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SUP Remembers and Honors Those That Died in Service to the Nation
Memorial Day got its start as "Decoration Day" after the Civil War, but for the U.S. Merchant Marine the idea stretches back to the birth of the nation. U.S. mariners have served the national defense since before Revolutionary War and in every major military action since then. Most famously, in 1941, when England was on the verge of being invaded by Germany, President Roosevelt convinced an isolationist U.S. Congress to pass the Lend Lease Bill to send food, oil and munitions to England to stave off an invasion. The U.S. Navy did not have cargo ships so the Maritime Commission was created to charter ships from commercial shipping companies to deliver the essential materiel in time to save England. The Lend Lease Bill was also deemed vital to the defense of our country.
After Pearl Harbor, every ship was put into action, including Matson and APL's luxury liners. But the new internationally known and hastily built Liberty ships delivered troops, planes, food, ammunition and fuel oil and became emblematic of the Merchant Marine at war. They suffered horrific casualties in the early years of WWII, as submarines targeted the Allied supply-chain in these slow moving ships.
SUP crews were attacked in the Far East, the West and East Coasts of America, in the Mediterranean and the Murmansk run, and rode at anchor off Normandy the night before D-Day. When censors lifted the informational blackout The New York Times noted it right away, reporting from London on Saturday, June 9,1944 that “D-day at the Normandy Beach head would not have been possible without the U.S. Merchant Marine. Now landed in France, it is permitted to indicate the part played by these intrepid civilians, whose deeds for the most part have gone unsung. It is not generally known that the Merchant Marine suffered the largest ratio of casualties of any branch of the services, and many of the names on the list are not classified “wounded” or “missing” in March 1941 because their graves are at the bottom of the oceans.”
SUP Honors Mariners on National Maritime Day, May 22, 2024
May 22nd is set aside by a joint act of Congress and by proclamation of the President of the United States to honor the sacrifices and contributions of U.S. merchant mariners during times of peace and war. The day was chosen in 1933 at first to commemorate the American ship Savannah’s first successful steam-powered crossing of the Atlantic. Since then it has grown to recognize much more. The roots of the U.S. Merchant Marine predate the founding of the nation, and was critical to the spirit of independence and winning of the Revolutionary War. Throughout the decades, mariners and maritime policy have been integral to the nation. In World War II, more than 250,000 members of the American Merchant Marine served their country and more than 6,700 gave their lives as 800 ships were sunk. Athought it is neither a national nor contract holiday -- yet -- it is the only day that recognizes merchant mariners as key figures advancing our national prosperity and security.
Workers Memorial Day - April 28, 2024
Each year on Workers Memorial Day, unions and working people throughout the world remember those who were hurt or killed on the job. We also remember that 50 years ago on April 28, the Occupational Safety and Health Act went into effect, promising every worker the right to a safe job—a fundamental right. No one goes to work to get hurt or killed. More than memoriam, however, on this day organized labor renews its struggle for safe workplaces, wherever they may work.
It was the labor movement that organized for safer working conditions and it was the labor movement that demanded action from the government to protect working people. Since then, unions and allies have fought hard to make that promise a reality— and although those that work on ships do so outside technical OSHA jurisdiction, the standard is still set high by the law, and our jobs are safer as a result. But there is far more to do.
Each day, more than 340 workers are lost and more than 6,000 suffer injury and illness because of dangerous working conditions that are often preventable. “The best way we can honor the people killed or injured at work is to recommit to fighting for safer workplaces,” said April Sims, President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. “If you have a union, you can join together with co-workers to demand safe and healthy conditions. If you don’t, you must rely on state and federal safety laws that, too often, aren’t enforced or have penalties that are too weak. Washington’s union movement will continue to fight to improve workplace safety laws, but if you really want a voice in making your workplace safer, form a union.”
Tragic Bridge Collapse in Baltimore
The Key Bridge in Baltimore was struck by a ship and collapsed killing workers trying to make the roadway safe. Our thoughts are with them and their families; we grieve along with Baltimore their loss. We recognize and thank the US Coast Guard, Baltimore's Police and Fire Department, and other first responders who acted fast to save lives and secure the horrible scene. The enormous risks that maritime workers undertake everyday - and work hard to mitigate - are suddenly obvious to the world. Exposed too is the vulnerability of the U.S. supply chain that relies on low-cost, lightly-regulated foreign shipping as much as shaky and aging maritime infrastructure. In the recovery and awaiting the findings of the investigation, the SUP and maritime labor will continue to insist on the highest levels of safety across the wide spectrum of global maritime operations. We will persist in our efforts to better protect workers and their communities against the risks of crippling and catastrophic failures made more likely by the profiteers of international shipping.
SUP Celebrates 139 years
The Sailors’ Union of the Pacific was organized on March 6, 1885, on Folsom Street Wharf in San Francisco. It is one of the oldest maritime unions in the world. Because of the dedication of its members, and the opportunities brought about by collective action, it has survived and flourished, through good times and bad, for nearly 14 decades. Back in the 1880's it was a bold and dangerous proposition to organize a union, since there were no laws that allowed for the collective bargaining and no protections for workers. Fifty years later, in 1935, the National Labor Relations Act would attempt to both recognize and replicate what sailors took it upon themselves to organize long before that, at a meeting of sailors speaking and listening, in the fog and rain on the old Embarcadero.
They had no rights. Under federal law they were serfs at the beck and call of the shipowner, the crimp, bucko masters and mates. Recognition, respect and improved conditions did not come easy. Men bled, and some died for it. During World War I and particularly World War II, hundreds of SUP members faced enemy attacks and went down with the ships. The SUP today remains a vital part of America’s “Fourth Arm of Defense,” solidly committed to U.S. sealift capability. Whether it is pay, conditions, or opportunities, the SUP still fights for fairness, still stands up for what's right, and continues to carve out a better life for its members and workers everywhere.
SUP Halls Closed for President's Day
All SUP hiring halls will be closed on February 19, 2024 for President's Day, a national and SUP contract holiday.
U.S. Maritime Labor Requests Red Sea Communications Upgrades
On National Maritime Day, 2021 President Biden declared that "We must protect those who protect our country..."
"Since the first days of our Republic, America has been a proud maritime Nation. To this day, the United States Merchant Marine is a pillar of our country’s prosperity, playing a vital role in the maintenance of our economic and national security. Through every period of peace and war, our merchant mariners have been dedicated to protecting our freedom and promoting commerce." Now he has made good on that promise by responding to the Union's request for greater protections in contested waters such as the Red Sea.
A broad coalition of U.S. maritime labor unions joined a January 19th letter to request greater coordination between naval forces and U.S.-flag merchant ships off Yemen and in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait of the Red Sea. Writing to TRANSCOM's General Jacqueline D. Van Ovost, they expressed thanks for the efforts already made to protect U.S. shipping and urged further cooperation. Labor noted the potentially catastrophic nature of the attacks on ships and agreed that the United States had a right to protect its sovereignty when threatened. In particular, to make it safer for American sailors to do their work, the Unions made special appeal for secure communication links between U.S. commercial vessels and the naval vessels in the region.
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