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

MEBA TELEX TIMES           MAY 16, 2008

The Official Union Newsletter

NUMBER 20

In this issue...
New POID contract...Bill requiring double hulls passes Senate committee...More TWIC centers open...Maritime Day coming up... Sparing no expense, we make a killing with a goldmine of industry articles flush with a wealth of cold hard facts. At all costs, cut your losses from down-and-out, deadbeat newsletters you can't afford. That poor man's journalism is a day late and a dollar short! Come further your fortune with a well-to-do edition loaded with an embarrassment of maritime riches. A real luxury, the Telex Times will make you feel like a million bucks - you can take it to the bank!

POID LOCKS UP NEW FOUR-YEAR DEAL
M.E.B.A.'s Professional, Office and Industrial Division (POID) has a new four-year contract after negotiators reached agreement with American President Lines following five busy days of bargaining.

Our POID division performs the clerical work for APL at eight locations including Chicago, Denver, Oakland, Seattle, Houston, Long Beach, Portland and Union, NJ.

M.E.B.A.'s Executive Vice President Ed MacCormack, along with POID Representative Jennifer Novinger, headed up the negotiating team which included delegates from the POID sites. Among other things, the new deal boosts wages, adds another holiday, makes dental and vacation improvements and preserves job security language. In addition, POID negotiators were able to stave off medical program cuts that the company had sought. 89% of the POID membership across the country ratified the agreement with several days to spare before the old contract expired.

M.E.B.A. President Don Keefe congratulated our negotiators saying, Ed, Jennifer and our POID Delegates did an exemplary job in getting this contract done. This is a bargaining unit that is overlooked sometimes, but our people in POID deliver the same hard work and professionalism that the rest of our membership brings to the job every day."

The M.E.B.A. negotiating team consisted of Executive V.P. Ed MacCormack, POID Representative Jennifer Novinger, retired M.E.B.A. member Duncan Ballenger, counsel Mike McCarthy, and the POID delegates including Buris Batey (Chicago), Erik Branine (Denver), Stefanie Wright (Denver), April Fleischer (Denver), Cindy Scott (Denver), Pat Hill (Houston), Tony Sasso (Long Beach), Cathy Visciano (New Jersey), Peter Whitehead (Oakland) and Alana Newman (Seattle).

SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE INSISTS ON DOUBLE HULLS
In the continued fall-out from the 2007 spill in San Francisco Bay, the Senate Commerce Committee has approved the Oil Spill Prevention Act, a bill put forward by Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Barbara Boxer (D-CA).

The Oil Spill Prevention Act would require a double hull or an additional protective layer around the fuel tank of non-tank vessels, create a medical review program for merchant mariners, and require the Coast Guard to conduct a study into the causes of marine accidents. It also includes Boxer provisions that clarify Coast Guard authority to direct vessel traffic, requiring at least one oil pollution investigator on duty or on-call at all times.

Last November, the COSCO BUSAN lost 58,000 gallons of bunker fuel in the San Francisco Bay after striking the Bay Bridge in heavy fog.

Sen. Boxer said, "Californians know all too well the devastation an oil spill can cause to our waters, wildlife and our communities. This bill addresses some of the issues raised in the wake of that accident, including the need to ensure the Coast Guard has the clear authority to direct the movement of vessel traffic, especially in dangerous conditions."

The bill now goes before the full Senate for consideration.

FORT LAUDERDALE HALL IS MOVING
M.E.B.A.'s hall in Fort Lauderdale is moving. The new office will be open for business on Monday June 2, 2008. The address of the new location is 1900 West Commercial Blvd., Ft Lauderdale, FL 33309, Room #22. Sherry Keefer is our Plans Rep. there. The phone and fax numbers remain the same.

JUNEAU, SAN FRANCISCO TWIC CENTERS OPEN
Enrollment Centers continue to open up around the nation for transportation workers to obtain their needed TWIC credentials. Recently several major cities joined the list. The Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program is being implemented to narrow the security risks at seaports across the country.

