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

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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
service concession to Hornblower, which underbid Blue& Gold by offering its workers lower wages and benefits.Hornblower won the bid because the National Park Servicefailed to require that it comply with the provisions of theService Contract Act. This failure on the part of the ParkService guaranteed that a non-union company could easilywin the bid and replace the union company, Blue & Gold,and its union workforce.the unions’ jobs on a website and refused our request for aspecial application process or time period for our membersto apply first. While we have encouraged our members toapply for these positions anyway, we have no assurances thatthe company will hire [them]…”Shipway and Secchitano wrote that the case risksundermining “the strong maritime union legacy that we’veworked hard to preserve on San Francisco’s waterfront.We are concerned that the loss of these jobs may open thedoor for future ferry operators, including Hornblower, whomay want to compete for new ferry routes with non-unioncrews.”Agencies Shift TWIC CardReader Proposalto Slow Track After Floodof Negative CommentsMM&P San Francisco Branch Agent Ray Shipway withMinority Leader Nancy L. Pelosi. The congresswoman andher staff have worked side-by-side with MM&P and theIBU to get Hornblower to hire our members and enter intoa voluntary recognition agreement with both unions.The unions’ position has won the support ofcongressional leader Nancy Pelosi and other national andlocal figures. In May, a judge for the U.S. District Courtof the North District of California granted the unions aninjunction against the Park Service, ruling that Hornblowercannot pay wages and benefits, including prospectiveincreases, lower than those specified by the MM&P–Blue &Gold contract.But despite the favorable court ruling, in a recentupdate to the San Francisco Labor Council, MM&PCalifornia Branch Agent Ray Shipway and IBU RegionalDirector Marina Secchitano wrote that Hornblower is stillfighting the unions’ attempt to retain the jobs of the 55captains, deckhands, fuelers, ticket agents, guest assistancerepresentatives and janitors employed aboard the ferry andon the island.“The company refuses to commit … to voluntarilyrecognize our unions as exclusive bargaining agents,”Shipway and Secchitano wrote. “Hornblower has postedThe U.S. Coast Guard and the Transportation SecurityAdministration (TSA) will give the public more time tocomment on the parts of their Transportation WorkersIdentity Credential proposal that cover electronic cardreaders. The agencies said that although they will notacquiesce to the multitude of requests that they extendthe unusually brief, 45-day comment period on the entire,massive rulemaking, they have decided to unbundle theGetty ImagesCargo handling on a ship. Government agencies have announcedthey will extend the comment period on a requirement thatall ports, terminals and ships purchase expensive electronicreaders for the new TWIC security card. Who would pay thecosts of idle workers and machinery, some have asked, shoulda reader on a ship malfunction during cargo operations?The Master, Mate & Pilot September – October 2006 - -
Page 1: Vol. 42, No. 5September -October 20
Page 4 and 5: from the PRESIDENT (continued)Inter
Page 6 and 7: company newsNew Matson Vessel Chris
Page 8 and 9: NEWS BriefsMM&P-Crewed USNS Apachei
Page 12 and 13: NEWS Briefs (CONTINUED)requirement
Page 14 and 15: NEWS Briefs (CONTINUED)In launching
Page 16 and 17: Washington ObserverProgress on Key
Page 18 and 19: Masters, Mates & Pilots PlansAdmini
Page 20 and 21: The 81st MM&P ConventionUnity, Team
Page 22 and 23: The 81st MM&P ConventionMM&P United
Page 24 and 25: The 81st MM&P ConventionConstitutio
Page 26 and 27: International PerspectiveReport to
Page 28 and 29: Legal News (continued)Singleton, co
Page 30 and 31: Los Angeles/Long BeachDavid H. Boat
Page 32 and 33: Puget Sound PilotsCapt. Richard McC
Page 34 and 35: Cross’d the Final BarDewey C. Bol
Page 36 and 37: Make Your Voice Heardin WashingtonT
Page 38 and 39: PCF CONTRIBUTORSVOTE!Tuesday, Nov.
Page 40: frontback- 38 - September - October

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