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SIUNA Welcomes AMO as Affiliate (11/10)

The Seafarers International Union of North America (SIUNA) has issued a charter to its newest affiliate, the American Maritime Officers (AMO). The affiliation returns the AMO to its roots – the union was chartered in 1949 as the Brotherhood of Marine Engineers, then an SIUNA affiliate. Chartered in 1938 by the American Federation of Labor, the SIUNA is the parent organization of 13 different unions (including the AMO), each one autonomous. Those unions represent a combined 84,000 members in such varied occupations as mariners, government employees, manufacturers, daycare workers and more. The SIUNA provides protection under the AFL-CIO charter from being raided by other unions, by being involved in political and legislative activities and by offering policy input to the AFL-CIO. Under this system, each affiliate represents its members directly. “The affiliation of the American Maritime Officers with the SIUNA is good news for the entire U.S. Merchant Marine and for all of America’s working families,” said SIUNA President Michael Sacco, who also serves as a vice president of the AFL-CIO executive council. “This affiliation lets U.S. mariners speak with a more unified voice and helps ensure that our organizations can work together to make the U.S.-flag fleet stronger. It also strengthens the ranks of the AFL-CIO – the greatest ally of the American worker.” AMO President Michael McKay pointed out that the affiliation “benefits not only our membership, but America’s national and economic security. As we saw most recently during Operation Iraqi Freedom, our country’s interests are best-served by a strong U.S. fleet. This affiliation will help in the ongoing fight to revitalize the U.S. Merchant Marine and, by extension, help boost national security.” Like the other SIUNA unions, the AMO will remain an autonomous union that elects its own officials, negotiates its own contracts and participates in its own pension and medical plans. Maritime unions under the banner of the SIUNA include the Seafarers International Union-Atlantic, Gulf, Lakes and Inland Waters District/National Maritime Union; the American Maritime Officers; the Marine Firemen’s Union; the Sailors’ Union of the Pacific; the Seafarers International Union of Canada; and the Seafarers International Union of Puerto Rico, Caribe and Latin America. ###