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

MEBA TELEX TIMES                          APRIL 07, 2006

The Official Union Newsletter

NUMBER 14

In this issue...
ABS deal to hire MEBA officers...CG bill negotiations wrapped up...Jamian leaving MarAd, Nelson to take over...FRC elected...Central Gulf/Waterman contracts ratified...School news...Fit to be tied? Don't reach the end of your tether with knotheaded, threadbare newsletters that spin yarns. We pick up the slack and lasso the latest MEBA cables intertwined with maritime news off the wire. Bound and determined, we show you the ropes and lash down an issue with no strings attached. The Telex Times throws you a line!

MEBA-ARMADA COMPANIES FORM PACT TO SUPPLY MARINE ENGINEER SURVEYORS TO ABS
MEBA President Ron Davis is pleased to announce that after months of discussions between MEBA and ARMADA Companies, the American Bureau of Shipping has entered into a contract with ARMADA Companies to hire MEBA engineers as Marine Surveyors. Requirements for obtaining surveyor positions include a BS in Marine Engineering with 4-5 years sailing experience on your license.
 
The primary function of a Field Surveyor is to examine and report on vessels and other marine structures during and after construction relative to compliance with the applicable requirements for maintaining the vessel or oil rig in classification with ABS and meeting associated statutory and special service requirements related to and including Safety of Life at Sea, Loadline, Tonnage, Cargo Gear etc. Overseas assignments would be available to members after being trained in the USA.   

Various U.S. positions are currently available. The jobs are salaried positions and would include contributions to the MEBA Plans for all benefits.  There is also additional compensation for work performed before 0800 and after 1700 and for work performed on weekends.  Moreover, there will be automobiles and laptops provided to those MEBA members hired as surveyors.  Some of these particular details are still being fine tuned between MEBA and ARMADA.  The ABS is looking for ARMADA to fill the positions with career minded individuals looking to come ashore seeking long term employment.   

MEBA members must understand that they will be employees of ARMADA Companies on a third party contract basis but will be performing services directly for the American Bureau of Shipping.  Members shall not contact ABS directly for employment but must instead secure positions through ARMADA and MEBA. 

ARMADA has immediate openings for surveyor positions in Southern California; Mobile, Alabama; Morgan City, Louisiana; Seattle, Washington; and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Those interested in becoming a surveyor please send a resume and contact:
James Freeman, ARMADA Companies, LLC, 765 Baywood Drive, Suite 235, Petaluma, CA 94954;
Tel:  707-762-7455; Fax: 707-762-7456; james.freeman@armadacompanies.com

HOUSE AND SENATE WRAP UP CONFERENCE ON COAST GUARD AUTHORIZATION BILL
After nearly six months of negotiations, House and Senate conferees completed work on HR 889, the Coast Guard Authorization bill. The legislation authorizes $8.7 billion for Coast Guard operations for fiscal year 2006. It includes a significant number of important items that affect MEBA, including provisions on LNG, the background check process for the future transportation worker identification process, riding gangs, and measures to aid mariners affected by Hurricane Katrina.

The legislation includes a number of MEBA sponsored provisions on Liquefied Natural Gas. It first requires the Secretary of Transportation to develop and implement a program to promote the transportation of LNG to the United States on U.S.-flag vessels, with U.S. officers. It also amends the deepwater port act to give top priority to all applications for deepwater LNG import terminals that intend to be supplied with LNG by U.S.-flag vessels with U.S. officers. Right now there are over 50 applications for LNG import terminals pending with the Coast Guard and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. These applications take anywhere from six months to a year to process. By providing top priority to terminal applications that would use U.S.-flag ships and officers, it provides a competitive advantage to those terminals by speeding up the application process. Finally, it also requires that all applications for deepwater LNG import terminals specify the flag of the vessels and the nationality of the officers and crew that will be used to import the gas into the United States. Today, in the wake of the Dubai Ports deal, public support for a strong U.S. presence in the maritime industry is at its highest level ever. Requiring the public disclosure of the nationality of the crew and registry information of the ships using the LNG terminal as part of the permitting process allows for increased public discussion about the need for a strong American presence in the LNG shipping business.

These provisions represent the first time that Congress has addressed the national security implications of the loss of the U.S. LNG fleet, and it also represents a necessary first step in the rebuilding of that fleet.

The bill also includes a provision that was backed by maritime labor in regards to the implementation of the Transportation Worker Identity Card (TWIC). Under the current law, if a worker is denied a TWIC because of an issue found during their background check, they may appeal to the Transportation Security Agency for a waiver. If that waiver is denied, there is no review process defined to provide relief for the worker. Under the provision included in the Coast Guard bill, those workers would be allowed to appeal the waiver denial to an administrative law judge.

