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

MEBA TELEX TIMES           AUGUST 22, 2008

The Official Union Newsletter

NUMBER 34

In this issue...
Lawsuit settlement...New digs for Seattle starting next week...LEWIS & CLARK award...SSA contract...Ding dong! We serve up a deep-dish, Chicago-style edition hand-tossed with maritime toppings and brought right to your doorstep. Don't get sauced over pie-eyed, thin-crusted weeklies that are like reading cardboard. We pan those cheesy, half-baked pizza-faces and order up an extra-large issue that doesn't cost a lot of dough. Here's a tip: Any way you slice it, the wood-fired Telex Times is the newsletter that delivers!

LAWSUIT SETTLED
Contrary to negative predictions, President Keefe has announced, in an All Ports Bulletin to the union halls, that a settlement has been reached that ends the M.E.B.A./AMO lawsuit. The $400 million lawsuit has been ongoing for over three years. On Monday August 18, 2008, just before the case was to go to trial, M.E.B.A. and AMO agreed to a settlement where the union will pay AMO $1.25 million with M.E.B.A. Plans also agreeing to pay $1.25 million to end the suit. M.E.B.A. admitted no wrong this was strictly a business decision in order to end a time consuming and costly legal battle that, with appeals, could have continued indefinitely. Further details will be forthcoming.

NEW SEATTLE HALL OPENS DOORS ON SEPT. 2
As reported last week, M.E.B.A.s Seattle Union hall will be shifting to a new location. The hall will be fully functional and ready for business the day after Labor Day, Tuesday Sept. 2. The new hall is located across the park, east of the current location. The address is 5527 Airport Way, Suite 101, Seattle, WA 98108. Phone, fax and e-mail information remains the same.

M.E.B.A. MSC SHIP WINS SAFETY AWARD
The Military Sealift Command dry cargo/ammunition ship USNS LEWIS AND CLARK, crewed with M.E.B.A. officers in the engine room, has won the 2008 Navy Departments safety excellence award in the MSC category. The 689-foot ship is currently operating out of Norfolk, VA. The ships crew was recognized for developing new operational procedures upon delivery of the new class of ship that set the standard for onboard high risk operations across the entire class of T-AKE ships and have become a prototype model for the maritime industry. MSC's engineering directorate lauded the crew for stepping up to the task of identifying, assessing and addressing safety issues during the ship's break-in period. The civilian crew also includes MM&P deck officers and SIU mariners.

"This award reflects a collaborative effort from the crew, who made sure to implement realistic safety standards as a social norm," said Capt. Randall H. Rockwood, LEWIS AND CLARK's civil service master from October 2007 to August 2008. "My goal was to set up a positive environment for my crew to develop safe operational procedures and in it, we made sure that each crew member understood the inherent dangers onboard the ship."

In addition to creating the procedures, two M.E.B.A. LEWIS AND CLARK crewmembers were noted in the award package. Relief Chief Engineer Tim Nesbitt personally authored the prototype "T-AKE Engineering Casualty Control Manual," which provides drill protocols and scenarios for responding to engineering causalities and is used throughout the T-AKE fleet. Also, Chief Engineer Bob McManus was featured in Seapower Magazine in recognition of the Engine department's leadership role in the maritime industry. That article was republished in the June 20th edition of the Telex Times.

The Department of the Navy safety excellence award program recognizes Navy and Marine Corps teams, ships and installations for exceptional commitment to safety and operational risk management.

SSA DEAL COVERING ENGINEERS GETS DONE
A contract covering M.E.B.A. engineers aboard the boats in the Woods Hole, Marthas Vineyard & Nantucket Steamship Authority (SSA) has gone into effect after bargaining unit members ratified the new deal shortly before it was approved by the SSA Board of Governors. M.E.B.A. has represented the engineers in the fleet since the mid-1960s. The new contract brings pay raises with retroactivity and increases medical contributions among other things. M.E.B.A. also represents the unlicensed workers at SSA and the length of this new pact aligns the expiration date of both contracts so that the union can address further improvements in the terms of both deals when talks resume again next summer.

These were hard fought negotiations that involved state-sponsored mediation, a fact finding process and several state legislative initiatives (made possible through M.E.B.A.'s Political Action Fund) that helped spur a final agreement.

Boston Representative Bill Campbell finalized the pact with assistance from many of our rank and file members working at SSA especially Bill Hibbard, Bill Kolb and Robert Carmody. Through perseverance over the last 4 ½ years, M.E.B.A. officials once again succeeded in achieving optimum results for the benefit of the membership.

GREAT LAKES LEGISLATOR DIES SUDDENLY
58-year old Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-OH-11), the reigning Great Lakes Legislator of the Year, died suddenly on Wednesday of brain hemorrhaging caused by a ruptured aneurysm.

A native Clevelander, she chaired the House Ethics Committee and served on the Ways and Means Committee, as well as the Congressional Black Caucus. The Great Lakes Maritime Task Force bestowed the Legislator of the Year award on her earlier this year to reward her commitment to bettering shipping on the Great Lakes. Rep. Tubbs-Jones also co-authored legislation to revive ferry service on the Great Lakes, "The Short Sea Shipping Enhancement Act of 2007. The passing of such a likable, high-caliber person is compounded because she was of a champion for labor and the maritime industry. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said that Tubbs-Jones will undoubtedly be remembered and applauded for her legacy in Congress and for leading a life of "firsts," including one of her proudest achievements, becoming the first African-American woman to serve on one of the most powerful committees in the House of Representatives, the Ways & Means Committee. But she will also be remembered for her good heart, her easy style and for filling rooms with passion and laughter. On behalf of the working men and women of the AFL-CIO, we extend our condolences and prayers to the family of Congresswoman Tubbs-Jones during this most difficult time."

