The White House has posted the following announcement. It's available on their website HERE On Friday, March 13, 2020, the President signed into law: H.R. 5671, the “Merchant Mariners of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2020,” which provides for the award of a Congressional gold medal collectively,…
Mar
13
Mar
13
Please be advised that classes have been postponed at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for the next two weeks. Students due to arrive between March 13 and March 27 will be rescheduled in the future. If you know of anyone who has plans to travel to the school during this period,…
Mar
13
The Maritime Trades Department (MTD), AFL-CIO, has posted the following news item. The SIU is an affiliate of both the MTD and the International Transport Workers' Federation. A story posted by Politico on March 11 focused on how the United States cannot effectively deal with the recent coronavirus health scares…
Mar
12
The head of the U.S. Maritime Administration and a U.S. congressman both expressed strong backing for America’s freight cabotage law during a March 11 hearing on Capitol Hill. Their respective comments were made as the House Armed Services Subcommittees on Readiness and Seapower and Projection Forces conducted a joint hearing…
Mar
11
The U.S. Coast Guard has issued the following notice, available on the agency's website HERE Marine Safety Information Bulletin Novel Coronavirus – Update (Change 1) An outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) may affect mariners and maritime commerce. The CDC has updated their Interim Guidance for…
Mar
11
Dear SIU Brothers and Sisters: On March 6, GATX Corporation formally notified the union that its subsidiary American Steamship Company (ASC) plans to operate all 11 vessels this season. This is what we anticipated, but it wasn’t until a few days ago that we received written confirmation. Further, and as…
Mar
09
The union and Seafarers Plans are not relocating their headquarters operations – but they’re getting a new address, effective April 20, 2020. Only the street name is changing. Because of a government-ordered change, the new address is: 5201 Capital Gateway Drive Camp Springs, Maryland 20746 The old address (since 1982,…
Mar
09
Consistent with Seafarers Appeals Board (SAB) Action 480 (full text below, click HERE for a PDF copy), effective immediately, if you have returned from any of the countries identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “hotspots” for the coronavirus (COVID-19) within the last 14 days, DO NOT ENTER ANY…
Mar
05
The U.S. Maritime Administration issued the following announcement March 6, 2020: Maritime Administration Announces Notice of Funding Opportunity for the America’s Marine Highway Program Grants will provide more than $9 million in funding WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration today announced the availability of $9.5 million in…
Mar
05
The following news post was issued by the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) on March 5. The guidance document can be viewed here. International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) issues new Coronavirus (COVID-19) guidance for shipping industry Document produced in collaboration with international bodies; WHO, IMO, ECDC and IMHA. The International…