MARINE ENGINEERS' BENEFICIAL ASSOCIATION (AFL-CIO)
         "On Watch in Peace and War Since 1875"

MEBA TELEX TIMES               NOVEMBER 24, 2006

The Official Union Newsletter

NUMBER 47

In this issue...
McKay trial begins...Holiday parties announced...Oakland hall news... Hit the road jack! Down highways and byways, we pursue every avenue en route to an express, traffic-free edition in the M.E.B.A. fast lane. Take a U-turn from dead-end publications and kick them to the curb. Your maritime shortcut puts you on easy street and gets you to your news destination just around the bend. The Telex Times is right up your alley!

TRIAL OF AMO'S McKAY BROTHERS BEGINS
The federal racketeering trial of the McKay Brothers, Mike and Bobby, President and Secretary-Treasurer respectively, of the American Maritime Officers (AMO) kicked off this week on Monday, November 20, 2006. Mike McKay twice rigged union elections to ensure his victory and then used members' money as his personal piggy bank, a federal prosecutor told jurors Tuesday as reported by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The accusations opened the Fort Lauderdale racketeering trial of AMO's Michael McKay, 59, and his brother Robert McKay, 56.

The McKay brothers are charged with a long list of crimes, including theft, fraud, and a conspiracy to cover up illegal campaign contributions from the union. If convicted, each could be sentenced to more than 30 years. The trial before U.S. District Judge James Cohn is expected to last about six weeks.

During the United States Government's opening statement, in addition to charges of doling out illegal campaign contributions and illegally rigging AMO union elections, Prosecutor Robert Lehner said Michael McKay used funds intended for the retirement, medical, training, and vacation benefits of union members to purchase cigars and hockey tickets and to pay for repairs to his personal boat. The brothers are also charged with obstructing justice.

With respect to the internal union election fraud, U.S. Prosecutor Lehner said Mike McKay tampered with the 1993 and 1996 elections by secretly replacing ballots cast for McKay's opponent with duplicate ballots marked for McKay.

U.S. Attorney Lehner, described several methods allegedly used by the McKays to evade rules barring unions from making political contributions, except through political action committees. As reported earlier, in exchange for making personal campaign contributions to federally elected officials, the indictment alleges the McKays would use the membership's dues money as reimbursements by paying illegal bonuses to the AMO employees and officials. According to prosecutors, the brothers pressured union employees and vendors to make donations to designated candidates for local and national office and then reimbursed the contributions out of union coffers. By reimbursing the contributors with union funds, the brothers were able to sidestep legal limits on the amount of money any entity can give to a campaign, prosecutors say. There is no indication the elected officials who accepted contributions did anything wrong. It would be inherently wrong and illegal to use a membership's hard earned dues money for such purposes.

The South Florida press reports that, during the trial, jurors will hear taped conversations secretly recorded by David Merriken, a former union official. As Director of the union's employee benefits plans, the U.S. Attorney General's office gave Merriken an immunity agreement in exchange for his cooperation. The government's case relies on the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), a statute carrying stiff penalties and often used to fight organized crime. Under the law, prosecutors present allegations they say show a pattern of criminal behavior. Prosecutors are expected to argue that the McKay brothers operated the AMO as a criminal enterprise.

David Merriken agreed to work undercover for the government when he realized he had become involved in corruption, Prosecutor Lehner said. According to the Sun-Sentinel, for 11 months David Merriken arrived for work at the American Maritime Officers union headquarters in Dania Beach with a wire taped to his chest and a tape recorder in his pocket. As a result of the wiretapping, there are some 200 tapes of recorded conversations he provided to U.S. prosecutors that will be key evidence in the federal racketeering trial. Reportedly, in 1995, McKay hired Merriken, a high school graduate with no college education, to work for the union's various employee benefit plans. A year later, Merriken became executive director of the benefit plans, overseeing funds worth roughly $1 billion and approximately 200 employees.

According to a separate civil lawsuit, Merriken became aware union officials were misusing money intended for employee benefits after he completed courses in business administration at Nova Southeastern University. Merriken brought to the McKay brothers attention that benefit funds were being misused by the AMO. The lawsuit infers that Merriken was then signaled out and harassed by the McKays. Merriken contacted Miami attorney Robert Josefsberg, who arranged a meeting with federal prosecutors, the suit states. In addition to the civil suit seeking unspecified financial damages, Merriken filed a separate suit against the union in June alleging fraud against the U.S. government.

In August and September 1999, while Merriken was secretly wearing a wire, union officials organized fundraisers for several elected officials in Florida, court documents state. Campaign finance records show that locally elected officials each walked away with about $4,000 in donations purportedly from union employees and their relatives. However, the money actually came from the benefits plans, according to court documents.

