Editor’s note: This article was written by Bosun’s Mate Billy Bushey, a member of the SIU Government Services Division.It’s an interesting time to be a mariner in the Government Services Division and working for Military Sealift Fleet Support Command. The latest statistics show that the number of unlicensed mariners manning Naval Fleet Auxiliary Force ships continues to grow. What’s more, we have many more ships coming. Sub-tenders and even more of the new Lewis and Clark class T-AKE multi-product UnRep ships on the horizon mean that our unit will grow to even greater numbers over the next few years.
New ships, new employees, new missions and new technology don’t come without a few growing pains. That’s why I believe my most important asset in these times is my membership in the Seafarers International Union.
During my eight years of service, I have both witnessed and participated in situations and events that have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the SIU Government Services Division has one goal: Looking out for me! I’ve seen firsthand the assertive, aggressive representation, and oversight of my pay, working conditions, safety and dignity in the workplace. The union dues I pay are the most cost-effective insurance policy in my portfolio. After all, we are a bargaining unit, tied to private sector practices. Many important issues and working conditions are negotiated by the union to protect all CIVMARS.
As I write this piece for the Seafarers LOG, the SIU Government Services Division is wrapping up resolution of CIVMAR lodging while in the pool, training or hiring. More than two years of hard work has resulted in the implementation of a “Triple-A 3-Diamond” standard for all shoreside mariner lodging and retroactive compensation of over $300,000 to affected mariners staying in the hotel between October 2006 and Jan. 17, 2007. Next in line are the T-ARS (Salvage ship) habitability issues, a continual review of safety and health issues, S+Q, premium pay for cooks when ships get augment personnel, penalty meal payments, and helping CIVMARS face disciplinary matters, just to name a few of the issues being addressed.
None of this is free, or even cheap. When negotiation fails, research, communication, paperwork processing, arbitration costs and legal costs add up to significant outlays to obtain results. Costs for these efforts come out of dues. That’s why it is so important that we all carry our share of the weight necessary to keep our jobs safe and financially secure. MSFSC is a federal workplace and, therefore, an open shop. That means that even though we are all part of the bargaining unit and receive union protection, not all of us have chosen to pay dues.
If you lived in a neighborhood with 500 families that had children in the local school, and 250 of those families announced that they were going to send their children to the school but not pay the taxes necessary to support it, how would you feel? The same analogy can be applied to our workplace. It’s not fair to benefit from the outcome without contributing to the effort. How do you feel when a brother or sister mariner spends a pay raise, benefits from new safety rules, working conditions or premium pay and hasn’t paid one nickel toward the cost of getting those benefits?
In an upcoming issue of the LOG, I’ll dispel a number of “urban legends” about SIU membership at MSFSC and explain in detail how our representation works from the deckplate to the courthouse steps. In the meantime, I’d like to ask every mariner in the unit to think long and hard about your membership and what it means. If you’re already carrying your share of the weight, good for you. If you’re not, please think about what’s fair and what’s right.
Bosun’s Mate Billy Bushey is an eight-year veteran of MSFSC with 26 years of commercial, government and naval sea time. He has been chairman on 13 MSFSC vessels. He can be reached at either billybushey@yahoo.com or billbushey@gimail.af.mil
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