Guest speakers at the Maritime Trades Department, AFL-CIO 2005 quadrennial convention offered strong words of support for U.S. maritime labor and also emphasized the crucial need for solidarity throughout the union movement.In order of appearance, the following individuals addressed the convention, which is taking place in Chicago and is scheduled to conclude on Friday, July 22: John Sweeney, president, AFL-CIO; Margaret Blackshere, president, Illinois AFL-CIO; Richard Trumka, secretary-treasurer, AFL-CIO; Colin Veitch, president and CEO, Norwegian Cruise Line; Captain Michael Seifert, chief of staff, U.S. Military Sealift Command; and Governor Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill.).
Convention delegates re-elected MTD President Michael Sacco to a four-year term. They also re-elected MTD Vice President Ernie Whelan and MTD Executive Secretary-Treasurer Frank Pecquex.
The MTD is composed of 28 international unions and 24 port maritime councils in the United States and Canada representing 7 million working men and women.
Highlights from Thursday’s speeches appear below. Complete coverage of the convention will be published in the September issue of the Seafarers LOG.
Michael Sacco
“When you reflect on the last four years, it’s no stretch at all to say we’ve made a number of substantial gains. Our theme is a good place to start: Blueprints to Blue Seas. Since our last convention, American commercial shipbuilding has been moving forward – and most of it is in union shipyards. Members of MTD unions have built new containerships, new tankers, new ATBs and other vessels. More are on the way.
“Earlier this year, the unionized Philadelphia-Kvaerner Shipyard announced that 10 new U.S.-flag tankers will be built there. Ten! If that’s not proof that we’re headed in the right direction, I don’t know what is.
“We’ve also had a rebirth of the deep sea U.S.-flag passenger ship industry – a development that means thousands and thousands of jobs for our members.
“We’ve secured a new Maritime Security Program that expands the U.S.-flag MSP fleet from 47 to 60 ships.
“We’ve maintained solid support in the administration and Congress for the Jones Act, the key law that protects the domestic fleet.
“We’ve answered our nation’s call in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. As I’ve stated before, regardless of anyone’s individual feelings about the war itself, the bottom line is that many of our members are in Iraq and Afghanistan and elsewhere, doing their jobs and making sacrifices to protect our freedom. We support them and we support our troops.”
John Sweeney
He thanked the maritime unions for supporting him along with AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Trumka and AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Linda Chavez-Thompson.
He said he will urge the delegates to the AFL-CIO convention “to approve measures to dramatically increase the resources and effort we are committing to help workers organize as well as political action…. It’s clear to me that we must build a year-round, year-in and year-out grassroots membership mobilization for legislation and politics, rather than the cyclical model we’ve been using for decades…. Our new organizing approach also calls for big changes.”
He continued, “Most of our maritime unions have your primary jurisdictions highly organized, and our union density is probably greater than in any other industry. Members of maritime unions are working steadily and enjoying very good pay, defined benefit pensions and fully paid health care. And there’s more union and American shipbuilding going on right now than in many, many years.
“But I remind you that these advantages exist because of the character of your leadership and the power of your solidarity.”
Margaret Blackshere
She emphasized the importance of political action and provided several examples of how Illinois workers and their unions, including the state labor federation, have made gains on behalf of all working families.
She also stated that cooperation within the labor movement is crucial. “Every chance we can, we find ways to make this a union-friendly state because of sticking together and protecting each other. It’s a word we use all the time: solidarity…. Whatever our differences are, we’re family. When we have differences, let’s argue them out in our house and resolve them.”
Rich Trumka
He said that in the labor movement, “What we’ve built together needs to be strengthened and not weakened. I think that what we’ve built together is worth not just maintaining, but defending. And I’m especially proud of what we’ve done to strengthen our movement” in the past 10 years.
He recalled in detail the national labor federation’s numerous accomplishments during President Sweeney’s tenure, and then turned his focus toward the challenges currently facing America’s working families.
