Teamwork and Solidarity at 81st Convention In the News: Maunalei ...

NEWS Briefs (CONTINUED)have turned its back on the whole idea. Other nations aredragging their feet.”Japan is reportedly considering the adoption ofmandatory fingerprinting and photographs for all marinerswho visit its shores. Australia is considering its own visarequirements for crews. In the United States, followingelimination of the crew list visa by the Department of State,foreign seafarers are required to apply for individual visas. Atthe same time, the Department of Homeland Security andthe U.S. Coast Guard are pressing forward in their drive tointroduce a U.S.-specific identification card, the TWIC, thatwill be applicable only to U.S. mariners and transportationworkers (see articles on pages 7 and 9 of this issue).MM&P recently registered a significant victory inthe drive to guarantee U.S. seafarers access to terminalsunder terms that are consistent with international law.Language originated by the union, mandating appropriateport and terminal access, is included in the CoastGuard Authorization Act of 2006, a bill now pending inCongress.Slower Delivery Timesfor Food Aid ShipmentsThe average delivery freight rate charged by carriers forfood aid shipments has doubled in the past couple ofyears, according to a report published recently in AmericanShipper. At the same time, U.S.-flag carriers are dropping outof the business. Some, but not all, of the increase in rates isattributable to rising bunker fuel costs. These trends haveprompted the U.S. Agency for International Development(USAID) to ask international aid groups such as CARE andWorld Vision to monitor and report back to it on carrierperformance, especially in terms of on-time arrivals. Foodaid groups charter space in bulk under contracts whichcontain clauses that allow them to cancel if the shipmentexceeds its scheduled time of arrival. Ellen Levinson,executive director of the Coalition for Food Aid, whichlobbies Capitol Hill on behalf of these non-profit groups,says USAID is correct in asking for improvements in carrierservice. She is also advising aid groups to work closelywith their freight forwarders in an attempt to resolve theproblems.— Katy A. BradfordArtistic expression on the Horizon Fairbanks. MM&P membersPaul Mospens (left) and Nicholas Marcantonio (far right)with SIU member AB Obaid Ali beside a dramatic muralthat adorns an area of the vessel set aside for barbecues.The mural was designed, based on input from the crew, byCaptain John Nicoll. The idea for the mural arose last yearwhen the name of the vessel was changed to Fairbanks.The mural was created by a company in Honolulu. “It wasdone to symbolize the new name,” says Nicoll. “We gavethem some Alaskan characters and images—mountain,wolf and so forth—and they took it from there.”Labor Rallies BehindMM&P and IBUin Alcatraz Ferry Stand-OffIn a strong show of support for MM&P and the InlandBoatmen’s Union (IBU) in their battle to protect union jobson the ferry that has serviced the national park at AlcatrazIsland for decades, the San Francisco Labor Council and theCalifornia State Labor Federation have added HornblowerYachts, the contractor which is fighting to displace theunions, to their “Do Not Patronize” lists. MM&P and IBUorganized a pre-Labor Day rush hour demonstration infront of the San Francisco Ferry Building to kick off thestatewide campaign. Among the speakers was MM&P UnitedInland Group Vice President Steve Demeroutis, who calledfor “solidarity to protect our members’ collective bargainingrights.” MM&P Pacific Ports Vice President Don Marcus alsoattended the demonstration.Members of the two unions have crewed the ferries forBlue & Gold Fleet, the largest ferry operator in the Bay area,since Alcatraz was opened to the public in 1973. The battlearose when the National Park Service awarded the ferry- - September – October 2006 The Master, Mate & Pilot