Robeson Display Traces Singer’s Fight for Equality and Unions
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Paul Robeson, once the premier African American artist of the 20th century, is well known as a scholar, athlete, actor and activist. Less well known is his long commitment to the union movement and his belief that the achievement of full equality for African Americans and other people of color is inextricably linked with the full equality of America’s working men and women.
Now you can learn more about Robeson’s commitment to unions and equality at the Labor Arts‘ new virtual museum exhibit of ”Old Man River: Paul Robeson and the NMU.” According to the exhibit:
Symbolic of Robeson’s devotion to the labor movement is his close connection with the National Maritime Union (NMU), which emerged from a failed effort by dissident members of the International Seamen’s Union in 1936 to improve the poor working conditions of sailors on merchant ships of the time, and the racial discrimination that was practiced on American vessels.
Seafarers Send Out SOS to Stop Piracy
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High seas piracy, especially in the Arabian Gulf and most of the Indian Ocean, “is becoming more savage and widespread,” says Seafarers (SIU) Secretary-Treasurer David Heindel.
A coalition of international maritime groups has now launched “Save Our Seafarers” (SOS), a new anti-piracy campaign to push governments to do more to protect sailors and ship and prevent pirates from “hijacking the world’s economy.” (Click here to visit the SOS channel on YouTube.)
As Heindel says, “the world has lost control of piracy.”
All the Arabian Gulf and most of the Indian Ocean are now effectively lawless. Yet there is a way that control can be regained: by actively going after pirates, stopping them and prosecuting them. Not this ludicrous situation of taking away their guns and setting them free to strike again.
Even when the mostly Somali pirates—who are currently holding about 800 international seafarers hostage—are captured, 80 percent are released to attack again, according to the SOS campaign. Read the rest of this entry »
Health Care Reform Is Personal for Longtime Trade Unionist
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Max Hall has seen the fight for health care reform from both sides—as an advocate and a patient. In a Point of View (POV) guest column at the AFL-CIO website, Hall (no relation to me) writes how he first saw passing health care reform as part of the principles of fairness he believes in. But later, the issue turned personal for the 30-year veteran trade unionist when, in September, he confronted serious medical issues.
The writer and editor for the AFL-CIO Maritime Trades Department (MTD) lost the lower portion of his right leg due to a blood infection. His union health care covered his hospitalization and rehab, and for that he’s thankful.
But he warns that “what happened to me can happen to anyone. If not an amputation, then cancer, a stroke, renal failure, a car accident or a heart attack.”
These days, when I hear a cable TV personality mischaracterize President Obama’s health care program, I wonder: What would have happened to me if, like 47 million people in this country, I didn’t have insurance? And what will happen if opponents of the plan are able to get it overturned?
Hall says, “I would rather not find out.”
And so, I’m going to help get the word out…with the new Congress now sworn in, I’ll be setting the record straight, whenever I can. Hopefully, I’ll also be walking on my new prosthesis. Either way, I’ll continue to thank my lucky stars that the union movement made a difference on an issue of such supreme importance, to me and millions of other American workers.
Attacks on Jones Act, Gulf Clean Up, Attack Unions and Our Allies
Right-wing radio gabbers, anti-worker Republican politicians and conservative think tanks are at it again. This time they charge that the Jones Act, a U.S. maritime law, is the culprit standing in the way of Gulf clean-up efforts. The Jones Act says that ships operating between U.S. domestic ports—for example from New York to Miami—be crewed, built, owned and flagged American. Most if not all other major maritime nations have laws that basically require the same thing.
Those behind the campaign attacking the Jones Act have two aims: To discredit the federal response to the disaster and to attack unions. They falsely state that the Jones Act is keeping ships that fly foreign flags from the Gulf operations and that the Obama administration has turned away offers of aid from many nations because the maritime unions want to skim up all the disaster-related profits.
Not true. In fact, the Obama administration has not turned down any offers of assistance because of the Jones Act. According to FactCheck.Org: Read the rest of this entry »
Union Voice Can Help Prevent Future Gulf Oil Disasters
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Dean Corgey has spent nearly 40 years in the maritime industry, from 1973 when he shipped out of Houston after graduating from the Seafarers (SIU) training program, until today, when he serves as SIU vice president for the Gulf Coast region.