The bill does not include the original language found in Section 425 of the House version of HR 889 on riding gangs, which would have effectively allowed an unlimited number of foreign seafarers on U.S.-Flag vessels; for an unlimited amount of time; to perform virtually any type of repair; and allow foreigners to perform repairs that are within the jurisdiction of traditional U.S. Coast Guard licensed officers and crew. Thanks to the grassroots efforts of MEBA President Ron Davis, his leadership team of officials and staff, and the MEBA membership as well as the efforts of a number of other organizations, the conferees discarded the original language and created an entirely new section that will be analyzed separately below. The conferees received over a thousand letters from MEBA members alone. Thanks to the efforts of all of those involved, the offending provision in the original bill was stripped from the bill.

Overall, the amendment represents the culmination of months of hard work by the House and Senate conferees and their staffs, along with the MEBA, the Sailors' Union of the Pacific, the Seafarers' International Union, the Council of American Master Mariners, the Gulf Coast Mariners Association, the Inland Boatman's Union, the International Longshoremen's Association, the International Longshore & Warehouse Union, the International Organization of Masters, Mates and Pilots, the Marine Fireman's Union, the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, and others in maritime labor as well as various companies and others within the industry.

Finally, the bill includes language that would extend merchant mariner documents and certificates of inspection for mariners and vessels adversely affected by Hurricane Katrina. This language was included in the Senate version of the bill, which was approved after Hurricane Katrina.

MEBA President Ron Davis has expressed his thanks for the thousands of man hours that have been spent working on the bill, with particular thanks to Chairman Don Young and Ranking Member Jim Oberstar of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Congressman Frank LoBiondo and Ranking Member Bob Filner of the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation subcommittee, Senators Ted Stevens and Daniel Inouye, Co-Chairmen of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Senator Trent Lott, Chairman of the Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine subcommittee, as well as all of their staff and the rest of the members of the conference committee in both houses.

There are a number of steps that remain before HR 889 becomes law. Bills that are reported out of a House-Senate conference are called conference reports. In order for the report to become law, it must pass by a majority vote in both the House and Senate, and then signed into law by the President. Conference reports cannot be amended. The House and Senate will have three choices when the bill reaches the floor in their respective bodies - they may pass the bill, they may not pass the bill, or they may move to recommit the bill to the conference committee for further work. Each of these requires a majority vote. In the Senate, like any other bill, the conference report could be subject to a filibuster. However, it is unlikely that the bill will be filibustered or that motions to recommit will be passed in either body.

The House and Senate are expected to take up the legislation when they return from Easter Recess the week of April 24th.

ANALYSIS OF THE RIDING GANG PROVISIONS IN THE CONFERENCE REPORT OF HR 889
As noted above, thanks to the grassroots efforts of MEBA, SUP and a variety of other organizations, the original section 425 language included in HR 889 was stripped from the bill, and a new section on riding gangs was developed.

This new section includes a variety of worker protections and limitations on the practice of using riding gangs, and more closely resembles the current practice of some companies in the employment of foreign citizen riding gangs on their U.S.-flag vessels. It does not provide the companies with the same unlimited, unregulated usage of riding gangs that would have been the case had the original language prevailed.

For the first time, the term "riding gang" is defined in the U.S. Code. For the purposes of the law, a "riding gang member" is defined as a non-U.S. citizen or permanent alien who is used to perform certain limited repair functions on the vessels. "Riding gang member" is also defined as someone who is not a member of the crew, does not hold a U.S. merchant mariner document or USCG license, does not perform watchstanding, automated engine room duty watch or personnel safety functions, does not perform longshore work, is not a member of the stewards department and does not hail from a country that the U.S. has named a sponsor of terrorism.

No vessel may have more than 12 riding gang members onboard at any one time, and if there are other individuals in addition to the crew - such as training cadets or other non-crew members - those individuals count against the 12 total.  In addition, no company may use a riding gang member on any one vessel for more than 60 days in a calendar year.

All riding gang members are required to obtain a nonimmigrant visa for individuals desiring to enter the United States on business, and they must undergo a background check from all reasonably available information. The company is required to certify that they completed this background check, and the certificate has to be kept on board the vessel.

The company is also required to ensure that the riding crew members are subject to the same random chemical testing as the crew, that they receive safety familiarization and training that satisfies the requirements listed under STCW. The companies are also required to ensure that the riding crew members are employed under conditions that meet or exceed all ILO conventions, and they are given the same seamen protection and relief as U.S. mariners.

