Seafarers Log
Time to Redouble Safety Efforts Back in February, if someone had used the expression “COVID fatigue,” we’d have looked at them as if they were crazy. Unfortunately, everyone reading this column knows what it means, and I think it’s no exaggeration to say we’ve all experienced it at least from…
Seafarers Log
As the United States maritime community celebrated the centennial of the nation’s freight cabotage law, numerous legislators issued supportive statements. U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-Michigan) was among those elected officials who praised the Jones Act in early June. He posted a news…
Seafarers Log
Editor’s note: SIU members are encouraged to regularly check the union’s website for the latest union-specific news about the pandemic. There is a prominent COVID-19 section on the home page. Members also may sign up for text alerts by texting the word “join” (without the quotation marks) to 97779. The…
Seafarers Log
Bosun Romualdo Medina doesn’t know exactly how he contracted COVID- 19, but he’s certain that any inconveniences are worthwhile sacrifices in order to avoid it. “I hope every SIU member will take care of themselves and their families,” said Medina, who was stricken by the coronavirus in June aboard the…
Seafarers Log
Editor’s note: The following message, dated July 10, 2020, is signed by the presidents of six maritime unions, including SIU President Michael Sacco. For a PDF copy, visit the SIU website. It has become increasingly apparent the COVID-19 crisis is not going away anytime soon. Our members aboard ships in…
Seafarers Log
New steward-department jobs for SIU members are on the horizon following the recent christening of an historic vessel. SIU-contracted Matson, Inc., christened the second of two Kanaloa Class vessels, the Matsonia, in a ceremony at General Dynamics NASSCO – a union shipyard – in San Diego on July 2. The…
Seafarers Log
Editor’s note: This article was posted on the SIU website on June 24 and also was promoted via the union’s text-alert service and on social media. Some of the information previously was published in the Seafarers LOG. As you probably know, 2020 is an election year for the SIU. Due…
Seafarers Log
Editor’s note: The union’s executive board is constantly reviewing the latest developments with the pandemic and how it affects shipping. Modifications already have been made in order to promote maximum participation in the SIU election. If any changes are made to the absentee-ballot procedures, they will be announced in print…
Seafarers Log
The 2020 edition of the Seafarers Health and Benefit Plan’s (SHPB) annual Scholarship Program has been postponed because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, but grants are scheduled to be awarded this summer. According to Seafarers Plans Administrator Maggie Bowen, the program’s deadline – which in years past was April 15 –…
Seafarers Log
While it might be making recent headlines, there’s very little about absentee voting that is new. According to the Constitutional Accountability Center, “One of the earliest known instances of absentee voting occurred during the American Revolution. In December 1775, a group of soldiers from the Continental Army sent a letter…