In early May, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) extended the compliance date from Sept. 25, 2008 to April 15, 2009. However, owners and operators of facilities located within Captain of the Port Zones in Boston, Northern New England, and Southeastern New England will need to comply with TWIC demands by October 15, 2008.

147 fixed enrollment centers are planned with over 100 currently in operation. Mobile locations are also being deployed as needed. In late April, centers opened up in Chattanooga, TN; LaPorte, TX; Portsmouth, NH; Galveston, TX; Juneau, AK; San Juan, P.R.; In early May, new locations cropped up in Freeport, TX; Port Hueneme, CA; and Houma, LA. This week the San Francisco, CA site finally opened up as well as Calcite, MI; and Kansas City, MO. Next week the list will include Port Manatee, FL; Marcus Hook, PA and Rochester, NY. Visit this link (http://twicinformation.tsa.dhs.gov/twicinfo/schedule.jsp) to learn enrollment center addresses and hours of operation.

Members should still make sure to obtain their TWICs well in advance. You can pre-enroll for TWIC on the TSA Web site (www.tsa.gov/twic). 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 go directly to the pre-enrollment page, visit https://twicprogram.tsa.dhs.gov/TWICWebApp/ and click on "Apply for a TWIC."

Additional information can be found on the U.S. Coast Guard's Homeport site, http://homeport.uscg.mil, and on the Transportation Security Administration's web site at www.tsa.gov/twic.

NATIONAL MARITIME DAY IS COMING UP
Maritime Day will be celebrated in the nation's capital on the actual day - May 22nd, a Thursday. This is the 75th anniversary of National Maritime Day which was first declared by Congress in 1933. It honors the contributions of the American Merchant Marine and often is used to laud World War II mariners. The Maritime Administration has taken care to make sure that its observance also honors the mariners and maritime industry of today and the benefits they bring.

The D.C. ceremony begins at 10 a.m. at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial at West Potomac Park near the Tidal Basin. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters will speak. The joint Propeller Club/Kings Point Club Luncheon will follow the morning ceremony and will take place at the Washington Navy Yard where the Military Sealift Command is headquartered. Following the lunch, MSC will perform it Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Cold War Museum (Building 70). USTRANSCOM Commander Gen. Norton Schwartz and MSC Commander Rear Admiral Robert Reilly, Jr. will speak. For those who can't get enough and want to stretch out maritime's special day even longer, an evening ceremony will take place at MITAGS which Congressman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) will headline.

COAST GUARD WANTS FOREIGN MARINERS TO CARRY DOCUMENTATION
The U.S. Coast Guard is proposing that crewmembers on foreign commercial vessels bound for U.S. ports or points be required to carry (and present on demand) acceptable identification when in U.S. navigable waters. Coast Guard says that acceptable I.D. would mean a passport; a U.S. Permanent Resident Card; a U.S. merchant mariner's document; a TWIC card or a Seafarer's Identification Document (SID).

The agency said that the crewmember could secure the identification with the master, as long as it could be presented on demand. Vessel operators would be required to ensure that crewmembers are in compliance.

Coast Guard proposed that violations would subject the mariner and vessel operator to civil penalties, and control measures would be taken against the vessel. This requirement would apply even if the crewmember never departs the vessel while it is in the U.S. The Coast Guard is seeking comment on the proposal through mid-July.

UNION PLUS HELPS MEMBER WEATHER WINTER
Eugene Akens of Willis, MI, enjoys his job as a Great Lakes mariner. But, he laughs, "Until they figure out how to put ice skates on the ships, I'll be looking at a winter layoff when the lakes freeze over." The last time they did, the M.E.B.A. Union Plus Mortgage Assistance Program helped Akens stay afloat.

Akens served 20 years in the Navy before retiring in 1975. He then took a series of jobs in warm climates, including Alabama and Florida. But in 1991 he returned home to Michigan, back to the small family farm where he'd grown up - and back to the severe winters that put his livelihood on hold when the Great Lakes freeze.

