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

MEBA TELEX TIMES           MARCH 28, 2008

The Official Union Newsletter

NUMBER 13

In this issue...
Dutch speaks at convention...Discovery Channel films on Interlake ship...Truck plows into Houston hall...In a primetime, hotshot edition, we get down to the nitty gritty to give you your fair share of maritime razzle-dazzle for the jet-set. Take a chill pill from the mumbo jumbo in doom-and-gloom, ragtag newsletters with no rhyme or reason. Those humdrum, cellar dwellers are double trouble! Get back on track and take a sneak peek at the bee's knees of weeklies. The super duper Telex Times is the Real Deal!

NATIONAL CONVENTION GOES DUTCH
Overlooked in the two-page Telex Times write-up of M.E.B.A's. recent National Convention was the fact that Delegates and guests were visited by Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) at the event. Dutch represents the city of Baltimore including the Port and is a good friend of the M.E.B.A. and maritime industry. He serves on the Appropriations Committee and the House Select Committee on Intelligence and chairs the Technical and Tactical Intelligence Subcommittee.

Dutch kept members enraptured for about half an hour as he delivered remarks towards the end of the morning session touching on numerous subjects of interest from his many areas of expertise. He talked a good deal about homeland security and the need to ensure the integrity of shipments from their port of embarkation without compromising the flow of commerce. National President Don Keefe brought up the subject of tax exemptions for mariners and that subject was explored as well. Dutch went on to discuss TWIC issues and expressed some concerns with the ongoing process. After fielding numerous questions from Delegates and guests he wrapped up his remarks and advised the gathering that it is essential for union and industry members to band together as a group and put up a united front in order to achieve important gains in Congress. That sort of solidarity means a lot to us up on the Hill, Dutch pointed out.

The significant number of Union officials taking part in the National Convention provided an opportunity for the Union to convene an officials meeting the next day. Such meetings following our tri-annual Convention have become traditional in recent years. It allowed those in charge of the halls and offices to thrash out important business that will allow them to better serve the members. President Don Keefe addressed the group asking them to part with any divisiveness remaining from the District elections so that the officials can get on the same page and move forward to achieve gains for our membership. Benefit Plans Administrator Allen Szymczak imparted important Plans information to the officials. Calhoon M.E.B.A. Engineering School Director Lou Marciello also addressed the officials briefing them on the latest with the Training Plan. Just before the afternoon break, the officials were joined by Seafarers International Union President Mike Sacco who delivered boisterous and attention-grabbing remarks that had officials buzzing at lunchtime.

DISCOVERY CHANNEL FILMING ABOARD PAUL R. TREGURTHA FOR "AWESOME SHIPS" SERIES
A Discovery Channel film crew is down on the docks in Duluth, Minnesota to spotlight one of the M.E.B.A. Great Lakes boats as part of a new six-episode series entitled "Awesome Ships."

The "Queen of the Lakes," the PAUL R. TREGURTHA, is undergoing its fit-out after a long winter spent immobilized in the ice. With the Spring thaw, Captain Tim Dayton and Chief Engineer Lorne Warczinsky are busy making the boat 'lakeworthy.' The self-unloading bulk carrier is one of the vessels in the Interlake Steamship Co. fleet. It is the biggest boat on the Lakes measuring 1,013 feet long with a 68,000 gross ton capacity.

Discovery Channel also plans to highlight additional giant vessels in other episodes. One episode reportedly will focus on the largest ocean liner - the QUEEN MARY 2 while another tackles the largest container ship - the EMMA MAERSK. "Awesome Ships" will likely debut sometime this fall. We'll keep you posted.

CMES RECEIVES GENEROUS DONATION FOR SIMULATOR UPGRADE
The M.E.B.A. Training Fund received an "extremely generous" personal monetary donation this week from M.E.B.A. Trustee Phil Fisher, who also works for Keystone Shipping. The donation to the Calhoon M.E.B.A. Engineering School came from the P.W.J. Fisher Family Charitable Fund and will be used to perform necessary upgrades to the School's Bridge Simulator to ensure that our Deck Officers continue to have the finest training possible.

In gratitude of Phil's generosity, School Director Lou Marciello has decided to name Bridge Simulator #2 after the longtime M.E.B.A. Trustee. Number 2 will now be known as the "Fisher Bridge." Phil is welcome to a tour anytime he wants.

NOT-SO-GOOD FRIDAY FOR HOUSTON HALL
The Houston Union hall got an unexpected and unwelcome surprise on Good Friday last week when a pick-up truck smashed into the front entrance of the hall in the early morning hours. On the surveillance tape, it appears that a late-model Ford Ranger driving at a good rate of speed hopped the curb and drove directly through the outer glass door of the foyer toward the barred wooden door guarding the interior of the hall. However, the truck failed to penetrate that reinforced door and the debris created by the impact trapped the vehicle in place. One of the two occupants in the truck was taken into police custody minutes later while the other fled the scene. At press time it was not clear if this was some sort of an accident or an attempted crime.