If left unmet, those challenges “truly threaten our future…. We can’t let any employer, any politician or anybody else tear down what we’ve built…. What we must do instead is to keep standing up together, keep fighting together – all of us together. Our obligation as trade unionists in the year 2005 is to take up the fight for every last man, woman and child, and we do that best when we’re united and fighting together. That is what we shall do – fight together and win together in 2005.”
Colin Veitch
He described “an interesting new model in which an international flag shipping company is reviving U.S.-flag shipping; is doing it for good business reasons; and is only able to do it because the international flag business is strong and established.”
Speaking of NCL’s U.S.-flag component, NCL America, he called the company “a partnership” and further stated, “If it doesn’t work for you, it won’t work for us.”
He noted that the company will invest a total of $1.3 billion in U.S.-flag tonnage (the SIU-crewed cruise ships Pride of Aloha, Pride of America and Pride of Hawaii).
He pointed out that shareholders, customers and employees all must be satisfied in order for the model to work. “We’re off to a good start because we have a partnership with the most important constituency in that group, and that is the labor movement.”
He thanked MTD and SIU President Sacco for his efforts in helping revive the U.S.-flag deep sea cruise industry.
In addition to carrying U.S. crews, Veitch noted that the three NCL America ships will have all of their repairs and maintenance done in U.S. shipyards, for the respective lives of the vessels.
Further, he described numerous other benefits associated with NCL America’s fleet. These include creation of thousands of shipboard and shore-side jobs; improving the training of U.S. mariners; and strengthening the pool of U.S. mariners who may be needed to support American military operations. Also, credible estimates indicate that the fleet will generate $127 million each year in U.S. taxes.
He noted that NCL’s foreign-flag fleet is unionized and has been under International Transport Workers’ Federation contract for decades. “From the outset, this is a responsible, upstanding company.”
He pointed out that Union Plus now offers discounts on NCL cruises for union members and their families and friends.
Captain Michael Seifert
He said that maritime labor is a vital part of MSC. “When you look at MSC, you’re looking at America’s unions. That is our strength, and that is why you are part of the national defense team. Without the mariners, boilermakers, sheet metal workers, shipping company clerks, longshoremen, truck drivers and all the other highly skilled workers who bring the industry to life, we at Military Sealift Command couldn’t complete our mission.”
He pointed out that MSC operates an average of 120 active ships per day and stated that the agency is committed to creating more shipboard jobs.
He credited U.S. mariners for delivering the goods in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The sealift component of that mission continues today.
He stated, “Your U.S. Naval services will need your help even more in the future…. We’re going to see significant growth at MSC. More ships equal more mariners. By 2009, our afloat civil service work force alone will grow by 55 percent. That’s more than 1,200 new jobs.” He also cited other potential growth areas in the MSC fleet.
“The bottom line here is we’re committed to providing more jobs for American maritime workers. We are growing, and we want you to grow along with us. The future of MSC and our Maritime Trades partners is bright. Together, we make the national transportation defense system work. Together, we are building a stronger, more resilient America – one that can respond to any crisis or contingency and stay strong, committed and ready.”
Governor Rod Blagojevich
He noted that his parents were union members, and said he learned a lot from their hard work, their hopes and their aspirations.
As governor, “I try to make decisions that would make the lives of people like my parents better. Those of us in government cannot promise all the solutions. We can’t solve all the problems. But I know we can do a lot to make their lives better.”
He said that people who care about working families must do more than simply electing pro-worker representatives. “You need to have organizations across the country that are strong, that fight the fight for men and women who do the work of the world. That’s why supporting labor has been a big priority of this administration. My mother and father were able to raise their kids in a family where they could afford to one day send them to college, because whatever money they earned and put aside and saved, they were able to do it because they had benefits and they had wages that were fair. And they had those things because they had labor unions that fought for them.”
He pointed out that Illinois has raised its minimum wage, protected overtime pay and taken many other pro-worker steps. He concluded by reiterating his commitment to help ensure more health care for working families and greater investment in education, among other goals.
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