Reprinted from past issues of the Seafarers LOG.1947
Commending the captain and one of the ordinary seamen aboard ship for their diligence in aiding a crew member stricken with appendicitis, the crew of the SS Venore unanimously gave them a vote of appreciation at the September 7 shipboard meeting. The stricken crew member, J. Brake, oiler, became ill while the ship was off the west coast of South America. While Brake was ill, D. Reynolds, OS, gave unstintingly of his time to make Brake more at ease until port could be reached.
The skipper, Robert Mason, kept in constant touch with the sick man. When he saw the man was too ill to remain aboard until the regular port was hit, he turned the vessel off course and put in at Lima, Peru. The foresight of the captain saved the life of the Seafarer as an operation was immediately performed with success.
Moving for the vote of appreciation was Brother C. Davis with the entire crew in unanimous approval. Another vote of thanks for a somewhat different reason was given the ship’s steward, Clarence Davis, who was praised for good food, fast service and clean mess rooms. The steward in turn lauded the crew for being the most friendly, jolly and helpful to one another that he has had the pleasure to work with aboard ship.
1957
The SIU extended its strike against Bull Line to San Juan in the fourth week of the walkout despite efforts by Bull to break the strike. A company bid for an injunction was denied last week by State Supreme Court Justice John E. Cone, who ruled that there was no reason why SIU’s peaceful picketing could not continue….
Round-the-clock picketing by Seafarers has halted all activity at the Brooklyn terminal, with four C-2 ships, the Frances, Kathryn, Elizabeth and Beatrice idled by the walkout. Strike action in San Juan on Wednesday tied up the Carolyn and the Jean, with the remainder of the fleet’s operations due to be closed down as ships come in. Two Libertys, the Angelina and Dorothy, are already inactive.
The strike began on August 19 after many weeks of negotiations by the union committee and the company had failed to break a deadlock on wage changes and other monetary matters. Two days later, the Masters, Mates & Pilots, representing deck officers, and the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association also ran into total snags in their separate contract talks with the company and picketed the terminal.
Longshoremen, Teamsters and others servicing the ships, including ship’s radio officers and pursers, have all respected the various union picket lines.
1967
MONTREAL—The 5,400 members of the SIU of Canada have returned to their ships pending formal ratification of an agreement reached last week between negotiators for the union and 32 Canadian inland shipping companies. Voting on the full agreement will be held aboard all ships within the next two weeks, according to Leonard McLaughlin, SIU of Canada president.
Release of full details of the settlement must await formal membership ratification, McLaughlin said, but it involves an overall 34 percent increase for Seafarers over three years and provides for a basic work week of 40 hours, previously denied to seamen in Canada.
The decision by the SIU members to return to work after an agreement was reached ended a 37-day strike in which the key issues in dispute were a 40-hour week, ship manning, the 24-hour work span and paid leave. Although a wage increase was sought by the union, most of its demands centered in the area of fringe benefits.
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