The Seafarers International Union is mourning the loss of Executive Vice President John Fay, 73, believed to be the longest-serving official in the organization’s history.Brother Fay passed away Nov. 8 in New Jersey. He had undergone surgery earlier the same day for an aneurism.
Brother Fay joined the SIU as a teenager in 1949 and sailed in both the deep sea and inland divisions. He came ashore in the mid-1950s and continued working for the SIU for the next 49 years. He served as executive vice president since 1997 after working as the union’s secretary-treasurer since 1990.
Previously, the Boston native held various port-level positions in Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn and elsewhere.
While his contributions to the union’s advancement in the United States were substantial, he also played a pioneering role in fully involving not just the SIU but all of American maritime labor in international efforts to promote and protect mariners’ wellbeing. Beginning in 1975, he participated in forums and other activities involving the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF); the International Maritime Organization; and the International Labor Organization. He was the first American ever to serve as chairman of the ITF’s Seafarers’ Section, a position he held from 1995-2002.
A more complete remembrance will be included in the December issue of the Seafarers LOG (the SIU’s monthly newspaper).
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