The SIU has lost a dedicated organizer, patrolman and proud merchant mariner.He is Recertified Bosun Peter W. Drews. Brother Drews passed away Aug. 25 following a lengthy battle with diabetes. He was 76.
Fellow officials remembered Drews as a highly respected and totally dedicated individual whose commitment to the union was gargantuan.
“Peter was a dedicated union representative who always put the best interests of the membership first,” said SIU President Michael Sacco. “He was a key figure in the early days of the union and was very active in negotiations. He will be missed.”
Retired SIU Vice President Contracts Red Campbell worked with Drews when both were union officials back in the early days. “He was an active official who took part in a number of key beefs and negotiations for the union,” Campbell said. “He always went that extra mile on behalf of the membership.”
Michele Bluitt, a close friend of Brother Drews, in correspondence to the Seafarers LOG remembered Drews as “not only a member of the Seafarers, but also one of the men who helped propel the Seafarers into the organization it is today. Pete loved his work at the Seafarers and talked of it often. He was proud to have given his time for what he felt was a worthwhile cause.”
Brother Drews donned the SIU colors in 1944 in Charleston, S.C. He worked primarily in the deep sea division, first going to sea aboard Sinclair Oil Corp.’s Robin Doncaster.
After sailing for 17 years, he came ashore in 1961, becoming an organizer in Duluth, Minn. and coordinating many recruiting drives for the union. Brother Drews later served as a patrolman in New York, Detroit, Puerto Rico, Houston and St. Louis. He was an assistant for Paul Hall, the union’s second president.
Brother Drews went back to sea in 1974 and continued sailing until declining health forced him ashore for the final time. He last went to sea aboard Crowley American Transport’s Ambassador.
Brother Drews began receiving his pension in 1986 and made his home in Dunedin, Fla.
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