The Memorandum of Understanding covering the four vessels has been e-mailed to all the M.E.B.A. Union halls and is available for review by members in good standing.

An agreement was firmed up this week to share the M.E.B.A. Union hall in Oakland, CA with the MM&P. The cost saving move for both unions had been in the works for several weeks and was discussed at multiple union hall meetings. The paperwork sealing the arrangement was finalized on Wednesday of this week.

MM&P’s Offshore and Pacific Maritime Region halls located on Rincon Hill in San Francisco will move into our space at 548 Thomas L. Berkeley Way, effective February 1. Though the address is changing, they are keeping e-mails, phone and fax numbers the same.

In other news, a new M.E.B.A. Representative has been appointed at the Oakland hall to better meet the needs of members in that area. Christian Yuhas is a San Francisco-based member who has been sailing with the Union since the mid-1990s following his graduation from California Maritime Academy.

The first two patients were a six-year-old boy with a blunt injury to his pelvis and a 20-year-old man with head and arm injuries with spinal cord fluid leaking out of his ear. They were moved to the ship’s intensive care unit and treated. In the ensuing hours and days in Port-au-Prince, the medical staff began its herculean task of trying to alleviate the suffering of a heartbreaking onslaught of wounded Haitians reeling from the January 12 earthquake that devastated their country. By mid-afternoon the next day, more than 160 Haitian patients were admitted with surgeries being performed almost around the clock. Patients with infected wounds, dehydration, broken bones and injuries requiring amputation are common cases but the staff is prepared for all ranges of treatment and has even delivered two newborns and are expecting more.

Days into the operation, the intensive care units and wards were beginning to fill to capacity of 1,000 beds. "We have never had that number on the ship, but we can do it," Navy Dr. (Capt.) Jim Ware, the medical group commander said.

M.E.B.A. hosted an event at Headquarters this week for Congressman Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), a strong supporter of the maritime industry. Rep. LoBiondo is the Ranking Member on the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, part of the powerful Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Maritime labor and shipping company representatives took part in the event. Piracy was a big topic of discussion as the Congressman is very involved in efforts to protect American mariners in hotspots overseas. Among other items discussed were the possibilities of a Short Sea Shipping system in this country as well as the need to exempt U.S. shippers from the Harbor Maintenance Tax. The HMT discourages the transportation of domestic cargo by water since its application has resulted in the multiple taxation of U.S. flagships. Once this impediment is removed, a short sea shipping system is much more viable.

Union members and their children are eligible to apply for the Union Plus Scholarship. The deadline is Saturday, January 30, 2010 – so get in your application. Union members and their children are eligible for $500 - $4,000 scholarships for college graduate and undergraduate programs. Since 1992, the Union Plus Scholarship Program has awarded more than $2.4 million to union members and their families. For further information visit this website: www.unionplus.org/college-education-financing/union-plus-scholarship.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced a bill last month authorizing a study to determine the feasibility of building a deep water port in the Arctic. The Arctic Deep Water Sea Port Act would direct the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, to conduct the study in an effort to protect U.S. strategic interests in the region.

The two-year study would seek to determine what strategic capabilities a deep water port could provide as well as the best location to site such a facility. It also would look at the resource and time frame needs to establish such a port, given the complex environmental constraints that the Arctic marine environment provides.

"The United States needs to be able to guard its territorial claims and its economic interests in the Arctic, especially as a decrease in seasonal ice is leading to increased marine activity in the region," Sen. Murkowski said. "With the high potential for further industrial and commercial activity in the Arctic region, the United States must ensure that it is prepared to protect human life as well as the vulnerable Arctic environment."

Members and applicants can pay dues and service charges online and set up a schedule to automatically take care of payment needs. A secure area on the M.E.B.A. website, set up through Sun Trust Bank, enables safe online transactions. The site can also be used to pay vacation dues or initiation fees as well as to make tax deductible contributions to M.E.B.A.’s Good & Welfare Fund. Built-in security features provide a private and secure online experience that assigns a confirmation number and helps you print a payment receipt for your records. The site also allows you to view your transaction history and account statements online in a secure manner. After a member pays dues online, an official dues receipt will be generated from Headquarters and sent to the member by mail once the transaction is confirmed.

You can go to the M.E.B.A. Home Page (www.mebaunion.org) and click on the "Dues" dollar sign icon on the far right about halfway down on the page. After registering, you can easily navigate the site to make single or recurring payments drawing from your checking or savings account. Remember to print out the confirmation page when you complete online dues payments. Union halls will not register or ship someone without proof of dues payment.

The Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) expressed its frustration at the "seeming impotence" of the international community to address the continuing piracy crisis in the Indian Ocean. Joseph J. Cox, President of CSA says, "Over fifty ships were pirated in 2009 around the Horn of Africa and over one thousand seafarers taken hostage.

Currently, there are over twenty ships being held with over two hundred seafarers and their families affected."

"The unacceptable situation prevailing now, with seafarers lives being threatened on a daily basis - and Somali pirates still operating with impunity - cannot be allowed to continue by the nations of the world." He continued, "There is a growing concern among the national shipowner associations that the international community is not actively seeking to eliminate piracy and is instead treating the current level of attacks against shipping as somehow ‘tolerable’."

Cox said further, "It is particularly upsetting when the main focus of some senior politicians both here and abroad is limited to commenting on their objections to the payment of ransoms or even worse suggesting that payments are or should be illegal. The protection of shipping from piracy - regardless of flag, or the nationality of the crew - is a clear and legitimate responsibility for governments under the traditional law of the sea which is codified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Traditionally, a primary role of navies has always been to protect merchant shipping and to keep sea lanes open to trade. It is extraordinary that governments today seem less able to protect shipping than they were almost 200 years ago."

Cox concluded by noting that CSA is deeply engaged with the U.S. government in reacting to piracy as it affects U.S. flag ships and ships of all nations. "We hope the U.S. government continues its leadership role among nations and we look forward to positive reactions among our U.S. agencies."

Monday, Feb. 8 – Boston; Jacksonville; Seattle;
Tuesday, Feb. 9 – Baltimore/Calhoon School@CMES, Houston, San Francisco (Oakland);
Wednesday, Feb. 10 – Charleston, New Orleans;
Thursday, Feb. 11 – L.A. (Wilmington), New York (New Jersey), Norfolk, Tampa;
Friday, Feb. 12 – Honolulu.