot •Yes DYCS If yes, how many weeks have you completed?. Do you hold the U.S. Coast Guard Lifeboatman Endorsement? • Yes GNO FiiefightingiGYes GNO CPR:GYes Date available for training Primary language spoken ONO —— — — GNO GNO D Third Mate G Radar Observer Unlimited • Master Inspected Towing Vessel • Towboat Operator Inland • Celestial Navigation • Simulator Course ENGINE GNO DATE SIGNATURE. G FOWT Q QMED—Any Rating Variable Speed DC Drive Systems (Marine Electronics) G G Marine Electrical Maintenance G Pumproom Maintenance & Operation G Refiigeration Systems Maintenance & Operation G Diesel Engine Technology G Assistant Engineer/tThief Engineer Motor Vessel G Original 3rd Engineer Steam or Motor G Refngerated Containers Advanced Maintenance G Electro-Hydraulic Systems G Automation G Hydraulics Marine Electronics Technician G STEWARD G Assistant Cook Utility G Cook and Baker G ChiefCook Chief Steward G Towboat Inland Cook G G G G G ALL DEPARTMENTS Welding Lifeboatman (must be taken with another course) Oil Spill Prevention & Containment Basic/Advanced Fue Fighting ADULT EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Q Adult Basic Education (ABE) G High School Equivalency Program (GED) Developmental Studies (DVS) English as a Second Language (ESL) • ABE/ESL Lifeboat Preparation G G CX)LLEGE PROGRAM G Associate in Arts Degree Transportation will be paid in accoidaiicc witb theadwdaUng letter only if yon present original rccdpls and succc bnyco plete thecoatse. If you have any qucstioas, contact your port agcsl before dcpartiiigfor Plney PMBL RETURN GOMPLETEDAPPUCATION TO: Lundeberg Upfradtaf Center, P.O. Boa 75, PlneyPOlnl,MD 20i74. S/93 • -/!• �SEAEUCERS 1994 Scholarships Announced August 1993 Volume 55, Number 8 Seven scholarships will be awarded in 1994 to help members and their dependents further their college or university studies. Those interested in applying should send away for the scholarship program bookiet. For ad­ ditional information, see page 10. Come High Waters, Seafarers Survive Flood of 93 More than shipping has been Take, as ^ example, the residents affected by the flo^waters of the of Eldred (111.). . . if that levee Mississippi River and its breaks, they will have 15 minutes tributaries. Seafarers living along to gather what they need and gei the rivers have lost their homes to out. Most of their worldly posses­ the high water rampaging through sions will be destroyed and they never had flood insurance, the midwestem U.S. Rogers explained. Alton (111.) Port Repre­ Belle Bartender Mary Shaw is sentative Patti Rogers reported to one of the residents of the nearby the Seafarers LOG several instan­ town hoping that the levee holds. ces where SIU members were ex­ Her house is an eighth of a mile periencing distress due to the from the levee, which is feeling flooding. But, she added, "it is the continuing pressure from the difficult to determine just how rain and high waters. In the event many of our members have been affected by the flood because the levee does break, she and her most lines of communication are neighbors will be notiBed by the out. There aren't telephone lines wailing of a siren. When it to many of the homes, and sounds, the residents will have Floodwaters completely surround the SlU-crewed AltonLandingand the Belle. Since this photo was taken In mid-June, the Mississippi River has risen even higher. transportation for most people is only 15 minutes to evacuate. impossible." Houses Flooded Springer and his wife refuse to A ramp that is nearly 220 feet For other Alton Belle crew- leave immediate area of their long was built over the flood Hall Becomes Info Center members, floodwaters already home.the They have moved into a waters to the riverboat casino so The Seafarers hall in Alton is have washed out the man-made camper on higher ground near passengers as well as employees serving as an information center barriers and entered their houses. their house because ttiey are con- could safely come aboard. for members. The staff has Deckhand Ed Lyons lives in cemed about some of their neigh­ provided SIU members and their Grafton, 111., approximately 30 Rogers reported the ramp was bors who are unable to relocate. families with the latest news on miles west of Alton. He occupies being modified for the third time "Many of those C.J. refuses to to raise it above the current flood the second floor of his home be­ recovery efforts. At the July 14 union meeting, cause the first floor is completely leave behind are elderly with level. It is being raised yet another Stan Gordon, a labor liaison for underwater. His boat is his only heart conditions. One of his three feet above the flowing the Red Cross, spoke to members source of transportation to and neighbors, for example, is a waters. about flood relief. According to from his home. According to stroke victim. He is very dedi­ The Alton Belle has been seen Gordon, the Red Cross cannot news reports, 85 percent of cated and concemed about these in many recent national news fully initiate action until the Grafton's 950 residents have )eople who are afi^aid to leave, so stories. Maintenance department floodwaters have receded. Once been evacuated. More probably le is sticking it out with them, worker Jim Patterson took a the Mississippi is back within its will have to leave as the Missis­ Rogers said. television camera crew out on his banks, the R^ Cross will move sippi River continues to rise. According to Rogers, Springer boat around the Alton and West When Alton Belle Assistant delivers water, food and supplies in. The agency will help those Alton, Mo. area so they could Deckhand C.J. Springer ferries affected by the flood with Engineer Bob Thornton's home jy boat to those residents who are supplies to neighbors unable to remodeling and even rebuilding, began to fill with water in the either unable to leave their film the damage and effects of the leave flooded areas. if necessary. They also will pro­ earliest phases of the flood, he flooded homes or are just too flood. vide residents with vouchers for moved all his belongings into the afraid. clothes, food, furniture and upstairs of his bam. Since then, The SIU deckhand also helped replace just about any possession the waters have risen higher, and move of his neighbors' fur­ which was lost due to the flooding recently a team of Seafarers went niture most into a safe and dry place out to his farm and helped him )efore the water waters. "This only includes those move his things by boat from the record level. rose to its current without flood insurance. Those bam into a storage facility. Despite being chased from his with flood insurance must turn in Belle Operations Continue a claim first. The problem is that own house by floodwaters. Deck­ Despite the weather and water so many are currently without hand CJ.Springer will not leave conditions in Alton, the Belle flood insurance because they his community ^ause he wants continues operations at dockside. never thought that they'd need it. to take care of his neighbors. Living on the second floor of his Fellow Seafarers rescued Asst. house because of floodwaters is Eng. Bob Thornton's possessions Deckhand Ed Lyons. when the water got too high. Help Locate Birrs MIssHig Child The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has asked the Seafarers International Union to assist them in locating Eric Karl Gude. •-.< •/. • • ' /• AP byMichael Wlnokur Alton residents and Illinois National Guard members add more sandbags to a wall created to keep floodwaters out of the city's business distiicLThis scene is two blocks from the SlU-crewed Alton Belle. Eric Karl Gude The child was abducted by his non-custodial mother, Marilyn T. Leguy (alias Marilyn T. Watts), on June 15, 1992 from Millville, Del. An FBI warrant has been issued for her arrest. Eric Gude was four years old at the time of his disap­ pearance. The blond-haired, brown-eyed boy was 3 feet 9 inches tall and weighed 46 pounds. Anyone having information on the whereabouts of Eric Gude should contact the Na­ tional Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800) 8435678 or the Missing Persons Unit of the Delaware State Police at (302) 856-5860. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Seafarers Log Issues 1990-1999 Description An account of the resource Volumes LII-LXI Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Paul Hall Maritime Library Microfilm 1939-1993; Seafarers Log Scanned Issues 1984-1988, 1994-Present Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource August 1993 Description An account of the resource HEADLINES HEALTH CARE CRISIS TO TOP LAWMAKER’S AGENDA THIS FALL CONTRACT TALKS CONTINUE FOR FREIGHTSHIPS/TANKERS HEARINGS REVEAL UNCERTAINTY OVER MARITIME POLICY FLOOD CRIPPLES INLAND SHIPPING SEN. MIKULSKI SEEKS MARITIME COMMITMENT HOUSE APPROVES ’94 MARAD BILL DELTA QUEEN TAKES OVER OPERATIONS OF INDEPENDENCE AND CONSTITUTION INLAND WATERWAYS FUEL TAX WITHDRAWN FEDERAL COURT ANNOUNCES USER FEE LAWSUIT SCHEDULE MEXICO’S NEW-FOUND GREEN IMAGE CONTRADICTED BY ITS RESPONSE TO SULFURIC ACID-LEAKING SIP AFTER MONTHS OF NO PAY, NIS SHIP’S CREW STRIKES ARKANSAS MERCHANT MARINE VETS REMINSICE AT DAY-LONG REUNION WILKES CREW COMPLETES RECORD-BREAKING RECOVERY MSC VESSEL BRINGS UP SUNKET SURVEY SLED RUNAWAY FLAGS MEAN LOSS OF AMERICAN JOBS FLOOD STOPS TUGS/BARGES GOV’T SERVICES MEMBER NAMED MSCPAC MARINER FOR 1992 USNS MERCURY JOINS RRF; LEAVES MSCPAC FLEET SEAFARERS PULL TOGETHER FOR NEW BOBLO SEASON MARINE ELECTRONICS COURSES AVAILABLE AT LUNDEBERG SCHOOL BOATMEN FROM 3 INLAND COMPANIES COMPLETE LUNDEBERG SCHOOL AB TRAINING ALLIED BOATMEN GRADUATE SPECIAL UTILITYMAN COURSE SEAFARERS FAMILY PHOTOS STEEL SHIPS AND IRON MEN: PART IV SEAFARERS IN HOUSTON VOLUNTEER TO HELP CHILDREN RETIRED SUP INSTRUCTOR TOMMY ZEE DIES AT 68 AB VICARI BRIGHTENS SEA-LAND PRODUCER WITH MURAL SEAFARERS FIELD NEW TEAM IN SAN DIEGO GARCIA CHILE IS NEXT STOP IN SEAFARER’S QUEST FOR KNOWLEDGE NEW BOOK TRACES LIFE OF ‘EMANCIPATOR OF AMERICAN SEAMEN’ LNG AQUARIUS GALLEY CREW EARNS SHIPMATES’ HIGH PRAISE SEAFARERS UPGRADE SKILLS ABOARD ‘GREAT WHITE SHIPS’ COME HIGH WATERS, SEAFARERS SURVIVE FLOOD OF ‘93 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Seafarers Log Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Paul Hall Maritime Library Microfilm 1939-1993 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Seafarers International Union of North America Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 08/01/1993 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Newsprint Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context Vol. 55, No. 8 1993 Periodicals Seafarers Log