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Proposed Amendments Will Strengthen Your Union As we get closer to the voting period in our SIU election (November and December), I encourage all eligible members to cast their respective ballots – and I also ask that you support each of our proposed constitutional amendments. Some of the amendments are of the unremarkable “housekeeping” nature.…

High-ranking officials from the military, the administration and the U.S.-flag maritime industry recently convened at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education (PHC), located in Piney Point, Maryland. The school hosted the latest meeting of the U.S. Transportation Command’s (USTRANSCOM) Sealift Executive Working Group (EWG). The EWG typically meets twice per year;…

A near-record seven out of every 10 Americans support unions, according to the latest annual Gallup Poll on the popularity of the labor movement. Additionally, in another indication of the backing unions enjoy, the gap between labor support and opposition is the widest in at least half a century. The poll, done yearly around Labor…

High-ranking guests focused on the importance of the American maritime industry when they recently convened at Philly Shipyard for a vessel christening. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pennsylvania) and Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips were among the featured attendees for the Sept. 9…

Lindsey Austin There’s never a bad time to receive unexpected money, but for Chief Mate Lindsey Austin, a recent disbursement from Union Plus proved particularly welcome. That’s because Austin became a homeowner earlier this year, so her $2,000 in winnings – part of the Union Plus “Unions Power America” contest – will be put to…

The U.S. Treasury Department in early September released its most comprehensive ever look at the role that labor unions play in the American economy with a new report by the Department’s Office of Economic Policy. The report represents one of the more than 70 actions implemented by the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing…

New York Waterway has been awarded a $6.3 million grant to reinforce its maintenance facility off the coast of Weehawken, Rep. Rob Menendez announced on September 16. The $6.32 million grant, funded under the U.S. Department of Transportation's fiscal year 2024 Passenger Ferry Grant Program, will be used to install a wave attenuator at the…

During a mid-September Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Arizona Senator and Navy combat veteran Mark Kelly (D) emphasized the urgent need to strengthen U.S. maritime capacity and addressed the potential impact of a declining U.S. commercial maritime fleet on military readiness and national security. At the hearing, Kelly discussed with Lt. Gen. Randall Reed –…

A new collaboration between Hapag- Lloyd and Maersk will mean a redeployment of six SIU-crewed ships, and is not expected to change the number of jobs aboard those respective vessels. All SIU jobs and contract terms will remain in place. In a mid-September announcement, the companies said the new operation – named Gemini Corporation –…