Repeating a Key Message To keep our union on a true course, it certainly bears repeating, especially in these times: Keep ’em sailing and rolling under the American flag, with American-crewed, American-built ships. It’s also important that we support trade agreements which protect workers’ rights.
By reading the Seafarers LOG, it is obvious that the membership is doing its best to promote and protect a strong U.S.-flag fleet.
Peter Katlen (Retiree)
Xenia, Ohio
What the Doctor Ordered
Just letting you know that I’ve been taking several medications every day for many years. I am 75 years old and am very grateful for my prescription drug coverage through the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan. The program works very well.
Pete Macaraeg
San Francisco
Backing H.R. 23
The SIU has been a great help in supporting and promoting H.R. 23, the Belated Thank You Act. Here is a suggested message for mariners and other supporters to use when calling or writing their elected representatives to promote this legislation (the toll-free number to the Capitol switchboard is 888-355-3588):
I urge you to sign Discharge Petition #14 for the release of H.R. 23, the Belated Thank You to the Merchant Mariners of World War II Act. The members of the U.S. House of Representatives have shown overwhelming support—264 representatives have signed on as cosponsors, but the bill hasn’t been moved out of committee to the full House for a vote.
Merchant mariners were an integral part of World War II. We suffered a high casualty rate while we delivered troops, tanks, food, airplanes, fuel and other needed supplies to every theater of war. Without the services of merchant mariners, it would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to win World War II.
Unfortunately, we were denied any rights under the GI Bill. We became the forgotten service. It wasn’t until 1988 that we were given any benefits, and even then, we did not receive some portions of the GI Bill.
The average age of the WWII mariner is 82. Passing H.R. 23 would provide compensation for many years of lost benefits, which denied many of us the opportunity to get a higher education and to obtain a home loan. Please support us by signing Discharge Petition #14 for H.R. 23.
Richard Wiggins
Kansas City, Missouri
Appeal from USS
Dear American seafarers: You may recall the first time you stepped into a USS center in a foreign port. If not, certainly many of your shipmates do. A safe haven, a friendly face, a telephone to call home, money orders so you can transfer funds, a deliciously prepared meal, a gift shop with affordable items, a friend when you need one most—a place to call home away from home.
Since 1942, the United Seamen’s Service (USS) has prided itself on the programs and services offered to promote the welfare of American and allied seafarers like you. Today, USS needs your help. Dwindling financial resources makes USS increasingly unsustainable. Survival will depend on the agency’s ability to continue partnerships with seafarers and to build relationships and seek support in the maritime industry—with unions, carriers, government, military and veteran mariners.
The origin of the USS coincides with United States involvement in World War II. The military had the USO and military clubs. It was necessary to provide a facility for those American seafarers who traveled into harm’s way to carry troops and supplies throughout the world, and President Franklin Roosevelt was at the forefront of the effort by the maritime unions and management to establish the USS.
USS has continued over the years to provide services to American seafarers to help alleviate the hardships experienced during the Korean, Vietnamese and Persian Gulf conflicts. Today, American mariners are again engaged in maintaining the critical flow of supplies to U.S. armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and the network of USS centers are there to support them. A USS affiliate, the American Merchant Marine Library Association, continues to provide libraries to U.S.-flag vessels, and especially to the ships of the Ready Reserve Fleet, to ensure that our mariners have quality reading material while at sea.
The USS has survived in an industry that has been through radical change over the last 65 years. Those of us in the maritime industry understand the challenge: international unrest keeping military ships at sea rather than on shore; higher food, beverage and labor costs not easily passed on to seafarers visiting our centers; unstable currency exchange rates; extremely high insurance premiums at our centers in the Pacific due to storms and threat of earthquake; and the total loss of our headquarters office in the World Trade Center on 9/11, among other issues. It is imperative that we support the American seafarers across the globe that overcome adversity and proudly carry our world commerce and serve America in times of crises.
Your tax-deductible donation will assist USS in supporting American seafarers. Thank you for your consideration of this worthy cause. As we said in our historic 1940s campaign, “That’s Our Outfit! Let’s Keep It Going!” You may contact USS at 635 Fourth Avenue, Ground Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11232, telephone (212) 269-0711, email: ussammla@ix.netcom.com
Let’s keep USS going today.
Roger T. Korner
Executive Director
Brooklyn, New York
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