Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election, shaking the American political landscape, pointing to broad changes supported by new Republican Congress with majorities in the House and Senate. The U.S. Army's hesitation on support for sealift was compounded by deep deficiencies of its own maritime assets, said a government watchdog. And as the service of American veterans including merchant mariners was honored on Veteran's Day, the SUP's own election was set to begin and gets extensive reporting in the Election Supplement of this issue.
A longshore strike loomed over the East Coast as Unions pledged solidarity with the International Longshoreman’s Association. SUP sailors climbed aboard APL’s newest containership President Bush, while parent CMA-CGM posted strong results in the second quarter. Reports on maritime hacking, autonomous shipping, government logistics comes as members were urged to update mailing addresses and AFL-CIO political endorsements with West Coast focus were published in this September issue of the WCS.
Organized labor rallied behind Vice-President Kamala Harris just as the conservative playbook called Project 2025 targeted the Jones Act for repeal. On the east and gulf coasts, strike preparations by the International Longshore Association's rattled shipping, while victims and unfairly charged workers at an ammo ship explosion in Concord CA during WWII at last received honors and exoneration. The SUP tanker Allied Pacific conducted an historic underway discharge at RIMPAC, more new APL ships joined the fleet, and the RRF got a raise. That and much more in the August WCS.
Union crews on Ready Reserve ships deliver critical supplies and participated in sudden activations and strategic maneuvers around the world this month. While the Union solemnly recognized its influence on labor history at Bloody Thursday events up and down the coast, it also looked forward with the announcement of a timeline for Matson new-build ships. Coast Guard delays on med cert processing, online passport application rules and Matson wages are covered and much more in the July West Coast Sailors.
As the world remembered the importance of sealift logistics eighty years after D-Day, the SUP and other maritime unions resisted a new plan to layup prepositioned ships. A coalition of House members urged full funding of the Maritime Security Plan in action ahead of appropriations for FY 2025. The beleaguered containership Dali returned to berth in re-opened port of Baltimore and the restricted crew was helped by labor. The shadow fleet of tankers sailing under new flags-of-convenience was revealed to carry no real insurance and much much more in the June WCS.
At the annual focused lobbying effort called the "Sail In," maritime industry representatives blitzed Congress for support for the U.S. merchant marine. A bipartisan group of pro-maritime lawmakers put out a far reaching maritime strategic plan and the Union mourned recent losses on the Workers Memorial Day. The UAW won in Tennessee, TRANSCOM recognized American mariners at a meeting of the MTD, AFL-CIO, and the SUP celebrated Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians on this Maritime Day.
A foreign-flagged ship hit the Key Bridge in Baltimore, and the collapse killed workers and closed the port. At the same time, Congress passed key maritime legislation, a new great powers brinkmanship re-surfaced in Asia. A Watson wage increase, attacks by billionaires on the NLRB, and ancient maritime history were all noted along with SUP sadness at the passing of long-time member Duane Nash.
Houthi missiles hit unarmed merchant ships off Yemen and the first fatalities were reported. The action drew another swift response from the coalition naval forces, and American and international labor unions expressed outrage. Chinese-built container cranes were found with deep security flaws putting the U.S. maritime system at risk. The Coast Guard issued a new MMC document and the SUP celebrated Women's History Month and the 138th anniversary of its founding.
Spurred by the attacks on merchant shipping, a bi-partisan group of lawmakers demanded new focus on long-neglected U.S. maritime policy. Supply-chain security and U.S.-flag ship operations in contested waters and the reserve vessel capacity and workforce readiness were called out for review and support. In Congress, U.S. seagoing Unions testified that American sailors would deliver the goods come what may, as they have done since 1775.