HEARD AT THE HEAD SHORESIDE SCUTTLEBUTT
M.E.B.A. President Don Keefe, along with Baltimore Branch Agent Tom Suneson, took part in a Military Sealift Command briefing last week that lasted several hours. Led by MSC Commander Rear Admiral Robert Reilly, Jr., a group of union representatives talked about changes in the makeup of the MSC fleet as well as readiness issues. Training was another topic of interest that was discussed. NFL Players Association Executive Director Gene Upshaw died this week of pancreatic cancer. His 15-year career with the Oakland Raiders gave way to his quarter-century leadership of the union overseeing wide-scale changes in the salary structure of the NFL that led to a boom in player pay. He had only learned of his illness three days earlier. He was 63. M.E.B.A.member Marvin D. Wells will be attending the Democratic National Convention next week. Marvin, out of Tacoma, is one of the Delegates representing Washington State.

NEW DATA ON GROWING GLOBAL DEMAND FOR MARINERS
Only months after graduation ceremonies were held on campuses across the nation, approximately 85 percent of 2008 graduates with merchant marine licenses from the state maritime academies across the country have found employment afloat in the maritime industry or in the U.S. military, according to data released by the Maritime Administration.

This data indicates that the job market for merchant marine officers remains robust. There is a growing, worldwide demand for fully-trained merchant marine officers and licensed mariners. Excellent training combined with ongoing global trade expansion will continue to make the graduates of U.S. maritime colleges among the most qualified and employable mariners in the world, said U.S. Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton

Total employment for 2008 licensed graduates is already more than 95 percent. This number includes those who have found shoreside employment in the maritime industry. One of the academies, Great Lakes in Traverse City, Michigan, has placed 100 percent of its 2008 graduates in maritime afloat employment.

MARITIME ADMINISTRATION GOING GREEN
The Maritime Administration has launched several new initiatives that place the agency in the vanguard of federal organizations implementing policies stressing responsible environmental stewardship. In announcing these initiatives, Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton said, "While environmental regulation and enforcement play a significant role, government and the Maritime Administration in particular--must lead the way in promoting sound environmental stewardship within the maritime industry by implementing voluntary, effective, green programs for its own operations."

The Maritime Administrations 2008 Going Green programs include an Environmental Excellence Initiative that focuses on strengthening environmental stewardship and developing and implementing green procedures, including establishing an Environmental Management System at the agency's National Defense Reserve Fleet sites and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. A new Energy Efficiency and Alternative Energy effort will evaluate current agency energy applications and implement an overhaul of energy-conservation practices. Another element of the initiative is the Green Awards Program which will recognize exceptional environmental stewardship by industry members in areas such as carbon-emissions reductions.

The agency is currently overhauling all of its energy applications and Going Green using solar panels, fuel cells, electrical upgrades, and geothermal power at all of its nationwide locations including fleet offices in Beaumont, Texas; Suisun Bay, Calif.; and James River, VA.; and at its Gateway offices in Houston, Miami, San Francisco, New York City, New Orleans, St. Louis, Chicago, Norfolk, Va., and Long Beach, Calif., and at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y.

NEW PIRACY WARNINGS IN GULF OF ADEN
The International Maritime Bureau has warned that there has been a dangerous surge of pirate activity in the Gulf of Aden. Following a month that has seen seven vessels hijacked in the region, the IMB issued a fresh piracy warning to all vessels sailing in the Gulf. Three vessels were hijacked in a twelve hour period this week. Two bulk carriers and a chemical tanker were seized by pirates and are currently heading for pirate bases on the Somali east coast. In an attack on August 19th another tanker and her crew of 28 were hijacked and taken to Somali waters. This follows an August 12 attack when a general cargo ship was hijacked while underway in the busy shipping lane. The vessel was taken to Somali waters and anchored near the South Puntland border. Demands for a payment of ransom for the return of the crew and the vessel were made. In addition to this most recent activity there have been four further hijacking attempts since the beginning of June, one successful. Three other vessels were fired upon since that time.

IMB Director Pottengal Mukundan stated: The situation in this region is extremely serious. We have not seen such a surge in pirate activity in this area previously. These pirates are not afraid to use significant firepower in attempts to bring vessels under their control. Over 260 seafarers have been taken hostage in Somalia this year. Unless further action is taken, seafarers remain in serious danger whilst navigating the Gulf of Aden.

In all reported instances, vessels have been approached by speedboats containing men armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. In their attempts to slow down and board the vessels, the pirates have opened fire against the unarmed merchant ships.

The IMB advises that Masters maintain strict 24-hour piracy watches and be especially wary of any approaching smaller craft. They urge the reporting of all actual or attempted attacks, as well as any suspicious vessel movements, to the IMB Piracy Reporting Center. They can be called 24 hours a day, seven days a week on +603 2031 0014, or emailed on imbkl@icc-ccs.org.

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETINGS
Monday, September 8 - Boston, Jacksonville, Seattle;
Tuesday, September 9 - Baltimore, Houston, San Francisco;
Wednesday, September 10 - Calhoon School, Charleston, New Orleans, Portland;
Thursday, September 11 - L.A., New York, Norfolk, Tampa;
Friday, September 12 - Honolulu.

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