While onboard the vessel, the riding gang members must be supervised by Coast Guard licensed officers and work in conjunction with the unlicensed crew members.

In terms of what work the riding gang members are allowed to perform on board the vessels, the language limits their work to include preparing the ship for entering a foreign shipyard, completion of residual repairs after the vessel has left a foreign shipyard, and technical in voyage repairs in excess of what the crew can complete on their own. Unlike the Section 425 language, there is no "blank check" that would allow riding gang members to perform work that should normally be completed by the crew as part of their traditional work.  

The language specifically exempts those riding gang members who are performing work that is customarily performed by original equipment manufacturer's technical representatives, work on equipment that is subject to a warranty, or repair work that is required by a contractual guarantee or subject to warranty from the foreign shipyard.

The new language also requires that any company that wishes to use foreign riding gangs onboard their vessels must certify that they have attempted to find U.S.-citizens to perform the work, and that there are no U.S. citizens available to perform the work.

Overall, this new language represents a codification of the past practice in regards to the use of riding gangs on U.S.-Flag vessels. It defines them narrowly, ensures they don't represent a threat to the crew, the vessel or national security, limits their number, limits the amount of time they may remain on the vessel, limits the work they can do, ensures that they are treated equitably and have the same protections as the rest of the crew, requires the companies to certify that there were no U.S.-citizens available to do the work, and penalizes those who violate the rules.

JAMIAN TO STEP DOWN, NELSON TO HEAD UP MARAD
Sources indicate that Acting Maritime Administrator John Jamian will be stepping down on May 1st in a move that clears the way for the first female agency head. The chain of command structure dictates that the chief counsel is third in line for the top spot which has been vacant since Capt. William Schubert left in February 2005. Julie Nelson serves as MarAd's Chief Counsel and would reportedly take over as Acting Administrator until a permanent successor is confirmed.

Jamian, the Deputy Administrator, has led the agency since Schubert's departure and has guided MarAd through an event filled year that included the response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the award of the Ready Reserve Force fleet contracts. Dubai Ports World official David Sanborn had been slated to helm the agency but withdrew his candidacy for the post following the national uproar generated by his company's purchase of Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co.

In a related note, Sanborn has returned to work at DP World and will head up the company's new Americas regional office. His new position is a result of the company's consolidation of its terminal management operations. Sanborn is set to discuss the rise and fall of his MarAd candidacy in a speaking engagement before the Propeller Club's Port of New York chapter on April 26th.

FRC COMMITTEE ELECTED
Members have elected a rank and file group to comprise the Financial Review Committee to perform the annual assessment of Union finances later this month. The six FRC members will meet at MEBA Headquarters from Monday, April 24 through Wednesday, April 26 to carry out their work. At the regular April membership meetings, one member each was chosen at halls in Baltimore, Houston, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle. Once assembled in Washington D.C. the Committee will consist of five members and one alternate who is randomly selected. Members elected for the task include Dominic Walsh (Baltimore), Robert Fauvell (Houston), Charles Feist (New Orleans), Joseph McElhinney (New York), Gerald Bellows (San Francisco) and Larry Brown (Seattle).

MEMBERS RATIFY CENTRAL GULF/WATERMAN CONTRACTS
Members at the regular April meetings across the country approved four contracts with Central Gulf and Waterman, all negotiated by Gulf Coast V.P. John McCurdy. The successful ratification votes clear the way for the four ten-year contracts to go into effect. The agreements cover five pure car/truck carriers (PCTCs), two containerships and a LASH vessel. Each of the eight vessels is enrolled in the Maritime Security Program.

Two contracts with identical provisions govern the Central Gulf PCTCs (GREEN COVE, GREEN LAKE, GREEN POINT and GREEN RIDGE) and the Waterman PCTC (GREEN DALE).

A third contract covers the Waterman Steamship LASH vessel ATLANTIC FOREST. The final contract governs the operation of the Waterman containerships P&O NEDLLOYD BUENOS AIRES and P&O NEDLLOYD VERA CRUZ. Those ships are reportedly due to be renamed the MAERSK TEXAS and MAERSK ARGONAUT respectively.

SCHOOL HOSTING MAN B&W SEMINAR
The Calhoon MEBA Engineering School will be hosting a MAN B&W seminar on 2-stroke engines during the week of April 24-28. Openings are still
available. If you are interested in attending this one-week seminar please contact Registrar Shirley Shelton at (410) 822-9600.
 
