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

MEBA TELEX TIMES       JANUARY 30, 2009

The Official Union Newsletter

NUMBER 5

In this issue...
M.E.B.A. ship helps stricken fishermen...Members supporting counter-piracy efforts...Obama rolls back anti-worker statutes...Here goes nothing! Starting from scratch, we skunk the competition, shut-out the naysayers and zero in on another issue. Don't get goose-egged by 'null & void' newsletters that'll never amount to anything - they don't know diddly-squat! We cancel out those empty-handed non-entities and send them to oblivion as we zip along and fill in the maritime blanks. It's love! The Telex Times is second to none!

M.E.B.A. CREWED T-AKE RESCUES FAMISHED FISHERMEN
Three people aboard a small fishing boat waving clothing frantically caught the eye of mariners aboard the M.E.B.A.-crewed Military Sealift Command vessel USNS RICHARD E. BYRD on January 19th in the Indian Ocean. The BYRD launched a rigid-hulled inflatable boat with a boat engineer, food, water and fuel. The engineer discovered that the shaft of the fishing boat had become disconnected and impossible to fix while at sea. The Indonesian fishermen were ravenously hungry and they immediately wolfed down the food that was brought over. After checking with the BYRD's Carrier Task Force, the fishermen were brought aboard the MSC T-AKE and the boat was hauled aboard the flight deck. The Indonesians were brought to the ship's medical department and were found suffering from mild dehydration and malnutrition. They were able to shower, were well fed and given fresh clothing and a bed. The Indonesian consulate was contacted and the BYRD continued to its next port of call.

M.E.B.A. SHIPS ARE PART OF COUNTER PIRACY TASK FORCE
M.E.B.A.-crewed Military Sealift Command vessels are playing a part in counter piracy operations as they support a slew of Navy ships involved in a task force designed to break the onslaught of waterborne marauders in piracy hotspots around the world.

They are supporting Combined Task Force (CTF) 151, a multinational force conducting counterpiracy operations to detect and deter piracy in and around the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Red Sea. It was established to create a lawful maritime order and develop security in the maritime environment.

The USNS LEWIS & CLARK, USNS TIPPECANOE and other M.E.B.A./MSC vessels are busy providing support to the guided-missile destroyer USS MAHAN and the amphibious transport dock vessel USS SAN ANTONIO, the flagship for the multinational task force. Naval ships and assets from more than 20 nations have been invited to join CTF 151. Working with coalition navies on matters threatening maritime security and stability is at the heart of the U.S. sea services' maritime strategy, known as "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Sea Power." Cmdr. Steve Murphy, commanding officer of MAHAN said that, "Piracy is a pernicious problem that has been going on in this region for quite some time. We understand that our efforts alone cannot guarantee safety in the region. It is a broad international effort and includes promising actions taken by the commercial shipping industry to protect themselves and ongoing efforts to establish stability ashore.As part of CTF 151, [our] mission is to safeguard the free flow of commerce by deterring and disrupting piracy."

OBAMA ORDERS ROLL-BACK OF ANTI-WORKER STATUTES
This week President Barack Obama reversed three anti-worker executive orders and created a Cabinet-level task force to rebuild the nation's middle class. Pres. Obama signed three executive orders that reverse a series of orders by then-President George W. Bush which govern the way federal contractors deal with unionized workers.

The three new executive orders require federal service contractors to offer jobs to current workers when contracts change; Reverse a Bush order requiring federal contractors to post notice that workers can limit financial support of unions serving as their exclusive bargaining representatives; and Prevent federal contractors from being reimbursed for expenses meant to influence workers deciding whether to form a union and engage in collective bargaining.

Before signing the orders, Obama said, "We cannot have a strong middle class without strong labor unions. We need to level the playing field for workers and the unions that represent their interests."

Pres. Obama also announced the creation of the White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families to develop and coordinate policies to rebuild the nation's middle class and lift the poor out of poverty. Vice President Joe Biden will chair the task force.

AMHS FERRY BREAKS FREE FROM MOORINGS, GROUNDED
The Alaska Marine Highway System ferry LITUYA, a 180-foot motor vessel home ported in Metlakatla, Alaska, broke loose from its moorings at the ferry pier in Metlakatla and ran aground one mile north on Scrub Island, Alaska, in Port Chester at 1 a.m. Friday. Coast Guard Cutter Anthony Petit, a 175-foot buoy tender home ported in Ketchikan, Alaska, got underway and arrived on scene at sunrise. No one was on board the LITUYA at the time of the incident. This morning there were winds from the southeast at 26 mph with gusts up to 80 mph, overcast with heavy rain and seas of six to eight feet.

NRC WANTS COMMENT ON SAVANNAH PSDAR
On December 11, 2008, the Maritime Administration (MarAd) submitted its Post Shutdown Decommissioning Activities Report (PSDAR) for the Nuclear ship SAVANNAH, a vessel formerly crewed by M.E.B.A. members. The PSDAR provides an overview of MarAd's proposed decommissioning activities, schedule, and costs for the N/S SAVANNAH. The N/S SAVANNAH was brought to power in 1961 and removed from service in 1970. Final reactor shutdown occurred in November 1970 and defueling was completed in fall 1971. The ship is currently located at the Canton Marine Terminal in Baltimore, Maryland. M.E.B.A. member Steve Jablonski, through Keystone and MarAd, is working aboard the SAVANNAH assisting in the vessel's restoration. Comments should be sent to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by February 13, 2009.

