Retired National Maritime Union Secretary-Treasurer Thomas Martinez quietly passed away during the early morning hours of June 2 in the Birch Park Convalescent Hospital in Chula Vista, Calif. He was 88.“Tom was one of the NMU’s pioneers and visionaries,” said SIU Vice President at Large René Lioeanjie, who also served as president of the NMU. “He spent a great many years of his life fighting for the union and the men who were in it.
“He was known as a person of action who possessed a very sharp mind,” Lioeanjie continued. “There was no quit in him when it came to getting positive things done for the union and its membership. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for his many contributions. Tom will be greatly missed.”
“Tom spent his life with and for the union,” said SIU Vice President at Large and former NMU Vice President Charlie Stewart. “I came to know him initially in 1961, and we worked together a great many times over the years. Tom was what I call a seaman’s seaman. No matter what the problem was, he was always there for you and willing to listen. We all have lost a very fine union man and a great friend.”
Brother Martinez joined the NMU in 1947 in New York and immediately began to make his mark. Recognizing the importance of politics and the role it played in organized labor, Martinez helped establish the NMU’s first political action committee. Not long thereafter he met then NMU Secretary-Treasurer John MacDougal who encouraged him to run for office within the union. Although he did not spurn MacDougal’s suggestion, Martinez felt that at the time, he could do more for the union at the grass roots level.
In the years that followed Martinez occupied positions of increasingly greater responsibilities and, as a result, moved rapidly up the NMU ladder. He worked as a patrolman from December 1957 to June 1960; field patrolman from July 1960 to June 1966; port agent from June 1966 to February 1970; organizer from March 1970 to January 1971; port agent from January 1971 to March 1973; and assistant to the president from June 1975 to October 1977.
Martinez served as NMU vice president on two occasions: from March 1973 to June 1975, and from October 1977 to March 1978, respectively. He was elected to the office of NMU secretary-treasurer in 1978 and served in that position until January 1988.
During his career, Martinez’s travels took him to San Pedro, Calif.; San Francisco where he met his wife, the former Pearl Friedman; to San Juan, P.R; the Caribbean and South America. While in Puerto Rico, Martinez spearheaded a home-loan program with bankers that directly benefited NMU mariners. He also worked with SIU officials to create the Central Labor Council of Puerto Rico, an organization for which he later served as secretary-treasurer.
Following 46 years of dedicated service to the NMU, Martinez retired in 1993. He moved his family to San Diego where he became a community activist and an icon for promising Hispanic fifth and sixth graders who attended inner city schools. He and his wife created the Tom and Pearl Martinez Foundation to provide financial incentives to this group of youths.
Brother Martinez is survived by his wife, Pearl; one son, Frank Martinez; four granddaughters and three great grandchildren. His remains were buried at sea.
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