West Coast Sailors

The triennial SUP election to elect officers and decide a constitutional question began on December 1st. Urging all members to vote, this edition also points the way on balloting procedure and timeline. Maritime labor took a firm stand against sub-standard ships in U.S. ports and noted a strong initial funding line emerging from Congress for the Maritime Security Program. Despite new and old threats to Union labor, merchant mariners, and the nation itself - SUP sailors as champions of the holiday season supply chain are celebrated in these pages.

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.