This month’s LOG provides an especially revealing snapshot of what the SIU is all about.
Good jobs for Seafarers. Top-notch training. Fair contracts. Helping fellow mariners. Upholding our legacy as the nation’s fourth arm of defense.
The SIU continues to achieve all of those things and more.
As I’ve said before, it all starts with jobs. On that front, I was proud to represent Seafarers last month at christening ceremonies for a new double-hull tanker in San Diego. Whether it’s replacement tonnage or outright new additions, it’s obviously vital that we continue maintaining and growing the SIU-contracted fleet. The new tanker Alaskan Frontier and its soon-to-come sister ships represent continued employment opportunities for SIU members. That’s our No. 1 priority, as always.
We also recently welcomed a newly contracted tanker, the Charleston, to our fleet. Other new job opportunities are on the horizon and approaching fast.
As the Paul Hall Center’s Deep Sea and Inland Towing Advisory Board prepares to meet this month at the campus in Piney Point, Md., I again congratulate our affiliated school for leading the way when it comes to maritime security training. The school’s directors and instructors have worked hard to stay on top of what can only be described as a complex and evolving subject. As a result, our crews are well prepared at a time when shipboard and port security have reached unprecedented levels of scrutiny and importance.
I also extend congratulations to our negotiating team at Crescent Towing, where SIU boatmen recently approved a new three-year contract. Having served on more than a few bargaining committees, I understand and appreciate what it takes to secure a good agreement like the one at Crescent. Once again, our team delivered.
Likewise, our team of inspectors for the International Transport Workers’ Federation recently came through for foreign crew members who were owed substantial amounts of back pay. Our involvement in the ITF is crucial on many levels, and we often find ourselves working together on very complicated global issues. But, as in the recent cases reported on page 3, it really all boils down to one thing: helping fellow mariners.
Finally, a word about National Maritime Day. At a time when U.S. mariners—including more than 2,000 SIU members—are handling the largest sealift effort since World War II, it’s great to see our industry receive the recognition we deserve. This year, at National Maritime Day ceremonies across the country, military and government leaders paid tribute not only to our heroic crews from past conflicts, but also to today’s mariners. Additionally, World War II-era mariners were included in the National World War II Memorial in Washington that was dedicated at the end of May.
The gratitude to those who paid the ultimate price is fitting. The acknowledgment that America continues to rely on U.S. citizen crews to support our armed forces is essential. As U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao put it, “In peace and war, the merchant marine supports the twin pillars of America’s strength: economic prosperity and national security.”
The SIU remains a proud part of that formula. Our commitment to delivering the goods has never been stronger.
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