Branch Agent Dana Woodruff announced that the hall remains open during regular business hours but visitors will have to enter the building from the backdoor. Because the door is not a conventional type it will take a little longer to effect repairs - it could take up to a month. We'll keep you notified.

USNS GRASP RECOVERS DOWNED JETS IN GULF OF MEXICO
Military Sealift Command rescue and salvage ship USNS GRASP, crewed with M.E.B.A. officers in the engine room, completed recovery operations for two U.S. Air Force F-15C fighter jets in the Gulf of Mexico last weekend. The jets crashed mid-air over the Gulf approximately 50 miles from Eglin Air Force Base, FL. on Feb. 20.

Recovery efforts began March 1 when GRASP arrived in the vicinity of the crash site to locate the wreckage, and ended March 22 when the last recoverable debris from the second aircraft was lifted onto the ship's weather deck. Salvage operations, which normally could have been conducted within a week, were delayed by severe weather conditions that twice sent the ship back to port. The first aircraft was recovered March 12 from a depth of 177 feet and the second aircraft was recovered March 22 from a depth of 185 feet. More than half of each aircraft was salvaged including their engines, data collecting devices (flight recorders) and main computers. These items are vital to the Air Force's investigation to determine the cause of the crash.

Since the exact position of the wreckage was unknown, the ship's civilian crew worked in cooperation with sailors of Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two to locate the debris by combining the ship's navigational information with data obtained from the dive unit's locating equipment. Upon arrival at each site, GRASP's civilian crew anchored the ship directly above the wreckage and the divers submerged to prepare the debris for recovery. GRASP's 40-ton boom then lifted the wreckage out of the water using a cable that was attached by the divers. The mid-air collision claimed the life of one of the two pilots. The jets were assigned to the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base.

ADDITIONAL WEBPAGES SET UP TO AID MARINERS APPLYING FOR TWICs
By now, M.E.B.A. members should already have made efforts to obtain a Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC). The TWIC program was implemented to ensure that those who have unescorted access to secure areas of ports and vessels are not security threats. M.E.B.A. members and all maritime transportation workers must obtain a TWIC by September 25, 2008 or they will not be permitted to sail.

The Transportation Security Administration has put up a couple of web pages, accessed from the TWIC site that will help make the process easier. Visit the TWIC site at www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/twic/index.shtm.  TSA has put up a listing of street addresses of TWIC enrollment centers, their hours of operation and directions to get there. Click on http://twicinformation.tsa.dhs.gov/twicinfo/schedule.jsp to access the service.

Those who have pre-enrolled can go online and check their status by clicking https://twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/TWICWebApp/StatusCheckPrep.do.  If you have not yet pre-enrolled, you should do so as soon as possible. Pre-enrollment speeds up the process by allowing workers to provide biographic information and schedule a time to complete the application process in person. This reduces waiting and in-person enrollment times for each individual. If you want to pre-enroll, visit https://twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/TWICWebApp/ and click on "Apply for a TWIC."

ARMADA REBRANDS - NEW NAME IS ALARIS
M.E.B.A.-contracted Armada Companies, LLC is re-branding itself with a new name. They will now be known as Alaris Companies, LLC.

The company says that with its growth over the last two years, and its extensive work in the international market, it has become necessary to rechristen the company with a name that is "more unique."

Alaris is a Latin adjective, meaning "belonging to the wings of an army; of/consisting of auxiliary cavalry or allied troops."

Only the name of the company has changed - the organization, structure and ownership are unaffected.

While switching over to the new name, both the Armada Companies' and new Alaris Companies' websites and email addresses are functioning. Eventually though, the exclusive website address will be www.alariscompanies.com.  The e-mail address nomenclature will be the same except that it is alariscompanies.com instead of armadacompanies.com. i.e; "firstname.lastname@alariscompanies.com".

The company noted, "We truly thank you for your support and look forward to many opportunities to work with you and be your auxiliary cavalry or allied troops!"

CG NMSAC MEETING IN PORTSMOUTH
The Coast Guard's National Maritime Security Advisory Committee (NMSAC) will meet in Portsmouth, VA to discuss various issues relating to national maritime security. This meeting will be open to the public. The Committee will meet on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Among other items, TWIC issues, vessel security and Maritime Transportation Security User Fees will be discussed.

The meeting will take place at the Renaissance Portsmouth Hotel and Waterfront Conference Center, Portsmouth Ballroom #4, 425 Water Street, Portsmouth, VA. For further information contact Ryan Owens, Assistant to DFO of NMSAC at (202) 372-1108.

CG RELEASES FERRY VOYAGE DATA RECORDER STUDY
The Coast Guard has issued a report to Congress on the use of voyage data recorders on ferries. The report details the findings of the Coast Guard's study weighing the costs and benefits of requiring voyage data recorders on ferries over 100 gross regulatory tons and carrying more than 399 passengers between two points not more than 300 miles apart.

