The U.S. Merchant Marine remains vital to the nation, and it’s also an attractive career field offering family-sustaining wages and benefits.
Those were among the key messages delivered May 25 by SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez during an awards dinner in the nation’s capital. Tellez received the 2023 Sons of Italy Foundation (SIF) Humanitarian Award, for his work on behalf of the union, its affiliated school in Maryland, and the American-flag industry as a whole.
Also honored at the event were U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-New Jersey) (SIF Lifetime Achievement Award for Public Service), longtime labor relations specialist Tony Naccarato (SIF National Education and Leadership Award), Pratt & Whitney Military Engines President Jill Albertelli (SIF Excellence in Business Award), and actor Tony Lo Bianco (SIF Lifetime Achievement Award in the Arts).
Additionally, 16 students received scholarships from the SIF for various academic pursuits.
The SIF, in conjunction with its affiliated Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, nationally and locally distributes more than $650,000 in scholarships each year. The group also has donated millions of dollars to different charities.
The dinner took place at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center; more than 250 people attended.
Tellez talked about the importance of communities pulling together to support one another, noting that such behavior was the norm during his upbringing in Brooklyn, New York. He described his experiences as a trainee and then a rank-and-file SIU member, and asserted that good jobs are a key component to overall societal wellbeing.
He then explained the basic functions of the U.S. Merchant Marine, emphasizing the industry’s role as America’s fourth arm of defense.
“We deliver the stuff for the military,” he said. “Along with the shipping companies and other unions in this room, we carry the supplies and the materiel so our troops can accomplish their mission and get back home safely.”
Tellez said that although he sometimes frets about the uptick in incivility across the country as well as “the kids of today … not looking up from the electronic gadget of the month,” he is buoyed by events such as the scholarship presentations and by those receiving the grants. He said that watching the students “parade across this stage to accept their award, full of promise and so eager to make a better world, I see a bright ray of hope. And that ray gets even brighter when you consider that nights like tonight are repeated across the country by many ethnic civil groups.” The honorees were featured in individual videos preceding each of their respective in-person speeches. In his recorded interview, Tellez emphasized the beneficial role of the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education, located in Piney Point, Maryland.
“I truly believe that most of society’s ills can be cured with a good-paying, stable job, or a career,” he said. “One thing that a man of conscience must do when he looks at himself in the mirror: He has to be confident and comfortable with the fact that he’s taking care of his family. He can put a roof over their heads. This is what we do at the Paul Hall Center. We give people the opportunity they might not have otherwise, to get their piece of the American dream. It takes sacrifice and a lot of hard work, but if they do that, they can end up in a good place – taking care of their family and having a future and a career. Not just a job, but a career. We also truly believe that one of the things we do here is make good citizens.”
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