Over the years, the Seafarers International Union consistently has provided unlicensed mariners with the opportunities and skills necessary to achieve success and provide for their loved ones and family members.This assessment was echoed repeatedly on Nov. 4 by members of the SIU’s newest class of recertified bosuns as they addressed fellow members and unlicensed apprentices during the monthly membership meeting in Piney Point, Md.
Sharing their views on how the union has impacted their respective lives, the 12 graduates of the Paul Hall Center’s bosun recertification class No. 60 painted vivid images of how the union perpetuated their attainment of rewarding careers—and how those careers have translated into numerous quality-of-life improvements and rewards for themselves and those closest to them.
The four-week course—which blends classroom training, hands-on instruction and conferences with representatives of the union’s various departments—is considered the “crown jewel” of the training available for deck department Seafarers. Those completing all course requirements and graduating were: Dirk Adams (from the port of Wilmington, Calif.), Gregory Agren (Tacoma, Wash.), Delroy Brown (San Francisco), Robert Cando (Norfolk, Va.), Stanley Daranda (New Orleans), Rodriquez Gonzales (Mobile, Ala.), Michael Hester (Tacoma, Wash.), Patrick Lavin (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Thomas Lynch (Jacksonville, Fla.), John Mendez (Philadelphia), Gavino Octaviano (San Francisco), and Grant Shipley (Jacksonville).
“The SIU has really enhanced my life,” said Cando. “It has provided me with reliable employment, a steady and dependable income, health benefits, investment opportunities, retirement, vacation and this state-of-the art training facility (the Paul Hall Center) that keeps us all qualified.” Cando has been an SIU member since 1990.
“My advice to the trainees is to remember that you always get out of something what you put in,” Cando said. “When you are in your Phase II program, be prompt, show enthusiasm and participate. Volunteer during emergency drills, always use your safety equipment and don’t leave things up to chance. Always ask questions and be sensible when ashore.”
Octaviano joined the SIU in San Francisco in 1991. Now a five-time Piney Point upgrader, the 44-year-old Seafarer appreciates his choice of careers.
“The SIU changed my life,” he proudly proclaimed. “It has been good to me and my family by providing good health and medical benefits to us.”
Suggesting that the union could make their lives just as rewarding and successful as his has been, Octaviano told the apprentices, “Always keep a good positive attitude when you go out there (to sea) and become part of a crew. Work hard, be safety conscious and always do the very best you can because you are the future of our union.”
Adams joined the union in Piney Point and has been sailing for 20 years. “I have been in some countries that are rich and others which are poor,” he continued. “While some people only dream about the experience of being a merchant mariner, I have lived it, thanks to the union. I would not have experienced any of this had it not been for the SIU. Being a trainee here (at the Paul Hall Center) built the foundation I needed in order see the world over while making a good living. The SIU is not just a job, it is a career.”
Directing his attention to the trainees, Adams offered, “The SIU will build that foundation you will need if you plan to go to the top
. This school is the best unlicensed merchant marine school in the nation.”
Hester joined the union in 1991 and has since seen the world while working in a host of capacities aboard a myriad of vessel types. According to him, the SIU made all his childhood dreams become reality.
“I was that boy in your high school class who was always looking out the window, I was the dreamer,” said the Portland, Ore. native. “Thanks to the way of life offered to me by the Seafarers, I was given an opportunity to indulge my appetite for wandering, my desire for things exotic, and my need to escape the routine,” he said.
Hester told the trainees that the life of a merchant seaman is a gratifying and worthy one, that nowhere else in American industrial life today are there more opportunities to earn a good living and advance yourself than with the SIU. “Work hard out there,” he advised. “Apply yourself to learning your trade, be a good shipmate and an honorable union member and you will be rewarded far more than you can possibly imagine today.”
A veteran of the sea, Lynch joined the SIU in1962 in the port of New Orleans. He has been sailing since he was 17 and had several lessons to offer the unlicensed apprentices.
Prepping them to the challenges they will encounter when they initially go to sea, Lynch offered, “Everyone on the vessel is there to help you. I will teach you everything I can, but you as students have to do one thing for yourselves: keep your ears open. Take a notebook with you and make a habit of writing things down that you don’t understand. Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions to the right people so you can get answers.”
Speaking from his own experiences, Lynch assured the students, “if you take care of yourself, you will make good money and have a great career. You will have a lot of good things in your life because the SIU will give them to you: good medical, pension and great representatives,” he said.
Gonzales, who donned the SIU colors in 1989, told the apprentices, “You have taken the first and most important step in your lives (enrolling in the program here). Use this and other opportunities that come your way to your full advantage, and nothing but good things will come to you.”
A frequent upgrader at the Paul Hall Center, Gonzales reminded his fellow Seafarers that “everyone needs to constantly improve themselves. By upgrading, you not only enhance skills, you also make the union stronger.”
Daranda told those in attendance that upgrading at the Paul Hall Center has made a world of difference in his career as well as in the way he views the union.
“I started out here as a trainee and was able to meet some of my goals,” offered Daranda. “But going back to school has built me up and made me realize that I could make my career easier by upgrading my skills. So being back here and being able to talk to Mr. Red Campbell (retired SIU VP contracts) made me gain a stronger appreciation for what the older guys went through to make this a stronger union. We can honor them and what they went through by doing better in all areas of our careers. It’s up to us to keep things moving in the right direction.”
Even though he was older than most when he began sailing, Agren has no regrets about joining the SIU. “I was 30 years old when I started sailing, but I have been doing pretty good since then,” said the three-time upgrader who became a Seafarer in 1986. “I have not had any trouble getting a job.”
Agren told the trainees that by taking advantage of the opportunities available at the Paul Hall center, they were already ahead in the game. “You don’t know how lucky you are to have a school such as this, it teaches you all kinds of stuff.”
Collectively, the remaining graduates—Shipley, Lavin, Brown and Mendez —reflected on the importance of upgrading at the school, the quality of training given by the center’s staff, and the excellence of the facility’s accommodations.
Shipley joined the union in 1992 in Norfolk. He has upgraded four times and, like his classmates, was grateful for the opportunities the school offers. “I want to thank all SIU members, those who came before me, those here now and those who will come in the future for all they have brought and will continue to bring to the union.”
Lavin also had enhanced his skills on four occasions at the school. Having joined the SIU in 1974 in Piney Point, he felt especially close to the apprentices and spent a great deal of time with them when not in class.
“It was great to be back here in this environment and have the opportunity to spend time with the trainees,” he said. “It was a lot of fun getting with them, sharing stories and teaching them how to tie different kinds of knots. We look forward to seeing you all out there.”
Brown has been sailing for more than 20 years. “I’ve had a great experience while here at Piney Point,” he said. “I believe that the school has some of the world’s best instructors and staff members. I would recommend that every Seafarer come here, take advantage of the great academic department and upgrade their skills.” he said.
Three-time upgrader Mendez joined the SIU in 1988 in Piney Point. “I just want to thank the SIU for all the opportunities it has afforded me and for enabling me to be a much better provider for my family than I ever thought possible,” he said. “I’d like to send out a special thanks to everyone here (at the school) and at headquarters for all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes on behalf of all of us.”
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