MERCHANT MARINE MEMORIAL RAFFLE
The MEBA Merchant Marine Memorial Foundation is holding a raffle to enable continued upgrades to the beautiful new memorial at the School. 1st prize will be a weekend at the Manor House for ten people, 2nd prize is $500, and 3rd prize is $250. Tickets cost $5 each or five for $20. The drawing will be held on July 1st during the CAA Reunion. Please see your local Union Hall or the School for additional information.
 
CLASSES GRADUATED
The MEBA School graduated another sixty-two people today. Classes included Electricity, Marine Electric Propulsion & High Voltage Safety, Medical Care PIC, Refrigeration, Small Arms, and Vessel Security Officer, Crowd Control, & Crisis Management. Pictures of the graduating classes will be posted on the CMES web site.
 
MARAD LAUNCHES SHORT SEA SHIPPING SITE
The Maritime Administration has launched a new website dedicated to Short Sea Shipping. MarAd has been a champion of this initiative which seeks to ease congestion on the nation's highways by setting up an intra-coastal waterborne system for goods going to market. The site can be accessed at www.marad.dot.gov/sss.

The next major Short Sea Shipping function takes place in Vancouver, British Columbia from April 18-20. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta along with his counterparts from Canada and Mexico will attend the conference. The U.S., Mexico and Canada signed a Short Sea Shipping Cooperation Memorandum in 2003.

CG, FBI BICKERING COULD JEOPARDIZE GOVERNMENT'S AT-SEA TERRORISM RESPONSE, DOJ INSPECTOR STATES
The Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has issued a report alleging that bickering between the U.S. Coast Guard and the FBI could threaten the effectiveness of the Government's response to a possible act of terrorism at sea.

In an over 100-page report, the OIG pointed to significant confusion and conflict regarding jurisdictional boundaries between the agencies that could impede efforts to enhance maritime security. The report notes that an anti-terrorism drill in 2005 off the coast of Connecticut degenerated into Coast Guard and FBI squabbling over agency authority marring the exercise. The report said that, "in our judgment, unless such differences over roles and authorities are resolved, the response to a maritime incident could be confused and potentially disastrous."  The audit laid out a series of recommendations to both agencies in order to even out potential role and incident command conflicts.

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS BILL BOOSTS SEAPORT FUNDING
Port groups issued praise this week for the U.S. Senate Appropriations committee which approved a bill slotting additional funds for seaport security. The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), an organization representing most of the deep draft public ports throughout the Western Hemisphere, lauded the passage of the Fiscal Year 2006 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill. As part of the legislation, the committee approved an amendment, offered by Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), which would provide an additional $648 million in resources for radiation portal monitors, container inspections, port  inspections and port facility security grants.

In total, the Senate Appropriations' supplemental bill allocates $106.5 billion in emergency funding, including $72 billion for the global war on terror and $27 billion for hurricane recovery efforts. Within the $648 million port security amendment to the bill, $227 million of additional funds are allocated to the federal Port Security Grant program, $211 million for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to purchase 60 more cargo container inspection systems, $23 million for CBP to hire 50 additional port inspectors, $23 million for the U.S. Coast Guard to triple the number of port security plan specialists, $32 million for CBP to hire 85 cargo container security specialists, and $132 million to place more than 300 additional radiation portal monitors in U.S. seaports to check cargo containers for radioactive materials. In addition to the port funds, the supplemental also included $300 million for the PL-480 Title II Food for Peace program.

CUSTOMS SCOOPS UP 22 CHINESE SMUGGLED INTO SEATTLE PORT
22 Chinese nationals were arrested in Seattle this week after being smuggled into the Port in a sealed container. A handful of Chinese were seen wandering in a restricted port area at 1 in the morning early Wednesday. Port personnel contacted Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs agents who responded soon after.

Apparently the 18 men and 4 women spent 15 days in a 40-foot container aboard the Liberian-flagged MV ROTTERDAM from Shanghai. All were in good health. After agents complete the initial interviews, the Chinese nationals will be transported to detention facilities in the Seattle area where they will be held pending review of their cases.

NEXT REGULAR MONTHLY MEETING
Monday, May 8 - Boston, Seattle;
Tuesday, May 9 - Baltimore, Houston, Jacksonville, San Francisco;
Wednesday, May 10 - Calhoon School, Charleston, New Orleans, Portland;
Thursday, May 11 - Los Angeles, New York, Norfolk, Tampa;
Friday, May 12 - Honolulu.

CAA Reunion is June 30th-July 2, 2006. Plan accordingly and support the CAA!

--------FINISHED WITH ENGINES---------