Success in 2011
January 2012
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SIU President Michael Sacco reflects on the union’s progress throughout the year
Looking back on another productive year, I’m proud to say that the SIU was very successful in 2011 when it came to our top priority: the jobs and job security of this membership.
Our union welcomed three new heavy-lift ships, three tankers and three T-AKE vessels, along with two new ATBs and a new Z-drive tug. We also celebrated the christening of the Navy’s first new high-speed vessel (part of a 10-ship program), as well as an order for a new car carrier that’s supposed to be delivered this year. And, we retained jobs on 10 prepositioning ships and the SBX-1 as the Defense Department issued operating agreements to three SIU-contracted companies.
I focus a lot on “jobs, jobs, jobs” because that’s really our bottom line. It’s your bottom line. Good jobs are the lifeblood of any union and any family. As I’ve said in recent years since the economy went south, not every Seafarer may be able to pick and choose the exact ship or run they want, but there is no doubt you can get a job. We continue to maintain full employment despite the worst overall economic conditions in decades.
We also continue delivering good contracts. Last year, more than a dozen new SIU agreements were approved, and while nobody involved in collective bargaining ever gets everything they want, our contracts should be sources of pride. Wage increases and maintaining benefits are the norm. That’s not something every union can say, and while I take no pleasure whatsoever in seeing the problems faced by our brothers and sisters elsewhere in the labor movement, I’d be wrong not to point out that we’ve more than held our own during this difficult stretch. With the strong support of the rank-and-file membership, we’ve also been able to extend agreements and remain optimistic for a better bargaining climate for ourselves and our industry.
We made other gains in 2011, some of which are recapped elsewhere in this edition. But as we head into a Congressional and White House election year, I wanted to mention two other stories that already are carrying over into 2012. One is the attacks on public-sector workers, and the other involves attempts to weaken or eliminate cargo preference and the Jones Act.
The details of those stories are vitally important, but for purposes of this discussion, what’s most important of all is how they’re influenced by politics. The fights over collective bargaining in the public sector are being decided by politicians. The budget battles involving cargo preference are being waged by politicians. And the regular attempts to go after the Jones Act either are initiated or decided by politicians, if not both.
Fortunately, we have the power to elect – or dump – those politicians. And in an election year like this one, we have to fully engage in educating not only fellow union members but also the general public about the issues most important to working families. Then, we have to help get out the vote all across the country. Our livelihoods are at stake, and so is the future of our country.
If that sounds too dramatic, remember the anti-worker, anti-union pushes in Wisconsin, Florida, New Hampshire and elsewhere in 2011. Remember the potentially devastating cuts to cargo preference that would have gotten through if it hadn’t been for the SIU and our allies.
Most of all, remember the power of grassroots political action. We showed what we can do more than once in 2011, but perhaps most prominently in Ohio, where our movement united to repeal anti-worker legislation. We need that kind of showing again this year for pro-worker candidates and initiatives throughout the United States. When we deliver, we’ll be on the path to celebrating a brighter future, and recapping more success stories in the years ahead.
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