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

MEBA TELEX TIMES       MARCH 06, 2009

The Official Union Newsletter

NUMBER 10

In this issue...
Full funding for MSP...New ship...Change at CMES...Hall closings...In the market for news, we shop around and check out the red tag industry inventory while supplies last. Demand a refund from overpriced, rip-off newsletters that sell you a bill of goods - let the buyer beware! We drive a hard bargain and lift consumer confidence with a maritime blue light special in store for you. The real deal, the Telex Times is one cool customer!

FULL FUNDING FOR MSP INCLUDED IN FY 2009 OMNIBUS
Last week, the House passed a $410 billion fiscal 2009 omnibus spending package, which includes full funding of the Maritime Security Program. The final tally on the bill, comprised of nine appropriations bills left over from last year, was 245-178. While Congress faces a tight timeframe for getting the omnibus to the President's desk, the agencies covered by the measure are currently being funded mostly at last year's levels, through March 6.

Full funding of the Maritime Security Program is vital to the economic and military security of our nation. The MSP and its related Emergency Preparedness Program not only ensure that the Department of Defense will have the commercial sealift capability it needs but also that our country will continue to have the American citizen merchant mariners necessary to crew the government and private vessels that must sail into harm's way to supply our troops overseas. The Emergency Preparedness Program also incorporates the worldwide intermodal transportation and management networks of the U.S. carriers into the Department of Defense sealift program.

The omnibus would provide $410 billion in discretionary spending, nearly $31 billion or 8 percent more than the total funding in the fiscal 2008 versions of the nine bills in the package. The spending figure is $19 billion more than President Bush requested for the fiscal 2009 bills. The nine bills that make up the package fund the major domestic agencies, as well as the State Department and foreign aid programs. Bush threatened to veto the bills last year because of their spending levels, so Democrats chose to wait for a new president before completing work on them. With the fiscal year starting on October 1, the bills are almost five months late.

U.S./CANADA BEGINS DAYLIGHTS SAVING TIME ON SUNDAY
Many clocks will turn one hour ahead when daylight saving time arrives in most parts of the U.S. and Canada on Sunday, March 8, 2009. This is the earliest starting date for the current daylight saving schedule, which begins on the second Sunday of March and lasts until the first Sunday of November.

Those affected will turn their clocks forward one hour on Sunday, March 8, 2009. Clocks will move forward from 2 am to 3 am at local time in many parts of North America when the daylight saving schedule starts. Daylight saving time allows for more light during the evening hours and less in the morning.

NASSCO DELIVERS USNS CARL BRASHEAR
San Diego's NASSCO Shipyard delivered the USNS CARL BRASHEAR (T-AKE 7) this week to the U.S. Navy. The ship is named in honor of the first African-American to qualify and serve as a Master Diver. Brashear's life story was portrayed in the 2000 movie Men of Honor. The vessel has been crewed up with M.E.B.A. engineers and turned over to the Military Sealift Command for operation. 

Construction of the ship began in May 2007. NASSCO has incorporated international marine technologies and commercial ship-design features into T-AKE-class ships, including an integrated electric-drive propulsion system, to minimize operating costs during their projected 40-year service life. With a cargo capacity of more than 10,000 tons, the primary mission of T-AKE ships is to deliver food, ammunition, fuel and other provisions from shore stations to combat ships at sea.

Including the BRASHEAR, NASSCO has delivered the first seven ships of the T-AKE class and has construction contracts for five additional ships. The Navy has also awarded contracts to NASSCO for the long-lead material for two more ships for a total class of 14 T-AKE vessels. The USNS WALLY SCHIRRA (T-AKE 8) is set for its christening this weekend at the Shipyard.

LOU MARCIELLO STEPS DOWN AT CMES
On Friday February 21, 2009, Lou Marciello resigned as Director of the Calhoon M.E.B.A. Engineering School. Academic Manager Chuck Eser has stepped in as Acting Director in the interim.

M.E.B.A. would like to extend its collective thanks to Lou for his dedication and hard work he put into the School these past years and want to wish him well on his future endeavors.

HALL CLOSINGS
In a cost cutting move, the District Executive Committee (DEC) unanimously decided that in order to further reduce costs, the Fort Lauderdale office and Portland hall will be closed down. The DEC intends to close them by April 30, 2009 due to the need for 30 days notice on the respective leases.

All permanent billeted members clearing out of these two halls will, in the future, clear by contacting the Oakland or New Jersey Union hall. Permanent billeted members who normally clear through the Portland hall will contact Oakland for their clearances while permanent billeted members who normally clear out of the Fort Lauderdale hall will contact the New Jersey hall.

The DEC regrets that this decision will inconvenience some members but the overall financial health of the Union is the DEC's priority.