Though some members continue their work for Interlake Steamship or other companies during the offseason, Eugene uses the time to concentrate more closely on family matters which sometimes can create a short-term financial strain. "The good thing is, the union benefits continue all through the winter," he says. "The bad news, is, when we don't work we don't get paid." So last year, when a particularly bad winter froze Akens out of work, he looked into the Mortgage Assistance Program to help him make ends meet until the thaw.

The Union Plus Mortgage Assistance Program provides interest-free loans to union members, as well as their parents and children, who have had a union mortgage through Chase for more than a year. This unique benefit, which is not available through other mortgage programs, has delivered more than $3.1 million in assistance to qualified homeowners who have been laid off, disabled or involved in a short-term (less than 90 days) strike or lockout.

For Akens, three months of mortgage payments was all he needed to make it through to the spring. "Just one phone call," he says, "and the paperwork was all in place. I'd recommend this mortgage program to everyone out there," Akens says. "It's great to know help is there if you really need it. I think it's a terrific program."

The mortgage program, provided by Chase, offers a full-range of mortgage products. To learn more about the Union Plus Mortgage program, call 1-800-848-6466 from 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday or visit www.UnionPlus.org/Mortgage.

You can also call the Union Plus Save My Home Hotline at 1-866-490-5361 any time day or night. You do not need a union mortgage to call the Save My Home Hotline.

Union Privilege, founded by the AFL-CIO in 1986, develops and manages the Union Plus benefits program, which uses the combined buying power of America's union members to obtain top-quality goods and services at competitive prices. In addition to a money-saving credit card, the Union Plus programs include free and discounted legal services, education services, discounted health services, a home-buying program, travel and recreation discounts and much more. To learn more, visit www.UnionPlus.org.

TOYOTA HONORS MATSON NAVIGATION
M.E.B.A.-contracted Matson Navigation Company has been honored with two 2007 Toyota Logistics Excellence awards, one for Marine Quality and the other for Outstanding Achievement. The Quality Award recognizes Matson for meeting Toyota's damage percentage requirements, as well as implementing a comprehensive damage prevention program that included a collaborative working relationship between both companies. The program involved Toyota and Matson developing a number of initiatives designed to ensure vehicles were transported as safely and securely as possible, with an overall focus on continuous improvement.

The Outstanding Achievement Award honored Matson for its role in successfully providing sailing and delivery priorities for Toyota's roll out program for its new "Tundra" model with auto dealers in Hawaii and Guam, in order to coincide with release dates on the U.S. Mainland. The project encompassed meeting requirements of rental car markets, inventory and distribution from West Coast facilities and initiating systems development with Toyota Logistics Systems to provide accurate advanced shipment notification.

CAR & BIKE SHOW BENEFITING MEMORIAL IS COMING UP
The M.E.B.A. Merchant Marine Memorial Foundation is having a Car & Bike Show that will take place at the School on May 24, 2008 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. There will be raffles, food, live music, and trophies for winning contestants all for a $5 admission fee for those not entering a car or motorcycle in the show.

If you are showing in the event, there will be a $15 Registration Fee for a Car, $10 for a Motorcycle. All proceeds go to the M.E.B.A. Merchant Marine Memorial Foundation, Inc. to help with further maintenance on the Memorial. Registration begins at 10 am on that day with the judging beginning at noon. A band will rock out the show starting at 1 p.m. The Burn Out begins at 2 p.m. with the raffle and door prizes at 3 p.m. If you want to register or just plain donate - or need to ask about vending opportunities, please contact Jessica Milligan at (410) 822-9600, ext. 306 or jmilligan@mebaschool.org.  Checks should be payable to MMMMF, Inc, P.O. Box 2443, Easton, MD 21601. Visit the Memorial section of the School's website at www.mebaschool.org.

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETINGS
Monday, June 2 - Boston, Jacksonville, Seattle;
Tuesday, June 3 - Baltimore, Houston, San Francisco;
Wednesday, June 4 - Calhoon School, Charleston, New Orleans, Portland;
Thursday, June 5 - L.A., New York, Norfolk, Tampa;
Friday, June 6 - Honolulu.

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