CONTINUE TO BE A SQUEAKY WHEEL
Members and retirees are urged to continue to promote labor and maritime issues at the grass roots level by writing their local area newspapers or contacting news sources to urge them to write about issues meaningful to the M.E.B.A. Your input voiced to your area Congressional representation can also help sway opinion. Your letters or articles should stay focused on a single, simple point with a word count under 400 words. More lengthy and complicated letters tend to get discarded or be heavily edited. Also make sure to identify a local angle that will help your subject matter "hit home."

For example, M.E.B.A.'s Secretary-Treasurer Bill Van Loo recently had an editorial published in Easton, Maryland's Star Democrat. In it, he advocates new Governor-elect Martin O'Malley's proposal to ease Chesapeake Bay Bridge traffic by establishing a ferry system to service the Bay area region. (Other ideas to ease traffic include a proposal to build a third span on the Bay Bridge at a potential cost of several billion dollars).

Van Loo pointed out that a ferry system "represents three economic boons to the Eastern Shore: easier commutes, increased tourism, and job creation." He also said that a ferry system means local jobs: "jobs aboard the vessels in deck, engineering, and food service positions, jobs at the passenger terminals, and jobs at the maintenance facilities where the vessels are serviced."

Is there a maritime or labor issue in your area that you have an opinion on? Your input can make a difference!

M.E.B.A. HOLIDAY PARTIES: THE LOWDOWN ON THE THROW-DOWNS
With the holiday season approaching, members need to know the important stuff - when is the party? The Boston Union hall once again gets funky first with their holiday celebration slated for December 4th after the membership meeting. Baltimore follows suit the next day (December 5) after its own meeting. Expect the Telex Times Editor to make a cameo appearance at that affair. December 6th is a banner day for the Charleston hall. The holiday cheer will begin immediately after the meeting. There will be an outburst of fun on December 7th with three Union halls getting into the act. Partygoers get down in L.A., NY/NJ and the Norfolk halls as soon as the meetings wrap up. Seattle plans a 12:15 launch for its festivities on December 8th and will be collecting food for the Emergency Operational Center Food Bank. Make sure you bring canned food or cash donations to help needy families.

Following the Seattle celebration, there will be a hiatus for a few days from union hall merrymaking to allow members to celebrate on their own time. However, Tampa picks up the party baton on Dec. 13th followed by a trifecta of M.E.B.A.-sanctioned revelry on Thursday, December 14th. Cleveland, San Francisco and Headquarters turn it up a notch and paint the town red. Jacksonville, New Orleans and Houston take their turns the next day on the 15th as the free form fiestas flow full force. Honolulu has set its get-together for Sunday, December 17th. Call the hall for details. Finally, the festivities around the halls wind down with a final blow-out at the Portland hall (1 p.m.) scheduled for December 20th. Happy holidays!

OAKLAND HALL UPDATE
Next week, work is scheduled to resume on the near-completed M.E.B.A. Union hall in Oakland, California. M.E.B.A. recently switched construction management firms due to repeated restatements of the projected costs and delays by the original builder. The hall should be open for business early next year. In the meantime, operations continue at the temporary space at SUP's hall we are sharing in San Francisco. Pictures of the Oakland hall will be posted onto the Hot! section of the M.E.B.A. website.

ATC SAFETY EXCELLENCE CONTINUES
The men and women of Alaska Tanker Company have now completed ten million man-hours without a Lost Time Injury. ATC noted that they are not aware of any tanker company, worldwide, with a better combined safety and environmental performance record. M.E.B.A. officers crew the engine rooms of the ATC ships including four newbuilds recently constructed at NASSCO's San Diego shipyard. SIU represents the unlicensed crew.

ATC noted that this milestone was achieved despite typical working conditions that include mind numbing cold, howling winds, and stormy seas in the Gulf of Alaska and Puget Sound in the winter.

ATC CEO Anil Mathur said, "I am very proud of the ATC team that has delivered this world class performance record in such a challenging work environment...The ATC team's relentless drive to create an incident-free workplace continually propels us past significant safety and environmental milestones. So as we approach 2007, we know the best is yet to come."

CMES STUDENT PHYSICALS WILL BE IN DEC. AT BALTIMORE CLINIC
Members attending courses at the Calhoon M.E.B.A. Engineering School will next have the opportunity to get a physical at the Baltimore Clinic on Saturday, December 9, 2006. Up to seven students can sign up for this field trip.

The School will provide transportation if needed. Those wishing to sign up can contact Laurie Swaine at (410) 822-9600, ext. 200 or e-mail her at lswaine@mebaschool.org.

NEXT REGULAR MONTHLY MEETINGS
Monday December 4 - Boston, Seattle;
Tuesday, December 5 - Baltimore, Houston, Jacksonville, San Francisco;
Wednesday, December 6 - Calhoon M.E.B.A. School, Charleston, New Orleans,
Portland;
Thursday, December 7 - Los Angeles, New York, Norfolk, Tampa;
Friday, December 8 - Honolulu.
 

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