Written comments can be mailed to: John T. Buckley, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mail Stop T8F5, Washington, DC 20555-0001. Written comments can be hand delivered to: 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Federal workdays. The PSDAR may be viewed electronically on the public computers located at the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), Room O1 F21, One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland. The PDR reproduction contractor will copy the PSDAR for a fee. The PSDAR is also available electronically at the NRC's Electronic Reading Room at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. From this site, the public can gain entry into ADAMS, which provides text and image files of the PSDAR through Accession No. ML083500100.

For further information contact John T. Buckley, Division of Waste Management and Environmental Protection, Office of Federal and State Materials and Environmental Management Programs, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555-0001, Telephone: 301-415-6607 or Toll Free: 800-368-5642, x- 6607, or e-mail john.buckley@nrc.gov.

LEDBETTER FAIR PAY ACT SIGNED INTO LAW
President Obama's first bill signed into law in his new administration strengthens laws to ensure equal pay for equal work. The President says that the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act will make it easier for people to get the pay they deserve -- regardless of their gender, race, or age.

He said, "In signing this bill today, I intend to send a clear message: That making our economy work means making sure it works for everyone. That there are no second class citizens in our workplaces, and that it's not just unfair and illegal-but bad for business-to pay someone less because of their gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion or disability."

After working nearly 20 years at a Goodyear tire plant, Ledbetter discovered she had been paid significantly less than men doing the same job. A federal jury ruled in her favor but Goodyear appealed, and in 2007 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Ledbetter-and other workers-had no right to sue for a remedy in cases of pay discrimination after more than 180 days after the first paycheck, even if she didn't discover the pay discrimination until years later.

NOAA SAYS ARCTIC REGION UNPREPARED FOR MARITIME ACCIDENTS
The existing infrastructure for responding to maritime accidents in the Arctic is limited and more needs to be done to enhance emergency response capacity as Arctic sea ice declines and ship traffic in the region increases, according to new report released today by the University of New Hampshire and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The panel, which included representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Arctic Research Commission, assessed the potential threat of maritime accidents in the Arctic and the ability of nations in the region to respond effectively to vessels in distress, oil spills and other situations. "The reduction of polar sea ice and the increasing worldwide demand for energy will likely result in a dramatic increase in the number of vessels that travel Arctic waters," said Nancy Kinner, UNH co-director of the CRRC and a professor of civil and environmental engineering. "As vessel traffic increases, disaster scenarios are going to become more of a reality."

The report's key recommendations include: Strengthening multinational plans and agreements for all types of responses; Improving logistical support capabilities for disaster responders; Updating weather data and navigational charts for the Arctic; Studying the behavior of oil in cold water and improving technologies for spill response in Arctic conditions; Designating potential ports in the Arctic where damaged vessels can be taken to safeguard them against the Arctic's harsh environmental conditions and reduce the risk of harm to the environment.

The report's findings and recommendations are based on the panel's examination of five potential emergency response scenarios: a grounded cruise ship whose 2,000 passengers and crew must abandon the vessel; an ice-trapped and damaged ore carrier; an explosion on a fixed drilling rig north of Alaska; a collision between a tanker and fishing vessel that results in a large oil spill; and the grounding of a tug towing a supplies barge in an environmentally sensitive area near the Bering Strait.

UNION MEMBERSHIP UP
Union membership in the U.S. increased by 428,000 to 16.1 million in 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The percentage of the workforce that has a union also increased from 12.1 percent to 12.4 percent last year, continuing a second year of growth.

"Today's numbers confirm what many working people already know -- that if given the chance, American workers are choosing to join unions in larger numbers," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. "Workers in unions are much more likely to have health care benefits and a pension than those without a union; in today's economy, that's the difference between sinking and swimming."

The advantages of having a union on the job were clear in 2008. Last year, median weekly pay for union members was $886 compared to $691 for those who were not represented by unions. The growth in union membership comes at a time when workers say they want and need unions. Seventy-eight percent of the public supports legislation that will make it easier for workers to bargain with their employers and 60 million workers would join a union today if they had the opportunity, according to research by Peter D. Hart Research Associates.

Much of the growth in union membership came through growth in unionized industries, especially in the public sector. A factor that may have led to the growth in union membership, despite the economic downturn, is the increased job security afforded by a union contract. Similarly, research shows that unionized companies are not more adversely impacted than non-union companies in economic downturns.

AFL-CIO SAYS NEW NLRB CHAIR IS A WELCOME CHANGE
The union movement is praising President Obama's nomination of Wilma Liebman as the next chairwoman of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). A Democrat, she had been an NLRB member over the past eight years, in a Board that boasted a Republican majority. Critics say that in recent years, the board has made it harder to form unions through majority sign-up, limited the ability of illegally fired workers to recover back pay and allowed employers to discriminate against union supporters in the hiring process.

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said, "America's working men and women will finally have the fair and committed leader they deserve with Wilma Liebman as chair of the National Labor Relations Board. What a refreshing change it will be to have a labor board that aims to safeguard rather than blockade workers' rights. Liebman will work to help the NLRB serve one of its key missions-to undergird all workers' right to collective bargaining as a cornerstone of our economy and democracy."

Liebman was first appointed to the NLRB by President Clinton in 1997. Her current term expires in 2011. She began her legal career as an NLRB staff attorney in 1974 then served on the legal staff of two unions: the Bricklayers and the Teamsters.

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

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