Pictures of Success
For the United States, two of the most dominant images of 2003 originated thousands of miles from home.
The perfectly symbolic toppling of Saddam Hussein’s statue in Baghdad and, months later, grainy video of the ousted dictator that was taken right after his capture offered satisfying reinforcement of Operation Iraqi Freedom’s success.
Those pictures undoubtedly resonated with Seafarers, in part because more than 2,000 SIU members sailed in support of U.S. and allied forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Though the all-out combat phase of the war ended many months ago, the mission of course is far from finished. In fact, the sealift operation that the U.S. Military Sealift Command has dubbed “OIF 2” already is underway. This means widespread activations and mobilizations of U.S.-flag military support ships in 2004, many of them crewed by Seafarers. It means another chance to live up to our role as the nation’s Fourth Arm of Defense.
Make no mistake, the SIU and the entire U.S.-flag fleet earned top marks last year during Operation Iraqi Freedom. I’ve never been more proud of this membership. From the first activations through the long, uncertain waits near Turkey, from the dangerous voyages into Kuwait through the many follow-up round trips, you answered the call. You served your country and you delivered the goods.
That’s one reason why I thought it was so appropriate that President Bush approved an extended, expanded U.S. Maritime Security Program (MSP) near the end of the year. Even though the efforts to pass a new MSP started long before the war, I believe that the 10-year extension is an affirmation of the U.S. Merchant Marine’s importance to our national and economic security. Certainly it’s no stretch to say that both the testimony in favor of a new MSP, along with post-war comments about U.S. mariners’ service, clearly shows that our value is understood at the highest levels of government and by the leaders of our armed forces.
The war and the MSP weren’t the only big stories for this union in 2003.
We added a wide range of new ships to the SIU fleet, including cable ships, tankers, military support ships, containerships, ATBs and others. We also got a glimpse of future jobs as the first new Alaska Class tanker neared its final stages of construction.
We opened a new, full-service union hall in Joliet, Ill. and made extensive improvements to the Houston hall.
We remained extremely active in the international forums that are so important to the future of our industry and our union.
In the face of a staggering national health care crisis, we secured contracts that ensure top-of-the-line medical benefits.
There were other gains, too, and with that in mind I encourage all Seafarers to read the “year in review” story on the back page of this issue. It’s an uplifting piece that accurately reflects what the SIU has accomplished. We’ve made tremendous progress, and we continue heading in the right direction.
As we begin another year, I again thank you, the membership, for your skilled, reliable work and your rock-solid support of this union. And I also want to credit our officials and other staff members whose work is vital to the union’s progress. We’re all part of the same winning team, the same SIU family. And there is no doubt that, together, we will continue to accomplish great things in 2004 and beyond.
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