Based on their findings, especially the significant costs associated with the use of VDRs, Coast Guard recommends against requiring the use of VDRs or Simplified Data Voyage Recorder (S-VDRs) on such ferries. Instead, they recommend a review of Electronic Chart System (ECS) and Automatic Identification System (AIS) equipment to determine how they can be used or modified to capture the relevant information. The Coast Guard also recommends the development of a performance standard that provides vessel owners and operators the flexibility to determine the best equipment to meet that standard considering other regulatory requirements.

AFL-CIO ARTICLE: INDIAN WORKERS "TREATED LIKE SLAVES" AT SHIPYARD
AFL-CIO journalist James Parks has written an article suggesting that Indian shipyard workers toiling for a marine construction company are exposed to subhuman treatment. The excerpted article appears below:

The global union movement is calling on the U.S. and Indian governments to take legal action against Signal International, a marine construction company, and two of its recruiters. Nearly 100 Indian workers say they were enticed to come to work at the company's shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., where they say they were held in modern-day slavery. On March 18, these workers embarked on a "satyagrahah," or truth action, in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi, traveling from New Orleans to Washington, D.C., to reveal the truth of the guest worker program-that the program is being used to sanction forced labor by migrants and to further disenfranchise the most vulnerable American workers.

Sharan Burrow, president of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), wrote to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey, saying American and Indian recruiters promised the Indian pipe fitters and welders decent work, as well as "green cards" for the workers and their families, but their preconceived American Dream turned out to be a nightmare.

Some 100 workers quit and staged a protest at the shipyard on March 10 demanding justice. The former workers, who are now living in New Orleans, then filed a lawsuit against Signal, claiming some 500 immigrant workers were subjected to forced labor and poor living conditions at the company's facilities in Pascagoula and Orange, Texas. The protestors say they lived "like pigs in a cage" in a "work camp" and Signal forced them to live in substandard housing with 24 men crammed into a small room for which they each were charged more than $1,000 a month.

The workers sang the protest song "We Shall Overcome" in their native language and symbolically threw their hard hats at the company gates as they walked out. They accused the company of illegal "human trafficking." They say the recruiters brought them to the United States by promising permanent residency in exchange for a $20,000 fee. Instead, they said they were given a 10-month work visa. Many of them sold all their possessions or borrowed money at exorbitant interest rates from loan sharks to finance the trip. Guest workers typically are deeply in debt by the time they arrive in the United States, where the companies that hire them often charge additional fees for boarding, food and expenses. The workers say that the recruiters and the employer threatened, coerced and defrauded them into paying additional money and altered contracts, which forced the workers to accept under threat of losing their passports and visas.

The International Labor Organization estimates that at any given time, 12 million men, women and children worldwide are deceived or coerced into forced and bonded labor, involuntary servitude and sexual slavery. Studies have shown that human trafficking generates more than $9.5 billion annually for international organized crime, second only to trafficking in weapons.

SIGN UP FOR THE CAA REUNION THIS SUMMER!
Details concerning the Calhoon Alumni Association's reunion at the Calhoon M.E.B.A. Engineering School this summer can be accessed from the School's website (www.mebaschool.org).

CAA President Mike Fanning says that if you are interested in attending, you should fill out the event forms located online. Go there directly by clicking this link: http://www.mebaschool.org/caa_reunion_form?SESS=12740090dd9a1a0b755bc787a062
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The long weekend begins on June 27th with the Golf Tournament which happens at the Harbourtowne Resort in St. Michaels, MD beginning at 1 p.m. Golf champions will be gloating mercilessly while the hapless losers will be coaxed into buying drinks all night at the CMES bar later that evening. On Saturday, June 28th, the all-day picnic takes place on the Manor House lawn with wall-to-wall activities, food and fun.

In his posting on the website, Mike says, "This year, 2008, brings with it some special anniversaries. Groups 1 and 2 celebrate 40 years since their graduation (1968). Groups 56, 57, 58, and 59 have been our for 30 years (1978), and Groups 80, 81, 82, and 83 go silver with 25 years (1983). If anybody from these groups would like to send in any photos so that I can make-up a few exhibits showcasing those younger days, I'll try to get it done. I cannot guarantee return of any items, but will turn them over to the CMES archives for future display."

If you want to reserve a room at the School, book it early. They are on a first-come, first-served basis and no phone reservations will be accepted. Mike states that you should leave your fireworks and pets at home that weekend but says that boaters and RVs are welcome (electrical hook-ups only are available on a limited basis). If you have any questions or concerns please contact Mike Fanning at caa@mebaschool.org."

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETINGS
Monday, April 7 - Boston, Seattle;
Tuesday, April 8 - Baltimore, Houston, Jacksonville, San Francisco;
Wednesday, April 9 - Charleston, New Orleans, Portland;
Thursday, April 10 - L.A., New York, Norfolk, Tampa;
Friday, April 11 - Honolulu.

--------FINISHED WITH ENGINES---------