YOUR COMMENTS ON RENEWAL PROBLEMS NEEDED FOR COAST GUARD MEETING!!!
As explained last week, the M.E.B.A. continues to receive reports from our members who have experienced a variety of problems in renewing their Coast Guard License/Merchant Mariner Documents.

We are seeking a resolution to these chronic difficulties mariners have encountered with the Coast Guard's National Maritime Center which handles mariner licensing and documentation. M.E.B.A. is meeting with the Coast Guard about this problem next week and would like to share your feedback with them. We'd appreciate hearing from you if you have experienced unacceptable mistakes or delays with the Coast Guard's NMC or other problems that exacerbate the renewal process.

The Coast Guard has admitted that the NMC has "faced a challenge" processing credentials and recently announced that it was instituting a series of actions to remedy the problems. M.E.B.A.'s request that members send us details of negative renewal experiences with the NMC should help us assist Coast Guard in implementing these necessary changes.

Please drop us an e-mail, fax or letter explaining your experience with NMC document renewal - making sure to detail specifics. Include your name and contact information, and referencing "License Renewal Problems," either e-mail it to mebahq@d1meba.org.  fax it to (202) 638-5369 or mail it to Headquarters at 444 North Capitol Street, N.W., Suite 800, Washington D.C. 20001.

M.E.B.A. MSC SHIP WINS ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD
The Chief of Naval Operations has announced that the Military Sealift Command fast combat support ship USNS BRIDGE, crewed with M.E.B.A. engineers, has won a prestigious CNO Environmental Quality Small Ship Award. BRIDGE is one of MSC's four fast combat support ships that replenish Navy ships at sea with fuel, ammunition, food and other cargo.

The 754-foot ship, which currently operates out of San Diego, was cited for the crew's work in preventing pollution, ensuring readiness in responding to environmental issues, conserving resources and complying with environmental regulations. While the ship voluntarily met standards stricter than required by the Navy, each mariner received special training in environmental management, used environmentally friendly chemicals and conducted monthly spill drills. In two years, BRIDGE, under the command of civil service master Capt. Jeffrey Siepert, transferred 182.7 million gallons of fuel without a significant mishap.

Chief Engineer Brian Muir worked to optimize boiler operations to reduce the fuel consumption by 1,000 gallons per day. Muir's initiative resulted in a reduction of carbon emissions from boiler operations by more than 4,000 tons per year, equivalent to taking more than 565 cars off the road each year. In addition, Chief Officer Thomas Giudice and other key members of the shipboard management team were responsible for management of the BRIDGE's successful solid waste disposal and recycling programs.

BIDEN SAYS EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT IS KEY TO REBUILDING MIDDLE CLASS
Vice President Joe Biden met with the AFL-CIO Executive Council this week in Miami, where he reiterated the administration's support for the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) saying, "If a union is what you want, a union you're entitled to have."

Biden told the Council that returning our economy to health means restoring the basic right to join a union and bargain collectively. And the way to do that is by passing the EFCA. He quoted President Obama saying: '"I don't buy the argument that providing workers with collective bargaining rights somehow weakens the economy or worsens the business environment."

Biden, who heads the White House Task Force on the Middle Class, told the council the Obama administration is dedicated to rebuilding the nation's middle class. "You can't have a strong middle class without a strong labor movement. We will judge the success or failure of our administration at the end of our four years, based on whether or not the standard of living of the middle class has increased or not. That's the bottom-line measure. And guess what. Neither one of us believes it can get better without you getting stronger."

REP. JANE HARMAN NAMED "PORT PERSON OF THE YEAR'
U.S. Congresswoman Jane Harman (D-CA) will be honored as the American Association of Port Authorities' (AAPA) "Port Person of the Year" at the port association's annual Washington People's Luncheon on March 24. AAPA - a trade association comprising the leading port authorities in the Western Hemisphere - selected Rep. Harman to receive its most prestigious annual award based on her role in authoring the SAFE Port Act of 2006 and for advancing other significant legislation to ensure the safety and security of America's seaports and the commerce flowing through them.

"Congresswoman Harman is recognized as an authoritative voice on counterterrorism, homeland security and intelligence matters and is a true ally to America's ports," said Kurt Nagle, AAPA's president and CEO. "Thanks in large measure to her successful efforts to advocate funding for port security at levels authorized in the SAFE Port Act, seaport security has become a higher federal priority. Secure ports are both critical to homeland security and play a vital role in revitalizing our economy and delivering long term prosperity."

REGULAR MONTHLY MEETINGS
Monday, April 6 - Boston, Jacksonville, Seattle;
Tuesday, April 7 - Baltimore, Houston, San Francisco;
Wednesday, April 8 - Charleston, New Orleans, Portland;
Thursday, April 9 - Honolulu; L.A., New York, Norfolk, Tampa

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