Seafarers Log
Three more benefits conferences are scheduled to take place within the first few months of the new year, and those will mark the conclusion of a series of 15 that began last summer. The gatherings are hosted by the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan (SHBP) at various hiring halls and…
Seafarers Log
The Trustees of the Seafarers Health and Benefits Plan are pleased to announce that they have decided to increase the vision benefits that the Plan provides to mariners and their families at the Core-Plus, Core and Pensioner benefit levels. The new vision benefits will be double the amount that was…
Seafarers Log
In 2023, the SIU’s top priority wasn’t hard to determine. In the pages of the Seafarers LOG, as well as on the SIU’s social media pages, it clearly proved to be the year of the recruiter. From job fairs, ad campaigns and community outreach, the union and its affiliated Paul…
Seafarers Log
Elections Past and Present Depending on where you live, you may be exhaling now that you’re not being swamped with off-year election ads, or you may not have noticed much about the races and ballot initiatives in other states that largely were decided Nov. 7. But no matter what, I…
Seafarers Log
The off-year elections proved favorable for America’s working families. Among other gains, the Virginia legislature flipped to a pro-worker majority; Kentucky voters elected Democrat Andy Beshear as governor; and former state Rep. Sara Innamorato (D) won the election for Allegheny County (Pittsburgh) Executive. Innamorato “framed her campaign around those...‘left behind’…
Seafarers Log
SIU members recently received accolades for their respective roles in three different rescues that took place earlier this year. Pictured from left are SIU Exec. VP Augie Tellez, SIU President David Heindel, Bosun Paul Altenor and OSG President/CEO Sam Norton. Bosun Paul Altenor was one of three mariners who, on…
Seafarers Log
A broad coalition of American maritime and transportation unions, including the SIU, has registered its strong opposition to a proposal that would promote the operation of U.S.- owned vessels with foreign crews. The proposal, part of a report issued by the Hudson Institute, would create a second United States ship…
Seafarers Log
Four members of the most recent apprentice class at the SIU-affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education (PHC) proudly represented the union and the school Nov. 11, bearing our nation’s flag and the U.S. Merchant Marine flag during the annual Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. Xavier…
Seafarers Log
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in the American Maritime Officer, monthly publication of the Seafarers- affiliated AMO. It is reprinted here with permission, and with strong encouragement from the main subject, who comes from an SIU family. “The SIU holds a very special place in my heart and life,”…
Seafarers Log
One of the most fervent supports of the U.S. maritime industry recently reintroduced a bill that would benefit American workers. U.S. Rep. John Garamendi (D-California) in mid-October submitted a bill titled “Close Agency Loopholes to the Jones Act,” which would eliminate nearly a half-century of gaps that disadvantage American workers…