He has gained a deep and intimate knowledge of the Gulf Coast maritime industry, especially the offshore oil industry. In a recent column in the Houston Chronicle, Corgey looks at the BP/Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed 11 workers and almost two months later continues to spew oil, poison wildlife and wetlands, ruin beaches and wreak economic havoc all along the Gulf Coast.
He says if the offshore oil industry–a major economic force in the Gulf and energy asset for the nation–is to thrive, it’s time to
change how business is conducted in the Gulf to ensure that this tragedy is never repeated. This raises the question: What’s wrong in the Gulf of Mexico?
We think the answer is simple. The offshore exploration, production and service industry in the Gulf of Mexico, to the best of our knowledge, is 100 percent nonunion and increasingly foreign. Past attempts to organize these workers have been met with bitter opposition–not from employees but from employers.
Unions, Shippers Demand Action to End Somali Piracy: Sign the Petition
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A coalition of international unions, shipping associations, insurers and other maritime groups are demanding “concrete action” to end the increasingly violent and brazen Somali piracy “that is putting lives at risk and threatening world trade.”
The pirates’ 2009 attack on the U.S.-crewed Maersk Alabama and last fall’s kidnapping of a British couple still being held for a $7 million ransom have grabbed headlines. But in the past two years, Somali pirates attacked hundreds of ships and kidnapped more than 1,800 seafarers crewing those vessels. Many are still being held for ransom.
The coalition has launched on online petition and is seeking half a million signatures by World Maritime Day, Sept 23. The petition asks governments to dedicate the resources necessary, including stepped up naval protection, to end the attacks and “regain control of the Indian Ocean from a handful of criminals.”
To read and sign the petition, go to www.endpiracypetition.org.
UAW Donates $500,000 to Haiti Relief as Unions Continue Strong Aid Efforts
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Despite the impact of one of the worse recessions in U.S. history, union members continue to generously support efforts to help survivors of the devastating earthquake in Haiti. You can take action now to help the Haitian survivors by clicking on the AFL-CIO Haitian Disaster Relief site here.
The UAW yesterday announced it is donating $500,000 to the William J. Clinton Foundation to help victims of the earthquake. Says UAW President Ron Gettelfinger:
The people of Haiti desperately need food, water, medical care and hope. The women and men of the UAW stand with thousands of other organizations and ordinary citizens in their desire to help the Haitian people meet their basic human needs.
Training, Quick Thinking by Union Crew Saved Boarded Ship, New Look Reveals
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For several days in April, the nation waited for the latest news from a U.S. merchant ship off the coast of Somalia, where the captain of the Maersk Alabama was being held hostage in a small lifeboat by Somali pirates.
The bare-bones news reports said pirates armed with AK-47s boarded the ship—which was carrying food relief supplies to Kenya—capturing Capt. Richard Phillips and several other crew members. The rest of the crew managed to evade the pirates and eventually capture one.
We learned Phillips brokered a deal allowing himself to be taken hostage April 8 in exchange for the pirates leaving the ship. On April 11, Navy Seal sharpshooters killed the trio of pirates holding Phillips and rescued the captain.
Now, thanks to an in-depth look at the drama’s first day—from pirate sightings to the launch of the hostage lifeboat—we get the firsthand story from the 20-man union crew.
Trio of Unionists Confirmed for Obama Administration Posts
Three former union members and leaders—with the Air Line Pilots (ALPA), Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) and Seafarers (SIU)—won U.S. Senate conformation last week for top posts in the Obama administration. All three were approved by voice vote.
Capt. Randy Babbitt, a 25-year veteran of commercial airline and a former two-term ALPA president, will steer the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
ALPA President Capt. John Prater says:
Babbitt’s experience as an airline pilot, union president, aviation consultant and member of numerous government and industry advisory committees will serve him well as he leads our industry.
Union Crew Avoids Pirate Takeover, But Ship’s Captain Held Hostage
A U.S.-flagged and crewed merchant ship carrying food relief supplies to Kenya was boarded by Somali pirates earlier today some 350 miles off the African coast. According to the latest news reports, the crew has regained control of the ship, the Maersk Alabama, and the pirates have left but they are holding the captain hostage.
Twelve members of the 20-person crew are members of the Seafarers (SIU) and the ship’s officers are members of the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association (MEBA) and Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P).
When the pirates, armed with AK-47s, boarded the 730-foot vessel, the unarmed crew locked themselves in an area of the ship that contains the ship’s steering gear, second officer Ken Quinn told CNN in a ship-to-shore phone call.
